The Table After The Second Coming Series

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.