Marriage Supper of the Lamb - Revelation 19:1-10
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
If you have your Bibles let me invite you to open with me to the book of Revelation chapter 19.
if you are new to St. Rose Community Church we want to welcome you into our study of the book of Revelation…,
We have been working through this book verse by verse for a little over a year now…,
and Lord willing will continue to do so until we complete the book later this Fall.
as you turn to Revelation…,
I want to begin our time together this morning by thinking through two very different kinds of invitations…
When we were in our early twenties,
Anne Marie and I went to Vegas with my uncle…,
and at that time there would be men and women on the streets Of Vegas with little pamphlet advertisements trying to get you to come into their establishments.
Sometimes these little invitations showed a little bit more skin than you intended to see.
Imagine receiving an invitation to one evening at such an establishment…,
it promises one night of fun in Vegas,
complete with drunkenness,
and a twisted kind of physical intimacy.
it promises fun for one night
perhaps with an individual whom you don’t even know there name.
you’ll have to pay a fee
you’ll wake up the next day with a headache, some shame, and hopefully no other consequences.
the individual you were intimate with…, is long gone, never to be seen again, preparing to engage with another client.
And you’ll have to hide that you ever participated in it, because of the way it might hurt others if they knew that you participated
Or the way in which it might effect your reputation or even your employment
but hey…, it will be fun for a moment..,
at least whatever moments you can remember.
Now compare that to another kind of invitation,
like that of a young woman who has been quarted by a young man over time…,
he picks her up,
he opens the car door for her,
he pays for her meal,
he engages in meaningful conversation with her,
he seeks to know her and be known by her…,
and then before the night is over…,
he gets down on one knee
and he invites her into a relationship with him in which he will commit to her for the rest of their lives…,
he gives her a ring as a symbol of their betrothment…,
It’s something she can hold on to as she waits
As they both enter into a season of preparation…,
and a season of waiting for the promise of marriage to be fulfilled..,
The man works during this season of waiting…,
he wants to provide for her,
he wants to prepare a place for her,
and he wants everyone he knows and loves to be able to celebrate her and the occasion of their marriage at a future date…,
she has only to say yes to the invitation…,
she doesn’t have to pay anything or this invitation.…,
she only has to say yes..
but in her joy…, she begins to prepare too..,
she wants to be beautiful for her groom on the day of the promise is fulfilled
she is eager to present herself to him…,
and he is eager to give himself to her…,
According to the book of Revelation:
these are our two options for how we live our lives in this world:
We can live as prostitutes giving ourselves to gods who will in the end only take advantage of us and destroy us…,
OR
we can say yes to Christ Jesus’ invitation to live as the betrothed bride of Christ…, waiting for the fulfillment of his promises to us.
That is the essence of Revelation chapter 19…,
It shows the end result of each invitation.
so lets read and pray for deeper understanding.
1 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
2 for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”
3 Once more they cried out, “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.”
4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!”
5 And from the throne came a voice saying, “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.”
6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready;
8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Lets Pray
In chapter 18, we hear the grief and the wailing of people three times verbally expressing their sorrow over the Fall of the city of Babylon…,
and all those who went the way of the great prostitute.
but now, in contrast,
against the back drop of the godless people grieving over the judgment.
chapter 19 begins with the sound of rejoicing.
1 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
2 for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”
3 Once more they cried out, “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.”
Truth #1 The Prostitute’s Future Judgment Fuels Our Present Worship
Truth #1 The Prostitute’s Future Judgment Fuels Our Present Worship
Its a strange thing…,
to rejoice at the thought of judgment
and it only makes sense if you believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ…,
how can future judgment of the world fuel our joy..,
how can it be praiseworthy of God?
let me give you three reasons from the text why judgment is portrayed as praiseworthy.
Reason #1) God Executes Just judgments.
Reason #1) God Executes Just judgments.
2 for his judgments are true and just;
Nothing unfair will be done on the day of judgment…,
nothing over the top will take place
nothing disproportionate will be executed
nothing undeserving will be distributed
nothing unbecoming of a holy God will happen..,
Every ounce of God’s wrath poured out upon sin and sinners will be a wrath that is justly delivered
Your understanding of God and his holiness must be big enough and deep enough and glorious enough to submit to this reality.
God is the architect of the moral law..,
he created it,
and from the beginning he has promised to hold humanity to it.
And the consequence of sin has always been death and separation from the goodness of God.
Judgment day is a good day because it proves God to be a good Judge…,
of the spiritual prostitution of the world.
