With the Sword
Revelation • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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One of the major highlights of my life was my marriage to Yadi in her native Mexico, in 2003.
Now, some of you may know, we were married twice in less than a year.
You see, because our plan was for her to come to join me here in the US where we would eventually raise 5 children,
One daughter, three boys, and a grand daughter,
We had to follow the laws and apply for her immigration to the Unites States.
Together, we honored God and our marriage by not joining together as man and wife even though it was legal to do so.
We waited an additional nine months until the date of our religious Wedding,
Where we were married before God in Yadi’s village church.
For entertainment I had booked a popular music act, and before I knew it,
our wedding was the talk of most of the region.
Even though her nor I knew many of the people who arrived at our wedding reception,
They had heard about us and our upcoming wedding.
I learned about the popularity of our wedding the day before as I went for a haircut.
Their were a few of us from the wedding party there to get cuts, and the lady cutting hair asked what the big deal was that we all had to get our hair cut
One of the guys pointed at me saying, “He’s getting married tomorrow”
She looked at me as said, “Oh so you’re the one from Chicago, getting married.”
I said, yes, how did you know?
She said, “I’ve had so many people come in today for cuts, with all of them saying their going to some big wedding dance”
She was so appreciative of the uptick in business my wedding brought her, she cut my hair for free.
That’s a true story.
Another local guy in our neighborhood in Chicago whom I barely knew stopped me in the street once after that
He said, “Congratulations on your wedding.”
I said thank, how did you know?
He said, I was just in Mexico, and I saw your wedding Photo on display in the window of the photographer.
Yadi and I were famous and didn’t even know it.
Now looking back, I finally understood why people would gawk at us where ever we went.
I was always checking my pants to make sure they were closed and constantly looking in the mirror thinking,
“What are all those people staring at me for?”
Ha, they had all seen this foreigner for who knows how long displayed in the big store front window right in the middle of town
Speaking of weddings,
Here we are now at the last few chapters of the book of Revelation.
We are entering chapter 19.
In the last chapter, we saw the physical destruction of the literal city of Babylon.
the beginning of chapter 19 picks up right where the last chapter left off.
Babylon is finished, gone away!
It tells us that heaven rejoiced, worshiped and proclaimed the glory of the Lord,
as the smoke of the burning city was rising, it says forever.
But then the second paragraph begins with the idiom of a Multitude as the sound of many waters.
In the scriptures, waters, and seas usually refer to many peoples.
The second paragraph says many peoples shouted out, hallelujah for the Lord almighty reigns, and to give Him glory because the marriage supper of the Lamb has come.
6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”
As I said before, the book of Revelation is the culmination of the entire Bible at the END times.
What believers have to look forward to, is sitting at the Marriage feast table with the Lord Jesus.
From this point on for the believer, we step our next steps into eternity with the Lord.
The entire was written about the coming of Jesus and the fulfillment of His promises to the world.
He has taught to always be ready for for the hour of his coming.
In the beginning chapters of the Book of Revelation for instance, were told that blessed is the reader of this book,
And in other places to be ready for His coming.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
When Jesus spoke on the mount of Olives, also known as the Olivet Discourse, He explicitly warned the reader to always be ready for His return.
His return would be accompanied by the Marriage Supper of the Lamb here in this chapter 19 of Revelation.
36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. 42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
I don’t think Jesus could’ve been any clearer!
Be ready or be left behind.
If you are left behind, you won’t be able to attend this coming blessed Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
The Marriage Supper is the eternal union of His church, the believers and Himself.
The reunited in a the literal sense of the broken relationship between Adam, (which actually means Man) and his creator God.
All that transpired to play out God’s divine plan of redemption will be brought to a close.
The END!
Let me be clear,
There will be no chance for you enter into heaven and attend this Marriage Supper unless you have a ticket.
The Blood of Jesus is the ticket in.
Jesus even spoke about this in a parable about ten virgins.
1 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. 11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
He said the Kingdom of heaven is like these virgins, both groups.
The five that were ready, and the five who weren’t
Heaven came on them at the flip of a switch so-to-speak.
There were convinced and sure of the grooms coming, but they didn’t know when.
Because these five dropped the ball, and didn’t take the coming seriously, they were left out.
Shut out!
Brothers and Sisters of Anna and those watching on live stream.
The Bible is very clear, and so are most Gospel preachers, that are warning you about it.
Jesus is coming back. He is the Groom and we, the church is his bride.
We are to be reunited with our very creator, just as Adam walked with God in the cool of the day,
We the believing church will sit and dine with him at a table prepared for us by Him.
Isaiah spoke alluded to this feast about 700 years before Jesus was ever born.
Sharon, our church clerk, and I had a conversation about this very thing early yesterday morning.
About my use of the phrase that Jesus is in every Chapter of the Bible.
Isaiah may not have even known about what he was saying, but God knew.
that soon, at an hour that only He knows, Jesus would be coming back to fulfill this prophecy.
6 And in this mountain The Lord of hosts will make for all people A feast of choice pieces, A feast of wines on the lees, Of fat things full of marrow, Of well-refined wines on the lees. 7 And He will destroy on this mountain The surface of the covering cast over all people, And the veil that is spread over all nations. 8 He will swallow up death forever, And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the Lord has spoken. 9 And it will be said in that day: “Behold, this is our God; We have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; We have waited for Him; We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”
Amen!
God takes marriage very seriously.
As you can see here in these passages, that the ultimate reconciliation is celebrated as a marriage between the church and Himself.
Let’s read this other parable on how serious God takes the wedding.
1 And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, 3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. 4 Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.” ’ 5 But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. 6 And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. 7 But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ 10 So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. 12 So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
When that day comes for you and I, will you be found ready for the wedding feast?
Or will you be found without the proper covering?
At the en of chapter 19 it closes with the destruction of the dreaded beast, and the false prophet.
17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, 18 that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.” 19 And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. 20 Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.
Even the birds of the air get to have their feast as well, dining on the rotting bodies of those who lost.
Not just regular everyday people, but Kings of nations.
After throwing both the beast and the false prophet into the lake of fire,
He then slaughters the rest with the sword that comes from His mouth.
The sword that comes from His mouth is the gospel.
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
So my challenge to you all here today and listening to my voice is this,
Is your lamp full of oil?
Are you dressed appropriately for the coming wedding?
Are you ready for the coming wedding feast?
or will you be cast into the lake of burning fire?
You choose!
As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
