Marriage

“And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thundering’s, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” (Rev. 19:6-8 NKJV, bold emphases added throughout).

“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal” (Rev. 21:9-11 NKJV).

In these two passages, God revealed to Apostle John in the Island of Patmos an end-time event known as the marriage supper of the Lamb.

This article is written with a view of correcting the deliberate departure from biblical facts by some teachers who teach  errors and falsehoods due to their lack of scriptural insight. In this article, the Lamb and His bride who is also called His wife will be identified. We will also examine the Bible to know when and where the marriage supper of the Lamb will take place. Is the supper going to be eaten in heaven or on the earth? Will it be eaten in heaven during the time of the great tribulation here on earth?

Who Is The Lamb?

Right from ancient times, it has been made known that Yehoshua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ) is the Lamb of God who will be sacrificed for the sins of mankind. His affliction was foretold by many prophets. Prophet Isaiah painted in Isaiah 53 a picture of  His sufferings for the sake of mankind. In verse 7 the prophet wrote, “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth” (Isa. 53:7 NKJV). 

When He came to the world as a human being, John the Baptist pointed to Him and called Him “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1: 29, 36).

In the Book of Revelation, Apostle John used the word “Lamb” for Jesus Christ 28 times. He is the Lamb who is also known as the Bridegroom. Jesus Christ referred to Himself as the Bridegroom (Matt. 9:15; Mark 2:18-20; Luke 5:34-35). John the Baptist also referred to Him metaphorically as the Bridegroom. So we know that Jesus Christ is the Lamb as well as the Bridegroom.

The Bride, The Lamb’s Wife

The general consensus among Christians is that the Bride of  Christ is the ekklesia, the body of called out people known as the church. Most of the denominations and teachers who make this claim often support their teaching with passages such as Matt. 22:1-14; 25:1-13; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:21-33, among others. The truth, however, is that there is no Bible passage which explicitly support this idea of the church being the bride or wife of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. Briefly let us look at some of the passages:

a. Matthew 22:1-14

In this place, Jesus Christ told the chief priests and the Pharisees a parable about the kingdom of God. In verses 2 and 3 He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come” (Matt. 22:2-3 NKJV).

In the parable, Jesus Christ did not show who the bride was. His concern was to show the chief priests and the Pharisees that they were neglecting the great favour  which God is giving to humanity – the Kingdom of God which has been made available to mankind through belief on His Son Jesus Christ.

b. Matthew 25:1-13

Here, the Lord Jesus told the parable of ten virgins, some of whom are said to be wise while some are said to be foolish. The foolish ones did not carry oil although they took their lamps with them. The wise ones were said to have taken oil in their flasks. Many varied interpretations have been given to this parable. But one thing which is certain is that the virgins are not the bride. They were portrayed as guests who were willing to attend the wedding feast. The problem with some of them is that they did not have all they needed to meet the Bridegroom. This parable was told by Jesus Christ to show His hearers the futility of being in religion without taking definite effort to be born again. This could be the reason the Bridegroom told those He termed foolish, “Truly I tell you, I don’t know you” (v. 12). See also Matt. 7:21-23; Luke 13:24-29.

He would have known them if they were His sheep. Compare John 10:14, 27. 

Another thing that is very evident in this parable is that the virgins are not the bride. The bride is also not revealed here.

In the parable in Matt. 22:1-14, Christ warned the religious hypocrites of the consequences of rejecting the Kingdom of God, a great gift and an honour that no human being should reject. Eternal destruction awaits those who reject the gift of God (Matt. 22:5-7).

Here in Matt. 25:1-13, the Lord portrayed a class of guests who were willing to attend the wedding feast. But being willing does not automatically qualify one for entry into God’s Kingdom (cf. Matt. 13:20-21; Luke 13:24). We need to be born again because except a person is born again he or she cannot enter into the Kingdom of God (John 3:3, 5). The message of the Lord is for everyone to repent and believe in the good news of God’s salvation given to mankind through His only begotten Son (Mark 1:15). The Lord also said those who fail or refuse to repent will perish (Luke 13:3, 5).

c. 2 Corinthians 11:2

The verse reads: “For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:2 NKJV).

