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The Marriage Supper of the Lamb |
THE MARRIAGE SUPPER IN THE CONTEXT OF THE GATHERING OF THE ELECT
AT THE END OF THE
FINAL SEVEN YEARS OF THIS AGE AT THE SECOND COMING OF MESSIAH.
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
is a magnificent future occasion. The saints down through time
have wondered about it. It is
alluded to in the Hebrew prophetic poetry.
And it is clearly outlined in Revelation chapter 19.
At a future point in holy history
the Elect will be gathered out of this present era of space and time.
They will pass beyond this earthly pale to enter into the eternal realms.
After the judgment
the saints will pass through the gates of splendor
to enter the mansions of glory. Just inside they will
come into the banqueting hall of the the Great King.
There they will be ushered into an experience they have never had before.
It will be a love feast with their Messiah.
This will be a glorious consummation of this age. It is beyond the power of words to describe.
The scriptures clearly indicate that our entry way into this climactic love feast
will come at the consummation, that is the very close of this present evil age.
There are many Biblical reference to the second coming of Christ and the final gathering of those that are His. Jacob's ladder is a portal between heaven and earth. It was seen very early on in holy history. Our patriarch Jacob saw it as YHVH-God's high and holy purposes are set forth from up in the third heaven. They are sovereign. They supersede the the humanistic plans set forth by the angelic principalities and powers of this world up in the lower or second heaven. Messiah is the creator of the earth so He has authority down here. He is the promised Redeemer of Israel. So He has the right to cut right across the dark gnostic chasms of the second heaven. These angelic hierarchies of false religion attempt to swaddle and hoodwink the people of this earth.
Here is the gist of the religion we get from the lower second heaven. It is in fact pagan gnosticism. This false religion is infiltrating both the Church and Rabbinical Judaism. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel is not locked up in heaven as gnostic Deist religion has taught us. This is something that we, as Biblical Christians, need to unlearn. The Old Testament prophets showcased YHVH-God as Emmanuel. Emmanuel is a name which means "God with us". He has already come down Jacob's ladder. He has lived among His people. And that was nearly 2,000 years ago. He was with us on that occasion for over three years.
At that time Messiah made His first visitation as the Suffering Servant. Classically this is spoken of by the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 53. (The rabbinical priesthood have forbidden our Jewish brethren to read Isaiah 53). Our Messiah left this earth in His resurrected body. This came at His ascension from the Mount of Olives. He returned, (back up Jacob's ladder, as it were), in the summer of 32 A.D.. (Acts 1:9-11) But that was not the last this world will see of Him. Jesus Himself said that He will be coming back again. (Mat.24;29-31) He will be returning to His creation for a longer period. He will finish His work of redemption. His Gospel message will go out among the untaught and unsaved masses of this world. This damaged cosmos will be restored to the beauty and order it once knew. Jesus Christ/Yeshua Hamashiach will be returning to this earth on the day of Reckoning. On that Day He will come as judge and deliverer. He will be establishing His Millennial Kingdom. He will be ruling in righteousness and ministering in mercy. This sin sick world will be restored in His grace and in His shalom. Messiah will be showcased in all His glory. In this manner He will tabernacle, tent, or "camp out", with His people for a thousand years.
Jesus Christ, Yeshua Hamashiach will surely return to this earth. The covenant people of God will see Him face to face. Indeed we are told that at His coming this next timeevery eye will see Him. This time He will not be returning as a babe in a manger, born of a virgin. Nor will we see Him as the Suffering Servant. Next time He will appear as the conquering King of Kings.
There is a gap of two millennia between Messiah's first coming and His second coming. This was predicted by the Hebrew prophets. Danel prophesied a time period of seventy weeks, (or sevens), of years. (Dan.9:24-27) At the end of the 69 weeks of years they would see their Messiah the first time. Then He would be "cut off" or executed.
His second coming will be at the end of the future 70th week of Daniel. This will be at the apocalypse, the unveiling, (or the revelation), of Christ. This will be seen at the end of those final seven years. It will be the grand climax of this age. This is the scriptural context of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. The Day of the Lord will surely come. Every eye will see Him as a vortex is opened up into heaven. And Messiah will send the angels to pluck up the tares for the fires. He will surely judge the wicked. And He will deliver His covenant people from the heathen.
THE END TIME DRAMA AT THE THRESHOLD OF THE APOCALYPSE.
AND THE UNVEILING OF JESUS CHRIST AS THE RETURNING BRIDEGROOM.
