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.” 10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
The analogy of marriage can be pressed very considerably to give illumination to some of the deep things of spiritual life, and to emphasise the essential forward look of the Christian faith. For just as human marriage is one fulfilment of two lives in their human longings and aspirations, so this marriage is the fulfilment of our true destiny. God has set eternity in our hearts, and during this waiting time we pine -our hearts ache for a fullness that we never can find here on earth. It is this that Paul speaks of in Romans 8:23, 'we groan ... waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.' Hence the unbounded joy recorded in this chapter. It is the joy of fulfilment. But this is not all. An even richer and more exhilarating concept is that the consummation is both a fulfilment and a new beginning. For marriage is not only an end but a beginning also. It is the end of the longing and the waiting, and the preparation, but it is not the end of the story; it opens out into a richer and fuller experience, with unimagined joys and delights, enchantments, responsibilities and privileges. It is this that makes the Christian religion essentially an optimistic faith, for becoming a Christian is an engagement to be the Lord's, and the prospect is bright with hope and promise, and it is always true that the best is yet to be.