The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

Revelation 19 begins with a great voice of many people in heaven praising God for judging religious and political Babylon, and rejoicing over the political downfall of the Antichrist.

Praise in Heaven (Rev. 19:1 - 5)

"After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, 'Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! For true and tighteous are His judgments, because He has Judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.' Again they said, 'Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!' And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, 'Amen! Alleluia!' Then a voice came from the throne, saying, 'Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!'" (Rev. 19:1 - 5, emphasis added).

After the destruction of Babylon and the worldwide reaction that will follow, the roar of a great multitude will be heard in heaven. The great multitude includes the Old Testiment saints, the true Church, tribulation saints and angels. Praise will be directed to God because salvation, glory, and power belong to Him. Salvation speaks of His deliverance. Glory speaks of His judgment. Power refers to His ability to overcome His enemies.

"Alleluia" appears three times in the above Verses. One "Alleluia" is for the destruction of Babylon, the mother of harlots. Another "Alleluia" is for the destruction of Babylon the city. However, Rev. 19:3 refers to more than the destruction on earth. It means they have gone to their everlasting destruction. It is the smoke of judgment. That means God has cast the Antichrist and his followers into the lake burning with fire and brimstone.

The third "Alleluia" appears when the twenty-four elders (speaks of the true Church) and the four living creatures fall down and worship God sitting on the Throne, saying "Amen! Alleluia!"

The announcement of the Marriage of the Lamb (Rev. 19:6, 7)

"And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, 'Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.'" (Rev. 19:6, 7, emphasis added).

This will be a great day in heaven because it will be time for the Lamb's (Christ's) marriage to the true Church, the Bride of Christ. God's servants will rejoice and give Him glory in anticipation of the event. With regard to timing, this event will take place after the destruction of Babylon near the end of the Great Tribulation. We have been engaged to Jesus a long time. Even though we have not actually met our Bridegroom, Jesus will come and lead us into the Marriage Supper.

A special union will exist between Jesus and the Church similar to the union that exists between a bridegroom and a bride upon their marriage. In both instance, the two become one. Jesus is coming back to earth where He and His bride will reign together as one. Before they can reign together, though, they have to be married. The idea is that the Church will be joined together with Jesus in a special relationship that will equip them to reign with Him. He will not come back without His people, and they will not reign without Him.

Let us get ourselves ready for the future events of the Church:

1. We will be taken up in the Rapture - 1 Thess. 4:13 - 18.

2. We will go before the Judgment Seat of Christ - 1 Cor. 3:12 - 15; 2 Cor. 5:10.

3. We will attend the Marriage and the Marriage Supper - Rev. 19:7 - 9.

4. We will return with Christ for His millennial reign - Rev. 20:6.

The Bridal Gown (Rev. 19:8)

"And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints" (Rev. 19:8).

Before its marriage the Church will wear fine linen, which is the Church's (individual members) own righteous acts. A person's deeds will follow him to heaven where they (deeds) will be worn like a gown or a robe. Faith in God makes that possible. When the marriage takes place, the Church will lay their righteousness aside. The holiness and righteousness of Jesus imparted to them will form their clothing for eternity.

Those who are called to the Marriage Supper (Rev. 19:9)

"Then he said to me, 'Write: Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!' And he said to me, 'These are the true saying of God'" (Rev. 19:9).

Again John heard an angel telling him to write. This time he was told to write about the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. All those who are invited to attend this Supper are blessed. And if they are blessed, how much more blessed will be those who have become the Bride! Who are those called to the Marriage Supper? The true Church is the Bride of Jesus Christ. After Jesus was resurrected from death, the Holy Spirit descended and established the Church; and the Church, sanctified by the blood of Jesus Christ (Eph. 5:26), was taken up into heaven before the Great Tribulation begins. Therefore, the Church is qualified to be the Bride - no one else. All who are not caught up into heaven with the Chuch are those who called to the Marriage Supper.

The first group of these are the friends of the Bridegroom. In the Old Testament God called Abraham His friend (2 Chron. 20:7). John the Baptist was the last of the prophets who came in the spirit of the Old Testament.

John said, "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled" (John 3:29).

The Old Testament saints, therefore, are not the bride, but friends of the Bridegroom.

The next group of guests are those who are saved after the Church has been taken up into heaven. These have died as martyrs during the Great Tribulation; after going through the "sea of glass mingled with fire" (Rev. 15:2), they will attend the Marriage Supper as the bridesmaids.

The great excitment of John (Rev. 19:10)

"And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, 'See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testmony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy'" (Rev. 19:10).

When John saw this scene, he was so overwhelmed by emotion that he tried to worship the angel who had spoken. Of course, John knew well the commandment that we should worship only God. Nevertheless, he was so exited by the news the angel had brought that he tried to worship him.

During the Great Tribulation period multitudes will worship Satan and his Antichrist because the False Prophet will demand it. However, worship of anyone or anything other than God is forbidden.

Jesus' predictions are His testimony and prophecy. Everything He predicted is a prophecy. We need to understand and trust the testimony of Jesus.

