A Tale of Two Suppers

Now, if you turn back in your Bibles to Revelation 19, which is on page 1247, what we're going

to think about this morning is a tale of two suppers.

But we're going to begin with what I think, anyway, is the greatest opening sentence in

fiction.

It comes from Charles Dickens' Tale of Two Cities.

It was the best of times.

It was the worst of times.

It was the age of wisdom.

It was the age of foolishness.

It was the season of light.

It was the season of darkness.

It was the spring of hope.

It was the winter of despair.

And so it goes.

And Dickens' point as he begins that novel is that the same event, the event in question

is the French Revolution.

For some people, it was a wonderful moment.

For others, it was a terrible moment.

And central to the drama of the French Revolution and the Tale of Two Cities is the King of France.

And in particular, that cry, down with the king, pulling down the monarchy, the victory of the

republic.

That was a tale of two cities.

Well, we're thinking about a tale of two suppers.

And we use that title because we're coming to Revelation 19.

And the facts here in Revelation 19 tell us of the greatest remaining event in history.

The one great event that is still to come.

The return of King Jesus.

And the timing of this event will be experienced very differently by different groups of people.

We're going to hear that for some, this is a moment of great joy.

But for others, it will be a time of sorrow.

For some, it brings eternal salvation.

For others, it brings eternal judgment.

And central to this drama is King Jesus.

And central to the hope of the Bible, and we find it here in Revelation 19, is the promise

that in the end, goodness wins.

That evil falls and fails.

That the revolution against the true king does not work.

And that Jesus sets up his eternal kingdom.

It's Revelation 19 and the tale of two suppers.

Vital to this chapter as well is for us to recognize that again, while there's symbolic

language, this is a tale of true history.

It's one of the things, incidentally, that makes Christianity different from all the other

religions.

It's been well noted of Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism.

That they're not rooted in historical facts.

You could take away any historical traces and their books and their religion would stand.

But Christianity is quite different.

It is entirely dependent on the facts of history recorded in God's Word being absolutely true.

Our hope and our faith is rooted in a real historical Jesus, who did come at a particular

point in history, the Son of God becoming one of us.

He did engage in a public ministry where he taught great things and he performed great miracles.

That there was a point in history where he really did die and then three days later he rose again.

And there are sources from those who are friendly to Christianity, sources who are opposed to

Christianity, that document that Jesus was a real historical figure and these events really happen.

And that's important as we understand how significant history is to Christianity to recognize what

Revelation 19 is telling us.

That the real Jesus will really return one day in glory.

That history is not in an endless repeat.

That we're not all trapped on a hamster wheel where history is going nowhere.

Jesus will come back.

We're being told here is the goal, here is the destination of history.

It's the eternal kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And that takes us to our details, to the tale of two suppers and also the royal portrait of

Jesus that we get in this chapter.

And I hope as well that as we think about these details we get a sense of the urgency,

the call that there is within this chapter to seriously consider, to respond, to live in

light of the fact that Jesus is coming back.

Okay, so I said there was two suppers.

The first supper in the verse 10 verses is called the wedding supper of the Lamb.

When we listen to Revelation 19 being read, how did we hear it when we heard all those

hallelujahs?

And maybe we thought of Handel's hallelujah chorus.

Maybe it created that sense of here is a football stadium full of supporters celebrating some great

victory.

There's that sense of here is a group who are celebrating something wonderful.

Did you notice who is included in this shout and song of hallelujah?

Look at verse 1.

We hear it first as the roar of a great multitude in heaven.

So the voices in heaven are singing praise to God.

And then in verse 4, the attention shifts to those who are immediately around the throne

worshiping God.

And they too are singing hallelujah.

And then it shifts again to verse 6.

And we hear this great roar that comes from the earth.

Now it's all the people of God, all the Christians on the earth, singing with joy, praise to God.

There's a great song that leads to a great supper.

