Let's open our Bibles. Please open our Bibles.
The Book of Revelation, Chapter 9.
If you've got a Bible and you brought it, hold it up.
We haven't lifted up. Lifted up.
Yeah, let's see those Bibles. Great.
You rare. You are rare breed.
Let's let's open them up. Revelation chapter 19.
As we're doing that, let's pray over our offering.
Heavenly Father, to be able to give your word commands us that
Lord, you want us to test you in this way.
And so we give. We give the first, not what's
leftover. We give you the best.
And Lord, we know that you will continue to bless us as we do
this, as we learn to trust you. Use what we give.
Lord, help us to be wise to yours and use it for your glory.
We pray and ask your blessing upon the offering now in Jesus
name, Amen. Amen.
Chapter 19. I've wrestled with it.
We're only going to do 10 verses in Revelation 19 as we come
closer to the end of the Book of Revelation.
The first half of this chapter takes place in heaven and
describes the marriage of the Lamb and then the other thing
called the wedding feast or the marriage supper of the Lamb. 2
distinct things when the church is united in glory to Jesus
Christ. The title of this morning's
message is the marriage made in Heaven.
And that's what I said to Helen when I proposed to her.
Helen, you're going to get a marriage made in heaven.
She said. Where am I going to get that?
There is something about a wedding and the wedding supper
that follows. We have one coming up shortly
here in church. It is truly a joyful day of
human celebrations. And now we shift and there's a
seismic shift from we've been going from Chapter 6 all the way
up till now with the judgments of God, the seven seals, the
seven trumpets, the seven bowls, and the judgments of God upon a
world that continues to reject God, that no matter what happens
to them, they're covered in sores or there's an earthquake
after it's all over, they, they go, we don't care about you,
God. And they just blasphemy him all
over again. And, and, and we've, we've
brought to this point, it's been, it's been a hard, arduous
time, hasn't it? Each time we've come Sunday
going well, we got another earthquake this week or what we
got, we got sores this week. We got tidal wave this week.
We have 35K hailstone blocks falling down from heaven this
week, meteorite shower. What is it?
Demonic hordes coming out of the abyss.
What's happening? Well, today it's different
following the obliteration and judgement of religious Babylon,
the one world church system, which is actually in its
infancy, not probably beyond its infancy.
It's in its median stages now, which will be headed by the
false prophet who will work with the Antichrist during the seven
year tribulation period. God judged it and then in
chapter 18 he judged the political and commercial
Babylon, that is the political system, the powerhouse
government, the the, the, the abuse of dictatorship that the
Antichrist has over the world during this period, particularly
in the last 3 1/2 years of the seven year tribulation.
And now we come to a period of massive celebrations, praise and
worship as we move into heaven now and it breaks out in waves
of praise verse one after these things, after what?
After chapter 17 and chapter 18, I heard a loud voice again, no
hearing hearing aids, no, no trumpets, you know, plugged to
our ears going in heaven. No one will be saying what,
what? Because everything's in heaven
is going to be loud. Prepare yourself.
It's loud in heaven if you go to Israel.
I pray that we can one day. Lord willing spoke to Yaniv the
other day. He said tourists are starting to
come back September. It's looking good for him.
And he just asked the blessing to be upon us here back home.
But in Israel, everything that they do is loud.
It's kind of like the Italians. The Italians can just talk about
fruit, fruit and fruit and fruit, food, food and fruit and,
and they go sit down, sit down, have something, a cup of coffee
here, sit, sit. It's loud.
They're arguing, but they don't actually.
And they're not arguing. They say, isn't the weather
great? No, it's not.
It's wonderful. That's how they are in Roma and
and in Israel they're even louder.
Again. We saw a bar mitzvah heading up
to the Western Wall and you could hear it coming from miles
down now banging drums and now people as this young boy was
becoming a man in the Jewish tradition.
