The Marriage You Were Made For (Revelation 19:1-10)

Big Idea: Rejoice because of the marriage you were made for.

I don’t know if you’ve ever had a friend who got engaged. You met this person’s future husband or wife, and you thought, “What in the world have they done?” It’s really awkward because you want to support your friend, but you have serious doubts about their decision.

We know that getting married is serious. We know that getting married is about much more than the wedding. It’s about the start of a new life together. When you get married, your choice of spouse will dictate so much about the rest of your life.

The Bible is very concerned with who you will marry, and that’s what today’s passage is all about.

Background: The Seductress

Let’s take a minute and catch our bearings here.

We’re almost to the end of the book of Revelation. Here’s the message of Revelation in a nutshell: The sovereign Lord will return to fulfill his promises. He will bring justice, redeem his people, and unite believers with him for eternity. Until then, stay faithful and endure to the end. That’s what Revelation is designed to do in our lives.

The purpose of Revelation is not to confuse us. The purpose of Revelation is to tell us how to live.

Here’s one of the concerns that this book has for you. Revelation expresses some concern about your choice of partner. In chapters 17 and 18, we’re introduced to a seductress. Revelation is very concerned that you are going to fall for her. This seductress symbolizes worldly systems and values that draw us away from Jesus through moral compromise and sensual attractions. She is very persuasive.

Imagine her dating profile. She is known as Babylon. She’s living her best life. Her carefully curated photos showcase designer labels and glittering jewelry. Her bio promises pleasure and power. She lists her interests as “building empires” and “making history.” She looks so good, and she’s persuaded many.

But she’s not who she appears to be. She appears attractive but is spiritually empty and harmful, drawing people away from God and into destruction.

Don’t fall for her. Don’t be deceived or drawn into spiritual compromise, but instead remain faithful, discerning, and devoted to Christ. Don’t worship the power and pleasure of Babylon. Worship God alone.

Three Actions

This leads us to Revelation 19. Revelation 19:1-10 is about two scenes of rejoicing that take place after the final bowl of wrath is poured out. You can break this scene into three parts, and it gives us three actions to take.

Rejoice because the seductress will be judged (19:1-5).

After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out,
“Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
for his judgments are true and just;
for he has judged the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth with her immorality,
and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”
Once more they cried out,
“Hallelujah!
The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.”
(19:1-3)

Again, we’re taken to heaven. John hears something. It’s the inhabitants of heaven, and they are overjoyed. They cry out, “Hallelujah!” which means “Praise the Lord!” Why? Because God has judged the seductress and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.

As if this wasn’t enough, they cry out again in joy. Not only has she been judged, but her smoke goes up forever and ever. And then, in verses 4 and 5, they’re joined by the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures.

All of heaven praises God because the seductress has been judged by God. No longer will God’s people face the temptation to be pulled away from worshiping the one true God. Revelation describes a future where those who resist the world’s temptations will finally overcome their struggles and leave behind corrupt powers for good. And all of heaven will explode with nuclear-powered praise.

Revelation 18 and 19 describe two very different ways of responding to the end of this seductress. In chapter 18, you see those who fell under her powers say, “Alas! Alas!” It’s repeated over and over. If you give your life to this world’s systems and values, that’s what you will say one day. It will be horrible. Dedicating your heart to anything but God risks future despair, as worldly temptations will disappoint.

There’s another way to respond, and it’s reserved for those who have put Jesus first. On that day, they won’t be crying out, “Alas! Alas!” They’ll be crying out “Hallelujah!” One day, God’s people will resist temptation and rejoice, as God will have judged the evil forces that distract us.

What’s the first action to take? Rejoice, because the seductress will be judged. That’s the first action. Here’s the second:

Rejoice because the Lamb will take his bride (19:6-8).

The judging of this seductress isn’t even the best part. This is the best part.

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,
“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
the Almighty reigns.
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;
it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure”—
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
(19:6–8)

Another “Hallelujah!” This time for a different reason. This time the multitude praises God for different reasons:

• First, for his reign. No more corrupt and incompetent governments. God will reign, and the world will finally be as it should be.
• Second, for the marriage of the Lamb.

What a scene that will be. Ray Ortlund says, “For the world at the end of history, the party’s over. For the bride entering eternity, the wedding celebration has finally begun and will never end.” We will finally belong to him.

I want you to notice a couple of things here.