So to just think about the theme of these songs, there's three songs in these verses.

There's two different themes, but they're really two sides of the same coin.

One theme that leads to joy for God's people is that God saves His people from their enemies.

See how the song begins in verse 1?

Hallelujah.

Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.

When God steps in decisively, when God acts to save, when God shows His power and glory

to save a people for Himself, there's joy.

Verse 2, there's joy because the judgments of God are true and they are just.

It is good news that our God loves justice even more than we do.

That the judge of all the earth will and must do what is right.

There is joy in knowing that there is a decisive judgment.

He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth.

He has avenged on her the blood of His servants.

There is decisive judgment on those forces that look to deceive people to turn them away from Jesus the King.

There is a decisive judgment on corruption, immorality, rejection of the rule of God.

And there is a judgment on those who persecute God's people.

Verse 3, reminding us about the fall of Babylon in chapter 18.

The song goes, hallelujah.

The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.

There is that somber reminder of eternal punishment in this picture of eternal smoke.

So the question becomes, why does this theme lead to the hallelujah chorus?

Why does this theme provoke a sense of joy in the hearts of God's people and in heaven?

Well, God's people are invited to praise.

Because when Jesus returns in final judgment,

that's when heaven and earth, the people of God can say,

it is now over.

The evil empire that set up its rule against God

has been replaced by an eternal kingdom of love that lasts forever.

That those who attack and destroy and look to defeat the people of God,

they are now decisively dealt with.

So peace can be established.

Do we see why that's good news for the people of God?

I think it can be a tendency for us as modern people to imagine that judgment is unworthy of God.

We could probably, if we're honest, live quite happily with a God who would overlook sin

and sweep sin under the carpet and accept everybody.

But it's not the character of God who's given this revelation and it's not the character of Jesus.

The message of this vision is that if there is a God who fails to judge,

if there is a God who fails to act with righteousness,

then He's unworthy to be the true God.

That for God to be holy, He must act against everything that is unholy.

And so Revelation reminds us that the righteous rule of God is shown in salvation,

but it's also shown in judgment.

And that reality has always meant good news for a suffering, persecuted people of God.

So that's one theme of the song, that God saves His people from their enemies.

The second theme, and this takes us to the wedding supper theme,

is that God saves His people for relationship.

And it's there in verses 6 to 10.

And this is where we pick up this wedding supper theme.

The greatest hallelujah of all is there in verse 6 and 7.

And so within these verses, there is this great sense of joy because

there is the prospect that one day Jesus will reign forever,

that the glory of God will fill the earth.

And for the people of God, there is joy because we get to be with Him forever one day

in that world made new.

We are invited to that feast of joy that never ends.

And so it's fitting that it's pictured as wedding joy.

The wedding of the Lamb has come.

Because weddings are a picture of shared celebration.

Weddings are a picture of a uniting of a bride and a groom.

And here we are being reminded this is God's goal,

for redemption history.

God made people so that we might live with Him and He with us.

And God has so worked salvation that in the end,

God will be with His people forever.

And that's a joyful thing.

In the Old Testament, there was joy.

Isaiah 26, there's that imagery of God setting up a feast on His holy mountain.

And the people of God invited, and tears are wiped away.

And in place, there's joy.

Think about all the parables of Jesus.

About feasting.

About feasting.

And about banquets.

It's an invitation to joy.

And then we have it picked up again here.

And we are being reminded that Jesus,

Jesus Himself, is the joy of His people's heart.

And there is a joy coming when our faith will become sight.

There's wedding joy.

He also speaks in verse 8 about the wedding clothes.

Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.

This bright, clean, white, pure clothing.

It speaks of purity.

But it also speaks, if you remember the idea of the Roman triumph,

white also speaks of victory.

So when an emperor or a great general won a decisive battle,

they would get a Roman triumph.

They could parade through the streets and everybody would wear white.

Notice that these wedding clothes are clothes that are given to the bride to wear.