So prepare yourselves. No wax in the ears when we get
to heaven. I heard a loud voice of a great
multitude in heaven saying and I want you to count these
Hallelujah, that's the first one.
Salvation and glory and honour and power belong to the Lord our
God. Salvation, glory, honour and
power, they all belong to God, for true and righteous are His
judgments. Because he has judged the great
harlot who corrupted the earth. That's the religious one with
her. Fornications has avenged on her
the blood of his servants shed by her.
Again they said, Hallelujah, that's true.
Her smoke rises up forever and ever.
So they're praising the Lord over the destruction of the
religious Babylon. And the 24 elders and the four
living creatures fell down and worshipped God, who sat on the
throne saying Amen, Hallelujah, that's three.
Then a voice came from the throne saying, Praise our God,
all you his servants, and those who fear him, both small and
great. And I heard as it were, the
voice of a great multitude. When you see that term great
multitude, it means there's so many they can't number them as
the sound of many waters. That's the raging sound,
thunderous ocean or the Victoria Falls or Niagara Falls.
That's how loud it is. As the sound of mighty
thundering saying Hallelujah, how many is that?
That's for for the Lord God omnipotent.
That's his title. That means the Lord God who is
all powerful over everything else.
He reigns and rules and has dominion over everything else
reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice and
give him glory. Why?
For the marriage of the Lamb. Who's the Lamb?
Jesus has come, and his wife. Who was that?
Who's his bride has made herself ready?
Who his Who is his bride? The bride is the Church of Jesus
Christ, you and I. It's talking about what we're
going to go through and experience after the rapture.
In verses 1, 3-4 and six we have 4 hallelujahs.
We proclaimed Hallelujah with. The A is the Greek translation
of the Hebrew word Hallelujah made up of 2 words, halal
meaning praise and Yah. Yah is short for Jehovah God.
Praise the Lord, in other words, is Hallelujah.
Hallelujah is used 22 times in the book of Psalms 400 and
465,000 in many churches on a Sunday morning, some a bit over
the top. Hallelujah is used 22 times in
the book of Psalms, but in the New Testament only in chapter 19
is it found is this word mentioned so verse one.
After these things, I heard a loud voice of a great multitude
in heaven saying Hallelujah. Salvation and glory and honour
and power belong to the Lord our God.
This is the Hallelujah. It's hard saying Hallelujah.
I'm going to say Hallelujah. It's fine, Connor, Hallelujah.
It's a bit difficult, so I'm going to say Hallelujah.
It's the Hallelujah of salvation.
We have been saved. If you're here today and you've
received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, you partook in
communion today. Salvation took place when at our
conversion there was a moment in time Jesus said you must be born
again. Billy Graham was asked why do
you always preach that you must be born again?
He said because the Bible says you must be born again.
You must be born again. Jesus said John chapter 3 to
Nicholas. What was his name?
Nicodemus. That's it.
His brother Nicodemus. Nicholas was his brother, owned
the fruit veggie shop down the corner.
Nicodemus, he came. Jesus said you're a religious
man, but you don't know anything.
You don't know anything. You must be born again.
And that happened the moment you repented of your sins because
you can't do that. You can't get saved until you
repent. That's what Jesus told his
disciples to do, repent and believe.
You've got to repent before you believe.
You can't just come up and say, yeah, I believe in Jesus.
No, no, you've got to realise you're a Sinner.
Realise that all of sin have fallen short of the glory of
God, that there's none righteous, no, not one.
That we need salvation. Pastor Marlon put it so
beautifully here. We couldn't save ourselves.
There was nothing we could do to get out of our sin.
Jesus did it all. That's why we remember him and
it he saved us from the penalty of our sins and he gave us
instead eternal light John chapter 5 verse 24, Jesus said
most assuredly I say to you hear this.
This is how you become a Christian.
He who hears my word now a lot of people here, but here's the
second part and believes in him. That means believes that Jesus
Christ died on the cross for them, for their sins.
Him who sent me has everlasting life.
