Marriage Supper of the Lamb (No. 136B)

Introduction

We saw from the article on the Day of Trumpets that the sequence of the Intervention of God in the last days to deal with man's rebellious character and the misdirection of mankind under the Demons was at the end of the Age over the Sabbath and Jubilee years in 2026 and 2027. The detailed time sequence is listed in the text of Establishment of the Millennium (No 300B). The entire sequence covers the 1335 Days of Daniel Ch. 12 (No. 141C_4C). Before the Christ can return the prophecies show that the Two Witnesses, whom we understand as Enoch and Elijah, must preach from the Temple Mount for 1260 days and then be killed and lie in the streets of Jerusalem for three and a half days (Nos. 135;141D) and on the morning of the Fourth Day, i.e. 1264 days from their arrival, Messiah and the Host will arrive, and then God will resurrect them, and at that time the resurrection of the First Resurrection of the Dead (No. 143A) will occur. At this time all those of the elect that have been faithful to the One True God and Jesus Christ whom he sent (Jn 17:3) will be resurrected either from their graves or, those still alive, translated from humanoids to spiritual beings, as Elohim, no matter where they are or how they died. We see from Scripture the prophecy of what is to occur.

1Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel's call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; ¹⁷then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord. (RSV)

The command of the Archangel (Michael) is the commencement of the intervention of the celestial Host in the affairs of mankind. It symbolises the end of the six thousand years under the fallen Host. This command precedes the First Resurrection of the dead; those of the elect who are termed dead in Christ. These people are the elect who are termed as fallen asleep (1Cor. 15:6,18; 1Thes. 4:13-15; 2Pet. 3:4). Together with those of the Church who are still alive at the coming of Messiah, they will go to be with Messiah at Jerusalem at his return.

This event is the long-awaited reunion with the Messiah. In the Gospels it is termed the marriage supper. The marriage supper parables have much to say about the types of people who are involved in the Church and who constitute the elect.

The first analogy is that of the invited guests. The concept of the invited guests at the Day of the Lord is not a New Testament concept. It continues a prophecy in Zephaniah 1:7ff.

Zephaniah 1:7-18 Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is at hand; the LORD has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests. ⁸And on the day of the LORD'S sacrifice -- "I will punish the officials and the king's sons and all who array themselves in foreign attire. ⁹On that day I will punish every one who leaps over the threshold, and those who fill their master's house with violence and fraud." ¹⁰"On that day," says the LORD, "a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate, a wail from the Second Quarter, a loud crash from the hills. ¹¹Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar! For all the traders are no more; all who weigh out silver are cut off. ¹²At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are thickening upon their lees, those who say in their hearts, `The LORD will not do good, nor will he do ill.' ¹³Their goods shall be plundered, and their houses laid waste. Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them; though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them." ¹⁴The great day of the LORD is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter, the mighty man cries aloud there. ¹⁵A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, ¹⁶a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements. ¹⁷I will bring distress on men, so that they shall walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the LORD; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung. ¹⁸Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the wrath of the LORD. In the fire of his jealous wrath, all the earth shall be consumed; for a full, yea, sudden end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth. (RSV)

Thus the guests are prepared for the Day of the Lord. The full and sudden end of the Earth, however, is preceded by the occupation of Jerusalem.

Luke 21:24-27 they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led captive among all nations; and Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. ²⁵"And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, ²⁶men fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. (RSV)

These heavenly signs are mentioned in the Old Testament in Isaiah and Joel.

Isaiah 13:10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising and the moon will not shed its light. (RSV)

Joel 2:10 The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. (RSV)

The signs in the heavens fall into a set sequence in the Book of Revelation termed the sixth seal.

Revelation 6:12-17 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, ¹³and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale; ¹⁴the sky vanished like a scroll that is rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. ¹⁵Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the generals and the rich and the strong, and every one, slave and free, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, ¹⁶calling to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; ¹⁷for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand before it?" (RSV)

The sixth seal of the heavenly signs signals that the persecution of the brethren is at an end. That persecution is shown from the fifth seal as being in two stages.

Revelation 6:9-11 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne; ¹⁰they cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before thou wilt judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell upon the earth?" ¹¹Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. (RSV)

Thus the brethren in one persecution were told to wait for the sequence of the systematic slaying of their brethren in subsequent persecution or persecutions.

