What Happens NextSample

Let’s face it: sometimes, the wedding metaphor in the Bible is a little strange. We are going to be “married” to God? We are Jesus’ “bridegroom”? What . . .?

It’s important to remember that the Bible includes metaphors and illustrations to help us visualize important truths. Every metaphor will break down if you stretch it to a literal application. But when a metaphor is not stretched, it is rich with meaning.

Multiple New Testament authors wrote of a “marriage” to Jesus to illustrate the significance of the covenant between God and his followers. Marriages in the ancient culture of the Bible differ from marriages in the modern world. The marriage covenant was a binding commitment. Modern culture views marriage more like an agreement or a contract someone can break for any number of reasons. But the New Testament authors weren’t writing with that understanding in mind. In his parables, Jesus used everyday illustrations his listeners would understand to make his point — farming, shepherding, fig trees, and more. In the same way, John, Paul, and others used something their ancient readers would easily understand, a marriage covenant, to illustrate God’s unending, unbreakable love for his followers.

In What Happens Next, Pastor Max Lucado explains that after the rapture, followers of God will be at a “destination wedding.” It will be a celebration of eternal love and acceptance between God and his followers, unlike anything we can imagine. The best way John could describe his prophetic vision of this celebration was to call it “the wedding feast of the lamb [Jesus].”

Praise God today because you have been invited to this celebration! You are deeply loved by God, and through the sacrifice of Jesus, you have a seat at his celebration table. “Worthy is the lamb!” (Revelation 5:2)

Reflection

Consider that all people are sinners (Romans 3:23). How does God’s desire to be in a covenant relationship with sinful people affect your understanding of God?

What do you typically imagine when you think of the end times? How does this information about a celebration feast change your understanding of the future?

Prayer

Thank you, God, for loving me with an unending, unbreakable love. Thank you for wanting to be in a covenant relationship with me. I praise you today for your grace and mercy. Amen.