Hallelujah
True Story: God's Vision for His Church • Sermon • Submitted
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· 34 viewsHallelujah! God saves His bride!
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ME: Intro - Are we there yet?
ME: Intro - Are we there yet?
Are we there yet? Road trip to Dover
Growing up,
My family and I never really travelled that far.
Usually our vacation would be camping at Bowman Lake.
Until one summer, my father told me that he had gotten four tickets to Dover International Raceway in Dover, Delaware!
As a kid, I was a big NASCAR fan,
Making this trip a dream come true for me!
Unfortunately, it required this hyperactive kid who has never travelled very far,
To sit in a car packed with the rest of his family and everything for camping for almost five hours.
At the start of the trip, I was excited and hopeful to get there!
Within the first hour, I asked the first of many times, are we there yet?
I knew there was this wonderful destination I was heading to,
But the journey felt so long and tiring.
I repeatedly asked “are we there yet?”
Because I so badly wanted to realize the promise from my father.
But the longer the trip went on,
The more irritated I grew with my neighbor in the car,
My sister.
And the more uncomfortable the car began to feel.
The joy I felt toward my father giving me this gift,
Began turning into doubt.
Are we really going to Dover?
Does he know how to get there?
Doubt then turned to contempt.
Why is he taking so long to get us there?
Can’t he do anything to make it go by faster?
Or at the very least,
Make my life more comfortable until we get there?
My innocent and excited “Are we there yet!?”
Turned into an uncertain, despairing “Are we there yet…?”
Ending as an aggressive and vicious “ARE WE THERE YET?!”
Eventually, we did get there,
Just as my father said we would.
It was a beautiful day, a great race, and a wonderful memory.
I use this lighthearted and simple example,
Because we have been on a trip together for quite some time.
It was a journey of God’s revelation of heaven.
It started excited and hopeful,
The apostle John was given this remarkable vision.
He has seen God in His throne room,
Surrounded with angelic beings and creatures and a great multitude worshipping Him.
But most importantly, the Lamb that had been slain was standing.
He was found to be the only one worthy to take the scroll and open the seals.
As He began breaking open the seals,
Judgments began to be unleashed on the entire world and all the people,
Suddenly our journey took a turn down a dark and rocky road.
And this journey took a long time,
After the seven seals,
Came a second series of even worse judgments,
The trumpet judgments.
Are we there yet?
Then a mighty angel had John eat a bittersweet scroll.
Are we there yet?
Next, two of God’s witnesses were martyred.
Are we there yet?
Then Satan is introduced as a dragon,
The beast, the antichrist, rises out of the abyss,
And the false prophet follows shortly after.
Are we there yet?
Next seven angels with seven plagues pour out seven bowls of God’s wrath.
Even more destructive than the previous series of judgments.
Are we there yet?
Then, the past chapter and a half was dedicated to the destruction of Babylon,
The fall of the corrupted spirit of the world that manifests itself in cultures of every generation.
The judgment of the harlot is done.
Are we there yet?
There has been a lot of bad news along this journey,
But praise God!
We are finally here!
The triumph of the bride of Christ is contrasted against the destruction of the prostitute.
Our fate will be deeply tied whichever of these two we give our love to.
For those who are the bride,
A single word can capture the appropriate response,
Hallelujah!
Four times in our passage this morning,
Hallelujah!
This word appears nowhere else in the NT,
And it is here where George Friederich Handel found the inspiration to compose the famous “Hallelujah Chorus.”
Now that we are here,
*Hallelujah chorus
In heaven, God, Who is seated on the throne, is worshiped,
Because He judged the great prostitute, prepared the bride for the marriage of the Lamb, and directs all of heaven and earth to fix our attention on Jesus.
This Hallelujah chorus in heaven anticipates the second coming of Christ,
His millennium kingdom, Satan’s final judgment, the great white throne judgment, and the new heaven and new earth.
The response of those who love the Lamb is uninhibited, genuine praise and worship of God!
This is what we have longed for!
It is finally here!
This is the Story of Hallelujah!