John 316 For God so loved the world that he gave His only
begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not
perish, that is, be separated from God by death, but have
everlasting life, eternal life, and shall not.
Jesus says in John 5 shall not come into judgement, but has
passed at that moment from death to light.
So the moment this body fails, the moment it shuts down and
says it's all done, shops closed from that moment.
In that instance, in the speed, Paul says in the twinkling of an
eye to be absent from the body is what he adds is to be present
with the Lord. That's a wonderful piece.
That's a wonderful place. If you're going into the
intensive care and the doctor say, well, we just hope things
go well. Whichever way I'm good, I'm
good, whichever way I'm good. Because to be absent from the
body is to be present with the Lord.
Secondly, we are being saved. So we have been saved the day of
your conversion. Secondly, we are being saved.
What does that mean? Philippians 116 being confident
of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you
will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
Tell me, have you got it all down?
You know, are you the perfect believer right now, man?
No, that's why 1 John 19 and 10 says we can come before the Lord
as Christians each day and go, God forgive me today.
You know, I was a lousy dad even on Father's Day.
I didn't say the right thing. I wasn't appreciative of what
the kids did. We sin.
We sin by things we do and by we sin by things we don't do.
Omission and Commission. And so we're in the process.
I'm not finished yet, I'm living in a sinful body and I still
fail God and so I'm being saved. Thirdly, we will be saved when
we are united with Christ in heaven and in His Kingdom.
Ephesians one verse 13 says in him that's Jesus you also
trusted after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation in whom also having believed so there it is you hear
it you believe you were sealed the moment you heard God's word
and you believe that God says now I'm sealing you with the
Holy Spirit. Now I identify you as mine.
The ceiling was used in the days where we get a term signet ring.
Some of you guys used to get them in the old days they get
signet rings. Well, signet rings was a ring
used by the owner of the business and he putting goods
and products overseas and they would put a wax, BLOB of wax on
it. Then he'd get his signet ring,
he'd place his mark and that signet ring, that means that
goods, that product that's been sent somewhere, that's his.
Well, you and I don't have a mark on us as such.
That's why the Antichrist does this, you know, this, this whole
thing of putting another mark on, he just copies it with a
pathetic setup. A pathetic setup.
We're sealed not by a tattoo, not by a chip, not by a mark.
We're sealed by the Holy Spirit. God has a mark upon us, sealed
with the Holy Spirit of promise. We made Christ forever.
In verse 14 of Ephesians one who is the guarantee.
That's their that's our guarantee of the inheritance
until the redemption of the purchase, possession to the
praise of his glory until we get to be with the Lord, you and I
sealed. How often do you wonder?
You know, Lord, I've blown it. Sometimes my mind wanders with
the things of the word of God. Lord, sometimes I doubt you,
sometimes I struggle. God says that's fine, I've got
you sealed. I've got you sealed.
That's what grace is because otherwise you would wake up
every day and go, oh, I'm still safe today at the Raptors not
coming when I was lousy when I was driving on the road and
doing road rage or doing something stupid.
Grace saved. It's this third aspect of
salvation and our union with Jesus Christ in heaven that is
being spoken of here in chapter 19.
Hallelujah. Salvation, glory and honour and
power belong to the Lord our God.
All that we have, all that we have longed for is to be with
Christ as his bride. It's happening here, it will
happen. Some of you are getting married.
We have a couple getting married next month.
They can't wait the days. How many days it is.
You know it's getting closer. You and I are the same.
I'm longing to meet the Lord now.
I know we have tasks to do, work to do, and that I won't leave
this body or leave this world until God says you're done,
you're finished. But I long for the early church
all longed for they all expected, they yearned for the
coming of Christ. Peter wrote about it in depth
here in heaven it says verse 2. Now we have the Hallelujah of
judgement, for true and righteous are his judgements.
