Welcome to a Revelation of Jesus. In the last five videos, we have been examining the identity, characteristics, and fate of modern Babylon, as described in Revelation chapters 17 and 18. Revelation 19 shifts the attention from events on earth to the heavenly kingdom/realm, where all heaven is celebrating the final and permanent defeat of Babylon.
“After these things [John] 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 righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth… and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her” (Revelation 19:1,2).
Here we see God’s long-awaited answer to the cry of the martyrs in chapter 6, who “cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Revelation 6:9,10).
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God’s answer through the ages has been that “they should rest a little while longer” (Revelation 6:11). The nearly 2000 years since Revelation was written have not seemed like such a “little while” as the followers of Jesus have seen their loved ones and fellow believers suffering and dying. But God sees a bigger picture. As long as the allure of Satan’s selfish worldview has not been definitively rebuked, the long chapter of sin cannot come to a permanent end.
That rebuke requires the great tribulation in which Satan is given the chance to prove what life is like when he is given complete license to do things his way. The result will be the horror of the seven trumpets that we studied in videos 27-40. Only God knows when the world will be ready for that experience, which involves “great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:21).
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But as anxious as we are on earth to get the reign of sin over with, our impatience is based on the limited view that we have. All heaven rejoices at the fall of Babylon because they too see the bigger picture. Babylon is the earthly manifestation of the rebellion that began in heaven. The angels saw a third of their fellow angels transformed into demons. As “ministering spirits” (Hebrews 1:14), these guardian angels have seen first-hand the damage Satan and his minions have done to the very people they have been commissioned to serve.
But with Babylon defeated, the focus of the heavenly hosts cannot remain on God’s enemies for long. “And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying ‘Amen! Alleluia!… Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!” (Revelation 19:4,5). The heavenly beings closest to the throne lead the praise that erupts in heaven, knowing that the defeat of Satan’s Babylon enclave on earth means that the universe is now ready for the promised event that they have been waiting for since the origin of sin.
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“[John] heard the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and 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 bride has made herself ready” (Revelation 19:6,7). Many commentators have assumed that the bride of the Lamb is the Christian Church. It is true that in passages like Ephesians 5:22-27 the Apostle Paul uses imagery comparing the relationship the church has with Christ to that of a wife to her Husband. However, in Revelation 21, we see that the bride of Christ is much more than just the Christian church.
An angel invited John to come and see “the bride, the Lamb’s wife.’ And he carried [John] away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed [him] the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God” (Revelation 21:9-11). The passage goes on to give a detailed description of the beautifully adorned holy city. In these verses, the bride is New Jerusalem, the future abode of the saints where “God Almighty and the Lamb” will dwell with them (Revelation 21:3, 22, 22:3,4).
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It seems strange that a city would be the bride of Christ, especially since our passage in Revelation 19:7 says that “His bride has made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7). The cities we know about are not able to make themselves ready for their inhabitants, and what would it even mean for a city to be married to Christ? On the other hand, if this verse refers to the church, the phrase “she has made herself ready” might give the impression that Jesus has been waiting for us to get our act together so that He can finally have an intimate relationship with us.
I want to present the evidence that the bride of Christ is the whole universe, with its countless intelligent beings. The reason that “the great city, the holy Jerusalem” is called “the bride, the Lamb’s wife” is because it will be the capital city of God’s eternal kingdom, representative of the whole universe, having been completely delivered from sin.
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To understand what this passage means, we also need to see the bigger picture. It is not just the earth and the church that have been damaged by the reign of sin. The book of Job gives a graphic picture of how Satan had access to the courts of heaven even after he had fallen from his position as the “covering cherub.” There he was, “the accuser of the brethren,” hurling accusations against God and His children.
We don’t know how long the heavenly inhabitants were tormented by the presence of Satan and his rebellious angels, but Revelation chapter 12 tells us that when Jesus returned to heaven after His Crucifixion and Resurrection, there was war in heaven and Satan was cast from the courts of heaven to the earth (Revelation 12:12).
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But even though confined to this earth, his poisonous accusations against God, His government, and His followers have continued. This is why the defeat of Babylon prepares the universe for the marriage of the Lamb. Going back to the war in heaven, when Satan was cast out, there was a heavenly announcement: “Now salvation, and strength and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death” (Revelation 12:10,11).
This announcement is actually a prophecy of the history of the church. Accusations and attacks on the church began right away with persecutions by Herod, the Jewish leaders, and the Romans. They continued through the centuries of the Dark Ages, and will reach their climax during the great tribulation. The immoral harlot will be “drunk with the blood of the saints,” (Revelation 17:6) but the saints will “love not their lives even unto death.”
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The saints will faithfully “keep the commandments of God and proclaim the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 12:17), and their testimony will be effective. “A great multitude which no one can number” (Revelation 7:9) will heed the invitation, “Come out of Babylon, my people” (Revelation 18;4) and they “will stand together on the sea of glass… singing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb” even as the seven last plagues are falling all around them (Revelation 15:2,3).
This demonstration of faith, hope, and love by the church of God will settle in the minds of the onlooking intelligent beings from the rest of the universe the question that has troubled them from the fall of Adam and Eve: did God make a mistake when he created humans “in the image of God?” Can they trust that humanity will be safe for eternity? The behavior of God’s chosen people through both the Old and New Testament eras has not been very encouraging. “The whole creation groans… Waiting with anxious longing for the manifestation of the children of God (Romans 8:22,19).
