THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB

Rev 19:8-10 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. 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. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Verse 7 conveniently, and contextually, leads us into the study of the verses of this lesson, that is, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready. The Lamb of God is His Son, Christ Jesus. In Isaiah 53:7 our Savior was prophesied to become a sacrificial Lamb. John the Baptist presented Jesus as the Lamb of God to the Jewish nation, and the apostle John recorded it for posterity (John 1:29). We find in Acts 8:32-35, Philip preached Jesus, as a Lamb that was led to slaughter, to the Ethiopian eunuch, and Luke recorded that sermon for the world to read and understand. In Revelation 5:6 & 13, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God, John confirms Jesus to be the sacrificial Lamb telling us to give Him due praise and adoration throughout eternity - for ever and ever. That Jesus is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world, was also prophesied in Isaiah 54:4-6, 62:4-5 and confirmed in the New Testament. 2 Corinthians 11:2 tells us that the bride of Christ is His church, which was presented to Him as a chaste virgin. Within this holy marriage, Christ Jesus is depicted as the Husband and Head of His church, whom He loved..., and gave Himself for it (See Eph. 5:23-33).

Now the church of Christ, His wife, hath made herself ready for that glorious and eternal wedding. In this analogy the bride-to-be, that is, the church of Christ, was granted the privilege to prepare herself for her wedding to our Lord Jesus Christ. Although she made herself ready, it seems that the wedding apparel was selected specifically for her to represent her innocence, purity, and holiness. In order to spiritually represent these godly characteristics, the garments that were to adorn Christ's bride were made of fine linen, clean and white. By divine inspiration the apostle John insinuates that the wedding garments of the bride were symbolically woven by the pure and holy lives of saints, who are the faithful members of the church of Christ. This righteousness of Christians is not merited but is imputed by the forbearance of God to all that, through faith in the shed blood of Christ Jesus as the Savior, received the remission of their sins through believing baptism into His body - His church (See Rom. 3:25-26).

The Bridegroom, Christ Jesus, is now seated at the right hand of His Heavenly Father. All things are ready for His marriage to His bride - His church through which God's plan of eternal salvation is extended to all people of the world. The bride is attired in clean, white, pure, and holy wedding garments suitable for this holy marriage. And, at the command of God's messenger, the angel instructed John to Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. Who are these that are called to this marriage feast, and who called them? First of all, we know that the whole world has been called by God, through the Holy Spirit-inspired, New Testament gospel message of salvation. We also know that only those believing and accepting Jesus as their Savior; those that repent of their past sins, and submit to water baptism for the remission of their sins; only those are added, by God, to His church. Therefore, they which are called to the marriage feast of Christ and His church are those that, through obedience to God's will, have become members of this body, and wear the name Christian. His inspired word assures us of this. We know that the saints in Christ are the called, and that God did the calling (Rom. 8:28-30, 1 Cor. 1:9, Phil. 3:14, 1 Thess. 2:11-13, 2 Tim. 1:9, Heb. 3:1).

The angel, sent by God to deliver this message to the apostle John, affirms to him, and to us through him, the extreme importance of this teaching by saying: These are the true sayings of God. To the persecuted Christians of that era, and to all followers of Christ thereafter, God wants us to know, without any doubt, that Jesus Christ, and His church, will prevail and triumph over all Satan-inspired evils of the world. With this assurance of God's wisdom and guidance, we will be able to confront, and overcome, all trials and tribulations of this world, find inspiration in doing so, and rejoice evermore in His presence at the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Having heard God's inspired message from this angel, John fell at his feet to worship him. Although this was a common practice to demonstrate respect and admiration from one to another, this incident should serve to assure all Christians that we are not to worship any other creature in heaven or earth, other than God, Himself. Certainly the practice within the apostate Catholic religious order was to "worship" their papal head as well as certain other images as designated by popes. Here, in the lesson text, as soon as John expressed this form of adoration, He was sternly rebuked by the angel who said: See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant. We find a similar incident in Revelation 22:8-9, where John I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel. Likewise John was reprimanded in these words: See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book. In that text, as well as the lesson text, John was told to worship no other creature in heaven or upon the earth, but instead to worship God.

Indeed, the whole duty of angels during this Revelation, the complete duty of the apostle John, and the sole responsibility of Christians of all ages, is to teach, by the things we say and do, the soul-saving, prophetic testimony of Jesus.