To understand the significance and meaning of this
passage, it would be helpful to explain the marriage custom
of John’s day that was in three phases: (1) betrothal, (2)
presentation, and (3) the marriage feast.
Marriage was by a contract drawn up between the fathers,
often while the parties involved were still children. In
other words, this was the negotiating phase. Though the
marriage was not consummated at this point, they were
considered legally married. Whenever a believer receives
Jesus Christ as Savior, he becomes a part of the bride of
Christ. The church age is the betrothal phase, the time when
God is calling out a bride for His Son.
The payment of a suitable dowry was also often a part of the
procedure. Thus, Christ gave His own life for us as a dowry.
Today all believers are legally married to Jesus Christ and
through living faithfully in the Word, we are kept as pure
virgins, kept from Satanic apostasy or fornication (2
Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:25-26).
When the couple reached a suitable age, the wedding took
place. The father of the bridegroom would present the
contract to the father of the bride. The bridegroom would
then go to the house of the bride in the company of his
friends and escort her to his home. This is the background
for the parable of the virgins in Matthew 25:1-13. During
the betrothal phase, the groom would prepare an apartment, a
place to live in his father’s house. Homes, especially for
the wealthy, were often very large complexes. When a son was
to be married, a room or rooms were added to the father’s
house for the new bride (John 14:2-3). The rapture, or
resurrection and transformation of the church, is the event
which brings the groom to the bride and which takes the
bride back into heaven.
The groom and his friends would then escort the bride to
their new home. The ceremony that followed was the
“presentation” or actual marriage. The hand of the bride was
placed into the hand of the groom’s father. He would then
place it into the groom’s hand. This was considered the
marriage ceremony. Ephesians 5:27 speaks of this
presentation, also of Christ’s present work of keeping the
church pure and productive by loving her through the Word.
The groom would invite many guests and gather all his
friends to come to the marriage feast and view his bride.
The length and lavishness of the feast would of course
depend on the wealth and status of the bridegroom. It might
last a day or a week or even longer. The millennium
represents the marriage feast where Christ displays His
bride, the church.
In the parable of Matthew 22:l-14 we have an illustration of
this custom. The parable, however, pictures the rejection of
Israel and Christ’s gracious extension of the invitation to
all nations. Christ had prepared a great feast of spiritual
blessings, but Israel was too busy to be bothered so the
offer was extended to the nations or the Gentile world
(Romans 11:1-32).
In Matthew 25:l-13 we have another reference to the wedding
feast only this time it refers to the millennium and the
invitation is to come as guests to this great feast. The
invitation is to Jews and Gentiles of the Tribulation to
come to the marriage feast of Christ and His bride, the
church. Of course, they can only come by faith in the groom.
Personal faith in Jesus Christ is the wedding invitation;
this provides the righteous garment necessary to get into
the feast.
In Revelation 19: 7 great rejoicing and glory is given to
God because “the marriage of the Lamb has come.” This may
refer to a marriage or to a wedding feast (Matthew 22:8-12;
25:10; John 2:1-3; Revelation 19:9). This is not the
announcement of the marriage, which has already occurred in
heaven with the presentation of the bride, the church, to
the groom, the Lord Jesus Christ. This occurred following
the rapture. What we have here, as verse 9 makes clear, is
an announcement of the wedding feast or the millennial reign
of Christ.
This can now be announced and anticipated because Christ is
about to return to remove all the enemies of God and
unbelievers from the earth in preparing the earth for this
great celebration of 1,000 years. However, for such an event
the bride must be properly clothed and prepared so the groom
may show off his new bride. Thus, we read, “and His bride
has made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7).
The bride refers to the church of Jesus Christ (1
Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:22f). Second, we are told,
“His bride makes herself ready.” This brings out the aspect
of personal responsibility of individuals. There is first
the responsibility in relation to salvation. To be a part of
the bride, one must have believed in Christ as his or her
personal Savior from sin. However, the emphasis here relates
to the issue of true spirituality that results in rewards or
preparation for eternity, a personal and responsible belief
by men and women in Jesus Christ as their Savior. It also
requires living according to the Word of God, by faith, so
they can bear fruit or reproduce good works. This is what is
meant by the statement, “makes herself ready.” However,
there is also the divine side. This is brought out in the
next statement of verse 8, “and it was given to her to
clothe herself.” The phrase “was given to her” focuses our
attention on God’s grace.
“Was given to her” also refers to those gifts Christ has
given to the church which enable believers to produce good
works for God and to glorify Him. Our Lord declared that,
“apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5-6). He also
said, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear
fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither
can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the
branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much
fruit” (John 15:7-8). As a branch has no capacity for fruit
bearing in itself, but must abide in the vine, so men have
no spiritual capacity apart from Jesus Christ and a life of
abiding in Him. For this abiding life, our Lord has blessed
us with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).
