Say Yes to the Dress

Revelation 19:6-9

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2019%3A6-9&version=NIV;MSG;AMP

  

Getting ready for your wedding can be very stressful. In our American culture, it normally falls to the bride and her mother to plan the event. Everything has to be perfect; the dresses, the reception, the music, and did I mention flowers.

 

At my wedding, the cut glass vase for the flowers couldn’t be found. As a result, the flower bouquet sat in the front of the church in a blue plastic beach pail. If there is one thing that you can count on at a wedding, it’s that something will go wrong.

 

If the bride is the focal point of a wedding, her dress is the spotlight. There’s even a reality TV show called Say Yes to the Dress. It’s all about picking the perfect dress at Kleinfeld Bridal in Manhattan, which will cost at least $1300 and possibly as much as $40,000. Perfection!

 

Even John focuses on the wedding dress of the bride.

The Marriage of the Lamb has come;
    his Wife has made herself ready.
She was given a bridal gown
    of bright and shining linen.
The linen is the righteousness of the saints.     MSG

 

Here, the bride is a metaphor for the church. In this picture, the bride is preparing herself; getting ready for the groom, which is Jesus. According to the Amplified Bible, “the fine linen signifies the righteous acts of the saints [the ethical conduct, personal integrity, moral courage, and godly character of believers]”.

 

In this verse she (the church) is given a gown of righteousness. That is to say, the righteousness that only Jesus, the King of Kings, can give us through his death and resurrection. Or as Paul wrote in Romans 13,”…clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

So go ahead, Say Yes to the Dress. I’m not referring to the perfect gown to shine on the bride, but to the gown of righteousness that makes it possible for us to come into the presence of the groom and say with the multitude, “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.”

 

 

 

The Shuot of Victory

Revelation 19:6-8

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2019%3A6-8&version=NIV;NASB;NLT

 

⁶ Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder…     NLT

 

This verse reminds me of a Buckeye game I went to years ago. The opposing team, which happened to be the team I was routing for, had marched the length of the field. There were only seconds left in the first half. A touchdown would give us the lead, and a decided edge going into the second half.

 

With the momentum and the ball, we were at the closed end of the Shoe. As my team came to the line of scrimmage, the crescendo of the crowd noise was deafening. The ball was snapped; a pass floated into the flat; and a Buckeye intercepted it and ran for a touchdown. That was the game. A shout rose from the stadium to celebrate the victory.

 

Another joyous occasion is a wedding. The bride, and oftentimes her mother, spend months in preparation for the momentous occasion. A dress must be picked; colors chosen; flowers ordered; a meal planned. The details of preparing for an event like this can become overwhelming at times.

 

But it’s all worth it on the day of the wedding, as people smile broadly at the bride as she walks down the aisle to the traditional music of the Bridal Chorus. Songs are sung, words are proclaimed, vows are taken, the bride and groom kiss and are presented as the new couple. The people rejoice.

 

The victorious shout of a vast crowd and the smiles and tears of a wedding, celebrate temporal events that dot our lives with joy and meaning. However, John is writing about something not temporal, but eternal. The celebration of the wedding of the Lamb of God (Jesus) and his bride (the church), who has prepared herself.

 

“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.

⁷ 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.” ⁸ It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.        NASB

 

The Lord is with us always. He loves us and is always at work in our lives. He is

sovereign. He is victorious over death and still reigns. Can you hear the shout of victory? Can you see the Lamb of God waiting for his bride?