Your Invitation to the Wedding.
Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let’s rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has prepared herself.” It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. – Rev 19:6-8. NASB
Two thousand years ago, Christ left His heavenly home to invite His followers to a wedding supper (Matt. 22:1–14) that will take place after His marriage to His bride. The marriage represents the reception by Christ of His kingdom. The Holy City, the New Jerusalem is called ‘the bride, the Lamb’s wife.’ In Revelation the people of God are said to be the guests at the marriage supper. (Revelation 19:9.) If guests, they cannot be represented also as the bride. In the parable of Matthew 22 the same figure of the marriage is introduced, and the investigative judgment is clearly represented as taking place before the marriage. Before the wedding the king comes in to see the guests, to see if all are attired in the wedding garment, the spotless robe of character washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb. Matthew 22:11; Revelation 7:14
After His death and resurrection, the Bridegroom returned to His Father’s house to “prepare a place” for His people, His wedding guests (see John 14:1–3). They remain on earth preparing for His return. At the end of the world, He will come back and take them to His Father’s house. Revelation 19:8 states that the fine and clean linen was given to the bride by Christ. This apparel shows that the wedding guests who enter the city do not claim any merit for their deeds. Thus, the “fine linen, clean and bright” represents “the righteous acts of the saints”, acts that came as a result of their union with Christ, who lives in them.
Thus, these robes symbolize His righteousness and that His people “keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (Rev. 14:12).
While on earth, Jesus told a parable about a wedding. However, one of the guests preferred to wear his own attire instead of the wedding garment provided by the king, and he was expelled from the wedding (Matt. 22:1–14). Revelation 3:18 shows that the robe of Christ’s righteousness, the gold of faith and love, and the eye salve of the Holy Spirit are the greatest needs of God’s people living at the time of the end. Jesus’ offer that the Laodiceans “buy” these gifts from Him shows us that He asks for something in exchange for what He offers us. We give up self-sufficiency and trust in ourselves in exchange for a life of faithful obedience to Christ and trust in Him as our only hope of salvation.
The background here is an oriental marriage: the dowry was paid at Calvary (justification by faith) and the betrothed (the church) has been getting ready for the feast (Sanctification). After a long wait (Matt 25:1-13) The bridegroom comes from the Father’s house and gathers His bride home to the celebration (glorification).
What is a symbol here, will soon become literal! The first thing we do in heaven after our triumphal return is worship and celebrate!
The bride of the Lamb at the end of history wears “the righteous actions of the saints” like a wedding garment. They are visible on the outside yet representative of something deeper and even more important, character. The outward actions arise from within. The word righteous as in the Greek ‘dikaioma’ literally means “Judicial appointment.” In another parable, Jesus said the wedding garment is a gift, but also a requirement of accepting the invitation (Matt 22:11-12.)
This reminds me of how we inadvertently named our 3rdson after a famous athlete. Jesse sounded like a good Biblical name and my middle name was Owen so the combination had a good ring to it. It was only later, that we realised what we had done.
Jesse Owens grew up as a young black man in a world dominated by whites. Overcoming many barriers, he made the Olympic team, only to face the greatest challenge of his career. Adolph Hitler’s master race ideal. When Owens won his fourth gold medal, he became the hero of the games to everyone but Hitler. The dictator looked unbeatable at the time and German athletes dominated the 1936 Olympics on the whole. But one African-American was all it took to expose the lie of a master race.
Character is the sum total of many choices and actions over a long period of time. Character is not made in a crisis; it is revealed in a crisis. The sportsmanship and behaviour of Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics was a beautiful garment that bore witness to the character developed over a lifetime.
Our first son, who died at birth, will meet his parents and siblings for the first time at this celebration! You are invited to the celebration! The invitation is free – faith is the hand that accepts the gift.
And, oh, what a glorious day.
It makes my heart beat faster, with joy and anticipation as I read these passages.
I can,t wait for this glorious day