Those of you who are married remember what it was like to finally come together and exchange vows that can only be undone by death. My wife and I were married in December of 2015, a week before Christmas. It was not until I heard the words, “I now pronounce you husband and wife” that everything hit me. We had become a part of one another. Everything that was mine was hers, and everything that was hers was mine. Our life together opened up before us, we have years upon years to enjoy each other, if God permits. We had entered that sanctuary two separate people; we left that sanctuary, one person.
I have always loved the joy and solemnity of weddings, but now I see them with new eyes. The act of two believers coming together in marriage is a sacred picture of a higher spiritual reality – Christ and the church. When I look at my beautiful wife, I see a glimpse of heaven’s queen — the bride of Christ — the church. It is my unbelievable privilege to be a type of Christ in this parable of eternity.
The Wedding at the End of Time
What is the essence of marriage except a man and a woman pursuing and enjoying one another for as long as their covenant binds them? It is a pursuit and a possession, a chase and an embrace, an exploration and a knowing. It is a constant state of being toward one another, continually pressing inward and upward in love, chasing down and savoring every aspect of one another. It is a convergence of two, colliding together over and over and over. It is not a one-sided pursuit; both must participate in the relationship. So it is with Christ and the believer for all eternity.
"I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine" (Song of Solomon 6:3).
"I will betroth you to me forever" (Hosea 2:19).
There is going to be a wedding at the end of time, to which all earthly weddings point. This wedding is the culmination of the betrothal relationship between God and the Christian – a relationship that will only grow and escalate in eternity to come.
Heaven is a place of amazing beauty, perfection, and delights the eye has not seen, nor the ear heard, nor has entered into the imagination of man. But these are only the setting and background of a more glorious attraction – the eternal and mutual pursuit-possession between God and His saint.
Absolute Possession
The bride has the right to claim everything that is her husband’s—even his name. She has joined with him to create a family. She is under the care and protection of her husband. They share all things and have an intimacy that is withheld from everyone outside of their relationship. This is the earthly picture of our relationship with God.
There is no aspect of our person that is not the absolute property of our God. From the smallest fiber of our bodies to the highest dream of our imagination, it is all His. Not only that, but there is no part or aspect of God that isn't ours to enjoy if we are Christ's.
"The LORD is their inheritance" (Deuteronomy 18:2).
"... heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ" (Romans 8:17).
Take a moment and meditate on the riches we have because we belong to Christ and Christ belongs to us. From the atom to the star to the galaxy to the nebula, from all of space and all of time, to His spiritual creations in heaven and only He knows what else and whatever else may come after; from all the possibilities and impossibilities, to all we know for certain; from His provisions for our bodies to His provisions for our souls – it is all His and it is all ours.
Imagine the end of the story of redemption. All sin is done away with forever, never to be mentioned or thought of again. There is nothing between Christ and us. We're ushered in through the doors of eternity to the feast of the wedding at the end of time, where we are finally and forever joined to the person and love of God. What Christian can think of this and not be stirred at all?
"Even so, come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20).
(Editor's note: this blog was first posted HERE on the Engage Magazine website)
