Wedding Supper

Wedding Supper of the Lamb	Created Date: 8-Oct-2019
An Invitation Celebration Dinner	Last updated: 30-Aug-2023
and the Bride of Christ
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Sections

1	Summary	2	Will There Be Those Who Are Saved but Not Invited?
3	Wrong Wedding Garment Being Cast Out	4	More On Matthew 7:20-23
5	Wedding Supper have Similar Points to Foolish Virgins?	6	Corroboration on the Greek on Outer Darkness
7	What occurs at the Wedding Supper?

Summary

The Wedding Supper of the Lamb is one of the joyous highlights mentioned in Revelation 19:7-10. It is part of the Rewards in Heaven.

As explained in several topics in "Biblical Thoughts - For God's Glory", such as the Judgment Seat of Christ's chronological events, the Wedding Supper of the Lamb occurs moments after the Tribulation Period ends and before the 1,000 Millennial Kingdom begins.

The Wedding Supper of the Lamb is an invitation only Ceremony and Festive Dinner that a subset of those who have Salvation often called Saints, from:

The Old Testament Period,
The New Testament Period, and
The Tribulation Period

where all present at the Supper will celebrate the Victory of God through Jesus Christ. Saints are those who are the over-comers of the evil world through the power of the Holy Spirit. Not everyone that goes to Heaven is an over-comer, explained shortly, where many are not permitted to attend the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.

Revelation 19:7–9

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.”

Bride of Christ

* Note that the Bride of the Lamb is described also as the New Jerusalem which houses the Saints, as an entire entity. The Church has always been described as an idiom, symbol or analogy to a bride. In Revelation 22:17, the Holy Spirit and the bride speak, where the idiom is complete to mean everyone is joined with Jesus Christ as a bride is to her husband. Many Biblical Scholars have stated a belief that the New Jerusalem is a living entity.

Revelation 21:1-2	1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ²And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Revelation 22:17	And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And he that heareth, let him say, Come. And he that is athirst, let him come: he that will, let him take the water of life freely.

All of us who are in Heaven, is because of the work of Jesus Christ, through His payment for the sins of a person which are forgiven when Jesus Christ is accepted as the person's Savior. Unfortunately, there will be some people who accomplished nothing for God in their lifetime. They are still absolutely loved by God but they will just not be part of the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.

The Wedding Supper is to celebrate the lives who accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, and then:

Developed a relationship with God and loving God more and more,
Did activities in God's Service,
Faithfulness to the guidance of the Holy Spirit
Righteously suffering, and
Overcoming sinful areas and obstacles in life through the Holy Spirit.

This list of five is an excerpt from Rewards in Heaven topic.

Will there be those who are Saved but not invited?

This is also an excerpt from Rewards in Heaven:

Many Biblical Scholars have point out that there are points to consider in the Scriptures that there will be many people, who have Salvation, but are not invited to the Wedding Supper of the Lamb. From the scriptural evidence, it appears that this is correct interpretation regarding the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.

The Rewards in Heaven are based on Service after receiving Salvation. Everyone that enters Heaven is absolutely ecstatic to be there but not everyone:

Inherits, and/or
Have the same privileges

because rewards were based on the five points listed above. Salvation is a free gift that we cannot earn less anyone boasts, Ephesians 2:7-9, but everything else is earned.

Ephesians 2:7-9

7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

One of the scriptural proofs is the Parable of the Wedding, that speaks about a man who is cast out, which many people always assume it meant the man did not have Salvation, where many Biblical Scholars are pointing out that it is not the case as explained in the next section of this topic.

Wrong Wedding Garment being Cast Out

In the "Parable of the Wedding" by a king for his son, spoken by Jesus Christ in Matthew 22, we learn that there was a wedding guest that came wearing his own wedding garment. There are two primary questions concerning this Parable:

Were all the guests that arrived Saved or everyone except for one?
Was the point of the Parable to let all of know that even if we are Saved, we may not be allowed to participate in some activities in heaven?

Matthew 22:10-13

10 And those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was filled with guests. 11 But when the king came in to behold the guests, he saw there a man who had not on a wedding-garment: 12 and he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding-garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and cast him out into the outer darkness; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.

There is more to the Parable besides versus 10 through 13. The point of these specific verses in the Parable, is they reflect:

The man was someone who thought he was in service to the King, because he was in the Kingdom, and accepted the invitation. The King represents God the Father.
This man came to the Son's wedding as a guest because he wanted to be there. The son represents Jesus Christ.

This man came to the wedding but did not have the appropriate wedding garment. The wedding represents the Wedding Supper of the Lamb. Notice in verse 10, that both good and bad guest were invited, where the man wanted to be there which means he accepted the invitation, which is just like everyone who has Salvation, by simply asking to have it. The man represents Christian people who most likely are:
(a) Have nothing to show for their life lived in God's service, faithfulness, love, suffering, and overcoming which is against the 3rd Commandment of being ambassadors for God..
(b) People who lived their life in Christian Arrogance and Ostentatiousness, such as possibly a Pastor who acts with self-righteousness because of the position in a Church, not being approachable and secretly feels like God is lucky to have himself serving as a Pastor.
The Wedding Garment reflects the righteousness of Jesus Christ, which the man did not take into full consideration of how he could be at the event, because the man had not been living as he should have been.