The climax of this age will see the saints come under intense persecution.
They will bring the
final witness before men and angels on behalf of the Bridegroom they love.
Yes, the end-time drama is very much a love story, - an epic saga of love and war.
The nations will rise up against the Holy City of Jerusalem.
But the armies mustered in the Valley of Armageddon in That Day will have a Visitor.
Pilgrims have always been welcome in Jerusalem.
But those who come to the Holy Place in the spirit of
Dominionism and the presumption that goes along with this will be destroyed.
The end time drama involves a great exile of God's covenant people. John the writer of the book of Revelation described this three and a half year exile in Revelation 12. See Rev. 12:6 and 12:14. It will almost certainly involve an epic airlift of huge numbers of Christian believers into a place of safety. God's covenant people will be exiled off on the wings of a great eagle to a wilderness place or places mysteriously referred to in apocalyptic scripture as a gathering "as the sheep of Bozrah". All this will happen during the final 3.5 years, (1260 days), of this age. (Rev.12:5 & Rev. 12:14)
The exile at Bozrah sets the scene for s divine romance and a great adventure. God's covenant people will be showcased in the "final witness" that will come at the end of the age. There in that wilderness place they too will be visited. Those who are incarcerated out there will experience a great deliverance at Bozrah. It will be a day of awe and of splendor. Messiah will surely come. And He will rescue His own.
This magnificent Bozrah Deliverance remains an untold story. The whole subject of Bozrah is avoided by Bible teachers in our western church tradition. This is probably a necessary thing and for some very good socio-political reasons. But the saints of God will not be forever kept in the dark about this. This awesome day of visitation, including a Day of wrath and deliverance at Bozrah is spoken of by the prophets of Israel. So we can be sure that it will surely come to pass. It was spoken of by Isaiah and Micah in Isaiah 63 and in Micah 2:12&13.
Our God is sovereign in history. His actions and interventions in this world are many. This is not just a Sunday religious phenomenon. He is God Almighty. He is YHVH-God, the Holy One of Israel. His holy will is above and beyond our human "purposes". And His holy history intersects world history. The first time He came as a babe in a manger. He presented Himself as Messiah on Palm Sunday riding on a donkey. Next time it will be different. The returning Messiah will wrap up the history of this age. And when He does we can be sure that He will do things on a grand scale.
Surely this awesome future deliverance will be the occasion for a grand party. Messiah will invite all who have stood with Him in the coming Great Tribulation to come and wine and dine with Him. It will be a grand celebration of which all the victory feasts and toasts of previous times have been just a foretaste.
All of the saints from both sides of Calvary, from Israel’s 12 tribes, and from all their companions drawn from out of the nations will be there. John saw the saints standing before the crystal sea clothed in white robes. Here were people from every nation, race, and tribe. (Rev.7) They had palm branches in their hands. And they sang a song of deliverance, even the Song of Moses. (Revelation 15) And so John sees the celebrations beginning. The party would go on as they entered the banqueting hall at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Revelation chapter 19 (below) is our scripture passage. It clearly shows the post-tribulational apocalyptic context of this magnificent love feast between The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel and His covenant people.
THE MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LAMB
Revelation 19:5-21
5 .Then a voice came from the throne, saying, "Praise our God all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!" 6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the MARRIAGE of the LAMB has come, and His wife has made herself ready." 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are called to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb!' " And he said to me, "These are the true sayings of God." 10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." 11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. 17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, "Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, 18 that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great." 19 And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. 20 Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.
As well as involving the climax of this evil age it also seems clear that the Marriage Supper of the Lamb will involve the New Jerusalem, the Holy City. That city is referred to by John as "the wife of the Lamb". It is a city made up of living stones, joined to the Chief Cornerstone of Zion, even the covenant people of God. (1Pet.2:4-7)
We in the true church are in the picture here, along with the saints of old and indeed all the saved of Israel. God only gathers one Elect. He gathers them all together at one time at the end of this age. And He gathers them all together at one time at the end of the age to come.
If look around we soon become aware that the present church is not there yet. We are an unrefined mixture of gold and dross. The church, as well as national Israel, are both being called out. They are being called out by God into His end time ekklesia (Gr. His congregation or assembly), to follow Him in Spirit and in Truth. Both national Israel and the Church are destined for apocalyptic covenant dealings at the hand of YHVH-God, identified in Holy Scripture as the Refiner. (Isa.48:10-11) The saints are being drawn out from the church and from Israel and from the heathen nations. Out of the crucible of the latter days will come a true and faithful Congregation of God.