Did Apostle Paul call the Corinthian believers “the bride of Christ” in this place? Not at all!  We all know that figurative language is so much used in the Bible. Apostle Paul employed figures of speech so much in his writings. They include similes and metaphors. He often used imagery or concepts his audience were acquainted with, in the form of analogies and illustrations, to make his ideas easy for his audience to grasp. That was what Paul did here. Being the one who brought the Corinthians to faith in Christ, he likened himself to a father who betrothed his virgin daughter to a husband. If there should be a report that the daughter was becoming unfaithful the father would be concerned. Paul expressed the same concern that the Corinthians were losing the type of initial love a virgin would have for her “husband” and were now diverting that love to “strange lovers.” In the case of the Corinthians, false teachers were making them lose their conviction about the true doctrine of Christ. This concern made Paul write what we read in 2 Cor. 11:1-15.

A typical example to this style of writing is found in Rom. 7:1-6. While writing about what the Christian’s relationship with the Old Testament law should be, Paul mentioned the legal relationship between a wife and her husband. A woman, according to the law, is guilty of committing adultery if she marries another husband while her first husband lives. But if the first husband is dead, the woman will not be guilty of committing adultery if she marries another man. Paul logically arranged his thought and said, “Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. (Rom. 7:4 NKJV). Metaphorically speaking, Paul likened the Mosaic law to a first husband. But the Christian, as it were, the wife of the law, died with Christ and arose with Him. Death having taken place, the first “marriage” contract is voided so that the Christian, now joined to Christ, is no longer under the old “husband,” the Mosaic law. But literally speaking, Paul did not call the Mosaic law the Christian’s first husband. In the same way, the beloved bondservant of the Lord Jesus Christ did not mean in 2 Cor. 11:2 that he betrothed the Corinthians to Christ as His bride or wife. Paul could not have been so audacious to say so. God is the one who draws people to Christ to become His brethren, not His bride or wife (John 6:44).

One problem that has confronted biblical interpretation is the inability of many teachers to recognize where plain, literal language is used and where figurative language is used. Many wrong conclusions have been drawn by teachers who conflate these language styles.

d. Ephesians 5:22-23 

A part of the passage reads:

“Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Eph. 5:22-27 NIV).

There is nothing in the whole passage that suggests Paul as having said that Jesus Christ is the husband of the church. We need to note the words “as,” “just as” and “in the same way” (v. 28) in the passage. These words show that Paul was drawing out similarities between two things in which he said one should be to the same degree as the other. He used similes in this passage. In Eph. 5:22-33, he was saying that the love of a husband to his wife, and the submission of a wife to her husband, should be to the same degree as that which exists between Christ and His Church which He bought and purified with His own blood.

There are some people who have created a thread from Old Testament scriptures and have used it to argue that Israel is the bride, the wife of the Lamb. Citing passages like Ezek. 16, Jer. 2 and 3, Isa. 54:5-6, Isa. 62:1-5, and Hosea 2:15-23, they believe that the nation of Israel is the bride, the wife of the Lamb. But these passages do not provide any strong support for their conclusion. 

The Bride, the Wife of the Lamb Identified

The bride, the wife of the Lamb has been shown to us in the Bible. It is the New Jerusalem which is going to come down out of heaven from God ( Rev. 3:12; 21:2; 22:14). Our Lord Jesus Christ called it the Paradise of God. The following verses clearly identified the Bride who is also called the wife of the Lamb:

“One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God” (Rev. 21:9-10 NIV).

The angel showed to John the holy city whose builder is God as the bride, the wife of the Lamb.

It is argued by some people that the city is called the Bride, the wife of the Lamb with its inhabitants in view.  Matt. 23:37 is cited as a typical example. It says, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing” (Matt. 23:37 NIV).

It is argued that just as Jerusalem in Matt. 23:37 has its inhabitants in view, that is how the New Jerusalem, the bride, represents those who will live eternally in it. It is therefore the argument that without the redeemed and saved ones who will live in it, the city cannot, logically, be called the bride of Christ.