Fruitfulness, then, is dependent upon using, by faith, the
spiritual blessings that our Lord has given us to make
ourselves ready.
Second, “was given to her” also refers to the reward the
Lord will give for faithful service or the righteous deeds
done in the power of the Holy Spirit. The reward is a
beautiful wedding garment. This is indicated in the phrase
“to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the
fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints” (Revelation
19:8).
In Scripture, a garment or clothing often stands for
righteousness. It is a symbol of righteousness and declares
the character and spiritual condition of a person’s life.
Biblically speaking, the garment of righteousness is
portrayed in three specific ways; first, there is the
self-righteousness of man that falls short of the perfect
righteousness of God. This is the best that moral or
religious man can do under the law, and this God must reject
(Isaiah 64:6; John 6:63; Romans 3:9-28; 8:2-4; Philippians
3:6-8). Second, there is the garment of salvation, the
imputed righteousness of God given to all believers that
gives them a righteous standing before God. The result is
they are clothed in the righteousness of Christ (2
Corinthians 5:19, 21; Philippians 3:9). Third, the wedding
garment described here as white, bright, and clean. This
symbolizes the righteous deeds, the works of godliness and
goodness, produced by the Holy Spirit as believers reckon
the flesh dead and walk by the power of the indwelling Holy
Spirit (Romans 6:4f; Galatians 5:5, 16, 22-23).
In essence then, the church age is not only the betrothal
stage, but also a time where the bride is preparing her
trousseau for the marriage supper of the Lamb.
Verse 9 has reference to the custom of inviting guests to
the wedding feast as seen in Matthew 22 and 25. John was
first told, “Write, blessed are those who are invited to the
marriage supper of the Lamb.” First, this is the
pronouncement of blessing and happiness to those invited
because the millennium will be the most blessed time in the
history of the earth. It will be an unprecedented time of
blessing just as the Tribulation was an unprecedented time
of misery. It will be a time worth waiting for and worth
suffering for.
Second, all men are invited, both Jews and Gentiles, but to
enter and be a part one must accept the invitation and come
with the right wedding garment, the righteousness of Jesus
Christ. This means one must first accept the invitation to
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:12; 3:3, 16; Romans
3:21-22; 4:5). Not only will the bride have her trousseau,
but also every guest must have on a wedding robe, a garment
of righteousness, in order to be a part of the marriage
feast or the millennial reign of the Savior. These guests
are friends of the bridegroom (John 3:29).
In verse 10 John falls at the feet of the messenger, but he
is immediately rebuked by the messenger’s words. There is a
very important message in this verse for all believers as it
pertains to the giving and receiving of the Word of God.
John had received revelation from angels before, but this
revelation was so wonderful and awesome to John, so
beautiful, that he fell before the angel to worship him,
perhaps in appreciation for this good word from God. In the
process, however, he forgot or ignored some very important
principles that must always be kept in mind regarding the
messengers of God’s Word, whether angelic beings or human
beings. When sitting under the ministry of someone who
really preaches the Word of God, whether in a church
setting, by tape, by radio, or television, people often
become so thrilled with the message, they become enchanted
with the messenger. In this regard, consider the following:
First, when we get our eyes on the messenger, we have
forgotten that it is God’s message, assuming that the
messenger is truly giving out the truth. The message of the
Bible is anything but the wisdom of man for “the foolishness
of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is
stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:25). Second, we forget
the person giving the message is nothing more than God’s
instrument and messenger using the abilities God gave him
along with the results or blessings God gives. To the carnal
Corinthians who had their eyes on personalities Paul asked
this provocative question, “What then is Apollos? And what
is Paul?” Paul’s answer, “Servants through whom you
believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I
planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So
then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is
anything, but God who causes the growth” (1 Corinthians
3:4-7).
When we forget these principles and lose this grace
perspective, we become guilty of comparing personalities, a
practice Paul defined as carnal in 1 Corinthians 3, of
helping to inflate the egos of the messengers, of helping to
promote personality fan clubs in the church, and maybe even
of causing division in the body of Christ.
The angel told John, “worship God.” The point is only God
should be worshipped. Infatuation with a messenger hinders
the proper worship or recognition of God and His worth to
us. Again, the point here is that it is God’s message and
the messenger is using only that which God gave him (1
Corinthians 4:6-7).
This is a serious problem in the church today, a lot more
important than many are willing to admit. The audience can
become preoccupied with the messenger, and secondly, the
messenger can become preoccupied with the praise of the
audience. The answer, worship God. Respect the messenger and
thank God for him but above all, let us worship God, never
man or angels.
