Revealing the Divine Celebration of Christ and His Bride

Shared on April 27, 2025

Introduction

Our lesson this week takes us back into the Revelation of Christ. There is going to be a wedding in heaven, and there will be a feast afterwards!  Ther is going to be a divine celebration of the marriage of Christ and His bride! But who will be the bride of Christ?  Who will be in attendance at this celebration?  Will you be in attendance? 

Parables of the Wedding Feast

In Matthew 22:1-14 and Luke 14:15-24, Jesus teaches us about a very special wedding feast in parables.  In the parables, Jesus spoke about how a certain king arranged a marriage for his son.  Many were invited to the wedding, but those who were first invited made light of their invitations.  So, invitations went out to larger and larger audiences to attend the wedding and its feast.

Jesus made it clear that there would be a certain dress code for those in attendance. Those dressed appropriately for the wedding were permitted to enter.  However, those who showed up to the wedding not dressed appropriately were kicked out.  And of course, those who disregarded the invitation never arrived to the wedding and its feast.

In Matthew 25:1-13, Jesus shared another parable about the wedding and its feast.  In this parable, ten virgins were supposed to prepare themselves for the arrival of the broom.  Jesus explained that five virgins prepared themselves while the other five did not prepare themselves for the arrival of the broom.  When the broom arrived, those who were prepared and waiting entered the wedding and those unprepared ended up missing the wedding and its feast. 

The Wedding of the Lamb

Now, the Revelation of Christ shows us that those parables are actually true stories.  In our lesson this week, John will once again tell us of what he heard and what he saw taking place.

Timing and location

The events that we will see taking place in our lesson this week is taking place at the end of the Great Tribulation.  In our most recent lesson from Revelation – Babylon is Fallen – we saw the beginning of the end of the Great Tribulation.  From Revelation 15-18, you can read and study about the fall of Babylon.

Revelation 19 is a change in tone from the preceding chapters that covered the suffering of the Great Tribulation on earth.  The opening of this chapter shifts the scene back to the kingdom of heaven as heaven rejoices at the fall of Babylon.  With the Great Tribulation coming to an end, the way is made for the Millennial Kingdom.

John tells us that he heard a voice come from the throne which said, “Praise our God, you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great (Rev. 19:5).”  As I said, heaven will have already been rejoicing about the fall of Babylon.  However, with this call for praise, we should understand that this is a new praise for something else that is about to take place.

In response, John said he heard the voice of a great multitude, “as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings”, sing out praise for God’s reign (Rev. 19:6).  The the multitude sang, “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself read (Rev. 19:7).”

Now, this scripture reveals to us the timing and the location of the wedding of the Lamb.  The wedding of the Lamb will take place between the end of the great tribulation and the establishment of the Millennial Kingdom.  The wedding of the Lamb will take place in heaven.

The wedding audience

Heaven will be filled with those who are of sincere faith.  I am always careful to speak of the sincere believer because many profess faith today but won’t be in heaven.  Yes, there are many today who say they are of “the church” that won’t be permitted in the kingdom by Christ.

In Matthew 7:21-23, it’s recorded that Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven … Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

 You see, there are many today who are of the religious organization known as “the church”.  For some, the church is bound to mechanical worship and traditions.  For others, the church is bound to politics, trying to dictate to others how one should live their life.  

Honestly, the religious organization known as the church today moves a lot like the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day.  One who is of such “faith” ought not to think they will have part in this wedding.  However, those who are of sincere faith today, whether they attend a “church service” or not, will have everlasting life in the kingdom (John 3:16).

However, as we have seen, heaven will be filled with many more members.  The  Old Testament believers are going to be in heaven.  We know this because we see them after Jesus’ death and resurrection.

 After His death, Jesus went to hell (or Hades) and proclaimed victory there (Eph. 4:8; 1 Pet. 3:18-19).  At His resurrection, Matthew 27:52-53, shows us where Jesus had brought with HIm those Old Testament saints who were in “Abraham’s Bosom”.  As shown in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the beggar, Abraham’s Bosom was once a special location in Hades where there was no torment.

