The Joy of Revelation VI. The Beatitudes - 4 Revised

1.     19:9 Then the angel said to me, “Write the following: Blessed are those who are invited to the banquet at the wedding celebration of the Lamb!” He also said to me, “These are the true words of God.” 

This beatitude follows chapters describing the figures that are the nemesis of the Christians and all that those creatures and false prophets have done. These culminate in ch. 18, following which there is great rejoicing in heaven from all assembled there. Ch. 19:6-8 call for rejoicing because “the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.” If we are familiar with some of these figures of speech we know that the Lamb of course is none other than Jesus Christ, sacrificed for the sins of the world. None other than Jesus’ relative, John the Baptist, surely inspired by the Holy Spirit and knowledgeable from his study, growing up in the house of his devout priest father Zechariah, called him “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” when Jesus came to John to be baptized (John 1:29). 

The bride as a figure of speech for the people of God is first seen in the Old Testament when God, through the prophet Isaiah, says, “you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your builder marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.” This was spoken to the Children of Israel when they were being warned of judgement coming their way, followed by this as a promise of the future. 

We then see this image numerous times in the preceding books of the New Testament, referring to those whose sins are forgiven, who believe in Jesus and the life-giving power of his death and resurrection. This is The Church, the body of people. John the Baptist already expounded on this when he said “He who has the bride is the bride groom. The friend of the bride groom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason, my joy has been fulfilled (John 3:29).” Then Jesus himself use this image, including here already a reference to a banquet, when he spoke to his disciples about fasting, "The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The day will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast (Matthew 9:15).” Of course, Jesus is he referring to himself as the bridegroom.  Here though, Jesus’ followers are referred to as wedding guests and not his bride. The Apostle Paul picked up on this idea when he wrote the Corinthians, “I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ (II Corinthians 11:2).” Paul is referring to Jesus as the husband, and believers, Christians, as the potential bride.

We sometimes read in scripture that the angels marvel at God’s doing, his love for and relationship with the humans he has created. I think one can see this in the words of the angel here. The Bride, The Church, has come through all of its trials and testings and is now ready for full union with Jesus. The Church is entering the next phase of its existence where it will live forever in the manner in which God originally intended man to live. The Kingdom of Heaven, of God, which Jesus spoke so much about, has arrived. The situation is no longer ‘near at hand’ as Jesus sometimes said. It is here. It’s as if the angel can hardly believe it. God’s plans have been fulfilled at last.

So, when the groom and bride are ready, what do you have? You have a wedding feast! We know wedding feasts are by invitation. Here the angel is exulting over how blessed, how privileged, to be invited to “the banquet of the wedding celebration of the Lamb.” As if to emphasize that this is really going to happen, to tell the writer that it will really occur – God’s goals are being met, the angel adds, “These are the true words of God.” This is not open to question. There is no more waiting, the wedding feast is here!

We don’t know what this event will really be like. We have a taste of it in the many parables Jesus told that included banquets (e.g., Matt. 22:1-14, 25:1-13; Luke 14:15-24), as well as other references such as Matt. 8:11, where Jesus talks of many coming from the east and the west to feast with the patriarchs in the kingdom of heaven. Most importantly, as with many aspects of the kingdom, we have instances of life here and now that give us a foretaste of this great feast. Our former pastor, with some of our congregation’s members had the vision to start a meal for our congregation and whoever wanted to join us from the neighbourhood. Our pastor had often spoken on the parables and the teachings where Jesus spoke about weddings and banquets and who was being invited. He simply believed that we, with our abundance, should share freely with those among us and around us, just as God so lavishly pours out his blessings on all of us, saint and sinner alike. This banquet has continued for some five years now and everyone looks forward to its happening. When you enter the room – our church ‘s gym -  on those evenings when this feast has been prepared,  it is abuzz with the excitement of people gathering again, reuniting or meeting new faces, and all waiting to be served the feast. Just imagine the excitement and the feast when this will really be a feast with Jesus present! How blessed to have been invited to that indeed!