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.
9. And he saith ] Who speaks? Plainly an angel (see Rev 19:10), presumably the angel of Rev 17:1.
Blessed are they, &c.] St John, and “they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein” (Rev 1:3) are made to realise heartily what our Lord’s fellow-guest (St Luk 14:15) said without seeing the full force of his own words. Of course, when we reduce the image to plain prose, “they that are called” are the same as the Bride: while St Paul again speaks of them as her children.
These are the true sayings of God ] More literally, These words are [some add “the”] true (words) of God.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And he saith unto me – The angel who made these representations to him. See Rev 19:10.
Write, Blessed are they – See the notes on Rev 14:13.
Which are called unto the marriage-supper of the Lamb – The idea of a festival, or a marriage-supper, was a familiar one to the Jews to represent the happiness of heaven, and is frequently found in the New Testament. Compare the Luk 14:15-16; Luk 16:22; Luk 22:16 notes; Mat 22:2 note. The image in the passage before us is that of many guests invited to a great festival.
And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God – Confirming all by a solemn declaration. The importance of what is here said; the desirableness of having it fixed in the mind, amidst the trials of life and the scenes of persecution through which the church was to pass, makes this solemn declaration proper. The idea is, that in all times of persecution – in every dark hour of despondency – the church, as such, and every individual member of the church, should receive it as a solemn truth never to be doubted, that the religion of Christ would finally prevail, and that all persecution and sorrow here would be followed by joy and triumph in heaven.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Rev 19:9
Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.
The marriage supper of the Lamb
I. The lamb. We know at once who this is; but it is remarkable that, with one exception and that occurring in this evangelists own Gospel, this is the only part of the inspired writings in which our Lord is ever called by this name. Now this could not have happened by accident. There is a meaning in it, and it is not difficult perhaps to see what it is–the Lord Jesus would have us look up to Him in heaven as the same Jesus who died for us on the Cross.
II. The marriage supper of the Lamb. Here, you observe, is a complete change of metaphor. Our Lord puts off the character of a Lamb, and takes on Him that of a Bridegroom; or rather He takes this character on Him without putting off the other.
1. A long looked for and much desired hour. The Saviour Himself desires it. It is the hour that will bring Him the consummation of all His wishes, the full reward of all His labour and sufferings. And His Church desires it. Scarcely had He disappeared, when its language was, Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly.
2. An hour of great love and affection. No earthly affection is equal to that of a redeemed sinner for his Saviour. There may not at times seem much warmth in it, but when it is real there is as much strength and depth in it perhaps as mans nature, in its present state and circumstances, is capable of. But still it is an imperfect love, very much broken in upon by the love of other things, and damped by the cares of life, its business and troubles. It is an unseen object too that we love, and we find it difficult to realise anything we have never seen. And even in our best moments, we often feel as though we only half loved our Lord. We long for a better and higher nature, that we may love Him more. At this marriage supper we shall have what we long for. We shall see our Lord, and see Him in a form in which we shall know Him; and shall have souls within us, that will for the first time feel large enough to love Him, and these souls shall be filled to overflowing with admiration of and delight in Him. The love of this hour will be the perfection of love. This marriage feast will be the feast, the triumph of love–the exalted Saviour showing to the whole universe that He loves us to the utmost bound love can go, and we loving Him with a fervour, a gratitude, an adoration a delight, that are new even in heaven.
3. A scene of abounding joy. The affection that reigns in it would of itself make it so. Let me only be with my Lord, the Christian says, and I ask no more. That, without anything else, will make me happy, and happy to the full. The heavenly Bridegroom provides for His guests all that can gratify and delight them, and all too that can show His love for them and His munificence. The provisions made by Him for our enjoyment, will astonish us. So will it be with us in heaven. We shall find it a feast and a monarchs feast.
III. Those invited or called to it.
1. They are those who have been invited before to this supper. And here we are all included.
2. They are those only who have before accepted the invitation to it.
3. These guests are yet further distinguished–they are ready and prepared for this supper. A worldly-minded, ungodly man in heaven, would be a miserable man in heaven. A prepared place for a prepared people, a holy place for a holy people–this is the heaven of the Bible.
IV. The happiness of these men. Blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. It is not an invitation to every feast that will make a man happy. Not a snare or a danger can await them there. Not a single being will they see there who can do them harm or whom they would wish away. (C. Bradley, M. A.)
The marriage supper of the Lamb
I. The description of the bridegroom.
1. As the Lamb He is the one everlasting sacrifice for sin: He will not be other than this in His glory.
2. As the Lamb, suffering for sin, He is specially glorious in the eyes of the angels and all other holy intelligences; and so in His joyous day He wears that character.
3. As the Lamb He most fully displayed His love to His Church; and so He appears in this form on the day of His loves triumph.
4. As the Lamb He is best loved of our souls. Behold, how He loved us even to the death!
II. The meaning of the marriage supper.
1. The completion and perfection of the Church. His bride hath made herself ready.
2. The rising of the Church into the nearest and happiest communion with Christ in His glory. The marriage of the Lamb is come. The espousals lead up to this.
3. The fulfilment of the long expectations of both.
4. The open publication of the great fact of mutual love and union.
5. The overflowing of mutual delight and joy. Be glad and rejoice.
6. The grandest display of magnificent munificence in a banquet.
7. The commencement of an eternally unbroken rest. He shall rest in His love. The Church, like Ruth, shall find rest in the house of her Husband.
III. The persons who are called to it.
1. Those who are so called as to accept the invitation.
2. Those who now possess the faith which is the token of admission.
3. Those who love Bridegroom and bride.
4. Those who have on the wedding garment of sanctification.
5. Those who watch with lamps burning.
IV. The blessedness which is ascribed to them.
1. They have a prospect which blesses them even now.
2. They have great honour in being called to such a future.
3. They will be blessed indeed when at that feast, for–Those who are called will be admitted. Those who are admitted will be married. Those who are married to Jesus will be endlessly happy. How many a marriage leads to misery! but it is not so in this case. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The marriage supper of the Lamb
A distinction seems to be drawn between the marriage, and the marriage supper of the Lamb. The marriage, takes place now,–The marriage supper is to follow by and by. The marriage is that act of union between each soul and Christ, when that soul, drawn by Gods love and made willing by His grace, is linked to, and made one with, the mystical body of Christ. The marriage supper will be the public celebration, and the glorious consummation, of that union. Therefore there are differences. The marriage here, blessed and beautiful as it is, has its trouble and its separation. The soul has to leave, not without pain, what once was very dear to it. And some fear cannot help to mingle, even where love prevails. But at the marriage supper it will be all union, and no parting; and there will be no room for the shadow of a fear there. The marriage here is an individual act. One by one, each as God chooses, one here, and another there, a soul gives itself to Christ. The marriage supper will be the solemnity of the whole Churchs collective partnership, one and another, with Jesus. The marriage here, at least so it seems, sometimes, to the poor Christians heart, was capable of being dissolved again. But when the marriage supper comes, who will ever think of breaking the tie? In the marriage here, real and perfect though it be, there are intervals of distance; seasons, when there is no union between the soul and Him it loves. But in the marriage supper, the felt and visible presence of Christ will be for ever and for ever. In the marriage here there were many who, though truly and indissolubly joined to Christ, yet often seemed to others, and seemed to themselves, not to be His. But at the marriage supper there will be no misunderstandings. Christ will have proclaimed His own; and the whole universe will confess Him, and His saints. (James Vaughan, M. A.)
And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.—
The Scriptures divinely true
I. A right estimate of holy scripture.
1. These words which we find in the Old and New Testaments are true. Free from error, certain, enduring, infallible.
2. These are Divine words. Infallibly inspired, so as to be in very truth the sayings of God.
3. These words are thus true and Divine in opposition to words of man. These may or may not be true. Pretended words of God. False prophets and men with addled intellects profess to speak in the name of God; but they lie.
4. These words are all of them truly Divine. Neither too severe to be true, nor too terrible to be uttered by a God of love, as some dare to say. Nor too good to be true, as tremblers fear. Nor too old to be true, as novelty-hunters affirm. Nor too simple to be truly Divine, as the worldly-wise insinuate.
5. These words are a blessing to us for that reason. What else can guide us if we have no sure revelation from God? How can we understand the revelation if it is not all true?
II. The result of forming such an estimate. If you believe that these are the true sayings of God–
1. You will listen to them with attention, and judge what you hear from preachers by this infallible standard.
2. You will receive these words with assurance. This will produce confidence of understanding. This will produce rest of heart.
3. You will submit with reverence to these words, obey their precepts, believe their teachings, and value their prophecies.
4. You will expect fulfilment of Divine promises under difficulties.
5. You will cling to revealed truth with pertinacity.
6. You will proclaim it with boldness.
III. Our justification for forming such an estimate.
1. The Scriptures are what they profess to be–the word of God.
2. There is a singular majesty and power in them; and we see this when the truth of God is preached.
3. There is a marvellous omniscience in Scripture, which is perceived by us when it unveils our inmost souls.
4. They have proven themselves true to us. They warned us of the bitter fruit of sin, and we have tasted it. They told us of the evil of the heart, and we have seen it. They told us of the peace-giving power of the blood, and we have proved it by faith in Jesus. They told us of the purifying energy of Divine grace: we are already instances of it, and desire to be more so. They assured us of the efficacy of prayer, and it is true. They assured us of the upholding power of faith in God, and by faith we have been upheld in trial. They assured us of the faithfulness of God to His people as shown in providence, and we have experienced it. All things have worked together for our good hitherto.
5. The witness of the Holy Spirit in our hearts confirms our faith in Holy Scripture. We believe, and are saved from sin by believing. Those words must be truly Divine which have wrought in us such gracious results. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Worship God.—
The Supreme Being the only proper object of religious worship
I. The scripture represents God as the only proper object of religious worship.
II. The absolute supremacy of God in all His great and essential attributes.
1. God is supreme in respect to His existence.
2. God infinitely surpasses all other beings in the immensity of His presence.
3. God far transcends all other beings in His knowledge.
4. God is absolutely supreme in wisdom.
5. God is supreme in power.
6. God is supremely excellent in His holiness, goodness, or benevolence.
III. It is absurd to pay religious worship to any being who is not possessed of the essential attributes of divinity. (N. Emmons, D. D.)
The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
The great prophetic burden
I. The theme or burden of the bible is Jesus. Not philosophy, nor science, nor theology, nor metaphysics, nor morality, but Jesus.
II. The theme of bible-annals is Jesus. Not mere history, but history as containing Jesus. Not the mere rise and fall of nations and kingdoms, but these as connected with the promised seed of the woman.
III. The theme of the Psalms is Jesus. It is not mere poetry, Hebrew poetry, that we find in them, but Jesus. It is poetry embodying Jesus; it is praise, of which every note is Immanuel.
IV. The theme of prophecy is Jesus. It is not certain future events, dark or bright, presented to the view of the curious and speculative; it is Jesus; earthly events and hopes and fears only as linked with Him. (H. Bonar, D. D.)