This is all that God has done, because He has from chapter 6 to
chapter 19, Judge the great harlot who corrupted the earth
with her fornication. That is all false religion God's
put down. He has avenged on her the blood
of His servants shed by her. I want to recommend to you to
buy as a family Fox's Book of Martyrs.
Fox's Book of Martyrs tells of all the Saints who've been
persecuted for their faith. And today in Africa, in Pakistan
and places around the world where people are dying for their
faith, God is avenging them. Here in chapter 19, the
servants, the blood shed by her, by the great harlot church,
again they said Hallelujah, her smoke rises up.
And here's this term forever and ever all of heaven breaks out in
praise of God's righteous judgements because he's judged
who? The false religious system of
Babylon. He has judged the corrupt
worldly commercial and political system of government, of rule
and power. It's burned to the ground.
Read the previous chapter. It's gone in a day, gone in a
moment. And all the world looks on and
goes, Oh man, can't, don't get near it.
Look at it, it's burning up. The smoke is seen all the world
for both those the Gov, the government's corrupt, the
religious system corrupt, oppose God, kill his servants, the many
innocent followers of Christ who sadly died for their faith.
And that's why in heaven there is judgement now that's been
poured out upon these false systems.
All of heavens is righteous and true.
Hallelujah that you've judged them.
God, you've avenged us. So all of heaven proclaims and
rejoices now. No one in heaven I read this is
accusing God or questioning him. You often read of these so
called rock stars and media stars and all you know who just
blab on and dribble from their mouths.
Now when I get to heaven, I've got a few things.
George Clooney, I've got a few things I want to say to God if
he exists. Georgie, Georgie, no one in
heaven questions him. No one says go God, that's a bit
unfair. I mean 35K hailstone block could
have been 5 kilos. Surely, you know, come on, back
off. No one, no one says a word in
heaven because they look down and they see with all clarity
that what God and how God is judged is actually right on.
It's perfect for what needs you and I, You know, we, we, we see
our court systems, don't we? And we see situations and we go,
how do they get away with that? Or guess what, no one gets away
with anything. That's why God says vengeance is
mine. Everyone will stand before God.
God will judge every person in that regard.
No one in heaven at this place is accusing God, questioning
him. However, everyone is praising
and honouring him. Now.
Most people don't believe and don't want to have to believe in
eternal judgement. Don't mention how I don't.
Don't talk about how Jehovah Witnesses said well we won't
have that, we'll tear that out. Don't need that part and so they
have had to rewrite their own Bible.
They don't believe that Jesus is the son of God.
What will tear that be there be not one that and so they created
their new world translation. But the Bible, Jesus spoke more
on hell than he did on heaven. And there is eternal judgement
because it says here the Bible is explicit about the eternal
nature of God's punishment of the wicked.
And we have this classic example, verse 3.
And they said, Hallelujah, her smoke rises up.
That's Babylon forever and ever. That means the judgement on
Babylon goes on and on and on. It's not like, oh, that'll do,
it's on forever. But as we read this at the same
time, if it well, that's a bit tough, isn't it?
Hang on a minute. As we read this, let us not
forget at the same time Peter tells us to Peter 39, the law
does not slack concerning his promise as some count slackness
that is his coming again, but as long suffering his patient
toward us. Why is God patient?
Why hasn't God returned as yet? Because it says he is not
willing that any should perish. All the perishing that happens
between chapter 6 and chapter 19 is self indulgent.
It's chosen. No one is unfairly judged by
God. Because God's word says I don't
want anyone to perish. No one, it goes on to say, but
that all should come. And here's how you come to God
to repentance. Realise I'm a Sinner, I'm lost,
I need saving, I need a Saviour. Ezekiel 3311 says this say to
them, and this is God as I live, says the Lord God, I have no
pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked I
wish they would turn from his way and live in his everlasting
life. And then he says, turn, will you
turn, turn from your evil ways? For why should you die?
You see God, God says, what? Why do you reject?
Why you want to live eternally in darkness?