It is important to realize that the Marriage Supper of the Lamb is a national celebration.
It is more than the culmination of the work of a priesthood of Christ in the Gospel.
Messiah serves in the two offices of
Melchizedek as priest and king.
And as His saints gather their new and ultimate national identity is in Zion.
"Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return.And so as the Christians come into the covenants of Israel they become new creatures.
And come with singing unto Zion.
And everlasting joy shall be upon their heads.
They shall obtain, gladness and joy,
And sorrow, and mourning will flee away. (Isa.51:11)
Their national identity is on a higher plane than they had imagined.
In Christ they are identified in the Seed of Abraham. (Gal.3:29)
And their ultimate citizenship is in the Commonwealth of Israel. (Eph.2:12-13)
THE BRIDE OF CHRIST, THE BRIDE OF THE LAMB,
THE COVENANT PEOPLE OF GOD AS THE HOLY CITY, THE NEW JERUSALEM
None of us are perfected yet. But nevertheless there is
a covenant people reserved and set apart for God.
The saints are destined to be gathered. And they will see the face of their Ishi at the
Resurrection-Rapture.
At that time they will be a
single Elect, a glorious completed company.
These are the ones who are destined to be that Holy City
when it descends from heaven. This is clearly marriage imagery.
John saw,
"the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,- Rev.21 John saw the Holy City descending from heaven in a single climactic moment of God's eternal agenda. Every true believer is destined to be part of that holy city. The New Jerusalem is destined to come together as a spiritual construction of living stones not made with hands. They, as Christ, are rejected by men, chosen of God, and precious. The prophet Malachi saw the Refiner come to claim and to make up His jewels. (Mal.3:16-17) And our apostle Paul described our ultimate union with Christ using this same imagery. The saints are as living stones being built up into a holy habitation in the Spirit of God. These are just some of the elements of what is going to be glorious wedding. Our apostle Peter said that we are
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband".
4. "Coming to Him as to a living stone,
rejected of men but chosen of God and precious.
5. You also, as living stones
are being built up an spiritual house, a holy priesthood
to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.6. Therefore, it is also contained in the scripture,
'Behold I lay in Zion,
A Chief Cornerstone, elect and precious
And He who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.'"
(1Pet.2:4-6) Our apostle Paul joins in to say,
"For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works
which God has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
(Eph. 2:10)
WHEN WILL THE MARRIAGE SUPPER OCCUR?
THE SAINTS GO INTO THE GLORY THROUGH TWO PORTALS OR VORTICES IN EARTHLY TIME.
THE MARRIAGE SUPPER WILL BE CONDUCTED IN THE ETERNAL REALMS BEYOND EARTHLY TIME.
Will the Marriage Supper of the Lamb come at the end of this age?
Or will it come at the
end of the Millennium of Messiah one thousand years later? The question
of timing of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb seems to be a problem to us.
Our Hellenized minds grapple with the Biblical truth which seem to present both times as appropriate
for the occasion.
Perhaps it need not be such a problem for us.
Our apostle Paul Paul says that at the very end, Messiah will gather His entire Elect company. Presumably this will include not only those redeemed out of this age, but also those redeemed out of His Millennial Age yet to come. We are told that He will then present ALL of those who are His to the Father. (1Cor. 15:24) Here is our scripture.
15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put ALL enemies under
his feet.
15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
15:27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he
saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted,
which did put all things under him.
15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall
the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that
God may be all in all".
1 CORINTHIANS 15
15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall
have delivered up
the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he
shall have put down all rule and all
authority and power.
- 1 Corinthians 15:24-28
These verses indicate that this presentation by Messiah of His bride to the Father must surely also include the wrap-up of holy history at the end of both this age and the Millennial Age to come. Christ will also eventually be gathering His Elect from out of that future glorious Millennium of Messiah. He will be taking another sheepfold, (perhaps the greater sheepfold), of His covenant people out of that future period of one thousand years. These people belong to Him. And so we should consider that they will be at the Marriage Supper as well. If this is so then it would appear that we shall be joining all the saints for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. This will include those saints who will be glorified at the end of this present age and also saints that emerge from the Millennial Age to come. Are we, the saints of this age, in the lesser sheepfold, the 'little flock' Jesus referred to? (Luke 12:32) Are the saints of this age showcased in the Messianic drama of deliverance, the coming of 'the Breaker'? And did the ancient patriarchs see this awesome drama pictured in the constellation of the 'lesser sheepfold' or little dipper? Perhaps so.
