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Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he says to me, ‘Write blessed is those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ And he says to me, ‘These are true words of God.’ -Revelation 19:7-9 (Read vv7-16 for context.)

The State of the Church at Christ’s Coming

“Nothing else has to happen. All the prophecies have been fulfilled. Christ can come back at any moment.” I was taught eschatological statements such as these early on in my Christian experience. If the quote is true, then the verse is not. Read it. We know that the Word is exactly as it is entitled; the Word of God. It is true. Therefore, we must ask this question, “Does the body of Christ, the church, reflect, resemble, or even remotely compare to the Bride, mentioned here, clothed in white linen, bright and clean-being her righteous acts? Honestly? Unless you are hard, and have already written this off; then the answer should be clear. As of now, the case is that she is not ready.

[All right, with that said: This is not an exegesis on the passage, with intrinsic and extrinsic analysis, and language, time, and transliterated study of this passage. Nor is it an eschatological dogmatic discourse. This is a study with a view (Eph 1:10 NASB) of getting the church ready and moving forward for what is to come. Yes, this is a remark that differs from modern “pre-trib” rapture theology--term used for the sake of identifying my theology, but an explanation is needed because the term itself may still imply differences in my theology. This is not a debate on the subject nor is it an end.]

Prepare the Bride

What is Jesus returning for? A better question would be; whom? His bride. Therefore, as we all know, multi-culturally, (especially in Hebraic context), that the bride has to prepare herself for The Wedding. As Esther (Esther 2:12), she must prepare herself. How does she prepare? According to this apocalyptical passage, the answer is righteous acts. This is not my opinion; this is what the Scripture says.

…the bride has made herself ready… to clothe herself in fine linen… the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints

Righteousness?

No, we are not righteous in ourselves. It is grace that gets us in, and able to be righteous. Read the book of Romans, this is very clear, that we become righteous in him, and from this new state, we are now able to perform the acts of righteousness. We do not get in the kingdom by works, but once we are in, we are required to work to advance it. Read James, after Romans and you will see, not a contradiction, but an understanding of this. This is a demonstration of the “Obedience of the Faith,” (Rom 1:26; 16:15). This is our purpose, to bring the nations into the obedience of the faith. When we live righteous through Christ, then we will be able to perform these righteous acts, making the bride clean. And the cleaner she is, the more ready she will be for her wedding day. Much of the church is still wearing filthy garments, even though it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen. Yes, they are saved, but just clinging to salvation.1 Not to mention the lack of service (Eph 4:13). We are individually saved, but we must act as a body in righteousness, to make the whole church clean. We need a revival to get the sin out! We need a revolution, to perform the acts of righteousness from that clean state! Part of preparing the way of the Lord is by preparing ourselves to meet Him.

Each man’s work will become evident; for the day it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet as through fire. -1 Corinthians 3:13-15

Do not be one of those that waste your life either by just looking for a “rapture,” to occur, or by not building anything in righteousness for the kingdom. Why barely escape the flames of hell, when you could have an eternity full of rewards for the righteous acts that you accomplished here on earth?  The next passage hits the nail on the head:

Therefore do not let sin rein in your mortal body so that you do not obey its lust, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under the law but under grace. -Romans 6:12-14

The Discussion

Now let us back up and take a closer look at our main text (Rev 19:7-16). I have a good friend whom I study Scripture with. When we first met, he mainly leaned toward pre-trib theology, and now he is solidly post-trib. We still discuss pre-trib theology for a better understanding of both positions. Also, so we know that our doctrinal stance is sufficient in Scripture.2

This passage is usually divided into two main sections, which most Bibles subtitle. The first is; The Marriage Supper of the Lamb. The next is; The Coming Christ. Pre-trib doctrine mainly teaches that because the marriage supper is mentioned first, and then the coming of the Lord, the church must have been raptured beforehand.3And this was my friend’s question; how can this be true, and post-trib still be the correct eschatological understanding?4

He stopped me in my tracks. How would this work? The aforementioned interpretation of the verses is the way that I had always understood it as well. I told him that I had no conclusion as I just kept rereading the passage.5

The Pre-Tribulation Spectacles

Often in examining apocalyptic Scripture, we may have a prefabricated mindset (such as the interpretation that was mentioned). This may be due to previous teaching we may have heard on the subject. This perspective, however, may not be in correct context, interpretation, or application of the passage. I call this reading the Scripture while “wearing pre-trib glasses”. You are looking at the Scripture wearing the spectacles of a mindset of and existing teaching, which may prevent you from seeing the actual section in context of the Word.6And I was wearing them as I read the passage.

Context-Context-Context

As I kept rereading the section, I started to read it for what it said, not what I thought it said. Pre-trib states that vv7-9 is the marriage supper of the Lamb. The Scripture does not say that. It says that the time has come but does not mention the actual ceremony. Next it says blessed are those who are invited. How can they be invited to something that has already happened? What you have in context here is this: An announcement that the time for the wedding has come, an exhortation of the invitation, and then in vv 11-16, you have the Bridegroom going forth with His armies to gather his bride and separate from them those who are not invited. So what this is essentially saying is that the time has come for Jesus to return for His bride and judge the earth. She is now ready, because of her righteous acts and able to marry the Bride-groom.

