Welcome to the Supper 22/5/24 Sparrows College
Bible Reading
Rev 1:9; 19:1-10
Introduction
In ways that are both in line with his earthly life (https://catholic-resources.org/Bible/Luke-Food.htm) and radical discontinuous, the climax of Jesus’ history with humanity involves a meal. This is the “marriage supper of the Lamb”. Whilst the language of supper/dinner is unremarkable (Luke 17:8; John 13:2; 21:20), what should astonish us is that the host who will serve us (Luke 12:37) is the Lamb. That is, the Lamb of God who has “taken away the sin of the world” (John 1:29); and since he is, according to Rev 13:8, “the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world”, it is revealed that all holy meals, from the first in Eden, to those recorded as happening before the Lord in the Bible (Ex 24:11 etc.) have their ultimate origin in this meal. The “marriage supper of the lamb” dynamises all meals, and so is ultimately why Christians are called to “say grace” (cf. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/disruptive-witness-praying-meals/), This eschatological supper is the secret of the real presence of Christ through what we call Holy Communion. Meals with Jesus (cf. Matt 18:20) are special points of revelation, not because of any mystical transformation of food and drink, but because they point to the glorified nature of our Host present in the power of his Spirit (1 Cor 5:4-5).
Revelation, one of my favourite books, was written from Patmos, so when circumstances allowed Donna and I to be there some years ago, the Lord started to speak with me at 3a.m.on our first night on the island, then at the breakfast table next morning. Here I sensed I was eating with my bride as Jesus will dine with the Church when he comes to marry us (Rev 19:6-10). The connection between husband-and-wife mirroring Christ to the Church is real, and not merely symbolic (homological more than analogical), for it is what Paul calls, “a great/profound mystery” (Eph 5:32), I was aware we were prophetically on an island of joy, for the apostle John, was imprisoned there for his faith in Jesus, I started to sense what John saw, a bridal chamber encompassing the 7 churches to whom he wrote (Rev 2-3), and began to understood that the whole cosmos is one vast bridal chamber where the people of God are being prepared for their marriage to Jesus. God the Father’s eternal plan is for the whole of creation to be filled with endless and indestructible marital bliss. The failure of Christian marriages to be moved by these powerful truths is one of the central catastrophes of our time.
As a follower of Christ you need to accept that everything that has ever happened to you, could ever happen to you, and will ever happen to you (Rom 8:28-30; 11:33-36; Eph 1:1-14 etc.), has one great overarching purpose, to prepare you as a Bride fit to marry Jesus. In Paul’s language In Ephesians 5, Christ will “present the Church to himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” (Eph 5:27). Now to our passage:
Exegesis
In Revelation 18 (18:4 cf. Isa 48:20), the Church is called to leave all compromise with Babylon, for the fall of that world-city is terminal and eternal; there is no place for worldliness in the Church (cf. 2 Cor 6:14-7:1). Worldly compromised Christians, like the Corinthians of old (1 Cor 3:1-4), whilst “not lacking in any spiritual gift” (1 Cor 1:7), can tell you very little about what is revealed to the spotless Bride in this passage, simply because they are not, “holy apostles and prophets” (Eph 3:5).
vv.1-3“After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying, “Hallelujah Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, 2 for/because his judgements are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.” 3 Once more they cried out, “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.”
Revelation is full of “seeing” and “hearing” for these are the primary means by which God has always spoken his plan to his people through his prophets. The “great multitude” which John hears are the full number of God’s chosen people drawn “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” (Rev 7:9) who, by their perfected union with the life of God in Christ, cannot be compared in number with those tormented in the lake of fire (Rev 20:10ff.). (This would be an illicit comparison.) In this section of the book God is hymned explicitly because of the total destruction of the whore of Babylon (cf. Jer 51:28). I was invited recently to preach on “Eternal Judgment” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcvdG8exozU Heb 6:2) where I made the point that the human conscience, in God’s likeness, knows that for justice and righteousness (v.2) to be fully accomplished, evil must be totally destroyed. However squeamish we may be about this; the holy saints and angels are unified in their response to the final manifestation of God’s holiness in their outbursts of Hallelujah (cf. Rom 15:6). Whilst “Hallelujah”, usually translated “Praise the Lord” is quite frequent in the Psalms (24 x e.g. 105:6; 106:48; 150:1), its only uses in the New Testament are in the rapturous excitement of Revelation 19 (vv1, 3, 4, 6). Liturgical Churches have rightly joined in this heavenly chorus. Audible cries of “Hallelujah” were famous in early Pentecostalism, for which they were mocked as “holy rollers and “chandelier swingers” (cf. Acts 2:13). Thankfully, I am part of a “non-Charismatic” congregation, which has some people who break out in these cries. (At least around me (Cf. Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6)! Like the presence of angelic and redeemed beings in heaven, there is something majestic, authentic and penetrating about such language. One of the crucial theological and spiritual problems of the contemporary sophisticated Western Church is that we do not live as though our lives are essentially heavenly (Eph 2:6; Gal 4:26; Col 3:1-4; Heb 12:22-24).