The line of thought appears convincing. In other words the “bride” represents the inhabitants of the New Jerusalem. But who will be the inhabitants of the city? The writer of the Book of Hebrews, believed to be Apostle Paul, listed the inhabitants in Heb. 12:22-24 as:

• thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly;
• the general assembly ( Greek: ekklesia, lit. called out people) and church of the firstborn. The firstborn is the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29; Col. 1:15, 18; Heb. 1:6; Rev. 1:5);
• the spirits of the righteous made perfect. This class was distinguished from the church of the firstborn. They are therefore believed to be Old Testament faithfuls whose sins have been washed by the blood of the Lamb (John 1:29) and have become perfect (or complete) by having glorified bodies given to them (1 Cor. 15:51-54; Phil. 3:21);
• God – through His Son Jesus Christ because no human has seen God or can see Him (1 Tim. 6:16);
• Jesus Christ who will live in that holy city with the saved ones forever.

The terms “bride” and “wife” used for the holy city, the New Jerusalem, cannot be used in any other way than as figurative expressions. It is called bride because God beautifies it the way a bride is decked with ornaments of beauty (Rev. 21:2). It is called a wife because it will be completely submissive to the Lamb (Matt. 6:10; Heb. 2:5-9; 1 Cor. 15:27-28). It is therefore erroneous to restrict the terms “bride” or “wife” of the Lamb to either the church or the nation of Israel. Hebrews 12:22-24 has faulted that interpretation. While it is acceptable that the city is figuratively called the wife of the Lamb in view of its inhabitants, neither the church nor the nation of Israel will be the exclusive inhabitants of the city. The picture given us in Heb. 12:22-24 is that the inhabitants of heaven and earth will dwell together in the great and holy city. This is affirmed in Eph. 1:9-10 which reads,  “God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth” (Eph. 1:9-10 NLT). The angels who will descend with Christ from heaven on the day of His appearing will not return to heaven. They will dwell together with humans in the New Jerusalem, all being completely subject to their King. All of the citizens of the Kingdom, angels inclusive, collectively and metaphorically will be called the wife of the Lamb.

Where and When Will The Marriage Supper Take Place?

The following is an excerpt from the Deeper Life Leadership Strategy Congress (29/12/2014 – 3/1/2015) Manual captioned The Great Tribulation  (Bible Doctrine 17), page 155:

“While terrors are unleashed on the earth, saints will be (a) receiving rewards, crowns, mansions, new names, white stones, etc, at the judgment seat of Christ (Bema). . . (b) rejoicing and feasting at the marriage supper in heaven. . . (c)worshipping God with the angels. . . and (d) preparing for the second Advent with Christ upon white horses.”

By this they have concluded that the marriage supper of the Lamb will take place in heaven during the period of the great tribulation here on earth.

There are other teachers who use the “three stages” of a Jewish marriage during the time of Christ and His apostles to explain Rev. 19: 7, 9. The three stages are said to be:

Phase 1: The betrothal – the bride’s father agrees to give his daughter in marriage to the groom. The bride price is agreed and paid. Christians are said to be betrothed to Christ at the time of their receiving the gospel message of Christ;.

Phase 2: The bridegroom, escorted by his friends, comes to the bride’s father’s house at night and takes the bride to his father’s house where the wedding would take place. They say this second stage is achieved through Christ’s “rapture” of the church to heaven.

Phase 3. The bridegroom returns with the bride to the bride’s father’s house where a marriage feast is held. They say Christ will return from heaven with the church to celebrate the marriage supper here on earth.

Having this unverified “three-phased” Jewish marriage tradition in mind, some teachers conclude that “the marriage of the Lamb” (Rev. 19:7) is a separate event from “the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Rev. 19:9). They say the former will take place in heaven during the great tribulation while the latter will take place on the earth during the millennial reign of Christ.

These teachings are clearly borne out of men’s conjectures. The following rebuttals can be brought against them.