White Linen, Bright and Clean

She will not be raptured before she is ready, this would not make any sense, specifically in contextual light of this verse. He is coming for a pure church, a spotless bride. She does not go to heaven and get white linen. Its given to her here, the ability to make herself ready by performing righteous acts. Fine linen is the righteousness carried out. Being righteous is the clothing of the church in white. It is not a future heavenly event that we get at the wedding feast. We are already wearing white when He comes to get us.

Righteousness is a state of being that comes about by acting righteously. This spiritually materializes into the fine linen, the bright and clean garments. When the worldwide body of Christ, the church, walks in this, and it is increasing (2 Peter 1:8), the more ready we will be, and the closer we will be to the wedding day.

[Please do not be offended by my comments, we are still brothers and sisters in the Lord, even if we disagree. Do study what I write; if you hold to pre-trib, then this should strengthen that stance, if it is indeed right. Just have an open mind and consider, as I was forced to do when re-examining this passage.]

Yes! Christ’s Return Actually Depends on You!

Yes, He can do anything, whatever He wants. He wrote the passage. He chose to do to do it this way. He is not trying to deceive us. And I am not trying to deceive you; I am just reading this passage for what it says. Just looking for Him and not acting does not demonstrate a life of faith. If you just waiting for Him to show up, then your entire life will pass you by, and you will have nothing to show for it. You still may get to heaven, yet as [one] through fire. Why be one that barely escapes the flames of hell, when you can have an abundance in heaven, an eternal life with the reward of the testimony of having done righteous acts here on the earth? I am not going to enter into all the little facts of this looking argument. I am going to stay on the point, and the point is this: Acting will bring it to pass and in grace, accomplish the kingdom.

In these last days, this new Jesus age, the church is supposed to shine with all the glory of God, showing the world that Jesus is Lord with all signs, wonders, and miracles.

But all things become visible, when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says; ‘Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.’ –Ephesians 5:13-14

The church must be awake in the last hour, if she is going to wake up the world. Awake is acting in righteousness. Not only must she be awake, but she must be here. Her leaving, in context with this Scripture, is a lie from hell, sent to hypnotize the church into thinking that she is ready, and all that she has to do is wait. She needs to wake up from this spell of sleep, which has been cast upon her. The church thinks that it is OK, but when that light shines, the darkness of the lie is exposed, and she must embrace truth if she is to move on.7

The State of the Church

So let us examine the state of the church now; and that which is described, which He is coming back for. Let us be honest and understand that we are not there yet. Let us pray that the Lord will reveal what it takes to be that perfect bride that He is looking for. If America was as full of as many Christians as she says she is, then the state of the union would reflect the state of the church. But now, it is obvious that the state of church reflects the state of the union. We can perform acts of righteousness and reverse this, and save a nation for God!

To hear a recent podcast series on our podcast on this specific subject visit here.

Will There Really Be a Rapture?

Download this episode (right click and save)

When Is Jesus Really Coming Back?

Download this episode (right click and save)

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  1. No, I do not subscribe to Calvinistic doctrine either. I do not care what prayer you may have prayed, some number of years ago; if you no longer live for God and deny him, and then you will be denied from the Father, when you stand before Jesus. Yes there is unlimited grace and mercy, but if you ultimately forsake it and still expect to live forever, you are absolutely wrong!  Prayer is the entrance into a magnificent life, and not an excuse to live in sin, and still think you are alright. Repentance means turning from your sin and living for God for the rest of your life. Salvation is both an experience and a walk. So, I encourage you to walk it out with peace and joy, in Jesus name. [↩]
  2. You can be solid in your doctrinal theological beliefs and still consider other points of view on Scripture to help you grow, without shifting back and forth, in an unstable faith. Read Eph 4:11-16. [↩]
  3. Many refer to this as a hidden meaning in Rev 4:1. No, I do not think John was raptured here. I am not going to discuss it; I am just making the point. For those of you who study eschatology, you know this study could escalate, so I am going to stay on tract of the theme of this inquirer. [↩]
  4. It was more of a question of how it applied, not: if there is no post explanation he would become pre again. We all as believers must challenge each other and seek the knowledge of God for the things that we have yet to understand about Him. Now we have to look at every verse in context to find the plumb line of truth that stretches through out the Word. [↩]
  5. This will happen for any serious Bible student. When it does, consider it. Do not hide from it and pretend that is not there. Say “I don’t know.” If you are seeking truth, then, no matter what the outcome–remaining solid in your faith of course–then the Lord will show you His way and truth. Wait on Him, the answer may be swift or slow, but it will come. [↩]
  6. One thing that I learned in Ministry School was to look at the verse in context. There are many teachings out there that pull verses out of context that create theologies that are not Biblical. Read the verse for what is says, not for what someone else has told you it says. We do need teachers, be we have a responsibility to study Scripture accurately on our own. [↩]
  7. Not all who subscribe to this doctrine are asleep. They are acting in righteousness, preaching the Gospel to the ends of the earth. I am making the point because the majority of the American church believes this, and will all the hundreds of millions that profess this; they don’t seem to be accomplishing much. I am not attacking you if you subscribe to this; I am challenging you with a new perspective. [↩]