The Story is broken up into three sections;
The Prostitute is Judged! Hallelujah! (vs. 1-5)
The Bride is Made Ready! Hallelujah! (vs. 6-8)
God is Worshiped! Jesus is Testified! Hallelujah! (vs. 9-10)
*Christ’s faithfulness makes your faithfulness possible. Enjoy your bridegroom for all eternity.
This passage is a doxology,
A series of declarations of praise announcing who God is and what He has done in the form of a Hallelujah chorus.
The doxology then ends with the appearance of an angel in vs. 9-10,
Continuing to declare God’s character and the work of Christ,
While rebuking false worship,
And commanding ongoing worship in the form of testifying to Christ in both words and deeds.
WE: The Prostitute is Judged! Hallelujah! (vs. 1-5)
WE: The Prostitute is Judged! Hallelujah! (vs. 1-5)
But before that,
Our passage begins in Rev. 19:1-5 where the Prostitute is Judged! Hallelujah!
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, 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.” Once more they cried out, “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.” And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” And from the throne came a voice saying, “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.”
After the judgment of Babylon,
The celebration in heaven commences.
John hears this great multitude in heaven crying out hallelujah.
The vast multitude pictures this choir in heaven singing Hallelujah.
They are anything but quiet.
It is loud and boisterous!
The word Hallelujah literally means “Praise the Lord.”
And that is what the multitude is doing,
They are praising the Lord.
Praising Him for a series of items.
First for salvation,
The overall theme of their hallelujah is the judgment of the prostitute,
Yet the hallelujah begins with salvation,
Because the people of God have been saved from the wicked monster, Babylon, and her relentless temptation.
Second for His glory,
God has proven Himself to be glorious time and time again.
Third for His power,
God’s power is displayed by His ability to deliver His people,
And to judge His adversary.
Which leads to the fourth item of praise,
His righteous judgments.
God deserves all the hallelujahs!
He deserves to be praised,
Even for His judgment.
It is not distorted or twisted that we praise God for His judgment.
As vs. 2 begins by saying,
God’s character is true and just.
Therefore, it is right for Him to condemn what is false and immoral.
We’ve already seen another chorus declaring the true and just judgments of God back in Rev. 15:3 and Psalm 19:9; 119:37;
It is a reminder that God is not spiteful,
He is not arbitrary or unfair.
Just the opposite.
God is paying evil back for it’s wicked deeds.
His judgment of Babylon is justice,
It is what is right,
In fact, if He did not judge Babylon,
He would not be just.
Because He is righteous and consistent.
His people rejoice!
We celebrate that God makes everything right!
The specific judgment here is His judgment of the great prostitute.
The prostitute is notorious for corrupting the earth with her immorality,
God punishes her for her spiritual adultery with the people of the earth.
And now that her regime is permanently undone,
We can enjoy peace and harmony,
Which God intended from the beginning.
She has been harming the world with her idolatry,
By refusing to worship God and drawing others into the same refusal.
Her desire is to see all people worship the beast with her.
Therefore, her judgment is appropriate,
It is warranted.
Not only that,
The prostitute is responsible for the death of believers.
The blood of God’s people are on her hands,
God responds to the lament from the martyrs in Rev. 6:10,
And pours out His vengeance on her for their blood.
Also a fulfillment of 2 Kings 9:7 and Psalm 79:10;
This is not some bloodthirsty crazed vengeance displayed by God,
As we often see portrayed as vengeance in pop culture.
It is an indicator of the just punishment the murderers of God’s people deserve.
An echo of Deut. 32:43;
“Rejoice with him, O heavens; bow down to him, all gods, for he avenges the blood of his children and takes vengeance on his adversaries. He repays those who hate him and cleanses his people’s land.”
Last chapter, the people of the world wept over the fall of Babylon,
This morning, we see the people of God respond in the complete opposite way.
The hallelujahs continue in vs. 3.
This second hallelujah is an encore to the first,
And it heightens the drama of our passage.
This praise is given at the sight of the smoke of Babylon going up forever and ever.
Seeing the justice and rightness of God’s judgment upon Babylon,
Prompts this praise from God’s people.
John Piper makes a great observation;
“If God turned a deaf ear to sin and evil and injustice and suffering in this world, He would not be true, and He would certainly not be just. God here is rightfully and wholeheartedly praised for His justice.”
