The Marriage of the Lamb, Part 1

Revelation chapter 19 is where we are this evening.

Revelation chapter 19.

The theme is the coming of Christ.

In his glory.

And all the scenes about judgment are just a backdrop to what the book of Revelation is all about.

And that is Jesus Christ.

We are in the chapter in which Jesus Christ is going to return.

That's verse 11.

It says, And I saw heaven open, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat upon it is called faithful and true.

And in righteousness, he judges and wages war.

That's the return of Jesus Christ.

Before he returns, We've covered the rejoicing, for we are to rejoice about his coming.

Before there is rejoicing.

There is retribution.

The retribution is on earth.

The rejoicing is in heaven.

The return of Christ is in verse 11.

And then when you come to chapter 20, you have the rule and the reign of Jesus Christ.

Upon this earth.

Tonight, we want to begin this wonderful pilgrimage of the return of Christ by looking at the cause for rejoicing.

The cause for rejoicing.

In fact, through verses 7 to 10, there are four things I want you to see over this week and next week: the cause for rejoicing, the close of the redeemed.

The command to record and the consequences to remember.

But first of all, as we look at the marriage supp of the Lamb.

We want to look at the cause for rejoicing.

That's, first of all, the majesty of our Lord.

That's recorded in the first six verses.

After these things, I heard, as it were, a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven saying, Hallelujah, or Praise the Lord.

Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, because his judgments are true and righteous.

For he has judged the great harlot, who is corrupting the earth with her immorality, and he has avenged the blood of his bonds on her.

And a second time they said, Hallelujah.

Her smoke rises up forever and ever.

And the 2 elders and the four living creatures fell down and worship God who sits on the throne, saying, Amen, hallelujah.

And a voice came from the throne saying, Give praise to our God, all you his bonds, you who fear him, the small and the great.

And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, and as the sound of many waters.

And as a sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, Hallelujah, for the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.

The first cause for rejoicing is the majesty of our Lord.

It is centered around the four different hallelujahs in Revelation 19, verses 1 to 6.

Last we, we told you it's the first time the word hallelujah is used in the New Testament.

It's also the last time it's used in the New Testament.

And it says around four specific elements of praise.

One is for the redeeming mercy of God.

The redeeming mercy of God, it says, hallelujah, salvation and glory and power belong to our God.

The reason God is a saving God is because of his glory, his splendor, and because of his power, his strength.

And so the first cause for hallelujah is because of the redeeming mercy of Almighty God.

Salvation has come.

Full salvation now has arrived.

That which happened when we first believed is now completed with the coming of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Paul said, Our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.

And now it.

Closes with the return of Jesus Christ.

When I think of God's redeeming mercy, I think of two things.

Number one, his unparalleled power, and number two, his unique person.

His unparalleled power to be able to save man from Satan and from sin, to be able to save man who is in the throes of Satan and to redeem his life.

His unparalleled power, and his unique person, that God would save people such as you and me.

So we praise him for his redeeming mercy.

Number two, we praise him for his righteous victory.

This is a review from last week.

His righteous victory.

Justice now reigns.

Righteousness now rules.

He is the righteous one.

It says, Because his judgments are true and righteous, for he has judged the great harlot.

Who was corrupting the earth with her immorality.

When I think of his righteous victory, I think of his unbelievable patience.

Have you ever noticed the patience of God throughout the seven-year tribulational period?

Man is blaspheming him.

Man is speaking out against him, cursing his name, and yet he is so patient in dealing with man.

So patient, so patient in dealing with us.

For the Bible says in 2 Peter 3:9 that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Over in 1 Peter 3, verse number 20, it speaks of the long-suffering of God.

As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the end.

God is long-suffering, God endures the blasphemous insults from man.

And throughout the book of Revelation, what have we seen?

God is so patiently dealing with man that one day, vengeance arrives.

And when it arrives, righteousness rules.

We praise him for his redeeming mercy.

We praise him for his righteous victory.