This presentation to the Father by Jesus our Messiah of a complete and perfect company without spot or blemish is seen in verse 26 above. The time context here is clearly post-millennial. It is at the occasion of the final defeat of death. Death is the last enemy to be dealt with in God’s great plan of redemption and restoration. The Bible makes it very plain in Revelation 20. Death is slated for ultimate defeat at the end of the thousand years. It is the last enemy is to be judged at the Great White Throne judgment. John then saw death and Hades thrown into the Lake of Fire. (Rev.20:14)
As we see from the scriptures above we have good evidence to show that
the saints from both ages will be issued into the eternal realms and into
the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. They will enter eternity from two time vortices.
The Day of the Lord will open up at the end of both ages.
And the saints will enter the realms of Eternal Light.
(Perhaps this may be the ultimate fulfillment of the celebration of Hanukkah).
Of course such concepts are difficult for us.
We have been Hellenized in our thinking by our passage through the Greek culture.
We have trouble thinking "outside the box".
We ask, "Is the Marriage Supper of the Lamb at the end of this age?
Or does it come at the end of the Millennium of Messiah?
It must be one or the other. It cannot be both."
We are trained to process information in the natural world using this mode of thinking. It involves the presupposition, "if not in box A then in box B". As we shall discover, earthly time considerations are irrelevant in matters that concern the holy things of God. God’s eternal purposes cut right across earthly events that might to us seem to be forever separated by Newtonian time and space.
We might well expect this question of "When is the Marriage Supper?" to lead to an Aristotelian style argument.
Greek sophistry can be seen in our theological discussions
taking the contestants round and round and back and forth.
This is our man centered humanistic Greek logic at work here.
But this earthly minded man centered mindset is always bogged down when it tries to grasp eternal things.
In our minds we are still Greeks. Until we submit ourselves to Christ and believe what He has set forth in His Word we are still chained to our man-centered Greek logic. "Is it A? Or is it B? It can't be both!" Or so we think. Our Hellenized minds want to say that it must be one or the other. But are these arguments going to shed any light on the subject; or just heat? What do the Holy Scriptures say?
Sad to report, even as Christians most of us are still humanists in our mode of thinking. Many professors of theology have a problem with the cosmic Christ and His deity, the virgin who was found to be with child, creation versus evolution, the axhead that floated, and a host of other questions. We still seek to impose our own naturalistic pre-suppositions on the higher eternal realities, even when they are clearly revealed in God's Word.
So when is the Marriage Supper of The Lamb.
Does it come at the end of this age?
Or at the end of the Millennium of Messiah?
Could it be possible that BOTH are true?
Scripture supports both time slots does it not? Could the saints at the end of this age and the saints at the end of the Millennium to come both enter into the same eternal destiny, namely the Marriage Supper of the Lamb?
It seems that the Marriage Supper of the Lamb simply cannot be pegged to one earthly time. It needs two. Here is how it happens. As the saints enter eternity are glorified into new spiritual bodies. At the resurrection-rapture at the end of this age we leave Newtonian space-time. We enter the eternal realms to enter into a realm beyond our present earthly sphere of time and space. Similarly the saints that Jesus brings with Him out of the Millennium to come also must be glorified. They will enter the realms of Light at the end, after the Great White Throne judgment which comes after the future Millennium and after the final Millennial rebellion. This is precisely what we see in 1Cor.15:24.
So, as incredible as it may sound, there may in fact be two Portals into the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. But once ushered into the eternal realms of glory the saints may all find themselves in a single hallway of heaven. They are all gathering together at the same heavenly time and place. They look around to suddenly realize that they are in the celestial banqueting hall. All the saints from both ages are there together. They have all arrived together at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb!
The saints look for time-space reference that is familiar to them. They look for a calendar on the wall to tell them what year they are in. But there is none. Space and time in eternity are all relative. Relative to what? Relative to the plans and purposes of Almighty God.
Here is the matter we must address. Is YHVH-God bound by earthly time, even a clock ticking away on the mantelpiece? Does God Almighty up in heaven measure time according to Greenwich or New York? Certainly not! Our time and our place in the glory will not be bound to earthly realities. Our comings and goings will depend on the higher purposes of God. It matters not from where or from whence a saint left his mortal life on earth. If the Lamb of God wants you at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb He will arrange it. And you will be there! Our coming Messiah is coming to gather ALL His Elect as a single company. He will see to it personally, we can be sure about that.
