5 And on her forehead a mysterious name was written: BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

6 I could see that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and witnesses for Jesus. And I was utterly amazed at the sight of her.

16 And the ten horns and the beast that you saw will hate the prostitute. They will leave her desolate and naked, and they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.

— Revelation 17:5-6, 16

7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him the glory. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready.

8 And it is granted to her that she should clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure. For the fine linen are the justifications of saints.

9 Then the angel told me to write, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

— Revelation 19:7-9

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, mercy and love from Christ to you.

John presented a sharp contrast between the bride of the Lamb and the great prostitute Babylon. The gaudily dressed prostitute committed adultery with the earth’s kings. She intoxicated the earth and became drunk with the blood of God’s people. Yet those who seemed to love the prostitute brought her to ruin. Christ’s bride has been oppressed, persecuted, and martyred, but she is loved by one who remains absolutely faithful. The prostitute and the bride both attend a feast. However, the prostitute is devoured while the bride celebrates her wedding supper.

The angel then directed John to write God’s words of blessing: “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” The bride is the Church, seen in its entirety and the wedding guests are believers, seen as individuals. In John’s time, wedding celebrations were occasions of great joy that often lasted many days. This wedding banquet may be seen as the joyful start of the Messiah’s kingdom. How marvelous it is that Christ’s believers, to whom Jesus laid down His life to give His eternal life, have received the unfailing salvation and will enter into the joy of Jesus’s unending reign forever!