This summer I have the distinct privilege of participating in three wedding ceremonies that involve members of Bethel Chapel Church. As I sit to write this, I have completed one, and have two more to look forward to.
Marriage ceremonies are always beautiful occasions, and they are times for great rejoicing. That may be one of the main reasons the Bible uses marriage to picture God’s relationship to His followers. In the last book of the Bible, we see a description of a great and grand ceremony where God is going to publicly identify with the ones He has forgiven. That ceremony is called the Marriage Supper, or celebration, of the Lamb. In this wedding Jesus is the groom, and His followers are the bride.
We know this is true because the Apostle John said, “a voice came from the throne, saying, ‘Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.’ Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.’ 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. Then he said to me, Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he said to me, ‘These are true words of God’” (Revelation 19:5–9).
In this world’s final wedding ceremony, Jesus is called the Lamb because He is innocent and sinless. He had no sin of His own, but He willingly died in our place for our sin. Because of our failure to give God the glory He deserves, we deserve death. Jesus offered Himself as a sacrificial payment for us on the cross. By nature we want to live life by our own rules instead of submitting to the One who created us. Our rebellion has put a barrier between us and the God who we were created to love. That is why Jesus, the Lamb, volunteered to suffer God’s wrath that rightly belongs us. This world’s final wedding ceremony is a glorious celebration of what Christ did when He took the suffering that we deserve.
There is one important way, though, that marriage celebrations in biblical times were different than the way we celebrate them today. In Bible times, the clothes worn by the guests were provided by the host.
Marriage feasts would often last a week – if not longer. The host would give extra clothing to the guests, so that they would be dressed properly. It was a sign of honor and respect to accept that gift of clothing. Rejecting it would have been a sign of arrogance, like saying, “I don’t need your gifts, I’m fine the way I am!”
That is why Jesus said in one of His parables that, “when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth’” (Matthew 22:11–13).
God will not allow anyone to be a part of His final wedding feast who isn’t covered by Christ’s perfect righteousness. It would be a slap in His face – a rejection of His gift – to try and show up at this high class wedding with anything less than what the King provided.
If you are trusting Christ completely, and trusting Christ only, to cover your sinful condition, then you can rejoice that one day you will be married to Christ Himself for all eternity. “I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels” (Isaiah 61:10).
In order to be at God’s final wedding ceremony, our names must be listed in God’s Book of Life. Most importantly, you don’t want to miss that ceremony because, “if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire”(Revelation 20:15).
If you have not trusted Christ for your own salvation, you can do so today. In order to have your name written in the Lamb’s book of life, a very simple RSVP is required. Bow your head and talk to God. Tell Him you realize your own failure and selfishness. Turn from relying on your own good works, and tell the Lord that you believe what He says, that “the righteousness of God
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