We praise him for removing iniquity.

Removing iniquity.

Removing treachery, removing immorality, apostasy, removing all rebellion.

He has judged the great harlot.

He has judged the system of Antichrist and the false prophet.

He has judged the system of Satan.

He removes that iniquity.

Justice now is going to rule and reign.

We praise him for that.

When I think of his redeeming mercy, I think of his unparalleled power and unique person.

When I think it was a righteous victory.

I'm drawn to his unbelievable patience.

But when I think of him removing iniquity, I think of his ultimate purpose.

God has a purpose, right?

Ultimately, to remove sin from this world, to remove the curse upon the world, to ultimately create a new heaven and a new earth.

Where righteousness reigns, there is no corruption, there is no sin, there is no evil.

And we'll see in Revelation 21 where everything is completely transparent.

You ever think about living in a glass house?

All glass.

People walk by and see the New Jerusalem is p, clear, transparent.

The reason being is because there's nothing to hide.

There's no sin.

There's nothing to be ashamed of.

Everything's going to be perfect.

That's God's ultimate purpose: to remove iniquity.

And lastly, we praise him for his reigning majesty.

He is the Almighty One.

He is the Lord our God.

He reigns.

And when I think of his reigning majesty, I think of unlimited praise.

Unlimited praise.

Why?

Because that's what heaven's all about: praising God.

Looking to Him, paying honor to who He is and what He's about.

The text tells us that we are to give praise to God continually, all you, His bonds, you who fear Him, the sm and the great, everybody.

Praise his name.

Hallelujah.

Praise the Lord for his reigning majesty.

He rules supreme.

He is the master of the universe.

And that's the ca for rejoicing.

The majesty of our Lord.

Number two, the marriage of the Lamb.

The marriage of the Lamb.

The second cause for rejoicing is the marriage.

Of the Lamb.

And I want you to see four things.

I want you to see, first of all, the concept of marriage.

Number two, the custom of marriage.

Number three, the connection of that marriage with the return of Christ.

Number four, one concern about that marriage.

Okay?

Let me read it to you.

Let us rejoice.

Verse number 7, be glad.

And give the glory to him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his bride has made herself ready.

And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean.

For the fine linen is the righteous act of the saints.

He said to me, Right blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

And he said to me, These are true words of God.

And I fell at his feet to worship him.

He said to me, Do not do that.

I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus.

Worship God, for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

The marriage of the land, first of all, the concept.

Listen very carefully.

This is so important.

We've seen His Majesty.

We have seen his mastery.

Now we're going to see the marriage.

So significant.

Why?

Because this is the most signific of all events.

This is the apex of redemptive history.

Think of it this way.

This is the final.

This is the most fantastic.

This is the most fabulous of all events in history.

Why?

Because the true believer has always looked.

To this day.

Think of the time you were getting married.

Think of the day that you had planned on your calendar.

Think of the anticipation that you had, longing for the day which you would walk down that aisle as a bride in all of your glory.

And your bridegroom would be waiting down here for you to receive you, and you would come together in holy matrimony.

Oh, you long for that day.

You look forward to that day.

It was the highlight of your life.

Every woman looks to that one day That she will be united with one man.

That is the highlight of her life.

The highlight for the Christian.

Is the marriage supp of the Lamb, the wedding feast?

As it is in the natural realm, so it should be in the spiritual realm.

Now ask and answer this question.

If it is the apex of redemptive history, and if it is the most significant event.

In the Christian's life, why is it more people don't want to come and hear about it?

Think about it.

Why aren't they anticipating that day?

Why is there a Christian that are not anticipating that union with the bridegroom, that great wedding feast, that consummation of the marriage feast?

Why is that?

Why would they not come to hear and to see that they might better anticipate what's going to happen?

I would say that that's a spiritual commentary upon their life, would you not?

I would say that.

That would be my assessment.

It's so significant, yet we've missed it.

A wedding is often used in scripture.

