Marriage of The Lamb

In the nineteenth chapter of Revelation, we read these words. “’Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure’ – for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. 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’” (Rev. 19:7-9, ESV).

Maybe it would be helpful to review again who the bride actually is.

The apostle Paul clarifies that the bride of Christ is The Church. “For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.” (2 Cor. 11:2, ESV). “Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God” (Rom. 7:4, ESV).

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 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” (Eph. 5:25-27, ESV).

Paul also writes: “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Rom. 8:16-17, ESV).

He said to Timothy: “if we endure, we will also reign with him…” (2 Tim. 2:12a, ESV).

In the Old Testament, Israel is portrayed as the apostate wife of Jehovah, who is yet to be restored. The entire book of Hosea paints a beautiful picture as Hosea draws a parallel between his relationship with his wife, Gomer, and God’s relationship with Israel. Christ is never portrayed as the wife of Israel. However, in the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as the bridegroom. The bride is The Church, and Jesus is her bridegroom.

In the Gospel of John, we read these words as spoken by John the Baptist. “The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore, this joy of mine is now complete” (John 3:29, ESV).

John the Baptist did not claim to be the bride but the bridegroom’s friend. He was the groomsman and the friend who presented the bride to the bridegroom. He was never part of The Church, but he was an Israelite. His mission was to present the Son of God as the Messiah.

Some believe that the marriage in heaven will follow the steps of the ancient Jewish wedding. For a short period after the wedding, the bride and groom did not enter public places without an escort. We will now look at the cortege as the armies of heaven escort Christ and His bride back to earth.

“Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev. 19:11-16, ESV).

The Kings of kings will reign with His bride, His joint heir, with peace and righteousness over the Kingdom of God.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this” (Isa. 9:6-7, ESV).

To return to the previous menu, click the Windows backspace arrow in the upper left corner. To return to the site menu, click “return to site.”

Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.