Revelation 19:9-10

Revelation 19:9-10

And he says to me, “Write: Blessed are the ones who have been called into the principal meal of the wedding of the lamb.”  And he says to me, “These words are the truth of God.”  And I fell before his feet to bow down to worship him.  And he says, “You do not see.  I am your fellow slave and your brothers are the ones who have the testimony of Jesus.  Bow down to worship God.  For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

When John speaks about the wedding feast in this passage, he is no doubt looking back to passages such as Isaiah 25:6-9.  In that very famous passage, God tells us of a time when He will wipe away every tear.  He tells us that He will swallow up death forever.  It is into this rich history that John is writing.  John sees the wedding feast of the lamb.  John sees the ones who are brought forth to be the bride of God.  He sees the ones who are to live with God forever.  John is told to call them blessed.

Are you called to be with God at the wedding feast?  How does it feel to be called blessed?

Second Thought:

I love the little snippets of false worship that we occasionally get throughout the book of Revelation.  Remember, this is John.  I write from the perspective that the author of this book is the same John as who was the disciple of Jesus.  John is a spiritual head of the church in Asia Minor.  You would think that he would know who to worship.  But what does John do?  He turns and worships his guide, who has to very subtly correct him.  Why do I love passages like this?  John was a spiritual elder, yet he made mistakes.  Being a spiritual elder doesn’t make us free from error at all!  What it actually does is make it so that we should be quick to be humble when we do err.  Also notice that John isn’t kicked out of God’s presence for his mistake.  God is a loving and forgiving God, able to forgive the humble and contrite.  Finally, notice that John doesn’t cover over his mistake and leave it out of his writing.  Instead, he leaves it in as a teaching moment for us to realize that he is human. 

Where are you prone to making mistakes?  How easy is it for you to receive correction and fix your mistakes?

Third Thought:

As we get to the end of the passage, we have a really neat expression: the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.  It could be that we are being told that our testimony about Jesus happens when God speaks through us.  In other words, we can testify about Jesus because God has placed within us the ability to believe.  However, it could also be saying that Jesus’ words are the spirit of prophecy.  In other words, this could be an expression saying that Jesus’ testimony is believable.  The question is, which one is right?  Of course, I also have to wonder why it is necessary to choose.  Both of these interpretations could be right.  God, in His infinite wisdom, could have easily meant both of these ideas.  Jesus’ words are believable and we can indeed only speak truth when God empowers us to do so.  Why choose between those thoughts?

Which do you think is the more important interpretation for you in your life right now?  Why is your perspective on this question bound to change and fluctuate over the span of your life?

Passage for Tomorrow: Revelation 19:11-13