The Son of man is given the Kingdom from Daniel 7:13-14.

Daniel 7:13-14 I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. ¹⁴And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. (RSV)

Thus the Son of man was presented to the Ancient of Days and to him was given the Kingdom of God. This is the sequence and position of Christ that cannot be understood in Trinitarianism.

The Kingdom is given to Christ and is seized in power and is accompanied by the destruction of the Earth systems. We saw this process in the paper The Fall of Egypt: the Prophecy of Pharaoh's Broken Arms (No. 036) from Ezekiel 32:1-8.

Ezekiel 32:1-8 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: ²"Son of man, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him: "You consider yourself a lion among the nations, but you are like a dragon in the seas; you burst forth in your rivers, trouble the waters with your feet, and foul their rivers. ³Thus says the Lord GOD: I will throw my net over you with a host of many peoples; and I will haul you up in my dragnet. ⁴And I will cast you on the ground, on the open field I will fling you, and will cause all the birds of the air to settle on you, and I will gorge the beasts of the whole earth with you. ⁵I will strew your flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with your carcass. ⁶I will drench the land even to the mountains with your flowing blood; and the watercourses will be full of you. ⁷When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens, and make their stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light. ⁸All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over you, and put darkness upon your land, says the Lord GOD. (RSV)

Thus there is a tribulation which precedes the heavenly signs, and which involves the persecution of the elect.

Matthew 24:29-31 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken; ³⁰then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; ³¹and he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (RSV)

The tribulation referred to in Matthew 24:29-31 is not the tribulation of the vials of the wrath of God noted in the seventh trumpet. This sequence is dealt with in the papers The Seven Seals (No. 140) and The Seven Trumpets (No. 141). See also the Great Tribulation (No. 141D_2) The language of the Gospels somewhat disguises this sequence of tribulation. The parables of the guests will now be examined.

Matthew 22:1-14 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, ²"The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a marriage feast for his son, ³and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast; but they would not come. ⁴Again he sent other servants, saying, `Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have made ready my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves are killed, and everything is ready; come to the marriage feast.' ⁵But they made light of it and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, ⁶while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. ⁷The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. ⁸Then he said to his servants, `The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. ⁹Go therefore to the thoroughfares, and invite to the marriage feast as many as you find.' ¹⁰And those servants went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with guests. ¹¹"But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment; ¹²and he said to him, `Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. ¹³Then the king said to the attendants, `Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.' ¹⁴For many are called, but few are chosen." (RSV)

The invited guests were those of the holy people who did not accept the Messiah or trivialised his message and the Law of God and the Temple Calendar. The servants who sent the invitations were the prophets who were killed by the religious establishment of the day. The Pharisees understood that Christ spoke in relation to them and sought to trap him (Mat. 22:15) in order to kill him – as they have killed the prophets over the ages.

The Jews were thus kept from the exclusive privilege of the priesthood, and the Kingdom of God was extended to the Gentiles. The elect were thus composed of all nations, and they were also of both good and bad. The Body of the Church was not comprised of faultless people; they were not to stand in judgment of one another, as they were called, and as to how they were called.

The transition of the judgment passes from Levi to Dan at the Advent of Messiah. When Messiah establishes his rule in the Kingdom of God from Jerusalem, then the judgment will be established under the priesthood. Levi takes its part as one of the tribes of Israel within the 144,000. Dan is joined here with Ephraim as part of the tribe of Joseph (Rev. 7:8). However, the thirteenth element is passed from Levi to Dan in the Millennium and the judgment then vests in Dan in accordance with their birthright promises found in Genesis 49:16. Dan has to wait for Messiah to inherit this birthright, as we see from Genesis 49:18.

Genesis 49:16-18 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁷Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. ¹⁸I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD. (KJV)

Dan becomes the thirteenth element as Levi was when Judah ruled. This changes with Messiah, as we see from Genesis 49:8-12.

