April 27 2025, Sunday School Lesson

The Wedding Feast of the Lamb

Lesson Text: Revelation 19:5-10

Related Scriptures: Psalm 97:1-12 Matthew 22:1-14

TIME: A.D. 96

PLACE: from Patmos

Golden Text “I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth” (Revelation 19:6)

Introduction

In the light of last week’s break from Revelation, a brief recap is warranted.

In Revelation 6, Christ opens six of the seven seals. This is followed by an interlude, described in chapter 7.

As Revelation 8 opens, the seventh seal is broken, followed by the sounding of seven trumpets (8:2 - 11:15). As with the seal judgments, when the trumpets are blown, terrible things occur on earth. After the judgments of the sixth trumpet, there is a second interlude (10:1 – 11:14). Two witnesses are introduced (11:3), who are reminiscent of Moses and Elijah.

In Revelation 12 and 13 we discover agents of evil: the dragon and two beasts (12:9; 13:1, 11). The second beast is most likely Paul’s “man of sin” (II Thess. 2:3) and the antichrist.

In Revelation 14 there is another interlude, followed by seven bowls of wrath (chaps. 15-16). Finally, the great harlot, Babylon, is defeated, never to rise again (chaps. 17-18).

LESSON OUTLINE

I. MESSIAH SUPREME – Rev. 19:5-8

II. MARRIAGE SUPPER – Rev. 19:9-10

QUESTIONS

1. What does “small and great” mean in Revelation 19:5?

2. How is the voice heard by John described?

3. What does “Alleluia” mean (vs. 6)?

4. What does “omnipotent” mean? How else is the Greek term translated?

5. What is the “marriage of the Lamb” (vs. 7)? Who is the bride of the Lamb?

6. What is meant by the “righteousness of saints” (vs. 8)?

7. What event is linked to the messianic feast in the Old Testament?

8. How did the angel identify himself to John?

9. What did the angel ask John not to do? Why?

10. What is meant by the phrase” the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (vs. 10)?

ANSWERS

1. The phrase “small and great” means “believers on earth from every socio-economic level, and …every stage of spiritual maturity”

2. “The sound that John hears is like the sound of a great throng of people, like the roar of a mighty cataract, and like the roar of a mighty cataract, and like a great deal of thunder.

3. “Alleluia” is a variation of “hallelujah” and means “praise the Lord”.

4. The Greek word translated “omnipotent,” meaning “all-powerful,” is elsewhere rendered “almighty” and is used only of God.

5. This image is not a new one, for the Lord is often pictured as being married to His people (cf. Hos. 2:19-20; II Cor. 11:2; Eph 5:22-33). In Christ’s teachings, marriage symbolism is likewise used regarding His own return (Matt. 22:1-14; 25:1-13).

6. “Righteousness” could be translated “righteous deeds” or righteous acts.” “The bride’s garment is woven of the innumerable acts of faithful obedience by those who endure to the end. This does not deny the Pauline doctrine of justification based on the righteous obedience of Christ (Rom. 5:18-19) but suggests that a transformed life is the proper response to the call of the heavenly bridegroom” (Mounce).

7. Concerning the “marriage supper of the Lamb” (Rev. 19:9), this great feast is foreshadowed in the Hebrew prophets. “The concept of a sacred meal shared by Israel and the Messiah is common in Jewish thought” (Mounce). At the time of that messianic banquet, “he will swallow up death in victory, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth” (Isa. 25:8)

8. The angel correctly responded by reminding John that he was merely a “fellow servant” of the apostle (Rev. 19:10).

9. The message of the angel to John was succinct: Do not worship me; “worship God” (Rev. 19:10). Only God, is the Persons of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is worthy of worship.

10. This could be taken to mean that “the testimony about Jesus is the common substance of all prophecy or the true spirit of prophecy always manifest itself in bearing witness to Jesus…(or) that the witness or testimony that Jesus bore is the essence of prophetic proclamation…For this reason people are to worship God, the giver of revelation, and not the angel, who is merely the interpreter of visions” (Mounce).