1. The teaching that saints will be taken to heaven to be rewarded by God or Christ Jesus is repugnant to biblical truth and should be regarded as false. Our Lord told a Pharisee that good deeds will be rewarded at the resurrection of the righteous (Luke 14:14). This resurrection will take place at the second coming of Christ (1 Cor. 15:23). Apostle Paul said he will be rewarded on the day of Christ’s appearing, the day of His second coming (2 Tim. 4:8). Jesus Christ said He is coming [again to the earth] and that His reward is with Him to give to everyone according to what they have done (Rev. 22:12, words in square brackets added by me). The idea of going to heaven to be rewarded are part of the corruptions that entered into Christian teachings after the first century AD.
2. According to the Lord Jesus Christ, His second coming will be after the great tribulation has passed (Matt. 24:29-31; Mark 13:24-27). It is at His coming that the catching up of His saints to meet Him in the sky (Matt. 24:31; Mark 13:27; 1 Thes. 4:17) will take place. Two purposes to be achieved by the catching up into the sky are (I) to meet (Greek: apantesis) the Lord. Technically, this means to welcome Him as a returning King; and (2) to be gathered to Him (Matt.24:31; Mark 13:27; Matt. 13:30, 37-43). In all the places where the Bible talk of the appearing of Jesus Christ and the gathering of His saints to Him, it does not say He will take them to heaven. Whenever people go out to welcome [Greek: “apantesis” ] a dignitary, they always usher him back to where they’ve set out to welcome him. On the day of Christ’s return to the earth, the saints who are caught up to the sky to welcome Him will return to the earth with Him. And since the catching up is also for the purpose of gathering the saints to Him, it is not likely that the saints will return to the various places of the earth where they’ve been caught up. Some scholars say they’ll touch down at the Mount of Olives as prophesied by Zechariah (Zech. 14: 4,5,9).

• If anyone examines the events unveiled in the breaking of the sixth seal (Rev. 6:12-17), the person will find out that it describes what Jesus said will happen at His coming. He said, “And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matt. 24:30, NIV). This is captured in Revelation with these words:

Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?” (Rev. 6:15-17 NIV).

It should also be noted that Rev. 6:12-14 is a perfect vision shown to John of what Jesus had foretold in Matt. 24:29 (Mark 13:24-25). These events mentioned in Matt. 24:29-30 and which was later shown to John in the breaking of the sixth seal (Rev. 6:12-17) will happen after the great tribulation has passed. For the avoidance of doubt, see again  Matt. 24:29-31 and Mark 13:24-27. But the marriage supper of the Lamb will take place after the last bowl of plague is poured on the earth. This is the last plague which is within the seventh trumpet, which in turn is within the seventh and last seal broken by the Lord Jesus Christ. This means that the marriage supper of the Lamb will be celebrated long after the great tribulation has passed. It is a glaring error, therefore, to say the marriage supper of the Lamb will take place in heaven at the time the great tribulation is being experienced on the earth.

• The Creek word “gamos” was used by Apostle John in Rev. 19:7 and19:9. Strong’s Greek Lexicon #1062 defines the word as “a marriage, wedding, wedding-ceremony; plural: a wedding feast. Of uncertain affinity; nuptials.”

The Apostle John used the same word in verses 7 and 9. To say, therefore, that the two verses mean two different events because of the different words used in the English versions lack tenable scriptural support. Even today, a wedding reception is never viewed as an event different from the wedding ceremony. It is always viewed as a part of a wedding ceremony.

Supper In Heaven?

When the Lord Jesus Christ ate the last  Passover with His apostles He said, “I will not drink of this fruit of the vine until the Kingdom of God comes” (Luke 22:18; Matt. 26:29; Mark 14:25). He will eat it with the faithfuls, not in heaven but in the Kingdom of God which is going to be here on earth (Matt. 6:10; Rev. 11:15).

The concept of “heaven” as is being taught today is very much incompatible with what is revealed in the Bible. Against the popular belief that we will go to heaven, after our life here on earth to live with God, and Jesus Christ and the angels, what the Bible has profusely revealed is that our Lord Jesus Christ will come back a second time to be the King of the Kingdom of God here on earth (1 Thes.1:9-10; Acts 1:9-11;  Acts 3:20-21; Heb. 9:28; etc.). Apostle Paul said, “But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control” (Phil. 3:20-21 NLT).

The expectation of all true and faithful believers who understand the Scriptures is the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to establish God’s Kingdom here on earth. He will dwell with the called-out, chosen and faithful people of God in that Kingdom forever. Nowhere in the Bible is it taught that we will eventually be taken to heaven where God lives and be floating around His throne as spirits. As far as the Bible has revealed, the idea of going to heaven to be rewarded by God and to live throughout eternity is unfounded. Men have simply misunderstood the numerous passages that have talked about heaven. For example, many people have pointed to Revelation 21 and 22 and tell us that is the picture of heaven. But these two chapters give us a glimpse of the new Paradise of God, also called the holy city or the New Jerusalem, which is going to come out of heaven from God. God did not give anyone the picture of the invisible realm where He has ever been before He created the universe.

