Is the Marriage Supper of the Lamb Reserved for Only Certain Christians?
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Weddings are joyous occasions for all involved: the groom, his bride, families, friends of the couple, and even the pastor who officiates. One day, a glorious and perfect wedding celebration will be held between Christ and His church — the marriage supper of the Lamb. Earthly weddings include invited guests, but who will be invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb? Is this supper only for “special” Christians?
If you belong to Christ, you will be an active participant in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. If you are separate from Christ — not a believer in or follower of — you won’t. Let’s take a look at why this is.
Who and What Is Involved in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb?
The Bible describes the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in this way:
“’Let us rejoice and exult and give Him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure’ — for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the true words of God’” (Revelation 19:7-9).
The Bridal Party
The Lamb, of course, is Jesus Christ, whom John the Baptist introduced in John 1:29 when he exclaimed, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Jesus is the perfect, sinless sacrifice offered for our redemption.
To further explain, immediately preceding the enslaved Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, an unblemished lamb was offered to institute the Passover. God passed over the Jewish homes that had the sacrificed lamb’s blood sprinkled on the door posts and lintels (Exodus 12:5-7).
Technically, the Old Testament Passover lamb initiated the covenant relationship between the Lord Jesus and Israel. But for Christians, Jesus is our Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7). In the marriage supper of the Lamb, Jesus is Groom to His Bride — the church. Unlike the Old Testament Passover, our Lamb is alive. Therefore, He can be both our Passover Lamb and Groom.
His Bride
Christ’s Bride is His church. Jesus first mentions His church in Matthew 16:18 when He tells Peter He will build His church on Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God. The church is composed of all who believe in Jesus as Lord and who have been called through the Gospel of grace. Revelation 21:9 says, “one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, ‘Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.’” In Ephesians 5:22-33, we learn the Bride is the Church with Christ as her Head. (See also Revelation 21:2; 9; 22:17; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:25–27.)
The Saints
The saints are all believers who have been saved, as pastor Steven Lawson reminds us, “by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.” This is true both from the Old Testament times (see John 8:56; Genesis 15:6-7; Habakkuk 2:3-4; Romans 1;1-6, 17; Romans 4) and from the age of grace (the time since Jesus, in His first advent, ushered in the kingdom). Pastor Lawson continues, “The Old Testament saints looked forward to Christ’s coming. We look back to Christ’s first coming and His atoning work on the cross.”
Bright and Pure Fine Linen
(The righteous deeds of the saints). The garments the Bride wears are granted to her by the Lord as His gift (see Isaiah 61:10; Revelation 6:11; 7:14). At the moment of our conversion, we are clothed in Christ’s righteousness.
The marriage and Marriage Supper of the Lamb are synonymous; we come together for the full consummation of our union with Christ and to celebrate with Him.
Ligonier Ministries gives us insight, “Revelation 19 describes this day. We will be able to wear the most beautiful wedding gown ever created, made up of our righteous deeds (vv. 6–8). As glorified people we will finally fulfill the purpose for which we were made — to sit with God in complete, unbroken fellowship. The joy we find at wedding feasts even today will be surpassed when the church feasts with Christ face-to-face.”
So then, the answer to the question of who is invited is the Church. It includes everyone throughout history who has been saved, as we saw above, by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. And the richest banquet ever to be held will take place as Christ and His Church come under the covenant of an everlasting, binding union with Christ.
Pastor and theologian Joel Beeke states this about Jesus, “And there on that cross He paid the dowry to free us from the penalty of sin…When we were up to our necks in debt to a holy God because we had broken His law thousands of times, Christ took our liabilities and our debts and paid the price of all our sins. He was made sin for us. Christ became one flesh with His church. Her sins became His sins, and His perfect righteousness becomes hers through faith.”
Who Is Not Invited to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb?
It’s not rhetoric, it’s reality. For many are called, but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14). Jesus tells us that people hear the Gospel, but not everyone responds. Only those who heed God’s effectual call will receive salvation (wherein the respondent’s answer must be “yes”).
The wicked are all who are not invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And who are the wicked? We are given a picture of the wicked, their system, and their demise in Revelation 18 as John describes the fall of Babylon, aka the system of the world. Pastor Kevin DeYoung gives us a succinct definition of wicked Babylon, “In the book of Revelation, Babylon is a symbol of all that’s wrong in the world. It’s the system, the way things are in a sinful creation. Babylon is worldliness.”
The Apostle John said, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world — the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life — is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15–17).
In short, Babylon is synonymous with evil, and only the wicked “inhabit” such a place (system) and then are judged and placed in hell, reserved for judgment by our just God (Revelation 21:8).
Those who are wicked indulge in and approve of:
- Sexual immorality and sensuality
- Sorcery (occultic practices)
- Enmity
- Strife and causing dissension and division
- Jealousy and rivalry
- Anger and Lying
- Impurity
- Drunkenness
- They refuse to acknowledge God and oppose Him (Romans 1:18-32)
- They refuse to repent, surrender to, and follow Jesus (John 12:48).
The Apostle Paul said, “I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:21).
Nor will they take part in the marriage supper of the Lamb.
1 John 5:10-13 gives us a good look at the difference between the righteous and the wicked,
“Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.”
(See also John 3:18.)
Looking Back, and Looking Forward
The order of the book of Revelation is no mistake; that the marriage supper of the Lamb follows the account of the destruction of Babylon is very telling. In Revelation 18, John has just described Babylon as a harlot. We as the church are a complete contrast in our fine, white linen, faithfully waiting for our “husband’s” return. The perfect Lamb of God, who sacrificed Himself to save us, has not lost one of us — and the full access to each other is now granted, with nothing held back. The wedding feast is an entryway to that newfound relationship; it’s an encirclement and a confirmation.
Jesus is inclusive in that any who are called are invited once they surrender to Him in repentance and faith. All who do will be at the wedding supper of the Lamb.
But when the exclusivity of Christ is revealed to the wicked, they will gnash their teeth in hatred. They will claim, “That’s not fair!” Matthew 7:21-23 is a straightforward rebuke from Jesus to those who refuse Him as Lord, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.’”
Every time believers celebrate the Lord’s Supper (Communion), we look in remembrance of what Jesus did on the cross, and we look forward to the time when Jesus will drink the promised cup of wine with us at the marriage supper of the Lamb (Matthew 26:29).
If you know, obey, and love the Lord Jesus, praise God for His grace and mercy as you look forward to that day when Jesus welcomes us at His marriage feast. And pray for your unbelieving beloveds.
If you don’t know Jesus as Lord and Savior, please answer His call before it is too late, for once a person dies, there is no longer a chance to be saved from God’s righteous wrath.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Caiaimage/Tom Merton
