The Wedding Feast of the Lamb
Tim Keller | April 5, 2009
Overview
We’re tracing the single story of the Bible. We look now to the very end of the book of Revelation because all well-told stories tie up all the plot lines. And in the book of Revelation, all the plot lines of the history of the human race and all the plot lines of your life find a happy ending in Jesus. They’re all resolved with him.
First, we have this remarkable and yet strange vision of the marriage supper of the Lamb. There are three figures or characters: a prostitute, a Lamb, and a bride. If we look at this vision and these three figures, we’ll see it wraps up the whole history of the world.
Let’s look at these three things: 1) the prostitute and the problem, 2) the Lamb and the solution, and 3) the bride and the result.
Outline
Understanding Revelation 19:1–10
The ending of the book of Revelation is like a grand finale to both the Bible story and the story of mankind. It has a wonderful picture of the big wedding party of the Lamb, with three main characters: the prostitute, who shows our human flaws; the Lamb, who shows God’s saving power; and the bride, who shows how we can change when we join our lives with Jesus. This picture is like a summary of the whole Bible story about how God made us, we messed up, God saved us, and then makes everything right again, all ending with a great celebration in Jesus.
1. The prostitute and our big problem
Sin is like cheating on God, and it shows a world without God, full of violence, unfairness, and evil. God wants to have a close relationship with us, like a good marriage. When we see sin as making anything more important than God, we understand how bad it really is and why we should always put our love for God first.
2. The Lamb and the way out
The picture of a prostitute turning into a bride because of Jesus’ selfless love is a powerful way to show how His love can change us. Jesus is like the groom at the wedding party who has to die to make his bride happy, offering his blood as the drink of joy while taking the drink of punishment on the cross. His sacrifice wipes clean our wrongs, changes us from wrongdoers to loved ones, and takes God’s anger so we can feel the joy of God’s love.
3. The bride and what happens next
As Jesus’ bride, we start a deep relationship with Him that is like a marriage, changing every part of our lives, making a deep and loving bond, and helping us to show spiritual good fruits. No matter if we are married or not in this world, only Jesus can truly satisfy us, and we are invited to join this heavenly relationship by trusting in Him.
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