The one witness and the one testimony
(with Rev 22:20):–
I. The oneness of the testifier. He is the one God. The sender of the testimony is the one Jehovah; the subject of the testimony is the one Jesus; the inspirer is the one Spirit. Through many lips He has spoken, by many pens He has written; but it is the mind, the will, the purpose, the revelation of the one God that is here.
II. The oneness of the messenger. It is intimated here that it was one angel alone that was employed to communicate the testimony. He was sent to patriarchs and prophets of old, to apostles and brethren in later times. The instrument or medium of communication was a created being, an angel; but it was the same throughout.
III. The oneness of the testimony. It is not many testimonies, but one; it is the word (not words) of God. It was given at sundry times and divers manners; in fragments and portions, great and small; yet there is unity throughout, not discord or contradiction–marvellous unity, which can only be accounted for on the fact that there was in reality but one writer, He to whom one day is as a thousand years, and that therefore the truths enunciated are the offspring of one mind, the thoughts of one heart. This testimony bore all upon one point, one person, one work, one kingdom. It was the testimony of Jesus, that is, it testified of Him from first to last; for Christ is the all and in all of prophecy, the all and in all of the Bible. (H. Bonar, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 9. Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper] This is an evident allusion to the marriage of the king’s son, Mt 22:2, &c., where the incarnation of our Lord, and the calling of Jews and Gentiles, are particularly pointed out. See the notes there. Blessed are all they who hear the Gospel, and are thus invited to lay hold on everlasting life.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And he saith unto me, Write; write it, as a business of moment, of which a record is fit to be kept.
Blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb; that is, (say those who understand by the marriage of the Lamb the Jews conversion), who live in this happy period of time when the Jews shall be converted, and with the Gentiles make one gospel church. But this seems to me not sufficient. The marriage is one thing, the supper another, and (ordinarily) consequential to the marriage itself. The kingdom of glory seems to me rather intended, and those are called to it, who are made meet for the inheritance of the saints in light.
These are the true sayings of God; that is, these are the undoubted truths of God, and therefore to be called into question by none.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9. HeGod by His angel saithunto me.
calledeffectually, notmerely externally. The “unto,” or into,” seems toexpress this: not merely invited to (Greek, “epi“),but called INTO, so as tobe partakers of (Greek, “eis“);compare 1Co 1:9.
marriage supperGreek,“the supper of the marriage.” Typified by the Lord’sSupper.
trueGreek,“genuine”; veritable sayings which shall surely befulfilled, namely, all the previous revelations.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And he saith unto me, write,…. What follows, because of the importance of it, and to show the certainty of it, and that it may be regarded and remembered: the person speaking is either the voice from the throne, Re 19:5 or the angel that attended John all along, and showed him this revelation, Re 1:1 or the angel that proposed to show him the judgment of the great whore, Re 17:1.
Blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb; by which is meant the Gospel ministry and ordinances, and communion in them, to which the Jews will be called to partake of in the latter day; these at the first of the Gospel dispensation are called a “dinner”, to which, the Jews were invited, but refused to come, and now a “supper”, because made in the evening of that dispensation; to which being called with an effectual calling, they will come and partake of it; on which account they are pronounced blessed, being the bride, the Lamb’s wife, having on his righteousness, partaking of his benefits, and being called unto, and made meet for eternal glory and happiness; or else these may design converted Gentiles, who will be invited to join with them, and will.
And he saith unto me, these are the true sayings of God; the Syriac version reads, “these my true words are of God”; being true, it is plain they are of God, and being of God, it is certain they are true; for he is the God of truth, and cannot lie, and therefore may be depended upon.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Write (). First aorist active imperative of as in Rev 1:11; Rev 14:13. The speaker may be the angel guide of 17:1.
It is another beatitude (, Blessed) like that in 14:13 (fourth of the seven in the book).
They which are bidden ( ). Articular perfect passive participle of , like Matt 22:3; Luke 14:17. Cf. Re 17:14. This beatitude reminds us of that in Lu 14:15. (Cf. Matt 8:11; Matt 26:29.)
These are true words of God (H ). Undoubtedly, but one should bear in mind that apocalyptic symbolism “has its own methods and laws of interpretation, and by these the student must be guided” (Swete).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And he saith unto me, Write,” (kai legei moi, grapson) “And he says to me (John) write, record, verify this in writing,” “by reaffirmed inspiration,” for clarification. This is an emphatic Divine order to John to write as follows:
2) “Blessed are they,” (makarioi hoi) “Blessed (or spiritually prosperous) are those,” those also; These include a) all Gentiles, of all ages, redeemed, but who never became members of either the Jewish or church programs of Divinely appointed worship and service, b) The redeemed of Israel, and c) the church, represented before the throne of God by: a) the four living creatures, b) the (24) elders, of Israel and the church, Rev 4:7-10; Rev 5:6-13.
3) “Which are called unto the marriage of the Lamb,” (eis to deipnon tou gamou tou arniou keklemenoi) “Who have been called” (invited as guests, redeemed from all ages, who never became members of or served in the Lord’s church), “unto the marriage supper (reception) of the (marriage) of the Lamb,” to his bride, his wife. The 1) Jew, the 2) Gentile, and 3) the Church of God constitute the sum total of the redeemed of the ages, 1Co 10:32.
4) “And he saith unto me,” (kai legei moi) “And he says (personally) to me,” to John, as a friend to a friend, reaffirming the truth or accuracy of a statement, so that there is none occasion to misunderstand, Dan 12:10.
5) “These are the true sayings of God,” (horitoi hoi logoi alethenoi tou theou estin) “These are (exist as) the true words of God,” in explanation of his word in contextual setting, in relation to the end of this age (the church age) and preparation for the glorious Millennial age; Rev 21:5; Rev 22:6. There are blessings and rewards to be received by children of God within the church (the bride) not available without it, Eph 3:21.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Strauss Comments
SECTION 62
Text Rev. 19:9-10
9 And he saith unto me, Write. Blessed are they that are bidden to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are true words of God. 10 And I fell down before his feet to worship him. And he saith unto me, See thou do it not: I am a fellow-servant with thee and with thy brethren that hold the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Initial Questions Rev. 19:9-10
1.
Why are those bidden to the marriage supper of the Lamb blessed Rev. 19:1?
2.
What does the refusal by the heavenly messenger to accept Johns worship imply Rev. 19:10? Does John ever describe a situation in The Revelation when Jesus is worshipped and He accepts that worship?
3.
Does the messenger claim any special status in the kingdom Rev. 19:10?
Rev. 19:9
John is commanded Write thou; blessed (are-not in text) the ones having been called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. The source of this truth is God Himself. The implication of this verse is that if one is not invited to the marriage supper, or if invited and he refuses to attend, then he will not be blessed. Our Lord uttered a parable (Mat. 22:1-14) in which He used this imagery. Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is like unto . . . then saith he to his servants, the wedding is ready, but they that were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore unto the partings of the highways and as many as ye shall find, bid them to the marriage feast. God will not overlook the slighted invitation on the great day of His wrath. The Bride of Christ can never be destroyed but she has often been purified. Christ said I will build my Church and the gates of hades shall not prevail against it (Mat. 16:18).
Rev. 19:10
John was emotionally overcome by the tremendous revelation which he had received from the heavenly messenger. He says, And I fell down before his feet to worship him. The object worshipped here was an angel. The Jehovah Witnesses persist in their heretical assertions that our Lord is a creature of God. What was the response of this messenger? Immediately he told John; See thou do it not; I am your fellow-slave and of your brothers having the witness of Jesus; worship God. There is never a command given by any messenger of God in either the O.T. or N.T. to worship anyone other than the living God. In fact, it was categorized as idolatry if anyone worshipped anything, or anyone other than the God of the Prophets and Apostles. Yet our Lord repeatedly accepted worship from men! Angel worship flourished in Asia Minor at this time. The Colossian and Hebrew Epistles specifically condemn this practice. The last sentence in Rev. 19:10 is a very difficult one. For the witness of Jesus (There is no way to determine whether or not this is an objective or subjective genitive. This means there is no way to absolutely determine whether John is speaking of the witness given by Christ Himself or whether the witness is about Christ.) is the spirit of prophecy. 1Pe. 1:11 provides us with a very good (possible) commentary. Searching what time or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did point unto, when it testified beforehand the suffering of Christ, and the glories that should follow them.
Discussion Questions
See Rev. 19:17-21.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(9) And he saith unto me . . .Who is the speaker? The general and simplest opinion is that it is the angel mentioned in Rev. 17:1 who speaks. The speaker bids the seer write: Blessed are they who are bidden to the supper of the marriage of the Lamb. This is one of the six benedictions of the Apocalypse (Rev. Rev. 1:3; Rev. 14:13; Rev. 20:6; Rev. 22:7; Rev. 22:14): it is founded on our Lords parables (Mat. 22:1; Mat. 25:1; comp. also Rev. 3:20): the blessing of the call to the marriage supper is more clearly realised now that the day of joy is at hand. We must not draw too sharp distinctions, as some have done, between the bride and the guests: the imagery is varied to give fulness and force to the truths which no emblems can adequately express. The Church of Christ will rest, and feast, and reign with her Lord; and in all the peace, gladness, and triumph of that joy-time Gods servants will share. A solemn confirmation of this follows, as in Rev. 21:5; Rev. 22:6 : these words are true (sayings) of God.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
9. He Who? The last-mentioned antecedent is, Rev 17:1, “one of the seven angels that had the seven vials.” And in Rev 17:7, the same “angel said” all the rest of that chapter. And the same angel reappears after the millennium and after the final judgment, (Rev 21:9,) and shows the bride the Lamb’s wife, namely, the New Jerusalem, the description extends to the end of that chapter. And the next and final Rev 22:1, commences with, “And he showed me,” etc., referring to the same angel. Then, in Rev 19:6 of that chapter, he evidently refers to the same angel-guide. Two remarkable points here present themselves. First, this same angel-guide crosses, officially, over the thousand years of chapter 20. Of course, in the panorama visible to the seer, the thousand years could not be optically presented, and could only be narrated. The continuity of the angel is, therefore, only the convenient continuity of the panorama. And as the seven-vial angels were contents of the seventh trumpet, so the proper inference is, that the peal of the seventh trumpet continues from the beginning of the twelfth chapter to the end of the Apocalypse; that is, from the first advent to the end of the millennium, and the opening of eternity. Second, the parallelism shown in our note on Rev 17:3, between Rev 17:1; Rev 17:3, and Rev 21:9-10, shows not only that there is an intended contrast between the harlot, or old Babylon, and the wife, or New Jerusalem, but indicates that the immediacy of the marriage of the Lamb, indicated in Rev 19:7 of this nineteenth chapter, is also very much a panoramic immediacy, and that it crosses over the millennium and reaches to the descending of the celestial city, which is the true wife. Hence it clearly follows, that the said immediacy does not prove a real nearness of the second advent and judgment. That is, the scene of Rev 19:11-21 of this chapter is not Christ’s personal, literal, judgment-advent.
