Bible Study Materials

THE WEDDING OF THE LAMB

by   09/21/2018  

Question


1. After the fall of Babylon what was heard in heaven? Notice the word “Hallelujah” (1, 3) What does “Hallelujah” mean? What is the reason for hallelujah? (1-2a) How was the great prostitute judged? (2b-3) 2. Who worshiped and praised God? (4-5) Why do a great multitude praise God? (6) Why is it so important that God Almighty reigns? 3. What wonderful event takes place? (7) What does the wedding of the Lamb refer to? What do it mean that “his bride has made herself ready” and that “linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear”? (7b-8a) What does “linen” stand for? (8b) What can we learn here? 4. Who are blessed? (9) Whom are we to worship? (10) 5. When heaven opened, who was there and how is he called and what does this mean? (11)How is he described? (12-13) What does “his name is the Word of God” tell us about Jesus? Who were following him and how will he rule the nations? (14-15) What is his another name written on his robe and on his thigh? (16) 6. Why does angel gather together all the birds flying in midair? (17-18) What does it mean “to eat flesh”? What happens to the beast and his followers who made war against the rider and his army? (19-21) What message does it give us that Jesus wins the final victory?


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Message


Happy Thanksgiving! We want to celebrate Thanksgiving through the study of Revelation 19. In this chapter, the word “Hallelujah” appears 4 times. Hallelujah means “Praise the Lord.” (“Hallelu-yah” – Praise the Lord, Yahweh. “Yah” – refers to Yahweh). Praising the Lord is obviously out of deep thanks to God. We have many reasons to praise the Lord. In this chapter. what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters, and loud peals of thunder, shout, “Hallelujah.” The reason was because his true and just judgments were carried out with no more of the cause of the corruption of the world. Finally, the reign of our God Almighty has arrived and the wedding of the Lamb has come. And in this passage the victory of Christ at the final battle in his Second Coming is vividly described. Revelation 19 can, therefore, be considered the apex of the book of Revelation. In this study may we get into the “Hallelujah” spirit and be filled with thanks and praise to him and newly learn how to live in this world. First, the wedding of the Lamb (1-10). Apostle John wrote in verse 1, “After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven, shouting…” Here, “after this” refers to the destruction of Babylon under the seventh bowl judgment. In chapter 7:14, there is a description about a great multitude as those who have come out of the great tribulation, have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Here, what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouted, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments.” In this world, even the Supreme Court of a nation is corrupt with rare true and just judgments. But, God’s judgments are true and just. Because of just and true judgments, salvation and glory and power belong to our God. Here, salvation is probably broader than personal redemption, but includes the rescue of all of creation, and especially the earth, from the corrupting influence of the prostitute. Then in verse 2, “He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.” Here the great prostitute is Babylon (17:5). The city has had great influence throughout history, both in political and religious realms, and is to be rebuilt in the time of the end and to ultimately suffer God’s wrath. When Babylon is called “great city” (17:18) it stresses the arrogance of humanism in its pride of accomplishment apart from God. With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries (17:2). And in verse 3 “And again they shouted: ‘Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.” The smoke of Babylon’s destruction continually rises to emphasize the ongoing reality of her destruction. At this, the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: “Amen, Hallelujah!” Here the twenty-four elders are probably representatives of the Church, and the four living creatures are of a high angelic order, probably cherubim. In chapter 5, when the Lamb takes the scroll prior to loosening its seals, the elders fall in worship and adoration while singing a song of redemption (5:7-9, 14). When the great multitude who came out of the Great Tribulation give praise to God and the Lamb, the elders fall on their faces in worship (7:9-11). At the sounding of the seventh trumpet, when the kingdoms of this world are declared to have become the kingdom of God and His Christ, the elders fall in worship (11:15-16). The participation of the elders falling in worship here indicates the great importance attached to the destruction of Babylon by heaven. God gains glory by her destruction, an important step on the way to establishing his kingdom on earth. After this in verse 5, “Then a voice came from the throne, saying, ‘Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both small and great!” The company of the redeemed knows no boundaries and includes those who have had considerable influence and power in life, as well as those who are entirely unknown to the world. And in verse 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.’” Here it is triply emphasized of what the great multitude sounded like. Now all the heavenly hosts, myriad of myriads, seem to join in this shouting. We can imagine the sound of the thundering crowd with unimaginable purity, power, and magnificence with all the heavenly hosts and instruments. On command, they all shout “HALLELUJAH!” Surely, in the spiritual realm, this thunderous praise is already beginning to erode the strength of the dragon and his unclean spirits who, at this very hour, are gathering the kings of the earth to their impending slaughter below (16:13-14). “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.” The reason for praising the Lord is “our Lord God almighty reigns.” This reign includes the physical reign of God on earth. His reign reaches every corner of the earth. Certainly, this is written from the future point when the climactic battle of Rev. 19:19-21 is complete with the destruction of the Beast and the kings of the earth at the Campaign of Armageddon (19:17-21). The great shouting continues in verses 7 and 8. “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.” What a surprise is written here! The wedding of the Lamb has come. We all recognize that the wedding is the brightest time in life in this troublesome world. The bride and bridegroom are unquestionably happy and joyful. I thank God for the wedding between Peter Ryu and Sara Lee held last Saturday. They were really joyful and happy in God. And in history there have been weddings of the Crown Prince. However, the wedding written in Revelation 19 is called the wedding of the Lamb, although the bridegroom is the Heavenly Prince as the Son of God. It is written in Isaiah 62:5, “As a young man marries a maiden, so will your Builder/Maker (RSV, BBE) marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride; so will your God rejoice over you.” And in Hoses 2:19, “I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion.” Then in the New Testament church is likened to the bride of Christ. According to Ephesians 5:25, “…Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” The church consists of all those who are baptized into the body of Christ by the Spirit (1 Cor 12:13). Now here the church is the bride of the Lamb. Finally the long-awaited wedding of the Lamb has come. The wedding of the Lamb indicates that the wedding was possible through the sacrifice of the Lamb in obedience to God. We are reminded of what was spoken to the Lamb in a new song in 5:9, “You are worthy…because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” The Lamb redeemed and purchased his bride by his blood when he was slain on the cross. Now, when the great prostitute was condemned with the completion of God’s judgment, the wedding of the Lamb has come in the praise of the whole creation. We are reminded of the first wedding between Adam and Eve as the core of God’s creation (Ge 2:24). Now after such a long period of God’s redemptive history, the wedding of the Lamb has come. This wedding is the most beautiful, purist, holiest, the most joyful one that has ever existed. What a glorious and joyful moment to God the Father who has been waiting so long in history! Can we imagine that you and I are directly involved in this glorious wedding as a part of his bride? It says, “His bride has made herself ready.” What does this mean? Of course the Lamb did all, cleansing and making her holy and blameless. Yet, the preparation is mutual, as in any marriage. We are reminded of Jesus’ parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13: “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.” As a result, only the virgins who were ready could welcome the bridegroom and went in with him to the wedding banquet, while the unprepared ones missed the bridegroom and so the banquet. What a story! Then how can we be ready? Verse 8 says, “Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” Interestingly, the great prostitute also wore fine linen, but different fine linen. She was dressed in fine line, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls! (17:4; 18:16). To the eyes of men, the prostitute is attractive and everyone can be tempted and fall for her outward beauty. But the fine linen of the bride of the Lamb is bright and clean, and white and clean. Her cleanness and whiteness and brightness came from the Lamb who cleansed her by his blood and made her holy and radiant. And the bride kept the white and clean and bright clothes, not making the clothes dirty. It is written in 3:4-5 regarding Sardis church, “Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white.” And it is written in 18:4, “Then I heard another voice from heaven say: ‘Come out of her (Babylon) my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues.” And it is written in parenthesis, “(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)” We need to understand this description. It seems that it emphasizes our acts and we can be ready for the wedding of the Lamb through our good deeds, not by faith. Yet, it is not so. Rather, true faith in Christ Jesus produces righteous acts. So these acts are not acts by human efforts but acts by faith. James 2:26 says, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” Paul thanked God for the Thessalonian, for their work produced by faith (1 Thess. 1:3). Those who have true and living faith can be like wise virgins who prepared and took oil in jars to meet the bridegroom. And it is written in Romans 1:17, “The righteous will live by faith, from first to last.” Again, the righteous acts of the saints are the results of living faith. This is also as it is written in Hebrews that the ancients were commended for their faith, which was evidenced in their lives of faith (Heb. 11:2). In the parable of the wedding banquet something striking was written. When the king came in to see the guests who accepted the invitation and attended the wedding banquet, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. The king asked, “Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes? The man was speechless. This man without wedding clothes was thrown outside into the darkness (Mt 22:11-13). Wearing fine linen, bright and clean, is critical for the bride of the Lamb. Then in verses 9-11, “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.’ At the last supper Jesus said to his disciples, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again of the fruit of the vine until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God” (Lk 22:16). What a vision! What a great feast it will be! The bride and all the invitees are eternally blessed people. Hallelujah! Second, the victory of Christ (11-21). In verses 1-10, we thought about the wedding of the Lamb. As the bridegroom, the Lamb is sacrificial, gentle and so gracious. But now in verses 11-21, Christ is described as a fighter, riding on a white horse. The fighting of the Lamb is the final battle in history, the battle at Armageddon between Christ and the beast and the kings of the earth. This is the picture of what Christ will do at his Second Coming. The battle ends with Christ’ victory which leads to a millennium kingdom in his rule. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. The wedding is held in heaven and the battle on the earth. Both are the preparation for the millennium kingdom and furthermore the eternal kingdom of God in the New Jerusalem. Let’s see this. In verse 11, “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war.” Then how is he depicted? His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. In Revelation 1 in the description of the risen Christ, his eyes were lie blazing fire (1:14). And to the church in Thyatira are given the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire (2:18). Here as the rider on a white horse for a battle, it is again written that his eyes are like blazing fire. Before him his enemies cannot hide themselves. He can see all inside and out. “On his head are many crowns” shows his many victories with no defeat. He no longer wears the crown of thorns. It is because he is faithful and true. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is the one whose existence is beyond human understanding (Judge 13:6, 18) He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. This blood is the blood of his enemies. It is written in Isaiah 63:3, “I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing.” His blood was shed only on the cross for the forgiveness of sins and so redemption of his people. In this battle he did not shed even a drop of his blood, for no one even can stand before him. His name is the Word of God, which is his weapon. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. Also, another description of the Risen Christ in Revelation 1 is that out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword” (1:16). And to the church in Pergamum are given the words of one who has the sharp, double-edged sword (2:12). Here it is written, “Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations” (19:15). Then as we studied in Hebrews 4:12, it says, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” And according to Ephesians 6:17, the word of God is the sword of the Spirit. Isaiah 11:4b says, “He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.” In the gospel story in John 18:6, a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees guided by Judah came to arrest Jesus. Jesus asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. John wrote that “when Jesus said, ‘I am he,’ they drew back and fell to the ground.” All nations are struck down by the sword of his mouth. He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. We are reminded of his feet who were like bronze glowing in a furnace in the description of the risen Christ in Revelation 1. Then in verse 16, “On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” What a fitting description! Here we learn how to fight a spiritual battle. First of all, we must know that the final victory is ours in Christ Jesus. In this battle Christ himself fights and does all the battle. His armies were following him. Our Christian life is to follow him with the assurance of victory. We can follow him by guarding our hearts with the words of God and taking refuging in his word at each moment. As we keep the words of God in us and wield the sword of the Spirit, all the schemes of the evil ones will be shattered. Then in verses 17 and 18, “And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, ‘Come, gather together for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great.’” It is very interesting that when Jesus told his disciples about the signs of the end of the age and his second coming, he said, “Wherever there is carcass, there the vultures will gather” (Mt 24:28). He also said in Luke 17:57, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.” All the birds will be anticipating to eat at the great supper of God. Such a thing is written in the Bible. The spirit of feast is spread even to all the birds. Then the actual battle is written in verses 19-21. “Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army.” What is the result? “But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.” Hallelujah! Our God Almighty reigns. The wedding of Lamb has come! The wedding of the Lamb has come in the condemnation of the great prostitute at God’s true and just judgment and in the anticipation of the victory of Christ in the final battle. With the glorious hope of the wedding of the Lamb, may we be ready as his bride by weaning fine linen, bright and clean, and keeping the words of God as the spiritual weapon in our spiritual warfare.


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