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King James Version (en)

King James Version (en)

Revelations, Chapter 19, verses 7-8

⁷ The marriage of the Lamb

⁷Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

⁸And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Read more:Revelations, Chapter 19

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19

19:7 The marriage of the Lamb is come - Is near at hand, to be solemnized speedily. What this implies, none of "the spirits of just men," even in paradise, yet know. O what things are those which are yet behind! And what purity of heart should there be, to meditate upon them! And his wife hath made herself ready - Even upon earth; but in a far higher sense, in that world. After a time allowed for this, the new Jerusalem comes down, both made ready and adorned, Rev 21:2.

19:8 And it is given to her - By God. The bride is all holy men, the whole invisible church. To be arrayed in fine linen, white and clean - This is an emblem of the righteousness of the saints - Both of their justification and sanctification.

NOTES

The defeat of the devil and the forces of darkness is accompanied by the cries of the triumphant Church, coming from the Throne of glory...

The defeat of the devil and the forces of darkness is accompanied by the cries of the triumphant Church, coming from the Throne of glory (vv. 5-7). At first glance it may seem that there are fairly distinct vindictive notes in this triumph (vv. 1-4). But the point, of course, is not that Christians rejoice over the catastrophes that fall on the world because of its sinfulness. After all, the image of the "prostitute of Babylon" appears in John's vision for a reason. It is undoubtedly connected with another female image: the "wife of the Lamb," ready for the marriage that in the New Testament books becomes the symbol of the messianic Kingdom (vv. 7-9).

Here there is both parallel and antithesis. In the biblical books, both Old Testament and New Testament, marital relationships become a symbol of God's relationship with His people, as well as with an individual person. New Testament symbolism of marriage, the bridal chamber, and the wedding feast as symbols of the messianic Kingdom continues this tradition. The image of the "prostitute of Babylon" is an element of it as well, and of course it is not accidental: in the Old Testament books too, especially in the prophetic books, paganism is often regarded as spiritual debauchery, as betrayal of the union with God whose symbol is marital bonds.

In this context, the destruction of the "prostitute of Babylon" becomes not merely a symbol of the catastrophe falling on those who oppose God. It turns out to be the triumph of the Covenant over betrayal, of faithfulness over apostasy, of the Kingdom over its enemies. Such a triumph, of course, can evoke nothing in the faithful except joy, not because they take pleasure in seeing sinners punished, but because the triumph of the Kingdom is for them the goal and meaning of life. Of course, every Christian would want everyone to be saved and no one to remain outside the Kingdom. But this depends on the choice of those to whom the Kingdom is offered, and no one can either predetermine or change that choice: the Kingdom is not imposed, it is offered, and it can be accepted only by free will. Of course, one can only grieve over the choice of those who reject the Kingdom, but that sorrow will not diminish the joy of the faithful over its triumph.

Christ and the Church as bridegroom and bride is an image well known to the first generations of Christians, just as it is to us today. This very...

Christ and the Church as bridegroom and bride is an image well known to the first generations of Christians, just as it is to us today. This very marriage is what John sees. And the whiteness, the purity of the Church, is the righteousness of the saints of whom it consists. It should be noted that in medieval Christianity the concept of holiness changed somewhat compared with the original one.

In those times people began to call saints those whom, in the language of the Bible, it would be more correct to call righteous people. But holiness in the Bible is something else. Holiness is the simple fact that a person is sanctified by God's presence, as, for example, everyone who came to Yahwistic altars was sanctified even in pre-Christian times, if only he was clean and did not bear on himself the consequences of sins committed. There is no human merit here; sanctification is entirely God's work.

And Christians of the first generations understood very well the fact that Christian life presupposes sanctification; otherwise it is simply unthinkable. Therefore Christians in those days often called themselves saints precisely in this sense. Only later, when the church became a mass church and Christianity became nominal for many, did the quite realistic understanding come that not everyone who considers himself a Christian lives the life of sanctified people. Then there appeared the idea of certain special, righteous people who lead a special, in fact simply normal, Christian life.

The apostle is shown that such a sanctified life is a necessary condition for abiding in the Church and entering the Kingdom; without it, those who consider themselves Christians have nothing to count on. But righteousness too is important, for it is precisely righteousness that allows a person to preserve the sanctification he receives from God in God's presence. Otherwise what has been received will immediately be lost, and the person will quickly roll back into his former state, returning to his former life, which presupposes no sanctification. Thus holiness and righteousness complement each other, giving the Christian the possibility of living in the Church and entering the Kingdom.

“Blessed are those invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” Who are these invited guests, and what is this supper? The supper to which He invites each of us is the Eucharist. And blessed...

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