Dsscending of Jesus to the Earth (Rev. 19:11 - 16)

After the Marriage Supper, the Church, which has become the Bride of jesus, accompanies Him when He comes down to the earth.

The Man who sits upon a white horse (Rev. 19:11 - 13)

"Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called the Word of God" (Rev. 19:11 - 13, emphasis added).

Rev. 19:11 is sometimes called the climax of the entire Bible - the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament prophets prophesied this event; Jesus predicted it; and the New Testament writers wrote about it. Everything we have studied in Revelation has been building up to this. It will be a precious sight to the saints who are still alive on earth when it happens, but a terrifying sight to the Antichrist and his followers.

Heaven will open: It opened the first time when John went up to heaven identifying the rapture of the Church. It will open a second time when Jesus comes back with His Church.

A man will be seen riding upon a white horse. This will be Jesus Christ. In Revelation 6 the Antichrist imitated the figure of Jesus, but this is the real Christ. He is called "Faithful and True," since He was faithful to God unto death, and all His Words are true. And "in righteousness He judges and makes war." This is the purpose of His coming. He will return as a warrior to judge the inhabitants of the earth. He will deal with their sins, settle their eternal destinies, and establish His reign. What He will do will be just and right, because the earth will have been declared ripe for judgment.

Christ's fiery eyes reveal His insight, knowledge, and anger. He will have full knowledge of each individual and their sins. His many crowns reveal His royalty, authority, and majesty. He will have full authority in heaven and on earth.

He has many names that we know: Jesus, Lord, Christ, Wonderful, Son of God, son of man, etc. However, when he returns He will wear a special name known only to God.

This contrast with the Antichrist, whose eyes are "like the eyes of a man" (Daniel 7:8), having "seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name" (Rev. 13:1).

Concerning His second coming, Jesus said, "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many" (Matt. 24:4, 5).


Paul said, "The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish" (2 Thess. 2:9, 10).


In Rev. 6:1, 2 we saw the antichrist coming on a white horse. Here we see Jesus coming on a white horse. In Rev. 13:1 we saw the Antichrist rise up with ten crowns on his head. Here we see Jesus coming back with many crowns on His head. It would be wise to remember that Satan is a deceiver who transforms himself into an angel.


The robe dipped in blood is a symbol of what is about to take place. He will be coming back to deal with hundreds of millions of unbelievers at the Battle of Armageddon, and it will be a bloodbath.


His Name is the Word of God. This can be explained by looking at one of John's other books -the Gospel according to John. In his Gospel, he called Jesus the Word of God made flesh (John 1:14). It will be Jesus on the white horse, and the judgment at Armageddon will be the work of God. This contrasts with the Antichrist, whose number is known, but whose name cannot be revealed until after the Rapture.


The coming down of the heavenly host (Rev. 14 - 16)


"And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS" (Rev. 19:14 - 16)


The armies of heaven will follow Jesus. One army will be composed of the entire Church. A second army will consist of the holy angels, while a third army will be all the martyred Tribulation saints. The Old Testament saints will comprise the fourth army.


The armies in heaven clothed in fine linen and followed Jesus on white horses. This indicates that Christ intends for His followers to share in His glory as conquerors.


Jesus will be the only One in this great heavenly army to carry a weapon - a sharp sword, the Word of God. Just as the soldiers went to the Garden of Gethsemane to arrest Jesus, He spoke and they fell on the ground, similarly at Armageddon He will simply speak to destroy the opposing nations. He will speak, and they will fall. He will rule them with a rod of iron during the Millennium.


The War at Armageddon (Rev. 19:17 - 21)


Rev. 19:17, 18 tell about the things that will happen at Armageddon. The army advancing from the East is about 200 million strong, and the opposing armies of the Antichrist will probably not less than 100 million. While this battle is being fought, Jesus descends to the earth. The earthly forces quickly stop fighting each other and are allied under the leadership of the Antichrist to resist the heavenly host (read Rev. 19:19). However Jesus will annihilate all the earthly forrces. Therefore an angel beckoned the birds of the air to come and eat the flesh of the slain (read Rev. 19:17, 18).


At the same time, the false prophet who had lured people to worship the Beast will also be taken, along with the Antichrist and both will be cast into the lake of fire burning with brimstone (read Rev. 19:20).


From one end of the earth to the other, when the Word of Jesus Christ goes out of His mouth, those who received the mark of the beast on their forehead or hand will all die (read Rev.19:21). Not one of the millions of troops will escape. They will all be killed by the powerful Word of God, and the birds will consume their bodies.


Besides the Jews who escape to the desert, only a handful of Gentiles will survive. These are people who live outside the domain of the Antichrist. Since they are self-sufficient, like farmers, they will not have needed to receive the mark of the Beast. One the other hand, the rich and business-class people will have received the mark for the sake of their business and they will be killed.


The handful of Gentiles, along with the Jews who survive the Great Tribulation, will enter the millennial kingdom, but there will also be distinction there.