The Bride has made herself Ready
Notes
Transcript
Handout
The Bride has made herself Ready
The Bride has made herself Ready
Intro
Story of Telemarketer Jesus Loves you!
opening scripture
After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,
“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God;
because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her.”
And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises up forever and ever.”
And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!”
And a voice came from the throne, saying,
“Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.”
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 us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.”
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.
Let pray
This passage of scripture is given to us to Christians so that we keep on track.....stay the course.....give us a destination to shoot for
One of Jesus’s 12 disciples John was exiled to the greek island of patmos
Late in the first century, the Apostle John was living in Ephesus preaching the Gospel, teaching the Scriptures, and helping lead the church.
Historians also maintain that he wrote his Gospel and three epistles in Ephesus,
John 1 John 2 John 3rd John
He was pretty outspoken against pagan worship there.
In fact His desire to preach the truth of the Gospel landed Him in hot water with the Roman Emperor Domitian.
Roman historians described Domitian as a violent madman who persecuted Christians.
He was also a believer in prophetic omens, and he was one of the few emperors who insisted on calling himself a god during his reign.
In about 86 AD, a temple to Domitian was built in Ephesus.
At the same time, the people of Ephesus were forced to worship and make sacrifices to Domitian,
practices that would have certainly been denounced by John.
John’s opposition to emperor worship, in addition to his continued preaching of the Gospel, ultimately reached the ear of Domitian and prompted him to take action.
In 94 AD, the 14th year of the reign of Emperor Domitian, the elderly John the Apostle was exiled to the island of Patmos.
the important thing with this is to know is this revelation was given after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD
after the reign of Nero 54-68 AD
John is the last living disciple on the face of the earth
While exiled John had a vision of the future and recorded in it what we can read today called the book of Revelation
Now admittedly this book is not the easiest book to understand
When we talk about end times it can lead to one of the most controversial divisions in the church.
Pre Mid Post tribulation
Pre Post A Millenialism
view points have all been hotly debated for centuries
some of these topics will never be proven until we are on the other side of heaven.
But some are very open to understanding
1 such topic is here in
“Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.”
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.
There are many events that take place in the book of revelation, but they seem to culminate around this one great event.
The Marriage supper of the Lamb
The Marriage supper of the Lamb
Jesus is the Lamb
Jesus is the Lamb
“And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.
The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
The Bride is the Church
The Bride is the Church
For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,
so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.
The Marriage Supper
The Marriage Supper
There are 3 parts to a Traditional Jewish Wedding feast
1. A marriage contract
1. A marriage contract
Wedding customs in the time of Christ were signed by the parents of the bride and the bridegroom. Additionally, this contract was signed by the parents of the bridegroom, and the bridegroom himself would pay a dowry (down payment) to the bride or her parents.
Such a process began the betrothal period, which today would be called the engagement. One example of this was the one Joseph and Mary were in when Mary was found to be with baby Jesus in the womb (Matthew 1:18; Luke 2:5).
2. A Torchlight Parade Through the Streets.
2. A Torchlight Parade Through the Streets.
The bridegroom accompanied by his male friends went to the house of the bride at midnight, creating a torchlight parade through the streets.
Such a parade would not be a surprise to the bride as she knew well in advance such an event was taking place so she would be ready with her maidens.
They would then all join the parade and end up at the bridegroom's home.
Such a custom is the basis of the Parable of the Ten Virgins in Matthew 25:1-13.
3. The Marriage Supper Itself.
3. The Marriage Supper Itself.
During the time of Jesus, the marriage supper itself would go on for days as illustrated by the wedding at Cana in John 2:1-2.
The events described by Jesus in Revelation 19:7-10 describe the third phase of the wedding feast the marriage supper of the Lamb.
John isn’t meaning to skip the first two phases of the wedding feast customs but is communicating they already have happened.
The first phase was completed on earth when each individual Christian placed his or her faith in Jesus Christ.
The dowry, in this case, was paid by the bridegroom's parent (God the Father) because of the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the Bride’s behalf.
The Church is betrothed to Christ much the same way as the wise virgin in the parable.
All Christians should be watching and waiting for the appearance of the Bridegroom the Lord Jesus (2 Timothy 4:8).
The second phase picture, when Christ comes to claim His bride and take the Church to the Father’s house.
The Marriage Supper follows as the third and final step and is a glorious celebration of all who are in Christ Jesus.
“Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.”
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.
The Bride has made herself ready
The Bride has made herself ready
If we are the saints, and the Church is the Bride of Christ, How do we make ourselves ready?
Righteous acts of the saints
Righteous acts of the saints
Who’s a saint?
def: The word “saint” comes from the Greek word hagios, which means “consecrated to God, holy, sacred, pious."
that you receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and that you help her in whatever matter she may have need of you; for she herself has also been a helper of many, and of myself as well.
for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
If you are saved through faith you are a saint.
If you are saved through faith you are a saint.
To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:
Righteous Acts
Righteous Acts
def: the things your do to promote the Love on God to your fellow man
Obedience to Christ
Obedience to Christ
“Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
God has given us a set of laws and principles by which we are to live by.
He told us how we are to act and what we are to do.
By doing these things we know that we are children of God, and that His Holy Spirit is dwelling inside of us!
We need to do the things Jesus Told us to do!
We need to do the things Jesus Told us to do!
A. Love your enemies and pray for them,
A. Love your enemies and pray for them,
“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
“Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.
“Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.
“Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
“If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
“If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.
“But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
B. Help those in need
B. Help those in need
“In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’
“Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?
‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?
‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
“The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
C. Forgive Others
C. Forgive Others
Forgive others as your Father in heaven has forgiven you!
Do not seek vengeance, nor hold trespasses in your heart, for it will bring about bitterness, strife, and destruction.
“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
“But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
Those who are forgiven more will love more!
“For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
D. Live in Peace
D. Live in Peace
Live in peace, seek peace, and the righteous will live by peace!
If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.
And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
E. Make Disciples
E. Make Disciples
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Conclusion
Just like a bride prepares for here wedding day.
God reminds the church the day is coming when we will be united with our bridegroom...