Write, Blessed Here is a blessedness, as in Rev 14:13, worthy of record while the world stands.
Called A call resulting from the justifying faith of the invited guest. The same hand that seals the pardon of the sinner writes his name in the book of life, and calls him to share at the marriage supper. Stuart supposes it to be a great difficulty that the saints of last verse, who really constitute the bride, are here only invited guests. But while collectively the body of saints is the bride, yet individually each saint may be viewed as guest.
True Both genuine, as being truly God’s sayings, and true as uttering what is truth.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And he says to me, “Write, blessed are those who are bid to the marriage supper of the Lamb”.’
Those who are bid to the marriage supper of the Lamb are truly blessed for they are invited as the Bride. The ‘he’ must be the angel of Rev 1:1, who brought to John his visions. Those visions are now almost complete.
Jesus Himself likened His call to men to repent and enter under the Kingly Rule of God to an invitation to a wedding feast (Mat 22:2-14; compare Mat 25:1-13) where the emphasis was on individual response. Those words are in mind here. But He also presented Himself as the Bridegroom coming for His bride (Mar 2:19-20; Joh 3:29). For the church as the bride see also 2Co 11:2; Eph 5:27. For the true Israel as God’s bride see Hos 2:19-20; Isa 54:1-8; and Eze 16:8-14 where God Himself prepares the bride Thus bride and guests are one.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
‘And he says to me, “These are the true words of God”.’
The angel emphasises the truth of all that John has seen. The seven visions have been given and now they receive heavenly ratification. This is introduced now so that no attention is taken from the final Coming of the Word of God (Rev 19:11 on).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Rev 19:9-10 . The significance of the short interlude lies in what the angel says to John (Rev 19:9 ), by applying in express exhortation, [4057] the reference contained already in the ascription of praise of the heavenly beings, to the goal of all the hopes of believers, and emphatically confirming the consolatory certainty of the hope thus set before believers, by the assurance that this word of God is true. Also to the prophetical declaration of this glorious hope by John, an attestation is given in Rev 19:10 , which must confirm believers [4058] receiving the testimony of the prophet in the hope and patience upon which their victory depends.
-g0- -g0- . The one speaking is, at all events, according to Rev 19:10 , an angel; but not “an interpreting angel,” such as Ewald and Ebrard think was the constant attendant of John, [4059] but the angel who from Rev 17:1 on serves John as the communicator of the revelation. [4060] To this points also the immediately succeeding declaration of the same angel ( , . . .).
, . . .). Cf. Rev 14:3 .
. . . In a still more concrete way than Rev 19:7 ( . .) is the final blessed communion with the Lord illustrated. Moreover the paracletic pertinence of the discourse brings with it also the fact that it is not the idea of the Church as the bride of the Lamb, but that of individual believers as wedding guests, which enters here. [4061] By the repetition of the formula , the succeeding speech of the angel is especially separated from his preceding words, and thus receives a peculiar importance. If we suppose that the art. is to be read before , [4062] which certainly does not serve to facilitate the construction, [4063] we must translate with Beng., Ebrard, Bleek, and Ew. ii.: “These are the true words of God.” The ingenious explanation of Hengstenb. (“These words are true, they are words of God”), even apart from the art. before ., is refuted by the fact that the , in any case, belongs not before, but after, the . De Wette, who translates: “These words are the true (words) of God,” [4064] appeals, in opposition to Beng., to the parallel, Rev 21:5 . But there the construction of the sentence is extremely simple, since to the subj. the definition of the predicate is added, ; but here not only the , but especially the art. before ., effects another relation in the entire statement. By means of this art., it becomes far simpler to bring together , and to understand these words combined with as a predicate to the subject . [4065] But the sense is by no means that which Bengel’s explanation suggests to De Wette, [4066] but after the angel has afforded John the revelation of the judgment upon the harlot, and, from this beginning of the final judgment, has given an intimation concerning the blessed mystery of God, which lies back of the entire judgment, he reviews all the words of revelation, of which he had served as the interpreter to the prophet from Rev 17:1 on. These, he says, are the true, i.e., the genuine and right, words of God. The here mentions not the truth or the correctness of the contents, but the reality of the correlated statement: . This explanation is afforded, on the one hand, by the plural alone, which Hengstenb., as well as Klief., refers to 5 8, Ebrard to 6 8 and 9, but the most do not take into further consideration, and, on the other hand, also by what is reported in Rev 19:10 . Ebrard was on the right track when he alluded to the expression , Rev 17:17 ; but he wanders from it again, when, just as he understands those as promises concerning the final redemption of the Church, so, in this passage, he limits the . . . to Rev 19:6-9 . The latter is not entirely correct; for there is no reason for excluding the songs of Rev 19:1-5 , which also refer to the goal presented in Rev 19:9 , in a manner precisely identical with Rev 19:6-8 . But what is said from Rev 19:1 on, concerning the now-impending glorification of the Church, has to do with but one side of the subject, with only one part of the (Rev 17:17 ), or of the mystery of God, announced by the ancient prophets. [4067] This one point is made prominent also in the songs from Rev 19:1 on, only upon the ground of the judgment lying before the same, which is now already fulfilled in an act. As now (Rev 17:17 ) the . contain both, viz., the proclamation of the Divine judgment against every thing antichristian, the kings of the world, with the beast of the world, are to rule only until the words of God, which proclaim the destruction of these same powers, shall find their fulfilment, i.e., until the dominion of those antichristian powers shall be annihilated according to God’s declaration, and the promise; the . . ., in this passage, refer to all the revelations which the prophet has received, as the fulfilment of the promise (Rev 17:1 ) of the angel even now also speaking with him ( . .), i.e., they refer to Rev 18:1 to Rev 19:9 . By the expression ., a review is made of that entire section in which the expressions referring to the glorification of believers, Rev 19:1-9 , are represented in most immediate combination with judgment upon the antichristian powers already fulfilled in one act in a way precisely analogous to that of Rev 22:6 , where, at the conclusion of the entire revelation, a confirmatory reference is made to all that was disclosed to the gazing prophet, from Rev 4:1 on, as about to happen. But in this passage, also, such a conclusion is entirely justified, because here an important part of what was to happen had already happened, viz., the judgment upon the great harlot; and therewith the fulfilment of the words, [4068] or of the mystery, [4069] of God, had already begun. Now also there is given to the prophet the direct pledge of the certainty of what he has beheld; that these words which he has received are the actual and true words of God himself. From this the explanation follows as to why it is that John (Rev 19:10 ) [4070] falls down before the angel in order “to worship” him. Ebrard is wrong in his attempt to attach a prophetic significance to this occurrence; viz., that the children of God are to be warned against the temptation of worshipping angels, “who have brought about the victory over antichrist.” The last is here entirely foreign. Grot., Vitr., Beng., etc., recognize in the adoring prostration an excessive token of gratitude, and therefore forbidden also by the angel. [4071] De Wette, in accordance with his exposition of 9 b , finds here an expression of joyful astonishment at prophecies so confirmed (?). But partly from what precedes ( . . ), and partly from the manner in which the angel rejects the adoration as not due him, as a fellow-servant of John, it may be first of all inferred that John regarded the angel thus addressing him, not as a fellow-servant, but as the Lord himself. [4072] At first, [4073] John had a proper estimate of the angel; but just by what was said (Rev 19:9 b ), John could attain the supposition that the Lord himself spoke to him.
. The aposiopesis [4074] is self-evident from what precedes: “See that thou dost it not!” Ay, do it not!
. Because the angel serves the same Lord [4075] as John and all his brethren, “who have the testimony of Jesus,” i.e., all believers. [4076] The Lord is God; [4077] to him, therefore, belongs the adoration which John intended to offer to the angel ( ). The entire repulse by the angel does not therefore sound “as tender as possible, almost having the tone of intercession,” [4078] but is throughout decided.
The closing words of Rev 19:10 belong not to the address of the angel, but are a remark of John, whereby he establishes and explains ( ) what has just been said by the angel. It is incorrect to explain the gen. as subjective, “the testimony proceeding from Jesus;” [4079] for if, on the one hand, reference to the expression . require this explanation, [4080] on the other hand the declaration is intelligible only by defining the . as . This cannot mean: “He who confesses Christ as thou dost has also the spirit of prophecy,” [4081] but designates, in the sense of 1Pe 1:11 , and in thorough agreement with what is indicated in Rev 1:1 and Rev 22:6 ; Rev 22:16 , concerning the nature and the origin of prophecy, that Christ, by himself imparting his testimony of revelation to a man, fills him [4082] with the spirit of prophecy, who now speaks from and through the prophets. [4083] As Christ, the coming One, is the goal of all Christian prophecy, [4084] so is He also its author. From the closing words of the verse, it might be inferred, [4085] that “they who have the testimony of Jesus” are not believers in general, but only the prophets, so that the angel would call himself a fellow-servant only of the prophets; as Hengstenb. also (Rev 22:6 ) understands by the only prophets. But as (Rev 22:6 ), on the contrary, the servants of God [4086] are distinguished from the prophets, and considered as the believers for whose instruction the prophets receive their revelations, [4087] so also in this passage. [4088] Believers do not have the testimony proceeding from Jesus without the service of the prophets, as John himself is one; but they are prophets because of the testimony communicated to them by the Lord, which testimony in them is the spirit of prophecy. Thus there is in Rev 19:10 b an attestation to the prophetical book of John, similar to that which was emphatically maintained in the beginning [4089] and at the close. [4090] [Note LXXXV., p. 461.]
[4057] Cf. Rev 14:13 .
[4058] Cf. Rev 1:3 , Rev 22:18 sqq.
[4059] Cf. Rev 1:1 .
[4060] Beng., Zll., De Wette, Hengstenb.
[4061] Cf. Rev 3:20 ; Mat 22:1 sqq., Mat 25:1 sqq. Beng., Hengstenb.
[4062] See Critical Notes.
[4063] Against Hengstenb.
[4064] Cf. Zll.: “These true words are God’s words.”
[4065] Cf. Rev 20:5 ; Luk 24:44 .
[4066] Now the truth of God’s word manifests itself, viz., in its immediate results.
[4067] Rev 10:7 .
[4068] Rev 17:17 .
[4069] Rev 10:7 .
[4070] As also Rev 22:8 .
[4071] Cf. also Hengstenb., who, however, praises the humility of John as well as of the angel.
[4072] Cf. Laun.
[4073] Rev 17:1 , Rev 15:6 , Rev 16:1 sqq.
[4074] Cf. Winer, p. 558.
[4075] Cf. Rev 6:11 .
[4076] Cf. Rev 6:9 .
[4077] Rev 22:6 .
[4078] Zll.
[4079] Against Ewald: “If any one with constancy maintain faith in Christ;” De Wette; Hengstenb., Ebrard, not clear.
[4080] Cf. Rev 6:9 , Rev 12:17 .
[4081] De Wette, Ewald.
