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<\/a>Revelation 19:11-16<\/b><\/h3>\nSt. John\u2019s Revelation forces me to consider the crucial, age-old question of how to act like a Colossus of Rhodes and straddle the river of living waters that flows from Holy Scripture.\u00a0 On the one side, I have to plant my foot into the 1st<\/sup> century Roman and Jewish world; on the other, I have to plant my foot in my own world in 21st<\/sup> century America.\u00a0 On the one side, I have to look with wonder and hope to the things that are yet to come; on the other, I must comprehend the wonderful things that Jesus Christ has accomplished and which are already here.\u00a0 Actually, I guess to do all of this I\u2019d need four feet to keep my balance (since there are 2 sides of 2 worlds), which would explain why I seem to fall off to one side too often, as if I\u2019ve got theological vertigo.<\/p>\n A long time ago I discovered a very useful way of understanding the all-encompassing work of Jesus Christ (and which therefore helps me to make some sense out of John\u2019s Apocalypse, which means \u201cRevelation.\u201d\u00a0 I also just learned a new cool synonym for \u201cApocalypse\u201d \u2013 \u201cdisambiguation\u201d!)\u00a0 We should think of the comprehensive work of Jesus Christ as happening initially<\/i>, progressively<\/i>, and finally<\/i>.\u00a0 I find that keeping all 3 aspects of His great work in mind keeps me out of a heap of trouble.\u00a0 Jesus Christ has saved us initially, progressively, and finally.\u00a0 There is a beginning to the work of His salvation in our lives, which we might associate with justification<\/i>; there is a progressive aspect of His salvation, sanctification<\/i>; and there is a final aspect of His salvation, which is our glorification<\/i>.<\/p>\n In the same way, we might understand John\u2019s Revelation in terms of the work that Jesus Christ initiated in His ministry that was accomplished from His Incarnation to His Session, the work that He continues to progressively work out through His Church in our lives, and the final consummation of His work at the end of all time.\u00a0 This trinity of time and trinity of Christ\u2019s work is clearly seen in the Lord\u2019s Supper.\u00a0 Historically, Jesus Christ initiated His Supper as a way of participating in His covenant with Him and through Him on Maundy Thursday, on the night in which He was betrayed.\u00a0 But this Marriage Feast of the Lamb to His Bride, the Church, is presently celebrated every Sunday in the Holy Communion, at which Jesus Christ and His Bride are truly present and truly united.\u00a0 But there is also a final consummation of this intimate and ecstatic union that will take place finally only at the end of time.<\/p>\n I find it helpful to keep all 3 aspects in mind when trying to disambiguate (I can\u2019t believe Microsoft Word didn\u2019t flag the word \u201cdisambiguate\u201d as something I needed to check!) John\u2019s Apocalypse.\u00a0 Speaking of the Marriage Feast of the Lamb, this is where our passage for today should have begun, if we really want to interpret it correctly.\u00a0 I believe that Jesus Christ has already judged the Great Harlot, is in the process of judging her, and will finally judge her at His Second Coming.\u00a0 Likewise, I believe that the Marriage Feast of the Lamb has already begun, that we are allowed to participate in it now, and that it will finally be consummated at the end of time.<\/p>\n What if, instead of worrying about the precise eschatological fulfillment of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, we worried about more faithfully and joyfully participating in it now?\u00a0 What if we, along with the angels and archangels and the 24 elders and the 4 living creatures, worshiped the God who sits on the throne, saying \u201cAmen!\u00a0 Hallelujah!\u201d (verse 5).\u00a0 What if we uproariously sang \u201cHallelujah!\u00a0 For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.\u00a0 Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready\u201d (verses 6-7)!<\/p>\n I believe that Jesus Christ has issued us a standing invitation to enter into His presence, into the heavenlies, and to gather around the Throne of Grace and into the glory cloud (where throughout the Bible we hear the sound of many waters and the sound of mighty peals of thunder) and come and worship the Lamb.\u00a0\u00a0 I believe that this invitation is an invitation to come to the Marriage Feast of the Lamb, and that we are invited not only as a guest but also as the Bride of Christ.\u00a0 And I believe that this Marriage Supper of the Lamb is the Lord\u2019s Supper, at which Jesus Christ offers Himself to His Wife, that we might once again come into intimate union with Him.<\/p>\n What if we really thought about our worship this way?\u00a0 What if we really believed that Jesus Christ in this life<\/i>, the next Lord\u2019s Day or the next time your church celebrates the Lord\u2019s Supper, is inviting you to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, at which all who faithfully partake are blessed (verse 9)?