Revelation 19:6-8

⁶ And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 

In looking at our own worship services now, today, John Piper makes these thoughts.

“Corporate worship … is the declaration in the midst of Babylon that we will not be drawn into her harlotries, because we have found God the satisfaction of our souls.  In His presence is fullness of joy and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore.  Corporate worship is the public savoring of the worth of God and the beauty of God and the power of God and the wisdom of God.  And therefore worship is an open declaration to all the powers of heaven and to all of Babylon that we will not prostitute our minds or our hearts or our bodies to the allurements of the world.  Though we may live in Babylon, we will not be captive to Babylonian ways.  And we will celebrate with all our might the awesome truth that we are free from that which will be destroyed.”

Now there is praise to God for being God who is all-powerful and He has made a way for salvation that all of us sinners have been made ready to be in relationship with Him forever.  John describes these exaltations as the “sound of many waters” and “the sound of mighty thunderings”.  Imagine the intensity of that great multitude of praise. 

The chorus to the song Shout to the Lord by Darlene Zschech read,

“Shout to the Lord, all the earth, let us sing

Power and majesty, praise to the King

Mountains bow down and the seas will roar

At the sound of Your name

I sing for joy at the work of Your hands

Forever I'll love You, forever I'll stand

Nothing compares to the promise I have in You”

All of heaven is shouting God’s praises and it is thundering.

⁷ Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” ⁸ And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

The saints have been made ready to be in the presence of God.  Akin his exposition commentary Exalting Jesus in Revelation asked the question, “How do we prepare and get ready for that day?  I believe the book of Revelation itself provides the answer.

• The bride prepares herself by remaining faithful to Christ in a fallen and evil world.
• The bride prepares herself by enduring hardship in the midst of suffering.
• The bride prepares herself by trusting God in the face of martyrdom.
• The bride prepares herself by obeying God to take the gospel to all tribes, languages, peoples, and nations.”

We must be clear that the white linen is provided only by God as it is washed clean by the blood of the Lamb.  We cannot make ourselves clean with good works.  God is the agent behind all of our efforts of preparation.

Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:25-27, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.”  Do you see how this applies at this time of the wedding of the church to Jesus?  He presents us to Himself without blemish because He has given Himself for us.  The church is presented in “fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”  These acts that we are adorned with are from Jesus Himself.

It is in this marriage that we will know Jesus all the more.  Jesus prayed in His High Priestly Prayer in John 17:23-26, “²³ I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. ²⁴ “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵ O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. ²⁶ And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”  This is a time when we will know our Savior and be with Him as He is with the Father.

He willingly gave Himself so you and I will have this moment.