The Whore has been cast out and the true Bride is about to be elevated to her exalted place as Christ’s eternal wife. The promise to the Philadelphia Church is realized. “Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.” Rev. 3:9 The time has come. Notice, in the scheme of things, this happens before the last battle, Armageddon. The false wife is deposed and now Christ will share  His triumph over the Antichrist and his followers with His true Bride at His side.

“And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” Rev. 19:8

There is no doubt that the Bride must be made up exclusively of redeemed men and women. Only the redeemed can wear fine white linen. It is “the righteousness of saints”. The clean, white linen is highly symbolic. The covering for man’s sin after the fall was the skin of an innocent animal which God slew to cover Adam and Eve’s nakedness. The tranquility and peaceful security for all creatures in the Garden of Eden was broken by the needful shedding of blood. Death had invaded their “paradise” because of one man’s sin. Tranquility and security of life was not restored until Jesus shed His blood on Calvary’s cross. Once he had made the final atoning sacrifice for man’s sin there was no need for saints to be “covered” through the death of an innocent animal sacrifice anymore. Thus, the linen, a product not requiring the death of an innocent being is worn by those who have received the spiritual covering of the Lamb of God’s atoning blood. This linen is clean and white. God does not see the iniquity of these saints because the blood of Christ has washed away every spot and every wrinkle. “Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Eph. 5:26-27

“And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.” Rev. 19:9

The apostle Paul had told the Church of Corinth, “I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” II Cor. 11:2 These are the blessed ones who have not been seduced away by the beguiling Whore and her adulterous partner, Satan. In Matthew 22 Jesus tells us a parable about a king who held a marriage supper for his son. It is a foreshadowing of the spiritual realities surrounding the actual Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Those who were bidden to the marriage refused to come, being seduced away by cares of this world. Incredibly, they mistreated those who had been sent to make the invitation, even killing some of them. It goes on to say, when the king found out, “he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city”. This is what we have just seen Him do in chapter eighteen to The Great Whore. To replace those who rejected the invitation the king invited people from the streets, both good and bad, to fill out the celebration. Those who answered the call are the ones Jesus next spoke about.

“Go ye therefore into the highways,  and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.
   So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
   And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
   And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
   Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
   For many are called, but few are chosen.” Matt. 22:9-14

It is vital to understand here that the ones invited to the marriage supper are both good and bad. Christ accepts all who come to Him in true repentance. The fine linen, clean and white, must be the clothing we wear, however. Our justification for being called to the wedding is that we have received the pardon for our sins through the repentant acceptance of the atoning blood of Christ. If someone has tried to enter, as the man without the garment did, by some other covering – sacraments, tithes of money or time, good works, or self-righteousness – he will be cast out. Only those who have the garments on that the king prescribed will be allowed to feast with Jesus at His marriage.

Another parable, told by Jesus in Matthew 25, just a few days before He gave His life for us as a free-will sacrifice, gives an even sterner warning about being vigilant and watchful for the day of the Bridegroom’s coming. It is the story of ten virgins, five of which were wise and five foolish. They had all fallen asleep waiting for the Bridegroom to show up for the festivities, but five of them had enough oil in their lamps to greet him when He came, the other five let their oil run out. While the five foolish virgins scampered into town to get some oil the Bridegroom came. Those who were vigilant went into the wedding celebration with the Bridegroom, but the others were left out in the darkness and cold. This parable holds many lessons and implications. Christ is the Bridegroom. The virgins are saints. The oil is the Holy Ghost whom we must have dwelling in us lighting our way as we wait for our husband to come. All the virgins had oil to start with, all knew He was coming, but not all were ready when he came. All had fallen asleep, signifying that His coming would take some time before it happened, but some remained ready to meet Him “in the twinkling of an eye”. Jesus ends the parable by saying, “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” Matt. 25:13 Some believers were let into the marriage supper and others, who had not heeded the warnings and admonitions of God, were refused entrance.