You do not want your God to be uncaring, lackadaisical, and indifferent when it comes to dealing with evil in the world…,
He is a good judge and that is a good thing worthy of our praise…,
Reason #2 ) God Proves His Power over His Enemies
Reason #2 ) God Proves His Power over His Enemies
Listen to the emphasis of verse 1.
1 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
notice what God is described to be doing at the end of verse 2.
2 he…has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”
The book of Revelation does not describe a kind of spiritually neutral world but a world of spiritual war….,
the people of God in the first century and throughout the ages are a targeted people..,
they are a persecuted people..,
Real Christians throughout history have been killed for their faith in Jesus
and there have been long seasons where it appears as if evil in the world is winning..,
Perhaps there have been long seasons in your life where it appears as if evil is winning…,
That certainly was the case of these first century Christians under the oppression of Rome..,
but it has often been the case for God’s people so much so that we have Psalms in the Bible that help us to pray, and mourn, and wait for God to do something..,
10 As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?”
11 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.
The promise of future judgment fuels our present joy…,
it is praise worthy…, because we know that one day God will prove himself more powerful than his ell of his enemies….,
Reason #3) God Eradicates Corruption from the Earth
Reason #3) God Eradicates Corruption from the Earth
notice what the sinful way of the prostitute has done to the earth…
2 for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality,
The problem with the world as we know it is that it is a corrupted world.
Sin brought the curse of God into the very creation itself.
And sin is a participation in the corruption…,
the great prostitute is constantly luring you to participate in the very sin that corrupts.
All the while creation itself longs to be renewed…
22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
as we will see with increasing clarity over the coming weeks…
Future judgment of all that is evil,
all of God’s enemies,
and all that is corrupted will not be the end of existence as we know it…,
Rather, the final judgment will make possible the consummation of God’s promises
It will make way for the inauguration of a new world for the people of God…,
Which is why there is a certain group of people who sing Hallelujah and praise God when the final judgment comes…,
They are the servants of God both small and great.
5 And from the throne came a voice saying,
“Praise our God,
all you his servants,
you who fear him,
small and great.”
6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,
“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
the Almighty reigns.
Truth #1 The Prostitute’s Future Judgment Fuels Our Present Worship
Truth #1 The Prostitute’s Future Judgment Fuels Our Present Worship
This is because for the Christian...,
They no longer fit in the category of prostitute who gives themselves away to the gods of this world…
That may describe our past…,
but that does not describe our present relationship to the living God…,
We have been invited to leave the brothel..,
We have been purchased out of the life of spiritual prostitution…,
Though we did not deserve it..,
though there was nothing beautiful or appealing about us…,
the God of heaven entered into our corrupted world…,
he walked among us…,
He kept himself pure from all of our corruptions..,
and he gave us an invitation…
Though we shared a table with his enemies…,
He gave us an invitation to leave the life of spiritual prostitution,
and to become his bride forever in a heavenly and eternal marriage…,
Revelation 19 portrays for us what the moments immediately following final judgment will look like…,
and it paints the picture for us of a marriage supper..,
7 Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
8 it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure”—
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
Truth #2 Our Future Marriage Celebration Fuels Our Present Preparation
Truth #2 Our Future Marriage Celebration Fuels Our Present Preparation
The whole of the Biblical narrative consistently describes the people of God with language drawn from the real life analogy of marriage.
and really the whole process of marriage….,
the betrothment,
the waiting,
the preparation,
and the final consummation.
In the Old Testament, the people of Israel were called adulterers and spiritual prostitutes because of their idolatry and false worship…,
In fact,
the prophet Hosea is called to marry a woman who was unfaithful to him…,
he was commanded to go and purchase her back from the prostitution ring she had sold herself into as a living symbol of what God was going to do with a humanity who was unfaithful to him…,
But, God told Hosea his plan for his people..,
16 “And in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’ 17 For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more. 18 And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety. 19 And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. 20 I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord.
But how was God to betroth sinful people for an eternal relationship with himself?
When Jesus shows up to begin his ministry…,
John the Baptist understands what Jesus has come to accomplish..,
28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ 29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”
When people started to call John the Baptist the Christ…,
he says no no no…,
Jesus is the bridegroom…,
he has come to betroth his bride…,
John says, don’t pay attention to me and miss the main event…,
Someone who directs attention to themselves would be like one of the grooms friends photobombing the engagement pictures…,
the main event is the bridegroom coming to betroth his bride..,
Jesus is the bridegroom…,
and his church is his bride…,
31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
Ephesians 5 is often read to teach us something about marriage..,.