Some people often quote what Jesus Christ said in John 14:2-3 and say that is where He promised to take us to heaven. The verses say, “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:2-3 ESV).

The truth however is that the place our Lord promised in these two verses is the holy city, the New Jerusalem. At the end of the age the New Jerusalem will be brought down from heaven (Rev. 3:12; 21:2). That is when He will take the true believers to be with Him to enjoy eternal life that God will give us. “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood” (Rev. 22:14-15 ESV). The holy city is where the righteous and holy people of God will be made to live with the Lord Jesus Christ dwelling physically and visibly among them.

The idea of going to heaven to eat at the marriage supper of the Lamb is a product of the imaginations of men. The Bible is not the basis of that teaching.

Where Will the Marriage Supper of the Lamb Take Place?

The end-time events which God revealed to Apostle John through our Lord Jesus Christ was presented in the form of a scroll (or book)  sealed with seven seals. Each seal broken reveals a phase in the end-time plan of God. In chapter 5 of Revelation we see Jesus taking the scroll from God’s hand. In chapter 6, Jesus begins breaking the seals one by one. 

When the sixth seal was broken, John saw the following events: I watched as the Lamb broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became as dark as black cloth, and the moon became as red as blood. Then the stars of the sky fell to the earth like green figs falling from a tree shaken by a strong wind. The sky was rolled up like a scroll, and all of the mountains and islands were moved from their places. Then everyone—the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free person—all hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to survive?” (Rev. 6:12-17 NLT).

The events recorded here had been foretold by Christ in Matt. 24:29-30 (Mark 13:24-26) before He went back to heaven. He said these things will happen after the great tribulation. But the time of the marriage supper of the Lamb will be after the last bowl of God’s wrath has been poured out on the enemies of Christ the King. This event is within the last of the seven trumpets which were blown in succession after the seventh and last seal was broken, This clearly reveals that the marriage supper of the Lamb will take place long after the great tribulation had taken place. It will likely take place after the Kingdom of God had been fully established here on earth, after all resistance had been crushed (1 Cor. 15:27-28; Rev. 19:6). What is certain is that the supper will be eaten on the earth, not in heaven.

Conclusion

The Greek manuscripts from which translations were made into other languages did not distinguish between the “marriage of the Lamb” and the “marriage supper of the Lamb.” The same Greek word “gamos” is used in Rev. 19:7 and 19:9. The same event is in view in the two verses. It is therefore wrong to use the so-called “three phases” of a Jewish marriage, if this is true, in explaining the marriage supper of the Lamb. This is an exercise in eisegesis.

The marriage supper of the Lamb will not take place in heaven. God has not made any promise to human beings that He will take them to heaven, after spending part of their lives on the earth, to dwell with Him in  that realm which Paul called unapproachable light. Paul also affirmed the fact that no human eye has ever seen God, nor ever will (1 Tim. 6:16). And there is no Bible verse found which says God will change this status in the future.

The Bible has made it very clear that the marriage supper of the Lamb will take place after the great tribulation and it will not be in heaven. It will take place here on earth after all things have been subjected under Christ and Christ has brought Himself under God (1 Cor. 15:27-28; Rev. 11:15,17;  19:6).

The teaching that we will eventually be taken to heaven where God Himself dwells forms part of the corruption that crept into Christian doctrines after the first century AD. What has been promised to God’s saints is eternal life in God’s Kingdom here on earth. A new Paradise called the New Jerusalem is being built in heaven and will be brought down at God’s chosen time. This holy city can only be called “heaven” in the metaphorical sense of the word since the city will be a place of perfect peace, righteousness and happiness. There will be perfect obedience to the will of God as it is in heaven. The inhabitants will have glorified, immortal bodies which will not age or die. There will be no sickness, pain, death, weeping, sorrow, or fear of any evil found in the new Paradise of God. This is the place whose picture was shown to John in the last two chapters of the Book of Revelation.

God has not shown to anyone how the invisible realm in which He has dwelt before the creation of the universe, called the heavens and the earth, looks like. Many people conflate the eternal and invisible realm in which God lives with the created “heavens and the earth.” It is the “heavens and the earth” – the planets which include the Earth, Sun, Moon, and the Stars in their millions – that will be changed according to the Scriptures. There is no record in the Bible that God will change His status from the invisible God to a visible one or change the eternal realm in which He lives and has His throne.