Imagine being invited to a wedding that you cannot wait to attend, and in the days leading up to the ‘Big Event’, you find yourself talking about it more and more amongst your other friends who plan on attending as well. But for some curious reason, nobody has yet to go shop for new clothes, schedule hair appointments, dust off those shoes, or anything else that one might normally do when planning to dress up for such a special occasion. I mean let’s be real here...normal people just don’t come in from working outside and plan on attending a wedding without a bit of ‘cleaning up’...do they?

Now take in to consideration ...we are talking about the bride herself...who seems to have forgotten to get ready. Talk about confusing irony! If we personally knew the bride-to-be and lived close to her and we saw she did not seem to be overly concerned with ‘making herself ready’, we might start second guessing ourselves as to whether we had the correct date written down in our calendars.

Most ‘believers’ will tell you today that they too, are expecting on attending a ‘big wedding event’ known as the ‘marriage supper of the Lamb’. Would you take a look at Revelation 19:7-9 where this ‘marriage supper’ is about to start, and please note what it says ‘His wife’ has done there in vs. 7. – “She has made herself ready”. Friends....do you know who this ‘bride’ is? It is the ...’church’... those who have been ‘called out of darkness and into His marvelous light’. (1 Pet. 2:9)

And do we know what kind of bride...Jesus is coming back for? You might refer to Ephesians 5:25-27 where we are told this bride, or church body, is going to be ‘holy, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing and without blemish’. Tell me again what this bride did in Revelation 19:7....she ‘made herself...________(what)? I wonder what that might have entailed?

Let’s take a look at 1 John 3:3 and see what he has to say as ‘everyone who has this hope in Him (Jesus) ...purifies himself, just as He is pure.” Sounds to me that this bride has some certain responsibilities herself, to be tending to, does it not to you? That might explain Paul’s admonition where he wrote: “Having these promise, beloved, let us ...cleanse ourselves...from ALL filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2 Cor. 7:1) And can you look at Romans 13:11-14 as well? What does vs. 12 suggest we are to do; and Hebrews 12:1, for that matter?

Do you think it is possible that all this talk about ‘being holy as God is holy’ (and holy in ALL our conduct- 1 Pet. 1:14-16) has anything to do with the clear warning that ‘without holiness, no one will see the Lord’? (Heb. 12:14). And let’s not forget the standard that Jesus laid down in Matt. 5:48 – “You shall be perfect (complete)...just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” This sounds like the part where ‘many’ thought these were too hard of sayings, and “went back and walked with Him no more.” (John 6:60,66)

Now let’s revisit Matt. 25 where we read the parable of the ten virgins, which is a type of the ‘church’. We are told five were wise and five were foolish, but all ten of them, while waiting on the return of the bridegroom, who had delayed his coming, fell asleep. You know the story and how at midnight a warning cry went out announcing his coming. The wise virgins had a supply of oil(spirit) to illuminate their lamps (word), but the foolish virgins were left to go scrambling on their own to find some oil. Would you please now read aloud, to yourself, verse 10 and tell me who are the ones that went in to the wedding? And where did they proceed to go in through , and what followed immediately after they entered in? Something about a door being shut, yes? Would you please read what happened to the remaining virgins who were ‘not ready’. (11-13)

If I’m not mistaken, we read in the previous chapter where Jesus said that the coming of the Son of Man (bridegroom) would be similar to the days of Noah, and it too, involved a ‘shutting of a door’ before the floods came and destroyed everyone else. (Gen. 7:16-21; Matt. 24:37-39; Luke 17:26-27)

Do you honestly believe in the deepest parts of your heart...that being ‘ready’...simply means you saying...”I believe in Jesus?” If so, perhaps you might read through Matt. 22:1-14 as it too, addresses a ‘wedding banquet’ and what happened to that person that came in ...improperly dressed? (11-13). And did you notice how a lot of those folks who were invited got busy with other things, making light of the wedding and ‘going their own way’? Doesn’t sound like they got ready. Oh, I hope you noted it was Jesus who relays this story of us.

I leave you with some of Peter’s final words to us: “Therefore, beloved, looking forwards to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot...and blameless...” (2 Pet. 3:14)