Grant Swank
Will you be at the marriage supper of the Lamb?
By Grant Swank
NOTE: Pastor Swank authored MOMENTS TO GO, A STUDY OF THE SECOND COMING, Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 1974, the book now out of print. However, a few copies are available via such venues as Amazon books.
"Then he (Christ) said to me (John the apostle), '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.'"
Will you be at the marriage supper of the Lamb? I hope not.
That is, I hope you will not be eating the marriage supper of the Lamb menu.
On the other hand, I do pray that you will be there to see it eaten; but you would not want to partake of the banquet set forth.
Note Revelation 19:17-18: Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in midheaven, "Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great."
Yes, as the Word states, you as a believer will be "blessed" by being "invited to the marriage supper." The definition of your blessing will be being in the entourage of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He will be victorious over the AntiChrist and False Prophet. You will rejoice in that win.
I recall since a child hearing preachers deliver sermons on the marriage supper of the Lamb. By the close of their messages, I was salivating for that delicious set-forth.
Then when I became an adult to do my own biblical study on the topic, I realized that I did want to be the vultures picking the bones of the defeated dead in the Battle of Armageddon. No, thank you.
The closest then that I wanted to get to the supper was to see the vultures taking care of the matter quite fully.
The accent of the phrase "marriage supper of the Lamb" is not the word "supper," though we with gastric juices working at high speed might interpret it as the most significant term. The word that needs underlining is "marriage" for it is the union of Groom Christ with Bride believers that is most important. After such a rough ride as the tribulation, it will be high time for the Groom and Bride to be together.
At the close of the about-seven year tribulation, Christ will leave the right hand of the Father in heaven. He will descend toward this planet with angels and the saved of all time.
At His return, passing through the clouds, the dead in Christ will be lifted out of their graves. The believers alive on the planet will be whisked into the clouds to change their clothes from mortal to immortal, from corruptible to incorruptible.
Having been raptured (Matthew 24:29-31), these believers will make their U-turn, returning to planet Earth with those who preceded them into glory through death's door.
Christ will first put his holy feet on the Mount of Olives when touching down on Earth. The Mount will split in half from east to west, signifying His power over His creation.
Christ by that time will have won the Battle of Armageddon in the Valley of Megiddo in Israel's northwest region. He will have spoken a word. The war will have ceased leaving corpses spread across the valley.
Vultures will be clawing at those dead frames as Christ proceeds to the Mount of Olives, angels and believers accompanying Him.
Then Christ will proceed to the Holy City where He will rule for a thousand years — the millennium. The saved of all time will rule with Him in the two major societal dimensions — religion and politics. They will rule as "priests" and "kings," per Revelation's terminology.
For the first seven months into the millennium, Israeli employees will bury the defeated dead bones, thus cleansing the Holy Land of every sign of the demonic enemy. The Holy Land then will truly become holy so that heaven's Holy One may reign in righteousness.
How long will it take the vultures to finish off the marriage supper of the Lamb menu? We do not know.
However, we are certain that we as disciples of the coming Christ do not want to partake. We will be content to rejoice in His victory, being thus "blessed."
Read WHAT IS ISRAEL'S FUTURE END? at http://truthinconviction.us/weblog.php?id=P2966
Read WHY DID GOD CREATE ISRAEL IN 1948? at http://truthinconviction.us/weblog.php?id=P2965
Read IS THE ANTICHRIST ALIVE? at http://truthinconviction.us/weblog.php?id=P2964
Read WESTERN HEMISPHERE NOT IN BIBLICAL PROPHECY at http://truthinconviction.us/weblog.php?id=P2962
© Grant Swank
February 24, 2009
NOTE: Pastor Swank authored MOMENTS TO GO, A STUDY OF THE SECOND COMING, Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 1974, the book now out of print. However, a few copies are available via such venues as Amazon books.
"Then he (Christ) said to me (John the apostle), '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.'"
Will you be at the marriage supper of the Lamb? I hope not.
That is, I hope you will not be eating the marriage supper of the Lamb menu.
On the other hand, I do pray that you will be there to see it eaten; but you would not want to partake of the banquet set forth.
Note Revelation 19:17-18: Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in midheaven, "Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great."
Yes, as the Word states, you as a believer will be "blessed" by being "invited to the marriage supper." The definition of your blessing will be being in the entourage of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He will be victorious over the AntiChrist and False Prophet. You will rejoice in that win.
I recall since a child hearing preachers deliver sermons on the marriage supper of the Lamb. By the close of their messages, I was salivating for that delicious set-forth.
Then when I became an adult to do my own biblical study on the topic, I realized that I did want to be the vultures picking the bones of the defeated dead in the Battle of Armageddon. No, thank you.
The closest then that I wanted to get to the supper was to see the vultures taking care of the matter quite fully.
The accent of the phrase "marriage supper of the Lamb" is not the word "supper," though we with gastric juices working at high speed might interpret it as the most significant term. The word that needs underlining is "marriage" for it is the union of Groom Christ with Bride believers that is most important. After such a rough ride as the tribulation, it will be high time for the Groom and Bride to be together.
At the close of the about-seven year tribulation, Christ will leave the right hand of the Father in heaven. He will descend toward this planet with angels and the saved of all time.
At His return, passing through the clouds, the dead in Christ will be lifted out of their graves. The believers alive on the planet will be whisked into the clouds to change their clothes from mortal to immortal, from corruptible to incorruptible.
Having been raptured (Matthew 24:29-31), these believers will make their U-turn, returning to planet Earth with those who preceded them into glory through death's door.
Christ will first put his holy feet on the Mount of Olives when touching down on Earth. The Mount will split in half from east to west, signifying His power over His creation.
Christ by that time will have won the Battle of Armageddon in the Valley of Megiddo in Israel's northwest region. He will have spoken a word. The war will have ceased leaving corpses spread across the valley.
Vultures will be clawing at those dead frames as Christ proceeds to the Mount of Olives, angels and believers accompanying Him.
Then Christ will proceed to the Holy City where He will rule for a thousand years — the millennium. The saved of all time will rule with Him in the two major societal dimensions — religion and politics. They will rule as "priests" and "kings," per Revelation's terminology.
For the first seven months into the millennium, Israeli employees will bury the defeated dead bones, thus cleansing the Holy Land of every sign of the demonic enemy. The Holy Land then will truly become holy so that heaven's Holy One may reign in righteousness.
How long will it take the vultures to finish off the marriage supper of the Lamb menu? We do not know.
However, we are certain that we as disciples of the coming Christ do not want to partake. We will be content to rejoice in His victory, being thus "blessed."
Read WHAT IS ISRAEL'S FUTURE END? at http://truthinconviction.us/weblog.php?id=P2966
Read WHY DID GOD CREATE ISRAEL IN 1948? at http://truthinconviction.us/weblog.php?id=P2965
Read IS THE ANTICHRIST ALIVE? at http://truthinconviction.us/weblog.php?id=P2964
Read WESTERN HEMISPHERE NOT IN BIBLICAL PROPHECY at http://truthinconviction.us/weblog.php?id=P2962
© Grant Swank
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
