The Marriage of the Lamb
Hattie Hammond

“And after these things I heard a great voice of many people in heaven, saying Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, to the Lord our God: For true and righteous are His judgments … And again they said, Alleluia … And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshiped God that sat on the throne, saying Amen; alleluia … for the Lord God omnipotent reigns.

“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife has made herself ready.  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”  Revelation 19: 1-8

“The marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife has made herself ready.”  The Amplified version says, “The Marriage of the Lamb has come at last.”  Both the Father and Jesus have been waiting for this.

It was in the Father’s heart from the beginning of time that Jesus should have a Bride.  This Bride is the New Jerusalem come down from heaven, when Jesus will be totally unveiled at the time of His marriage.

“The Marriage of the Lamb is come.”  It does not say the “wedding” of the Lamb has come.  The Holy Spirit always uses the right words.  There is a difference between a wedding, and a marriage.  The wedding includes the best man, the bridesmaids, the cutting of the wedding cake, and all of the guests, activities, and food.

A marriage is a union in which two people are being united, and you are invited to come and be one of these.  Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.  Every Christian has the opportunity to be a part of this event, but not all have “made themselves ready.”

I desire to be the Bride of the Lamb, don’t you?  Paul says, “I want to know Him.  I want to be found in Him.  I want to win Christ.”   He had already won Christ, look at all that he accomplished.  Then, why did he, when he was an old man say, “I desire to know Him?”

The Bride wins the Bridegroom.  Paul knows that there is something “more” than just getting inside heaven’s gate.  Some say, “If I could just make it in,” and I say to them, “You will be disappointed, as there is so much more.”

There are different levels in heaven.  Those who are overcomers are one group.  These are seated with Jesus in His throne (Bride), and will reign with Him.  There is the multitude who no man can number.  These stand before the throne (servants), and will serve forever.

The highest privilege in the Church is to be among the overcomers, who are in the “Bridal Company.”

“For many are called, but few are chosen.”  Matthew 22:14

This is a poor translation.  In the original, it says, “Many are called, but few qualify.”  You have to “qualify” to be the Bride of Christ.  Let us start with this qualification:

Who is the Lamb going to choose as His Bride?

The Bride He will marry is refined and purified.  She desires to be in this Bridal Company, united to the Lamb.  She has been dealt with, and has overcome.  The Lord will give us all that is needed to qualify to be His Bride.

Jesus has, in every way, paid the price that His Father asked Him to pay, and has qualified Himself to be our Bridegroom.

“I do always those things that please Him.”  John 8:29b

The Bridegroom’s garment is obedience, and He wore that garment well.  Another part of His garment is humility.  He wore that garment, as He humbled himself.  Think what He had left to bring redemption to us - the glory and oneness with His father.

He so humbled Himself as to become nothing more than a tiny seed in a virgin’s womb.  In that womb was woven for Him the garment of human nature.  He was clothed in a human body, and became one with us - so one with us that He will never be separated from us.  He will always be the God-man.

Jesus never lost His deity. Rather, He set it aside to become the God-man who can identify with us, in order to make it possible for us to identify with, and be united with Him.

Therefore, the Bride must also “choose” to be in identification and in unity with Him.  Each day that we live, we are to make the choice whether we will give way to our old carnal nature, or choose rather to be the “Bride of the Lamb.”

Let this “Christ in you” - the new creation life that He is working on, have its way.  This is where the progression toward our becoming spiritually maturity is taking place.  This is where we say, “yes” to Jesus in our obtaining the fullness of this new creation life, not that old outward thing that is to be crucified, dead and buried.  Reckon yourself to be dead to sin, and then, have nothing to do with it.  Let Christ, in this new creation life, live within us, because when Jesus comes, all carnality must go.

Whatever level of spiritual maturity that this new creation life within us has matured to, this is the company that we will come up in and be identified with, in the ages that are before us.  The Bible says, “Every man in his own order, or his own regimen, into whatever we have qualified for.”

“To her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”  Revelation 19:8

That means that she had the privilege (granted) to choose to be arrayed in the “wedding garment” which is pure white linen - the righteousness of saints.

There is just one requirement that Jesus lays on us to become His Bride, and that is “righteousness.”  We know He was righteous, and He is working His righteousness in us.  It is through a process, which He likens to the process that linen goes through to become the clean and white linen wedding garment of the Bride.

Linen is made of flax.  The flax grows in a field, and the whole plant is pulled up.  It is not cut like wheat.  This is what the Lord does for us.  He takes this whole mess that we are, spirit, soul and body, and begins to deal with the whole thing.  He pulls us up, and hangs us up to dry, to rid us from our former source of supply.  These roots had received their supply from the earth, but not anymore.

The word says that I am crucified to the world.  That is a strong statement and we need to know what that means.  I am crucified and dead to the world.  How many of us can say we are dead to the world, and the world is dead to me?

There are three parts to flax that have to be separated.  It has to be pulled through spikes of fine steel that are nailed to rough boards.  Do you ever feel Him pulling on you?  We have to give Him our permission to pull us through this process.

Then these fibers have to be soaked in hot water for ten to fourteen days - soaking ten to fourteen days in prayer and in the precious Holy Spirit.  We cannot pray or get soaked in His presence too much.

Now it has to be rolled and pressed until it becomes one continuous thread.  Then it is put back in hot water in the trough and heated again to 150 degrees to soften it up.  It is pulled through the hot water heated at 150 degrees fifteen times.  This is you and I.  Do you ever find yourself in hot water?

Now, to get the pure linen dazzling white, it has to be pounded sixty times a minute with fifty-pound blocks for sixty to seventy hours.  This is the way that linen is made, and our garments are going to be “pure white linen.”  So, we will be pulled and pushed, and in hot water, and in trials and troubles, but remember Paul’s statement, “Nothing is to be compared with the glory to come.”  Paul hungered, was obedient and submitted, totally given to God.

Jesus prayed:

“Father, I will that they also, whom You have given Me, 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.”  John 17:24

Jesus was saying, “Will You let them see Who I really am?”

This is the day that I am looking for: when He is unveiled before us, and we behold His glory and know Who this Jesus really is.

I prayerfully desire that you will come to know Him, to love Him, and live for Him.  Will you give yourself to Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and body?

Will you lay all down before Him, and be ready to meet Him when He comes?