The Great Wedding Crasher: The Marriage Supper of the Lamb Text: Revelation 19:7-10
Introduction: The Cosmic Romance
The book of Revelation, and indeed the entire Bible, is a love story. It is a romance, but not the sentimental, syrupy kind that our culture manufactures and sells. This is a story of a warrior King, a slain and risen Lamb, who goes to war to win His bride. It is a story of a bride, the Church, who is rescued from harlotry, cleansed, and made beautiful for her husband. The whole of human history is driven by this plot. Everything from the fall of empires to the quiet faithfulness of a believer in a forgotten corner of the world serves this one grand purpose: to prepare for the wedding day.
Our modern world has done its level best to cheapen and degrade the institution of marriage. It has redefined it, mocked it, and treated it as a temporary contract for personal fulfillment. But the reason marriage is so central to human existence, and the reason the devil hates it so much, is that it is an icon, a living picture, of the ultimate reality: the union of Christ and His Church. Every faithful Christian marriage is a small gospel proclamation. It is a signpost pointing to this great wedding feast we are about to read about.
In the previous chapter of Revelation, we witnessed the spectacular fall of Babylon the Great, the Harlot city. She was dressed in purple and scarlet, decked with gold and precious stones, representing the seductive, idolatrous power of the world system that stands in opposition to God. Her judgment was total and final. And what is the immediate response in Heaven to the destruction of the Harlot? It is the announcement of the wedding of the Bride. The counterfeit must be destroyed before the true can be fully revealed. The smoke of Babylon's torment goes up forever, and that smoke clears the air for the glorious appearing of the Bride of Christ. This is not a coincidence. You cannot be friends with the world and married to Christ. You cannot have one foot in Babylon and one foot in the New Jerusalem.
This passage, then, is the pivot point of all history. It is the culmination of the covenant promises. God is not just saving isolated individuals; He is preparing a people, a corporate body, a Bride for His Son. And the joy of this moment is not a quiet, dignified affair. It is a roaring, thunderous, explosive celebration. Let us attend to the words that describe it.
The Text
Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.
And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
Then he said to me, "Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'" And he said to me, "These are true words of God."
Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not do that! I am a fellow slave with you and your brothers who have the witness of Jesus. Worship God! For the witness of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
(Revelation 19:7-10 LSB)
The Bride Prepared (v. 7-8)
We begin with the heavenly summons to joy in verse 7:
"Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready." (Revelation 19:7)
The joy here is commanded. It is our covenant duty. This is not the optional happiness of the world, which is dependent on circumstances. This is the deep, theological gladness that comes from seeing God's plan of redemption fulfilled. And notice where the glory goes: "give the glory to Him." The Bride does not draw attention to herself, but to the Bridegroom. The central figure of the wedding is the Lamb. This is the marriage of the Lamb. He is the one who paid the dowry, not with silver or gold, but with His own blood. He is the one who pursued His bride when she was a slave in a foreign land. He is the one who is making all things new.
And the reason for this rejoicing is twofold: the timing has come, and the Bride is ready. "The marriage of the Lamb has come." History has reached its appointed climax. But the second part is crucial: "His bride has made herself ready." This is a fascinating statement that holds two truths in perfect tension. On the one hand, our preparation is our responsibility. We are not passive puppets. The Christian life is one of active pursuit, of mortifying sin, of putting on righteousness, of fighting the good fight. The Bride must make herself ready.
But how does she do this? Verse 8 immediately clarifies, lest we fall into the trap of self-righteousness.
"And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints." (Revelation 19:8)
Notice the glorious paradox. She makes herself ready, but the very clothing she wears is "given to her." It was granted to her. This is the relationship between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. God works in us, and so we work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12-13). Our righteous acts are truly ours; we perform them. But they are only possible because God has first given us the grace, the desire, and the strength to do them. Every bit of our sanctification is a gift of grace.
