You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth.
9 And[kai] he saith[lego] unto me,[moi] Write,[grapho] Blessed[makarios] are they
which are called[kaleo] unto[eis] the marriage[gamos] supper
[deipnon] of the Lamb.[arnion] And[kai] he saith[lego] unto me,[moi] These[houtos] are[eisi] the true[alethinos] sayings[logos] of God.[theos] KJV-Interlinear
9 And he said
to me, "Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper
of the Lamb.'" And he said to me, "These are true words of God."
NASB
One additional thought regarding the last verse. The word for white, 'lampros,' in reference to the white clothing that the Church Age believers (the bride) will be wearing, means bright, not just the color of white. Bright glistening, shining, radiant, brilliant, shimmering, glowing, are all of the words that describe our outer appearance which will also reflect the inner self. That is how a bride should appear, and that is how we will appear when that future time arrives.
Also, I have been asked if we are in the last times, given the trouble in Egypt, and now Libya. And my short answer is no. But that needs to be explained.
The Bible defines two time frames for the end of history. The first was described by John, back in 96 A.D. and he called our dispensation, the end times. Jesus also called these times, the end times.
This has now lasted for about 1981 years, if you start the count from the beginning of the Church Age at the Feast of Pentecost in 30 A.D. That is 2011 minus 30. And if you start the count from the completion of the canon of scripture, then the time frame is 2011 - 96 = 1915 years.
Since Jesus mentioned it first then we should obviously begin the count from just after the Cross in 30 A.D.
The count to us however is irrelevant, since we do not know how long our Church Age is intended to last.
The second factor is the reference to the final days, which is a reference to the final seven years of the Tribulation. So we have two references - the 'end times' and the 'final days.' Both are unique and separate time frames.
The end times is a longer period of time and is described with the spread of the gospel throughout the world, with various increases in population, travel, earthquakes, wars and rumors of wars, and so forth. But the significant descriptive term is the one called the 'Great Apostasy,' which must occur prior to the revealing of the anit-christ.
And that phrase, although the world is not exactly Christian, really has not yet occurred.
Obviously we are 1900 years closer to the Rapture, and that in itself means that we are closer. But we cannot look at world events and then force fit them into the prophecies for our convenience. Over the last 1900 years, there have been many circumstances wherein emperors, and kings and tyrants have risen and fallen and have been called the final days, but we are still here.
Satan knows full well that his days are numbered, and will stop at nothing to get the world into a great war to destroy everything, but as we have already studied, his plans are on hold until the 'bride' of this Church Age, is completed. That means that there is a definite fixed number of people who will believe in Christ during our Church Age and when that number is reached, then history will shift gears (Rapture) and proceed into the next phase (Tribulation).
But remember too, that there are three great pauses in history. The first pause was at the end of the pre-flood era, when Noah and his family were the only believers remaining on the earth. Faith in Christ came to a halt for over a century, even though people had every opportunity to believe and board the Ark.
The second pause was in the three centuries prior to the birth of Christ, when the Old Testament revelations came to a stop. People again rejected the savior in favor of the rules and regulations of the priesthood, and the savior was not recognized when he did arrive in history.
And the third great pause of history will occur at the end of our dispensation, when faith in Christ will be replaced by the great apostasy that will enter into society, and thus signal the end of our age. That time has not yet arrived.
Until then, there will be trouble throughout the world and there will be speculations galore as to when the end will be, but none of us will be able to figure it out, since the Rapture is said to be coming as a thief in the night, and none of us know when a thief strikes. Thieves do not announce their intentions, and neither will God announce prior to the Rapture, its appointed time. When it does occur, then people will see it in hindsight, and too late for those who will be left behind.
Personally, I think that the world population will grow and grow into numbers that will stagger the imagination over the coming decades or even century. And that will lead to tremendous trouble and secularism throughout the world. Faith in Christ (from new believers) will all but come to a stop, and that will be one of the ingredients from the great apostasy (an embracing of everything but Christianity). And then the end of our dispensation, and thus the end of the 'end times' will arrive, making way of the 'last days,' the Tribulation. At least that is my opinion.
World troubles serve to bring people to Christ, but too, speculation and predictions of prophecy serve to drive people away from Christ, especially when nothing happens. So be careful of what you predict and what impressions you make on those whom you may be pushing away because of empty predictions and speculations.
And now for our current verse.
The bride and the groom are already in the wedding procession, and now a blessing is extended to those who are the invited, or the guests. The bride and groom are not the invited. They do not send out invitations to themselves, but to the guests, the friends of the bride and the friends of the groom.
And all that this does is make it clear that there are four distinct groups in view here - the groom (Christ), the bride (Church Age believers), the friends of the groom (Old Testament believers), and the friends of the bride (the Tribulational martyred believers).
They are blessed because history has honored their faith, from their respective times in history, and has brought everyone together upon the defeat of Satan and his plan of evil, Matt 8:11, Heb 11, Matt 11:11, Jn 3:29.
Remember too, that the invitation is not just to honor Church Age believers, because the imagery of the wedding will be extended to all believers, when history finally comes to its conclusion, Isa 25
The Old Testament records the resurrection of Old Testament believers, Isa 26:19, Dan 12:2, the wedding supper, Isa 25:6-10. They were referred to as Gods wife, Isa. 54:5-6, who became unfaithful, Hosea, and thus replaced by the Church Age church, New Testament, but will be restored as a faithful wife, Hos. 14:4.
The wedding feast which will begin at the end of the Tribulation, at the beginning of the Millennium, will be the assurance to all believers in the Millennium, that they too will have their day, as will all believers.
So, regardless of what you believe as to the plan of history, regardless of what events occur in history, Gods plan cannot and will not be halted, altered, changed, or thwarted in any fashion.
Too many people set their priorities on the things of today, to the things in their daily life, and lean away from their daily studies. But one day, everything that you have and do and know, will come to an end, and all that you have and do and know, will be tossed aside as worthless.
To avoid your daily studies and the support of that study effort for yourself and others, will be in fact the greatest failure possible in your life. For tomorrow will come and that specific tomorrow in all of our lives will be a greater time, than any of us can possibly imagine. You have now and only now to capitalize on the greatest gift anyone could possibly receive.