Why won't you receive love and forgiveness?
Why would you choose eternal separation from God?
Why would you choose judgement? This is the reason Jesus came to
save us, to rescue us. Why?
To show God's great love we didn't deserve it, He came
anyway, and that we can receive forgiveness.
You know the greatest thing that happens in a person's life is
when you're forgiven by God. I have sinned.
I've said things, done things that I'm just so embarrassed
about in a marriage. It's the greatest thing that you
can do as a husband and wife is to be gracious and forgiving one
to another. There's nothing more wonderful
than being forgiven. You know why?
Because you know you deserve judgement.
You give them forgiveness. It makes you humble, doesn't it?
Thank you, thankful. You see, God came that we may
receive them the most gracious gift, forgiveness and not only
just be forgiven, but cleansed. All that stuff that I've done
and said, removed, taken away so that God doesn't remember it.
Through faith in Christ and we can have eternal life instead of
eternal separation from God. We can have a future.
I know what happens to me when I die.
I have a hope. I know I'm going to experience
heaven. Oh, I can't wait to.
It's going to be like opening Christmas presents every day to
look forward to that after death.
Another reason why there is rejoicing in heaven at this time
is that this judgement is against the demonic world
system. Have you seen and I I have.
You see systems and situations on TV.
There's one place that I had to go to once a week as a chaplain
for the police, which was the child abuse centre.
It's the one place as two officers were talking about a
situation. I won't go into detail, but I
said I can't listen to this, I'm going to move away.
How can such evil occur? How can such horror be taken out
upon certain people by individuals?
Or guess what, this is the place where God says, you know what,
all that demonic work that's been done, I'm judging it right
now. I'm judging it right now, and
I'm judging it completely. And also that the praise goes
up. Why?
Because he's removing the demonic influence that came in
in the Garden of Eden through the serpent as you deceive
Jesus, sorry, as he deceived Adam and Eve, that whole
poisoning, this whole evil corrupt system that exists now
in the world, Jesus says I'm going to remove it completely,
taking it out. When our Saviour Jesus Christ
hung in agony on the cross at Calvary, he cried out.
It is finished. What was finished?
His sacrifice for our sins was finished.
Our salvation was wrought. Now at this time, during the
great tribulation, as it draws to a close, we see the end of
Satan's demonic influence in the world.
This is why heaven is rejoicing. Praise the Lord.
Now a third Hallelujah, and this is the Hallelujah of agreement,
verse four and the 24 elders and the four living creatures,
they're the cherubim, remember, surrounded by the throne
creatures, the eyes, they have faces on each face and wings.
And in the book of Isaiah, we have this full description on
these powerful angels that are seated around, stand around the
throne of God that go holy, holy, holy is the Lord God
Almighty. And they do that over and over
and over and over. It says on the 24 elders and the
four living creatures, the cherubim fell down and
worshipped God who sat on the throne saying Amen.
What do they say? Amen before Hallelujah.
Then a voice came from the throne saying, praise our God,
all you his servants, and those who fear him, both small and
great. Back in chapter 4, we learned
that the 24 elders, remember, represented all of God's people,
12 tribes, 12 apostles. There's a representation here.
So 1 Firstly, heaven rejoices. Why?
The four living creatures, the cherubim and the angels gathered
around the throne of God. All the angels of heaven praise
the Lord too. And then all the Saints, the
elders in agreement, rejoice in God's judgement collectively,
this great heavenly chorus of agreement with God, what he has
done. And so they shout, Amen,
Hallelujah. They say, hey, Amen.
Because they go, it is right on what you've done, it is so be
it. What you've done, it's right.
What you've done, Hallelujah, Amen.
Meaning, so be it. So they are proclaiming, so be
it. Praise the Lord what you've
done. God in all your judgement,
absolutely Amen to that, but you cannot say Hallelujah to your
first say Amen, our fourth and last Hallelujah.
This is the Hallelujah of communion.
