The Marriage Supper of the Lamb - Revelation 19:7-9

During his lifetime on earth, Jesus did not marry. For a man not to marry was very rare in Israel (then as now). Following the typology in the story of Abraham's servant going to a far country to select a bride (Rebekah) for the patriarchs beloved son Isaac, (Genesis 24) we could say that God the Father dispatched the Holy Spirit into the world to call out and prepare a people who would be a suitable bride. The Spirit would also give the church a suitable wedding dowry that she might be a fitting love-gift from the Father to His beloved Son, Jesus. All sorts of people are welcome to be part of Christ's wife, the invitation is open to everyone,

Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.'

"But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.'

"Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.'

"Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.'

"The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.'

"'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.'

"Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.'" (Luke 14:16-24)

The church can be thought of as the "Second Eve." But whereas the original Eve was one woman, the Bride of Christ consists of millions of men and children! When we are all brought together as a family following the rapture we shall join with our Lord is a great marriage feast.

Christ's Bride is in Heaven before He returns in glory to the earth!

"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. And 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 19:7-9)

Our return with Christ

To understand the events which take place after the Rapture, we need to bear in mind that there is a sequence of events taking place which occurs "in heaven" and there is a parallel sequence of events occurring "on earth." In the book of Revelation note is made of those who "dwell in heaven" and those who dwell on earth" during the tribulation period. The former group "dwelling in heaven" is the church. We who comprise the church will have been given our resurrection bodies and will walk in the company of the Lamb and His holy angels. Those who are (during this same time period) dwelling on earth--include non-believers, but also God's 144,000 Jewish evangelists. (they are regenerated men but do not yet have resurrection bodies), and likewise their converts, who are the saints of the Tribulation period. Many of these saints will become martyrs during the tribulation period, but they will not be given their resurrection bodies until the tribulation ends. (Revelation 20:4)

Appendix L helps to understand better the return of Christ as having two aspects. His silent return for His church at the Rapture is described by the use of the Greek word parousia which means "coming alongside and remaining with" someone. We should think of the Rapture as the first phase of the second coming of Christ. He will come for His church, and He will remain with them forever after. But He will also come to be with the 144,000 and with the Tribulation Saints as well during the final seven years of world evangelism, and of Israel's judgment and restoration. After the seven years of the Tribulation has run its course Jesus will step out of hiding, and appears in the sky, bringing us with Him. This event, described by the Greek word epiphaneia, which means "shining forth," is the open public unveiling of Jesus--the second coming in power and glory.

All this careful reading of scripture this tells us that heaven is not far away. It is in fact merely another dimension of reality. Earthly, material realities occupy only a small localized region of the realm the Bible calls the heavenly places. The material world is embedded in the spiritual. Therefore Jesus is never far away from any of us. The old notion that when Jesus takes us to heaven we are somehow far removed to a golden land beyond the furthest star is not a Biblical view of heaven at all! We need to adjust our thinking to the view that Jesus will be on the earth during the entire tribulation period, invisible, but probably appearing and disappearing in the same mysterious manner He did during the 40 days following his resurrection and His ascension. On earth, but unseen by unbelievers, Jesus will be the Commander and Chief of the armies of the Lord. He will also direct the 144,000 and their strategic work. Jesus will apparently involve Himself personally in the shepherding of His faithful remnant hidden at Petra during the last half of the Tribulation period. When Jesus returns, He will come not from "outer space," but simply step back into our space-time frame once again, bringing His church with Him.

The title of this book is drawn from the model prayer Jesus gave His disciples. This prayer assures us that Jesus now rules the entire universe. All authority has been given to Him. However, He does not yet reign on the earth. For two thousand years the saints of God have prayed that He might soon come and reign on earth as He already does reign in heaven. In Revelation Chapter 4, a great scroll, which we may think of as the title deed to the earth, is handed to Jesus by His Father. Jesus is called to begin His long awaited reign on earth. He will accomplishe this in stages, by first coming for His church, and then by strategically directing and orchestrating all of the events of the end time. Evidently He will establish a beachhead on the planet, a command center for those military operations which will culminate in His final appearance in public as earth's legal King of kings and Lord of lords. His activities during the Tribulation will not be detected by unbelievers, though there will be rumors He has returned. Many events occurring on earth, due to the clandestine operations of the 144,000, will cause earth's inhabitants to be nervous.

For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now-- and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect-- if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time.

"So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. "Immediately after the distress of those days "'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'

"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. (Matthew 24:21-30)

If we consider all the parallel events the book of Revelation describes, including the throwing -down of Satan and His hosts to earth during this last three and a half years, then it makes sense that our Commander-and-Chief should establish His battle headquarters for the end time right here on earth. This is where the final conflict will be fought, including the Seed of the Woman winning a final victory over the Seed of the Serpent.