And this reminds us something really important about the gospel.

That it is Jesus' blood that washes us clean.

God doesn't say to us by ourselves,

you must be pure.

Because we cannot be pure enough for God.

Rather, He sends Jesus to live a pure life

and then to die and for His blood to cover and to cleanse and to make us pure.

And likewise, the victory that we celebrate

is the victory that Jesus won at the cross

and that He shares with His people.

And so the joy comes because of the work of Jesus.

And then there's the wedding invitation.

The angel said to me, write this,

blessed are those who are invited

to the wedding supper of the Lamb.

And Jesus often told stories this way, didn't He?

Story of a wealthy man or a king

preparing a feast.

There's a moment of celebration.

The preparations are made.

The wedding is about to happen.

And the invitation goes out.

Come in.

Come and enjoy.

It's a time for feasting and celebration.

And here as we get towards the end of the Bible,

that invitation is still there.

There is still this note of opportunity.

The invitation to believe the good news.

That God has loved us so much

that He sent His Son Jesus into this world

to die in our place for our sins.

To believe that what Jesus did in the cross

is sufficient to free us from sin and from death.

And we have this good news delivered by an angel

that to accept the invitation to believe in Jesus

is to enjoy what the Bible calls blessing.

Life in right relationship with God.

Life from God and with God.

And so here I think is a reminder for us

that we cannot and we will never understand Christianity properly

without understanding that it is all about Jesus.

That we have, by God's grace, been saved by Him

and we are saved for life with Him.

That at the center of the story of redemption

is the Lord Jesus.

And the implication then

is that your heart and mine

must be captured by

His beauty, His goodness,

His love and His truth.

To understand that when Jesus invites us to Himself,

it's not a call to dull duty.

It's a call to the delight of our hearts.

This isn't an invitation

to a weekend overtime

and a life of drudgery

of following Jesus.

It's an invitation to a wedding.

It's an invitation to joy.

So that's the first supper,

the wedding supper of the Lamb.

And it speaks to us of joy.

But there's a second supper

called the Great Supper of God

that we meet towards the end of the chapter.

If chapter 19 of Revelation were an art gallery,

so you had hanging up on this side of the wall

the wedding supper of the Lamb,

if we pan over to this side,

there's another portrait of another feast.

But the mood is very much different,

much darker,

the color much darker,

creating a very different impression on us

as we look at it.

Gone is the joy of the wedding supper.

Now there is a sense of horror and despair

of the Great Supper of God.

And Jesus places that here in His Word

so that you and I would pay attention.

Again, so that we wouldn't be unprepared.

We wouldn't be taken by surprise.

And also that we wouldn't miss out on

the lasting joy that Jesus stores up

for His people.

So let's look for a moment

at the Great Supper of God.

There in verse 17,

I saw an angel standing in the sun

who cried in a loud voice

to all the birds flying in midair.

It's the birds that are invited.

Come, gather together for the Great Supper of God

so that you may eat the flesh of kings,

generals and the mighty,

of horses and their riders,

and the flesh of all people,

free and slave, great and small.

It's a very different scene.

This is the portrait of a battlefield

the day after the battle,

of bodies, of corpses lying on the battlefield,

of the vultures, of the eagles

swooping down to feast on those bodies.

It's a very graphic lesson,

a great reminder that unlike the French revolution

against the king,

which was successful,

at least for a while,

rebellion against God's king,

Jesus, the true king,

will fail,

will be punished.

And it speaks to us of the horror

of the final judgment that is real.

The imagery,

the end of verse 20,

of the beast,

and the prophet who spoke for the beast

being thrown alive into the fiery lake

of burning sulfur,

reminds us of real,

conscious,

eternal punishment

for those who say no

to the rule of Jesus.

The great supper of God

is there to warn us

that Jesus delivers final judgment

on his enemies.

