Two Suppers

So far, this book has been really dark. This chapter is actually the opposite. It's one of the brightest parts of the Bible. This is the highpoint of the book of Revelation. This is where it has all been going. The second coming of Jesus. The marriage supper of the lamb. The defeat of Satan. The judgment of the lost.

There are two suppers in this passage. So we are going to learn about two suppers and then take the Lord's supper.

The first supper we read about is in verses 1-10

[Rev 19:1-10 KJV] 1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: 2 For true and righteous [are] his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. 3 And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. 4 And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. 5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. 6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. 7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed [are] they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. 10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See [thou do it] not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

This is the...

1. Marriage supper of the lamb

These verses take place after the fall of Babylon and before the return of Jesus and they describe something awesome - a celebration in heaven.

Four times in these verses you see the word "Alleluia" - that's actually a Hebrew word. In the Old Testament it's given with a H. But here it's the same word, just no H. It means "praise God." It's actually an imperative. Like, "hey you, you better praise God."

After the tribulation there is going to be this huge crowd in heaven just worshipping God and praising Him. It's going to be awesome.

Now, what are they praising God for here? Several things:

A. God's judgment has come (1-5)

The first thing they praise God for is that God has finally judged the wicked on this earth. The wicked world system and wicked religious system we read about in the last two chapters has been defeated by Jesus. Those people who through the ages have persecuted God's people and mocked God's people will finally get what is coming to them and the long rebellion against God that started in the garden of Eden is effectively over.

That is something to rejoice in. All of the abusers. All of the persecutors. All of those who have hurt the innocent. All of the racism and hatred that comes from sin. All of it is going to be quenched forever.

And there is the smoldering ruins of Babylon to look at as a picture of what has just happened. Verse 3 says "her smoke rose up forever and ever." A lasting testament to the fall of the long war against God.

So that is something to rejoice in.

You see the second thing in verse 6, look at it:

And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

B. God is reigning (6)

This is the text of the famous Hallelujah chorus. Part of Handel's Messiah.

God is going to reign. All the political rulers of the world are about to get a pink slip. It won't be republicans and democrats anymore, it will be King Jesus. He will rule the world in perfect fairness.

That is something to rejoice in. God is reigning.

The next reason why people are singing is...

C. The lamb is getting His bride (7-10)

Look at verses 7-8:

Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: 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 saints.

People today make a big deal about weddings don't they? It's not at all uncommon for people to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a wedding. To spend over a thousand dollars on a dress you wear once. Weddings are a big deal.

Weddings were a big deal in the Bible too. But they were totally different. A jewish wedding had two parts. The first part was betrothal. A man and a woman would be formally betrothed and that meant that they were to be married.

Now, this wasn't like engagement today. It was much more binding. In jewish thought a betrothed couple was basically already married. But what would happen is the groom would go after the betrothal and prepare a house for his bride. He would get the house ready and get the supper ready and then on a day when the bride wasn't expecting it he would surprise her and bring her back to his house for a great marriage feast that would last for days.

And listen, there was no feast or party in jewish life that even came close to a marriage feast. The jewish scribes even suspended normal jewish laws like the sabbath during the feast - the most important thing was enjoying this special party honoring these two people who were getting married. It was a time of unbelievable joy.

Now, Jesus has a bride. It's the church. It's believers. It's you and me if you've trusted Christ as your savior. We are betrothed. We are married to Christ. We are getting our hope chest ready - it's our righteous works on earth. It's the treasure we are laying up for heaven here and now.

And do you know what He has been doing, He has gone away to get the house ready, He has gone away to get the party ready. But there is coming a day when He is going to come and get His bride and bring us to our new home in heaven for a heavenly party and it is going to be awesome.

And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

I've been to some pretty awesome wedding parties. When my brother Jay got married last summer it was great. They rented a beautiful country club and we had a lot of fun. It's going to be nothing compared to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

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But there is another supper in this passage. Read verses 11-21 with me:

[Rev 19:11-21 KJV] 11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him [was] called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 His eyes [were] as a flame of fire, and on his head [were] many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13 And he [was] clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies [which were] in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he hath on [his] vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. 17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all [men, both] free and bond, both small and great. 19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which [sword] proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

2. The great supper of the Lord (11-21)

Verse 17 gives us the name of this supper, it says:

"Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;"

So what is this talking about? This is talking about when Christ comes back on a white horse to conquer the world.

Verses 11-15 tell us about how Jesus is going to come back. His eyes are going to be like a flame of fire. He is going to be on a white horse. He is going to be wearing clothing dipped in blood. Out of his mouth is coming a sword.

Listen, He is coming back to conquer. He is coming back to rule.

And he is followed by the saints. He is followed by the believers. Their clothes aren't soaked in blood, their clothes are white as snow.

So what is this second supper? It's actually not for people, it's for birds. That's who the angel is talking to when he says "come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God."

Jesus is going to come back and judge. He is going to wipe people out. And the birds are going to have a feast on the bodies of those who have been defeated by the Lord.

So Jesus is coming back with this great army of saints and Jesus is going to be met by the antichrist and the false prophet and all of the people who have bought into the AntiChrist and his false system.

Some people call this the battle of Armageddon. But I want you to notice, it's not a battle at all. The armies of the world certainly prepare for a battle, but the saints that come with Jesus don't have any weapons and there is no record of any fighting.

The saints that come with God have no weapons. Jesus isn't carrying a weapon. The weapon is just him opening his mouth. The same word that spoke the world into existence.

Look at verse 20. It's a long verse:

And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

It's not a battle. It's just Jesus wiping them all out. It goes from everyone gathering to fight Jesus to at the beginning of the verse to them being cast alive into the lake of fire at the end of the verse. No battle, just judgement.

4 notable suppers:

• Salvation - (eluded to in Jesus' parable)
• The Lord's supper
• The marriage supper of the lamb
• The supper of the great God.

If you reject the first supper, the second won't matter to you, you won't get to attend the third supper but you will be present at the supper of the great God. Everyone attends one of these suppers.