James O. Davis is the founder and president of Second Billion (TM). You are invited to learn more about Second Billion by visiting www.billion.tv.
INTRODUCTION
In a previous message we dealt with the treachery after His Coming. I shared that there would be a strong delusion sent upon the earth after the Church is raptured into heaven. Since men will not believe the truth, Satan will cause them to believe a lie and will lead a world rebellion against God. While this is going on upon this earth, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb is occurring in heaven. Today I want to deal with the table after His Coming.
I will never forget my wife’s and my wedding. The night before the event, my wife and I gathered all the ministers and others who were to be part of our wedding for a rehearsal dinner. This enjoyable time with family and friends was followed by a visit to the sanctuary for a wedding practice. I never saw my wife after that until she marched down the aisle dressed in her beautiful white wedding gown which symbolized her purity and holiness. When Jesus returns for His Bride, the Church, three events are going to happen in the life of the Christian.
FIRST, THREE CHRISTIAN EVENTS
A) There is Going to be a Transformation -- Our bodies are going to be changed. We are going to receive a glorified body that will never again be subject to time.
B) There is Going to be An Examination -- Every believer will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ and give account how we lived our Christian life. We saw this earlier in the series. We are saved by grace unto good works. We are not saved by works through faith, but by faith that works.
C) There is Going to be a Celebration -- This is the event the Bible calls the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. In order for the believer to fully understand this event, we need to know the Biblical basis for it. Primarily, there are three unique metaphors used to explain the relationship of the Church (the Bride) to Jesus Christ (the Groom).
1) The First Metaphor is the Term Building -- The Bible says that Jesus is the Chief Cornerstone of the building. The Apostles are the twelve foundations and believers are the living stones.
2) The Second Metaphor is the Term Body -- The Church is an organism, not an organization. Jesus is the Head and believers are members of the Body.
3) The Third Metaphor is the Term Bride -- The Lord Jesus is the groom. The Marriage Supper of the Lamb is not seen in its fullness if one does not understand the concept of the Bride representing the Church. The concept of the Bride is the only metaphor that has its roots in both the Old and New Testaments.
Now, there were three main customs connected with the Jewish/Oriental marriage event.
SECOND, THREE MARRIAGE CUSTOMS
A) First, There Was the Procuring of the Bride -- There are three steps to the procuring of the bride.
1) Contracting for the bride. This was similar to an engagement. It was legal and binding. There was an indefinite amount of time until all was ready for the marriage. The bridegroom would prepare a house for their home while the bride prepared the dowry or gifts she would give to the husband after marriage.
2) Coming for the bride. After the house was completed, the groom would come to the house of the bride with all of his friends and would call for his bride in a loud voice. When she heard his call, she would immediately leave her home and go with the bridegroom. He would then escort her to his house with all of his friends.
3) Celebration with the bride. This is similar to the wedding reception of our times. It was the consummating celebration of the bride and bridegroom. The center of attention was not the bride, however, but the groom.
Similarly, at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, Jesus will be the center of attention. There will have been a contracting, an engagement, for the bride. The engagement occurs when we accept Jesus as personal Savior. A contract or a covenant is completed. Next, we are to prepare ourselves and anticipate the coming of the Bridegroom. You are I part of that Bride.
One day there will be a coming for the Bride. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, “The Lord Himself will descend with a shout.” He is going to call us Home. There is going to be a reunion in the sky where we gather with the Lord’s friends as we go to the home He has prepared for us. He said, “I go away to prepare a place for you. If I go away, I will come again.” He is there preparing a dwelling place in heaven for us now. There will be a celebration when we get to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. It will be the consummating celebration of the Bride and the Bridegroom together for eternity.
B) Second, There is the Preparation for the Bride -- The Bible says in Revelation 19:7 that His wife had made herself ready. When did the Bride prepare herself? At the Judgment Seat of Christ. It is there that all the blemishes are wiped away. Paul said in Ephesians 5:26-27, “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that he might present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but it should be holy and without blemish.”
