We are coming quickly to the end of Revelation and to the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We have seen the downfall of the antichrist’s kingdom through the judgments of God, we have seen the downfall the antichrist himself and now we are seeing what results in heaven because of the victory of God over sin.

There are two parts in Revelation 19:1-10, the first (verses 1-5) which shares with us that heaven rejoices over the judgments and condemnation of the great prostitute and the avengement of God over those who have taken the blood of the saints of God. The great multitudes in heaven shout and call out Hallelujah! and they recognize that “salvation, glory and power belong to our God.” Along with those multitudes, the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures join in the praise to the God of salvation and power by falling down and worshiping Him who sits on the throne. They exhort both great and small in heaven to praise God for who He is and what He has done. Heaven become a wonderful and great praise service for all who are its residents. Our God is worthy of their praise and of our praise too!

The second part of this scripture (verses 6-10) focuses on the Wedding of the Lamb and the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.

Within these verses we see two parts. The first is the Wedding and the second is the Supper. When reading about these two events in the Jewish culture we see something that needs to be recognized.
“These wedding customs had three major parts. First, a marriage contract was signed by the parents of the bride and the bridegroom, and the parents of the bridegroom or the bridegroom himself would pay a dowry to the bride or her parents. This began what was called the betrothal period—what we would today call the engagement. This period was the one Joseph and Mary were in when she was found to be with child (Matthew 1:18; Luke 2:5).

The second step in the process usually occurred a year later, when the bridegroom, accompanied by his male friends, went to the house of the bride at midnight, creating a torchlight parade through the streets. The bride would know in advance this was going to take place, and so she would be ready with her maidens, and they would all join the parade and end up at the bridegroom’s home. This custom is the basis of the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1–13.

The third phase was the marriage supper itself, which might go on for days, as illustrated by the wedding at Cana in John 2:1–2.

What John’s vision in Revelation pictures is the wedding feast of the Lamb (Jesus Christ) and His bride (the Church) in its third phase. The implication is that the first two phases have already taken place. The first phase was completed on earth when each individual believer placed his or her faith in Christ as Savior. The dowry paid to the bridegroom’s parent (God the Father) would be the blood of Christ shed on the Bride’s behalf. The Church on earth today, then, is “betrothed” to Christ, and, like the wise virgins in the parable, all believers should be watching and waiting for the appearance of the Bridegroom (the Second Coming). The second phase symbolizes the rapture of the Church, when Christ comes to claim His bride and take her to the Father’s house. The marriage supper then follows as the third and final step. It is our (one author) view that the marriage supper of the Lamb takes place in heaven between the rapture and the second coming (during the tribulation on earth).”
This one writer has stated his opinion about the time frame of these wonderful events in heaven between the Lamb of God and His bride the church. Here where the opinions vary greatly. Who knows when these events happen. It is expected as would you and I have experienced here on earth that the actual Wedding of the Lamb and the Bride would happen in heaven after the Bride or the church gets there by the Rapture.

I want to state here that over the years that I have been preaching I have really have no way to know when these events take place. Scholars and Biblical writers disagree or have their own interpretation about the timing of both events. So I have decided to give some examples of these true events that some have written about.

Let’s look at the Wedding first. Who is at the Wedding? The Bride, the church, you and I who have trusted Christ as our Savior and Lord by faith, and the Groom, Jesus Christ. Along with that there will be the Father and the Holy Spirit, plus all who are in heaven that are not the church of the living of God. They might consist of: the elders and the living creatures and the host of angels and depending upon when you believe the resurrection of the Old Testaments saints - Israel happens, they too would be there. So, we know that the Wedding has to be after the Rapture for the “church” to be there and to be married to the Lamb. I see in the scripture in 19:14 that there is an army of the Lord following after Him and they are on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. This seems to be a description of the saints of God who have then been Raptured and who has married the Lamb and now follow Him into battle to destroy satan and his armies.

I call attention to that detail because in verse 7-8 that we read earlier we read, “Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. 8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.”
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)” Here we see that the Bride has been adorned with “fine linen, bright and clean” to wear for the Wedding. Those who follow the Lord into battle are the Bride of Christ, and the Wedding has already happened.

An aside might help here. “Discussing the responsibilities of husbands and wives, Paul likened this human relationship to the relationship between “Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5:32). This relationship between Christ and the Church will be based on righteousness. Both parties will do what is right, good and holy.
With this spiritual relationship in mind, Paul wrote: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish” (verses 25-27).”

Also I thought it might be important to note one more thing about the Wedding. In the marriage of the Lamb, it is the Father who chooses the Bride for His Son. Christ made this point when He said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44). Repeating this point, Jesus said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father” (John 6:65).
My dear friends if you haven’t been called, drawn or chosen by God then you can’t be the Bride of the Lamb, God’s Son, who has taken the sins of the world upon Himself at the cross. But right now let me assure you that God says that all are loved by Him and there is still time to recognize that He is calling you if you are lost and apart from God. He continually calls the lost to Himself and if you know that you are lost today surrender your life to Him NOW! and He will save you and bring you into the family of God.

Who then is at the Wedding Supper of the Lamb? Generally anyone who has attended a wedding comes come to the supper or the feast. We know at His Wedding Supper Jesus is there along with His Bride, they don’t have to have an invitation. The angel tells us that those who are invited are blessed! So who are they who are invited and when is this Supper?
Here is where there are a lot of opinions. Some of the writers say that this Supper is immediately after the Wedding. And this would go along with the Jewish culture and ours too. But others say that there is a special invitation here and that must mean something. Maybe the invitees are some who have not yet been resurrected and if the Old Testament saints aren’t yet brought to heaven then it would make sense that the Supper would be after they have been resurrected. Daniel discusses their resurrection in this passage.

One writer says this: In Matthew 8:11 there is a statement that the patriarchs and others are invited to the Supper too. “This passage says, " And I say to you, that many shall come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven." Here is a picture of the redeemed of the ages (from Adam to John the Baptist) sitting down with Christ in the kingdom and enjoying a meal together. These are likely the invited guest that we see spoken of in Revelation 19:9, since they are redeemed human beings from the ages who are not part of the church, the Bride of Christ. In this way there will be guests at the marriage supper of the Lamb who will be able to celebrate the marriage of the second person of the Trinity to His bride- the church.”

But to also think that the Supper would be without the Tribulation saints does not show the love of God as we have seen it in the Revelation. Surely the Supper is after the end of the Second coming so that those tribulation saints could be a part of the Supper. There are others who have said that the real time of the feast or Supper would be to start out the Millennium with a great and wonderful celebration like the Supper for all to attend. Our conclusion would have us to at least admit that nothing in heaven is held to the time and space that we who are humans on this earth live by. Remember this is heaven and it is timeless there, so when the Supper and Wedding are held is really unknown and just to know that they are going to be celebrated is the most important information we need. Amen!

The last verse is 10, “At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.” John is overwhelmed and bows before the angel in worship and the angel right away declares not to do that to Him but that he is a fellow worshiper of God Almighty and that John should worship God alone! We as believers are to worship God and God alone for He is worthy of all our worship and praise! Amen and Amen!