This judgment is permanent and irreversible.
The smock of Babylon ascends forever,
Similar to what we see back in Is. 34:10;
Night and day it shall not be quenched; its smoke shall go up forever. From generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it forever and ever.
When Babylon falls at the end of history,
She will never rise again.
God puts an end to her reign.
The worship of God is not limited to just the people of God,
The heavenly choir includes the twenty-four elders and four living creatures from Rev. 4:4,6.
Back in ch. 4 they were in the presence of God in His throne room.
Their inclusion here brings us to God in His throne room once again.
Showing us that this final celebration of God’s victory occurs in His presence in His throne room,
With the company of the heavenly host.
The ever-growing heavenly choir sing the third hallelujah.
Angels and humans are of one mind and heart, worshiping God together,
Crying Amen! So be it!
And hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
This is the final appearance of the 24 elders and four living creatures in Revelation,
They depart from the story worshiping God on the throne.
In vs. 5, A command to praise our God comes from the throne.
It does not specify who gives this command,
Making what is said more important.
All believers, praise our God!
All believers extol the greatness of God!
All believers bow before God and His throne and recognize His works!
Recognize His rule and reign,
Recognize His justice in judging the prostitute for her evil.
Hallelujah to the Lord!
The praise and worship of the awesome salvation given by God to His servants reverberates throughout heaven.
It is the same praise and worship that should reverberate in our churches when we gather in the name of our awesome God!
This is corporate worship.
And John Piper describes it as such;
“Corporate worship…is the declaration in the midst of Babylon that we will not be drawn into her harlotries, because we have found in God the satisfaction of our souls...Corporate worship is the public savoring of the worth of God and the beauty of God and power of God and the wisdom of God. And therefore worship is an open declaration to all the powers of heaven and to all of Babylon that we will not prostitute our minds or our hearts or our bodies to the allurements of the world. Though we may live in Babylon, we will not be captive to Babylonian ways. And we will celebrate with all our might the awesome truth that we are free from that which will be destroyed.”
As Psalm 134:1; 135:1 says;
Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who stand by night in the house of the Lord!
Praise the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord, give praise, O servants of the Lord,
Praise our God,
Praise Him for our salvation.
When God judges Babylon, He saves His people.
Therefore, as God’s servants,
As those who fear Him,
Regardless of how significant you are in the world’s eyes,
Praise God!
GOD: The Bride is Ready! Hallelujah! (vs. 6-8)
GOD: The Bride is Ready! Hallelujah! (vs. 6-8)
The first five verses glorify God for salvation, glory, and power,
For His just and true judgments upon evil, corruption, and immorality,
For avenging the blood of His servants,
For welcoming all who fear him, small and great.
Now, our passage continues to glorify God because He is the Almighty and Sovereign Lord,
And because He gave His one and only Son to be the bridegroom to an innumerable number of sinners saved and purified by His blood.
This innumerable number is the bride of Christ.
The bride does not weep at Babylon’s destruction,
We celebrate and praise God.
We praise His reign and we praise the marriage of the Lamb.
The hallelujahs continue!
Rejoice and glorify God because the marriage of the Lamb is at hand,
The day when the bride is ready is coming.
The bride will be readied with beautiful and pure linen,
Representing the righteous works of the saints.
All who are invited to this marriage celebration will be blessed,
It will propel God’s people to worship,
But as John learns,
Make sure we worship God alone.
In Rev. 19:6-8, we see that The Bride is Ready! Hallelujah!
The chorus of the heavenly choir continues praising God,
Described as a mighty roar like a powerful thunderstorm over Niagara Falls.
It is deafening, they sing and shout their hallelujah.
Why?
Because the Kingdom of Christ, the Almighty, has begun.
God is all powerful, and His coming Kingdom is the inauguration of His universal and permanent reign over everything.
This fulfills Psalm 22:28; 97:1;
For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.
The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!
It is the climax of history.
What is real in heaven will become real on earth.
It is a fulfillment of Jesus’ prayer from Matt. 6:10;
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
The multitude of voices command believers to rejoice and exult the Lord,
And to glorify God.