The picture of armies coming together

and of the absolute destruction

of the forces of evil

reminds us,

as we've said so often,

that the battle between good and evil

is not a battle between equals.

The goodness will always prevail,

that God is on the throne,

that that victory that began

at the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ

and through his resurrection

will be completed at his return.

When Jesus returns,

that is the point

where there will be final

and eternal judgment

and final and eternal salvation.

So that Revelation 19

becomes an invitation

to serious reflection.

Perhaps there is no more serious question

to reflect on.

You know,

before we choose to write Jesus off

as insignificant,

before we make him incidental

to our lives,

to recognize

through these two suppers

that in the end

there are only two kinds of people.

There are those who bow the knee

to worship Jesus

and there are those

who reject Jesus.

And that our response

determines

which supper

we go to.

Is it one that will be

for us eternal joy?

Or is it one that will be

for us eternal judgment?

And to recognize

that the figure

who's at the center

is the king,

King Jesus.

And that we must trust him

if we are to receive joy

and if we reject him

we will certainly receive judgment.

And so let's look together

to see

something

of our king.

Let's look at

the royal portrait

that we're given

in verses 11 to 16.

But again,

just to stop

for a moment,

maybe you've seen

this portrait

last year.

The art world

raised its eyebrows

because King Charles,

our king,

had his first

royal portrait

commissioned.

It was unveiled

in May

last year.

There was this guy

Jonathan Yeoh.

You can see the artist

up there.

Painted in incredibly

vibrant colors.

That's his style.

He used red

because Charles often

likes to dress

like the Welsh guards.

You can maybe see

a butterfly

on his shoulder

to speak to us

a little bit

about his environmental

ecological concerns.

The art world,

I'm not an art person

at all,

but the art world

I read about it

was very divided

in its reaction

to this portrait.

But here's the thing.

Like,

whatever we think

of the portrait

and whatever the art

critics think

of the portrait,

it's important

to know what

King Charles

thought about it

because he had

it commissioned

and he was pleased

with it

and he wanted it

to be shown

to the world.

He felt that

this was an image

that he wanted

to convey.

Now take that idea

and apply it

to Revelation 19.

So we've used

the art gallery image.

So we've got

these two suppers.

Well,

hanging between

the two suppers

in Revelation 19,

connecting them together,

is another royal portrait.

And it's important

for us to recognize

that Jesus

has commissioned

this portrait.

That what we have

in verses 11 to 16

are truths about Jesus

that he wants us to see.

And I expect

as we reflect again

on the values

that we find there,

that there will be

something of a mixed

response to them,

perhaps in our own hearts.

We might find aspects

that surprise us,

aspects that shock us,

because it's the portrait

of conquering King Jesus

who comes to destroy

his enemies

and to establish

his eternal kingdom.

Let's look at

the details together

to appreciate

this portrait.

Just look at

the names of Jesus

that we find here.

Verse 11,

we find the first one.

The rider is called

faithful and true.

What are we being told here?

Jesus is faithful and true

to his calling

as God's appointed king.

He is faithful and true

to God's plan of salvation.

He is faithful and true

to his word

and to his promises.

The second name for Jesus

we find in verse 13.

His name is

the word of God.

Maybe that makes us

think of John's gospel.

In the beginning

was the word

and the word was with God

and the word was God.

And when Jesus is described

as the word of God,

it brings us to ideas

of creative power,

and authority.

And here is the one

who reveals God's glory.

And God's word

is also how he judges

and saves.

And then in verse 16,

we meet the rider

with the name written

on his robe

and on his thigh,

King of kings

and Lord of lords.

What a wonderful statement.

It's no Caesar,

no emperor,

no president

that rules and reigns.

reigns is Jesus.

There is no king

like Jesus.

There is no lord

like Jesus.

He is the greatest

of all.

And that's important

in this portrait

because as such,

he does have

the power and authority

to bring history

to God's intended purpose.

He does have

the power and authority

to set up

God's eternal kingdom,

and he will.

