What is the marriage supper of the Lamb and when does it take place? In this message, Pastor Brian seeks help from the parable of Jesus in Mt. 22:1-14 to provide answers to this great question.
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The Marriage Supper Of The Lamb
Revelation 19:7-10
When we come to Revelation 19:7, we have witnessed the final judgment and doom of Babylon, the Great Harlot. In my judgment, the fall of Babylon represents the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. So, what will be the next vision God will give to John?
It is a vision of what is called in verse 7, “The Marriage of the Lamb”, and in verse 9, “The Marriage Supper of the Lamb.” Now, this is the only place in the Bible, where “marriage supper” occurs. However, there is one other place where another synonymous phrase occurs – Matthew 22:2. There Jesus is teaching a parable and He says, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.” Revelation 19 – a marriage supper. Matthew 22 – a wedding feast. They are both talking about the same thing, aren’t they?
And there are many of the same elements in each.
In both passages we find Bridegroom, The Bride, and Guests.
Mt. 22 Rev. 19
Bridegroom: called the King’s Son called the Lamb
Bride: not identified, but present Bride is the church – Rev.21:2,9-10
Guests: any called, few come. Guests. Those that are called are blessed
So, when does this marriage supper take place? I was always taught that it takes place at the second coming of Christ. However, when I allow Scripture to interpret Scripture, I discover that this marriage feast has been taking place throughout the entirety of the church age, and will continue until Jesus returns.
In John 3:29, John the Baptist said, “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full.” John said that during his own ministry, Jesus was already the Bridegroom, and already had the bride. John did not say that one day Jesus would be the Bridegroom and have the Bride.
In 2 Cor. 11:2, the apostle Paul wrote, “For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin.” When we came into the New Covenant, we entered a marriage with Christ. We are betrothed to him. A betrothal period in a Jewish marriage was a time when the two were legally married, and could not separate without a divorce. That’s why Joseph was planning on divorcing Mary secretly when she was found to be with child. They were betrothed, but had not consummated the marriage. It was similar, but much more binding than our engagement today. We are betrothed to Christ, legally married to Him.
In Ephesians 5:31-32 Paul quotes Gen. 2:24 and says, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall became one flesh. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.” The church as the bride of Christ has already entered into a marriage covenant with Him.
This morning, we are going to take a close look at Jesus’ parable of the Wedding Feast in Matthew 22:1-14, to see what light the teaching of Jesus throws upon Revelation 19:7-9.
In this parable we want to notice very particularly three groups of people:
- The Initial Invited Guests
- The New Invited Guests
- The False Intruding Guest
1. The Initial Invited Guests (22:1-7)
What does this marriage feast represent? Jesus said “the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.” Coming into the kingdom of heaven is like coming to a wedding feast.
The prophet Isaiah wrote of this in Is. 25:6-8, “The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; a banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, and refined, aged wine. And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, even the veil which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken.”
Here, this lavish banquet represents the blessings of salvation – the swallowing up of death, wiping away of tears, and removing of reproach. These are the same blessings that we have read of in Revelation thus far – Rev.7:13-17.
The kingdom of heaven is the rule and reign of God. It includes the blessings of grace and salvation. Entering the kingdom is like attending a royal wedding feast.
Who is the King? God, of course.
Who is His Son? Jesus, of course.
Who is The Prince’s Bride? She is not described in this parable, only alluded to. Of course the King’s Son must have a bride if the king is throwing him a wedding feast. However, it is not the bride that is the focus of this parable, but the guests.
Who are the Initial Invited Guests? Literally it says, “to call those who had been called.” Well, who were those who had been called? This is Israel. God had been sending His prophets for centuries, letting them know that His Messiah was coming, who would deliver them. God was preparing them to receive Jesus Christ when He appeared. The Jews were the first ones called to Christ and salvation. They are the only ones that are saved in the first seven chapters of Acts. During the first 40 years of the church, they were given priority in evangelism. Wherever Paul went, he always went to the synagogue first and preached the gospel to the Jews. When they rejected Christ, he would turn to the Gentiles. In Romans 1:16 he said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also the Greek.” “To the Jew first!” The Jews had already received an invitation to this wedding feast before it took place. God had invited them through His Word, over and over and over.
