It’s not a question parents have to ask kids like I was while growing up. I was always hungry, so the question was one I didn’t hear until I was probably fully grown and married. Now the question’s as common as: What would you like for dinner? Or, here in the South: What’s for supper?
“Are you hungry yet?” seems a uniquely adult question, posed in anticipation of engaging in an almost ritualistic exercise—that of sitting down to a meal that, in many cases, includes family and/or friends in enjoyable fellowship around the table.
Children sometimes have to be ordered to stop playing—more digital games these days than outdoors play like in the past—in order to get them to eat. Adults—those not so addicted to the same cyberspace pursuits—grow hungry through the sights and aromas that tell them suppertime is at hand. The stomachs rumble a bit, the salivary glands kick in, the brain sounds the dinner bell, and off we go to the supper table.
And, yes, I’m sadly aware that in today’s America, family dinner is often consumed while each diner sits at his or her own meal while continuing to engage in whatever entertainment he or she chooses. I’m thinking nostalgically, I suppose, considering how things used to be and how I wish they would continue.
As poor as the choice of segway I’ve used here might be, I hope it might help us think about how the sights, sounds, aromas, etc., of this present hour are acting upon our senses that alert us to spiritual hunger.
Particularly, I want to turn to thoughts of how near we are to one special meal that will have us all sitting at one table—perhaps my nostalgic wish fulfilled, exponentially.
So, the question again is: “Are you hungry yet?” Do you sense that spiritual burn somewhere deep within that says it’s almost suppertime?
The sounds, sights, smells, and every condition surrounding us at this moment should alert us that Heaven is about to call us to that great supper. Despite the vile, end-times odors that offend, God’s prophetic Word acts as a filter so the student of Bible prophecy can smell the cooking from Heaven’s kitchen.
We’ve covered the senses-offending matters for a long time now. Each of the things Jesus and the prophets foretold are heating to the point of becoming painful to endure: Israel on the verge of war for survival, with pressures to give God’s Land for peace; the powerful drive for a global New World Order; the deceivers and great deception; wars and rumors of war; the development of AI and other technologies that threaten to enslave; the reprobate evil that is Sodom-like, with even some Christian pastors and churches refusing to resist—all tell us that Great Supper is at hand.
I write this, of course, especially in regard to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. So let’s look at that magnificent heavenly feast that awaits.
Although there are differing views on this event, which will bring all believers together at the Lord’s table, I believe Dr. Thomas Ice has it right. He is the head of the PreTrib Study Group that meets annually at Dallas. This is the conference established by Dr. Tim LaHaye and Dr. Ice, of which I remain a member.
Many believe the Marriage Supper of the Lamb is the same event as the Marriage of the Lamb. Dr. Ice correctly interprets God’s prophetic Word in this regard.
“‘Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.’ And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen are the righteous acts of the saints. And he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ And he said to me, “These are true words of God” (Revelation 19:7-9).
It is at this point that many Christians today often confuse the marriage of the Lamb with the marriage supper of the Lamb. But they are two separate events that occur at two different times in history. Revelation 19:9 says, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” This passage clearly has a forward look anticipating a future time. It cannot refer to anyone in heaven since the church (the bride) is the only redeemed entity in heaven. However, after the second coming when believers from other ages will be resurrected (Dan. 12:2) along with tribulation saints, both mortal and resurrected ones (Rev. 20:4), these will be the invited guest who will be guests at this celebration supper. I believe that the marriage supper will be during the first part of the millennial reign of Christ. Fruchtenbaum says:
Hence, the “many” who are bidden to attend the marriage feast on earth are all the Old Testament saints and the Tribulation saints resurrected after the Second Coming. While the marriage ceremony will take place in heaven, the marriage feast will take place on earth after the Second Coming. In fact, it would seem that the marriage feast is what begins the Millennium or the Messianic Kingdom; the Church’s co-reigning with the Messiah will start with a tremendous marriage feast. (Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Footsteps of the Messiah, p. 597)
Though the marriage of the Lamb to His bride (the church) and the marriage supper of the Lamb are closely related, they are separate events, just as the wedding ceremony and the wedding reception of our day are separate events. In fact, these two events are often held at two different locations, just as the marriage of the Lamb will be in heaven right before the second coming (Rev. 19), while the marriage supper of the Lamb will commence with the beginning of the millennium. (“The Marriage Supper of the Lamb, Dr. Thomas Ice, www.pre-trib.org)
There is so much involved in this coming gathering of all the saints of the ages that the differences of opinion are myriad in trying to know all details. Suffice it to say that it will be a grand and glorious coming together of a family more intimate than that of the best gathering human families have ever enjoyed.
You can almost smell the heavenly cuisine being prepared, can’t you?
Are you hungry yet?