At the end of this perfect picture The Bride will rejoice together with Christ during the Seven Years of the Marriage Supper Celebration.
The entire Bible is built on perfect principles of harmony and a Divine Unity. Many different writers were used by the Holy Ghost and each person wrote as they were carried along by the Spirit. Not one jot (dot of the “i”) or tittle (crossing of the “t”) is out of place. It was the “Word of God” Himself who said “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” (Matthew 5:17-18)
The Bible is so pure that the Holy Spirit spoke for Jesus Christ stating“Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.” (Hebrews 10:7) His absolute perfection gave perfect proof of the absolute perfection of the Holy Bible.
Our Heavenly Father is the mind of the universe. When He created this world of ours He planned it and His acts of creation around the numerical number of seven. Day One to Day Six He created everything and then completed His perfect number by resting the seventh day and sealing the principle of seven. The foundation for all His revelations was complete.
The six days of labor was then ordered by the Heavenly Father to always and in every instance be followed by a day of rest and reflection. “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.” (Genesis 2:2-3) Our Father actually wrote the principle of Seven into the human mind so that the entire world accepts the seven day week whether pagan or godless or Christian.
The idea of a seventh day being set apart is still reflected throughout the world. There are all kinds of distortions and differences but seven days in a week is fully manifest and understood. It is thrilling to realize that this great fact comes straight out of our Bible and actually authenticates creationism. How can anyone doubt the book of Genesis as being infallible truth?
Now we must trace this idea of seven throughout our Holy Bible. Either seven, sevenfold, seventy, seven hundred or a derivative of seven is referenced in our Bible over 700 times. When we come to the final book of Revelation, there are 50 references to the number seven. In every case it suggests completion without anything to be added. Let’s look at a few instances of the Bible’s great episodes where the ordained “sevens” are witnessed.
When Noah had finished the Ark and it was time for God’s wrath He commanded His servant to prepare for the flood. “And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. And Noah did according unto all that the Lord commanded him.” (Genesis 7:1-5) I have never seen a picture of seven cows and all other clean animals or other creatures with their mates marching into the ark but that is exactly what occurred.
Every clean animal which was meat for food after the flood was prepared abundancely in advance. After the flood, God gave the clean beasts and living creatures to Noah’s family for food. “And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.” (Genesis 9:2-3)
When the Tabernacle was prepared by Moses according to God’s perfect order, it was an earthly type of the Heavenly Temple. This was a breathtaking tent enclosure. To consider it being constructed by these servants out of Egypt is a marvel of itself. This edifice had to be lighted inside and the oil lamps must reflect its heavenly counterpart. Here is the description dictated by the Holy Spirit. “And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. And six branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side: And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it. And the tongs thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, shall be of pure gold.” (Exodus 25:31-32, 37-38) This reflects the marvel of His perfection.
As the Children of Israel traveled toward the Promised Land, they were prepared for life in a Kingdom of Theocracy. Every part of their life was to be ordered by the Lord. “And the LORD spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the LORD. Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.” (Leviticus 25: 1-5)Can you imagine them asking the Lord, “What are we going to eat?” The Lord answered that quickly. “Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years. And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store.” (Leviticus 25: 21-22) Obedience was a crown of joy and multiplication as they lived under God’s watchful eyes.
God also established a year of Jubilee after Seven years of Seven years. Following seven times seven, the next year (50th) was the Jubilee and the entire year was to be a celebration. “And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years. Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.” (Leviticus 25: 8-10) This kind of happiness and prosperity is not known in our world, but it will be known in the millennial reign when Christ is Lord of Lords and King of Kings.
Seven Feasts were established by Jehovah God to help His family remember the great laws and commandments. These seven feasts also embody a perfect picture of the Messiah and the future sacrifice that He would provide. “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.” (Leviticus 23: 1-2) These were God’s seven feasts and we are actually living between the fourth and fifth of the perfect prophetic fulfillment of these feasts. The next event to fulfill the fifth feast is the last trumpet of that feast that signals the Rapture of Christ’s chosen bride.
Watching Joshua and Israel after they had passed over Jordan into the Promised Land is exciting. Jericho was a noted stronghold and had to be conquered. The Lord gave Joshua the perfect plan. “And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.” (Joshua 6: 2-5)
Seven days and the seventh day, seven times and then seven priests blowing their seven rams’ horns gave Israel a supernatural victory. They were doing things God’s perfect way. A great defeat followed this victory because of those who took things into their own hands.
The inspired writer of Proverbs gave us a written artistic view of the things the coming Messiah would hate. “These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.” (Proverbs 6:16-19) Isaiah, maybe inspired by Solomon but moved by the Holy Ghost, gave us a sevenfold description of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus Christ. “And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD:” (Isaiah 11: 2-3a)
This number of completion is seen in the great dreams that Joseph interpreted for the Pharaoh of Egypt. Seven years of plenty, even an abundance, would be followed by seven years of failure. This supernatural understanding made Joseph the acting Pharaoh and saved Israel, Joseph’s father, from destruction, along with his eleven other sons. Also remember Elijah sending the great prince that sought his healing powers to go wash in the muddy Jordan seven times (II Kings 5:10).