It is one of the most fascinating concepts known to man.

God designed the marriage institution.

And in the scriptures, it is a single greatest Celebration in the ancient world.

The most significant celebration in the ancient world.

It was the single greatest social event that man ever was involved in.

And even for most of us today, it is the single greatest social event.

We spend more money on a wedding than we ever do on the birth of our children.

Some of you will spend more money on weddings than you ever dreamed of.

But they are very expensive.

I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to pay for my three girls' wedding.

I'm going to cut on you folks to come through for me on that one.

But the bottom line is, is it not the single greatest social event that you know?

Sure it is.

The concept is significant.

The concept is magnanimous.

We must understand that concept.

In ancient times, weddings were elaborate affairs.

They lasted a very long time.

Depending on how much money you had, it would last longer than someone else's wedding.

They lasted a long time.

So we move from the concept of the marriage to the custom of the marriage.

And let me help you understand the custom of a Jewish wedding.

It comes in four phases.

Let me explain them to you.

The first is called the dec.

The second is called the presentation.

The third is called the celebration.

And the fourth is called the cons.

If I can explain it to you, you'll be able to understand the connection with that and the rapture of the church and the coming of Christ.

But that's the third aspect of this point.

First of all, the dec.

It's called the bet period.

We call it the dec.

Why do we call it the dec?

Because a family would come to another family and say, listen.

I understand that you are going to have a baby.

If that baby's a girl, I want her to marry my son.

And the parents would say, that's a good deal.

And they would have a legally binding contract.

That's the way it happened a lot of times in the ancient world.

Then came the day in which there would be the pres.

And that would be the day in which this bridegroom would go and he would fetch.

His bride, for lack of a better word, he would go and he would retrieve her from her home.

It was a time of festivities.

A time of festivities that would actually lead up to the the ceremony itself or the actual celebration of the wedding itself, which would then lead to the consummation of the wedding.

But this presentation would last Several days.

And by the way, you need to understand this: the bridegroom was the center of attention.

In the ancient world, not the bride.

We have it all wrong in America today.

We think it's her day.

It ain't.

It's his day.

But somehow we have turned everything around to make it her day.

Everything is focused on her.

The guy is kind of pushed out the window over here.

You know what I saying?

He just kind of shows up, says, I do, and makes sure that he's paid for the honeymoon and off they go.

But in these days, it was about him.

He was the key figure.

And by the way, when he went to go retrieve the bride, she had to be ready because she didn't know when he was going to come.

Hmm, think about that.

She had to be ready because he was coming, but she didn't know when.

She didn't know what day.

She didn't know what time he was coming.

She just knew that one day he was going to come.

She had to always be ready.

And so did the bridesmaids, by the way.

Think about that.

Try that next time your son or daughter is going to get married.

Say, you be ready because my son's coming to get you.

Make sure your hair's done.

You got to sleep in your curls, man, because when it's time he's coming to get you, you better be ready to go because he's going to go.

That's the way it was in those days.

You move from that presentation where they would come together and they would have their friends who had been invited, and this bridegroom would present.

To his guests, his bride.

That led to the celebration, which was the exchanging of vows.

At the end of the festivities, there was a final meal.

This was the apex of the ceremony.

This was the top of this is what everybody came for.

They came because there was going to be a final meal.

And the best man would take the groom's hand and the bride's hand and clasp them together.

They would say their vows one to another, and the ceremony then would be completed after the meal.

The guests, Lord willing, would go home, and then there would be the consummation of the marriage.

That leads us to point number three, the connection.

What's the connection to Revelation chapter nineteen?

Well, these phases beautifully illustrate.

The relationship of Jesus Christ to the church.

The Lamb, of course, is Christ.

It called the marriage of the Lamb.

The Lamb, of course, is Christ.

That is his apocalyptic name used close to 30 times in the book of Revelation.

There's going to be a presentation.

Christ wants to be able to present his bride to church.

To God the Father, to the heavenly hosts, to the Old Testament saints.