Verse 6 and I heard as it were, the voice of the great multitude
is the sound of many waters of the sound of mighty thundering,
saying Hallelujah for the Lord God hears his title omnipotent 1
reigns, that is, he is all powerful.
How loud this massive break out of heavenly praise is thundering
like a raging waterfall. They rejoice and are glad
because the time for the marriage of Christ and his bride
has come. The Lord God all powerful
reigns. So between chapter 6 and chapter
19, everyone in heaven saying God, you've been in control the
whole time. Pastor Marlon, Pastor Nat spoke
on it this morning. People who were pregnant were
worried. I remember during when Helen and
I first became believers, there were people who were pregnant
going, well, I know I'm not going to have kids, Sorry
though, thinking of pregnancy. We're not going to have kids.
Who could bring a child into this?
Such an evil world. Well, here's the deal.
God rules the world. God is in control, God is on His
throne. He is the omnipotent one or
powerful one, and God has revealed now that He is in
charge. I have judged.
Everything's going to plan, and now he's about to return.
His will will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
This 4th Hallelujah is all of heaven rejoicing over God's
power and the marriage between Christ the Lamb and His Bride,
the Church. Who's the bride, you and I.
To truly understand the next few verses, we need to have a bit of
understanding of the background of a traditional Jewish wedding.
Normally at a wedding the focus is on the bride and it's all
about the bride. But in chapter 19, in this case,
the focus is on the bridegroom who receives the honour.
Verse 7. Let's be glad and rejoice and
give him glory. Why?
For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made
herself ready. Note those words.
His wife, that's the bride, has made herself ready.
When talking about weddings, the first question is what did the
bride wear? Helen always asked me when I do
a wedding. So what were the bridesmaids
like? I got no idea.
I don't know. Plus I can't describe colours.
There's red, black, blue, green, there's always amber, beige and
then there's Bony colour. I got no idea what you're
talking about. Is it red, black, blue or green?
I don't know. What did the bride wear?
The bride in this case is the Church of Jesus Christ, and his
wife has made herself ready. Now when the bride of Christ
arrived in heaven, she arrived at the rapture of the church.
She arrived at the judgement seat of Christ.
So as we're raptured, the first event, and this is all occurring
in heaven, as the tribulation is happening upon the earth, the
first event that happens for you and I is we each stand as
believers before the Bema seat of Christ.
It's not a judgement on sin and salvation.
No, it's the judgement where we are judged by Christ on what we
have done in serving Him and pleasing Him in our time after
our conversion. Is it wood, hay, stubble, or is
it gold, jewels? It doesn't last.
It says we stand before the judgement seat of Christ before
the marriage, Christ the bridegroom.
And it says in Ephesians chapter 2, verse 10 that when we're
saved, we are created for works. James speaks of it.
He says I'll show you my faith by my works.
I'm not saved by my works, but by the way that I live.
You'll see my faith in Ephesians 210 says Paul says we are his
workmanship created in Christ Jesus.
Why? For good works which God
prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
So the moment that you were saved, God says, OK, Tom, Fred,
Mary, Jack, this is what I want you to do.
And when you stand before the beamer seat of Christ, it will
be did you do what I asked you to do?
Did you do what I Well, no, but I came up some great programmes.
We had golf, wet surf day and a knitting day.
I didn't ask you to do any of that.
I asked you to love your neighbour.
I'll ask you. I asked you to be a godly father
to your children. I asked you to serve me, to
honour me, to trust me. Why is this written so?
Through the ages, believers have been performing righteous acts
which have been accumulating. Now we have a wedding garment.
Our garment is grace, but there's an adornment to the
wedding garment. After the wedding, the wedding
gown is laid aside and the church will reveal His glory in
Ephesians 2. Seven, that in the ages that
come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace and his
kindness, which is toward us in Christ Jesus.
At the judgement seat, the bema seat, it deals with the things
done while in the body, whether good or bad.