[4082] Vitr. paraphrases: “The same Spirit who speaks and acts through those who proclaim the testimony of Christ (which the apostles did), is the very one who speaks through me, who am sent by the Lord to declare to thee the things of the time to come. Thy affairs, therefore, are as important as my dignity, and we are accordingly called, as fellow-servants, to offices of not unequal honor.” But it would be impossible for the concluding words of Rev 19:10 to belong to the angel (cf. Rev 19:8 ; Rev 5:8 ); and the explanation of . . ., which forms its basis, is false.
[4083] Cf. Rev 2:7 ; Rev 2:11 ; Rev 2:17 , Rev 3:22 , with Rev 2:1 ; Rev 2:8 ; Rev 2:12 , Rev 3:14 .
[4084] Also of that of O. T., Rev 10:7 .
[4085] Hengstenb.; cf. Vitr.
[4086] Cf. Rev 1:1 .
[4087] Cf. Rev 22:16 .
[4088] Cf., besides, Rev 22:9 .
[4089] Rev 1:1 sqq.
[4090] Rev 22:6 sqq.
NOTES BY THE AMERICAN EDITOR
LXXXV. Rev 19:10 .
Luthardt paraphrases this clause: “He who has this testimony of Jesus participates also in the Spirit who works prophecy, and teaches how it is to be understood, because all prophecy has Jesus Christ as its contents; and, therefore, the knowledge and confession of Jesus Christ is the key of the future.” Cremer accordingly infers that . (Rev 12:17 , Rev 19:10 , Rev 6:9 ) is synonymous with . . Gebhard also insists on the subjective meaning of here, and says that wherever “the testimony of Jesus” occurs, it is synonymous with “the word of God.” Alford, dissenting from Dsterdieck’s construction of as subjective, says: “What the angel says is this: ‘Thou, and I, and our brethren are all ; and the way in which we bear this witness, the substance and essence of this testimony, is the spirit of prophecy; . This spirit, given to me in that I show thee these things, given to thee in that thou seest and art to write them, is the token that we are fellow-servants and brethren.’ ”
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 2524
THE MARRIAGE-SUPPER OF THE LAMB
Rev 19:9. 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.
THE period referred to seems to be that of the millennium; preparatory to which, we are well assured, the popish power will be destroyed. That is the power which, in the book of Revelation, is designated the harlot, the whore of Babylon; and her destruction is that which is predicted in the preceding context. The frequent repetition of the word Alleluia, (which is a Hebrew word,) in the preceding verses, has given occasion to commentators to suppose, that the destruction of popery will, in a pre-eminent degree, attract the attention of the Jews, and dispose them to embrace the faith of Christ. However this may be, it will certainly be a signal to the world at large for their uniting themselves unto the Lord: and then will come what is here called The marriage-supper of the Lamb; and a very extraordinary degree of happiness will be poured out upon all the guests that are partakers of it,
Let us consider,
I.
What is the feast here spoken of
It is called, The marriage-supper of the Lamb. Now,
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Husband of his Church
[This is frequently declared in the Holy Scriptures. The Prophet Isaiah says, Thy Maker is thine husband [Note: Isa 54:5.]: and David enters very particularly into the subject, drawing a parallel between the union of men with their female captives, and the union which takes place between the Lord Jesus Christ and his believing people. The captive maidens were to be allowed a month to forget their friends and relatives. And thus believers are first taken captive by the power of the Lord Jesus; and then, having forgotten all former bonds, they are to be united unto him for ever [Note: Isa 45:10-11.]. In the New Testament the same idea is frequently suggested. St. Paul speaks of believers being presented as a chaste virgin to Christ [Note: 2Co 11:2.]: and, in another place, after opening fully the duties of husbands and wives, he says, I speak concerning Christ and his Church [Note: Eph 5:32.].]
On occasion of his union with her, he gives a feast to all who shall accept his gracious invitations
[The Church, collectively, is the Lambs bride: but individual believers are the guests invited to the marriage-feast. On the conversion of any soul, there is a joy diffused throughout all the angelic hosts [Note: Luk 15:10.]: and, in like manner, the union of any soul with Christ should be regarded as a signal for joy amongst all who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. On every such occasion is there, as it were, a feast prepared; and guests are invited to partake of it. It is an occasion worthy of a feast: for then all the purposes of God respecting that soul are, in great measure, accomplished. As far as relates to that soul, the Redeemer himself receives the recompence of all that he has done and suffered for us; yea, he sees of the travail of his own soul, and is satisfied. The soul was indeed given unto Christ from all eternity, and in that respect may be considered as betrothed unto him. But, when the soul surrenders up itself to Christ, and is united unto him by faith, then does it become one spirit with Christ [Note: 1Co 6:17.], and partakes of all that Christ himself possesses. Now, if among men an union of any person with his bride is judged worthy of feasting and congratulation amongst all their friends, much more may the union before contemplated, even that of a believing soul and the Lord Jesus Christ, be fitly considered as a ground of most exalted joy.]
But that which the text speaks of, is not so much the feast, as,
II.
The blessedness of all who partake of it
Many reasons may be assigned why the guests at such a feast should be happy:
1.
They have the felicity of seeing the Bridegroom, and of hearing his voice
[St. John tells us how highly he himself estemed this privilege: He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegrooms voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled [Note: Joh 3:29.]. And who can tell what it is to have such communion with him, unless he have first himself been admitted to it? Who but the believer can comprehend aright that declaration of St. John, Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ [Note: 1Jn 1:3.]? Verily this is a joy with which the stranger intermeddleth not; it is unspeakable and glorified [Note: 1Pe 1:8.]; even an earnest of heaven itself.]
2.
They partake of the highest enjoyment of which, in this fallen state, their souls are capable
[The terms in which the feast itself is described may give us some idea of this: it is a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined [Note: Isa 25:7.]. But hear the testimony of a guest: Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil: my cup runneth over [Note: Psa 23:5.]. Hear another testimony: I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet unto my taste. He brought me to the banqueting-house, and his banner over me was love [Note: Son 2:3-4]. But why should we attend to individuals? However strongly they may express themselves, they can never convey to us any adequate idea of their bliss: for we are expressly told, that eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him [Note: 1Co 2:9.].]
3.
The blessedness which they begin to taste on earth shall be perfected and continued to all eternity in heaven
[There shall the table be spread again, and every believer be admitted to it. There are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, feasting before the Lord: there is Lazarus sitting next to Abraham himself: and there shall all true believers sit down with them: and the viands, of which they here obtained a taste, shall, with infinitely augmented zest, be partaken of by them to the full, through all eternity. But who shall paint the blessedness of that state? If even here the believers joy is unspeakable, what shall it there be? But we must be content to wait for our summons there: for, in attempting to describe that bliss, we only darken counsel by words without knowledge.]
Address
1.
Those who are disposed to decline the invitation given them
[You make excuses, which you now judge sufficient to justify your contempt of the mercy shewn you But your making light of it is viewed with other eyes by the heavenly Bridegroom. He feels that you are offering to him the greatest indignity: and he declares, that you shall never taste of his supper, but shall be for ever excluded from it, and be left in outer darkness to bewail your fate. O! who can declare what your feelings will then be? and what weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, will be your portion for evermore? Bring not on yourselves, my dear brethren, this awful judgment. I am sent, not only to invite, but to compel you to come in. O that I knew how to address you, so that I might at last prevail! Wherefore do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good; and let your souls delight themselves in fatness [Note: Isa 55:2.].]
2.
Those who are willing to accept it
[Come without delay, lest the door should be closed, and your exclusion be for ever sealed. If you say, I am afraid to come, because I do not possess a wedding-garment; I answer, The Bridegroom himself has provided garments for all his guests; and if only you seek one from him, it shall not be withheld. Not only will he put upon you that justifying righteousness which he himself wrought out for you by his obedience unto death, but he will make you all glorious within, and render you fully meet for the enjoyment of his presence, and the everlasting possession of his glory.
It may seem, perhaps, that we are speaking more than we are authorized to declare. But indeed it is not so: for these are the true sayings of God, as my text informs you: and you shall find them true, if you will accept the invitation now sent you, and cast yourselves on him, in a firm reliance on his word. Faithful is He that calleth you; who also will do it. Only come to him strong in faith; and you may rest assured that not one good thing shall fail you, of all that he has ever promised.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
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.
Ver. 9. Write ] To wit, this ensuing sentence, for the use of posterity, worthy to be written in letters of gold.
Blessed are they that are called ] So they have hearts to come at Christ’s call, and not show themselves unworthy to taste of his supper by framing excuses, as those recusant guests did, Luk 14:15-24 .
These are the true sayings of God ] q.d. This foregoing sentence is “a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation,” 1Ti 1:15 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
9, 10 .] The Bride in this blessed marriage being in fact the sum of the guests at its celebration, the discourse passes to their blessedness, and an assurance of the certainty of that which has been foretold respecting them. The Apostle, moved by these declarations, falls down to worship the angel, but is forbidden . And he saith (who? the only answer ready to our hand is, the angel of ch. Rev 17:1 . Some, as Ewald and Ebrard, suppose some one angel to have been constantly with St. John throughout the visions: but there seems no reason for this) to me, Write (cf. ch. Rev 14:13 ) Blessed are they who are bidden (see reff.: and bear in mind, throughout, our Lord’s parables on this matter: Mat 22:1 ff; Mat 25:1 ff. Our ch. Rev 3:20 furnishes us with a link binding on the spiritual import to the figure) to the supper of the marriage of the Lamb. And he saith to me (the solemn repetition of this formula shews that what follows it is a new and important declaration), These sayings (cf. ch. Rev 17:17 . If we understand that the speaker is the angel of ch. Rev 17:1 , then will most naturally include the prophecies and revelations since then) are the true (we should hardly be justified, in a book where has repeatedly occurred in a sense hardly distinguishable from , in pressing it here to its more proper meaning of “ genuine ” (as Dsterd.), which would very well suit the sense in this place) ( sayings ) of God (are the very truth of God, and shall veritably come to pass).