The angel tells John that God’s “judgements are true and just”, in contemporary lingo they are “fair”. Everyone knew what my distraught mother meant when she out at her father’s funeral “it’s not fair”. What is fair is that God shall repay Babylon with the measure of her sins. God alone as its Maker and Judge is worthy to judge the world (cf. Anglican Order for Holy Communion).
vv. 4-5 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” 5 And from the throne came a voice saying, “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.”
In his all-inclusive plan to set his Son as ruler over all things (Acts 10:36; 1 Cor 15:27-28), the Father has always appointed elders, whether angelic (Rev 4:4, 10; 5:5, 6. 11. 14 etc) or human (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5; 1 Pet 5:1) to represent and enact his divine government over heaven and earth. One crucial function of elders is to sustain God’s praise with loud “Hallelujahs” and “Amens”. The failure of the Church today to understand and enact this responsibility, appointing so called “boards”, in imitation of the world, is a spiritual dereliction. One remarkable feature of this passage is that all the residents of heaven and earth are commanded to “fear God” (cf. Rev 11:18), which shows us that fear of the divine life isn’t simply a matter of avoiding punishment (1 John 4:17), but a property of bring holy (cf. Heb 5:7-8).
vv.6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.
Unsurprisingly, 9 of the 10 uses of “Almighty” in the New Testament are found in Revelation (1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 1:7; 19:6; 21:22). For this most apocalyptic of biblical books give us the greatest insight into his glorified life for the Church in eternity (the other use is in 2 Cor 6:18, where a quote from the Old Testament is used). The usual Greek world translated “Almighty” is Pantokrator. The Orthodox churches possess a remarkable biblical vision. If you ever enter an Eastern Orthodox church and look at the icon painted in its dome, which represents heaven, you will find the figure of Christ pantokrator presiding over the universe. The Lord establishes his rule, then expounds for us what this rule consists of (vv. 7-8 cf. 11:15).
7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
The exultation of all holy beings, “let us exult and give him the glory”, commands us to obey God in all things. Since God is essentially “the God of glory” (Ps 29:3; Acts 7:2), the biblical command to “do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor 10:31) is an insight into the depths of what it means to “share in the divine nature” (2 Pet 1:4). Peter gets to the heart of the Christian’s highest experience by saying, “Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,” (1 Pet 1:8), or, in an alternative translation, “joy unspeakable and full of glory”. In dynamic sequence, the wedding of the Lamb is announced, then we are told the Lamb’s Bride has made herself ready, and finally her righteous deeds are granted as an expression of the righteous reign of God. Jesus said, “let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matt 5:16) [and followed this up with a promise of greatness in his likeness, “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matt 6:33).] One of the problems in the Western Church today is regrets about marital life, past, missed out on or presently lacking. What God the Father of the Bridegroom looks for are those who long for the final consummation of the wedding with his beloved Son.
Where today is the spirit of John the Baptist, whom Jesus designated as Elijah (Matt 17:11-13), and who was fully content to say, “The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.” (John 3:29). Much of the Western Church today, ignores the clear biblical testimony that ‘those who wash their robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb” are those who are coming out of “the great tribulation” (Rev 7:14 cf. Matt 24:21; John 16:21; Rev 3:9). Only those ignorant of both the power of God and the scriptures (Matt 22:29) could deny that this time of tribulation applies to the present time!
An atmosphere of intense excitement and expectation in being given garments to please the Bridegroom is full. Despite common protestations, the disciplines of God our holy Father are for our eternal good in Christ (Heb 12:5-11)! The righteous deeds of the saints [as a noncausal necessary condition of salvation cf. Zech 3:5; Rom 2:6-8; 2 Cor 11:2] find concrete expression in word and deed in relation to their service of Christ.
vv.9-10
And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” 10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
The angel pronounces a blessing (19:9) with supreme indisputable authority spoken from within a framework that from beginning to end is Jesus (Rev 1:3; 22:7). This blessing is attainable only in trusting obedience to the mysteries of God revealed in Christ (Rom 1:5; 16:26). New covenant believers enter into a sphere of blessing infinitely in excess of anything exhibited in the old covenant. Those who participate in the new creation in Christ are gifted with sharing in the divine nature (2 Pet 1:4) and the limitless glories of the Trinitarian being (Rom 9:5; 2 Cor 11:31). God’s children enter into the reality of immeasurable eschatological/end-times blessing Jesus promised, “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matt 25:34). This is the rich banquet time when the Lord will “swallow up death and wipe away every tear” (Isa 25:6-8)
The angelic declaration, “These are true words of God” echo of the Word first spoken to Moses and then by Jesus, “man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD” (Deut 8:3; Matt 4:4; Luke 4:4). Which expounds for us the great crisis of the cross, when in “taking away the sin of the world” (John 1:29; Rev 5:6) Jesus was unable (2 Cor 5:21; 1 Pet 2:24) to hear the Word of his Father in the midst of our darkness (Mark 15:34).