And there will be that final celebration.

And that's Revelation chapter 19, the marriage supp of the Lamb, the final great event.

That 's why the text says rejoice.

Be glad.

Be exuberant.

Give glory to God.

For that which you have longed for all your life is now here.

This is what you've looked for.

This is what you've longed for, and now it's here.

And just note: this ceremony takes place.

At the establishing of the millennial kingdom of Christ upon earth, and will stretch through the one thousand-year reign of Christ upon the earth.

It will be fully and finally consummated in the new heaven and the new earth.

You say, well, that's an awful long time to have a celebration feast.

A thousand years.

Yes.

But remember what Peter said.

A thousand years with the Lord is as One day, right?

And that millennial feast will be a time of great rejoicing that will be fully and finally consummated in the new heaven.

And the new earth.

The text says the bride has made herself ready.

I wonder.

If you're ready, turn with me, if you would, back to Matthew chapter 22.

I want to show you something.

This is my concern, and you need to understand it because I think it's very significant.

Matthew 22, verse number 1, Jesus said, The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.

And he still has slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come.

Christ is giving a parable in Matthew 22.

He's talking about a king.

Now, you got to understand that if a king's son was going to be married, This would become an elaborate feast.

This would become an incredible event.

Now, about this time, the people in the crowd would be saying, Now, wait a minute, this is ridiculous.

You mean to tell me that the king's son is getting married, and those who were pre-invited to this wedding didn't show up?

In fact, they were unwilling to come, and Christ says.

Yeah, no way that can't happen.

And then he says Again, he sent out other slaves, saying, Tell those who have been invited, Behold, I have prepared for my dinner.

My oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered, and everything is ready.

Come to the wedding feast.

But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business.

And the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them.

Now they're saying, you've got to be kidding me.

They're not going to kill the messenger.

I mean, after all, all he did was invite him to the wedding feast, to this king's mon event.

But the king, verse number 7, was enraged.

Sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire.

Then he said to his slaves, The wedding is ready.

But those who were invited were not worthy.

Why weren't they worthy?

Because they refused the invitation.

Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there invite to the wedding feast.

Those slaves went out to the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good.

And the waiting hall was filled with dinner guests.

In this parable, the church is not the bride, but the who?

The guests.

The guests, those in the highways and by, the Gentile people that were invited in, people dressed in wedding clothes.

And then it says in verse number 11, But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw there a man not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, Friend, how did you come in here?

Without wedding clothes.

The question is, how do they get the wedding clothes?

I mean, if everybody on the streets are poor, they got no money.

How do they get the wedding clothes?

The king.

Gave them the wedding clothes.

But there was one who didn't have those clothes.

What are they?

Isaiah 61:10 tells you they're the robes of righteousness.

The text says, The man was speechless.

And the king said to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness.

In that place there shall be weeping and gnas of teeth.

For many are called, but few are chosen.

I share you this because you can't criss this passage with Revelation 19 and come up with some kind of theology.

Because the bride is not even mentioned in Matthew 22, and the guests in Matthew 22 are the church.

I say all that because I have a concern.

And that concern is this.

Is that in Revelation chapter 19, it says, the bride has made herself ready.

Are you ready?

Are you prepared?

Have you been invited?

Do you have the proper clothes?

Are you clothed in the robes of righteousness?

Do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?

There is no great event in all the world than this event.

Because it last through all eternity.

It 's the marriage of the Lamb of God.

And now it's come.

It's time.

The bride is ready.

She is ready to be presented in all of her glory.

She has been presented in heaven.

There's been feasting, there's been joy, there's been celebration.

We've seen the seven occasions in the book of Revelation.

And every time we open the book of Revelation and see the seven visions of heaven, what do we see?

We see rejoicing and celebration and glory and honor given to the bridegroom, the Lamb of God.

Folks, this is what we live for.

Let me rephrase that.

Folks, this is what the Christian lives for.

What do you live for?