Dining with God: (10.) The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
Dining with God: (10.) The Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
Revelation 19:1 (feat. Naomi Raine & Mav City Gospel Choir) | Maverick City Music | TRIBL
“The entire history of salvation is a divine love story between Creator and creature, between God and Israel, between Christ and His bride… the life of Christ is nothing less than the greatest love story ever told.” (Brant Pitre).
“Then I heard what seemed to be the thunderous voice of a great multitude, like the sound of a massive waterfall and mighty peals of thunder, singing out:
‘Hallelujah! Praise Yah!
For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns!
Let us rejoice and exalt Him and give Him glory,
because the wedding celebration of the Lamb has come.
And His bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, shining bright and clear,
has been given to her to wear,
and the fine linen represents the righteous deeds of his holy believers…
… And the angel said, ‘Write this down: Blessed are those who are invited to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb! These are the true words of God!” (Revelation 19:6-10).
Countless Singers. Another vast multitude is singing a song of celebration. The great choir of heaven is singing in one thunderous voice, sounding like the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder. The mighty choir is singing a wedding announcement, the marriage of the Lamb and His Bride. This is the joyful closing chapter of human history, the ultimate destiny of the righteous.
WE WILL DANCE (Sing A Song Of Celebration) Lyrics
This Messianic Banquet is a long expected, highly anticipated occasion in the Jewish faith. The wedding supper of Revelation 19 is a fulfillment of Isaiah 25:6-9, which highlights this Messianic feast: “In Jerusalem, the Lord of Hosts will spread a wonderful feast for all the people of the world. It will be a delicious banquet with clear, well-aged wine and choice meat. There He will remove the cloud of gloom, the shadow of death that hangs over the earth. He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears. He will remove forever all insults and mockery against His land and people. The Lord has spoken! In that day the people will proclaim, ‘This is our God! We trusted in Him, and He saved us! This is the Lord, in whom we trusted. Let us rejoice in the salvation He brings.”
“The Jewish wedding is a unique illustration of the Messiah’s relationship with His followers.” (Dr. David Stern, Professor of Messianic Judaism, translator of the Complete Jewish Study Bible).
According to Dr. Stern, the esteemed writer, professor, and interpreter of the New Testament from the Messianic perspective, he states that there were three phases to the traditional Jewish wedding that took more than a year to complete, culminating in the actual wedding ceremony. This wedding process during biblical times sheds much light on the nature of our call to Christian discipleship. All Christians can learn much from the process of the Jewish wedding.
Phase #1 = Match-Making. This is called “shiddukhin,” and refers to the selection of the bride. In biblical times the match-making was performed by someone designated for that role, many times by a trusted women in the community, and sometimes by the father of the groom. An example is found in Genesis 24, when Abraham selected his servant to make a match for his son Isaac. As in all biblical match-making, the people involved trusted that God would guide the search, that He would personally intervene in the choice. Stern maintains that this phase is a picture of believers in Jesus having been chosen as Messiah’s bride. “Even before the creation of the universe, God loved us and chose us in the Messiah to be holy and without fault in His eyes.” (Ephesians 1:4). In His love, the Father of the Groom desires that all be chosen as a member of the Bride, the Church, the Body of believers. Unfortunately, many choose not to be chosen. In His omniscience, God knew who would be chosen before the world was even made. Nonetheless, “He wants all humanity to be delivered and come to a full knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4).
Phase #2 = Betrothal. This is called “eyrusin” in Hebrew and is a formal one-year period of engagement in which they commit themselves to a future marriage. The agreement is binding and requires a religious divorce (a “get“) in order to nullify the betrothal. The betrothed couple are not to live together during this time. It seems clear that when Jesus lived, died, was resurrected, and succeeded in redeeming His believers, He in effect had initiated the betrothal phase in this spiritual wedding process. Our betrothal with the Groom is a formal relationship of committed love that anticipates our marriage in the New Jerusalem. Traditionally, only the husband has the option of a “get.” Stern says that this aspect reflected the fact that Messiah’s believers are secure in their relationship with the Groom. The betrothal covenant between Jesus and the believer cannot be broken by the Groom, because He has promised to be eternally committed to the relationship. As Jesus says “I give them eternal life. They will absolutely never perish, and no one will ever snatch them from my hands.” (John 10:28). The primary responsibility of the groom during betrothal is to prepare the couple’s future house. Following along with that Jewish expectation, Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many places to live. I am going and preparing a place for you; I will return to take you with me, so that where I am, you may also be.” (John 14:1-3). Christians remain in the betrothal phase in our relationship with Christ, waiting for the final ceremony at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7-8). This feast will be the ceremony in which Jesus Messiah marries His Bride, consummating His marriage with the believers. And then Jesus will take His Bride home to live with Him forever.
