Lesson 58

Revelation - Study of Things to Come

The Return of Christ - Chapter 19

Marriage of the Lamb - Christ & church

Why is the relationship of believers and Christ expressed as a marriage?

What then is the meaning conveyed by the Lamb marrying the church?

#1 The point of commitment is the betrothal;

* So important was the betrothal that if it was broken off, it necessitated a formal divorce.

#2 Preparation for the wedding; period between the commitment and the consummation!

#3 Presentation; Bride and groom brought together; Rapture of the church

#4 Celebration; wedding feast with guests.

Rev 19:7 last phrase - and his bride has made herself ready.

Question to ask is How has the bride, the church, made herself ready for Christ??

1. First by believing in Christ! being born again. w/o regen no salv. Jn 3

2. By preparation through spiritual growth during their life on earth.

3. The bride is also made ready by the rapture and the bema seat.

- 1 Ths 4:13-17 details the rapture; that gets us there; His doing, His timing.

- Bema seat = the evaluation of the believers life; (Eph 2:10); 2 Cor 5:10; 1 Cor 3:10-15;

19:8 The Wedding dress, fine linen

#1 "And it was given to her ,"

#2 "to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints."

So the preparation of the bride emphasized here is #1 by salvation! and #2 by obedience to the Word of God; which results in bright, clean wedding clothes.

2. The Marriage Supper (its participants) 19:9-10

- Who are the blessed here? Those invited to the marriage supper!

The bride and the Groom need no invitation to the feast.

- Those invited to the wedding feast are the saints of Israel, and the martyrs of the Tribulation period.

Therefore this celebration, this marriage supper takes place on the earth at the beginning of the Millennial reign of Christ.

This is not the first, nor will it be the last time that John does this. 22:8-9; 1:17

In this one here and in 22:8-9 he is rebuked for doing so; but not in 1:17!

Not only is John reminded that the vision is given by a fellow servant but more important is that he reiterates for us the central focus of all prophecy, Jesus Christ;

The next section brings into focus the center piece, the main event on the prophetic calendar; The return of Christ, the Second coming!