Come to the Feast

"And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come to the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was angry: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then said he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go you therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which did not have a wedding garment: And he said to him, Friend, how came you in here not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen. (Matthew 22:1-14)

To understand the word of God, you must understand that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) You also must understand that Jesus Christ is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:8) Only then can you understand the consistency of God's plan for His people from the Garden of Eden to the New Jerusalem (the Wife of the Bridegroom). God created time for us to live in this natural realm, but God Himself is outside of time. A chronological order of events does not fit in the spirit realm where there is no time, space, or matter. Only the spiritual mind can comprehend that the Bride of Christ has been prepared from the beginning. "That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him." (Ephesians 1:10) This is why the Lord said in Matthew 8:11 that "many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven." The Bride of Christ includes both Old and New Testament people.

The parable Jesus spoke in Matthew 22 reveals that from the beginning, God the Father has been preparing a marriage for His Son. The Bride of Christ will be without spot or wrinkle. She must be perfected to be worthy of becoming one flesh with the Lord. Her heart must desire to know the Lord and give all that she has to obtain the "pearl of great price". Throughout history, only a remnant, a few, have been willing to lay down their lives (all that pertains to them) that they may find life. Many are called, but few are chosen.

The Father "sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come". Adam and Eve were certainly called to be of the Bride, but they never repented of their sin which caused them to be cast out of the Garden of Eden. They each blamed another for their disobedience, but never accepted responsibility for their decision. They chose to try to justify themselves. We cannot justify ourselves, we can only be justified by Christ through obedience to Him. "Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." (Romans 8:30)

Others did accept the invitation to know the Lord such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. These few were not enough to fill the banquet hall that the Father had prepared, so He sent other servants to "tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come to the marriage." The Father sent Moses to deliver a chosen people out of the seed of Abraham from the cruelty and bondage to the world. They witnessed miracle after miracle as God revealed Himself to them by faithfully providing for their every need. He protected them and delivered them from every enemy. He revealed His laws to them and patiently taught them how to prosper and be blessed by being obedient to Him. Most of His people, however, were stiffnecked and rebellious. They desired to be like other people in the world and have an earthly king to rule over them. They rejected the Lord as their King. They rejected the goodness of God, and did what was right in their eyes. "But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise."

God, in His mercy, sent prophets to warn the people of their of their sin and the consequences of their rebellion. He pleaded with them to return to Him and declared His love for them and His desire to restore them. "And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them." God's chosen people were offended by the prophets sent by God. They were lifted up in pride, thinking themselves to be special, even believing that they were serving God as they murdered His true servants. "They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time comes, that whosoever kills you will think that he does God service." (John 16:2)

"But when the king heard thereof, he was angry: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city." God, in His wrath, sent the armies of Syria and Babylon to take Israel and Judah captive. Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed. According to the pattern, only a few, such as Daniel, sought the Lord in their captivity. Most were not repentant. Israel fell as an example to us of the price of trusting in ourselves and exercising the carnal mind through self dependence. They did not understand that apart from the Lord we can do nothing.

"I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy." (Romans 11:11) Through their fall, the way was made that Messiah should come and give His life a ransom for many. The way of righteousness was now made available to all, as it was in the beginning. "Then said he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go you therefore into the highways, and as many as you shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests." "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away." (Matthew 13:47-48)

"And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which did not have a wedding garment: And he said to him, Friend, how came you in here not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." These verses describe the Judgement Seat of Christ. "Not every one that says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity." (Matthew 7:21-23) Only those of the body of Christ will appear before the Lord's seat of judgement. The world has a separate judgement.

Notice that those who are told to depart call Jesus "Lord". Actually, they say Lord, Lord as they are witnessing to His lordship and desperately pleading their case before Him - to no avail. Two is the number of witness. Only those who are born again call Jesus Lord. "Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." (I Corinthians 12:3) All in the body of Christ are sealed with the Holy Spirit, until the judgement. "In whom you also trusted, after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that you believed, you were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory." (Ephesians 1:13-14) We are either redeemed or cast way at the Judgement Seat. There is no longer a "sealing of the Holy Spirit" as we stand before the Lord. We are judged by our relationship with Him; our obedience to Him and our seeking to know Him. Those who are rejected by the Lord, those "without a wedding garment", are rejected on the basis that they never sought to know Jesus after they were born again.

The body of Christ is made up of both good and bad, righteous and sinners, sheep and goats, wheat and tares, fruitful and unfruitful. The Bride of Christ is made of those who produce good fruit; those who have had righteousness imputed to them as a result of allowing the Lord to transform them by the renewing of their minds. The Harlot is made up of those who do not produce good fruit. They are fleshly, selfish, and carnally minded; those who did not allow the Lord to transform them because they did not see the need for change. These are the self righteous. They believe themselves to be righteous according to their own opinion. They are lukewarm; they love the world more than they love the Lord. The destination for the Harlot is the same as for the world. And no wonder, for they are both of the world.