Why?
Why rejoice?
Why exult?
Why glorify God?
Because the marriage of the Lamb has come!
The previous hallelujahs pointed back to Babylon.
But this hallelujah looks ahead to the arrival of the Lamb.
The reign of God brings the long-anticipated marriage of the Lamb and His bride, the church.
The wedding is reason for joy, exultation, and glorifying God.
This text is one of the most remarkable in all the Bible,
Joy bursts forth from this passage!
Weddings are some of the most joyful celebrations we experience as people,
And this is the wedding of all weddings!
What a celebration it will be!
The marriage of the Lamb expresses the intimacy and love between Jesus and His church.
This wedding imagery can be found all throughout the Bible.
Isaiah 54:5-8;
For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. For the Lord has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer.
Hosea 2:19-20;
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. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord.
Eph. 5:26-27;
that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
The conclusion of history described in Rev. 19 reveals the commencement of this marriage relationship.
The marriage with the Lamb draws together the numerous biblical and cultural references to weddings portraying the blessings of joyful fellowship between a bride and a groom.
This illustration is given to promote faithfulness and loyalty between God and His people.
Sadly, so many of the references include God’s people breaking their marriage vows with God,
Unfaithfully participating in adultery and prostitution.
And yet, God’s Word repeatedly promises to restore the marriage between God and His people.
Despite the unfaithfulness of His bride, God remains steadfastly faithful.
He continues to fulfill His promises,
Culminating with the birth, life, death, and resurrection of the Lamb,
The suffering servant from Isaiah,
The Lord, Jesus Christ,
God’s fulfillment of His promises produce exuberant joy in His bride.
Marriage is not the only joyful theme,
The symbolism includes the Lamb.
The Lamb is the sacrificial cover for all sins.
He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
As a lamb before its shearer is silent.
Peter wonderfully states that believers are redeemed by the precious blood of Christ,
Like that of a lamb without blemish or spot in 1 Pet. 1:19.
And at the end of history,
The marriage of the Lamb will come.
The marriage imagery from the OT is expanded upon by the coming of Christ.
Paul adopts this in Ephesians,
The church is promised to one husband, Christ,
Presented as a pure bride.
Presently, the bride is engaged to Christ,
Revelation 19 is the save the date.
The Lamb is victorious,
He has conquered death by dying and rising from the dead.
His victory over death secures His victory over the devil with it.
The culmination of this victory is realized with the marriage of the Lamb.
History concludes with believers celebrating the intimate, intensely loving, and personal relationship with Christ.
And this symbolism shines in bright contrast against the immorality and idolatry of the prostitute.
Cultural context adds depth to this passage.
First-century Jewish marriages go through three stages.
The first is a betrothal period that would last about a year,
It is a year of the bride’s preparations,
The betrothal period is similar to our engagement period,
But with slightly more commitment.
Betrothed couples were already considered legally married.
During this time,
The bride makes herself ready with the fine linen given to her by her betrothed.
Similarly in Rome, women would be given a robe called a stola.
It is similar to the traditional toga.
And an outer garment they would wear over the top called a palla.
It was a status symbol for betrothed women,
It included this hood that they could wear over their head.
Which served as a cultural way to avoid the attention and unwanted solicitation of men.
The fine linen was a symbol of life and faith and good works.
And the fact that the Lamb gives this linen to His bride in our passage,
Illustrates Him giving His bride honor, purity, and holiness.
It is the proper garment for a bride.
And it is God Who is giving it to her.
John is pulling from the marriage imagery,
We are living in the betrothal period,
The church is already married to the Lamb,
God has been preparing us for this marriage.
Robert Mounce helps explain this;
“By analogy, the church, espoused to Christ by faith, now awaits the parousia [Second Coming] when the heavenly groom will come for his bride and return to heaven for the marriage feast that lasts throughout eternity.”
Vs. 7-8 are presenting the preparation of the bride for the wedding.
The bride is made ready through sanctification by the Word and the Spirit.
Our goodness is a gift from God.
It is not a result of our own inherent virtue.
Yet, at the same time the saints are said to make themselves ready,
To prepare themselves as the bride for Christ’s coming.