But we should also read it to teach us something about the way Christ Jesus values his church..,
The whole story of the Bible could be told through this theme…,
of a a wayward woman,
being purchased out of her spiritual prostitution,
and being invited to become the bride of a good God.
but its important that we understand rightly the way the analogy unfolds…,
Revelation 19 shows the end of the story…,
the actual coming together of the bride and the bridegroom and the celebration that follows..,
but even in the articulation of that future celebration, we can piece together, how we got there.
And by piecing together the nature of our betrothment…, we can better prepare for the future celebration..,
so let me give you three ways meditating on this future celebration can fuel our present preparation..,
Jesus came to betroth himself to his bride…,
meaning he came to offer the initial invitation..,
so how do we prepare for this future day?
how do we get ready for the wedding to come?
Her are four ways…,
#1) We Accept the Invitation by Grace
#1) We Accept the Invitation by Grace
Notice the way the angel articulates the invitation in verse 9..
9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
This invitation does not come to you because you are worthy enough…,
This invitation comes to you as a blessing from God…,
Notice in verse 8…,
that the bride in this picture does not even provide her own clothes to clothe herself for the occasion…,
it is granted to her.
it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure”—
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
We will talk more about what those clothes are in a moment…,
but for now, just take note that they are granted to her by the grace of God…,
God’s invitation to you to be in relationship with him forever requires only that you accept the invitation by his glorious grace..,.
And that you trust that he alone has paid the adequate bridal price…,
He even provides the clothes you need for the occasion.
In the first century, and in many places today, a bridal price must be paid in advance for a groom to be able to betroth a bride…,
Alexander often jokes that God gave him three girls…, and he aims to bring this tradition back…, so that maybe he can at least get a few bulls and chickens out of the deal…,
When Jesus came he came not only with an invitation to the future celebration…,
he came ready to pay the ultimate bridal price…,
We, like harlots in a brothel, had sold ourselves to sin and death…,
the debt we owed was the penalty for our sin…,
And Jesus paid it…,
There is a reason that this marriage supper is called “The Marriage Supper of the LAMB”
For it was Jesus’ ministry as a sacrificial lamb that makes this union possible.
It was his blood shed on the cross that secured his betrothment to those who would accept his invitation..
so how do we prepare For the wedding?
#2 We Trust that the Bridal Price Has Been Paid by the Blood of Christ
#2 We Trust that the Bridal Price Has Been Paid by the Blood of Christ
In Acts chapter 20, the elders in Ephesus are charged to care for the church of God by proclaiming the word of God to the church faithfully…,
Listen to how Paul articulates the value of the church in God’s eyes.
28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
The bridal price has been paid
and Jesus has now returned to his home to prepare a place for us and to make ready the future and final celebration…,
where the bride and the bridegroom will come together again..
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
So we have the invitation,
the price has been paid,
and now we are in a season of waiting for the groom’s return once the preparations are made.
Several of Jesus’ parables speak to this season of waiting and preparing…,
What do we do while we wait?
Well lets look back at the hymn of praise at the feast..,
7 Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
8 it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure”—
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
#3 We Get Dressed for the Occasion with Deeds of Righteousness
#3 We Get Dressed for the Occasion with Deeds of Righteousness
This is an absolutely beautiful picture of the Christian life…,
We do not believe that we earn our invitation to the wedding by our good deeds...
We do not believe that we pay the bridal price with our good deeds...
But we do love the groom who gave his life for us,
who is preparing a place for us,
and so we want to dress ourselves for the occasion…,
we want to present ourselves to him as beautiful, holy, and obedient people…,
who served him and prepared for him while we waited for him...
Jonathan and Ashley got married yesterday…,
Jonathan got down on one knee last Fall and he offered Ashley an invitation to be betrothed to him..,
When she said yes to the invitation…,
They began making preparations for the consummation of that promise…,
Ashley of course immediately began looking for the dress that she would wear..,
she made preparations for what her hair would look like,
what her make up would look like,
whether she would adorn herself with any jewelry,
Idk what time she started getting ready on Saturday for the 5 PM wedding…,
all I know is that I was here at 7 AM and there were already cars pulling in the parking lot to begin the preparations…
All to prepare for the moment when the back doors swing open…,
and the bride slowly walks toward her groom…,
adorned for the occasion…,
Idk if Jesus will be overcome with emotions and cry like a baby on the last day like Jonathan did…,
but the moment certainly tells us something of what is to come..,
In all of Ashley’s preparation on Saturday there was no fear in Ashley that Jonathan would lift the veil and not like how she exactly did her make up and then just change his mind…,
I don’t think she was afraid he would object if Jonathan didn’t approve of the style of dress she wore..,
She got dressed for the occasion out of love for the groom, that she might present herself to him.