"And 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, Hallelujah: for the Lord God omnipotent reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife has made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he said unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me, These are the true sayings of God. And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he does judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he has on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together to the supper of the great God; That you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh." (Revelation 19: 6-9, 11-22)

In this portion of scripture, there is a great multitude which is the Bride of Christ. She has been gathered together in the second heaven, the Garden of Eden, for her marriage to her Beloved, the Lord Himself. She has the voice of many waters, a people that come from many nations, tongues, and levels of maturity, yet are in one accord. Her voice is like mighty thunderings which speaks of authority. She is praising the Lord saying "Hallelujah: for the Lord God omnipotent reigns". She is rejoicing and giving honor to the Lord, for the time has come for her marriage to Him.

The Bride has made herself ready. She has made choices in her walk with the Lord that have allowed Him to bring change in her and deliver her from the world. She has been faithful to seek Him, to know Him, and to obey His commandments. She has become dependent upon Him for every decision, every action taken; placing her trust in Him and putting no confidence in the flesh. She hearkened to His call, and has been judged, and has been chosen to be His Wife; one flesh with Him.

"For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church." (Ephesians 5:31-32) The true church, the Bride, the New Jerusalem, shall be joined to the Bridegroom as His Wife, and they two shall be one flesh. The Harlot church is not part of this union, for Christ will not be joined to anything worldly, fleshly, or putrid. At the time of the marriage of the Lamb to His Wife, the Harlot has been destroyed, The smoke of Babylon rises from the earth as the voice of praise from the Bride rises from the second heaven.

The Bride is arrayed in fine linen which clean and white. She is clothed upon with righteousness. This is a priestly garment, spoken about in Leviticus 16:4 - "He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on." Only the priests could enter into the Holy Place in the Temple, which is the domain of Jesus. This speaks of the Bride, for only those who have entered into priesthood by being a living sacrifice and having their garments changed by the Holy Spirit can enter into the presence of the Lord and come to know Him. The Harlot stayed in the outer court of the Temple, thinking she was being obedient by confessing her sins. The Harlot lived outside the Temple, for she was carnal, worldly, and disobedient. She walked the broad path leading to destruction, and the time of her destruction has come.

John wrote: "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he does judge and make war." The white horse that John sees is the Bride. She is the vehicle the Lord "rides". She is a vessel of honor that the Lord will use mightily to do His work and manifest His presence in the earth. The white shows her righteousness for She is without spot or wrinkle. The Lord is called Faithful for He never leaves or forsakes us. He is called True for He is the embodiment of all that is truth. His judgement is unto righteousness, for that is His purpose in bringing judgement. "God judges the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day." (Psalms 7:11) The Lord makes war on His enemies and will go forth in His Wife to put all enemies under His feet. The chief enemy of the Lord is the carnal mind, which is the entrance that Satan has to influence those who will listen to his lies. "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." (Romans 8:7) Those invited to the marriage have allowed the Lord to overcome the carnal mind in them. They walk with the mind of Christ.

The Lord's eyes are as a flame of fire. He is the Refiner's fire that has brought His Bride to the end of themselves, so that He could fill them with Himself - His mind. His eyes reveal carnality and destroy it. On His head are many crowns, representing the Bride. Those of the Bride are His crowns. "For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings." (Hebrews 2:10) The Lord, when He was in the flesh, was made perfect through His sufferings. He has perfected His Bride in the same way; through the fellowship of His sufferings. He had a name that no (carnally minded) man knew. No one walking after the flesh could know this name; only those who have intimate relationship with Him.

The Lord is clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, His blood, given as a ransom for many. The Bride understands that She is bought with the precious blood of Jesus that has atoned for Her sins and that She is not Her own, and therefore does nothing of Herself. She has overcome the world by the blood of the Lamb, the word of Her testimony, and by not loving Her life (self life) unto the death; the end of Herself. (Revelation 12:11) He is called the Word of God. He is the Word that became flesh. He is a light unto our path and a lamp unto our feet. (Psalms 119:105) He upholds all things by the word of His power, "Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. (Hebrews 1:3)

"And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." This is the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven. The Bride is now the Wife of the Lamb and She is one flesh with Him. The Lamb and the Wife are one. This is the great and mighty army of Joel chapter 2. The Wife speaks the word of the Lord (the sharp sword that comes out of the mouth of the Lord). "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12) Those that encounter the Wife will have their hearts revealed that they may make a choice to either reject the offer of life being given them, or embrace life through the tribulation (the fellowship of His sufferings) that will change their hearts. The time is now short and those who hear the word of the Lord will have to "choose this day whom you will serve". The choice will be life or death, blessing or cursing. Those given this choice are living on earth during the last half of the Tribulation period. They are not born again. The church age is over and now the "winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God" will squeeze out all that life that can be brought forth before the end. Those that embrace life and endure to the end of the Tribulation will go on into the Millennium, where the Lord and His Beloved will rule over them with a rod of iron.

