Today’s Reading

Zechariah 7-9; Revelation 19

Selected Verses

Say to all the people of the land and the priests, “When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted?  And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves?”— Zechariah 7:5-6

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty 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”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.— Revelation 19:6-8

Reflections

Zechariah was sent to confront Judah about her unacceptable service to God.  Oh, she had fasted and mourned.  She had put on an outward show of brokenness and repentance, but the Lord saw through the phoniness and hypocrisy.  True service to God is performed with fear of Him, not some kind of self-serving motivation  It is done by “small and great” since no one is exempt from responsibility before Him (Revelation 19:4). It is futile to attempt to perform outward acts of service to God that are not matched by inward piety.

John relates his vision of the marriage supper of the Lamb.  What a joyous occasion it is!  There is nothing quite like a wedding celebration where bride and groom are filled with love and hope for their future.  They commit themselves fully to one another “till death do us part.”   But no matter how splendid the ceremony, the banquet, or the couple, nothing compares to the marriage of the Lamb to His bride, the Church.

Think about it

At weddings, the big question is always, “how will the bride look?  Through John’s vision we are allowed the rare privilege of seeing the bride before the ceremony.  Are you, like me, surprised by her attire?  We expect it to be fine linen, bright and pure, but on closer examination we see that this linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.  That is what she is wearing.

Fellow disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, never underestimate the eternal significance of your righteous deeds done in fear of and love for Him.  Your labor in the Lord is not in vain (First Corinthians 15:58). 

© 2017 John A Carroll  Used by permission