May 22, 2007

Christ's Marriage Supper

Revelation 19:6–10

“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’” (Rev. 19:9).

Having seen how the Song of Solomon makes us long for Christ, today we will look at Revelation 19:6–10. This important New Testament passage, with Solomon’s song, makes us yearn for the day when all of our relationships will be governed by perfect love.

As wonderful as married love may be in this life, even this close relationship cannot satisfy us completely. When we compare our love to the idealized picture given to us in the Song of Solomon, we realize how short we often fall of the perfect relationship. We long for more, hoping for the day in which no desire will be left unsatisfied.

The Old Testament prophets also looked for this day. We were created, as the Westminster Shorter Catechism says, “to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever” (Question 1). Isaiah compared the Lord’s relationship to His people to that of a groom to his bride (Isa. 62:5), because the delight married couples should take in each other approximates the greater joy we should find in our Creator.

Yet just as marriage can lack delight because of sin, God’s union with His people can be strained. More often than not, old covenant Israel as a whole lived like a harlot, lusting after false gods (see Hos. 1:1–8, for example). Though we experience a greater ministry of the Holy Spirit under the new covenant, we must still be reminded often to forsake idols and remember our first love (1 John 5:21; Rev. 2:4).

On the day when the lingering presence of sin is removed from us we will no longer need such reminders. We will find our greatest delight at all times in the Lord when He consummates all things (1 Thess. 1:9–10). On that day He will bring to fruition the redemption He has already accomplished, making us perfectly righteous not only in a judicial sense, but also in our thoughts, words, and deeds.

Revelation 19 describes this day. We will be able to wear the most beautiful wedding gown ever created, made up of our righteous deeds (vv. 6–8). As glorified people we will finally fulfill the purpose for which we were made — to sit with God in complete, unbroken fellowship. The joy we find at wedding feasts even today will be surpassed when the church feasts with Christ face-to-face (v. 9).

Coram Deo

All of us who trust in Christ have already been declared righteous in the Lord’s heavenly courtroom. One day we will be without sin and practice righteousness at all times. On this day we will feast with the Lord face-to-face. The Lord’s Supper is a foretaste of this, and every time we eat of it, we should long all the more for the day when the feast will never end. Whether or not you are partaking of the sacrament this Sunday, focus on that great wedding feast with Jesus.

For Further Study