Thursday, March 22, 2012

Never has there been a marriage like this one!

     Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,
    “Hallelujah!
    For the Lord our God
        the Almighty reigns.
    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.

(Revelation 19:6-8 ESV)



This reference to"the marriage of the Lamb" in 19:7 points to the consummation of the new covenant that was inaugurated when Jesus died, rose, and poured out the Spirit. We can scarcely imagine the glory of that wedding day. Never has there been a more worthy bridegroom. Never has a man sacrificed more for his beloved. Never has a man gone to greater lengths, humbled himself more, endured more, or accomplished more in the great task of winning his bride.

Never has a Father more wealthy planned a bigger feast. Never has a more noble Son honored his Father in everything. Never has a man treated his bride-to-be more appropriately. Never has a more powerful pledge, like an engagement ring, been given than the pledge of the Holy Spirit given to his bride. Never has a more glorious residence been prepared as a dwelling place once the bridegroom finally takes his bride.

Great will be the rejoicing. Great will be the exultation. There will be no limit to the glory given to the Father through the Son on that great day.

Never has a bridegroom done more to qualify his beloved to be his bride. Never has a bride needed her bridegroom more.

Never has there been a wedding more significant than this one. Never has a prince with more authority taken a bride with less standing. Never has a bride has her prince die for her, rise from the dead for her, and give to her his own standing before the Father.

Never has a bridegroom loved his bride more. Never has a bride waited as long for her bridegroom. Never has a bride sung more songs to her beloved. Never has there been a wedding with more guests than this one will have. Never has a wedding taken place on a more momentous occasion-the end of the overlapping ages and the ushering in of the kingdom. Never has there been a marriage like this one.

(Hamilton Jr., James M. Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012. Print. 351)

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