The Marriage Supper Of The Lamb

Biblegems #259

                   

—art by folken2d

Question:  What is the marriage Supper of the Lamb, and when does it take place?

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb refers to the millennial reign of Christ.

In the Gospels, Jesus likens the Kingdom of Heaven to a wedding banquet thrown by a king on the occasion of his son’s wedding. Because many of the invited guests chose not to attend, the king opens the invitation to anyone, requiring only that appropriate wedding attire be worn (Matt. 22:1-14). The “kingdom of heaven” refers specifically to Jesus’ prophesied, messianic reign on earth from David’s throne:

         Luke 1:32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David…

The marriage banquet is compared in Jesus’ parable to the entire kingdom of heaven experience, not just entrance into that Kingdom. In fact, entrance beyond the hall to the feast itself is denied to anyone who shows up inappropriately dressed (Matt. 22:14).

In Revelation, this wedding banquet is called “the marriage supper of the Lamb”:

         Rev. 19:7-9  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; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. 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.”

This banquet entails 1,000 years of celebration (Rev. 20:2-7), enjoyed by all the resurrected, redeemed people of God, Jew and Gentile, representing all the ethnic groups of mankind (Rev. 7:9).

Joining them at this great feast taking place in the Promised Land, principally on Mt. Zion, will be the survivors of God’s wrath upon planet earth at the Return of Christ:

         Zech. 14:16  Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles…

        

One thousand years of festivities comprise the wedding “day” of Christ and His Church. It begins with the Lord’s Return as king for His Bride at the Rapture (1Thess. 4:16-17) when they are finally joined as one (Rev. 19:7). This fulfills the Feast of Tabernacles (Zech. 14:16)—a time of restoration, rebuilding and the repopulation of earth under Christ’s earthly reign (cf. Matt. 8:11; Is. 25:6; Zech. 14:16; Rev. 19:7, 9; Luke 14:15-17, 24; Matt. 22:2-4, 8-9), when the resurrected redeemed will reign with Christ.

         Rev. 20:4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.