That’s how the story of Scripture ends: with a wedding. The history of humanity culminates with the inauguration of the marriage between Christ the Lamb and his church, and that marriage then lasts for eternity. This may seem like an odd image to put right after the downfall of evil, but in reality, it is the single thing all of creation has been waiting and groaning for since the beginning. It is the restoration of the very thing for which we were made: God’s relationship with mankind.
That has been the story since Genesis! God, the very essence of perfect love, created a species in his own image with whom he would share mutual love. But we betrayed that relationship and lost our tie to his goodness, and so God set about the work of restoring what once was. He treated us with grace and forgiveness, entreated us to run from sin back to him, and showed undying, merciful love all throughout. Then he sent his only Son as the ultimate show of love unto us, and gave us his Spirit who empowers us to love him back. And then finally, one glorious, future day, all will be set right, and we his people will be restored to right relationship with Christ who is the source of all life and goodness. Don’t you love when the end of a story ties everything together perfectly?
Thus the image of a wedding and a marriage makes perfect sense! Yet it goes infinitely beyond our concept of a marriage; it is a relationship a million times happier and more intimate. My fiancée Rebecca and I have been learning that the marriage we’re about to begin is but a shadow image of the real thing, the bond between Christ and his church. Marriage is perhaps the greatest luxury to be had in the physical world, and yet it is meant simply to give us a taste of how wonderful our marriage to our God can and will be! When marriage is done right, both spouses get the utmost enjoyment in giving everything they have to love each other. Just imagine how much more love and joy will abound in that great final marriage!
This is what we have to look forward to. The true words of God tell us so. Our relationship to God will be restored and perfected, and there will be greater love and more thorough joy in our marriage to the Lamb of God than we could ever imagine. Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!
