His Bride has made Herself Ready

Rev. 19:6-9 (NASB) 6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude and as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” 8 And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 And he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.”

World events are unmistakably indicating that “the beginning of birth pangs” followed by “great travail” is imminent.¹ Most of Evangelical Christianity is either oblivious or not that concerned. They think the “rapture” is going to whisk believers away to heaven before anything bad happens, regardless of their spiritual condition or their compromises with things God hates. There is no motivation for self-examination or spiritual preparation. As long as they are “saved,” have repeated the “sinner’s prayer,” the worst that can happen is losing some potential rewards.

Some Christians, who are aware that the “rapture” doctrine is false, are looking at the rapidly changing world with anxiety and fear. Some are considering relocating and/or ways to physically prepare for physical survival. Yet many such Christians are focused on the wrong things, and this will certainly lead to disaster.

There is an undeniable principle that runs throughout Scripture. It is that the arm of flesh cannot deliver God’s people. Only God can and will deliver His people, and He delivers those who do what is pleasing in His sight. I call this the “Hagar/Sarah” principle. There are plenty of examples in the Bible about what happens when we rely on our own wisdom, understanding, and strength rather than trusting and waiting on the Lord, making sure we are obedient and pleasing to Him in all things, and then trusting Him to deliver us and fulfill His promises to those who “trust and obey” Him.

Psalm 20:6-9 (NASB) 6 Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven, With the saving strength of His right hand. 7 Some boast in chariots, and some in horses; But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God. 8 They have bowed down and fallen; But we have risen and stood upright. 9 Save, O LORD; May the King answer us in the day we call.

The book of Revelation warns believers of the troubling events leading up to the arrival of Christ’s Kingdom. But its core message, which runs throughout the entire book, is that Christ is returning for a spotless “Bride,” and He will accept nothing less. The dress code for the marriage supper is unblemished, unspotted, unwrinkled white robes. The passage quoted at the beginning of this article is an expansion on the allegory Jesus gave in His parable of the King who made a marriage feast for His Son.

Matt. 22:10-14 (NASB) 10 “And those slaves went out into the streets, and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests. 11 But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw there a man not dressed in wedding clothes, 12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”

The message of Revelation and the above parable are the same. It is simply that God will deliver “all who have loved His appearing,”² who take His warnings and instructions seriously and prepare themselves. They are represented by the wise virgins³ and will be seated at the “marriage supper of the Lamb,” while the foolish virgins will be excluded.

It is important to notice in Revelation 19:7 that Christ’s Bride makes herself ready. The onus is on Christians and churches to get ready to meet the Lord. Those who do so will be seated at the table of the wedding feast. They will “be counted worthy to escape [lit. “flee”] all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”⁴ Note that both escape [fleeing] the calamities of the tribulation and being received into Christ’s Kingdom (standing before the Son of Man) are linked together, the same people. There is no question that the flight of the “woman” to safety in Revelation 12 is an expansion on Luke 21:36 above. It is therefore clear that preparing ourselves to meet Christ at His coming and being worthy to escape the impending calamities of the tribulation are one in the same. And the time to get very serious about this is now.

In the previous article I wrote about the possibility that God may choose to use the reelection of Donald Trump as a means to both set the stage in Europe for the rise of the ten kings and to lay the groundwork in the US for preserving His own during the forty-two months of the reign of Antichrist. I don’t know whether this hypothesis is correct or not. But supposing this is correct, it would be a serious mistake to think that if we live in the United States we can cruise through the end-times worry-free. The place of safety in Revelation 12 is for the “woman” only, that is the faithful who have become “worthy to escape all these things” and have made themselves ready for the wedding feast. It is not for the entire population of whatever nation or continent where that “wilderness” might be physically located. We are going to need to rely on God’s supernatural preservation and provision regardless of where we live. Relying on political leaders or movements is the “Hagar” approach. It is clear from Scripture exactly who God delivers and who He ignores. It is not time to relax. It is time to make sure we are meeting His stated conditions and obeying His commands. If we are leading a church, a home fellowship, or Bible study group, we are responsible to lead that group in this direction.

Go to: Without Spot or Wrinkle, Holy and Flawless

1 Matt. 24:8,21

2 2 Tim. 4:8

3 Matt. 25:1-12

4 Luke 21:36