Where do the martyrs (Christians who have been killed for their faith) that appear at the opening of the fifth seal (6:9) and their brethren (Christians who are about to die for their faith) fit into the wedding feast of the Lamb? Conventional eschatology places the rapture before the first seal so the dead martyrs (if they died before the rapture) should have risen with “we who are alive”. Are we to assume that these are Christians that come to faith after the rapture and therefore would not be eligible for the wedding feast of the Lamb? Are these the ones that make up the enumerable group that appears in heaven at the Sixth Seal (7:9) and would they have no part in the bridal ceremony? Some have proposed that there is a second rapture at mid-trib for this group and that the marriage of the Lamb would not occur until after that. Some carry this even further to include those that might become Christians in the Great Tribulation (last half of week 70) and propose a third rapture for them with the marriage of the Lamb occurring after that. A penny for your thoughts. They are resurrected after the Tribulation: Revelation 20:4 - And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. So verse 20:4 indicates a resurrection of dead tribulation period martyred Christians after the Great Tribulation. My question is: Are these Christians part of the Bride of Christ? Did they miss out on the wedding feast? This is from my Revelation commentary: Revelation 19:9 - Then he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!' " And he said to me, "These are the true sayings of God." As discussed in Revelation 19:7, the Jewish wedding tradition shows that the marriage supper is a wedding reception where guests are invited to come celebrate the union of the Lamb and His wife. The angel who had one of the seven Bowl judgments, speaking to John since Revelation 17:1, tells him to write that those called to the marriage supper of the Lamb are blessed. Christ is the one who calls people to come to His wedding supper: Revelation 3:20 - Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. The Lord sends His servants to deliver His invitation to the marriage supper, but many refuse to come. Jesus spoke about the invitation to His marriage supper in the parables below: Luke 14:15-20 - Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, "Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!" Then He said to him, "A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, 'Come, for all things are now ready.' But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.' And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.' Still another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.' Luke 14:21-24 - So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.' And the servant said, 'Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.' Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.'" Matthew 22:1-7 - And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: "The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. Again, he sent out other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, "See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding." ' But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Matthew 22:8-14 - Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.' So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. "But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' "For many are called, but few are chosen." The Lord is the master and the king in the parables. The Holy Spirit is the servant in the parable in Luke. In the Matthew parable, the king sends out three rounds of servants. The first round of servants sent out was John the Baptist and his disciples (Matthew 3, Luke 7). Their kingdom message was widely rejected. The second round of servants sent out and killed was the Lord's disciples (Luke 10, John 20). The disciples were all martyred except John, and Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans about forty years after the Jewish leaders rejected and crucified Jesus. The last round of servants sent out are the 144,000 Jewish servants of God who are successful in gathering together a multitude (Revelation 7) to attend the wedding supper in the kingdom. So, we see that those who accept the invitation to the marriage supper will include saints from all dispensations. The bride is obviously called to the marriage supper as the guest of honor, while saints from other dispensations are the guests who attend the celebration. The passages below show that the Old Testament saints, including John the Baptist who calls himself a friend of the bridegroom will attend the marriage celebration: John 3:29 - He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. Isaiah 25:6-7 - And in this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the lees. And He will destroy on this mountain the surface of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. The Tribulation saints will also attend the marriage supper as guests: Luke 12:35-37 - "Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them." Note in the parable above that the wedding itself had already taken place, but the master invited his servants to come dine with him after the wedding. This reveals that the marriage between the Church and Christ is in Heaven, and then they will return to celebrate their marriage in a wedding reception on the earth with the saints from other dispensations. The gathering of all the saints from all dispensations at the marriage supper fulfills the following prophecy where Christ will gather together all things in Heaven and on Earth in Him: Ephesians 1:7-10 - In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth - in Him. Great study on this, Amy! :good: Do you have any ideas of where on earth the Marriage Banquet will be held? In Jerusalem? Garden of Gethsemane? Where the Garden of Eden used to be? Cana near the Sea of Galilee (where the first Wedding miracle of changing water to wine)? or some place else? ———————- Revelation 16:16 And when does the Wedding banquet take place? After Armageddon war … Revelation 19:9 11 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 doth judge and make war. 12 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. 13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords. And the birds of HEAVEN are called to the supper of the GREAT God too … near the Sea of Galilee :popcorn 17 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 unto the supper of the great God; 18 That ye 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. 19 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. ————— Soooo if the birds in heaven get a have a feast … could it be … perhaps our fur babies in heaven will also be called to the supper of our GREAT God too when we are at the King’s Wedding Banquet? :unsure: :whistle: And if so … then be prepared for them to talk and want certain foods on their plates … :wacko: :mdrmdr: The Plains of Megiddo have always been a natural place for war. Quite the spectacular view from Mount Carmel, BTW. 
Matthew 8:10-12 - When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
I used to think it might be held in the restored Garden of Eden … but now I’m leaning it could be in Cana … I wonder if that is considered part of the Garden of Eden region at one time? :unsure: So much end time action is associated with the Sea of Galilee … just noticed even the battle of Armageddon is located … where? Near the Sea of Galilee :whistle:
And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. 😉 And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
It would be ironic, and very cool, if they were used for the Wedding Supper of the Lamb. Finally redeemed from a place of bloodshed to a place of love and celebration.