So let us pause to take in the magnificent scene for a moment. Here they are, two companies of people filing into a room in the realms of eternity. It is the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, a moment and a scene of splendor beyond human powers of description.. This Banquet is an eternal event. It is not bound to any earthly calendar time. In the glory, time will be irrelevant. For us who have been glorified there will just be the flows and purposes of God to which we have been called. We may be called to re-enter the cosmos down Jacob's ladder as it were, to enter a certain time and space for ministry under the auspices of Messiah. (Rev.20:4) John the Revelator clearly tells us, (twice in fact), that the people glorified at the end of this age will rule and minister during the Millennium on earth. (Rev.20:4 & 20:6)
We can only speculate on what our roles may be in the new heavens and new earth. So there is no reason for us not to think that a saint of God can come into the Marriage Supper of the Lamb through whatever earthly time portal he or she happens to pass through when they are glorified.
This may sound strange, even fantastic. Of course it is. For example, as we come to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb we as saints of this present evil age shall be coming in from the deliverance we experienced at the Resurrection-Rapture. This will occur inside the Day of the Lord as it opens up the heavens at the end of this age. But we might very well meet people coming into the banqueting hall from over one thousand years into the future. They will have just come in from the Day of the Lord as it split the heavens at the end of the Millennium of Messiah. The Day of the Lord is going to open up one more time. John told of a Millennial Rebellion at the end of the age to come. (Rev.20:7-10)
These saints will be entering the glory as well. They might tell us that from their earthly perspective they have just that very minute (to them) come up into eternity from the last day at the end of the Millennium of Messiah. As we join up with the whole party we shall discover that Messiah will bring both the lesser and greater sheepfolds together. All His saints gathered from both this present evil age and from the glorious Millennial Age to come will join Him at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
The marriage supper might witness some interesting conversations. The saints redeemed out of this present age will testify that they had just been raptured or resurrected at the end of the Seventieth Week of Daniel. This will have happened in the early 2,000's. But the saints of the Millennium will have left the earthly realm a thousand years later. The saints of this age and the saints of the coming Millennium enter the Marriage Supper of the Lamb together. But they come in from two earthly time portals a thousand years apart.
What a glorious reunion! Old Testament saints like Daniel and Ezekiel will be there. After they fell asleep back in the 6th century B.C. they had been in Abraham's bosom, a place of spiritual comfort in the realms of Hades. Then they heard the voice of the Redeemer of Israel break into their dreams. After His death on the cross and before His resurrection He preached to the spirits in the nether realms to declare the good news of His triumph over the spirits of darkness. From an earthly perspective this event can be pegged to His first-fruits resurrection in 32 A.D.. But then at the consummation of the age these Old Testament saints are fully awakened to experience the first resurrection. (Rev.20) They find themselves in new spiritual bodies and in the banqueting hall of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. They will be fellowshiping with fellow pilgrims, some of whom have just been glorified out of a time in the distant future. These will testify that they lived in the future Millennium of Messiah. They will have left their mortal bodies to enter the glory at a date close to the year 3,000 A.D.. (1Cor. 15:24)
So the saints of either age might well awaken from their sleep together.
But being from different ages they might find themselves asking,
"What year are we in up here right now?"
Of course there will be no earthly answer.
Just an eternal one.
There will be no earthly time clocks in the New Jerusalem. Nor will there be a calendar up in these spiritual dwelling places. The glorified saints in the New Jerusalem will flying to and fro as doves to their windows through space and time. In their visitations they could be sent to access any part of the cosmos at any geographical point to meet and minister on behalf of Messiah. They will not be bound to earthly time. Rather, they will be operating in God’s Time.
This is not new. We have seen it before. It will just as it was in those forty days after the resurrection. During this time period there were occasions the spiritual body of Jesus was seen in diverse places, even entering through walls to minister to the disciples in the upper room. He turned up as His disciples needed encouragement as they walked along the road to Emmaus. This example by Jesus/Yeshua of life in a a new spiritual body is just a glimpse of what it means to rule with Christ for a thousand years.
The coming Millennium of Messiah will be far more wonderful than anything we have seen in this present world system. Mortals living upon the earth in the coming Millennial age will be living under the ministrations of Messiah. And they will be visited and nurtured as the sheep of God's pasture. Those who have passed into the glory before them will be serving under Messiah in the dual offices of Melchizedek. The glorified saints will have spirit bodies. They will be at liberty in God to move into and out of the earthly cosmos. They will minister with Messiah in this manner for a thousand years.