And I fell down before his feet to worship him (out of an overweening reverence for one who had imparted to him such great things: see also ch. Rev 22:8 , where the same again takes place at the end of the whole revelation, and after a similar assurance. The angel who had thus guaranteed to him, in the name of God, the certainty of these great revelations, seems to him worthy of some of that reverence which belongs to God Himself. The reason given by Dsterd., that in both cases John imagined the Lord Himself to be speaking to him, is sufficiently contradicted by the plain assertion, here in ch. Rev 17:1 , and there in ch. Rev 22:8 itself, that it was not a divine Person, but simply an angel): and he saith to me, Take heed not (to do it): I am a fellow-servant of thine, and (a fellow-servant) of thy brethren who have the testimony of Jesus (as in reff.: on the former of which see note): worship God (both words are emphatic: let be reserved for Him ), for (these words following are those of the angel , not of the Apostle, as Dsterd.: Rev 19:8 , and ch. Rev 5:8 , where the Apostle gives explanations, are no rule for this place, where the explanation of necessity comes from the speaker, whose reason for prohibiting the offered homage it renders) the testimony of Jesus (the gen. is, as before, objective : the testimony borne to Jesus by these , men and angels) is the spirit of prophecy (there is no real difficulty in this saying: no reason for destroying its force by making subjective, and . to mean “the witness which proceeds from Jesus” (Dst.). What the angel says is this: Thou and I and our brethren are all (= , as uniformly in this book); and the way in which we bear this witness, the substance and essence of this testimony, is, the spirit of prophecy; . This Spirit, given to me in that I shew thee these things, given to thee in that thou seest and art to write them, is the token that we are fellow-servants and brethren. Thus Vitringa: “Idem ille Spiritus qui loquitur agitque per eos qui prdicant testimonium Christo, quod agebant Apostoli, idem ipse est, qui per me loquitur, qui missus sum a Domino ut res venturi temporis tibi declararem. Tanta itaque tua quanta mea est dignitas, sumusque adeo conservi ad officia non disparia honoris et gradus a Domino appellati.” It does not follow that every one of those has, in the same distinguished degree, the Spirit of prophecy: but every such one has the same Spirit, and that one Spirit, and no other, is the Spirit of prophecy).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Rev 19:9 . The saints are the Bride, but by a confusion inevitable when the the two cognate figures, apocalyptic and synoptic (Mat 22:2 f.), are combined they are also the guests at the wedding. (The bliss of the next world is termed “the Banquet” in rabbinic writings, which interpret Exo 24:11 as though the sight of God were meat and drink to the beholders). Like the Greek , the church is composed of members who are ideally distinguishable from her, just as in En. xxxviii. 1 the congregation of the righteous is equivalent to the new Jerusalem. With the idea of 7 9, cf. Pirke Aboth, iv. 23: This world is like a vestibule before the world to come; prepare thyself at the vestibule that thou mayest be admitted into the . . either “real” as opposed to fanciful and delusive revelations, or (if . = ) “trustworthy words of God” (Dan 2:9 ) emphasising the previous beatitude (like , Rev 14:13 ). Originally the words (see above) gravely corroborated all the preceding threats and promises ( cf. Rev 17:17 ), despite their occasionally strange and doubtful look. It is a common reiteration in apocc. ( cf. reff.), underlining as it were the solemn statements of a given passage. See, e.g. , Herm. Vis. iii. 4, “that God’s name may be glorified, hath this been revealed to thee, for the sake of those who are of doubtful mind, questioning in their hearts whether this is so or not. Tell them it is all true, that there is nothing but truth in it, that all is sure and valid and founded”. In Sanhed. Jerus. Rabbi Jochanan declares, with reference to Dan 10:1 , that a true word is one which has been already revealed by God to the council of the heavenly host.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Rev 19:9-10
9Then 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.” 10Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
Rev 19:9 “Blessed are” This is the fourth of seven blessings to the redeemed in Revelation (cf. Rev 1:3; Rev 14:13; Rev 16:15; Rev 19:9; Rev 20:6; Rev 22:7; Rev 22:14).
“those who are invited” This is a Perfect passive participle, which emphasizes God’s call to salvation (cf. Rev 17:14; Joh 6:44; Joh 6:65).
“These are the true words of God” This phrase emphasizes the trustworthiness of the angel’s message (cf. Rev 21:5; Rev 22:6).
Rev 19:10 “Then I fell at his feet to worship him” There has been much discussion about John’s attempt to worship an angel (cf. Rev 22:8). Possibly John included it intentionally as a word against angel worship (cf. Rev 22:9; Col 2:18). John was awed by this powerful angelic person and may have assumed that he was either a divine personification (cf. Gen 16:7-13; Gen 22:11-15; Gen 31:11; Gen 31:13; Gen 48:15-16; Exodus 32, 4; Exo 13:21; Exo 14:19; Jdg 2:1; Jdg 6:22-23; Jdg 13:3-22; Zec 3:1-2; Luk 24:5) or a physical manifestation of the Spirit (cf. Rev 22:8-9).
“I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus” John called himself by this same term in Rev 1:1. The angel identifies himself not only as a servant of God (cf. Deu 33:2; Psa 103:21; Dan. 17:10) but also of redeemed mankind (cf. Heb 1:14). This angel also identifies himself with the testimony of Jesus, which is normally said of saints rather than angels (cf. Rev 12:17).
“for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” This is a highly unusual phrase and has been widely interpreted. It may refer to either
1. Jesus as the focus of prophecy
2. the fact that prophecy has returned as a sign that Jesus has brought in the new age of the Spirit (cf. Rev 1:2; Rev 6:9; Rev 12:17; Rev 14:12 for a similar use of this phrase)
3. Jesus is the very breath of prophecy (similar to “God breathed” of 2Ti 3:16)
The context shows that those who have trusted in Christ have been led by the Spirit. No one can come to Christ unless
1. the Spirit woos him (cf. Joh 6:44; Joh 6:65)
2. helps him understand the gospel message
3. encourages him to trust Christ
4. baptizes him into Christ
5. forms Christ in him (cf. Joh 16:8-11)
The Spirit’s ministry is magnifying Christ!
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
unto = to.
Blessed. Greek. makarios. The fourth of the seven occurrences of “Blessed” in Rev., and the forty-seventh in N.T. See Mat 5:3.
called . . . Lamb. See Psa 45:14 for some of the “called” there indicated.
unto. App-104.
supper. Greek. deipnon. First occurrence Mat 23:6. Here equivalent to the marriage feast of Rev 19:7.
unto = to.
true. App-175.
sayings. App-121.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
9, 10.] The Bride in this blessed marriage being in fact the sum of the guests at its celebration, the discourse passes to their blessedness, and an assurance of the certainty of that which has been foretold respecting them. The Apostle, moved by these declarations, falls down to worship the angel, but is forbidden. And he saith (who? the only answer ready to our hand is, the angel of ch. Rev 17:1. Some, as Ewald and Ebrard, suppose some one angel to have been constantly with St. John throughout the visions: but there seems no reason for this) to me, Write (cf. ch. Rev 14:13) Blessed are they who are bidden (see reff.: and bear in mind, throughout, our Lords parables on this matter: Mat 22:1 ff; Mat 25:1 ff. Our ch. Rev 3:20 furnishes us with a link binding on the spiritual import to the figure) to the supper of the marriage of the Lamb. And he saith to me (the solemn repetition of this formula shews that what follows it is a new and important declaration), These sayings (cf. ch. Rev 17:17. If we understand that the speaker is the angel of ch. Rev 17:1, then will most naturally include the prophecies and revelations since then) are the true (we should hardly be justified, in a book where has repeatedly occurred in a sense hardly distinguishable from , in pressing it here to its more proper meaning of genuine (as Dsterd.), which would very well suit the sense in this place) (sayings) of God (are the very truth of God, and shall veritably come to pass).
And I fell down before his feet to worship him (out of an overweening reverence for one who had imparted to him such great things: see also ch. Rev 22:8, where the same again takes place at the end of the whole revelation, and after a similar assurance. The angel who had thus guaranteed to him, in the name of God, the certainty of these great revelations, seems to him worthy of some of that reverence which belongs to God Himself. The reason given by Dsterd., that in both cases John imagined the Lord Himself to be speaking to him, is sufficiently contradicted by the plain assertion, here in ch. Rev 17:1, and there in ch. Rev 22:8 itself, that it was not a divine Person, but simply an angel): and he saith to me, Take heed not (to do it): I am a fellow-servant of thine, and (a fellow-servant) of thy brethren who have the testimony of Jesus (as in reff.: on the former of which see note): worship God (both words are emphatic: let be reserved for Him), for (these words following are those of the angel, not of the Apostle, as Dsterd.: Rev 19:8, and ch. Rev 5:8, where the Apostle gives explanations, are no rule for this place, where the explanation of necessity comes from the speaker, whose reason for prohibiting the offered homage it renders) the testimony of Jesus (the gen. is, as before, objective: the testimony borne to Jesus by these , men and angels) is the spirit of prophecy (there is no real difficulty in this saying: no reason for destroying its force by making subjective, and . to mean the witness which proceeds from Jesus (Dst.). What the angel says is this: Thou and I and our brethren are all (= , as uniformly in this book); and the way in which we bear this witness, the substance and essence of this testimony, is, the spirit of prophecy; . This Spirit, given to me in that I shew thee these things, given to thee in that thou seest and art to write them, is the token that we are fellow-servants and brethren. Thus Vitringa: Idem ille Spiritus qui loquitur agitque per eos qui prdicant testimonium Christo, quod agebant Apostoli, idem ipse est, qui per me loquitur, qui missus sum a Domino ut res venturi temporis tibi declararem. Tanta itaque tua quanta mea est dignitas, sumusque adeo conservi ad officia non disparia honoris et gradus a Domino appellati. It does not follow that every one of those has, in the same distinguished degree, the Spirit of prophecy: but every such one has the same Spirit, and that one Spirit, and no other, is the Spirit of prophecy).
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Rev 19:9. ) The Apparatus makes mention of the MSS. which omit this word. Among them are the first editions of Erasmus, which Luther followed: whence the suspicion of a typographical error in the German Bibles is removed. The more recent editors of the German Bibles have inserted that word.-, true) A remarkable epithet. It is used by itself in this one passage only of the Apocalypse, as , faithful, of the Witness, ch. Rev 1:5. In other places both are joined. The faithful and true witness, ch. Rev 3:14 Faithful and true, put absolutely, ch. Rev 19:11. Then, Faithful and true words, ch. Rev 21:5, Rev 22:6. In other places another epithet is added. Jesus, Holy and true, ch. Rev 3:7. God, the Lord Holy and true, ch. Rev 6:10. Just and true are the ways of God: true and just are His judgments, ch. Rev 15:3, Rev 16:7, Rev 19:2. Where these epithets are used conjointly, God is called Holy, with reference to Himself: faithful and just, with reference to His people, and in the word given to His people: He is called true, in His work, the issue of which, especially in this place, answers to the word which has preceded. Where one epithet only is used, as Faithful, at the beginning of the book, and True, here, about the end, the force of the other is to be understood. And as He Himself is, so are His words, and ways, and judgments.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
Blessed are they which are bidden to the marriage supper of the Lamb.Rev 19:9.
1. With the beginning of this chapter we enter upon the fifth great section of the Apocalypse, which extends to chap. Rev 20:6. The object of the section is to bring before us the triumph and rest of the faithful disciples of Jesus after their conflict is over. They have had to contend alike with the world and with the degenerate Church. They have been separated from both; and both have fallen. There is no more struggle for them now. The first notice of this happy state is presented in the song of thanksgiving over the destruction of Babylon, sung by the heavenly hosts and by the redeemed from among men.
The song is new, celebrating, not merely judgment on foes, but the full taking possession of His Kingdom by the Lord. Up to this time the actual marriage of the Redeemer to His people has not taken place. The two parties have only been betrothed to one another. At length the hour has come when the marriage shall be completed, the Lord Himself being manifested in glory and His bride along with Him. The Lamb is come to claim His bride, and his wife hath made herself ready. Through storm and calm, through sorrow and joy, through darkness and light, she has waited for Him, crying ever and again, Come quickly. At last He comes, and the marriage and the marriage supper are to take place.