Phase #3 = The Wedding Ceremony. Known as the “nissuin,” the betrothal has been completed and the groom comes for the bride. Everything is made ready and the bride eagerly waits for his arrival. The groom is not to know the hour or day of the wedding, for the groom’s father must first decide and then give the command. The return of the Messiah seems to follow right along with that tradition, “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son Himself. Only the Father knows.” (Mark 13:32). At the father’s chosen time, the groom would lead a procession through the streets of the village to the bride’s house, the shofar would loudly sound, and everyone along the way would typically shout “the bridegroom comes!” At the ceremony, held under a canopy and with much candlelight, the groom must first officially lift the veil of the bride and lovingly look at the bride. This was a wedding tradition in memory of the time Jacob was fooled into marrying the wrong woman, and it appears he didn’t bother to lift the veil (Gen. 29). At the Wedding Feast in heaven, we are going to see Jesus face-to-face, and there will be no question of our identity. The father of the groom is host to a jubilant celebration after the ceremony with a huge feast with dancing, singing, and much merriment. Also kept in mind was that the wedding ceremony is a wonderful reminder of the wedding covenant between the Lord and the Chosen People on Mt. Sinai in the wilderness. This was known historically as the ketubah.
Billy Strings Jesus is Waiting For Me (BEST AUDIO)
Christ-Followers are Betrothed to Him. “Jesus is not just a king here on Palm Sunday; He is a betrothed king – an engaged king. And soon He will be a married king. His betrothed bride is the people of God – the people who trust Him, the church. He came the first time 2,000 years ago to die for His bride – to pay a dowery, as it were, with His own blood. And He will come a second time to marry her and take us – His church – into the gardens and the chambers of His love and joy forever.” (Rev. John Piper).
“With Christ’s life, death on the Cross, and resurrection, Jesus became the living embodiment of the bridegroom, and a faithful husband who was willing to give up His life for the one He loved.” (Joel Ryan).
The wedding at Cana. “Each of us is made for union with God… a union so intimate that He describes it as spousal love. Jesus is the Bridegroom announcing His wedding with humanity. This is shown through His first miracle. At the wedding reception in Cana, the groom runs out of wine. At the prompting of His mother Mary, Jesus decides to begin manifesting Himself by changing water into wine. Since it was the groom’s responsibility to provide the wine, through this miracle Jesus shows Himself to be the long-awaited Bridegroom.” (Fr. David Endres).
Knocking on the Door. “Look, I am standing at the door, knocking. If one of you hears me calling and opens the door, I will come in to share a meal at that person’s side.” (Revelation 3:20). “This points us to the process of an ancient Jewish wedding invitation in the days of Jesus. A bridegroom and his father would come to the door of the bride-to-be, carrying the betrothal cup of wine and the bride-price. Standing outside, they would knock. If she fully opened the door, she was saying, ‘Yes, I will be your bride.’ Jesus and His Father, in the same way, are knocking on the doors of our hearts, inviting us to be the bride of Christ.” (Dr. Brian Simmons).
Jesus Is Knocking At The Door – Country Gospel Song – Lifebreakthrough (Lyrics)
A Great Mystery. “There’s a passage in Ephesians 5 where Paul begins by addressing wives and husbands, and ends by expounding upon Christ’s sweet, deep love for His Bride, the Church, His people. And in the overflow of his enthusiasm, Paul writes, ‘You are being invited into a Great Mystery.’ This Greek word ‘mysterion’ is used 28 times in the New Testament. It means ‘a sacred secret, something that God has hidden from ancient times and that can only be revealed by God.’ (Dr. Brian Simmons).
Bridegroom Love. A mystery that God Himself has to reveal to us. The more we peer into this mystery of Bride and Bridegroom, the more we see that it is about love – God’s love, Bridegroom love – for us. This love is for you, as an individual, with Christ Jesus as your Bridegroom-Redeemer. But it is also about the love Yahweh-God has for His people Israel. And the love Christ has for His Church. In all cases, God is communicating His love for us, His desire for relationship with us, His commitment to us in covenantal love, and the fruitfulness of our love relations with Him.” (Sheridan Larson).
“God and Man at Table Are Sat Down” (as recorded on the “Beloved Disciple” cd)
Behold! When John the Baptist shouted out that Jesus was the Lamb of God, he was referring to the Passover lamb, the defining moment in Jewish history (Exodus 12). Inspired by the Holy Spirit, John is saying that, just as the blood of the perfect, unblemished male lamb provided a way to escape judgment and experience redemption from slavery in Egypt, Jesus will soon provide for redemption through His very own sacrificial blood. The lamb became the primary sacrificial animal in Mosaic Law, a lamb sacrificed in the Temple every morning and evening for the sins of the people (Ex. 29). For centuries, a lamb’s life had to be sacrificed for the penalty of sin. And now the Messiah, Jesus Christ, offering His pure blood as sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world. “You were not redeemed with corruptible things, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world” (1 Peter 1:18-19). “Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us, therefore let us keep the feast.” (1 Corinthians 5:7).