Genesis 49:8-12 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. ⁹Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? ¹⁰The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. ¹¹Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: ¹²His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk. (KJV)

Thus the gathering of the people shall be to Shiloh or Messiah. The rulership shall pass to Messiah and the judgment to Dan. Simeon and Levi had been dispersed among the tribes of Israel because of their cruelty. Nevertheless, they have their inheritance in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, being allotted 12,000 each of the 144,000. Likewise, Reuben was given his inheritance because of his clemency to Joseph in respect of his father Jacob’s love for Joseph. Reuben, whilst losing the birthright to Joseph, nevertheless protected him (Gen. 37:21-22,29-30).

The wedding garment

The one categorical requirement with each of the guests is that there must be a wedding garment. This garment is also noted as a white robe of martyrdom, from Revelation 6:11 and also from Revelation 7:9-14.

Revelation 7:9-14 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!" ¹¹And all the angels stood round the throne and round the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹²saying, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God for ever and ever! Amen." ¹³Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, clothed in white robes, and whence have they come?" ¹⁴I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (RSV)

Thus these came out of the great tribulation. They were perfected through tribulation and the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

The requirement to be at the wedding is also to be invited by God, as we note from the comment that many are called but few are chosen. This is covered in the paper Repentance and Baptism (No. 052). The parable of the wise and foolish virgins also demonstrates the Kingdom of Heaven.

Matthew 25:1-13 "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be compared to ten maidens who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. ²Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. ³For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; ⁴but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. ⁵As the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. ⁶But at midnight there was a cry, `Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' ⁷Then all those maidens rose and trimmed their lamps. ⁸And the foolish said to the wise, `Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' ⁹But the wise replied, `Perhaps there will not be enough for us and for you; go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.' ¹⁰And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was shut. ¹¹Afterward the other maidens came also, saying, `Lord, lord, open to us.' ¹²But he replied, `Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.' ¹³Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. (RSV)

Betrothal is a quasi-marriage and certainly was in the Middle East at the time Christ spoke this parable. The betrothal to Christ is arranged by God, who gives the elect to Christ in marriage.

They are then required to prepare for their wedding. The oil lamps are the lamps of the Spirit. The oil is required to be charged. Those who took no oil with them are those who were not prepared through the baptism of the Holy Spirit on repentance. The vast majority of nominal Christians on this planet are not properly baptised. They have been deceived by the false religious teachers of the day with infant baptism, or other forms. The action of the wise virgins was not selfish here, as the example is used to denote that salvation is an individual thing. Those who were ready went in to the marriage feast, and those who were not were shut out. The foolish virgins went to him and said, “Lord, Lord, open to us”. Christ said he did not know them. This is a specific charge on the elect to know Christ and the One True God who sent him (Jn. 17:3). That is the requirement for eternal life. If we do not know that Christ is not the One True God, we do not know Christ and he does not know us. We will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven, even though we were given the first-fruits of the Kingdom of God on our betrothal. These foolish virgins were thus called but not chosen for the First Resurrection. They enter into their relationship in the Second Resurrection along with most of mainstream Christianity.

Christ said at Luke 6:46:

Luke 6:46-49 "Why do you call me `Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you? ⁴⁷Every one who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: ⁴⁸he is like a man building a house, who dug deep, and laid the foundation upon rock; and when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house, and could not shake it, because it had been well built. ⁴⁹But he who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation; against which the stream broke, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great." (RSV)

Here we understand that the foundation of the calling rests on the word of God as given by Messiah. The Commandments are thus mandatory to one's position in the Kingdom under Messiah as Lord. It is not sufficient to merely call upon him as Lord.

Matthew 7:21-23 "Not every one who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²On that day many will say to me, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' ²³And then will I declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.' (RSV)

Thus the ability to prophesy and cast out demons is not enough. These things can be manifested also by Satan. Baal means Lord and using the term Lord does not mean they are invoking the One True God or His High Priest the Messiah. The test is the execution of the Commandments and the Law.

The passage in Matthew 25:1-13 is explained by the subsequent text in Matthew 25:14-30.

Matthew 25:14-30 "For it will be as when a man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted to them his property; ¹⁵to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. ¹⁶He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them; and he made five talents more. ¹⁷So also, he who had the two talents made two talents more. ¹⁸But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. ¹⁹Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, `Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.' ²¹His master said to him, `Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.' ²²And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, `Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.' ²³His master said to him, `Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.' ²⁴He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, `Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow; ²⁵so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.' ²⁶But his master answered him, `You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed, and gather where I have not winnowed? ²⁷Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. ²⁸So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has the ten talents. ²⁹For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.' (RSV)

The requirement is to discharge the duties placed upon us in the most efficient manner possible. It is not enough to simply be there. We must work. The use of the talents is as being given gold by Messiah. The Laodicean Church thinks that it is rich, but in fact it is not. Revelation 3:14-22 shows the condition of that church.

