The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
By Dr. Ken
Matto
Revelation
19:7-9 (KJV) 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.
Another one of
the great teachings in Scripture which has been sensationalized by the prophecy
book crowd is the teaching on the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
In typical pre-tribulation teachings the Marriage Supper of the Lamb will
take place at the end of the seven year judgment of the Saints.
They teach that the rapture will occur before the seven year tribulation
period and the Saints will be raptured to heaven where they will stand before
the Lord Jesus Christ and be judged for the lives they have lived.
Many believe at this time they will receive rewards and when the seven
year judgment is over and all the good Saints have received their rewards then
they will attend the Marriage Supper of the Lamb which they believe is going to
be a tremendous feast in heaven.
(See my study
on rewards at: www.scionofzion.com/rewards.htm)
The prophecy
book crowd cannot even agree when the feast is going to take place.
At the end of the Millennium or directly at the end of the church age.
This is what happens when you create these scenarios that do not exist in
Scripture. The Marriage Supper of
the Lamb need not be such a great mystery nor do you need to be confused by
these prophecy book pundits. If you
notice that it takes place right before the Lord returns to earth to bring all
the Elect home to heaven and all the unbelievers will face judgment which is
spoken of in Matthew 25:31-46.
Let us look at
each of the three verses individually which are Revelation 19:7-9.
(Rev 19:7 KJV)
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.
Now a different part of the vision of John is in view, one which focuses on the
body of Christ. Here the believers are giving honor to the Lord Jesus Christ
because now the consummation of the ages has occurred and the body of believers
is now with the bridegroom. The body of Christ is now all gathered together as
they are no more separated with some in Heaven and some on earth. All are
gathered together in heaven at the marriage of the Lamb. The wife has been made
ready by means of Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary. In ancient times a marriage
consisted of two phases. One was the betrothal and the other the actual wedding.
In the period between the betrothal and the wedding, there is a time of
separation and that is a time when both parties must be faithful. We saw this
when Joseph wanted to privately put Mary away when she was with child. Of
course, we know that Mary was faithful and was eventually married to Joseph. It
is the same with the body of Christ. The true believers, while on earth, were
faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ as we have seen through the ages that they
would rather give their life than deny the Lord. Of course, it goes without
saying that the Lord Jesus was also faithful in going to the cross to die for
His people (Matthew 1:21).
(Rev 19:8
KJV)
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.
Just as the bride at a wedding is dressed in white and that dress is made of the
finest cloth possible, the body of Christ is symbolically dressed in the finest
of linen, which is clean and white. The second half of the verse tells us that
the fine linen is the righteousness of the believer and that righteousness is
the imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ for not even the true
believer has any righteousness until they become saved and indwelled by the Holy
Spirit. (Isa 61:3 KJV) To appoint unto
them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for
mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be
called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be
glorified.
(Rev 19:9 KJV)
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.
John is now being commanded to write this great commendation that those who are
called to the marriage supper of the Lamb are blessed. It must be noted that a
person is called to the marriage supper and cannot will themselves in as those
who believe in free will. (Mat 22:12-13
KJV) And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a
wedding garment? And he was speechless. {13} Then said the king to the servants,
Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness;
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Only the truly called are the
true guests of the Lamb. All are gathered together in heaven at the marriage
supper of the Lamb. This is not a big physical feast as some commentators try to
sell us but it is symbolic for the body of Christ as the wife and the bridegroom
who is the Lord Jesus Christ are married by reason of His sacrifice on Calvary.
This marriage supper is symbolic as the body of Christ is now in full righteous
regalia in Heaven and now enjoys the most intimate fellowship with the Lord
Jesus Christ. Then the messenger tells John that these sayings are the true
sayings of God and are not the sayings of anyone else.
The Marriage supper comes after the marriage has taken
place. As soon as a person becomes
saved by means of the Father drawing them, they are married to Christ as His
bride.
Revelation 21:9 (KJV) And there came unto
me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last
plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride,
the Lamb's wife. The Marriage
Supper of the Lamb is symbolic of the final joining together of the Lamb and all
the believers. Remember John is
prophesying this through what he is seeing in heaven as the last day has not
come yet. When the Lord returns to
earth on the last day, he will gather all of His Elect together and not one will
be left out.
Matthew 13:49 (KJV) So shall it be at the
end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among
the just, As long as there was one person yet to be saved upon earth, the
body of Christ was separated as many were in heaven and many were still on earth
but on the last day the final gathering of the Christians will take place and
the body of Christ will be complete in heaven symbolized by the Marriage Supper
of the Lamb as a sign of unity forever.
Heaven is a spiritual place and nothing physical is there so there will
be no long table with a great feast of physical food.
John 6:27 (KJV) Labour not for the
meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life,
which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
John 6:27 is speaking about the meat that endures for eternity and that
is the meat that we seek is the
eternal Gospel through Grace which saves a person’s soul for all eternity. It is
the spiritual meat that we seek. The Lord Jesus Christ will give that spiritual
meat because He is qualified to do so.
There is not going to be any great physical feast that is just twisting
Scripture to make it fit a belief system that does not exist in the Bible.
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb represents the final completion of the
unity of the body of Christ in heaven for eternity.
Conclusion
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb is not an event like a big banquet. It is symbolic for the final consummation of the Lord Jesus Christ and the completed body of believers. Remember when studying Revelation, it is important to rightly discern between something symbolic and something which may be literal. For example, The return of the Lord Jesus Christ is literal and found in four places in Revelation but there is much symbolism describing the events which lead up to the return of Christ in each of those instances. Burn those Prophecy books because they are nothing but agents of confusion.