But the church is the Body of Christ and the Head can not be separated from the Body! So we must begin to think of ourselves as present on earth with Jesus during the Tribulation period. Our resurrection bodies will make us invulnerable to sin and death. Furthermore, like our Lord, we will be invisible to the inhabitants of the earth.

When Christ returns, it is with "armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean."

And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself. And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. (Revelation 19:11-14)

This is undoubtedly a picture of the His redeemed (Revelation 3:18) with glorified, immortal bodies (1 Corinthians 15:35-50), able to descend from the heavens without the aid of a spacecraft! We are told in Colossians 3:4, "When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. And 1 Thessalonians talks about the "coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints."

The book of Revelation tells what we will do, once we have returned with Christ:

Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:6)

The Centrality of Israel and Jewish People During The Tribulation

A great body of converted people from all the nations are mentioned several times in the book of the Revelation--after the Rapture of the church. Usually they are called the "Saints." They are believers in Christ--Jews and Gentiles alike, but they are not referred to as the church, nor are any of the usual descriptions of the church attached to them. The apostate church of the period will be corrupt, and will give its influence to Antichrist (Revelation 18), so these Tribulation Saints will not in any way be associated with this apostate church, the great harlot of Revelation 17.

The theme of Israel's place during the tribulation period will be expanded in the third section of the book, but here are some of the key points which illustrate the centrality of Israel and Jewish people during this period of time:

It is synonymous with Daniel's 70th Week - Daniel 9:27; Revelation 13

The 144,000 Sealed from the 12 Tribes of Israel - Revelation 7:1-8

The Two Witnesses - probably Old Testament leaders - Moses and Elijah (or, as some think, Enoch and Elijah) - Revelation 11:1-12

Flight of Israel - Revelation 12

Treaty with Israel, Defilement of the Temple - Revelation 13

Dr. Renald Showers explains the significance of viewing the Tribulation as a period of Israel's history.

"All other views of the Rapture have the church going through at least part of the 70th week, meaning that all other views mix God's 70-weeks program for Israel and Jerusalem together with His program for the church."

Population of The Millennium by mortal believers

The pre-Tribulation Rapture interpretation best explains this important feature of God's future plan. According to Jesus' teaching on the Mount of Olives, there will be a judgment of the nations (Sheep and Goats - Matthew 25:31-46) just before the Millennium, just prior to the commencement of the thousand-year reign of Christ (Revelation 20:1-6). This taking of some and leaving of others is not the Rapture, but it corresponds to the Parable of The Wheat and The Tares (Matthew 13:24-30). In that parable, the tares are collected FIRST, and tied into bundles to be burned (later - The Great White Throne judgment), then the wheat is gathered into the barn. The wheat represents true believers who have survived the Tribulation period, and are thus permitted to enter the Millennial Age.

If the Rapture took place at, or near the end of the Tribulation, all believers would have glorified bodies, and there would be no righteous mortals left to enter the Millennium!

Differences between The Rapture and The 2nd Coming

We believe that much of the confusion about the Rapture is caused by a lack of understanding that Christ comes first for believers, and then comes later in what is properly called the Second Coming, or His Glorious Return as King of Kings. Here are some of the differences between these two events.

The Rapture: Christ comes for His own -1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Believers taken to Father's House -John 14:3, Seen only by believers - 1 Corinthians 15:52, Revelation 1:7; 19:11-16; No reference to Satan, Earth not judged, A Mystery - 1 Corinthians 15:51

The 2nd Coming: Christ return with His own - Revelation 19:14, Believers come to Earth - Matthew 24:30, Every eye will see Him - Matthew 24:30, Satan bound - Revelation 20:1-3, Earth judged - Revelation 20:4-5, Foretold in Old Testament - Dan. 12:1-3; Zech. 12:10; 14:4

One way to better understand the clear distinction between The Rapture and the Second Coming in glory can be see by carefully considering the different Greek words used for these two events.

Absence of the Church

Finally, and probably most significant of all, is this fact:

The Church is Missing From The Tribulation - Revelation 4-19

In the first three chapters of Revelation, there are constant references to the church and to the Seven Churches. However, starting at chapter 4, verse 1, where John is told to "come up here," the church is obviously absent throughout the Tribulation period. The expression "come up here" does mean leaving the earth in Revelation 11:12 where the translation of the Two Witnesses takes place. (We are not suggesting that the Rapture takes place in chapter 11, only that the same expression, used there, does mean virtually the same thing for the Two Witnesses that the Rapture does to the church.)

There are numerous references to believers in these chapters, but they are not called the church. What might be called the church on the earth during this time is the apostate shell of nominal Christianity, which has lost its true believers, and has joined with other religions of the world to become a "United Religion," which, in turn will give its power to Antichrist. This apostate church is pictured as a prostitute riding the beast in Revelation 18.

Finally, the absence of the church will undoubtedly account for the lawlessness spoken of in 2 Thessalonians 2:3.