Revelation 3:14-22 "And to the angel of the church in Laodice'a write: `The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. ¹⁵"`I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! ¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth. ¹⁷For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. ¹⁸Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, that you may be rich, and white garments to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. ¹⁹Those whom I love, I reprove and chasten; so be zealous and repent. ²⁰Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. ²¹He who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. ²²He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'" (RSV)

This church is self-righteous. It thinks that it has all the wealth of the Kingdom, and in fact it is spewed out of God's mouth. This church, except for some individuals, has to obtain wedding garments under trial.

Of all the churches, this last church is the weakest. Sardis of course is dead and thus its weakness is manifest. Materially powerful, Laodicea is crippled spiritually. When examined against the prophecies in Ezekiel 34 and Malachi 2:1ff., the church is obviously rejected by God. Thus the Marriage Supper of the Lamb is a source of great distress for this church. The white garments here seem to be bought by the fire of tribulation. They are enjoined to be zealous and repent. Repentance is the key deficiency of this church. The self-righteousness of its leadership blinds it. The Laodiceans are not the last era. Both Sardis and Laodicea are in for another series of trials. The final leadership is at Revelation 3:7-13, the Philadelphian system. The Leadership of the last church era has the great apostasy present amongst its ministry, both in Sardis and Laodicea.

There are four Church eras extant at the return of Messiah. From Revelation chapters 2 and 3, we can see that they are the remnant of the Thyatiran era, the remnant of the Sardis, the remnant of the Laodicean and the remnant of the Philadelphian Church. Both Sardis and Laodicea are either dead or spewed out of God’s mouth. Both eras are corrupted by False Prophecy (No. 269). In other words, both are rejected, and only small numbers of their adherents are able to enter the Kingdom of God. Thus individuals from these groups make the First Resurrection but their ministry and theology are unacceptable to God.

At the coming of Messiah, it is necessary for him to slay the man of sin. The man of sin is depicted as being in the Temple of God. Thus at the very least, he is a senior Christian figure. The elect do not accept that mainstream Christianity is the Temple of God. The false religious system is the whore. Thus it becomes apparent that a church of the Last Days must contain the figure we understand as the man of sin. The sheep, however, are scattered and a messenger is appointed in the Last Days to tear the sheep out of the hands of the shepherds and give them to govern each other so that they might be judged. This process is termed the Measurement of the Temple. This is examined in the paper Measuring the Temple (No. 137).

The Marriage Supper is at the arrival of the Messiah and the Host and is at the 1264th Day point in the 1335 days. The Saints of the First Resurrection (No. 143A) will be translated to Elohim at that time and taken to Jerusalem. They will take part in the Supper which in fact is a massive reunion and intelligence briefing system where the elect are allocated duties either as part of the 144,000 as part of the central authority of the Elohim or as part of the Great Multitude that then is allocated to the tribes and nations around the world. The Demons are placed in Tartaros and the Resurrected Elohim take the place that the demons should have undertaken and control the remaining humans who are the Holy Seed (Nos. 141E_3; 141E_3B). They will go on to live as the human element under them and the Messiah for the next one thousand years of the millennial system under the Laws of God and the Temple Calendar in the Temple system, which is rebuilt as the central point of world worship and administration at Jerusalem (No. 300). Between this time from Day 1264 the Empire of the Beast (No. 299A) of the Ten Toes of Daniel Ch. 2 (F027ii) will be exterminated by Messiah and the Host (No. 141E) at Megiddo and then the entire world will be subjugated and placed under Elohim, allocated to them from the Resurrection and the Supper Briefings. The Religious systems will have been of Trinitarian Christianity and Hadithic Islam and all other false systems will have commenced to be eradicated by the Beast system (Nos. 299B; 141F). At the end of the Thousand years, Satan and the demons are permitted to test those alive and then all mankind who has ever lived will enter the retraining system of the Second Resurrection (No. 143B).