Who said there would be no wedding in heaven?
Those who think like that are trying to interpret what our Lord Jesus said: “In the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.”
Indeed, among human beings, there will be no marriage in heaven.
If you plan to marry, do so here on earth and don’t entertain any hopes that you may find a spouse among the angels or other citizens of heaven!
Heavenly wedding
But there will be a wedding in heaven, and we should be interested in that wedding because it affects us.
This wedding concerns us because we are all invited to the banquet; to go or not to go is not an option.
Let’s see what the theologians are saying about this wedding in heaven; then we, the non-theologians, will look at how it affects us.
The theologians say, “The wedding of the bride in heaven is a Christian theological concept from the Book of Revelation, symbolising the final, eternal union between Jesus Christ (the bridegroom) and his followers (the bride).”
Clearly, this is a metaphor. Unpacking it, we get to know that the church is the bride. To be qualified to be a bride of the Most High, the bride (the church) has been made holy through Christ’s sacrifice. “Made holy” means it is clothed in righteousness.
“Clothes” stand for righteousness and holiness. Therefore, it is Christ who prepared his own bride for this wedding, and the bride cannot, on its own accord, prepare itself.
I like this thought because Christ then becomes the centre and focus of our salvation as God’s people, not ourselves or any other person.
He is worthy to be our bridegroom because he was slain, and with his blood he purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation (Revelation 5:9).
The proposal
Before a wedding, there would be a proposal: the man proposes and the woman accepts.
The invitation to the wedding in heaven is the “proposal”, and accepting Christ into our lives through repentance and faith in him is what qualifies us to be his bride!
According to one theologian, “This marriage of the Lamb is a celebration that occurs in heaven and is also referred to as the marriage supper of the Lamb.”
So think about it as “celebration” and “supper”, pretty much like our earthly wedding reception.
Another theologian actually hits the nail on the head with this potent statement: “The imagery of a wedding represents the ultimate fulfilment of a loving, personal relationship between God and his people.”
Therefore, just as we get excited about weddings and prepare extensively for them, so must we be conscious of this relationship between God and us, leading to our participation in the heavenly celebration.
Prepare to meet the bride
One day, Jesus told a parable about this celebration in heaven using ten virgins to represent those who are invited to the wedding.
Five of the virgins were wise: they prepared for the coming of the groom by having extra oil in their lamps.
When the bridegroom eventually arrived, they went with him to the banquet.
The other five virgins, on the other hand, were foolish; they didn’t have extra oil in their lamps.
When the bridegroom arrived, they were not even available to meet him and were later not admitted into the wedding reception.
Again, all this is a metaphor.
One theologian explains that, “The extra oil in the parable of the ten virgins represents spiritual preparedness, such as living a life of faith, righteousness, and good works.
Another says, “This spiritual ‘oil’ cannot be shared and is accumulated through actions like prayer, scripture study, and obedience to commandments, allowing individuals to be ready for Christ's return.”
If we get too busy on earth doing other things to the neglect of nurturing our faith and living in the righteousness of Christ, what a pity when the bridegroom comes and finds us unprepared to go with him!
Wedding clothes
The plight of the guy who found himself in the king’s wedding reception is pathetic.
Jesus told this parable about the kingdom of God, where everybody was invited to the banquet.
Some invited guests, like many people today, looked down on the invitation, rejected it, and despised the king.
Some, however, honoured the invitation. But one guy found himself in the banquet hall wearing the wrong clothes.
He was thrown out of the banquet into the darkness, where people gnashed their teeth.
“Wrong wedding garments” could stand for self-righteousness, non-biblical doctrines, works, and following people instead of Christ.
Jesus concluded this parable by saying, “Many are called, but few are chosen.”
We understand this to mean that while everybody is invited, only those who truly respond in faith shall be worthy occupants of the wedding reception.
The writer is a publisher, author, writer-trainer and CEO of Step Publishers.
E-mail: lawrence.darmani@gmail.com