Putting On Christ. The custom in Biblical weddings was that the host would provide wedding garments for the guests. Everyone who received an invitation was to put on their clean outer garments so they could be admitted to the wedding celebration. At this particular Wedding, the Bride, the world-wide Church of Jesus, is also wearing a special garment given to her, a garment of fine linen, a robe of righteousness. The Bride and the guests were all expected to put on Christ, to clothe themselves in His goodness and purity. The robe was woven by the Christ-empowered deeds of the believers. Apart from Jesus, our righteousness is as filthy rags. But in Christ, we put on garments washed in the blood of the Lamb. We are covered by Christ, the fine linen of true righteousness. Only those who wear the pure robe of Jesus is admitted to the wedding feast.
The Guest List. Who will be attending this Messianic feast? Judging from the life of Jesus on earth, as well as His parable of the great banquet (Luke 14:12-24), the guest list for the wedding supper will include some surprising people. Those receiving unexpected invitations include the undeserving and the unworthy. Jesus goes to distant highways and the back alleys to invite the lost, the alien, and the left out. The Messiah evidently wants the outcasts to be the in-crowd. Those on the margins are invited to live in the center of the text, the middle of His mercy, marginalized no more. Jesus is one big welcome mat for those on His guest list. Let all who are thirsty, come! Let all who are hungry, come! The doors will be wide open for a world-wide mixture of races and people groups. We shouldn’t be surprised if we’re sitting next to a prodigal son, a reformed prostitute or a diminutive tax collector. To attend the banquet, all the guests need to do is put on Christ, to clothe themselves in the wedding garment offered by the Host. And don’t forget… the wedding hall is immense, and expandable, and there’s always room for more.
The Great Mystery spoken of by Paul in Ephesians 5, the sacred secret of God marrying His people, so often hinted at in Scripture, can now be proclaimed on the rooftops. Isaiah spoke of this mystery when he said, “As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so will God rejoice over you.” (62:5). John the Baptist contributed to the mystery when he called Jesus the “Bridegroom” (John 3:29). Paul joined in again when he calls the church the “chaste virgin” and Christ the “husband.” (2 Cor. 11:2). The deep spiritual meanings of all earthly marriages are now made clear. God has revealed what Scripture has been pointing toward, and what the angels have been anticipating… the spiritual romance of Groom and Bride, the union of the Lamb and the Church.
Full Union at Last. The Lord has been yearning for this eternal union to be spiritually consummated. He has desired this fulfillment of spiritual intimacy. After coming to the Bride’s house on earth, the Groom has now led the wedding party to the house of the Father, the home of the Groom, for the marriage celebration. This is the time prophesied by Jesus at the Last Supper, when He said, “I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.” (Mark 14:25). It is now time for the Groom to lift the cup of new wine.
Marriage Vows. As in every wedding ceremony, there comes the time for the vows. What will the Husband promise? Jesus just may quote the vow of Yahweh in Hosea: “I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know me as the Lord.” (2:19-20). And then the vow of the Bride? Perhaps the simple declaration of faith from Doubting Thomas is all that needs to be said: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). And maybe the revelation of St. Peter could be vowed for good measure, “You are the Anointed One, the Son of the living God.” (Matt. 16:16). The mutual commitment will thus be fulfilled, the promise of faithfulness realized for all time. After their everlasting vows are spoken, and their loyalty and love confirmed forever, it is time to rejoice. Let the joyous festivities begin! “How happy is the one who attends a banquet in the Kingdom of God!” (Luke 14:15).
So Strike up the band! Put on your wedding garments. Cue the dancers. Let the singers warm up their voices. Pour the best wine for everybody. Slice the meat. Garnish the salads. Open the doors for the guests. A toast for the bride and Groom. The Marriage Supper of the Lamb can now begin. This party will reflect the fullness of joy for life everlasting.
“My beloved spoke and said to me, Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away with Me. For lo, the winter is past and the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time for singing is come.” (Song of Songs 2:10-12).
Come & Dine (feat. Alex Vitug) (Live) – YouTube
“COME and DINE”
(Refrain) Come and dine, come and dine, you may feast at Jesus’ table all the time.
He who turned water to wine,
To the hungry, still He calls, Come and dine.
(1.) Jesus has His table spread, where the saints of God are fed,
He invites His people, Come and dine.
With His manna He doth feed and supplies our every need,
Tis sweet to sup with Jesus all the time.
(Refrain)
(2.) The disciples came to land, thus obeying Christ’s command,
For the Master called to them, Come and dine.
There they found their heart’s desire, with the fish upon the fire,
And He satisfies the hungry every time.
(Refrain)
(3.) Soon the Lamb will take His bride to be ever at His side,
All the host of heaven will assembled be.
Twill be a glorious sight, all the saints in spotless white,
And with Jesus we will feast eternally.
(Refrain).
(song by Charles Widmeyer, 1907; original title, “Jesus has a table spread”).