How?
How does the church prepare herself?
By remaining faithful to Christ in an evil Babylonian culture.
By enduring hardship in a world stricken with suffering.
By trusting God in the face of persecution and even martyrdom.
By being obedient to God in taking the gospel to every tribe, tongue, and nation.
The church does not prepare herself on her own,
Philippians 2:12 says to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,
But Phil. 2:13 continues by saying;
for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Just like vs. 8 of our passage says,
The fine linen is given to the bride.
The marriage represents the consummation of God’s purposes throughout human history.
It demonstrates His desire to be in relationship with His created image-bearers.
The fine linen given to the church is described as bright and clean.
It says the linen represents the righteous deeds of believers.
Our righteous deeds are made possible by the Lamb.
Who grants the bride permission to clothe herself with deeds of righteousness?
God!
Jesus grants Christians the ability to clothe ourselves with this fine linen.
It is God Who is the agent behind our righteousness.
In his commentary, George Eldon Ladd, explains;
“While the bride must make herself ready for the marriage, her glorious raiment is not something she can acquire for herself; it must be granted her, i.e., given to her as a divine gift…The fine linen, bright and pure, stands in sharp contrast to the brilliant robes of the harlot.”
When Christ returns,
The bride will be ready,
It will be a life well-lived,
God’s people will have done what is pleasing to God,
Instead of following Babylon.
The righteous deeds of the bride are a result of God’s work in her life.
We can extend John’s marriage imagery to our cultural context.
Engaged people do not wear specific clothes to let people know they are engaged to be married.
But what do we wear?
An engagement ring.
So, it would be like saying in our context,
Jesus has given believers the finest engagement ring,
He has made it bright and pure,
The diamond He puts on the finger of believers is massive!
No one could miss it,
So, everyone would see the bright and pure ring,
That is, your righteous deeds,
And by them, know that you are married to the Lamb.
Whether it is fine linen or a massive diamond ring,
We must put it on.
John makes it clear that this is not talking about literal garments.
It is an illustration of faithfulness and righteousness.
So, what this illustrates is;
The Lamb shed His blood to cleanse the fine linen He gives believers,
Therefore, believers are able to act righteously,
To live in accordance with God’s law.
This means,
It is the faithfulness of Christ that makes the faithfulness of saints possible.
YOU: God is Worshiped! Hallelujah! (vs. 9-10)
YOU: God is Worshiped! Hallelujah! (vs. 9-10)
Our passage ends in Rev. 19:9-10 where we see God is Worshiped! Hallelujah!
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.” 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.
I shared a couple weeks ago a quote from a John Piper sermon titled Worship God!
He went on in his sermon;
“[The church] is an alien outpost in Babylon. And we exist to reassert God’s rightful place wherever it has been prostituted to secular commerce or secular education or secular entertainment or secular media or secular arts or secular sports…But as an alien outpost in Babylon we know what’s coming…And we know from verse 10 that the reason this has all been revealed to us ahead of time is that we might WORSHIP GOD. God lets John hear the celebration of heaven so that in his exile and his suffering he might join in and worship God. And John wrote it down in a book so that we might listen to the worship of heaven and join in.”
The angel commands John to write down this important blessing;
Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
Praise the Lord, John listened, and wrote this blessing down,
Therefore, it will not be forgotten.
The blessing John wrote down is directed toward those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
The invitation to the Lamb’s feast requires the invited to accept His invitation.
We accept this invitation by faith,
And when we do, we become betrothed to the Lamb.
Then comes the wedding.
And generally weddings will have an amazing feast.
Some of the best food I have ever eaten have been at weddings.
At my own wedding, the food was one of the determining factors on a venue for the wedding.
But a far greater marriage feast will be the culmination of the marriage of the Lamb.
The supper here in vs. 9 stands in contrast to those who are judged at the supper in vs. 17-18,
Which, Lord willing, we will look at next week.
But the marriage supper is a glorious celebration!
A bountiful feast!
An incomparable feast!
There is no joy on earth that can compare to the joy of this feast.
The anticipation of this feast dates back to Isaiah 25:6-8;
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.
