You Have Been Invited to a Wedding Banquet
“Let us rejoice and exult 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.” Revelation 19:7, 8
The presence of Jesus at the wedding in Cana in Galilee, in John, chapter 2, foreshadows other weddings in the Bible. The Bible will use the image of marriage and weddings in a number of places. John the Baptist will refer to himself as the friend of the bridegroom. It is not the friend of the groom who has the bride, says John. Jesus is the groom to whom the church comes. John testified that he rejoiced to hear the voice of the groom (John 3:29). “He,” said John, “must increase and I must decrease.”
Jesus told a number of parables about weddings. In one ten virgins waited for the groom to arrive. Only five were wise, however, and had brought oil for their lamps. When the groom arrived late, the foolish virgins were not prepared. Jesus told the parable to encourage everyone to be watchful for the Lord’s coming.
He also described the kingdom of heaven as a great wedding feast that God had prepared. When everything was ready, the servants called the guests to attend. When they made excuses, the king ordered the servants to call others so that his feast would be full. “For those who refused my invitation,” said the king, “will not taste of my banquet” (Matthew 22:1-14).
When the apostle Paul talked about marriage in the book of Ephesians, he encouraged husbands to love their wives and wives to respect their husbands. Then Paul said that he was talking about a great mystery, which is Christ and the church. Christ is the great bridegroom for the church and she is his bride, whom the Holy Spirit is at work to present to him without spot or blemish (Ephesians 5:22-33).
The end of the book of Revelation culminates in the victory of Christ over all evil, death, and suffering. Part of the great culmination of all things will be the union of Christ with his church. Revelation, chapter 19, calls it the wedding feast of the Lamb. Only those with faith in Jesus will be invited to this great event; it will be the greatest of blessings to be part of this great marriage in heaven. A new heaven and new earth will descend from heaven, says Revelation, chapter 21. The New Jerusalem will descend from God “as a bride adorned for her husband.” God will dwell with his people and be their light. He will wipe every tear from their eyes and death will be no more. All things will find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ and God’s kingdom will reign forever and ever.
What a marvelous set of promises. They are promises of union, intimacy, and communion with God himself and with Jesus Christ. What greater hope could we have than to see God face to face, know him fully as we are fully known, and live for eternity in the kingdom of God. How great are God’s promises to us. The book of Revelation ends with this prayer. “The Spirit and the Bride say ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”