Revelation 19:8-9) 8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.) 9 Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”

The King called the man the word "Friend". This indicates the King sees this person as invited. The King did not call the man the word infiltrator or spy.
Note that earlier in the Parable, the servants went out to the Streets to find more guests, which are the Samaritans and Gentiles, as Israel was the first invited guests.
The listener of the Parable knew that it was the custom of that time for the host of a wedding to provide garments for the guests, so the message of the parable was clearly understood to relate to the need to come with God's righteousness that He provides and not our own. It is similar to the Epistle to the Laodiceans in the Book of Revelation, where the Christians believed they were good in God's eyes because they are Believers but have done nothing with their gift of Salvation as they were lukewarm.
The "outer darkness" in the Greek should be more accurately translated to "outside" or "the shadows". In other words, it should mean the lesser illumination and away from the light of the wedding festivities. The location of the wedding was the King's house, and for the listener at the time of Jesus Christ speaking the parable, would have been symbolized as the Jerusalem's Temple. When the Shekinah Glory of God was present in the Temple, which is the manifested presence of God, then the illumination of God prevented Ministerial duties in the Scriptural references. People in the Temple grounds could not get close or see into the brightness of the Shekinah Glory, so they had to stay away, in "the shadows". See the section below on corroboration of this interpretation in the Greek from Chuck Missler, along with many others who agree with correlation of the "outside" being away from the festivities and absolutely not in the Lake of Fire.
The man, who is in the Shadow of the Festivities, deeply wants to be there and is weeping and gnashing his teeth in anguish for the loss.

Summary Interpretation: There are many Biblical Scholars who have come to the conclusion that this Parable is teaching us that "Outer Darkness" is not the Lake of Fire. The Outer Darkness represents an exclusion from the Wedding Supper of the Lamb. The man, who was cast out, was a Believer who had accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior; but lacked or did actions that did not allow his participation in this one event. This man is suffering a loss of status and privilege that is emotionally devastating. This interpretation is not without controversy and it should not divide us. The point is we all need to understand that faithfulness, obedience and our relationship with Jesus Christ matters. Remember 1 Corinthians 3:14-15, listed above, "saved: yet as through fire."

In contrast to this view, there is the interpretation that this man, who was a guest, was not Saved. Some theologians will give Mathew 7:23 as evidence but other Biblical Scholars will point out that this section of scripture has nothing to do with the Parable. Notice in Matthew 7:23 that Jesus says "I never knew you". In Matthew 22:12, the King is saying hello friend which means he is known. Going back to Matthew 7:23, Jesus is not saying "I knew you at one time and then I didn't know you later." Additionally, the "friend" of Matthew 22:12 wanted to be at the wedding, where this author believes the preponderance of scriptures point to the unsaved person, before death, as never wanting to be in God's service so they would not have come to the wedding.

Matthew 7:20-23

20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

An additional insight on the "gnashing of teeth" to indicate it is referring to people who have Salvation but are not invited to the Wedding Supper of the Lamb is Matthew 24:45-51. The Matthew passage is dealing with the Rapture event, where the analogy given by Jesus Christ is discussing good servants compared to bad servants. The key is recognizing that the servants, are serving God, even the bad ones because of the reference of hypocrites that are caught unaware not serving the Master (God).

If the Master (God) chose a servant, then that means they are part of God's house (with Salvation) as God would not have servants in His House that do not have Salvation.
The analogy by Jesus Christ is using the term "servant" and not "slave". A slave would not have a choice in the matter. A servant has a choice and could leave which indicates the choice to be with the Master even if not serving faithfully.

Matthew 24:45-51

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Another corroboration of the interpretation that there will be some people who enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but will not sit at the Wedding Supper of the Lamb is found in Matthew 8:5-13. This passage is dealing with the faith of the Centurion who asks for help for his servant from Jesus Christ and receives a healing for the servant. Jesus Christ makes the remark in verse 11 and 12 about some people will be sitting down with the Old Testament Patriarchs and will be cast out into the "outer darkness", which is away from the festivities. The points are:

The people are identified as being in Heaven. A person who does not have Salvation, would not be anywhere in Heaven.
Jesus Christ does not describe the event of sitting down with Abraham and Isaac, but there is an indication that it is an event where all peoples from east and west shall come.
The identification of the people at the event absolutely have Salvation is the qualification that Jesus Christ makes as identifying them as "sons of the Kingdom" in verse 12.
The "gnashing of teeth" in verse 12 indicates loss, remorse and sorrow. A person, without Salvation, that is sent to the Lake of Fire will be in extreme suffering.

Matthew 8:5-13

The Faith of the Centurion to ask Jesus Christ for healing of his servant with Palsy.

5 And when he was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, 6 and saying, Lord, my servant lieth in the house sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. 7 And he saith unto him, I will come and heal him. 8 And the centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, having under myself soldiers: and I say to this one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.

10 And when Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 11 And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven: 12 but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast forth into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. 13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And the servant was healed in that hour.