This promised feast is so amazing,
It is so much greater than anything on this earth,
Unlike our world,
This feast rids our lives of sorrow and suffering,
And as the angel reassures us at the end of vs. 9,
These words are true,
They will become a reality.
The words from the angel,
And likely its appearance,
Are overwhelming for John.
Overcome with this sense of awe.
He begins to fall before the angel in false worship of him.
Let us be clear here, this is sin,
This is idolatry.
So, the angel quickly and sharply rebukes John.
“You must not do that!” the angel tells John.
Likewise, you must not do that either!
You must not practice false worship or idolatry.
You are prohibited from worshiping anything other than God,
Not even His angels or His servants.
The angel is a servant,
Just like John,
Just like you,
Just like me,
Just like all believers.
All of Scripture testifies to Christ,
And all of us hold to the testimony of Jesus.
Therefore, as the angel tells us,
We worship God,
And God alone.
Similarly to what John tells us in 1 John 5:21;
Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
This simple command reminds us of the God-centered purpose of the entire book of Revelation.
God is central to everything,
Even in a literal sense,
John’s vision of heaven,
Shows God on His throne in the center.
Included with the centrality of God,
Is the testimony of Jesus.
Since Jesus is God,
The worship of God includes the worship of Jesus.
What we see in this passage is that John’s ministry is comparable to the angel.
And this extends to you.
Like the angel,
Like John,
You have been given the command to worship God and worship Jesus.
And you have been given, as this closing phrase says,
The testimony of Jesus, which is the spirit of prophecy.
Thomas Schreiner gives a helpful comment on this phrase;
“The saying is tantalizingly ambiguous and has provoked a number of different interpretations. John probably means that Spirit-inspired prophecy focuses on the testimony given by and about Jesus Christ. Christians are to worship God and be God-centered, but prophecy also points us to the centrality of Jesus and his majesty and his greatness.”
The Bible has been brought together by this spirit of prophecy.
As John MacArthur says,
“The central theme of Old Testament prophecy and New Testament preaching is the Lord Jesus Christ.”
The entire Bible speaks of Jesus,
The Savior that came to rescue God’s people from sin.
He took on flesh, to be born as a baby,
And to live a life,
Tempted in every way that you and I are,
But without sin.
He then gave His life as a payment for the times you and I give into that temptation,
Committing what the Bible calls sin.
But He rose from the dead,
And promises that we too will have eternal life,
Even if we die on this earth.
He has extended the invitation to be His bride.
All you have to do is believe this to be true in your heart,
And confess that your sins leave you in need of a Savior and you trust in Christ’s death for you.
Once you do that,
God pronounces you Lamb and Bride!
And between now and the day of the marriage feast,
You prepare yourself for the wedding,
Putting on the fine linen,
Doing righteous deeds,
Continuing the ministry of the angel and John,
Presenting the testimony of Jesus,
Both with your words and your deeds.
David Levy summarizes this passage;
“In this book, prophecy is designed to unfold Christ’s character, glory, purpose, and program. Therefore, ‘Worship God’ alone! With these words, the scene is set for the manifestation of Jesus Christ as the glorified King of kings and Lord of lords. Hallelujah!”
WE: Conclusion
WE: Conclusion
The coming joy of the marriage to the Lamb and the celebratory feast,
Is really greater than we can even understand.
Our present day passions and desires for God are weakened by our fallen nature.
So, John paints a picture for us,
Where delighting in God is at an absolute max.
Every joy we experience on earth,
Every wedding where we saw the love between a bride and a groom,
Every feast shared with good food and loved ones,
All of it, points us toward the greatest wedding of all,
And the most exquisite feast.
Until that day, we must prepare ourselves.
Accept the invitation and follow Jesus.
Do not miss this feast.
When we are there,
Our hearts will sing,
Our spirits will laugh,
Our souls will dance,
In ways that we have never truly experienced in this world.
Because the songs and smiles and happiness at this feast,
Cannot and will not occur under the shadow of sin and sorrow and worry.
This glorious feast of life leaves death in the dust,
And all that is left for us is to enjoy our bridegroom for the rest of eternity.
It is all about Jesus.
It has always been about Jesus.
And it will always be about Jesus.
Pray.