Brothers and sisters…,
Our “getting dressed” for the occasion with good deeds, and our lives of obedience to God’s word…, It is not for the purpose of earning Jesus’ love…,
Jesus already showed his love for us while we were still sinners when he paid the bridal price for us..,
rather we live holy lives now for the purpose of declaring our love for him..,
Our good deeds done on earth will simply be adornments that fuel our worship of Jesus on the last day…,
In fact, unlike any wedding we have been too…,
Our groom is the one who even provides the clothes for us to wear.
Our good deeds are only made possible by his grace…,
he gives us his righteousness..,
he enables us by his spirit
to do real acts of righteousness in this life for his glory…,
When John beholds this future and final marriage supper of the lamb..,
this celebration of joy and worship with the great multitude of the believers in Jesus throughout human history…,
he is overwhelmed…,
He falls down at the feet of the angel offering him the interpretations of what he is seeing and he begins to worship…,
and the angel redirects him…
10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
John has the right response…,
but just directs it in the wrong direction…,
in the moment he is overcome with the glory of what he is seeing….,
and he begins to worship the shining splendor of the angel…,
but the angel does exactly what John the Baptist does…,
Don’t direct the worship at me..,
Im just a servant like you…,
Then he gives John this two word sentence of command…,
Worship God.
Thats what they are doing in their feasting at the marriage supper of the lamb…,
and thats what we are supposed to do as we wait for that day..,
We don’t have to wait for the final consummation to start the celebration..
#4 We Start the Celebration With our Worship Today
#4 We Start the Celebration With our Worship Today
The apostle John was not yet experiencing the marriage supper of the Lamb…,
but he was beholding what it one day will be like…,
and it drove him to worship God from his place in exile On the island of Patmos…,
These doctrines of Future judgment and future marriage celebration fuels our worship in our waiting…,
There is a sense in which we as a church are always preparing for and persevering toward glory…
We do this in our singing,
and in our praying,
and in our obeying,
and in our giving,
and in our discipling.
And we especially do this every time we take the Lord’s Supper together.…
When Jesus was sitting with his disciples the night before his crucifixion…, he gave them a way to worship him in the waiting through the gift of the Lord’s Supper.
Listen to what Jesus says in Luke…
15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. 18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
Jesus instituted this form of worship to be observed by Christians throughout history as we await his return…,
In the Supper, we remind ourselves of what Jesus did to pay the bridal price…,
His body was broken for us,
his blood was poured out for the forgiveness of our sins,
he made possible a new covenant relationship with him by his blood...
the cup and the bread remind us of these things…,
but they also point forward to a future day…,
where we will enjoy table fellowship with our God forever.
Paul says that every time we take the Lord’s Supper…, “we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes”
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb is the fulfillment of what the Lord’s Supper points us to every time we take it.
So there is an anticipatory aspect to our worship…,
We are worshipping Jesus for what he did…,
AND we are longingly looking forward to what he will do when he returns for his bride..,
so lets do that together…,
Drew and the worship team are going to make their way up now
And lead us in singing to this Jesus…,
while we sing..,
our ushers are going to begin handing out the elements of the Lord’s Supper
The bread and the cup is ONLY for those who have accepted the invitation of Jesus…
It is ONLY for those who have put their faith in Jesus, and who have professed that Faith through baptism.
It is NOT for those who have been disciplined from a church because of their unrepentance…,
The Bible says this is a time for examining ourselves To see whether we are a part of the bride of Christ or not.
If you are not, then we ask you to just pass the plate, and spend some time confessing your sin, and praying to God that he might give you saving faith in Jesus.
And if that is you, and you’d want to accept the invitation of Jesus to follow him, but you just don’t know how…,
we would love to answer your questions,
and walk with you through what it looks like to be a disciple of Christ Jesus.
Now.., lets prepare our hearts to participate in this celebratory act of worship..,
Lets accept the invitation to the table,
get dressed for the occasion,
and start the celebration..
Lords Supper
16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
I want to remind you that this supper is a symbol of our unity with Jesus,
and the table fellowship we share with him now and forever…,
but it is also a symbol of our unity to each other.
that’s why this is only for those who are born again and baptized Christians,
it is a family meal…,
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Lets take the bread together
In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
Lets take the cup together
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Lets proclaim together through one more song.
