Let us rejoice and be glad
and give Him the glory.
For the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and His bride has made herself ready.
She was given clothing of fine linen,
bright and pure.”
For the fine linen she wears is the righteous acts of the saints.
Then the angel told me to write, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”
Revelation 19:7-9
The concept of marriage isn't of human invention. It's a beautiful picture of the profoundly intimate relationship amid our God of eternal Holy Triunity (Father, Son, and Spirit). Genesis 1:26-27 reveals that humanity (not just males) is the only thing in all of creation God created in their image (plurality amid eternal unity) and likeness (divine relational character). Therefore, God Almighty created them male and female, i.e. of equal value but with complementary roles. There are certainly other creatures of binary gender, but only humanity is identified by God as "in our image, according to our likeness."
In Genesis 2, God dedicated "the man" in the Garden of Eden with a divine function: "to serve her and watch over her." The "her" is the female "corresponding partner" God created from one of the man's ribs (Gen 2:21). Upon bringing the woman to the man he said (Gen 2:23), "This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; This one will be called 'woman,' for she was taken from man."
In Genesis 2:24 we find a very peculiar revelation, "For this reason a man leaves his father and mother and cleaves to his wife and they shall become one flesh." God's design for marriage is infinitely more than a social or religious contract to bolster feelings of self-worth or to provide an acceptable platform for otherwise taboo physical activities. Scripture reveals that marriage is a supernatural divine love-union that gives us a glimpse of God as eternally indivisible Holy Triunity.
As Genesis 3 opens, the woman is lured into a theological discussion with "the serpent," identified as "the most cunning of all the wild animals." Shortly thereafter we read, "The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it..." In the New Testament we find that God holds Adam accountable for this transgression and its fateful consequences: "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men because all sinned."
While divorce certainly is a picture of humanity's rebellion and our separation from God, divorce is not an unforgivable or unpardonable sin. Scripture is clear that there is only one sin that falls into the category of "unpardonable:" King Jesus said, "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters. Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven."
Genesis 3:15 is a divinely prophetic foreshadowing of humanity's perfect bridegroom, i.e. Christ Jesus. Unlike Adam, who stood by idle as the cunning serpent led his bride astray into questions and doubt regarding God's faithfulness by neglecting his divine calling "to serve her and watch over her," Jesus, The Son of God, came down from heaven, crushed the head of the serpent, and gave Himself up for His Bride at the Cross "to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word. He did this to present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless."
Before His crucifixion, King Jesus told His disciples that He was going to His Father’s house to prepare a place for them so that where He was going they could be too. King Jesus didn't say they would be there. He said they could be too. Something is required to be with Him forever in His Father's house. All roads don't, in fact, lead to heaven. Asking Jesus into our hearts doesn't get us there. The Bible never instructs us to put our faith in sacraments, ordinances, ceremonies, rituals, or a prayer of salvation. Instead, King Jesus, the Eternal Son, the Heavenly Bridegroom preached that REPENTANCE is essential. It's not just about feeling bad or guilty, but surrendering ourselves completely to our Creator and King. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul wrote, "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings only death."
Revelation 19:7 tells of a future when "the marriage of the Lamb has come." Because Christ's Bride, the Church, "has prepared herself," she is "given fine linen to wear, bright and pure." The fine linen is revealed as "the righteous acts of the saints." Ephesians 2:10 reveals Christ's Bride as "His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do." Jesus was explicit and direct in revealing, "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven."
On the night of The Passover Meal, King Jesus sat down with His friends to celebrate the joy set before Him. He knew full well that Judas was about to sell Him out for thirty pieces of silver. The Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the cosmos wasn't surprised or deterred. His body would be our atoning sacrifice delivering us from bondage and slavery. His blood would be freely given to put on the doorposts of our lives—sparing us from death.
During the meal, Jesus broke some bread, gave it to his friends, and said, “This is my body, given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” Jesus was not only declaring Himself as our Passover Lamb - the one giving up His life to deliver us - but was teaching us that’s how we are to love and serve one another for the glory of Christ our Creator and Savior… by giving ourselves away.
The Bible reveals after supper Jesus took a cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” The cup Jesus offered was understood as a marriage proposal. King Jesus wasn’t asking a bunch of dudes to marry Him in a physical or literal sense. He was inviting His friends, His disciples, to the wedding banquet of the Lamb. Jesus created a perpetual reminder for us so that whenever we celebrate the Lord's Supper, we're reminded of His wedding proposal. His friends, His disciples, then and today demonstrate acceptance of the invitation by taking the cup and drinking the wine.
In Matthew 22 King Jesus tells a parable of a royal wedding banquet. Those initially invited refused the invitation and killed the servants extending it. The king responded by sending his troops to destroy them and their cities. The king then told the remaining servants to invite everyone they could find, "so the servants went out into the streets and gathered everyone they could find, both evil and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests." The story notes that the king noticed one man who wasn’t dressed for the occasion, so the king asked, "Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?" But the man was speechless. Then the king told the servants, "Tie him hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Whether refusing the wedding banquet invitation outright or like the man who accepted it but arrived without the appropriate attire, all those rejecting King Jesus (by refusing to repent and doing the will of The Father in heaven) expose themselves as willfully choosing the wide path leading to perpetual torment and destruction.
Next time you celebrate the Lord's Supper, remember it's King Jesus' wedding invitation. Accepting the invitation isn't enough. We are to be dressed in the righteous acts of the saints. That's not a works-based salvation; it's the tangible evidence of a perpetually grateful and immeasurably thankful Bride made one with her Bridegroom celebrating a honeymoon that will last forever and ever!
Blessings and love,
Kevin M. Kelley
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