Morning Light – Revelation 19: The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

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Today: [Revelation 19:] The Marriage Supper of the Lamb. In Rev. 19 the Marriage Supper of the Lamb is consummated. What is interesting is that there is no description of a table or place settings or where one might sit for some great meal. What is described is something else altogether which we will explore in our study.
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[Rev 19:1-21 KJV] 1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: 2 For true and righteous [are] his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. 3 And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. 4 And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. 5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. 6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. 7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed [are] they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. 10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See [thou do it] not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. 11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him [was] called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 His eyes [were] as a flame of fire, and on his head [were] many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13 And he [was] clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies [which were] in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he hath on [his] vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. 17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all [men, both] free and bond, both small and great. 19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which [sword] proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
After Babylon the Great falls in the previous chapter John hears the voices of many people praising God and extolling His judgments. They reference the end of Babylon and declare “may her smoke rise up forever and ever” at which point the 24 elders fall down and worship God saying “Amen” and “Alleluia.”
As these praises and voices continue another voice declares it is time for the marriage supper of the Lamb for His wife hath made herself ready. There are different ideas about who the Bride of Christ is. The bridegroom is evidently Jesus Himself as referenced in John 3:39 by John the Baptist. Jesus as well referred to Himself as the Bridegroom in Mark 2:19. The apostles of the Lamb are spoken of as members of the bridegrooms guest list in Mat. 9:15; Mar. 2:19; and Luke 5:34. Who then is the Bride?
Rev. 21:2,9-10 speaks of the Bride as the Jerusalem that is in heaven descending from above. This causes many to declare that natural Jerusalem is the Bride of Christ (in other words a geographical location, a city, Jerusalem being the Bride). However Hebrews 12:22-23 equates the Heavenly Jerusalem as the community of the Redeemed that is the church and not physical Jerusalem or Israel as a landmass.
Paul speaks of the Church as the Bride of Christ in Eph. 5:22-33; 2 Cor. 11:2-4; and Rom. 7:3. This is not convincing to those however who do not accept Paul’s writings. This bears mentioning as there is a growing number in the Evangelical community who have come to see Paul as an influence who co-opted the Early Church in a way that God did not ordain and thus the marginalize his teachings as an imposition on what they allege God had in mind in terms of the New Testament church as defined to the exclusion of the preponderance of Pauline doctrine.
Other sources point to the Song of Solomon and the book of Hosea making the case that the church could never be the bride as it did not exist when these Old Testament references speak of Israel as the Bride of the Messiah (which of those holding this view, not all accept Jesus as Messiah.)
The ideas go on as to who the Bride is by emphasizing that only one particular church such as the Catholic church or some other denomination constitute the Bride, but in researching throughout the scriptures and taking all things into consideration it seems clear that the Bridegroom being Jesus Himself can only be espoused to those making up the Community of the Redeemed that is the Church.
In v. eight we see that the Bride is clothed in fine linen. Linen is a type of righteousness and 1 Cor. 1:30-31 tells us that Jesus is our righteousness. Our righteousness is a person then and not a moral quality or a comprehension of doctrine. We are not righteous based on what we do or what we know. Christ is our righteousness which means God accepts you because of who Jesus is and what He has done and not who you are or what you have done.
In v. 9 John is instructed to confer the message ostensibly to any who might read Revelation “blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb” after which John falls at the angel’s feet to worship him. Here the angel says something very thought-provoking. In v. ten the angel insists that John not worship him for he is a fellow servant with John who has the testimony of Jesus. In other words, this angel whoever he might be was once or is at this time a born again person, a servant of Christ just as John is. Could this be true of all angels? Or only some? We do not know but suffice to say based upon this obscure reference that we don’t know everything about angels that we think we know.
Then John sees (v. 11) Jesus appearing on a white horse with eyes of fire and many crowns on His head. Where did the crowns come from? From the crowns the elders cast at His feet in Rev. 4:10. John also sees that Jesus in this vision has a name written on His person that no man knows except Jesus Himself. His garments are dipped in blood, and His name is called the Word of God.
As Jesus advances in the vision, there are armies in heaven appearing with Him that are the saints of God. Our of His mouth comes a two-edged sword and on His thigh (a covenantal reference) is written “King of kings and Lord of lords.” This means that He is a King and you are a king. He is a Lord, and you are a lord. As He is so are you in the world (1 John 4:17). Most Christians are far too timid than to take this at face value. If Jesus is a King, then you are a king. If Jesus is a Lord, then you are a lord. Kings have kingdoms; therefore you have a kingdom. Lord’s have a jurisdiction; consequently, you have a jurisdiction.
Jesus taught us under His rule to pray that His kingdom would come. Likewise, as a king in the jurisdiction you are accorded by the authority you have in Christ your expectation is the be YOUR KINGDOM COME. Otherwise, these verses mean nothing they are just impotent wordplay.
When Jesus appears with the armies of the redeemed an angel steps forward to call all the fowls of the heaven to gather to the supper of the great God. What is the supper then? V. 18 would suggest it is a mighty battle finalizing the downfall of all those who have rejected Christ along with the demonic hosts who motivate them. In answer to this declaration (v. 19) the beast and all the armies of the earth gather to make war against Jesus Himself and are taken in battle along with the false prophet and all those that worshipped the image and the beast himself. They are all then cast alive into the lake of fire that burns with brimstone. Those that were remaining of the army of the beast are then killed by the one who sat upon the horse and his armies. Thus we see that not only does heaven come to earth at this moment but hell comes to earth as well in witnessing the leaders of this anti-Christ army thrown into hell alive. Many including many evangelicals do not believe in Hell.
Their belief is one thing, but the more dire consequence of this unbelief is that they arbitrarily reject what we hold to be the infallible word of God. They are choosing piecemeal what they will and will not believe and as such constitute themselves as heretical in mind and deceived in heart.