Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Revelation 19:9

"And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they that are bidden to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are true words of God." — Revelation 19:9 (ASV)

This beatitude is the fourth of seven (1:3; 14:13; 16:15; 20:6; 22:7, 14) in Revelation. Each one has a subtle contrast to those who are not loyal followers of the Lamb. The word “invited” (lit., “called”; GK 2813) is used in the NT of the call to salvation (e.g., Matthew 9:13; Romans 8:30; Romans 9:24; 1 Corinthians 1:9; 2 Thessalonians 2:14), though it may also mean “invited,” with no connotation of election (cf. Matthew 22:3, 8). A wedding supper began toward evening on the wedding day, lasted for many days, and was a time of great jubilation. Here in Revelation, the wedding is the beginning of the earthly kingdom of God, the bride is the church in all her purity, and the invited guests are both the bride and the people who have committed themselves to Jesus.

To assure John and his readers of the certainty of the end of the great prostitute and the announcement of the wedding supper of the Lamb, the angel adds, “These are the true words of God” (cf. 1:2; 17:17; 21:5). A similar sentence later seems to give the same assurance for the whole book (22:6).

John, who was himself a prophet and who had received clear revelation about idolatry, now falls prey to this temptation (cf. also 22:8). Whether John included these references to his own failure because he knew of the tendency toward angel worship in the churches of Asia is not clear. Be that as it may, we need to recognize how easy it is to fall into idolatry. Whenever Christians give anyone or anything other than God control of their lives, they have broken the first commandment. The “testimony of Jesus” is Jesus’ own testimony that he bore in his life and teaching and especially in his death (see comments on 1:2, 9; cf. 6:9; 12:11; 14:12; 20:4). Those who hold to or proclaim this testimony are Christian prophets. Thus “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” The words spoken by the Christian prophets come from the Spirit of God, who is the Spirit of the risen Jesus.