This parable of Jesus’ was told to the Jews because it had great cultural significance. Jewish weddings were structured in just such a way that when a woman was betrothed to a man she went into veritable seclusion preparing for her wedding day. She was anointed with oils, made her wedding gown, and lived the life of a “lady in waiting”. She did not know when her husband-to-be would arrive, it could be weeks, months, even years. It could be in the morning, noontime, dusk or at midnight. When he did arrive with his party he would give a great shout and he expected his espoused wife to be ready and waiting to go with him to the wedding. This is precisely the analogy Christ uses for the Second Coming. Those who are blessed enough to be invited to this wedding of all weddings will have been like the Israeli woman who faithfully and vigilantly waited for her husband’s shout to ring with joy in her waiting ears.

“And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Rev. 9:10

The Church Glorified and Unified At Last

It is after this union, the joining of Christ with His Bride, that things dramatically change for the Church as a whole. This is expressed best when John mistakes a fellow saint for Jesus Himself. How could this be? How could John fall at the knees of another man, you ask? John had seen the glorified Christ in chapter one and on other occasions during the vision of Revelation, so it can only be surmised that this saint appeared in the likeness of Christ and with a similar glory. His appearance must have been of light and fire and great wisdom and strength beyond anything this world could ever-present. Notice that this strange exchange happens after the wedding. Two have now been joined into one, Christ and His faithful are one flesh. The scripture written in I John 3:2 is fully realized. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

This is a dramatic moment in time for another reason also. Not only will we be like Jesus we will have the unity of faith in the Church that Christians have longed for since the fledgling days of the Gospel. The book of 1 Corinthians talks of this day, does it not, when it says, “…whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” I Cor. 13:8-10 At this point, that which is perfect has finally come to be. The union of Christ with His Church has been consummated in heaven. In this day will the words of Ephesians be accomplished in Christ.

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:” Eph. 4:11-13

This scripture says that God has given the Church apostles, prophets, teachers, evangelists and pastors for edifying the body until we all come to unity of faith, etc. That means that when we achieve unity there will be no longer be a need for pastors and other offices in the Church. That’s why the word “Till” is in there. Once we have unity and fullness in Christ then these offices will be unnecessary. What Church, which seeks unity on this earthly level in the Ecumenical Movement, would dare to suggest that once we obtain unity then there will be no need for pastors, teachers, bishops, or Popes? But isn’t that what it means? Just as knowledge will pass when we see Christ for what He is, so the positions of pastor and teacher in the Church will become obsolete when unity is achieved.

The glorified saint ends his disclaimer to John with one of the most profound statements, not just in Revelation, but in all of Scripture when he says, “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”  This statement is cause for us to reflect back on all that has been presented in Revelation. John had a testimony, the “angel” speaking to him had a personal testimony of how Jesus brought him to salvation. You and I, if we are born-again, also have a testimony of Christ’s saving grace. But now we are told the testimony of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. Jesus’ testimony is that He has unshakable faith and hope in the promises that God has made. He went to the cross willingly because the Father had promised to raise Him from the dead and glorify Him above all Creation. He believed God’s promises about His Church and preparing Him a bride that would be without spot or wrinkle. He has believed God that He will rule the nations with a rod of iron during the thousand-year reign known by Christians as The Millennium. Jesus’ testimony is that He believes prophecy, which is to say He believes every promise God ever made or will make. The spirit of prophecy is to have hope in God for the future. Christ leads the way in belief for us. He is the one that has shown us how and why to believe God. His testimony is that He will ever hope in God’s goodness and have faith in God’s promises. He left His glory above and took on the likeness of sinful flesh, yet being without sin, because He believed His Father’s promises to raise Him from the dead. He wants us to believe all things also. Jesus believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, bears all things because He believes the Father. Revelation is given to us with Jesus’ testimony firmly fixed behind it. In digesting Revelation Jesus wants us to gain in knowledge about God’s plans for the future and gain in faith that it will happen just as it is written. Believing that the Whore will be vanquished and that the marriage Supper of the Lamb will be the day of glory for the Church are two of the most important things in this life that Christ wants us to have faith for. ✞

Taken from the book Revelation Pure & Simple by Terry Myers Smith