We have also seen those Tribulation Saints who lose their physical lives during the great tribulation are around the throne, singing praises (Rev. 7:9-14).  While the Old Testament believer and the Tribulation Saint will be permitted in heaven, they will not be the bride of Christ.  You see, the Old Testament believer and the Tribulation Saint will be in the audience for the wedding 

The bride of the Lamb

Scripture makes it very clear that the bride of the Lamb will be the church, the true church.  Again, the reason why I say the “true” church is because only those who are of sincere faith will be permitted into the kingdom.  So, how do we know the church is the bride of Christ? 

John the Baptist made it very clear that one who is of his age won’t be the bride.  In John 3:29, John said, “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.”  You see, John was the last of the Old Testament prophets; he was the last of his kind and age.  

The first mention of the church is when Jesus said to Peter, “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18).”  The church is built on the confession of faith that Peter shared.  Now, Paul, being led by the Spirit, dove into far greater depth about the church.

In Colossians 1:18, Paul pointed out that Jesus is the head of the body of the church.  In his letter to the Ephesian church, Paul, being led by the Spirit, brought further clarity to what this meant.  In Ephesians 5:23, Paul wrote, “For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.”

Ephesians 5:24-27, “Just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkel or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

If you pay close attention to Revelation 19:8, you will notice that the appearance of the bride matches what we are told the appearance of the believer of the church age will be in heaven.  “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.”  You see, these are the saints of the church age, whom Jesus also spoke of in Revelation 3:4-5.

So, here we are again, being able to see our future selves in the kingdom of heaven.  This will truly be a thrilling moment for us believers, where we won’t be able to stop smiling as we will officially take our place as Jesus’ bride.  Think about the joy that wives experience on their wedding day, that will be our joy multiplied without all the drama of a wedding day!

The Wedding Celebration

Every wedding has its following feast and celebration, don’t they? Well, the wedding of Christ and the church will also have a celebration! This celebration won’t be what we’re used to in our culture, a wedding and its feast in the same day and that’s the end. No, in ancient times, the Jews celebrated a wedding for a week. How long will this celebration last?

John said that the voice told him, “Write:  Blessed are those who are called ot the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9)!”  As Jesus made clear in the parable, many will be invited to the feast but only a few will choose to accept their invitation and attend.

In Jesus’ Parable of the Ten Virgins, while He spoke of the wedding, its feast, the parable is clearly about His second coming. Remember, the virgins were supposed to be waiting for the groom to come. This parable is very important when it comes to telling us where the feast, the celebration, will take place.

At Jesus’ second coming, there are going to be multiple things that will take place.  Jesus will send out His angels to gather together those saints who make it to the end of the great tribulation (Matt. 24:29-31).  Jesus will also judge the nations, separating the sheep from the goats (Matt. 25:31-32).  What Revelation 19:11-21 shows us is the celebration won’t take place until after Jesus’ Second Coming, and the capture of the beast – that is the Antichrist – and his armies.

Keep in mind, the Antichrist will be in the world during the Great Tribulation. So, Revelation 19 brings further clarity to Jesus’ parables and lay out a a time frame for us. The marriage of the Lamb will take place in heaven. After the marriage will be the Second Coming of Christ, where Christ and His armies will capture and defeat the Antichrist’s army. After the capture and defeat of the Antichrist, Christ will establish the Millennial Kingdom.

Now, the Millennial Kingdom will be the big celebratory feast for the Lamb and His bride.  Those saints who make it to the end of the tribulation will be permitted to enter and take part in this feast.  However, those who choose sin and the Antichrist will not be permitted to enter and take part in the feast.

So, for all of us, we not only have the opportunity to be part of the feast but we have the opportunity to be part of the reason for the feast.  Yes, I not only want to be at the feast, but I want to be married to Christ.  If you haven’t already, you should open your hearts to receive Christ and move in sincere faith today.

John was so grateful to see this moment that he began to worship right there on the spot.  It will truly be a joy for us to officially be married to our Savior.  My hope is that the revelation of the wedding and the wedding feast will open your heart if it hasn’t already been opened to the opportunity.  Imagine Jesus being your husband and what that can mean for you today.