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Rev 19:6-10

The Marriage Supper of The Lamb, The Bride, and The Angel

Rev 19:6  And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Rev 19:9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed [ are] they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See [ thou do it] not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Introduction

In last week’s study we were told that the four beasts and the four and twenty elders rejoiced along with “a great voice of much people in heaven” at the fall and the judgment of Babylon.

Rev 19:1  And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
Rev 19:2  For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
Rev 19:3  And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.
Rev 19:4  And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.
Rev 19:5  And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.

Last week we reviewed the revelation which we were given concerning the symbolic significance of the four and twenty elders and the four beasts which are said to be “in the midst of and round about the throne of God… in heaven”.

Rev 4:6  And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

In today’s study we will have the principle of “the dream is one” reaffirmed to us. We will see the symbolism Christ’s Christ, as the four beasts and the four and twenty elders, given to us once again in the form of “the wife of the Lamb” and then again in the form of the angel who is showing these things to John. In the end we will see just a little more of the depth of what is meant by the phrase “the Christ”.

Eph 1:10 For an administration of the fulness of the seasons, to reunite for himself (under one head) the all things in the Christ, the things upon the heavens, and the things upon the earth, in him: (REV)

…is this same verse according to the Young’s Literal Version:

Eph 1:10  in regard to the dispensation of the fulness of the times, to bring into one the whole in the Christ, both the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth– in him; (YLT)

Now none of this entire revelation of Jesus Christ will mean anything at all to us if we forget that this revelation of Jesus Christ includes His Christ and that this entire revelation all takes place “in heaven”.

Let’s note just a few of the verses which tell us this is so.

Eph 2:6 And raised us up together, and seated us together in the heavenlies, in Christ: (REV)

Rev 4:1  After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard [was] as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
Rev 4:2  And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.

Rev 8:1  And when he had opened the seventh seal,there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Rev 11:19  And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

Rev 12:1  And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

Rev 12:3  And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

Rev 12:7  And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

Rev 15:1  And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

Rev 15:5  And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:

Rev 19:1  And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:

Rev 19:14  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

So this all takes place “in heaven”, but none of this revelation of Jesus Christ will mean anything to us if we don’t know where “the heavens themselves” are. Flesh and blood cannot reveal this to us. Only our Father in heaven can keep us focused on the Truth of these verses, as we study this revelation of Jesus Christ.

Heb 9:22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
Heb 9:24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

“The true heavens, the heavenly things themselves and the heaven itself” are what the temple in Jerusalem and the things concerned with that temple symbolized. That physical temple with all of its furniture, implements and daily sacrifices, its three sweet savor offerings and its two offerings which are not sweet savor offerings, were all “the figures of the true”. But “the heavenly things themselves and the heaven itself” is within the hearts and minds of the people of God. That is where His temple is located, and that is where God Himself dwells.

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Spirit is not confined to physical buildings or even physical planets. There is no such thing as ‘planet heaven’ with a capitol named New Jerusalem. Spirit is the invisible power of God, out of which all things which are seen, are made, and God wants us to know that He is spirit, and He wants us to know that it is as such He dwells within those who are given to receive that spirit and live by the precepts of that spirit, which spirit is His Word.

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

2Co 4:18  While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen [are] temporal; but the things which are not seen [are] eternal.

Heb 11:3  Through faith we understand that the worlds [Greek – ages] were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

So all seven seals with their four horses, the souls under the altar of the fifth seal, and the great earthquakes and heavenly signs of the sixth seal, all take place “in the heavens”.

The seven trumpets of the seventh seal, the seven last plagues of the seventh trumpet, the vision of the open heavens with the throne of God, the four and twenty elders, and the four beasts around the throne are all “in the heavens”.

The 144,000, the great innumerable multitude, the little book that is sweet in our mouth but bitter in our belly, the two witnesses lying dead in the streets of the great city where our Lord died, the woman and the manchild, the great red dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, the three frogs out of the mouth of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, all take place within the heavens.