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But the apostle Paul assures us that through “the gifts given to men… we [will finally] come to the unity of faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to the perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:8-13). This is not simply that we might have a more effective witness in the world. “God’s purpose in all this is to use the church to display His manifold wisdom to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places (Ephesians 3:10).
The ultimate fulfilment will take place during the great tribulation, when believers demonstrate that their love for God and their neighbors is more important than even their very lives. In this, they will show that people can become like Jesus, who “lay down His life for His friends” (John 15:13). Looking on, “the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” will see this demonstration “by the church” as proof of “the manifold wisdom of God.“
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What I am suggesting is that by watching this demonstration taking place on earth, “the bride of the Lamb,” that is, the whole of the intelligent universe, will “make herself ready” and then “the marriage of the Lamb” can take place (Revelation 19:7). The apostle Paul hints at why the events happening here on earth are such a big deal to the rest of the universe in Romans chapter 8.
“For we know that the whole creation groans (v.22)… for the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope (v.20)… For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God (v.19)… because the creation itself will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God (v.21)” (Romans 8:19-22).
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Notice first that Paul is not just talking about the creation on planet earth that is groaning and waiting. He says that “The creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God”(v.19). These are intelligent beings that are watching and waiting.
And they are groaning as they wait, knowing that humans were created to have an important positive role in the universe, which Paul calls “the glorious liberty of the children of God” (v.21). God has designed that redeemed mankind will be like Christ and will reign in the universe along with Him. Listen to Paul again:
“As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God… and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ… For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:14,17,29).
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“Joint heirs with Christ” is almost too much to comprehend. “God… has spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things” (Hebrews 1:2). Redeemed humanity will receive the same inheritance! “He who overcomes shall inherit all things!” Jesus Himself said, “To Him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my Father on His throne” (Revelation 21:7, 3:21).
Jesus told some stories that show us how to prepare for the exalted role that He has in store for us. Jesus said that his return to heaven would be “like a man of noble birth who went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.” He left three of His servants in charge of his goods. (Luke 19:12). Two of them appreciated and honored the king by faithfully using his gifts and talents, and they were given a place of honor and authority in the kingdom. (vs. 16-19).
In Matthew’s version of the story, the Lord said to them, “Well done, good and faithful servants; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord” (Matthew 25:21).
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However, the third servant had developed a negative attitude toward the king. He accused him of being unfair and refused to use his time and talents for the kingdom, thereby forfeiting the opportunity to receive a blessing when the king returned. Worse yet, many of the citizens didn’t even want to be a part of the kingdom (Luke 19:14), and in the end, their wish was granted.
In a similar story in Matthew 22, Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son” (Matthew 22:2). Many of those called were not willing to be a part of the wedding; they were busy with their own affairs. (vs. 3-6). The servants finally had to go out into the streets to find people willing to come fill the banquet hall, and even then, some tried to attend wearing their own dirty clothes instead of the beautiful “wedding garment” that the king had provided for them.
Both of these stories show that our entrance into the kingdom and our place on Jesus’ throne are based not on our performance and good behavior, but on His gifts and opportunities that we choose to receive or reject.
Both stories also show that the decisions we make, the attitudes toward God that we nurture, and the service to God that we render are essential markers of our faith in His faithfulness.
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After the “marriage of the Lamb” has taken place in heaven, there is a reception for the servants who could not be there. An angel said to John, “Write: blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9). In Luke 12, we see that this happens after Jesus returns. “You yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when He comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them” (Luke 12:35-37.) In an unbelievable example of servant leadership, Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of Lords, serves the servants!
In Luke 22, we find confirmation that the marriage supper is when the kingdom that Jesus has received is bestowed upon His followers. “I am among you as the One who serves. You are those who have continued with Me in My trials. And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom” (Luke 22:27-30).
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Jesus said about the wedding supper, “You [will] see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God… They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God” (Luke 13:28-30).
I find this last passage in Luke 13 encouraging when I think of my own need to “grow in grace and in my knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob made their share of mistakes, and had never even heard the name of Jesus, but they responded to the Holy Spirit and will be present at the wedding feast. But when Jesus told this story to His original Jewish listeners, they must have been shocked to hear that those “from the east and the west and the north and the south” would also be there.
To the east were the Moabites and Edomites, the shirttail relatives of Israel who so often took advantage of their times of weakness. To the west were their archenemies, the Philistines. To the North were the Assyrians and Babylonians, who took them captive and destroyed their cities and the temple. To the south was Egypt, the land of their slavery. But God, through His grace and the influence of the Holy Spirit, will give us eternal neighbors from these, and from many other unlikely corners of the world.
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In the final analysis, our place in the kingdom is not based on how much we know about theology, prophecy, or any other information contained in the Bible. What counts are our priorities. Jesus said, “seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).
Someone who was eating a meal with Him once said, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God” (Luke 14:15). In response, Jesus told a sobering story about a wedding feast. “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ But they all with one accord began to make excuses” (Luke 14:16-18). One wanted to check out a real estate deal. Another had purchased some farm equipment. A third was getting married himself. They didn’t have time to go to the feast.
We are now living in an age when there are more distractions than ever before. It’s time for us to pray that Jesus will help us, one morning at a time, to make His priorities our priorities, to “have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had” (Philippians 2:5), so that some day we can hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant… Enter into the joy of your Lord” (Matthew 25:21).
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