Think about the details

in the appearance

of Jesus.

Verse 12,

his eyes

are like blazing fire.

Jesus has a penetrating gaze.

Jesus is able

to burn through our masks

and burn through our defenses.

He is able to see

and to judge.

Verse 12,

symbolic language again,

remember,

on his head

are many crowns.

Here is a picture way

of saying

here is the ultimate king.

There are no others

who can claim

his throne.

He is absolute authority

and glory.

And then in verse 13,

there's this detail.

He is dressed

in a robe

dipped in blood.

tied up to the fact

in verse 15,

he treads

the winepress

of the fury

of the wrath

of God Almighty.

Here is a picture

of Jesus,

the warrior king,

fresh from battle,

fresh from victory

over his enemies.

Here is a force

such that no one

can stand against him.

No Pharaoh,

no Caesar,

no king.

But notice,

this isn't just

about the great.

Verse 18,

remember who's there,

the kings,

the generals,

the mighty,

all people,

free and slave,

great and small.

Judgment comes

on all

who oppose

Jesus,

the king.

And it reminds us

again,

in the dramatic

appearance of Jesus,

that for God's people

to live with him

in a kingdom of peace

that lasts forever,

to enjoy friendship

and love

and fellowship

that will never be broken,

there must be

a decisive defeat

of those enemies

that oppose his rule.

And we have the promise

that in the end

that defeat will come.

The final aspect

of the royal portrait

are his weapons of war.

Look at the weapons

of Jesus.

First of all,

verse 14,

as he rides out,

the armies of heaven

were following him.

Although it's really interesting,

it's a very dramatic picture,

we get this dramatic picture

of two armies

coming into battle,

but actually those

armies of heaven,

in the end,

they really don't have

to do anything

because the battle

belongs to the Lord.

It's his word

that speaks

and brings judgment

and brings salvation.

That connects

to the sword

that Jesus has.

And again,

notice the symbolism

in verse 15,

where is the sword?

Coming out of his mouth

is a sharp sword

with which to strike down

the nations.

Again,

it takes us

to the word of Jesus

that judges

and that saves.

Here is that reminder

that eternal destiny

depends on our response

to the word

of the gospel.

How do we respond

to the good news

that God has sent

his son Jesus

to live a life

of perfect obedience

that we should have

but that we failed to?

And then to die

on a cross in our place,

bearing our sin,

bearing the punishment

so that we could be forgiven,

so that we could receive

the spirit,

so that we could enjoy

life with him

if we trust in him.

And then there's

the iron scepter

in his hands.

Verse 15,

he will rule them

with an iron scepter.

It's the club

of the shepherd king.

He fights off predators.

He keeps his people safe.

In the end,

all those who oppose his will

will be crushed.

So Revelation 19

takes us to this gallery,

showing us scenes

of future history.

And standing right

in the middle

is this royal portrait

of King Jesus.

And he wants us

to know these details.

There's aspects

of Jesus' life

that I imagine

we're all familiar with.

We'll not least

something of

the mercy of Jesus

and the miracles of Jesus

and the compassion of Jesus

and the cross of Jesus.

But do we understand

that we need

this picture of Jesus too?

The warrior Jesus

who fights against

his enemies

and for his people.

Because again,

without the total defeat

of sin and evil

and death and darkness,

we can never be saved.

We would have

no eternal hope.

There would be no

hallelujah chorus,

but because he wins,

there's joy,

there is hallelujah.

We need this Jesus

conquering his enemies

and ours by way

of the cross,

who can promise

future resurrection,

life and joy and glory

because of his resurrection

and his return.

We need him

as the king of power

and glory

who invites us

to find our joy

with him and in him.

We need to receive

his invitation

to receive eternal life,

to be ready

for his return

so that that day

would be for us

the best of times,

would be the spring

of hope,

would be the dawning

of unbreakable joy.

Let's pray.

Amen.