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.

Is The Millennium Really A Millennium?

Biblegems #125

Question: Only Revelation speaks of Jesus’ earthly reign as being 1,000 years, a book that is highly symbolic. Are the thousand years to be taken literally or symbolically, and how can we know?

The reference for this question is Revelation 20:1-7. How we answer this question will depend largely on how we interpret the book of Revelation as a whole. It is true that the book of Revelation is full of highly symbolic images, but that does not mean everything is symbolic. In fact, Revelation is intended to be clear and understandable, not a mysterious puzzle to unlock. It is a “revelation,” an “un-veiling”[i] of Jesus Christ, an “unveiling” of events to come, and an “unveiling” of when, in the order of events, these things are to take place:

Rev. 1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place.

A correct approach to interpreting Revelation then is to treat the language in a straightforward manner unless the context indicates otherwise. With that principle of interpretation in mind, here’s why I believe the 1,00 year reign of Christ is intended to be understood literally:

  1) The Messianic Reign of Christ on earth itself is presented throughout Scripture as a literal event, so it is consistent interpretation to understand the time frame given in Revelation as literal as well.

  2) Revelation gives many new details to previous prophetic revelations from the Old Testament. The 1,000 year reign of the Messiah is one such new detail, emphasized by Jesus to John six times, one right after the other to make the matter crystal clear.

  3) Revelation 20:1-7, where the 1,000 years are specified, also lists several other events that are to take place in and around that time frame:

         • Satan is to be “bound,” rendered incapable of affecting human affairs during that 1,00years (20:1-3).

         • Jesus’ followers are resurrected, including those martyred for not receiving the mark of the Beast, and exercise authority and judgment with Jesus during this 1,000 year period (20:4-5).

         • Jesus’ resurrected followers will also serve in a priestly function during this 1,000 year period (20:6).

         • At the conclusion of the 1,000 year reign Satan will be released and will instigate mankind’s final, failed World War, targeting Jerusalem as the Messiah’s headquarters (20:7-9), after which he will be forever banished to eternal torment in hell (20:10).

If the 1,000 years are to be understood symbolically then the events set within that time frame would have to be interpreted as symbolical as well, if we apply a consistent principle of biblical interpretation. We cannot arbitrarily treat one as literal and the other as symbolic. And if the events are interpreted as symbolic, then we would have to conclude that there will be no literal messianic reign of the Kingdom of God on earth at all, no literal binding of Satan, no literal resurrection of the saints to reign with Christ as kings and priests, and no final defeat of Satan ending in his eternal demise in hell.

On the other hand, if we take Revelation 1:1 at face value and interpret this prophecy as an “unveiling of Jesus Christ,” and an “unveiling” of “what” must take place and when it must take place,” then both the events described and the time frame the events are placed in must be interpreted literally.

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[i] ajpoka¿luyiß apokalupsis, ap-ok-al´-oop-sis; from 601; disclosure: — appearing, coming, lighten, manifestation, be revealed, revelation. (Strong’s Greek Dictionary of the New Testament.)