Tuesday, December 22 –
We move towards the end of the
book of Revelation. I want to remind you
we will have readings today, tomorrow, and the weekend, but not on Thursday or
Friday – Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Today’s reading is from Revelation 19:1 – 10. Please read this short section first before
returning here.
Bible scholars refer to the second coming of Christ as the Parousia,
which in Greek means “coming”. The
second coming of Christ isn’t introduced first in the book of Revelation. Jesus talked about his return, and at his
ascension to heaven, the angels came to the disciples – “And while they were
gazing into heaven as he [Jesus]went, behold, two men stood by them in white
robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This
Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you
saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:10-11).
Revelation 19 gives us two
contrasting pictures of the end-time. On
the one hand it closes with praise to God for the judgments on Satan’s Babylon,
and on the other hand, it describes the meeting of the redeemed in heaven with
Jesus at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
There are numerous references to “Hallelujah” (four times in the first
six verses). Hallelujah means “Praise to
Yahweh, or Praise the LORD”. There are
three groups that ascribe Praise to God – the Saints in heaven (19:1-3), the
twenty-four elders around the throne (19:4), and the great multitude that we’ve
seen from the nations (19:5-6). It was
after the final judgment on Babylon that John sees the first celebration which
occurs because evil has been destroyed by the power of God –
“After this I heard what seemed
to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, “Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and
just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her
immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.” Once more
they cried out, “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever” (19:1-3).
Can we even imagine a world
without evil? It will occur, and we will
rejoice in it. The second celebration
comes from the twenty-four elders because they see that the Lord reigns –
“And the twenty-four elders and
the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the
throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” And from the throne came a voice
saying, “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and
great” (19:4-5).
The invitation comes from the
throne room of God that all of the saints are welcomed to come and worship the
Lord. This elicits further praise as the
great multitude of heaven’s saints enter into worship for Christ’s victory and
God’s Kingdom is in control -
“Then I heard what seemed to be
the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound
of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the
Almighty reigns. 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” (19:6-8).
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
is mysteriously beautiful. The church is
the bride of Christ, and the saints are arrayed in clothing that is bright and
pure. We imagine a vast banquet setting
in heaven and wonder what it will look like and where we will be. The marriage supper though is not primarily a
feast but the presence of the Lamb – Jesus – among his church. When Jesus met with his disciples for their
last supper on earth, he had broken bread and they had drunk the wine with the
solemn words spoken – “I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of
the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Matthew
26:29). Now that time has come.
The great 19th
century preacher, J.C. Ryle wrote: “The second coming of Christ shall be
utterly unlike the first. He came the first time in weakness, a tender infant,
born of a poor woman in the manger at Bethlehem, unnoticed, unhonored, and
scarcely known. He shall come the second time in royal dignity, with the armies
of heaven around Him, to be known, recognized and feared, by all the tribes of
the earth.
“He came the first time to suffer – to bear our sins, to be reckoned a curse,
to be despised, rejected, unjustly condemned and slain. He shall come the
second time to reign – to put down every enemy beneath His feet, to take the
kingdom of this world for His inheritance, to rule them with righteousness, to
judge all men and to live forevermore. “How vast the difference! How mighty the
contrast!”[1]
The judgments have largely
ended and Christ is on the throne as the one who owns the deeds of the
earth. All of the opposition against Christ
and the Gospel are now gone. John is
overwhelmed as he stands in awe of what he sees –
“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.” Then I fell
down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am
a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus.
Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (19:9-10).
The assurance that the angel
gives is that the saints are invited to this communion with Jesus and that all
of this is the “true words of God”. “Write
this”, the angel says to John – it is truth, the wedding feast is
here. John falls down in an act of obeisance
to the angel, and is immediately told, “you must not do that…worship God”. It is Jesus that this book pointed to and it
is the throne room of God that is the direction of our worship.
The great 19th century
preacher, Charles Spurgeon wrote of this so eloquently: “there shall come a
day when we shall see him face to face, and then we shall know him with a
clearer and fuller knowledge than is possible to us to-day. What that bliss
will be, I cannot tell. Oh, the ineffable brightness when we shall see the face
of Jesus! Oh, the unspeakable sweetness when we shall hear his voice! Oh, the
amazing bliss when he shall manifest himself to us in all his glory! And there
will come such a day for all whom he has redeemed, for all who trust him, and
rest in his atoning sacrifice. That will be the marriage supper of the Lamb. [2]
Peace
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