2. Such is the moment that has now arrived, and the bride is ready for it. Her raiment is worthy of our notice. It is fine linen, bright and pure; and then it is immediately added for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. These acts are not the imputed righteousness of Christ, although only in Christ are the acts performed. They express the moral and religious condition of those who constitute the bride. No outward righteousness alone, with which we might be clothed as with a garment, is a sufficient preparation for future blessedness. An inward change is necessary, a personal and spiritual meetness for the inheritance of the saints in light.
Thus made ready, the bride now enters with the Bridegroom to the marriage feast; and, as the whole of her future rises before the view of the heavenly visitant who converses with the Seer, he says to him, Write, Blessed are they which are bidden to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Once before, St. John had heard a similar, perhaps the same, Voice from heaven, saying, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth. Then we believed; now we see. The clouds are dispelled; the veil is rent asunder; we enter into the palace of the great King. There is music, and festivity, and joy. There is neither sin nor sorrow, no privilege abused, no cloud upon any countenance, no burden upon any heart, no shadow from the future to darken the rapture of the present. Here is life, and life abundantly; the peace that passeth understanding; the joy unspeakable and glorified; the inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading.
The Marriage of the Lamb is a subject that can easily be vulgarized. It can be vulgarized for the same reason that the finest poems make the finest parodies. The higher you climb the deeper you fall. The subject is one of profound delicacy. Let us put the shoes from off our feet, for the place where we tread is holy ground.1 [Note: R. Waddell, Behold the Lamb of God! 262.]
I
The Marriage
1. For the first time in the Apocalypse we read here of the marriage of the Lamb; and for the first time, although the general idea of supping with the Lord had been once alluded to, we read of the marriage supper. The figure indeed is far from being new. The writers both of the Old and of the New Testament use it with remarkable frequency. But no sacred writer appears to have felt more the power and beauty of the similitude than St. John. In the first miracle which he records, and in which he sees the whole glory of the New Testament dispensation mirrored forth, He who changed the water into wine is the Bridegroom of His Church; and, when the Baptist passes out of view, in the presence of Him for whom he had prepared the way, he records the swan-like song in which the great prophet terminated his mission in order that another and a higher than himself might have sole possession of the field: Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegrooms voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
2. Now, what is the significance of this figure of the marriage relation between God and man which we find running all down revelation? It is not difficult to get hold of the central idea of it. What is marriage? It is the coming together of two lives in the deepest possible unity. It is the surrender of separate individuality and the mingling of each in a common stream. This is the ideal marriage. When we turn to the Word of God, and ask what marriage is, we find this idea of the unity of two lives expressed in the strongest possible terms. In marriage, in the ideal marriage, the two become one flesh. It does not rest on a civil contract like a business partnership. It rests on a mysterious change affecting the very substance of their body and blending two lives into a physical and spiritual oneness. The man and woman who love one another delight in all that is or seems to be most beautiful and good. It is even a kind of joy to know each others troubles and to bear each others faults. They find comfort and hope and strength in their mutual affections. Their very trials bring them closer. They learn to suppress self, to think how they can do and be the very best for each other. That is the ideal, and in many marriages it is realized.
3. Marriage in this ideal sense is used in the New Testament as a symbol of Christ and His relation to the Church. While St. Paul is dictating these wonderful words in the Epistle to the Ephesians which declare the mysterious unity of life that marriage creates, I think, says Dr. Dale, I see a look of dreamy abstraction come over his face, showing that his thoughts have passed from earthly to heavenly things. He is in the presence of the transcendent unity between Christ and His redeemed. He is thinking of how Christ forsook all things that He might make us for ever one with Himself, that our earthly life might become His, His heavenly life ours. Forgetting for the moment that he was writing about marriage, he exclaims, The mystery, the secret of the unity of Christ and His people, the Divine purpose which from all ages had been hid in God, but was now revealed. The mystery is great. This is the groundwork of earthly marriage. This is the background from which its light and lifting come. This is what redeems it, and purifies it, and exalts it. It is meant to lead up to, and lose itself in, and be fulfilled by, the Divine eternal life of Christ. It is an image, a shadow, a symbol, of that.
The spiritual union of Christ and His Church, though it is perfect in the Divine intention from the first, is in fact only consummated at the point where the Church is freed from the imperfection of sin and has become the stainless counterpart of Christ Himself. The love of Christthe removal of obstacles to His love by atoning sacrificethe act of spiritual purificationthe gradual sanctificationthe consummated union in glory: these are the moments of the Divine process of redemption, viewed from the side of Christ, which St. Paul specifies.1 [Note: C. Gore, St. Pauls Epistle to the Ephesians, 219.]
Let faith ring these bells of heaven for our joy. Married to Christ. Himself the measure of our responsibilities; Himself the fulness of our capabilities; Himself the possessor of our hearts affections; Himself the security of our hopes; Himself the well-spring of our fruitfulness; Himself the law of our hearts, our glory, and our crown. Blessed are they that are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.2 [Note: Marcus Rainsford, Lectures on Romans vii., 28.]
4. And now we are able to understand what is meant by the marriage of the Lamb. It is the final and perfect blending in one unity of the life of Christ and His people. Just as in an earthly union the two become one flesh, so with the great spiritual union Christ and His redeemed are brought together. They are brought together not in place, but in character. They are brought together completely. The Divine and the human cease to be divided. They are blended into one.
God from all eternity purposed to bring man into this deep union with Himself. A note of it sounds all down revelation. His people are betrothed to Him. They are, as we say, engaged, but the engagement has never issued in marriage. What has hindered? Sin. It is sin that has blinded love, that has obscured the true nature of the Bridegroom, and hindered the heart from full acceptance. But a time draws on when that unity of God and man whose reality Christ demonstrated will be accomplished in all His people. Now the engagement is postponed, or weakened, or broken off here and there. But a day is coming when that will all end; when the eyes shall be opened to see the true Bridegroom, the King in His beauty; when the perfected, completed union of Christ and His people, in will, in heart, in love, in life, shall be consummated, and God shall be all in all. That is the marriage of the Lamb.
As in the old story, the prince who wooed and won his bride in the disguise of a beggar, brought her to the capital city and the kings palace, took leave of her on some pretext, and caused her to be led all shrinking and solitary into the chamber. When she looked she saw on the throne her lover, her husband, and all fear fled. So the Bride, the Lambs wife, wooed and won by Him, being found in fashion as a servant, lifts up her eyes and sees on the throne the old face she has learned to love, and is very glad and confident. Her love is made perfect, she has boldness in the day of judgment, and goes to dwell with love for evermore.1 [Note: W. R. Nicoll, The Lamb of God, 96.]
In the future world, as compared with this, we may suppose the presence of God will be as in our material world is the bright sunshine compared with the dim twilight. The sun, the more bright, and glorious, and gladdening, and life-elevating it is, is not necessarily on that account the only thing to be looked at and thought of; it is seen in the light it gives, and thought of for the delight which it gives. So even in another world may it be with God; the clearer we see Him, the better and the more rightly may we see and know all besides Him, all His creatures, and all that He had made. We have no reason to think that our fellow-beings will be less interesting to us, or less cared for by us, there than here. It is the nearer presence and the clearer view of Him which will be the source of the truer understanding of, and better sympathy with, them.1 [Note: G. Grote, in The Contemporary Review, xviii. 139.]
II
The Feast
1. The language of Scripture referring to this great wedding feast is mystical, intensely spiritual, and offers nothing to gratify our curiosity, our love of literal detail. But is it not enough that this is revealed? It is the marriage supper of the Lamb. The Lamb is all the glory of Immanuels Land. Intimate, blessed communion is assured to all that Christ gathers around Him. Soul-satisfying fellowship with Father, Son, and Spirit. Perfect satisfaction of all our noblest, loftiest aspirations. As for me, I shall behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness. To take part in such a celebration is to enter into fellowship with all blessed and redeemed spirits; with all that has been gracious, and pure, and noble, in the generations of earth, and in the worlds that have never known sin.
The marriage feast has a definitely ritual aspect, since, by eating together, bride and bridegroom, as well as their respective relatives and friends (or in some cases these alone), are bound together, or the feast is an outward expression of this union. [The Roman rite of confarreatio and similar rites elsewhere, though not of the nature of a feast, express even more clearly the same idea of union.] In some instances the feast is almost the chief or the only rite of marriage; but in any case it has a ritual aspect, though this tends to disappear in more advanced societies, where the feast is little more than an occasion of merry-making, expressing, however, mutual friendliness. Among the Greeks the wedding feast () took place after the procession to the bridegrooms house, and it formed one of the most important parts of the proceedings, as there was no civil or religious ceremony. Women as well as men took part in it, though the women sat at a separate table. Among the Romans, after the bride arrived at the bridegrooms house, he gave a feast to the guests, the coena nuptialis, and sometimes a second feast, the repotia, on the following day. Although the Jewish contract of marriage is a purely civil one, in the sense that the presence of a Rabbi and its ratification in a synagogue are unessential, yet the occasion is one of profoundly religious import. Marriage being a Divine ordinance, wedding festivities must in the nature of things also bear a decidedly religious character.1 [Note: Encyclopdia of Religion and Ethics, v. 802, 803, 807.]
2. We dare not say that the feast is a promise that our Lord will love us more than He loves us now, but He will indulge His love for us more; He will manifest it more, we shall see more of it; we shall understand it better; it will appear to us as though He loved us more. He will lay open His whole heart and soul to us, with all its feelings, and secrets, and purposes, and allow us to know them, as far at least as we can understand them, and it will conduce to our happiness to know them. The love of this hour will be the perfection of love. This marriage-feast will be the feast, the triumph, of lovethe exalted Saviour showing to the whole universe that He loves us to the utmost bound love can go, and we loving Him with a fervour, a gratitude, an adoration, a delight, that are new even in heaven.
I may think shame to take heaven, who have so highly provoked my Lord Jesus: But seeing Christs love will shame me, I am content to be ashamed. My desire is that my Lord would give me broader and deeper thoughts, to feed myself with wondering at His love; I would I could weigh it, but I have no balance for it. When I have worn my tongue to the stump in praising of Christ, I have done nothing to Him; I must let Him alone, for my withered arms will not go about His high, wide, long, and broad love. What remaineth then, but that my debt to the love of Christ lie unpaid for all eternity?2 [Note: Letters of Samuel Rutherford (ed. 1894), 257.]
3. When we think of this marriage supper of the Lamb, we cannot but return to that supper in the upper chamber of Jerusalem which occupies so strikingly similar a position in the life of Jesus. There Jesus said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is for you; This cup is the new covenant in my blood. That was a feast in which He gave Himself to be for ever the nourishment of His Church. And, in like manner, in the marriage supper of the Lamb, the Lord, who became dead and is alive for evermore, is not only the Bridegroom but also the substance of the feast. In Him and by Him His people lived on earth; in Him and by Him they live for ever.
