8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.) 9 Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” 10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.” ~ Revelation 19:8-10
Today, we continue our study of the book of the Revelation. Even though there are an awful lot of scenes of God's judgment in this book, the main event is the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth. This is why I call this chapter the crescendo chapter of the book.
In v.8 we read, "Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)"
As the bride of Christ, God uses the symbol of a wedding gown to represent the righteous acts of those who believe in the Lord Jesus as our Savior. The lavishness of our gown will largely be determined upon our obedience and service to the Lord Jesus right now on the earth. We're not saved by good works, we're saved by faith in the finished work of Christ, alone. But, our position in His kingdom and our rewards will be determined by what we do with our time, talents, and treasures, now on the earth. The Lord Jesus said, "store up for yourselves treasures in heaven."
The image of a marriage is often used in Scripture because it was the single greatest celebration known in that part of the ancient world. In ancient times, weddings had three parts: the betrothal, the presentation, and the ceremony.
Just prior to the actual wedding itself, there was a time of festivities which led up to the actual wedding ceremony. The festivities would last several days, even a week. And, back then, the bridegroom was the center of the wedding, not the bride. And, he would present his bride to His friends and guests, and they would feast together.
The bridegroom would go to the house of the bride and he would then get his bride, along with her maidens, and take them to his house, and there the festivities would begin as he presented his bride. That led to the third component in a marriage, which was the ceremony, the actual exchanging of vows.
The ceremony and that final hour after that final meal when the vows were shared and the marriage was then consummated was the main event. That’s what really brought everyone together. And by the way, understanding all of this helps us to understand why Joseph was so upset when Mary was found to be with child because they were only betrothed or engaged, they had not been married.
One day, when the Rapture happens, the church will be taken to heaven to be presented as the Bride of Christ. In John 14 the Lord Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go, I’ll come again and take you to be with me." This verse carries the picture of a bridegroom who goes away to get the place ready and he comes back to get his bride, and he takes her to the place he had prepared in his father’s house.
In v.9-10 we read, "9 Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” 10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus."
It is a great honor to be invited to this wedding feast. And, the invitation is nothing less than the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ which goes out to all men and women everywhere. Right now, we are in phase one of this arrangement. Right now, we have no physical contact with the Lord Jesus, but we love Him, and we are getting to know Him, and one day soon He will come for us.
At the end of v.10 we read, "For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus." In the Bible, there are roughly 330 predictions of the Lord Jesus. The odds of one man in history fulfilling 8 of those 330 prophecies would be 1 in 10 to the 17th power. The odds of that happening would be like if we filled the state of Georgia two-feet thick filled with silver dollars, mark one in advance, hide it, have somebody blindfold walk through the entire state, the odds that he would find the one that we marked would be 1 in 10 to the 17th power. Unbelievable but true! The Lord Jesus Christ is the long awaited Groom of the bride.
