Revelation 19:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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.”

NIV: Then the angel said to me, 'Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!' And he added, 'These are the true words of God.'

NASB: Then he *said to me, 'Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.’?' And he *said to me, 'These are the true words of God.'

CSB: Then he said to me, "Write: Blessed are those invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb! " He also said to me, "These words of God are true."

NLT: And the angel said to me, 'Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.' And he added, 'These are true words that come from God.'

KJV: And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

NKJV: Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”

John has heard the praises of a vast multitude singing to God (Revelation 19:6). The angel who has been guiding John through this part of his vision (Revelation 17:1–3) now gives him a specific task: writing the message of this verse.

This statement distinguishes between the bride and other believers. The bride, by definition, is not invited to her own reception. Those who are "invited" are the friends of the bridegroom. John the Baptist, for example, referred to himself as the friend of the bridegroom. He said, "The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete" (John 3:29).

So, John the Baptist will surely be invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be invited too (Matthew 8:11). A common interpretation of this passage is that likely all the Old Testament believers and the tribulation believers will also be included as invited guests. The angel who spoke to the apostle John emphasized the fact that what he said about the marriage supper of the Lamb were the true words of God.

Revelation 19:6–10 introduces the marriage supper of the Lamb, occurring immediately before the commencement of Jesus' millennial reign on the earth. Jesus spoke about marriage suppers in Matthew 22:1–14 and 25:1–13. He specifically referred to feasting in the kingdom of heaven, with many from the east and the west, including Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Matthew 8:11). The announcement of the marriage supper of the Lamb precedes Jesus' return to earth to judge His enemies and to establish His kingdom (Revelation 19:11–21).

Revelation 19 begins with a multitude in heaven singing a doxology to God. He is praised for judging religious Babylon and avenging the martyrs. They are joined by the twenty-four elders (Revelation 4). Voices cry out joyfully that the Lord reigns and the marriage supper of the Lamb is ready. Then, John sees heaven open and observes Jesus—now coming as the glorious and invincible King of kings and Lord of lords—as He descends from heaven to execute judgment. The armies of earth gather to battle the Lord. The battle concludes with the Antichrist and False Prophet being thrown into the lake of fire and the graphic slaughter of their followers.

This chapter describes the victorious second coming of Christ, His victory over the Antichrist and the False Prophet after the fall of Babylon (Revelation 17—18). Christ's first arrival on earth was to redeem (Matthew 2; Luke 2:1–21; John 1:1–14; Galatians 4:1–5). The purpose of His second coming is judgment and the establishment of His reign on earth (Psalm 2). This is separate from the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13–17), the event in which Jesus returns in the air to take Christians from earth to be with Him. Jesus' second coming begins the millennial kingdom, leading up to the final judgments and the appearance of the New Jerusalem.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''