Let us rejoice and exult
Revelation 19:7-9 (ESV)
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure”—
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
As a hard-core introvert, I generally am uncomfortable in large gatherings. Wedding banquets are not something I particularly enjoy. But the one described here is one I look forward to with great anticipation.
Life in this world is, for me at least, not all that unpleasant. But it is one of exile. I am away from home, living as a foreigner. However, one day I will be called home and invited to the wedding banquet of the Lamb. It will be a time of great joy.
The words that we find in these last few chapters of Revelation are quite a contrast with much of what has come before. All of the seals have been broken, the trumpets sounded, and the bowls of wrath emptied. Judgment has come on Babylon, and soon will come for the beast and the dragon.
The Wedding Banquet
And for those who have endured faithfully and have made themselves ready, it is a time of reward. We will be joined to our Lord in a way illustrated here as marriage—an intimate union with our Lord.
The wedding banquet described here is found elsewhere in Scripture: the feast the Lord throws in Isaiah 25:6-8; the parable of the wedding banquet in Matthew 22:1-14; and the feast in the kingdom of God in Luke 13:28-30. This banquet illustrates the joyousness of our eternity with the Lord.
While the book of Revelation is generally thought of as describing conflicts at a global scale, it is also possible to see it as a picture of the Christian life in conflict with the forces of spiritual wickedness (Eph. 6:12). When as a believer you find yourself facing trials and challenging times, and you wonder if it is worth it, just read the back of the book. It is worth it. Hang in there. Let nothing move you from the hope we have in Christ (Col. 1:27). The marriage of the Lamb is coming. And we are invited as guests of honor.
