Mon Jan 12

Listen up, little ones

Especially for the littles in your household.

Listen for the words hallelujah and marriage.

Reading

Revelation 19:1-10—His Bride Given Fine Linen to Wear

Optional Reading

Zechariah 3:1-5

Keys for kids

Also for the littles. Young households might choose, after Keys for Kids, to go directly to praise and prayer.

Left to ourselves, we are covered with filth.
Zechariah tells us God gives us clean clothes.
Revelation tells us that Jesus, God the Son, gives us clean clothes.

Questions

(Some read the ?s before the notes/ ask them after.)

What do dirty clothes represent? Clean clothes?
How can we have clean clothes?
How are we to live, having been given clean clothes?

Notes

(See Saturday for authors.)

Zechariah speaks of the priest with dirty clothes being given clean clothes by God. We see a similar idea in our reading today. Many view these verses as describing the ultimate joining of Christ and His bride, the church at the end of all time (which will come about!). However, fitting with the destruction of the harlot, it is better to understand this as the marriage of Christ to His church that is true now. (see Eph 5:22-33).

Gentry declares that following the judgment of prostitute-Jerusalem as an unfaithful wife, heaven announces the marriage supper of the Lamb (19:6-10). The merging of a king’s victory celebration with a joyous nuptial feast reminds us of the royal wedding song in Psalm 45, which probably serves as the backdrop to Revelation 19. The punishment of God’s unfaithful wife publicly and securely establishes Christ’s kingdom, leading to the announcement of the festal presentation of the Lord’s new bride.

This bride is made beautiful by Christ Himself. He made us ready by granting us His righteousness—pictured here as fine linen garments. Most weddings in our modern days have the bride wearing a radiant white dress. If you are a Christian, you are clothed in Christ’s righteousness and are to live with His visible church in Christ’s righteousness.

Swedish Method questions

See the Sunday notes for meaning of the symbols.

Praise

Psalm 45c, 119u

Prayer

Rejoice in Christ clothing His bride in clean wedding clothes.
Pray for a specific application from yesterday's sermons.
Pray for a member of our church, for your family, and for a non-Christian friend/family member.