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Does Islam cause terrorism? Click here: /Apologeticshtml/Moral Equivalency Applied Islamic History 0409.htm
Is the Bible God’s Word? Click here: /Apologeticshtml/Is the Bible the Word of God.htm
Why does God Allow Evil? Click here: /Apologeticshtml/Why Does God Allow Evil 0908.htm
Is Christian teaching from ancient paganism? /Bookhtml/Paganism influence issue article Journal 013003.htm
Should God’s existence be proven? /Apologeticshtml/Should the Bible and God Be Proven Fideism vs WCG.htm
Does the Bible teach blind faith? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Gospel of John Theory of Knowledge.htm
Who Is the Bride of Christ and Who Are the Guests at the Wedding Supper?
Who
is the Bride of Christ? Who are the guests at the wedding supper? What does the Bible say about this? The Bride of Christ is the (true) church and
the guests at the wedding supper are faithful Christians.
The
bride of Christ is the church of God, which is composed of truly repentant and
faithful Christians. For example,
Revelation 19:6-8 reports rejoicing in heaven when God’s kingdom takes control
of the world: “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the
glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself
ready; it was granted to her to be clothed with fine linen, bright and
pure”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.” Hence, it should be no surprise that the
guests to the wedding supper are righteous Christians, as per Revelation 19:9,
the next verse: “Blessed are those who
are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” Those who wish to be saved respond to the command, “Come,” just
like the Bride does, in Revelation 22:17.
Notice also that the great city of God, the New Jerusalem, where
Christians will live forever with God the Father and the Son, is called the
bride of Christ in Revelation 21:9-10.
Paul in Eph. 5:23, 31-32 makes an analogy between a man married to a
woman and Christ and the church: “For
the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his
body, and is himself its Savior. . . . ‘For this reason a man shall leave his
father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one
flesh.’ This mystery is a profound one,
and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”
So
then, who are the guests to the wedding supper? Look carefully the parable that’s part of the Olivet Prophecy in
Matthew 25:1-13. The ten maidens or
virgins had to wait for the bridegroom to come. Symbolically, they represent the church while the groom is
Jesus. When He comes, five of the
maidens who were so lackadaisical spiritually missed out on marrying the
bridegroom, who is Jesus (verse 10).
Those Christians who were ready went into the marriage feast while the
others were shut out. Finally, consider
reading the parable in Matt. 22:1-14.
Note that the bad servants, who represent people who rejected Jesus as
Savior, choose not to go to the wedding feast.
Then one man chooses to go, but he doesn’t spiritually clean himself up,
which is symbolized by his not wearing the right clothes for a wedding, so he’s
thrown out. So it’s obvious that the
(proper) wedding guests are called and faithful Christians.
The
church is the bride of Christ and the wedding guests are faithful
Christians. May we be blessed to endure
until the end to be part of those groups!
Eric
Snow
Click here to access essays that
defend Christianity: /apologetics.html
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explain Christian teachings: /doctrinal.html
Click here to access notes for
sermonettes: /sermonettes.html
Why does God Allow Evil? Click
here: /Apologeticshtml/Why Does God
Allow Evil 0908.htm
May Christians work on Saturdays?
Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Protestant
Rhetoric vs Sabbath Refuted.htm
Should Christians obey the Old
Testament law? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Does the New
Covenant Abolish the OT Law.htm
Do you have an immortal soul?
Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Here and
Hereafter.htm
Does the ministry have authority?
Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Is There an
Ordained Ministry vs Edwards.html
Is the United States the Beast?
Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Are We the Beast
vs Collins.htm
Should you give 10% of your
income to your church? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Does the Argument
from Silence Abolish the Old Testament Law of Tithing 0205 Mokarow rebuttal.htm
Is Jesus God? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Is Jesus God.htm
Will there be a third
resurrection? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Will There Be a
Third Resurrection.htm
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