A MARRIAGE MADE IN HEAVEN

TEXT: REVELATION 19:1-9

Everyone who has a wedding is looking for one thing, “a married made in heaven”. However while your marriage might have been made in heaven, you still have to live your marriage here on earth. That in itself makes your marriage less than perfect.

Today we come to an event in heaven that will take place while the earth is at the midst of the great tribulation period. This marriage of the lamb will happen after the judgement seat of Christ (The BEMA SEAT). This event is commonly referred to as “THE MARRIAGE supper of the lamb”. It will be a time of great joy for all the redeemed people of God. Remember, for the church the end times shape up like this:

1. In the rapture will be caught up.
2. At the judgement seat of Christ, we will be cleaned up.
3. At the marriage supper of Christ, we will be cheered up.

Today let us discuss about “A marriage made in heaven”

My joy in preaching this sermon today is help those who are born again to understand that there are some blessed days ahead for the people of God (NI KWEMA MBELENI).

I also want those who are not saved to know that they need to be ready to meet the Lord. Jesus Christ is coming soon and He will take His people to heaven. He will take only His people! The rest will be left behind to endure the great tribulation and finally to face the fires of hell forever. Therefore, this morning let’s have a trip to heaven and see how marriages are made over there. Welcome:-

1. THE WEDDING IS PRECEEDED BY A CELEBRATION (REVELATION 19:1-6)

• Typically a wedding is followed by a celebration or reception
• The time before the wedding is usually filled with tremendous stress and many hours of preparation time.
• While it is a happy time for those involved it is anything but a time of celebration.
• In heaven things are different! It seems that heaven rejoices before and after the wedding.
• The cause of all these rejoicing is mentioned in verse 7(Rev 19:7).
• It seems the marriage of the Lord Jesus Christ is the catalyst for heavens anthems of praise.
• Those in heaven lift up their voice in four “Hallelujah’s “that fills the heaven with praise.
• Let us listen this morning and see why the heaven praises God!!

1. THE HALLELUJAH OF REDEMPTION (REV 19:1)

• Heaven praises the Lord for all He has done for them. The cross where I first saw light and the burden of my heart was rolled away!
• The blood which cleanses from sin.
• The empty tomb that Jesus rose from the dead never to die again.
• The love that saved wreck like me.
• They are praising God for salvation.
• They are praising God; they are in heaven and they have a reason to shout!!Hallelujah.
• Many years in wales, Britain, there lived a man by the name Billy Gray.
• Billy Gray was a shouter! Many people would rebuke him in his shouting in praising God so loudly and so often.
• Whenever they would try stopping him, the old Billy would respond by saying “I can’t help it! God has been so good to me! With every step I take I remember His glory! He said “I put my right foot down and it says “hallelujah”. I put my left foot down and it says “amen”. With that Billy Gray would match the street shouting hallelujah and amen.
• Billy Gray knew that the Lord deserved praise for the salvation He so freely gives!

1. THE HALLELUJAH OF RETRIBUTION(REV 19:2-3)

• The residence of heaven praises the lord for executing His judgment upon the lost, sinful and rebellious world!
• God is the final judge of the living and the dead.
• Heaven knows that His judgements are fair, right and perfect.
• Let everyone of us not forget we are serving a God who has already won the war with evil.
• God will judge your enemies for the evil they have done you.
• The fact that God will judge the evil and the evil doers with finality is enough for you to shout hallelujah.

1. THE HALLELUJAH FOR REALIZATION(REV 19:4-5)

• Please take time to look at the book of revelation to notice the 24 elders mentioned 6 times do the same thing over and over(4:10,5:8,5:14,7:11,11:16,19:4)
• They fall on their faces and worship the Lord.
• These 24 represent the redeemed of God of all time
• If you are truly saved, born again, these elders represent you.
• They praise and worship the Lord because in heaven they are finally free from the limitation of the flesh and they can now see God like He really is!!
• They are no longer afraid or ashamed to worship Him.
• They are willing, ready and able to fall down before the lamb of God and shout hallelujah

