The Revelation of Jesus Christ | The Hallelujah and The Wedding Feast – Revelation 19:1-10
by Daniel Burton
Read Revelation 19:1-10
Download Discussions Guide to go through with a friend
We are the bride of Christ, a relationship worth continually praising God for.
On the heels of chapter 18, we see the response of the throne room of heaven. Throughout the course of Revelation 19:1-10, there is cause for celebration. Evil’s defeat is secure as the justice of God comes to its fullness. The prayers of the saints from earlier has come to fruition and the finality of God’s judgments, the sorting between the wheat and chaff, is completed and those who have remained faithful to the One True God can celebrate in the victory of Jesus Christ. This chapter, and the chapters that follow, look as if they are wrapping up the defeat of goodness over evil. But to view it as the climax of the story would be to miss the point of the Gospel entirely. The thrust of the Gospel is not evil is defeated (though this is certainly a central piece) but rather is that God’s glory surpasses all things as He reigns throughout eternity and we, as recipients of the love of God, enter into the fullness of God’s presence for all eternity. Revelation is not the climax of evil’s defeat but the birth of the bride of Christ’s relationship that will last forever.
Worshiping God in His Victory
We have discussed in previous chapters the justness and righteousness that God pours out on Babylon and the the prostitute as a result of their transgressions. In chapter 19, however, we continue to see the praise of the angels, the elders, and the church all proclaiming the greatness of God. They cry out with shouts of “Hallelujah!” in deafening loudness praising the magnificence of God’s glory. All the cries display the greatness of God. Nothing short of worship for the King would do for those who endured persecution, physical pain, and every other imaginable ailment on account of the Gospel. Where once the people had cried for God to hear their prayers, now they stood before the presence of God knowing that the suffering they face is no more. The only possible response to the complete and total victory is complete and total worship. Nothing is left within us that will not desire to praise the King of Kings and the Lord of Lord.
When we worship God in His victory, we will find that our worship continues ceaselessly. The victory of God reigns over all creation in all times and in all manners. No point is outside of God’s victory, thus, we will continue to worship and praise the never-ending goodness and overflow of God’s presence. Too often, people get the notion that heaven, in our ceaseless worship of God, will merely just be us singing songs from now into eternity. We conjure images of dry old tired songs being song by dry old tired persons for an egotistical god who needs this constant affection. This, however, is precisely the opposite of what chapter 19 depicts. Worships becomes the natural outpouring of encountering God as we are made clean. Furthermore, worship of God goes beyond mere songs but rather into a raucous celebration that continually celebrates the Bridegroom with one another. Thus, we are not merely recipients of God’s forgiveness but we are invited as the honored guest, and as the Bride of the Bridegroom
As The Wedding Guest
During the time John penned the dreams and visions, wedding feasts could last for days on end and were the source of much celebration. It represented the coming together of two people in full unity with one another. The more extravagant the groom, the more extravagant the celebration. Many voices cry out as a loud roar in celebration of the wedding ceremony that would eclipse every other ceremony. No other celebration could outdo the party that the creator of all heaven and earth could put on. Everything here existed to proclaim the glory of God who reigns victorious over all creation and has plucked His beloved bride from the grips of death.
Furthermore, the bride of Christ is given clothes to wear. Scholars describe the construction of this sentence as a divine passive. The sentences discusses the bride of Christ but the primary actor is God. Only through God does the bride of Christ have the ability to present herself as righteous, clean, and pure. Her clothing comes from God and God alone. Our righteousness and our relationship with God comes from our submission to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. It is Him who takes us as His bride and sets us as clean and presentable. We become the bride of the King, sharing in His rule and reign.
This is precisely why, when John seeks to bow before the angel, the angel rebukes and corrects him. Not because the angel is worthy, but because, at the marriage supper of the lamb, angels and men are merely servants of God together. When evil has been extinguished we will no longer toil on the earth but rest together as servants of the most high God. The angels are not worthy of worship and instead direct all worship to the God we all serve together. Furthermore, our relationship with Jesus Christ comes with the consumption of our marriage. The new covenant sealed our marriage covenant and at the end of days, we consummate our relationship by being fully united with God.
Discussions Questions
Based on what you see in Revelation 19:1-10, what is worship? What is worship a response to?
What is the relationship between the character and nature of Jesus Christ and worship?
Who gets to go to the wedding feast? How does it feel to know that we are invited to the wedding feast? Based on the decadence of God, how do you think the wedding feast will go?
Who provides the means of the bride’s clothing? What does this say about our ability to present ourselves before the Lord? What does this say about the Lord’s desire to present us as beautiful before him?
What have you experienced in your life that draws you to want to worship God? How is worship the outpouring of our love of God?
