AFTER THE FEAST WHAT NEXT? (4)

“And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And he added, “These are true words that come from God.” (Revelation 19:9 NLT)

Every activity we engage in as Christians must all be geared towards preparing us for the grandest of all events –the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. The marriage feast of the Lamb is that unique moment in the glorious future when our Lord Jesus, will present to the Himself the Glorious Church which He purchased with His Blood (Acts 20:32) and made perfect as a Bride, “without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault” (Ephesians 5:27 NLT). At this glorious event, the prophecy of Isaiah will be fulfilled which says, “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied...” (Isaiah 53:11 KJV). The Wedding Feast of the Lamb will be the historic convergence of all of God’s redemptive prophecies and will signal the ultimate futility of satan’s corrosive efforts to dent the image of the Lord’s Bride. When Satan realised that the Blood of Jesus has effectively shielded the spirits and souls of believers from the corrosive influence of sin, he determined to at least, soil the wedding gown of the Bride. Hence the Angels rejoiced that the Bride has made herself ready, by keeping her gown unstained by sin: “Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honour to him For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.”   For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people” (Revelation 19:7-8 NLT).

Let me call your attention to one or two phrases in this passage of scripture helps us to understand how we must prepare for this great feast. First, “His bride has prepared herself.”  This indicates that as believers we are active participants in the preparations leading to the Marriage Feast of the Lamb. A young lady that is getting ready to wed has to do quite a lot to prepare herself for the great event. Even so as believers, we are supposed to get ourselves ready for the Marriage feast of the Lamb. This is why we attend Sunday services, bible studies, and conferences. In all of those programmes, we receive instructions to help us prepare for the great marriage feast. In other words, the grand purpose of all conferences or festivals we attend is to help us prepare to participate in the marriage feast of the Lamb. If after all these activities we miss that great event, we will be counted the most foolish of all.

The second key point I want draw your attention to is what constitutes the wedding gown of the Bride.   “She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.”   For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.”  The bridal gown of “the finest pure white line ... represents the good deeds of holy people.”  Whereas our good works do not earn us salvation from sin; only faith in the finished work of Christ does, they certainly add beauty and colour to our appearance at the wedding feast of the Lord. Could it be that the fine linen each person would receive would be weaved with the person’s works of righteousness. This good work is everything we do that gives God pleasure. Whatever we do that gives God joy makes us strong in Him and for Him. The righteous acts of the saints which constitute the shining and bright linen bridal gown for the believers must be powered by the grace of God operative in our lives. The Spirit of God must be the One working in us both to will and to do according to the good pleasure of God; otherwise our efforts to please Him will be unfruitful.  Hence we need to pray with the Hebrew brethren, “Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen” (Hebrews 13:20-21 NKJV).

Our Lord was anointed with the Holy Spirit and power and He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him. We must likewise position ourselves such that the Holy Spirit can equally anoint us to go about doing good to others. This is  one of the ways we can attract and host the Presence of God in our lives. Nobody, without a wedding garment will be allowed into the Marriage Feast of the Lamb. Let us utilize every opportunity we have to do good to others especially those in the household of faith. Thus, we will be getting our wedding gown ready for the great day of the Lord.  Make sure you don’t miss it in Jesus name.