END OF TIME PROHPECIES 210

Praise to the God of glory.                             Revelation 19v7-9

"........ for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.   And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints."

"His wife hath made herself ready;"   in chapter 19 she is called his wife before the marriage, because in the eyes of God betrothal is tantamount to marriage.   In chapter 21 she is called the bride after the marriage, because the passage of time will not diminish the love of Christ for the church.   In his eyes she will forever be the bride.   In order to understand and enjoy the beauty of this scene we will consider it under a number of headings:

• Translation.     How did she get here?    There is no doubt, according to Ephesians chapter 5 that the church is the bride of Christ comprising of believers from the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost until the rapture.   The last mention of her prior to this is at the end of chapter 3, and she doesn't appear again until chapter 19 when she is in heaven, ready for the wedding day.   She got there by translation (1st Thessalonians chapter 4) and by transformation (1st Corinthians chapter 15).   It should be noted that Enoch was translated to heaven before the flood, while Noah was asked to go through it.   So the church will be translated to heaven before the time of tribulation.  
• Evaluation.     Addressing the church directly in revelation chapter 22, three times over Jesus declares  "I come quickly."   In the second of these in verse 12 He says  "Behold I come quickly and My reward is with Me to give every man according as his works shall be."   The clear inference is that the judgment (bema) seat of Christ will take place shortly after the translation to heaven.   This will not be a criminal court, but more a medals ceremony, or a flower show, where the perfect judge will assess our individual work.   Adjustments will need to be made and thus she will be ready for the great wedding day.
• Glorification.     The union of an imperfect bride with a perfect bridegroom will require a process of glorification.   Kings of old had their perspective wives go through a lengthy process of beautification and glorification before taking her hand(refer Esther 1&2).   So in heaven, as it says in verse 8 she will be "arrayed in fine linen, clean and white."   In short, she will be wearing the wedding garment; clean because of the absence of sin white because of her brilliant radiant appearance.  There will be no trace of her former life, there will be every evidence of her new life. She will be sinless, and she will also be glorious.   The fine linen is defined as "the righteous acts of the saints."   Whilst she is not saved by works, she is saved unto good works and for all eternity she will wear the distinctive garment that will mark out forever how she responded in life to the love of Christ.   All members of the church are weaving here on earth the wedding garment for all eternity.   We remind ourselves of Paul's words in Romans 8v30  "whom He justified, them He also glorified."   We are being prepared for glory even now (1st Corinthians 2v6-7, 2nd Corinthians 3v18, 2nd Timothy 2v12).   The extent to which we respond to the grace of God will be displayed eternally by the garment of distinction.
• Presentation.     He shall present the bride to Himself  "that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing." Ephesians 5v27.   Also in Jude verse 24  it says  "He shall present you faultless before the presence of His glory."   No imperfection, no possibility of sin anymore, no condemnation from the glorious Christ. "Sins and iniquities remembered no more".    The writer in Jude adds  "with exceeding joy."   If there was any possibility of failure there would be no such thing as exceeding joy.   In the brilliant outshining of His presence Jesus Christ will lead her to the wedding altar!
• Union.    The day of the wedding, and much is left to the imagination; it will be a spectacular event like no other. There is a kind of description in the beautiful Psalm 45.  There the king is applauded for His moral beauty; He is then revered for his prowess in battle; then He is declared to be the Eternal God with sovereign rights of reign. Then the beauty of the queen is admired. The joy and wonder of this festal occasion will never fade.
• Manifestation.    The marriage union will be displayed publicly. The marriage will take place in heaven; the manifestation will be on earth. God will unveil the union of Christ and the church to the world. The truth of this is developed in Romans 8v19-23. It is there described as "the manifestation of the sons of God". The whole creation awaits this event with expectation, because it will usher in the dawn of a glorious new day, when the very earth will be delivered from the "bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the children of God". Paul speaks of this in Colossians 3v4  ".....when Christ who is our life shall be manifested, then shall ye also be manifested with Him in glory"(R.V.). 

Praise to the God of glory who has made sinners into saints, who has turned rebels into worshippers!

"In loving kindness Jesus came
My soul in mercy to reclaim,
And from the depths of sin and shame
Through grace He lifted me. 

• Refrain:
  From sinking sand He lifted me,
  With tender hand He lifted me;
  From shades of night to plains of light,
  Oh, praise His Name, He lifted me!"

Amazon bookshelf    George Neilly