Paul talked about this in Second Corinthians chapter 5, verse 10.
He says to believers, to Christians, For we must all
appear before the judgement seat of Christ, the Bema seat, that
each one may receive the things done in the body according to
what He has done, whether good or bad.
And at the marriage, Christ's bride will have made herself
ready with fine linen, which depicts the righteous acts of
the Saints overlaid God's gift of grace.
We're able to do these things because of God's grace.
Because we've been saved by grace, Now we're be able to
perform acts of grace. When the bride arrived in heaven
at the judgement seat of Christ, she was not all beautiful
because the Bible says in fact she was covered in spots,
wrinkles, and blemishes. Ephesians 527 Jesus might
present her, the bride to himself, a glorious church, not
having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should
be holy and without blemish, not having spot or wrinkle.
The idea isn't that the bride is in this state before the wedding
day, but on the wedding day. We are made this pure in heaven
when we are joined to Jesus Christ as his bride and we're
married. The married the the wedding
occurs. But now after that, the bride is
radiant in her glory. She has made herself ready for
the public ceremony. Now in a Jewish wedding, there
were three areas that occurred. One, there was the initial
engagement or betrothal. From the moment the couple, the
boy and the girl were legally bound like husband and wife.
From the moment they were espoused or engaged to another,
they went living together, sleeping together, but they were
called and had the same rights as a husband and wife.
It was called condition, and this relationship could only be
broken now because they're betrothed by divorce.
This is why when Mary came to Joseph, she said I'm pregnant
even though they weren't married.
He says I'm going to have to divorce them now.
Most of the time it was parents who had arranged the couple to
get married, some even before they were born.
You're going to marry my son if I have a son, Well, and he's
going to marry your daughter if you have a daughter.
It was arranged before the couples or the kids were born.
This too happened to you and I in Ephesians 14, According as He
has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world.
You and I were chosen to be the bride of Christ before we were
born. We have an arranged marriage.
Secondly, as the bride prepares herself along with her
bridesmaids for her wedding day. As the day approaches, she would
make her own wedding dress while the the groom would prepare a
place where the couple would live after the marriage.
As a young Jewish boy he would not have the means to buy a
house outright. He and his father would build A
room where off his parents house.
John chapter 14 verse 2. In my father's house are many
mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you I go to prepare a place for you.
Thirdly, the bride knew the time was near but didn't know the
exact hour when the bridegroom would arrive.
This is a beautiful picture of the bride.
We know Jesus is coming. We know the wedding is soon, but
we don't know when he's coming. It's the rapture of the church.
The wedding was ceremony itself would last seven days.
Seven days. The period of the great
tribulation is the period of the wedding.
Today, 2025 September. The church, you and I, we're
engaged, we're betrothed. We're not married yet.
We love the Lord even though we have not seen Him, Peter says,
Whom having not seen you love, though now you do not see him,
yet, believing you rejoice with joy, inexpressible and full of
glory. So very soon the bridegroom,
Jesus Christ will return. And take His bride.
John 14, verse 3 by Go and prepare a place for you.
I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am,
there you may be also. We call this the rapture of the
Church. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4.
Now at the judgement seat of Christ, all the bride's works
will be judged in all the spots and blemishes removed.
And when this is complete, the church will be ready.
Second part after the wedding with her bridegroom because
they're married at the close of the tribulation to reign with
him in glory. Verse 9.
Then he said to me, right, blessed are those who are called
to the marriage supper of the lamb.
This is not the wedding. This is the supper we call it
today what the breakfast, don't we?
And he said to me, these are the true sayings of God.
This is what's going to happen now.
No bride is invited to their own wedding.
Oh, I got an invitation to my wedding.
I've got that. I'm glad.
Wasn't sure whether I'll RSVP now or what.
Now no bride is invited to their own wedding, and neither is this
the case here. So who are the invitations to
the wedding feast for? Because the church, we're there.
All the believers from the Old Testament.