<\/p>\n The answer to this \u201cwhat if\u201d is that we would worship and live in a different way.\u00a0 We might even worship so boisterously that it would sound like the voice of a great multitude and the sound of many waters and of mighty peals of thunder.<\/p>\n One of the reasons I believe that Revelation, including Revelation 19, is about us, here and now, is that the clean, bright, fine linens the saints have been given to wear are their righteous acts.\u00a0 Of course, these righteous acts are the righteous acts of Jesus Christ, but they are given to us because He enables us to live in a holy manner.\u00a0 We are the ones who are to do good works, and these good works are the wedding garments we are to wear before we come to the Lord\u2019s Supper (see Matthew 22:11-12).<\/p>\n For this reason, I give a very somber and serious exhortation before the Holy Communion with Jesus Christ every week.\u00a0 And for this reason, the holiness of our lives here and now is extremely important to our worship.<\/p>\n Now when we worship this way, boisterously and ecstatically and in Spirit and Truth, amazing, miraculous things happen.\u00a0 First, they happen to us, as Jesus Christ gives Himself to us and we eat the Bread of Life, and the very Bread of Heaven.\u00a0 As we eat Jesus Christ, we become one with Him, and He dwells in us, and we in Him.\u00a0 And that has radical implications for our lives!<\/p>\n It appears to have radical consequences for the world, because it appears that it is in response to this Marriage Feast of the Lamb, the heavenly worship of which are even now participants (verses 1-10) that heaven is opened and the Son of Man goes forth to war in verses 11 and following.\u00a0 When we faithfully worship God and partake of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, heaven is most truly opened up for us, and like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, He is made known to us in the breaking of the bread.<\/p>\n It seems, as well, that somehow the Son of God makes war through us, having equipped us with His spiritual weapons (Ephesians 6), which I believe to be nothing less than Jesus Christ Himself.\u00a0 Through us, that is Jesus Christ incarnated in us as His Body, He shows forth His Word and rules here on earth.\u00a0 And through us, He makes known His manifold wisdom to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:10), where we are seated (a posture of ruling) with Christ (Ephesians 2:6), where we rule with Christ.\u00a0 Of course, one of the ways the Lord fights and subdues His enemies is by converting us!\u00a0 But once He subdues us, He gives us Himself, and we are clothed in white, and then, united to Him and given His weapons, we become His army in white (Revelation 19: 14).<\/p>\n All of which is to say that Revelation 19 is meant for us, and not just for the 1st<\/sup> century Asian churches and not just for the Church Triumphant and the Church Not Yet Born.<\/p>\n So startling are these things to me, even though I have known them, that I need a breather to properly digest them.\u00a0 Sometimes the God\u2019s daily bread gives me theological indigestion!<\/p>\n Prayer:\u00a0 Praise be to You, O Lord, because You reign over heaven and earth!\u00a0 Praise be to You because salvation and power and glory belong to You.\u00a0 Thanks be to You because You have invited us to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and have made us worthy partakers of His Body and Blood.\u00a0 Amen.\u00a0 <\/b><\/p>\n Point for Meditation:\u00a0 <\/b><\/p>\n Sing one (or both!) of the following hymns: \u201cThe Son of God Goes Forth to War\u201d or \u201cCome, Risen Lord,\u201d or some other suitable hymn for today\u2019s theme.\u00a0 <\/b><\/p>\n Resolution:\u00a0 I resolve to consider my worship before the Lord, especially my preparation for and participation in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.\u00a0 <\/b><\/p>\n \u00a9 2013 Fr. Charles Erlandson<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Revelation 19:11-16 St. John\u2019s Revelation forces me to consider the crucial, age-old question of how to act like a Colossus of Rhodes and straddle the river of living waters that flows from Holy Scripture.\u00a0 On the one side, I have to plant my foot into the 1st century Roman and Jewish world; on the other, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2856,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[154,265,266,268,301,320,4,622,907,1344,1508,1972,2336],"class_list":["post-3020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-give-us-this-day","tag-anglican","tag-bible-commentary","tag-bible-devotional","tag-bible-study","tag-book-of-common-prayer","tag-bread-of-life","tag-daily-devotional","tag-disambiguation","tag-glorification","tag-justification","tag-marriage-feast-of-the-lamb","tag-sanctification","tag-the-holy-communion"],"yoast_head":"\n