What did the Initial Invited Guests Do? They were unwilling to come. Now, I’m sure that some of those listening gasped when Jesus said that. How preposterous! This must have sounded ridiculous to that crowd. This wedding feast would normally last a week, sometimes longer. If the king invited you to the royal wedding and feast, do you think you would go? I think so! For these people to be unwilling to come must have seemed ludicrous. Anyone in his right mind would go. Why? Well, because if you don’t go, you risk insulting the king. Secondly, you would never turn down a free feast of the best food in the land. It would be much better food than the common people were able to enjoy.
How did the King respond? Did He just give up on that group and turn to another? No. He sent out other slaves to call them again. They were to tell them, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.” Look, dinner is hot on the table now. Don’t let it get cold. Come now! I’ve got a gourmet five course meal of the finest steaks. Come on down!
What did God do when Israel initially rejected Christ? God continued to send His apostles, preachers and evangelists to her, over and over, for a full generation, offering Christ and salvation to her.
How did the Initial Guests Respond to the second invitation? “They paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business…” They ignored the slaves and their invitation. Worse than that, they preferred their farms and businesses to the King’s call to celebrate His Son’s wedding! They are dishonoring their king!
“…the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them.” At this point, the parable would seem unbelievable to the crowd. What person would not only turn a blind eye and deaf ear to the King’s own invitation to come to the wedding feast, but become violent to those that invited them? Only an insane person would do that? However, sin makes us insane. Some that received the invitation were indifferent. Others were openly hostile. And that is how the Jews responded to the message of Christ. Some indifferent, but others openly hostile. They had Stephen stoned, urged Herod to behead James, gloated when Peter was imprisoned, pursued Paul from city to city with riots and stonings.
And so, the Jews responded exactly as John said in John 1:9-11, “There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.”
How did the King respond to them? Verse 7 says “But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire.” This is a verse that we usually just gloss over and don’t really consider, but it is very important. The king sent his armies and destroyed the murderers and set their city on fire. That is exactly what took place in 70 AD. God sent the Roman armies to bring judgment upon Jerusalem and destroy the temple, bringing the Old Covenant to an end. I believe this is what John has been writing about in Revelation 16, 17 and 18. Babylon has fallen. The Great Harlot has been devoured and burned with fire. Why? Because they ignored and spurned the invitation God sent to them, even reacting violently to those that invited her, persecuting and killing them.
2. The New Invited Guests (22:8-10)
Well, what does the King decide to do at this point? Will he simply throw up his hands and conclude that there will be no wedding, because no one will come? Not at all. His wedding hall will be filled with dinner guests, but just not the initially invited ones. He will invite new guests.
What does it mean “those who were invited were not worthy”? It is not speaking about being worthy in the sense of being good enough, moral enough, ethical enough. It is not saying the first group were not righteous enough. It is saying they were not worthy, because they would not accept the invitation. Their worthiness was not dependent on their moral virtue. If they had accepted the invitation, they would have been worthy. When the new group is called, they include those who are “both evil and good.” So, it’s not as if the king was looking for the most noble, and honorable, and righteous people to come to the feast. He was simply looking for people who would say “Yes” to the invitation to come to the feast.
Who are these New Invited Guests? The slaves were to go to the main highways and streets and invite them. They were to go out everywhere and find people milling around and invite them. This refers to the Gentiles. Jesus sent His disciples out saying, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” After Jerusalem fell in 70 AD, the Jews were no longer the priority in evangelism. After 70 AD, there was a renewed passion to get the gospel to all the nations of the world. It was no longer “to the Jew first, and also to the Greeks.” It was now, “to every tribe and tongue and people and nation.”
They are “both evil and good.” This is not talking about the saved and the lost. It is talking about basic human morality. Within sinners, you have those that are decent, caring human beings, and those that are bad, indecent, uncaring human beings. The slaves were commanded to bring them all, irrespective of their moral standing. When we invite people to Christ, we are not supposed to go to just the nice, decent people. We are to go to everyone! We not only go to church-goers. We also go to jails and prisons.
What was the result? “The wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.” The invitation was accepted. The people came. In fact, so many came, that the hall was filled to capacity!