The seven last vials, the fall of Babylon, the judgment of the great whore as the place of the death of all the prophets, saints, and “all that are slain upon the earth”, takes place “in heaven”. And now in this 19th chapter, the rejoicing of the four and twenty elders, and the four beasts, at the judgment of the great whore, are all spiritual description of the struggle for control of “the heavens themselves” within you and me and all those who are the object of these verses of our study today.

Rev 19:6  And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

This “great multitude” is also “in the heavens” where all of this revelation of Jesus Christ is taking place. This “multitude” is  the same “much people in heaven” which rejoiced within us at the judgment of the great whore within us.

Rev 19:1  And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:

It is comforting to know that all heaven rejoices with us at the victory we are given over this great whore who is the murderer of “all who are slain upon our earth”. It is this harlot who caused you and me to hate those who first brought God’s Truth to you and me. It is this same harlot who causes us to be “hated of all men” when we are finally given to see the these great Truths.

Rev 18:24  And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

God alone is capable of working with each and every human being first as “the earth”, and then He works within our heavens when He reveals to us that “the kingdom of God is within you”.

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

It is “in earnest” (Eph 1:13-14), that we are placed into this “Kingdom of God within you”, and it is within us, in down payment form, that we are said to be of “Jerusalem above the mother of us all”.

Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

But just as Christ was “born of the holy spirit”, and was then given that same spirit with which to beget many sons, we too, are begotten of “Jerusalem above”, and then we become “the bride, the Lamb’s wife” who brings forth the rest of mankind.

2Co 11:2  For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

This is not something yet future for those who are already espoused to Christ. The fact that this “city… comes down from God,  out of heaven” proves that this is a present application of this prophecy, while we are yet in these earthy, “vessels of clay”.

2Co 4:6  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Eph 5:30  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
Eph 5:31  For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
Eph 5:32  This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

“To her it was granted” means that her “fine linen, clean and white, which is the righteousness of the saints”, is given to her and it is not of herself.

Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but [ how] to perform that which is good I find not.
Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.

But anyone who does not do good works, who does not believe that through Christ we do good works, and who teaches that we need not “be careful to maintain good works” does not have Christ within them, and they are not His bride because this is what the very next verse of Eph 2 teaches us:

Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Tit 3:8  This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.

So the bride of Christ is given “righteousness, which is fine linen clean and white”. We are not told that she is given “filthy rags” of her own righteousness, nor is she granted to wallow in her own sins, as all those who do not understand the function and purpose of grace may have us believe.

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  Teaching [ Greek, chastening] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Rev 19:9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

Verse 8 tells us that “the righteousness of the saints” is the raiment with which the bride of Christ is arrayed. Once again “the dream is one, and the bride and her clothing are one. But so too, are those who are “called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb”. Being called to this event is the greatest honor which can be bestowed upon any man. It is described in our next chapter as “the first resurrection”.

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Verse four has just revealed to us that those who are in this first resurrection are same as the people who we saw “under the altar” in Rev 6:

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received [his] mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Rev 6:9  And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:

So “the souls under the altar” in the fifth seal are the same “souls of them who were beheaded for their witness of Jesus”, and our final verse in today’s study reveals that the angel who is showing all of this to John is the symbol for this very same group, because souls under the altar were slain “for the testimony which they held”, and the angel who is showing John this revelation is also the spiritual symbol of “our fellowservants and of our brother who have the testimony of Jesus”.

Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Truly this entire prophecy is understood only when we remember that “the dream is one” and that “in all things Christ is preeminent”:

Gen 41:25  And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.
Gen 41:26  The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.

Col 1:18  And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Col 1:19  For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
Col 1:20  And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

When we understand the depth of these verses, then we will know that the revelation of Jesus Christ is the revelation of Jesus Christ in all who “read, hear and keep the things written herein”.

1Jn 3:2  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Next week, if the Lord wills, we will see that the “fine linen” which is given to Christ’s bride is also given to “the armies which are in heaven”. What we will see one more time is that “the dream is one and that all things are ours, and as He is so are we”.

Rev 19:11  And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
Rev 19:12  His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
Rev 19:13  And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
Rev 19:14  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
Rev 19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.