The Millennial Age will be more wonderful than we can imagine. The created ecosystems will be restored to the beauty and order they once knew. And there will be an open heaven. God’s messengers will be ascending and descending between the heavenly Jerusalem and the Millennial earth. At that time the third heaven will be open and clear. The principalities and powers that ruled during this evil age will have been cast down. These stars will have fallen at the 6th seal. And the saints will be ruling in their place.
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb will be a wrap-up party like no other. It will be a victory celebration as well as a marriage feast. Both celebrations will be combined into one. The whole event will be an introduction into the eternal realms of God. It will be a consummation and a serendipity of unspeakable glory.
Our apostle Peter tells us that the angels desire to look into these wonders. They are very interested in what YHVH-God intends to do in and through His saints. (1Pet.1:12) Clearly, these matters are beyond our understanding right now. They are just too wonderful for our present comprehension.
THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB; - CONDUCTED BEYOND EARTHLY TIME AND SPACE
This creation is in rebellion. Each member is wont to think he has the rulership. Things in this created order seem to be going on all by themselves like an elaborate clockwork. But this created order is not as self regulated as we imagine it to be. Nor is it self ordained. The goddess worship of Gaia, also revered by the gays, is a farce. And the pantheistic new age goddesses may have gloried in declaring "I am" in the face of YHVH-God, the God of Israel. But they are deceivers, busily deceiving themselves. We also see that the heathen are ramping up their rage against the coming Messiah. This is just as King David wrote in his song. (Psalm 2) But God laughs.Quite clearly there is Someone at work who is greater than all these rebels. And He has written the play in which they have a part. These antagonists are merely actors on the stage. They are forced by their spiritual handlers to playing their part before a cloud of witnesses. They may rail against the God of Israel. And they may be accusers of the brethren. But they are still subject to God and to His higher purposes. The wicked will eventually reveal themselves for who they really are. The last day of this age will see the play come to its end. This will be the ultimate, final Day of Reckoning.
The day after that will see the opening of the Day of the Lord. The wicked will swiftly come under the divine judgment of God. Their angels will be overhead. The angels of wrath will have been loosed from the pit. They grim reapers will be coming to get them. These evildoers will be plucked up against their will even as tares or weeds pulled up from the garden to be burned. (Mat.13:30, Mat.13:40-42) The evil angels will be doing their awful work. (Ps.78:49) This is the prophetic meaning of the parable of the wheat and the tares. (Mat.13:24-43)
The Sovereign Ruler of the universe still rules. He is now at work in the New Covenant. He is writing His laws in human hearts. (Jer.31:31) The New Covenant in individuals is how YHVH-God intends to fulfill the Old Covenant with the nation of Israel. He will also complete His ministry of the Gospel out into all the nations. And so all Israel will be saved. (Rom.11) The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel will see all His divine purposes fulfilled. The "heils geschicter" or "salvation history" of God will have come to its appointed consummation.
And so the righteousness of the saints will be seen before men and angels. The Jewish house of Judah will be saved. (Zech 12:7-13:1) The Elect of God's great global congregation will become incorporated in a fully restored Israel. This is how the mystery of godliness will unfold at the end of this age. God's covenant people, a royal priesthood and a holy nation, will be seen at last. And at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb the saints will enter into the glory, in intimate union with Messiah. When He establishes His Millennial Kingdom they will begin operating in heaven and on earth in alignment with His will.
So there is a parallel universe after all. It is a spiritual place and very real. It is not the cosmos we see with our microscopes and telescopes. Eternity is not subject to time and space. As Albert Einstein helped us to see, time and space and matter are not absolute entities at all. They are dependent on a higher realm, even the realm of light and energy. It seems that the things we think are solid in this created world and the things we imagine will last forever are not. They are really just temporary. They are 'relative'. They are subject to the sovereign will of an omniscient eternal God.
And so the Marriage Supper of the Lamb is an event in eternity. Here is a party which straddles and transcends earthly time and geography. It will mark the beginning of a great and glorious future for the saints. Jesus told us about this when He said.
"In my Father's House are many mansions(dwelling places)......Blessings to all who love His appearing,
I go to prepare a place for you.........
I will come again and receive you unto myself
that where I am there ye may be also".
- John 14:2
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Some more devotional articles on apocalyptic Biblical themes for the enquiring Christian. 
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