3. The False Intruding Guest (22:11-14)
What did the King discover? He saw a man who was not wearing wedding clothes. When you went to the king’s wedding feast, you were required to wear certain wedding clothes. To show up wearing whatever you wanted, was the height of pride and arrogance. At this wedding, one man did just that. When the king saw him, he dealt with him severely. When the king questioned the man, he was speechless.
I believe what we are seeing here is Judgment Day. God will call all people to account. This man had no excuses or justification for his actions. He was left speechless. “So that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God.” This man had come to the wedding feast. He was around all of the guests, but was not properly attired. What does all this represent? Well, thankfully, we are told in Revelation 19:7-8. There we are told that the bride had made herself ready. How so? “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 two truths made perfectly clear in Revelation 19:7-8.
- The sovereign grace of God. Those who comprise the Bride had clothed herself in fine linen, bright and clean” because it was GIVEN to her to do so. Her beautiful garments and jewelry were a gift from God.
- The willing cooperation of God’s people in her sanctification. The fine linen, bright and clean that was given to her are the righteous acts of the saints. This is not just about something done TO her, but also something done BY her.
When God’s sovereign grace is imparted to someone, it always results in righteous acts in their life. Good works always flow from the grace of God. Scripture repeatedly wants us not to be deceived by those who say they are believers, but go on living in sin.
Ephesians 5:5-6, “For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” See 1 Cor. 6:9-10 as well.
Yes, Ephesians 2:8-9 is true. We are saved by grace through faith, and it is not of ourselves; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” However, why do we always quit quoting the verse there?
The next verse (2:10) says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
We are not saved BY good works, but we are saved FOR good works!
What did the King do to this intruder? He commanded his servants to bind this man, hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; where there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” This is the common description of hell in Scripture – the place of outer darkness, weeping and gnashing of teeth. This is the same teaching that Jesus gave in Mt. 7:21-23 when he tells religious people to depart from him, you who practice lawlessness!
What is this teaching? Simply this – if you do not experience a transformation in which you turn from your old life of sin, and live a life of righteousness, you will end up in hell. You are a false intruder at this wedding feast. You are not a true guest. Your sanctification is the proof of your regeneration! Your righteous acts prove that you are a saint! Without righteous acts you have no proof you are a Christian. We do not do righteous acts to get saved; we do them because we are saved!
Conclusion
My friends, God has spread His lavish feast of salvation in Christ, and has sent His slaves to invite people to the feast. And the invitation has been going out for 2,000 years. The feast has been going on for 2,000 years. One day, the feast will be over, and the Bride and the Bridegroom will consummate their marriage. You see, there are two symbols for the same thing in Revelation 19:7-9. The Bride and the invited guests are the same group. When you look at them corporately, they are the one Bride. When you look at them individually, they are each separate invited guests.
Do you understand why John was commanded to write, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb”? That word “invited” is literally “called.” Blessed are those who are called to this marriage supper.
If you came to Christ and this marriage feast by the grace of God, you are eternally blessed! It shows that God issued you His sovereign call, His inward call, that transformed you from a sinner to a saint, took you from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of Christ, replaced your heart of stone with a heart of flesh, and made you a new creature in Christ Jesus!
So, how should you respond?
- Give evidence that you are part of The Bride, by wearing the proper wedding garments. Show it by a life of righteous deeds. Repent of all unrighteousness. “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts (Rom.13:14).”
- Enjoy the wedding feast! Feast on Christ daily. Learn to take delight in the Word (Psalm 1:3). That is one of the marks of regeneration. Long for the pure milk of the Word!
- Look forward eagerly to the consummation of your marriage to Christ! He is coming. “so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.” Are you eagerly awaiting the return of Christ?
- Be busy inviting all to the Wedding Feast! We are the slaves of the King. We are given the task of going into the highways and streets and inviting all to come. Let’s pray for and seize all opportunities the Lord gives us to issue the gospel invitation!
If you fear you are not part of that Bride, how should you respond?
Come! The invitation is still out! The feast is still going on. Get in on it! Don’t let it pass you by. Come to Christ. Believe on Him. Begin enjoying the blessings of salvation in Christ today!
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