The Lords Supper is something more than a sign, a picture setting forth certain facts and truths so that everyone may see them. It is also a seal, a personal pledge and token of understanding between Christ and the Christian heart. It is a particular stamp and plain handmark set down on the offer of Jesus in the Word. As a seal it has, no doubt, also a public side. The seal may be worn as a ring on the finger (in the East, on the arm) as well as against the heart (Son 8:6), telling everyone that the wearer has received it. Coming to the Lords Supper is a badge and profession of following Christ, as truly as wearing scarlet is a badge of being in the Queens service. Anyone who cares to look can see the red mark on the letter of invitation which you carry in your hand as you go to the Table. But the seal has a private and secret side. Anyone may see the seal on the letter: no one may break it and tell the contents but the receiver; anyone may see the ring on your finger, but none but the wearer can say what attachment it conveys, or whether there is any attachment conveyed at all.1 [Note: R. W. Barbour, Thoughts, 65.]
III
The Guests
1. Who are they which are bidden to the marriage supper of the Lamb? As we raise the question we are reminded of the mysterious doctrine of election, and of the distinction which Jesus Himself made: Many are called, but few are chosen. And we tremble as we think how Jesus warned His hearers of the scrutiny to which all are subjected.
But let us remember for our comfort that marvellous parable of grace which tells of the householder who, when they that were first bidden to his feast treated with indifference and insult the invitation of their friend, sent forth his servants to the streets and lanes of the city, and then to the highways and hedges, to compel the very vagrants and beggars to come in that the wedding feast might be furnished with guests. Jesus compared the Kingdom of Heaven to that generous host and his generous, over-flowing hospitality.
The invitation, when despised by those to whom it was originally addressed, was conveyed to those who could least of all anticipate any such communication. The class of outcasts described in the Parable of the Great Supper is recognizable at all times. They are those who seem to be beyond help and hopethe maimed, the blind, the vagrant, the destitute, the criminal. Such descriptions are self-interpreting. Whoever finds himself in a wretched and abandoned condition is taught here that God invites him to His table. He who cannot discover in his condition one hopeful symptom; he who is crushed and defeated; he who has been maimed in the service of sin, and has laid himself down by the hedgeside, to let the busy stream of life run past without noticing him; he who is utterly weary and heart-broken, and knows not how he can ever be restored to virtuous and serviceable livingto him comes Gods invitation to the utmost of His bounty. The servants were sent to invite promiscuously every one they found; bold sinners in the streets, secret and shamefaced sinners in the lanes, proud sinners in the highways, and woebegone sinners by the hedges; wherever they found a man, wherever human life yet stirred the mass of filthy rags, that they were to bring to the feast. Such persons were to be compelled to come in. The servants were not to let them away to dress themselves under promise of coming in an hour. They were to bring them. And if the lame gave as an excuse that they could not go, or if the blind said they would have been glad to go had they been able to find their way, the servant was to become eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame; he was not to think he had cleared his conscience by giving them the invitation, but was to see them inside the guest-chamber. Such is the freedom and such the urgency of the Gospel of Christ.1 [Note: Marcus Dods, The Parables of Our Lord, ii. 101.]
One of the greatest of French preachersMassillon, to withas a marvellous sermon entitled, On the Small Number of the Elect; but, in spite of much that is solemn and true in the discourse, I cannot agree with the sentiment implied in its title. Hitherto, indeed, in the world the Church of Christ has been in the minority; but when the supper of the Lamb shall be celebrated above, it shall not be so. The saved shall vastly, and many times over, outnumber the lost, and the house of God shall be filled. Whether we be saved or lost shall make little difference, so far as the furnishing of heaven with guests is concerned; but it will make an awful difference to us. We shall not be missed, amid the numbers without number that people heaven, but oh, how much we shall miss! Gods purpose shall be accomplished, whether we accept the invitation of the gospel or not. If we accept His grace, it shall be accomplished in our salvation; but if we ignore His invitation, it shall be accomplished in our everlasting exclusion from the feast.1 [Note: W. M. Taylor, The Parables of Our Saviour, 303.]
2. To the question, Who will be at the wedding feast? the whole Bible is an answer. Everyone who accepts the invitation. All mankind is invited. The invitation is as wide as the human race. No man will be left out in the darkness because he did not receive an invitation. Many times at wedding feasts in this world there are jealousies and heart-burnings because only a limited number can be invited. But there will not be in all the universe one soul that can say: I was shut out into the outer darkness because I never received an invitation to attend the marriage feast of Jesus Christ. If anyone asks, Who will be shut out from the feast? the answer is just as plain and simple. Only those who refuse the invitation. It is impossible that they should be there. That they are not there is not Gods fault. He does everything that He can do to bring them there. It can be the fault only of the man or woman who refuses the invitation to come. It is not the arbitrary decree of God that a man who will not accept Christ, who refuses His friendship and His mercy here on earth, shall not enjoy the pleasure of heaven. It is simply that in the very nature of things he cannot.
Blessed are they which are called unto the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. This beatitude is specially vouched for as a true saying of God, and baptized Christians have received the call; yet so long as mortal life endures each soul must use all diligence to secure the blessing, probation rendering every promise contingent. The two Divine Parables of the Great Supper and the Marriage of the Kings Son warn us that the call of grace condemns whom it does not save.2 [Note: Christina G. Rossetti, The Face of the Deep, 439.]
There are two different invitations to the marriage supper of the Lamb. One is to be issued from the throne of judgment; and the date will be the last day. The other is issued from the throne of grace; and the date is to-day. It is the former of these that the Apostle specially refers to in the text,when Jesus, after the transactions of that grand assize are over, will turn round to those on His right hand, and say, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: come away with Me to the marriage supper of the Lamb. This invitation will be addressed only to the people of God, the saved. The other invitation is addressed to all men, and the date isnow. The command of the King to His servants as they go to invite the guests is, As many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. Shall we not all gladly welcome and eagerly accept the invitation to-day? And shall we not make it the one great object of our desire, the one grand effort of our life, that we may form part of that glorious and blessed company?1 [Note: J. Kelman, Redeeming Judgment, 194.]
From the dust of the weary highway,
From the smart of sorrows rod,
Into the royal presence,
They are bidden as guests of God.
The veil from their eyes is taken;
Sweet mysteries they are shown.
Their doubts and fears are over,
For they know as they are known.
For them there should be rejoicing
And festival array,
As for the bride in her beauty,
Whom love hath taken away
Sweet hours of peaceful waiting
Till the path that we have trod
Shall end at the Fathers gateway,
And we are the guests of God.2 [Note: Mary Frances Butts.]
3. Whilst the scope of the invitation to the marriage supper may be wide, the context makes it clear that Christ must not only be on us as a robe, but also be in us as a life, if we are to have the hope of glory. To say this in no way interferes with our completeness in the Beloved alone, or with the fact that not by works of righteousness that we have done, but by grace, are we saved through faith, and that not of ourselves; it is the gift of God. All our salvation is of Christ, but the change upon us must be internal as well as external. The idea suggested in the verse following the text, that the raiment in which the ransomed saints shall appear at the marriage supper of the Lamb will have been woven out of the deeds done in the body, imparts a new and quite transcendent value to our earthly life. It sets the vanishing present in causal relation to the eternal future, and stamps the homely duties of our common days with an incalculable worth. Although God may be said to clothe the soul in fitting raiment for the marriage supper of the Lamb, He certainly does not do so mechanically from without, but vitally from within. Character must ever be the determining factor of destiny. That character we are weaving now, and it will be the garment of the soul through its eternal years. The possibility of a wedding garment has been placed within easy reach of all by the royal grace of the King. That possibility lies in the acceptance of His will as the rule of our life. Immediately upon its acceptance that will becomes within us the force of a new life-principle, conforming us to the mind of God, and forthwith assimilating to itself a body after its kind. Behind this veil of flesh sits this mysterious principle, throwing its invisible shuttles, and investing the soul with the garments in which it must finally stand in the bridal-hall of the King.
What the guest wanted who lacked the wedding garment was righteousness, both in its root of faith and its flower of charity. He had not, according to the pregnant image of St. Paul, here peculiarly appropriate, put on Christ;in which putting on of Christ both faith and charity are included,faith as the investing power, charity or holiness as the invested robe. By faith we recognize a righteousness out of and above us, and which yet is akin to us, and wherewith our spirits can be clothed; which righteousness is in Christ, who is therefore the Lord our Righteousness. And this righteousness by the appropriate and assimilative power of faith we also make our own; we are clothed upon with it, so that it becomes, in that singularly expressive term, our habit,the righteousness imputed has become also a righteousness infused, and is in us charity or holiness, or more accurately still, constitutes the complex of all Christian graces as they abide in the man, and show themselves in his life. We may affirm of the wedding garment that it is righteousness in its largest sense, the whole adornment of the new and spiritual man; including the faith without which it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6), and the holiness without which no man shall see Him (Heb 12:14), or shall, like this guest, only see Him to perish at His presence. It is at once the faith which is the root of all graces, the mother of all virtues, and likewise those graces and virtues themselves.1 [Note: R. C. Trench, Notes on the Parables of Our Lord, 241.]
In June, G. F. Watts wrote asking him to lunch any day at Little Holland House. He knew nothing of the work Shields was commencing, but said: I should like to have an occasional chat about serious art. I wish you would kindly send me a line and tell me the correct colours for the draperies of Faith. I know you are an authority. To which Shields replied: For answer to your question and compliment, I am no authority. I know none on the subject but the Authority of the Word revealed. Paul declares Faith is Gods gift. She is Heaven-born. She is the assurance of Heavenly things to mortals shut in by sensuous things, therefore the skies hue is hers, her mantle and her wings: and for her robe, whiteunspotted. And this because they who seek righteousness by works fail of that which only Faith gives. The fine linen of the Saints symbolizes their righteousness in the Apocalypse, and it is said that their robes were made white in the blood of the Lamb. If I seek where alone I look to find, this is what is given me, and it is the best I can offer in response to your question. I bow to tradition only where it agrees with the written word.1 [Note: The Life and Letters of Frederic Shields, 309.]
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
Literature
Alexander (S. A.), The Saints Appeal, 1.
Banks (L. A.), John and his Friends, 273.
Gibson (E. C. S.), The Revelation of St. John the Divine, 217.
Gordon (A. J.), Ecce Venit, 249.
Howard (H.), The Raiment of the Soul, 1.
Kelman (J.), Redeeming Judgment, 182.
Maurice (F. D.), The Apocalypse, 365.
Milligan (W.), The Book of Revelation (Expositors Bible), 321.
Milligan (W.), in Popular Commentary on the New Testament, iv. 478.
Moberly (G.), Plain Sermons, 292.
Nicoll (W. R.), The Lamb of God, 91.
Rossetti (C. G.), The Face of the Deep, 437.
Smith (J. D.), The Brides of Scripture, 132.
Spurgeon (C. H.), My Sermon Notes: Romans to Revelation, 395.
Strange (C.), Instructions on the Revelation, 270.
Vaughan (J.), Sermons (Brighton Pulpit), i. (1860), No. 264.
