Everyone’s Dream: A Marriage Made In Heaven

LETTER TO AN OLD FRIENDEveryone’s Dream: A Marriage Made In HeavenWhat follows is an actual letter written to an elderly new believer shortly after the death of her unsaved husband. Her response to the letter’s contents was increased anticipation to be with her new Groom. She is now with the Lord, enjoying a marriage made in heaven. Her dream is now reality.Dear Sister in the Lord,
I am sorry to hear of the death of your husband of 51 years. I am even more sorry to hear that those years were very unhappy ones for you. You expressed hope that you might have a better marriage in heaven, a beautiful wedding, and a real honeymoon – things you never had on earth. In short, I take it that you want to have a relationship with someone who will really love you and take care of you forever. This hope is Spirit-initiated, but to discover its reality, you have to search the Scriptures. Since you are a new Christian, and not yet familiar with all that is in the Bible, let me help you to see that this wish for a “marriage made in heaven,” as you put it, is already a reality – in Christ. A marriage made in heaven
To begin, you will be married in heaven. Revelation 19:7-9 tells us of the marriage of the Lamb of God (Jesus Christ) and His bride (the Church, of which all who know Him as Savior are members). The bride will be dressed all in white for her Groom. As a believer, you are already part of that bride of Christ, your Groom. But it will not be you alone. The bride is made up of all those who own Him as their Savior in this age of grace. The Scriptures are clear on this. Romans 7:4 (nkjv) says we are “married to ... Him who was raised from the dead.” If you are trusting Christ for your salvation and not relying on your own works to save you (Eph 2:8-9), then you already are His bride and a heavenly marriage awaits you in a time to come. A beautiful wedding
Ephesians 5:25-27 tells us that Christ Himself is taking care of all the arrangements, and making us beautiful for the wedding. Ephesians 5:2 tells us how much He loves us. He gave Himself to death on the cross, as a sacrifice for sin, for His bride (the Church). Ephesians 5:26 tells us that He is preparing us for the wedding, and our beautiful wedding garment will be perfect. It will have no spots (no sin from outside), no wrinkles (no sin from our own activity), and no blemishes (no defects in material or construction). In short, our wedding dress will be perfect, and we don’t even have to try to make it so. However, Revelation 19:8 does tell us that our good deeds will adorn us like a fine white linen veil. So, all the good you have done in His name, and for Him alone, will count in heaven. But they won’t get you or anyone else into heaven. A honeymoon
You will have a heavenly wedding feast, as well as what we might call a honeymoon (Rev. 19:7-10). Some say it will last seven years. Once again, Romans 7:4 tells us that when we die to sin and our attempts to be saved by our own good works, we are “married ... to Him.” Once this happens the believer begins to desire to be with the One who loved him so much – to look forward to that wedding day of blessed union with Christ. In Christ, your desire for a “heavenly marriage” is more than just a dream. It is reality! With the one you love
The Bible tells us to anticipate the soon-coming of the Lord for His bride (Rev. 22:20). If you die before He comes, you will immediately be with the one you love, for the Bible says, “We are confident, yes, well-pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8). But before we die, we may be surprised by a very special visit from the Groom to take His bride away to the honeymoon. This truth is clearly presented in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, but is little appreciated. Please read these verses which describe this “rapturous” event. It may be that we will not have to experience death, but rather be taken up by Him. This surprising of the bride by the groom is the custom in the Middle East, even today. Notice that verse 18 tells us that we are to “comfort one another with these words.” The very thought of this blessed marriage relationship existing now and continuing into eternity is a great comfort for the believer/bride, which is what you are. Back to the honeymoon<BR> The Rapture of the Church, as seen in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, will occur just before a very, very bad period in the world known as the Tribulation. While this seven years of trouble is taking place on earth, guess what you will be doing? You will be enjoying the Groom, and your honeymoon so to speak (Rev. 19:7-21:9). When we read John 14:1-3 we discover that we will be with Him in His Father’s house. He has already gone there to prepare a bridal suite for us, and one day soon will come again to take us to Himself. Exciting! He wants us to be happy, not troubled (Jn 14:1). He wants us to be comforted by the assurance of this new relationship (1 Th. 4:18). Once we are His – “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine” (Song 6:3) – our hearts are taken up with Him. In fact, we are to comfort one another with the hope of His coming soon. Someone who really loves you
It goes without saying that anyone who would give His life on the cross for the likes of us must really love us. Romans 5:6-10 tells us just how bad we are and how good Jesus is. If we look to the cross in Luke 23:39-43, we see that He loved the repentant thief and promised him paradise upon death, because the thief recognized he was a hell-bound sinner and asked Jesus to be his Savior. John 3:16 tells us that Jesus was given by the Father, in love, to save you and me. Hebrews 13:5 tells us that Jesus “will never leave you nor forsake you.” He is as good as His Word and His Word is truth (Jn. 17:17). You well know from your own marriage that all human relationships fail – because we are all selfish and hurtful sinners. That’s the bad news. The good news is that our relationship with Him will never fail because He sustains it and He cannot fail. He is God! Ready for the wedding
He loves us so much He is getting us ready for the wedding, preparing the honeymoon suite as well as our wedding garment. He is also going to come for us. When the wedding feast is over, we, His bride, will reign with Him over His kingdom for a thousand years. And that is only the beginning of our eternity with our Groom! In Revelation 21:9, we see just how proud He is of His bride, the likes of us: “Come,” the angel says, “I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” Isn’t it great to be put on a pedestal by God. Dear sister, your desire to know of this truth of God’s Word thrilled me so much I just had to write to encourage you. I hope you will read the Bible passages referred to in this letter and continue to enjoy these comforting thoughts that not only will sustain you in difficult times, but also will assure you of your eternal future in the most perfect marriage relationship imaginable. Everyone dreams of a marriage made in heaven. Only those who are united to Christ are assured of one. By Larry Ondrejack