Sermon: Wittenberg Academy – Nov 22, 2022

22 Nov 2022

Text: Rev 19:1-21

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

St. John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, the apostle and evangelist, is given the blessing of the vision of the Lord’s return.  He who was next to our Lord when He established the Eucharist now hears the heavens opened and the eternal liturgy comes down to earth: “Hallelujah!  Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.”  They celebrate the eternal victory of our Lord Jesus Christ and the defeat of the “great prostitute who corrupted the earth.” 

And the celebration continues, “For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready,” clothed in the “righteous deeds of the saints.”

John is guided from above to write – even as He wrote the Gospel of John and His three letters that are in the New Testament – now he is writing his fifth and final book, the Book of Revelation.  He is told to write, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”  St. John had heard the Lord Jesus tell parables about the wedding feast, and now he is catching a glimpse of what that means in eternity. 

He sees the heavens opened, “and behold, a white horse!”  John had seen the Lord Jesus on the cross, having witnessed the spear of the Roman soldier piercing His heart, issuing forth blood and water.  John had also seen Jesus risen from the dead.  St. John witnessed His ascension into heaven.  And now He sees the vision of His triumphant return.  At the end of John’s gospel, He explains how a rumor got started that He (John) would not die until the Lord’s return.  Here in this vision, John is allowed to see it. 

It is fitting that the Lord is called “the Word of God,” for it was St. John who revealed to us that “in the beginning was the Word.”  And “from His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations,” calling to mind what the author of Hebrews revealed: “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb 4:12).  He Is “King of kings and Lord of lords.” 

And also part of this wedding banquet is vengeance upon the devil’s minions who have caused such grief to the Lord’s Bride, the Church.  She is vindicated, as the beast and the false prophet and those who worshiped them “were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.  And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of Him who was sitting on the horse.”

As we make our way to Advent, it is fitting that we not only ponder His Incarnation as the babe of Bethlehem, but also to remember that there will be another advent, His coming again in glory “to judge both the living and the dead,” and that His “kingdom will have no end.”

And it is fitting that we join St. John and all the saints and angels in heaven, the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures in that great liturgy of worship: “Hallelujah!  For the Lord our God reigns.  Let us rejoice and exult and give Him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure.”

Amen.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.