A great highlight in understanding God’s choice of this numerical perfection is seen as God dealt with Israel’s backsliding. For 490 years they had forsaken the keeping of God’s Sabbath. The Sabbaths of those 490 years had accumulated to 70 years of Sabbath days. Regardless of the false prophets who rebuffed Jeremiah, nothing would change. Nebuchadnezzar was on his way to Jerusalem and they would spend 70 years in bondage. “For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.” (Jeremiah 29:10) The entire pagan world was cast into an upheaval to guarantee Israel’s return after the 70 years was complete.
When we reach the prophecies of Daniel, we move directly into the Second Testament world and the End Times prophecies. This is a man who lived 600 years before Christ and gave the most precise prophecy of the time of His life and death. Daniel was still in Babylon where he died and was buried. Yet He declared by the Spirit the exact numbers of days and years until the Messiah would be cut off or crucified.
First he proclaimed 49 (7×7) years from His prophesy until the wall of Jerusalem would be rebuilt. Then he gave the 434 (62×7) years from the rebuilding of the walls until the crucifixion. Suddenly it all became the church age of which Israel was out of the picture. But he spoke of the seven year covenant of Israel and the Antichrist. The time of the 69 weeks of years was fulfilled the day Jesus Christ rode the donkey into Jerusalem which we call Palm Sunday. We must read these Scriptures to fix our hearts on this great truth.
“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” (Daniel 9:24-27) This entire passage is a multiple of weeks, each week representing seven years.
This is one of the most graphic prophecies in the whole Bible. To declare the events that will bring us to the end of the Tribulation period is breathtaking. The last week of years is immediately after the Pre-Tribulation Rapture and represents the period of the “Little book in the Father’s Hand” of chapter 5 of Revelation. The Son of God authenticates this fact in Matthew’s gospel. Jesus said, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:).” (Matthew 24:15) That abomination will be fulfilled in Revelation Chapter 13 when the Antichrist’s image is erected in the temple of Jerusalem in the middle of the Great Tribulation.
This great picture of God’s numerical perfection which the entire Bible is miraculously constructed around is a literary marvel. There is no piece of literature in the world of all academia that compares. Yet we have not finished until we look at the masterpiece. The Book of Revelation is rejected by most of the church world because it is so far beyond their mental and spiritual grasp.
It begins with a picture of Seven candlesticks as God’s picture of the total church world. Nothing of the church is missing when the Heavenly Father speaks of the seven golden candlesticks. He presents Himself as walking in the midst of the candlesticks and cares for them. He writes a letter to each church and nothing is missing in the composition of the seven letters. He commends truth, condemns error, instructs, and comforts His body of believers. As soon as He has given warning and promises to His seven churches, He moves John into the prophetic future after the Church Period.
Revelation chapter 4 is the beginning of the end. John is caught up to Heaven by a shout and sees the Father on His throne that has now been set in the mid-heaven, visible to the earth. Apostle John sees the Holy Spirit in His seven-fold revelation. As the celebration of the Marriage Supper begins, the Father reveals His seven-fold book of seven seals and the shouts of His saints fill the Heavenly sphere where God has set His judgment throne to direct the proceedings. Listen as the Saints declare their joy of celebrating the Wedding Supper. “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5:9-10)
There are seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven vials that constitute the Seven Years of the Great Tribulation. As we come to this seventh vial, seven angels come forth out of the Heavenly Temple of which Solomon’s Temple was an earthly counterpart. The seventh vial is the final judgment of this horrible period and brings us to the preparation for the One Thousand years of Jesus Christ reign on earth. The Book of Revelation is a perfect fulfillment of God’s miracles of seven. The whole Bible is a literary masterpiece and the Book of Revelation is its grand finale.
Now we must consider the Pre-Tribulation Rapture. Seven is the single number of completion. Every part of the Book of Revelation is constructed of seven. The Marriage Supper is not the result of this Book but the grand event of this book. It all starts with the church, the body of Christ, and ends with His Bride celebrating in His New Jerusalem. Any effort to reduce the Church or His Bride to a secondary position is utter misinterpretation.
The Marriage Supper cannot start in chapter 7 when the tribulation saints are caught up. It cannot start in chapter 14 when the Seventh Trumpet of Judgment is sounded. The great Bridal Supper is in progress from chapters 4 to 19. The Lord proclaims this event and the final moment of this celebration of Christ and His Bride. “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.” (Revelation 19:7) This event is the crowning moment both for Jesus Christ and for His victorious Bride.
Of all the fantastic events in the Bible, the Marriage Supper is the mountain peak. Jesus Christ in Matthew 25 shows clearly that the Pre-Tribulation Rapture is a call to the Wedding Celebration that ends in a grand supper where Christ is crowned King of Kings. It cannot be an event of 3 ½ years as the Mid-Tribulation position would require. It certainly cannot begin with the Pre-Wrath view because the Marriage Celebration would be reduced to 1 year and 9 months. This is the Church’s Triumph Celebration and will last seven years as the perfect numerical principle demands.
Seven days begin this great Biblical principle in Genesis and Seven years will be the grand celebration before the final one thousand years begin.This is what the Holy Ghost was addressing when He spoke. “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (II Peter 3:8) We are quickly approaching the final mystery of the Biblically unifying principle of sevens. The seventh thousand years is God’s completion of human history.
This very powerful mystery renders the Bible the most unique book of human history. Written by 40 different authors over a period of roughly 2000 years, from three continents and in two different major languages, the unity is absolutely supernatural. The Bible is infallible, perfect, and forever settled in Heaven and for the saints on earth.