Monday, April 1, 2019
Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder: “Praise the Lord! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people. Revelation 19:6-8
When Elizabeth and I
got married we saved the tux rental too because I had my Army uniform to
wear. One of the groomsmen told me it
was appropriate; that uniform with the private’s stripe shouted that I was a
guy who knew how to take orders!
The Marriage
Supper of the Lamb will be like none other. According to this end time prediction the
bride will be beautifully dressed in the most elegant way, adorned with the sacrificial
works of the church in caring for people throughout the ages. But the groom, the spotless Lamb of God, Jesus
Christ, the One Who died for this bride, will be the center of all creation and
beyond.
All that exists
will be turned towards the groom on that day.
And that means every believer, every man, woman, and child who has trusted
in Christ will be in attendance, and all attention will be on Messiah; no one
will have eyes for anyone but Jesus.
The
Apostle John, writing down this Revelation vision about that day as Jesus spoke
it to him, recorded that the bride had prepared herself. That preparation is the sum of all the good
that has been done by believers in the name of Jesus over the last two
millennia. I believe it also includes those
pre-cross
saints, such as Abraham, Abel, the prophets, King David, Samson, and everyone
who trusted in God’s promise of a Savior.
Every kindness ever done in the name of our Lord is remembered in Heaven
(whether or not it is recorded on earth) and will be rewarded on that day.
When I was
much younger that day of Jesus’ return, and the marriage supper of the Lamb
seemed so much more removed from reality than today. Perhaps, owing to the naïve nature of the
1950’s sans Internet and lightning-fast news reporting, as well as my own
preoccupation with growing up, playing sports, and generally surviving the
threat of polio and measles. My mind
just didn’t have time for thinking about all the wonders of the world coming to
an end before I’d even had a chance to explore some of it.
Fast-forward
to the dawn of the 3rd decade of a new millennium, I can’t believe
it hasn’t happened yet! Wars, rumors of
wars, earthquakes, floods, famine, atmosphere collapsing…Jesus’ Mt Olivet
sermon[iii] warnings
of end times approaching read like the gloom and doom of the daily news reports. Perhaps it’s just my age, or a different stage
of preoccupation with Scripture’s forecast, but the question occupying my mind
mostly these days is how much longer can it be?
For You Today
It isn’t
for any of us to know the exact time, or exactly what it will be like when
Jesus Christ returns to set everything right which has been wrong. But we have the larger picture – it is going
to be the best…better than any human imagination can conceive. The time…when it comes…will be so grand, no
believer will ever look back on this life wishing for the good ol’ times; as
the poet said, the best is yet to be!
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