Are you excited about the future “great supper of God”? Is your appetite growing for this glorious future meal? I hope not.
Revelation 19:17-18 (ESV) Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.”
No, what you ‘re looking forward to is the “marriage feast of the Lamb.”
Revelation 19:6-9 (ESV) Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. 7 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; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. 9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
Big difference.
By the way, I think the marriage supper lasts for about a thousand years or so. Get hungry.
Isaiah 25:6 (ESV) On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
Good times.
Mmm…I’m hungry already… Although the only way I will be able to eat dinner for 1,000 years is if the main course is hummus for the entire millennium…
Todd,
If, as you say, the marriage supper is in the millenium, and Isa 25:6 speaks of the as well, how is it that Isa 25:8 implies that during that time there will be no more death? We know that in the millenium there will be SOME death (e.g. Isa 65:20).
So, either (1) the marriage supper is not in the millenium, (2) Isa 25:6ff. does not relate to the marriage supper, or (3) Isa 25:8 suddenly talks about a different time period.
…or (4) I should stick to the book of Jeremiah. :-)
Benj – let’s start with the marriage supper of the Lamb, which is only described as such in Rev 19. When does it occur? Some dispensationalists believe that it occurs in heaven during the tribulation. But that’s not what Rev 19 says. You can make that leap, but I think it fits the passage better to understand Rev 19 to say, as the tribulation ends, that the marriage supper has come now that Jesus is returning to earth and starting his (millennial) kingdom.
Second, I did not quote Isa 25:6 as the “definition” of the marriage supper, but more as illustrative.
Third, the OT prophets were looking a long way down the corridor of time and, as we well know from Jesus’ first coming, they were not always able to distinguish between nearer and more distance events. That is clearly the case in Isaiah as well with the millennium and the eternal state. Take a look at Isa 65:17-25, where verses 17-19 is apparently talking about the eternal state, but verses 20-25 about the millennium. I also think this may lead us to think in terms of greater continuity between the millennium and the eternal state.
My professor thinks that the marriage supper of the Lamb includes both the millennium and the eternal state. I’m not sure that I agree.
meat and wine forever :) sounds good, hopefully some cheese too :)