Her wedding dress is "fine linen, bright and clean." This stands in stark contrast to the gaudy, blood-stained attire of the Harlot Babylon. The beauty of the Church is not in worldly pomp, but in holiness. And what is this linen? "The fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints." This is not talking about the imputed righteousness of Christ that justifies us. That is the ground of our salvation, the ticket of admission, if you will. This linen is the practical, lived-out righteousness of the saints. It is the fruit of our justification. It is every cup of cold water given in His name, every act of faithfulness under pressure, every word of truth spoken in love, every sin resisted. These are the threads, woven together by the grace of God, that make up the wedding gown of the Church. Our works do not save us, but our faith is not a faith that is without works. And on that day, our works of faith will be our glory and our adornment, a gift from the God who enabled them.
The Blessed Invitation (v. 9)
The angel then commands John to record a beatitude, a declaration of blessing.
"Then he said to me, 'Write, "Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb."' And he said to me, 'These are true words of God.'" (Revelation 19:9)
To be invited to this supper is the greatest blessing a human being can experience. The invitation is the gospel call that goes out into all the world. And who are the invited guests? It is the Bride herself, the Church. But it also includes the Old Testament saints, the friends of the bridegroom like John the Baptist. It is all the redeemed of all the ages, gathered together for the great feast. This is the family reunion at the end of history.
The angel adds a solemn confirmation: "These are true words of God." In a world of lies, propaganda, and deception, the words of God are the only bedrock of reality. This wedding is not a myth, not a metaphor for inner peace, not a pious hope. It is a real, future, historical event. It is more certain than tomorrow's sunrise. And we are commanded to write it down, to record it, to preach it, and to live in light of it. This is the blessed hope that purifies us and gives us strength to endure.
The Redirected Worship (v. 10)
John, completely overwhelmed by the glory of this revelation, makes a very understandable mistake.
"Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, 'Do not do that! I am a fellow slave with you and your brothers who have the witness of Jesus. Worship God! For the witness of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.'" (Revelation 19:10)
John's response is a testament to the sheer majesty of what he is seeing. But the angel's rebuke is swift and decisive. This is a crucial lesson for the Church in every age. We are constantly tempted to worship the messenger instead of the one who sent the message. We are tempted to idolize powerful preachers, beautiful liturgy, or even glorious angels. But all such worship is idolatry. There is an infinite Creator/creature distinction, and it must never be blurred.
The angel gives his reason. He is a "fellow slave." He is on the same level as John and all believers. He is a servant of the same master. Angels are not our superiors in the ultimate sense; they are our partners in the service of God. They are ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation (Hebrews 1:14).
The angel then gives a profound definition of all true prophecy: "For the witness of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." What does this mean? It means that the central purpose, the driving force, the very soul of all biblical prophecy is to bear witness to Jesus Christ. If you are studying prophecy and it leads you to create elaborate charts about the antichrist but does not lead you to worship Christ, you are doing it wrong. If it fills you with fear about the future instead of faith in the Lord of the future, you have missed the point. All the prophets of the Old Testament were pointing forward to Him. All the apostles of the New Testament are pointing back to Him and forward to His return. Every true sermon, every true prophecy, every true word from God has this at its center: it is a testimony about Jesus. He is the subject, the object, and the power of it all. And because this is true, the only proper response to any revelation from God is to do what the angel says: "Worship God!"
Conclusion: Get Dressed
So what does this mean for us, here and now? It means we are in the time of preparation. The wedding day is set. The Bridegroom is coming. The question for us is the same one asked at every wedding: is the Bride ready?
We are making ourselves ready now. Every time you choose obedience over rebellion, you are weaving another thread into that fine linen. Every time you forgive someone who has wronged you, you are cleaning a spot from the gown. Every time you share the gospel, you are adding to the brightness of the fabric. This is not drudgery; it is the joyful preparation for the greatest party in the history of the cosmos.
And it is all a gift. If you are here today and feel that your own linen is hopelessly stained and tattered by sin, the good news is that the Bridegroom is in the business of clothing His bride. He does not demand that you clean yourself up before you come to Him. You must come to Him to be cleaned. His righteousness is given to you by faith, and that is what makes you part of the Bride in the first place. And once you are part of her, He begins the lifelong work of weaving, through you, the righteous acts of the saints.
Therefore, let us rejoice. Let us be glad. Let us give the glory to Him. And let us get dressed. The marriage of the Lamb has come, and we, His bride, by His grace, are making ourselves ready.