Truth Matters - Weekend, 15

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Let's join this week's extended edition of Truth Matters. We're talking about Babylon. Actually, the theme of Revelation changes here in chapter 19. This new chapter gives us a glimpse of the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Let's read the first 10 verses of Revelation chapter 19. Again, they said, Let us be glad and rejoice, and give him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready. I feel the Spirit when reading that.

And to her it was granted to be arraigned in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, Write, Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me, These are the true sayings of God. And I fell at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, See that you do not do that. I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus.

Worship God, for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. So really, we get a view of a celebration in heaven, and this is what John is seeing as heaven exalts over the defeat of Babylon. Hallelujah is praise to the Lord for what has been revealed about him throughout the great tribulation. Hallelujah is the Greek version of the Hebrew word Hallelujah, a word which means praise ye the Lord. It is only found four times in the New Testament, but many times in the Old Testament. First, the Hallelujah is for the salvation of God.

Some have called the first six verses of Revelation chapter 19 as the New Testament's Hallelujah Chorus. God is praised in heaven for one simple reason. Those praising God are there because God provided them redemption. That is the single reason that they're praising God. They are there in heaven because God provided them redemption. God has personally saved every person who makes it from earth to heaven, and he is worthy to be praised for that reason.

Can I get a witness? The second Hallelujah, I believe, is for the severity of God. What I mean by the severity of God is based on how he destroyed Babylon and vindicated the martyrs. If we go back to the previous chapters, whenever we see the martyrs underneath the altar, they are praying for their redemption. Also, whenever we pray the Lord's Prayer, we are praying, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We are praying for our own redemption. They know God's judgment are true and righteous, as it says in verse 2, and that he judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication.

So, they have been vindicated. They are praising God for his severity in his judgment. Even though it is severe, it is still true and righteous. Verse 3, you see, where the smoke of Babylon went up forever and ever. This shows the permanence of his judgment against Babylon. And that is a very important word, because when God works, he works permanently.

You know, there is no weapon formed against you shall prosper. When he gifts something, and it is to be yours, it is yours permanently. And also, in judgment, the same principle is true. When he judges, his judgment is permanent. Although he gives many chances prior to judgment.

He is a very patient God, but he is right and true in his judgments. The third hallelujah is for the sovereignty of God. The key word in this third reason for rejoicing in heaven is Amen in verse 4, chapter 19. This is a word of sacred ratification in scripture. A word of sealing and of affirmation. Amen and Hallelujah are not necessarily English words.

They are transliterations of Hebrew words which are pronounced the same in every language. Believers from around the world do not speak each other's language, but they can fellowship around these two words. Amen and Hallelujah.

That is universal words across the nation that is a common place or common platform for praise. The fourth hallelujah is for the supremacy of God. Verses 5 and 6 are the last words of praise offered to God, but are actually a prelude to the wedding ceremony that is about to take place. They are both a conclusion to the acknowledgement that God has acted sovereignly in judgment upon sin on earth and an introduction to his sovereignty in saving a multitude from the earth who will be united forever with his son. So, the fourth hallelujah is for the supremacy of God, for how supreme he is, for it is words of praise that are offered to God, but it is a prelude to the wedding ceremony, which is the major theme for the first part of this chapter.

So, let's get into the ceremony. An invitation is issued to the marriage supper of the Lamb in verses 7 through 9. This is the event which all true believers should be anticipating more than any other. I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to the marriage supper of the Lamb. The moment in which the church becomes one with the Savior, where the bride of Christ and the head of the church, who is Christ, is united. So, in this case, the church is the bride of Christ, and Christ is the head of the church.

And the church, which is the bride of Christ, and the head of the church, which is Christ, are united. To understand the marriage supper of the Lamb, you must understand the Jewish wedding ritual. So, just give me a few minutes just to explain how the Jewish wedding ritual was carried out. So, there are three major steps in the pattern of marriage.

The first step is legal marriage. Historically, this was arranged by the parents of the bride and the bridegroom. This often involved a payment of a dowry and resulted in a legal marriage. After the legal marriage, the groom, with his friends, would go to the house of the bride and claim the bride for himself, taking her back to his own house.

And this was unexpected. She did not know when the groom would come. And the third step is that the final stage of the wedding was the bridal procession, followed by a marriage feast that would often last several days. Following these outlines, our relationship with the Lord is similar. First, the legal marriage takes place at the time of our conversion to Christ.

Positionally, we are already united with him by faith. That dowry has been paid by Jesus' blood on the cross and his sacrifice of his life to pay the penalty for our sin. As the bride of Christ, we are now awaiting for the time when the groom will come to claim us for himself and take us back to his own mansion. And we find that in John, chapter 14, verse 2, and I'm just going to read that. In my Father's house are many mansions.

If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. Finally, the marriage supper of the Lamb takes place after the second advent of Christ. And the second advent of Christ, that you remember, is the second coming of Christ. After the second coming of Christ, the marriage supper of the Lamb takes place. In Jewish weddings, the groom is the central figure in the marriage ceremony. It's very different than the bride in modern-day weddings today.