More on Matthew 7:20-23

The main point of the verses in Matthew 7:20-23, is about those who were never in God the Father's service or accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. Those people who will be cast into the Lake of Fire, try to say they used Jesus Christ's name to do things but Jesus Christ informs them that He never knew them. It would be like someone who gave money to build a church and had their name listed as a donor, but this person did it for political reasons.

Recall in the Wedding Parable, the King called the man "friend". Matthew 7:20-23 does not contradict the interpretation that the Wedding guest is a Saved Believer who is suffering loss from not living a Christ centered life or believing in self-righteousness after obtaining Salvation, like the Laodiceans.

There is also the scripture reference of Christian hypocrites in Matthew 24:45-31. According to merriam-webster.com, a hypocrite is someone who

Puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion
Acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feeling

Matthew 24:45-51

Notice the points of the Matthew 24:45-31 passage:

Verse 45 is about a wise servant, which means the servant is God's Service.
Verse 46 and 47 is about the master, which is an idiom for God, finding His servant performing as required and getting rewarded.
Verse 48 through 51 is about the master finding His servant not performing, "a hypocrite", and suffering the consequences.
In order for a person to be identified as a servant means they were in the master's service. The entirety of the scriptures point to all people who have accepted God in the Old Testament as their God, and then Jesus Christ as their Messiah are servants along with many other adjectives.
Verse 51 identifies the consequences of being a hypocrite.

Wedding Supper have Similar points to the Foolish Virgins?

There are a few points of mutual warnings with the Wedding Supper and the parable of the Foolish Virgins Parable of Matthew 26:1-13, as Jesus Christ is teaching us about loss. The Foolish Virgins are experiencing a loss because they were not prepared for the wedding, when the groom arrived to take them from their parent's home. The wise virgins went with the groom and the foolish virgins were left behind. The Oil for the Lamps in the Foolish Virgins Parable is an idiom for the Holy Spirit, so many Biblical Scholars believe the foolish virgins represents those who had not accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.

The Foolish Virgins, are thought also to be similar to those who are in the Church of Thyatira, in the Book of Revelation, who are told they will go through the Great Tribulation unless they repent. It is the thought of most Biblical Scholars, and this author's opinion, that once anyone accepts Salvation then they will be Raptured before the Tribulation Period begins. Those in the Church of Thyatira are those who go to church and believe in God, but have not accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.

The warning, by Jesus Christ in the Foolish Virgins parable, is to give notice to everyone, who God knows will be Saved, to accept Salvation before the Tribulation period begins. God exists outside of all Time Domains where He knows who and when someone will accept Salvation, so Jesus is saying to do it now rather than later. The Foolish Virgins are like the people who were planning on accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior, while still being in a Christian Fellowship, but had not done so, but will. We all know of people going to Church for many years, who then participate in an Alter Calling to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, where we had no idea that they had not already done it.

Click on this link for more information on the Foolish Virgins Parable of Matthew 26:1-13.

Corroboration on the Greek on Outer Darkness

This excerpt is from the web link: https://www.khouse.org/articles/2009/882/print/ that is from Chuck Missler on the Greek explanation of the Matthew 22:13:

What occurs at the Wedding Supper?

The Wedding Supper Event's details are not given in the scriptures, but we can make some assumptions:

God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit are celebrating: the success of:
(a) The Crucifixion victory
(b) The victories in the moment by moment lives of those who have Salvation.
(c) The victories over the Satanic World.
Each and everyone of us who are at the Wedding Supper will have a personal conversation with God dealing with:
(a) The moment by moment involvement of God in our lives.
(b) Explaining to us why and how things happened that is to God's Glory and our understanding to love God more and more.
We will see, hear and understand many cherished explanations of God's involvement in all of those that are the Event, this will:
(a) Have us feeling the greatest love for God that is unimaginable for us at this time in our earthly lives.
(b) Joyfully laughing as we begin to understand how everything experienced in life that brought suffering and even death has given us rewards and brought us to an ever increasing love for God. The Satanic World attempts to make people who have Salvation to suffer and even death, will have the opposite effect.
All of us will be eating and drinking the most delicious foods and beverages together. Jesus Christ said that he would not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the day He does it with us in Heaven.

Matthew 26:29 I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

Exploring these assumptions gives this further importance to the knowledge that we are to be developing a relationship with God, through Jesus Christ, now so that we can have the Rewards in Heaven and also be at the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.

How can anyone, who has Salvation, be at the Wedding Supper of the Lamb, who did nothing that was worthy of having the celebration at the Event for Jesus Christ to share time with that person?
How can Jesus Christ be intimately involved in a person's life, if the person has not been intimately involvement with Jesus Christ?

Those who trust Jesus Christ will have Salvation, and we then should be desiring to develop a relationship with God through our Savior Jesus Christ.

What to read next?

What is Salvation? Is it is possible to lose Salvation? We have eternal life. Evolution is not real. When a Christian suffers is there benefits from it. Rewards in Heaven. Do we Tithe? What does the 3rd Commandment tell us? What is Grace and Mercy? Is there an Age of Accountability? Is there a place of unending punishment and exile form God?