The bride of Christ in Rev. 19
- Oct. 5 03(Feb. 5th 95 revised)
Psalm 45:1 For the director of music. To the tune of Lilies. Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil. A wedding song. My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skilful writer.
2 You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, since God has blessed you for ever.
3 Gird your sword upon your side, O mighty one; clothe yourself with splendour and majesty.
4 In your majesty ride forth victoriously on behalf of truth, humility and righteousness; let your right hand display awesome deeds.
45 With hearts in love abounding
Prayer
Eph. 3:14-21, 5:25-27
727 Beyond all knowledge
Revelation 19:5-9 (1-16)
Sermon
719 One with Jesus, loved and cherished (34 Hyfrydol)
C 658 Sit down beneath his shadow
I am seeking to understand the mysterious Prophecy of Revelation according to the opening verses. "Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it & take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near." (1:3) The book of Revelation is, I believe, best understood in relation to other Scriptures rather than being treated as a "stand alone" book of end-time prophecies. It is written to the suffering church to give us hope in a wonderful future with Christ in glory.
Last time I preached we looked at Revelation 5 to see the Lord Jesus as the Lion & the Lamb, the King & Priest who triumphed by his sacrifice on the cross. Throughout time he rides out with the Gospel as the all-conquering rider on the white horse.
Now in Rev. 19 we see him with his bride, the church, complete. All the redeemed are saved. Jesus’ head is crowned with many diadems.
Some things remain before the eternal New Heaven & New Earth come into being. Satan’s final rebellion must be put down, & all who joined him in rebellion must be destroyed.
We see that destruction in the 19:15 onwards, and in Rev. 20 we see a summary from Christ’s binding Satan by his victory on the cross, and his gathering of the souls of the redeemed in heaven during the "1000 years" between the cross & his return for resurrection & judgement.
In Rev. 19 the bride is ready, but the resurrection is still to come. Jude describes the scene like this: 14 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15 to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
The Bride - the Church - on earth
We are not yet in heaven. Whatever our state now, & however Christians are regarded by those around us, we are the objects of the eternal love of God. The church is the bride of Christ, & we are invited to the wedding, not as honoured guests but as the bride herself. We will enjoy the love of Christ in glory for all eternity.
Around the world many believers are despised, imprisoned, or dying in desperate poverty, in danger of death when they meet to worship our great God & Saviour. They are condemned if they preach the gospel of peace with God to those who are under the judgement of God. Yet, in their apparent failure & defeat they are more than conquerors. We are predestined for glory - to be conformed to the likeness of Christ! As Paul writes in Romans 8: 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Note that: Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Our receiving the love of God, like our eternal life, & our perfect righteousness in God's sight begins with our salvation. We don't have to wait until we get to heaven to know God's love, nor do we have to die to begin eternal life. Even now we are perfect in God's sight, for we stand in Christ, & God looks at us in Him. Rather, if we do not know the love of God on earth while we live, we will not know it in heaven. God even declares his infinite love to lost & guilty rebel sinners, who by nature are his enemies.
The love of Christ for His bride-to-be, His church & ourselves as members of His church, is a present experience for us to enjoy.
The everlasting, covenant love of God for His elect in Christ.
God's love for the church is not an extension of what some teach as universal love. They believe that God loves everyone, even those who reject His love. They say that because "God is love" that He must love everyone. They continue in sin, hoping that God's love will secure them a place in heaven.
Certainly God does declare his love for sinners, so none need turn away unloved. The Gospel call is to sinners to repent, to the weary to turn to Jesus to find rest, to find peace, even to begin eternal life.
The truth is, however, as Paul writes, that "God chose us IN CHRIST before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His children through Jesus Christ." Ephesians 1:4-5. God's love is a purposeful love, a saving love, an adopting love.
"God is love." His nature is love, & before creation the love of God existed in the mutual love of the Trinity, Father, Son & Holy Spirit. His nature is love, & to express that love, before the creation He chose a people to become His children through Jesus Christ His Son. He foresaw the rebellion of Satan, the temptation & fall of man, the wickedness of all mankind, even His elect people. His nature is love, and to express that love he sent His Son into the world to die to redeem His people who were dead in transgressions & sins.