Can you imagine at the wedding supper?
What's your name? Daniel.
Nice to meet you, David.
Yeah. Pleased to meet you, mate.
Where's your seat? I'm over near Ruth and Naomi.
There you go. All the Old Testament Saints.
Saints will come. All the Saints that were saved
and martyred during the tribulation period.
During the seven year tribulation period.
Separate group. They'll be invited.
Christ has only one bride, and the bride is the church.
So we have had the wedding and now the marriage supper of the
Lamb. The marriage of Christ and His
Church will have already taken place before the feast.
We know this is the case also due to the wording in verse 7.
Let us be glad and rejoice in giving glory, for the marriage
of the Lamb has come and his wife has made herself ready.
The word, the word wife. There is a married is that word
for married woman. Now in the rapture of the
church, Jesus will take his bride to himself.
And then when Jesus returns to earth, the next portion of
chapter 19, the second coming of Jesus, he will celebrate the
union, the wedding at a great, the wedding banquet to which the
Saints of all the ages and groups will be invited.
And so the beginning and remember 7 year tribulation
period, Jesus returns what begins the thousand year reign
called the Millennium. Jesus rules and reigns.
And here's the deal. We return with Jesus at his
second coming. We see that in the next few
verses and then upon the earth, a great wedding banquet is held
to which all the Saints and all the peoples and groups are
invited. The beginning of the Millennium,
the thousand year reign of Christ here on earth from
Jerusalem after His second Coming, will fulfil the
symbolism of the wedding supper and the wedding feast taking
place at the very beginning of this thousand years.
Verse 10 And I fell, John says I fell at his feet.
That's the feet of the Angel to worship him.
But he said to me, hey, don't do that.
I am your fellow servant and I'll be your brethren who had
the testimony of Jesus. Worship God, for the testimony
of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
The Apostle John is overwhelmed with all that he's seen, the
wedding, the bride, the wedding feasts, and if ever a patches
passage of scripture prove beyond doubt that Jesus Christ
is not merely an Angel but the eternal God in human flesh, this
is it. The Angel tells, tells John to
stand and then says these amazing words for the testimony
of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
In other words, listen up John, take note all that the Old
Testament prophecy that has been written as well as all the New
Testament preaching and prophecy, it all comes down to
this. Jesus is the Messiah and our
Saviour. That's the reason for the book.
All prophecy is intended to glorify Jesus Christ.
Be careful, there's a lot of prophecy.
What do they call them groupies today they they track prophecy,
prophecy, prophecy. I love prophecy. 1/3 of the
Bible is prophecy. But here this prophecy is only
the means to look and glorify Jesus Christ.
Don't get stuck in glorifying oh and what how many days and what
now? Don't get stuck in that because
you're missing the whole point of Bible prophecy.
All prophecies intended to glorify Jesus Christ.
Any teaching of prophecy that takes our minds and our hearts
away from Him is not being properly communicated.
The Book of Revelation, remember, is what it's the
revelation of Jesus Christ. Every single text of Scripture
points to Jesus Christ. He is the Lord of all.
He is the Lord of Scripture. The history of our world, of our
lives is His story. As the worship team gets ready,
I'm going to close with these few points.
The wedding day, we see Jesus face to face.
You and I are going to experience this.
I can't, I can't fathom that we're the bride.
We're not just looking on, we're actually the bride.
We see him face to face and then we will eat with him.
Remember he said I'm not going to have this communion once
again until I meet. Eat with you once more time.
That's the time I want to ask you a couple of questions.
Where will you be when all this takes place?
One or three places 1. You might be in hell if you
haven't received Christ as your Lord and Saviour 2 You might be
on earth, having survived all the events we've been reading
out since chapter 6 or three. You'll be standing in heaven,
clothed in glory, hearing the choirs praise.
Today God invites you to a wedding, your wedding and a
feast where you're part of the honoured guests and it is all in
His honour as His bride. Are you His bride?