Waddell (R.), Behold the Lamb of God! 261.
Christian World Pulpit, lxiv. 59 (A. J. Mason); lxxxiii. 237 (H. H. Currie).
Church of England Magazine, liii. 256 (R. Thursfield); liv. 256 (T. Preston).
Church of England Pulpit, lvi. 122 (A. J. Mason).
Fuente: The Great Texts of the Bible
Write: Rev 1:19, Rev 2:1, Rev 2:8, Rev 2:12, Rev 2:18, Rev 3:1, Rev 3:7, Rev 3:14, Rev 10:4, Rev 14:13, Isa 8:1, Hab 2:2
Blessed: Rev 19:7, Rev 19:8, Rev 3:20, Mat 22:2-4, Luk 14:15, Luk 14:16
These: Rev 19:11, Rev 21:5, Rev 22:6, 1Ti 1:15, 1Ti 4:9, 2Ti 2:11, Tit 3:8
Reciprocal: Gen 29:22 – and made Jdg 14:10 – made there Est 2:18 – made a great Isa 25:6 – make Dan 8:17 – I was Dan 10:1 – and the Zec 1:9 – the angel Mat 5:3 – Blessed Mat 9:15 – Can Luk 22:16 – until Luk 22:30 – eat Joh 1:29 – Behold Act 2:39 – as many Rom 8:30 – Moreover Rom 9:24 – whom Rev 1:11 – What
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Rev 19:9. This will be one marriage and accompanying “refreshments” at which there will be no human guests but the bride. Hence the blessing pronounced on those who are called to the supper, means in reality the people should become a part of the espoused bride by becoming Christians. Before going further in the comments it will be well to make some explanatory remarks as to the “hour of the ceremony.” Verse 7 says the marriage is come, when we know we will find that the work of the Reformation is to be gone over again by the vision. There will be no difficulty if the reader recalls that the book has more than once departed from the chronological order of events to take up some other period of the Christian Dispensation. Hence these preceding verses brought us down to the last day and announced the final marriage of Christ to his bride (the church). The vision will now take up some principles of a general character, then bring us again to the work just preceding the Reformation.
Comments by Foy E. Wallace
Verse 9.
The angelic admonition in verse nine for John to write was addressed personally to him, by the voice from the throne, not by an angel, and indicated the distinguished honor of being’ the recipient of the revelation of these things of such tremendous significance.
Having unfolded the visions in two parts, the closing scene of the second part put the emphasis on the state of blessed union with Christ of all who had overcome the trials and tribulations attending the fall of the harlot Babylon. Angels could have no higher or holier relation. The epilogue, these are the true sayings of God, meant that they were not mere words of John in visional narration, or of the angels; but they were the very words of God to the Seer; the directly inspired words of God.
In this connection it was twice repeated that, He saith unto me. The equivalent of these words occurs several hundred times in the Old Testament, and is repeatedly affirmed in the New Testament. The positive affirmation of this verbal inspiration is affirmed throughout all the scriptures; but has been marred and mutilated by the sacrilegious pseudo-translations of the perverted new versions. They have been advertised as new translations, but they are in fact no translations. They ruin Revelation as they do all other portions of the verbally inspired word of God.
The words of the angel had impressed John as a message direct from God; and verse ten stated that he fell at his feet to worship him. In bodily prostration John was about to worship the angel. But the angel refused the homage, saying, See thou do it not: I am a fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God. This testimony of Jesus had reference to the message of Revelation; and being a fellow servant with thy brethren was an expression of humility as expressed by John himself in Rev 1:9.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rev 19:9. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they that are bidden unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. We are not distinctly informed who the person here spoken of is; but, inasmuch as we seem to be still dealing with the strong angel of chap. Rev 18:21, we are probably to think of him. Alter the marriage comes the marriage supper, the fulness of blessing to be enjoyed by the redeemed. It may be a question whether we are to distinguish between the bride herself and those who appear rather to be spoken of as guests at the marriage supper. But the analogy of Scripture, and especially of such passages as Mat 22:2; Mat 26:29, leads to the conclusion that no such distinction can be drawn. Those who are faithful in the Lord are at once the Lambs bride, and the Lambs guests. Any difficulty of interpretation arises simply from the difficulty, so often met with, of representing under one figure the varied relations between the Lord and His people. By the Lambs wife, too, we must surely understand the whole believing Church, and not any separate section of it distinguished from, and more highly favoured than, the rest. As there is one Bridegroom so there is one bride. If, therefore, according to the opinion of many, we are dealing here with the 144,000 of chap. 14, an additional proof will be afforded that in that mystical number the whole company of believers was included.
And he said unto me, These are the true words of God. The word These refers, not to all that has been revealed since chap. Rev 17:1, but to the last revelations made; and they are true, expressive of the great realities now taking place.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Blessed are they which are called to the marriage-supper of the Lamb; that is, (say they, who understand, by the marriage of the Lamb, the conversion of the Jews,) who shall live in the happy time, when the Jews being converted shall with the Gentiles make up one glorious gospel church. But the marriage is one thing, and the marriage-supper another; the marriage-supper follows the marriage; so that the kingdom of glory rather seems here intended: blessed are they which are called to it, being made meet and prepared for it, by grace here, and glory hereafter: we must be made meet for heaven before we can be admitted into heaven. Blessed are they which are called to the marriage-supper of the Lamb.
Observe next, That St. John being overjoyed at the good news of his countrymen’s (the Jews’) conversion, fell down at the angel’s feet to worship him, as Cornelius did at St. Peter’s, when he heard of the conversion of the Gentiles, And I fell at his feet to worship him. Act 10:25. The holiest and best of saints are not wholly free from passionate infirmities: he would now have worshipped this angel, yet we read not of any attempt made to worship any of the former angels which conversed with him. This makes it probable that he apprehended it to be an uncreated angel, even the Son of God, which now talked with him.
Observe next, With what indignation this holy angel rejected the offer of religious adoration, and how peremptorily he forbids it: Ora mey By no means, upon no terms do it, See thou do it not.
The church of Rome asks us, Why we reprove them for worshipping the angels, when St. John himself did it? Our answer is ready, That St. John himself was reproved for it: the angel rejected it as none of his due.
O the presumption of those men, who dare do that which the angel expressly forbids to be done! Yet, after all, Bellarmine says, That St. John did well to worship the angel; then, say we, the angel did ill to reprove St. John; but whether we shall believe a cardinal at Rome, or an angel of God, judge ye.
Observe lastly, The reasons assigned by the angel who forbade it.
1. Because God, and God alone, is the sole and proper object of religious worship: Worship thou God.
2. Because the angel was St. John’s equal in office, though not in nature: I am thy fellow-servant.
As if he had said, “Those who serve and worship God together with you, must not be worshipped by you: those who are fellow-servants to one master, should not give to one another that worship which is only due to their Lord and Master. But we are fellow-servants; how doth that appear? Thus: you have the testimony of Jesus, and I have the spirit of prophecy.
Now the spirit of prophecy, and the work of the ministry in testifying of Jesus, being of the same nature and kind of service, therefore from those that are employed in one of them, religious worship is not due to the other. It is Christ that employs us both, and therefore he alone is to be worshipped, and neither I nor thou: Worship God, to whom religious worship is justly and peculiarly due.”
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Those “called” would be those who accepted the call since the gospel is for all. ( Rom 1:16 ; Mat 11:28-30 )
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Rev 19:9-10. And he (the angel) saith unto me, Write Record this as an important truth, in which all that read this book in future ages will be greatly concerned; Blessed , happy; are they which are called unto the marriage-supper of the Lamb Who shall be living at this time, and shall obey the invitation to this marriage-feast, and partake of all the privileges and blessings belonging to it. And he saith unto me, after a little pause, These are the true sayings of God They are to be regarded by thee, and all that read them, as declarations infallibly true, and infinitely momentous. And While he was speaking to me in this kind and condescending manner, being overawed by his majestic appearance, and in such a rapture and ecstasy at these discoveries that I knew not, or did not consider, what I did; I fell at his feet Prostrated myself before him; to worship him Or to do him homage, as though I had owed all these discoveries to him. And he said, See thou do it not Greek, , See not, with a beautiful abruptness. It does not appear that St. John intended to pay religious worship to this angel; for he could not but know that he was only a creature, and that religiously to worship any creature, however exalted, would be flat idolatry. He seems only to have intended such civil respect and reverence as the Asiatics were wont to pay to superiors, and especially to persons in high rank; which indeed is frequently all that is meant by the word , here rendered to worship. Thus Ruth complimented Boaz with this kind of honour, when she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, Rth 2:10. Thus Abigail also showed her respect for David: she fell before him on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, 1Sa 25:23. Indeed, the reason for which the angel forbids this high act of respect, seems to intimate that he did not understand it as an act of religious honour, for he mentions nothing concerning the sin or danger of idolatry, as implied in it: he only shows that it was improper the apostle should pay such respect to him, which he does, not by showing that it was unlawful to give such respect to any created being whatsoever, but because he was only a fellow-servant with the apostle, and a servant of his brethren, that had the testimony of Jesus. As if he had said, I am now employed as your fellow-servant, to testify of the Lord Jesus by the same Spirit which inspired the prophets of old. Worship God Pay thine homage, in such expressions of it, to God alone, to whom alone thou owest these revelations. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy That is, the spirit of prophecy serves, in a glorious manner, to confirm Jesuss divine mission, to all that know and duly observe the circumstances of it; and that which I now reveal to thee makes a considerable article of the proof: or, this ability of foretelling things to come is an argument or evidence of Christs speaking in and by me, as he does by thee.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Verse 9
Called unto the marriage supper; called to share in the rejoicing.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
19:9 {10} 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) Namely the angel, as it appears by the next verse.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The person who now spoke to John appears to be the same angel who had been guiding him thorough the revelation concerning Babylon (cf. Rev 17:1; Rev 17:15). He instructed John to write again (cf. Rev 1:11; Rev 1:19; Rev 14:13; Rev 21:5), this time another beatitude (cf. Rev 14:3). This blessing gives Tribulation saints an additional motivation to remain faithful. Those invited to the Lamb’s marriage supper include His friends as well as the bride (cf. Rev 3:20). This implies the presence of other believers besides church saints at this celebration. Those invited to the supper will include the bride and other believers who are not members of the church. These other believers would be Tribulation martyrs and believers who will live through the Tribulation and enter the Millennium alive (cf. Rev 12:13-17; Rev 20:4-5; Mat 22:11-14; Mat 25:1-13). They may also include Old Testament saints who will experience resurrection at the beginning of the Millennium (cf. Isa 26:19; Dan 12:2).
The angel concluded with the final sentence, "These are true words of God" (cf. Rev 22:6; Rev 22:8-9). He could have been referring to what we read in the first part of this verse. [Note: Hughes, p. 201.] However since this statement concludes all that this angel had revealed since Rev 17:1, it seems better to take it as referring to all the intervening revelation. [Note: Düsterdieck, p. 454; Alford, 4:725.]