"Ultimate Wedding"

"I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:2-4

Today's society has an impoverished view of the wedding and subsequent marital union. At best, it is seen as an instrument and arrangement to fulfill the individual's personal agenda. At worst, it is considered a human invention to be molded and shaped according to personal taste. However, marriage is not man-centered. According to Scripture, marriage is God's institution. And from the beginning, the marital union was designed to declare God's purpose in redemption.

The entire history of humanity, from creation to the consummation, is bookended in a marital framework. The story begins with "Paradise Lost" and ends with "Paradise Restored." The first wedding occurs in that original Paradise and the last wedding will take place in the future Paradise of the New Heavens and Earth.

While the Paradise of creation was home to God's purpose in seminal form, there was little progress toward fulfillment before Adam and Eve sinned and were evicted from Eden. The original wedding feast was cut short. We have to look to the biblical revelation of "Paradise Restored" to see the full realization of God's purpose for His creation. The Fall of humanity and subsequent redemption of God's people is all a part of God's one purpose that culminates in the New Heavens and Earth.

The wedding of Adam and Eve was never intended to be eternal. From the moment God created Eve and presented her to Adam as a gift, we find a foreshadow of the ultimate wedding the Father has planned for the glory of the age to come. As Paul tells us in Ephesians 5, the union of a man and woman in matrimony speaks of the mystery of Christ and His church. The one flesh relationship of a husband and wife proclaims our union with our Savior. This is the fulfillment of God's good purpose – an intimate relationship with Christ in which we dwell in Him and He in us (John 14:20).

When one understands the customs of marriage in biblical times, many of the truths expressed in Scripture concerning our relationship with God come alive.

In the culture of Scripture, marriages were arranged. The father had the right to choose a bride for his son. When the choice was made, the groom had to pay a price to his bride's parents to secure the union. She was, "purchased with a price."

When the arrangements were in place, the couple entered into a period of betrothal. This was far more binding than our modern engagement. The bride and groom had been sealed together with a binding covenant. She was sanctified to her husband and set apart exclusively unto him. The betrothal period was, in commitment, just like being married. The two were already joined together even though they had not yet engaged in the act of becoming one flesh and did not yet physically share a home. The man and the woman were not only "off the market," they were to conduct themselves in all of their other relationships as though they were already married. One could not simply break off a betrothal. One had to get a divorce!

During the betrothal period, the groom prepared a place for his bride. The usual practice was for the groom to build this dwelling on his father's property, often enlarging the father's house to accommodate the new family. In the meantime, the bride began preparing herself for married life.

When the wedding day came, the bride bathed, dressed herself in fine apparel and adorned herself for her groom. She then awaited the arrival of her love. She did not know the exact time her groom would come for her but she was expected to be ready and waiting. At some point, the groom would come and take his bride to their new home. When they arrived, the two were joined together and the wedding feast began. This feast usually lasted for at least seven days. It was a unique covenantal feast for it did not focus on the past. It was a celebration of the future!

This wedding imagery is replete with theological themes. The ultimate wedding that will occur at the end of time is an arranged marriage. God the Son is the bridegroom. The bride is the elect people of God, chosen by the Father before the foundation of the world. As Eve was God's gift to Adam, we are the Father's gift to the Son. Christ has paid the bride's purchase price with the sacrifice of Himself. He went to the cross to make us His own. We are truly "bought with a price."

At the present time, we are betrothed to our Savior. It is a binding covenant. We belong to Christ alone and are called to be devoted and faithful. We are already as good as married. All that is left is the glorious consummation. Until our bridegroom returns for us, we remember the price He paid for us at the Table of redemption as we patiently await that day. During this betrothal period, our bridegroom is preparing a place for us in His Father's house. As we wait, we are preparing ourselves for that great wedding feast on the horizon. We are adorning ourselves with the provisions our lover has given us that we might be found ready when He comes.

When that day finally arrives, Christ will come to take us to His Father's house. And just as God presented Eve to Adam, on that day, the Father will present us to Christ! We will descend from God out of heaven like a bride adorned for her husband. As Adam and Eve were joined together to become one, we will be joined to our Savior forever and ever. And we will enjoy the celebratory covenant meal.

This is the reason the book of Revelation pictures entrance into the age to come as a wedding feast and the New Jerusalem as a bride adorned for her husband. God and His people will be joined together in a glorious union for all eternity. This is the ultimate wedding celebration, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

- Stan McGehee Jr

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