This is the love in which God acts to transform us, not just to forgive us. To be forgiven & to become a hired servant of God would be wonderful. Even more wonderfully, God takes into His family to make us one with Christ. The Bible struggles to find words to express the wonder of our relationship with God in Christ. We are children of God, the bride of Christ. Listen to these verses from Isaiah 62.
1. For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. 2 The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.
3 You will be a crown of splendour in the LORD's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
4. ... the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be married.
5. As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.
11. ... "Say to the Daughter of Zion, `See, your Saviour comes! See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.'"
12. They will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the LORD; and you will be called Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted.
That is the covenant love of God for you & me, & all God's people IN CHRIST.
The love of God for his people is fully expressed in the picture of a heavenly marriage.
Turn to Rev. 19. 5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying:
"Praise our God, all you his servants,
you who fear him, both small and great!"
6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
"Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear." (Fine linen stands for the righteousness [acts] of the saints.)
9 Then the angel said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!' " And he added, "These are the true words of God."
What a wonderful welcome God has planned for his people when we get to glory!
We are the objects of the eternal love of God. The church is the bride of Christ, & we are invited to the wedding, not as honoured guests but as the bride herself. We will enjoy the love of Christ in glory for all eternity.
An earthly bride takes care that her wedding day will be as perfect as she can make it. Her dress, her hair, her flowers are all lovingly prepared. The bridesmaids are there to help her in every way they can. From my experience, recent & long ago, the bridegroom does not seem to have a large part to play in the wedding itself.
Its very different with our heavenly Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus.
He does everything to ensure that his bride is perfect. If we were to try to prepare ourselves for the wedding, our best clothes would be in God’s sight like "filthy rags" as Isaiah puts it. All that we have is washed in the blood of the Lamb and so our robes become the purest white.
We are washed from all our sins, every stain is removed, even our hearts & minds are renewed. We are credited with the righteousness of Christ so that in every way we become perfect in the sight of God.
The eternal home in glory for the bridegroom & his bride.
Yet there is more to be done. The perfect earth created for Adam & Eve became corrupt when Adam sinned. All evil must be removed, and heaven & earth must be renewed.
The purified souls of the church, the bride, still await the resurrection so that soul & body are perfectly united united with their Bridegroom.
The last rebellion ends with fiery judgement before the great white throne, and Satan, his angels & all mankind who rejected the Gospel of the love of Christ are consigned to the second death in hell.
Nothing can now destroy the perfect peace of God, so he brings into being a New Heaven & New Earth, the eternal home for Bridegroom & bride.
Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
5 He who was seated on the throne said, I am making everything new! Then he said, Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.
6 He said to me: It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.
7 He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
Here a city, New Jerusalem, is pictured as the bride. Jerusalem is the city where the people of God dwell with their King & Saviour.
The resurrection is complete, heaven & earth are renewed so that God & man can live in perfect union.
The ancient covenant promise declared in Leviticus is perfectly fulfilled: 26:11 I will put my dwelling-place among you, and I will not abhor you. 12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.
Sadly the ungodly will not be there, despite God’s gracious & loving invitation. Listen to the words of the Spirit & the bride, still calling lost sinners:
Rev. 22:16 I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.
17 The Spirit and the bride say, Come! And let him who hears say, Come! Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.
We have this wonderful message of love. May our heavenly Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, bless us all in this wonderful relationship, and help us in our service for him as we echo the call of the bride: Come! Come to Jesus! Come to Jesus and find in him full salvation, cleansing from every sin, and a place in his eternal home as his much-loved bride.
The love of husband & wife is supremely used to picture the love of God for His people, & our perfect experience of God's love in heaven.
I know that in all human relationships there are troubles, even heartbreak & despair, for all human relationships are affected by sin. Sadly, even very happy loving relationships are ended by death, as our dear friend Jaqui has experienced. We should however see in these aspects of love a picture of God's love for us, & they should inspire us to love Him more, who is the giver of all our love. We should not rest in human love, but human love should move us to seek more & more the love of God. Ultimately we long to know that perfect love which we will only know with Christ in glory, at that great marriage-supper of the Lamb.
We should see in the communion service a picture & foretaste of the marriage supper of the Lamb. As we gather round the table, our Lord Jesus Christ is here as the head of the feast. We keep the feast "until He comes".
Then we shall feast with Him in glory.
May it be so for all of us.