Here Comes the Bride
Notes
Transcript
v.1:
"After these things", this brings us to the close of the great tribulation.
In fact, with the closing of the tribulation, we are about to witness the most blessed and thrilling event a believer will ever experience. . . The marriage supper of the lamb.
In anticipation of this glorious event, we see jubilant praise
ringing throughout heaven.
A series of alleluia's.
The first one is for the salvation of the saints. If t weren't for salvation, this marriage wouldn't be possible.
vv.2-3:
The second alleluia is for God's justice.
He will judge sin.
He will avenge the blood of His children.
He will crush man's rebellion once and for all.
vv.4-6:
The next alleluia is praise for God's power and sovereignty.
In short, His Lordship!
v.7:
Lastly, we see praise for God's communion with His people.
With this, the bride is made ready.
At the time this was written, a marriage was a long event.
From the betrothal to the feast, it could take up to seven years.
The church was betrothed to Christ, by His choosing, in eternity past.
The church was betrothed to Christ, by His choosing, in eternity past.
Ephesians 1:4
Ephesians 1:4
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
The church will be presented to Him at the rapture.
v.8:
This meal will signal the end of the marriage ceremony.
The church is the great object of Christ's love, and what a deep love He has for her.
The church is the great object of Christ’s love.
The church is the great object of Christ’s love.
Ephesians 5:25-28
Ephesians 5:25-28
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.
Christ's love for the church is the model for the love that a man should have for his wife. It creates a bond that no man can break.
Christ's love for the church is the model for the love that a man should have for his wife. It creates a bond that no man can break.
Matthew 19:6
Matthew 19:6
So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
If a man doesn't have this kind of love toward his bride, then he needs to seriously work on his commitment toward the marriage.
With that in mind, I can only imagine just how dear the church is to Christ.
Paul labored to present the church to Christ as a pure virgin. He was concerned that others would corrupt their purity.
Paul labored to present the church to Christ as a pure virgin. He was concerned that others would corrupt their purity.
2 Corinthians 11:2-3
2 Corinthians 11:2-3
For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
The truth is, we fail our bridegroom in many ways, but He still awaits us at the altar.
We have mocked Him, denied Him, ignored Him, trampled on His word, compartmentalized Him and relegated Him to just another corner of our lives, yet His faithfulness never fails us.
We have given Him more than enough reason to call off the wedding. Yet He awaits us at the altar.
We don't deserve His loyalty and faithfulness, but He graciously awaits us at the altar.
We compromise His Word, yet He will never break HIs promise.
Our bridegroom is the embodiment of love.
Our bridegroom is the embodiment of love.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
Jesus is all of these things, but most of all, He never fails.
v.9:
The ceremony would always involve guests, and to be a guest at this feast is a great blessing.
Who are these guests?
Well, the bride is the church, so that includes all of the saints (saved) from the day of Pentecost (the birth of the church), to the time of the rapture (the removal of the church).
The guests will include the rest of the saved, which would be the Old Testament saints, and those who are saved during the rapture.
Though they are not the bride, they still are glorified and will reign with Christ in the millennium.
The difference is more so in the imagery, rather than the end result.
In reality, the church and the rest of the saints are all glorified in like manner. You could say that they are functionally equivalent.
v.10:
"For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” - Prophecy comes only from God, and Jesus is the center of it.
The central theme of both OT prophecy and NT preaching is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Sharing the Gospel, in both word and deed, should be our primary business as we await our call to meet our Bridegroom.