1) The Wedding Garments -- The wedding garments are talked about in Revelation 19:8. In those days, people wore inner garments and outer garments. The inner garment was called the tunic. The outer garment was called the toga. The first represents the imputed righteousness of Christ. We are clothed with the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. The second represents the righteous deeds of the believer. The toga is the robe. All of our works will be woven to make a robe. The inner garment is made by Christ. The outer garment is made by the Bride, by you and me. The Bride is making her outer garment now by her works on earth.
Now, we are not saved by works, but by faith that works. Are you living the kind of life to weave the kind of garment you want to wear on your wedding day? I don’t know of many brides who want to walk down the aisle in wedding garments filled with holes or corroded with dirt. They want to look as beautiful and perfect as possible. The kind of life we live, and the deeds we perform, determine the kind of wedding garment we will wear on the day of our wedding.
We have been looking at the wedding garments, now notice the wedding gifts.
2) The Wedding Gifts -- In Bible days, it was customary for the Bride to give gifts to the Groom. At the Judgment Seat of Christ, we will bestow all our crowns and rewards before Jesus, symbolizing that we give our all to Him. Some will have little to give, for their Christian life will have consisted more of the wood, hay and stubble types of work. They will not have much to give.
There will be others who will have built wisely and did what He called them to do. Their works were of the gold, silver and precious stones type. They were spiritual. They were sacrificial. They were steadfast in their labors. As a result, they will have plenty of gifts to give.
Next we look at the wedding guests.
3) The Wedding Guests -- Revelation 19:9 talks about wedding guests. The invited guests are the Old Testament saints. They are different from those born again after the death of Jesus on the Cross. They looked forward to Jesus by faith; we look back to Jesus by faith. In fact, no Old Testament prophet or writer foresaw the Church Age, the mystical Body of Christ. They only saw the Messiah coming. A few saw Him dying. When they saw Jesus coming back, it was to set up His eternal Kingdom on earth. They never understood the Church Age. Although they are forgiven by their faith in God, they are the wedding guests of the Lord.
We have looked at the procuring of the bride, and the preparation for the bride. Now, notice the presentation of the bride.
C) Third, There is the Presentation of the Bride -- The presentation of the Bride at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb represents three different things.
1) There is Purity -- Paul said in Ephesians 5:27, “That he might present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.” When the Bride is presented to the Bridegroom, she will be pure, holy, righteous, and without spot or wrinkle.
2) There is Partnership -- Just as two persons become one in the eyes of Christ through marriage, we too will forever be one with Christ through the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. We see and understand some of these things now as “through a glass darkly,” but then it will all be made very clear. When the presentation of the Bride takes place, there will be purity, partnership and, praise God, permanence.
3) There is going to be Permanence -- When the Bride and the Bridegroom come together it will be forever. The relationship will not end; it will be forever. We shall live with Him in Heaven and on earth when He establishes His eternal Kingdom upon this planet.
CONCLUSION
Some time ago, on a day off during a 3-week revival meeting in southern New England, my wife Sheri and I went sight-seeing in the area. The last place of the day took us to Kennebunkport, Maine. Just prior to sunset, we found the home of one of the former presidents of the United States of America. It was a beautiful home overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, with a rocky coastline and waves pounding. We parked and walked over to the guard’s station. “Is this were the President lives?” I asked.
“Yes, sir, it is,” the guard replied.
I then asked, “Is the President here now?”
The guard answered, “No, he is not.”
“Do you know when he will be back?”
“I never know when the President is coming home,” the guard replied. “I am only notified a few moments before when he is returning.”
I have thought about that many times. The guard has to stay on constant alert. He never knows just when the President is coming back. Jesus told us that He was going away to prepare a place for us. We do not know exactly when He will return. He did say, however, that we should be ready and watching for His return. There will be not time to get ready after He returns.
What are we doing to weave the garments we plan to wear at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb? Are we obedient in what He is asking of us before He returns? Is there purity, a partnership, and a permanence that awaits us on that day?
When He comes, will you hear His shout for you to join Him in His home?
If you don’t Christ as Savior, I challenge you to accept Him today. Repent of your sins, acknowledge Him as Lord and Savior of your life, and He will come into your heart. Then, you will be part of the Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ. When He returns, you will be ready to spend all eternity with Him in heaven!