1. THE HALLELUJAH OF REGULATION(REV 19:6)

• They are praising God for His reign. At last God is honored exalted and worshipped by all His creation!
• There is coming a day when the Lord will have the glory and honor He deserves all the time.
• I don’t know about you, but I look forward to being in that number, when all the saints go matching in and when they stand around the throne and lift our “hallelujah” to the glory of God.
• Please take note of these two heavenly words, “Hallelujah” and “Amen.”
• The word “Amen” is a word signifying agreement with and approval of the word of God.
• When “Amen” appears at the beginning of a sentence it means “truly” Jesus used it many times “truly, truly I say to you”
• When “Amen” is spoken concerning the words uttered by another, it means “I agree” or “let it be”, so be it.
• “Amen” is the most known word in the world!
• The word “hallelujah” is a Hebrew word meaning “PRAISE THE LORD”
• It is used only one time in the New Testament and that is to give honor and glory to the lamb.
• Learn to use these heavenly words.
• To say “Amen” and Hallelujah is not fanatical it means you are heavenly!!
• This wedding of the Lamb of God is preceded by a celebration.

1. THE WEDDING IS PERFECTED BY A CONSUMMATION (REVELATION 19:7-8)

• This marriage made in heaven will be the consummation of some very important and powerful events.

1. A PLAN WILL BE CONSUMMATED (V.7)

• Notice the words “is come” this implies a sense of relief that along anticipated event has finally arrived.
• God’s plan for the ages is finally complete.
• Since man sinned in the garden of Eden, God has been working to bring man back into fellowship with him.
• This was accomplished when Jesus died on the cross for our sins.
• Now, all those who place their faith in Jesus Christ are saved by the grace of God and brought nigh unto Him!
• But although we are saved we are still not in the very presence of God in Heaven.
• On this day that will change!! Jesus will receive His bride unto himself.
• This will be the most special moment in all the history of creation. (John 14:1-6)
• Please, notice in this wedding the most important person will not be the bride but the groom!
• In marriages and weddings of this would the center of attention is the bride!
• We all stand for the bride as she makes her way down the aisle.
• In the wedding of Heaven, Jesus will be the center of attraction and attention. “hallelujah”

1. A PRESENTATION WILL BE CONSUMMATED (V.7-8)

• In oriental weddings there were three stages:- Betrothal stage, Presentation stage and the celebration stage.
• The Betrothal or engagement was a binding agreement, Betrothal couples were considered married, it could only be broken through a divorce process, even though the couple did not share the marriage bed or dwell together.
• The church is the bride of Christ and the church is in the midst of this betrothal period right now!
• We have been picked by our heavenly father are married to Jesus right now! We are just waiting to go to him.
• The presentation stage, the father of the groom would send the bridegroom and his friends to the bride’s home.
• They would get her and bring her back to the groom’s house
• The marriage would be consummated and the couple would begin their lives together. The celebration or festival stage, their friends and families would enter a time of celebration.

1. A PREPARATION WILL BE CONSUMMATED (REV. 19:7-8)

• His wife hath made herself ready
• We must live holy lives now, that we are betrothed through personal righteousness.
• Provided righteousness was given to us when we tasted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (II Cor. 5:21, Rom. 3:21-22). Our inner garments.
• Practical righteousness refers to how we conduct ourselves in the world, our outer garments.
• THIS WEDDING IS PUNCTUATED BY A CONTINUATION (REVELATION 19:9-20:3)
• This wedding does not end like ours with the couple coming together to live, it continues with celebration like nothing this universe has ever seen.

1. The guests at the wedding supper

• The old testament saints, the tribulation saints.

1. The glory of the wedding supper

• The celebration continues depending on the health of the bridegroom, 7days!!? No 1000year!! We will come back to this very earth, though renewed, we will reign with the Lord for the millennium, for 1000years, honeymoon!!

CONCLUSION

• After the 100years honeymoon, eternity together in the palaces of Heaven.
• My friends, are you ready for that wedding in the sky? A marriage made in Heaven!!
• Only the redeemed are invited.
• For those who are going consider how you are preparing for that day.
• What kind of garments will you be wearing when you stand at that royal wedding?
• The time to prepare is today!! The place to prepare is here!
• The person to prepare is yourself.
• Are you saved? If not, today is the day of salvation for you. Call upon the Name of Jesus Now!!