Everything is centered around the bride. The groom is really just a secondary figure. But in Jewish rituals, the groom is the central figure. And if you look at Christ being the head of the church, he is the central figure at the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Also, he is the head of the church. The sacred wedding, this refers to the second of the three steps outlined earlier in the ancient pattern of marriage. The coming of the bridegroom to claim the bride for his own. For us, in our relationship with Christ, this will be fulfilled at the rapture of the church. We anticipate the day when the Lord Jesus Christ will return for us, his bride, and take us to be with himself. And if you remember, at the rapture, Christ comes in the clouds to take us.

Distinctfully different than the second coming of Christ. Prior to the rapture, prior to Christ coming to get the church, we are legally married to Christ. And we became legally married to Christ at our own redemption, whenever we're saved. But that payment was paid in advance when Christ died on the cross. Let's get into 2 Corinthians 11 verse 2, I'm just going to read that real quickly.

For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. So this is saying that we are betrothed to him, we are to be faithful to Christ, and be anticipating and patiently waiting with eagerness for him to come to take us away with him in the rapture. But actually, scripture does not tell us exactly when the marriage takes place in heaven.

But it appears to happen in this order. There are five events that will happen over the prophetic timeline. The first is the rapture, which is Christ coming in the clouds to get the church. Second is the judgment seat of Christ, where we will receive our victor's crown. Third is the marriage ceremony, where Christ and the church are united. Christ comes back the second time, and then the marriage supper of the lamb happens after that.

I'm going to read 1 Corinthians chapter 3, just to talk a few minutes about the judgment seat of Christ, because in churches we're not necessarily preaching a lot about it these days, but I think it has a lot of information as far as how we will be judged once we get to heaven. Let's start with verse 5. So here Paul is talking about one of his ministers, Apollos, and how he has trained him. But he says, I planted, Apollos watered. So he's talking about how he originally set up the church, or set up a ministry, and then Apollos came behind him and watered, or did his work after him. But really it's God who gave the increase.

It's not either Paul or Apollos. But then he's setting up a reward system. He says, now he who plants and he who waters are one, but each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. So he's saying, according to your own righteous acts, we will be rewarded.

So this gives us evidence of the reward system, or the judgment seat of Christ, and how it will be a judgment of commendation, not necessarily condemnation. So Paul is talking about his own ministry as he is one of the greatest missionaries and wrote most of the New Testament. He is still laying the foundation for the church, and others are building on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it, for no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. So he's saying, making sure you're building on the right foundation, making sure you're authentic, you cannot add to or take away that the only foundation for the modern day church is Jesus Christ. He says, now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear, for the day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test each one's work of what sort it is. So he's saying, you're going to see a lot of work out there in the church, but some of it will be built with gold, silver, precious stones, but some of it will be wood, hay, and straw. That when it's tested by the fire, which our works will be tested by the fire at the judgment seat of Christ, it will reveal what sort of work it is. And we know what happens to wood, hay, and straw when it goes through the fire.

It is consumed, but gold, silver, and precious stones are not consumed. And so he's saying, once we get to the judgment seat of Christ, our works are going to be examined through the fire. We have already been saved, we're in heaven, we are redeemed. So the works that we've done on earth are not all going to accompany us into heaven. When we help our brother for our own reward, that is hay. But if we help our brother for the glory of God, not expecting anything in return, that is gold. So our works here on earth can accompany us into heaven, because they'll make it through the fire.

And most people think there's not going to be any tears in heaven. I'm here to say this is evidence that we will suffer loss at the judgment seat of Christ, because not all our works are going to make it. When I read this, and I taught this at our church, I asked some very tough questions. And really, this really forced me to look at the activities of my life and the things that I'm doing in the name of the Lord.

And really, does it matter? I looked at teaching, I looked at my job, I looked at parenting even. And I say I'm doing it for the glory of God, but is it going to make it through the fire? And I began praying about that, and even looking at the church and how our righteous acts will be how we're dressed. We will be clothed in bright and clean linen, which is the righteous acts of the saints.

So how will you be dressed at the judgment seat of Christ? You've been listening to the weekend edition of Truth Matters with Dr. Cheryl Davis. Truth Matters is a ministry of The Truth Project, a North Carolina-based ministry dedicated to teaching biblical truth and sound theology to those inside and outside of the church. If you'd like to listen to these messages on demand, go to ProjectTruthMatters.com and click on the podcast link. Dr. Davis is also available to speak to your ministry group or church function. She can be reached by email at CherylDavis at ProjectTruthMatters.com or if you'd like to send a letter, the address is Project Truth Matters, Post Office Box 159, St. Paul's, North Carolina 28384. You can hear Truth Matters devotionals on weekdays at 8.20 a.m. and 5.20 p.m. Until next time, let's all work together to teach a biblical truth to assist, equip, edify, and encourage one another and bring the Gospel to the world, because truth matters.