[Today we are in the time of Judges when the “word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.” (1 Sam 3:1), or as was said centuries later, “a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD” (Amos 8:11)]
As God himself is the origin of the words of the holy angel, any adoration of these beings is offensive to their personal holiness. The angel shares with us the status as a fellow servant of Jesus because he shares in the witness of the Church to Jesus the Word of God as help to humanity. Note that in the first chapter of Revelation, when John falls down at the feet glorified Jesus he is comforted (1:17), but falling at the feet of an angel he is rebuked. Angels give perfect testimony to Jesus from heaven, but human testimony from earth is fallible.
At the climax of this most important passage on the Bridegroom and his Bride, the angel testifies to John, ““Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy.” (Revelation 19:9-10 ESV). At the climax of all Spirit-inspired apocalyptic experience is a heightened vision of Jesus. Biblical apocalyptic is a super-saturated form of prophecy that points in the most intense way to Jesus in his post-ascension glory at the right hand of God in heaven. Anyone who loves Jesus as he truly is today, which must include “the wrath of the Lamb” (6:16), will love the testimony of Revelation.
Revelation 19:10 is the climax of ecstatic prophecy by its pointing to the consummation of the universal purposes of God for humanity. The final marriage to Jesus is maximally intimate. The “testimony of Jesus” could mean witness to Jesus, or Jesus own witness to himself, but probably includes both.
It is natural for youthful disciples to want to give testimony to Jesus, but when the earthly Lord spoke about eating his flesh and drinking his blood (John 6:54ff.), that is consuming his life and walking in the way of his sorrows (Isa 53:3), the majority of his disciples turned around and ceased to follow him (John 6:66). The trials of Revelation 1:9, “I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos don account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.” provides the indispensable background for sharing in the glories of Revelation 19:10. Every generation, particularly the first and the last, must fulfill what Paul prophetically declares, “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim 3:12 cf. Matt 5:10-11; 24:9; Acts 14:22; Rom 5:3; 8:18; 12:14).
Application and Conclusion
Whereas most English translations have small “s” for “spirit of prophecy”, I prefer it is best to see this as “the Spirit of prophecy”, because prophecy as testimony to Christ is at the centre of the Spirit-filled life (Acts 2:4, 17-18; 10:46; 19:6; Eph 5:18-21; Col 3:16-17; Heb 2:3-4). To “hold to the testimony of Jesus” is to have one’s life story given over to the life story of “the Word made flesh”, crucified for sinners, raised from the head and received into glory (John 1:14; Rom 8:3; Gal 2:19-20; 1 Tim 3:16). A story that is greater than all other things that have or could have been created in the whole history of the universe. Charles Spurgeon, the greatest preacher of the nineteenth century once remarked, “Do you not know…what God’s estimate of the gospel is? Do you not know that it has been the chief subject of His thoughts and acts from all eternity? He looks on it as the grandest of all His works”, to which he added this witness, “You will never know the fullness of Christ until you know the emptiness of everything but Christ”. The Marriage Supper of the Lamb is determinative of the shape of all human life, because whether you are married, single, divorced, or widowed, human existence stands in the shadow of the “Lamb standing as slain” (Rev 5:6), that is crucified, risen and glorified. This is a destiny ordained in the eternal counsels of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Jesus prophetically declared to his disciples on the road to Emmaus, “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”” (Luke 24:26), where the “must” of “necessity” (cf. Matt 8:31; Luke 9:12; 24:7; John 12:34) has nothing to do with inevitability but operates solely by divine design. Sonly submission to our marital/non-marital status as a matter of “divine call” (1 Cor 7:15-24) brings entry through obedience to both the eschatological/end times victories of Christ band the fellowship with his sufferings on the way to eternal glory. To want one without the other is impossibly immature and will not be permitted by our Holy Father (John 17:11; Heb 12:5-11). The eternal God will not allow his Bride of his beloved Son to escape by any means into the sphere of childishness (1 Cor 13:11). This is what the Spirit is saying to the churches today (Rev 2:7 etc.)