First are the clothes. Verse 8 says, “It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure.” The bride is given this dress. It’s a great picture. The day that we stand before Jesus, we won’t be wearing garments we’ve prepared for ourselves. We’ll be wearing radiant and clean clothes given to us by God himself, granted as a gift from God by his grace. We’ll be wearing our righteous deeds, but even those deeds will be a result of the transformed lives that happened by God’s grace.

On that day, the wedding garments of believers represent Christ’s righteousness covering us and the good deeds that arise from lives transformed by his grace.

But then consider the marriage itself. It says so much that when God describes his relationship with us, he uses marriage. Our marriages are just a shadow of the intense, perfect relationship Christ will have with us.

Here’s the point of this passage:

If the Bible is telling us the truth about reality, then the universe we live in was created primarily with marital romance in mind. The heavens and the earth were created for the marriage of Adam and Eve. The new heavens and the new earth will be created for the marriage of Christ and his bride. The whole of cosmic reality exists as the venue for the eternal honeymoon of the perfect husband with his perfect bride in marital bliss forever and ever. This is the breathtaking claim of the Bible. (Ray Ortlund)

This is the teaching of the Bible. Isaiah 54:5 says:

For your Maker is your husband,
the LORD of hosts is his name;
and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
the God of the whole earth he is called.

Isaiah 62:4-5 says:

You shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

I always believe that the bride is the second most beautiful thing you can see at a wedding. What could be more beautiful than a bride? Only one thing: the groom’s face as he sees the bride come down the aisle. Seeing the groom’s love and delight in that moment is, to me, my favorite part of the wedding.

That is what we will get to experience on that day. We'll be united with Christ forever in a celebration beyond anything this world can imagine.

“Though he never married, Jesus knew he was the long-awaited husband of history” (Marshall Segal). No marriage on earth will ever fulfill us. But on that day, that will be the marriage we’ve waited for. We will be fully known, deeply loved, and destined for eternal joyful union with Jesus. Our true fulfillment comes from belonging to him, surpassing anything the world can offer.

Never has there been a more worthy bridegroom. Never has a man sacrificed more for his beloved. Never has a man gone to greater lengths, humbled himself more, endured more, or accomplished more in the great task of winning his bride. (Jim Hamilton)

No wonder they cry, “Hallelujah!” You were made for this! What a day it will be.

If you are a believer in Jesus, this is what you’re waiting for. He is coming for you. Look forward to this day. Prepare for this day. If you haven’t already come to Jesus, then turn to him today. There is no future better than the one that John describes in this passage. You’re invited. This wedding can be yours.

We have three actions to take in this passage, and the first two are to rejoice. Rejoice because the seductress will be judged, and rejoice because the Lamb will take his bride.

But there’s one more action to take in this passage:

Be blessed because this changes your life today (19:9-10).

Verse 9 says:

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.”

There are seven “blessed” statements in Revelation. This is the fourth. These statements emphasize the blessings God offers to those who remain faithful, especially during challenges and opposition. They show who’s really blessed in God’s eyes.

Here’s who is blessed in this passage: those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. If you’re in Jesus, that’s you.

Jim Hamilton writes:

Those early congregations would have heard in 2:10 that suffering, tribulation, imprisonment, and even martyrdom awaited them. But because they are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb, they are blessed. Jesus is enough. He is enough in the face of inconvenience. He is enough in the face of cancer. He is enough in the face of persecution. He is enough in the face of imprisonment, and even death. God intends to show his glory by putting his servants through all these things, and when they rejoice because none of this can take Jesus away, people see that Jesus is enough.

You’re blessed now, even when life is hard because, if you’ve trusted Jesus, you’re invited to this day. And it helps us get through anything now. These are the words of God. This will happen. If you’re in Jesus, you’re invited, and you’re blessed.

The news is so good that, in verse 10, John is tempted to worship the angel. But the angel directs his attention right back to Jesus. And that’s where our attention should be as well.

You were created for an eternal marriage that far surpasses any earthly relationship. Today, choose between the world’s empty promises or staying faithful to Christ, your perfect Bridegroom.

Take heart in knowing that those who choose Jesus are truly blessed – not just in the future, but right now in the midst of life’s challenges. In Christ, we have a strong hope for the promised wedding feast of the Lamb, where we will be fully known, perfectly loved, and united forever with our Savior. Stay faithful until then. The marriage we were made for awaits, and Jesus is, and always will be, enough.