Jesus has in His vesture and on His thigh the name "King of kings and Lord of lords". Jesus certainly is King over all creation, for the Father has put all things under Him. "For he has put all things under his feet. But when he says all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him." (I Corinthians 15:27) However, the kings and lords to which are referred here are not earthly kings and lords. These are the ones made kings and lords by becoming one with Jesus. Those that have entered into His rest and those of the Wife of the Lamb have become one with Him and are seated with Him in His throne. These kings and lords will rule and reign with Jesus for all eternity.

John sees a flying eagle (a manifest son of God), one of the 144,000 that were used by God to bring forth a two hundred million man army of saints in the first half of the tribulation, announcing to the Wife of the Lamb "Come and gather yourselves together to the supper of the great God; That you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great." John refers to the Wife of the Lamb as the "fowls that fly in the midst of heaven". Those of the Wife have become flying eagles as well. This is a spiritual term, a figurative description of those that are one with the Lord; for eagles are not earthbound and they are flesh eating birds. The supper of the great God is the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven to minister to those residing on earth in the last half of the Tribulation period who are not born again. The Lord Himself returns to earth in His Wife (for they are now one) to finish the last 3 1/2 years of His earthly ministry according to Daniel chapter 9.

"Seventy weeks are determined upon your people and upon the holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." (Daniel 9:24-27)

A week is seven years. Jesus Christ has a seven year ministry (He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week). He walked this earth for three and one half years before He was crucified (cut off in the midst of the week). After He was crucified and resurrected, Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed and the sacrifice and oblation (which were of the law) ceased; for the law was fulfilled through Jesus Christ and now the circumcision of the flesh was replaced by the circumcision of the heart. "And the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined." The end will be as in the days of Noah where the wicked are destroyed, not by a flood of water, but by a flood of His Spirit. In God's mercy, the wicked will be given the chance to repent and bow their knee to the lordship of Jesus Christ. The great and mighty army of the Lord will extract all the life that can be gathered, and leave behind a desolate wilderness in the great Tribulation period.

The Wife, the New Jerusalem, clothed in righteousness and filled with the Lord Himself, goes forth throughout the earth to minister to those residing on the earth and declare the message of "Know the Lord". This is an invitation to the people to be delivered from their bondage to the flesh and their slavery to sin. But there is a price for this freedom. That which is carnal in them must be overcome. The only way to overcome that which is carnal is through suffering. The time is short, so there is not much time for their carnal nature to be crucified. "And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." (Matthew 24:22) The "elect" mentioned here were never part of the body of Christ. These elect are the ones who will go on into the Millennium if they will only persevere to the end and not faint along the way in God's process.

The last half of the Tribulation will be a time of great war. "The beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army." The Beast is the carnal mind. The kings of the earth are those who get their authority from the world. Their leader is the god of this world. Their armies are those that follow their leadership and influence. Satan is desperate to maintain control over those he influences through the carnal mind. He does whatever he can to fight the Lamb and His Wife, but to no avail. In the end, the Beast (the carnal mind) and the false prophet (the voice of the stranger that tempts and deceives those who are carnally minded), were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. These entities were destroyed, never to impact God's creation again. "And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh." The remnant, those who refused to bow the knee to Jesus Christ, but fought against Him as allies of Satan and his cohorts, were destroyed and al that is carnal with them (the flying eagles filled with their flesh).

This destruction of the enemy of God; that which is carnal, worldly, fleshly, sinful - all that is of the spirit of antichrist, is the supper of the Great God. It is the wedding feast that follows the marriage of the Bridegroom and the Bride. A new earth will come forth, repopulated by a people not influenced by that which is carnal, but ruled by the Lamb and His Wife during the Millennium. Satan will be bound for those 1,000 years, then released to give one more desperate try to gather an army to fight against the Lamb. He will fail miserably and then join his accomplices in the lake of fire burning with brimstone. All will be as God intended from the beginning. He will have created the desire of His heart. He will have intimate fellowship with a creation that is like Him - His Wife. He will have a creation that will worship Him in Spirit and in Truth in a people that live on the earth. Never again will evil be seen.

"And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that hears say, Come. And let him that is thirsty come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." (Revelation 22:17) This is an invitation to you to come to the feast, the wedding feast of the Lord Jesus Christ. But you must have a wedding garment, a robe of righteousness, that comes from seeking to know the Lord. We all have the potential through Christ to achieve Galatians 2:20; the place where it is no longer we who live, but Christ in us. This is an invitation for you to be brought to the end of yourself, to be raised up in the power of His resurrection, and to be brought by Him behind the veil to enter into His rest where you cease from your own works. You can sit with Christ in His throne and be used mightily by Him to build His kingdom, to set the captives free, and lead many to righteousness. This is an invitation to lay hold on life and that more abundant.