In this sermon, the preacher discusses the concept of the gospel supper and the invitation to come and partake in it. He emphasizes that the gospel offers forgiveness, redemption, justification, substitution, and reconciliation. The sermon then transitions to a discussion of the book of Revelation, highlighting the different scenes that take place on earth and in heaven. The preacher mentions various chapters and events, such as the Four Horsemen, the sealing of the hundred and forty-four thousand, and the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Well, joining us with the book of the Revelation again this evening, and we're at chapter 19. The book of the Revelation, chapter 19, and we're going through from verse 7 to the end of verse 10. 7, 8, 9, 10, you see. It's a very short portion. We'll read it through together and you watch the reading. Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come. And I'd like you to underline the phrase in your mind just now, the marriage of the Lamb is come. You want to take note of where it's taking place and when it's taking place. For the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white. For fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he says unto me, writes, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb, because after the marriage there will be the marriage supper. And blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he says unto me, these are the true sayings of God, and I fail at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, see thou do it not. I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God, for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. It's a very wonderful little portion of the evening, and there are more problems in it, I believe, than you think there are just now. You notice that I have called this, this evening, the marriage supper of the Lamb. That's one of the phrases in the paragraph. Now, I think that you notice, as we've come through the book of the Revelation, there were times when the scenes were down here on earth. And then there were times when the scene changed so quickly, and we were looking at things in heaven. And we've always got to watch this. Wonder can you go through the book of the Revelation without looking at it and telling me all the chapters that we've gone through now. Let me put you over it again. In chapters 1 and 2 and 3, we saw the Lord going through the midst of the churches. He was looking at the book of churches, and you remember the things he said. Well, that was enough, wasn't it? And then in chapters 4 and 5, it was the Lamb we were taken up with in heaven. And you remember I said that this book of the Revelation is God's revelation of Christ, and God reveals the Lord in the midst of the churches in the first three chapters, and then he reveals the Lamb in the midst of the throne in chapters 4 and 5. Now, when we came to chapter 6, we came back to earth again. And 7 and 8 and 9 and 10 and 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. And last week we were back in heaven, listening to these wonderful hallelujahs from the great crowd in heaven. You remember that chapter 6 was the four horsemen, and that was on earth, desolation and starvation, the civil war and so on. Chapter 7 was a parenthesical portion, you remember, where the 144,000 were sealed. Chapter 8 was where a third part of everything above the earth and on the earth and round the earth and under the earth was burned with fire. Chapter 9, it was the chapter where the demons were let loose. What a chapter that was. Chapter 10 was another parenthesical chapter. Chapter 11 was the two witnesses. You remember that great scene where they stood against the beast and overcame him for quite a time. Chapter 12 was Israel in the wilderness being hunted by the devil. Chapter 13, we had the two beasts, and what a night we had on this. Chapter 14 was the 144,000 coming through the tribulation on Mount Zion. Chapter 15 was parenthetical again. Chapter 16 was Armageddon. Chapter 17 was the scarlet woman. Chapter 18 was commercial Babylon. I've thought in all the chapters, you know. And what's more, I can tell you what's in them too. And when we come to chapter 19, we're back in heaven. Do you remember it? Let's get it clear now. Look at verse 1. After these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven saying, Hallelujah, salvation and glory and honor and power unto the Lord our God. My, this great voice is in heaven. Verse 5 said, And a voice came out of the throne saying, Praise our God. Verse 6, And I heard out of it where the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thundering, saying, Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. And then the voice said, Let us be glad and rejoice. So I don't think that you have any trouble settling the scene this evening. This is taking place in heaven. And it's taking place after all these things have taken place on earth. In fact, you know, we're going to be taken in to the marriage of the Lamb. And it couldn't possibly have taken place before it. Because there was a harlot who was protesting to be defect. And the harlot had to be removed. Before this thing took place. And we've been through the chapters where the great whore, the harlot, the scarlet woman was removed. And after these things, this voice shouts in heaven, Let us be glad and rejoice. You know, there are great suppers right through the New Testament. Let's try to get all this in this evening. Let's go back to Luke's Gospel, chapter 14. Luke's Gospel, chapter 14. And our Lord Jesus speaks by parables very often. And at verse 16 he said this. Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and barred many. And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come, for all things are now ready. And I don't want to take time with this parable this evening. But the greatest gospel preachers we've had in the world, they've all been saying that this is the gospel supper. I believe that when you can invite the people and say, Come for all things are now ready, it must be a great spread. And I believe that there is forgiveness on the table for unbelievers. And I believe there is redemption. I believe there is justification. I believe there is substitution. I believe there is reconciliation. And I can go on quite a bit, you know. But all things are now ready. And the one word that covers this supper is the word invitation. It's come! That's what the gospel supper is all about. Just come. For all things are now ready. Now if you go from Luke 14 you'll come to John chapter 12. John's gospel, chapter 12, verse 1. And then six days before the Passover came, then Jesus, six days before the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper. And Martha served. But Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikeny, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. This is what's called by preachers the Bethany supper. And I think one word covers it again. It's the word adoration. And now you can see Lazarus sitting at the table looking at the master that called him out of darkness into light. And he must have been adoring the Lord. You'll find that Martha is serving now, and she's not grumbling anymore. Life is so taken up with the Lord that the mere task means nothing. And, of course, Mary breaks the alabaster box of ointment, and the whole scene is adoration. I think the gospel supper is invitation, and this one is adoration, and without going to the scriptures you know about the last supper. It was there that the Lord instituted what we call the Lord's Supper. And when we meet the Lord's this morning around the table, it's commemoration that's the word. We're there to remember the Lord's death. And I believe that the supper that we're thinking about this evening, the marriage supper, the word is jubilation. Yes, now have you got them? The gospel supper is invitation, and the Bethany supper is adoration, and the last supper is commemoration, and the marriage supper is jubilation. And next week, if the Lord will, there's another one there in chapter 19. I think you should get it now, and then you'll be thinking about it. And it's said in verse 17, we're at chapter 19, verse 17, And I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God, that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both great, free, and bond, both small and great. My, the noot for this one is damnation, as these people are damned. I just thought I would drop this in just to start the students along the line of some of the great suppers of the New Testament. There may be one or two more that I've left out for you to find, and you'll find there's a word for each one of them. But we'll ask what's called the marriage of the lamb this evening. And I want you to note the difference between the phrase in verse 7 and the phrase in verse 9. You know, it's the marriage of the lamb, that's the phrase in verse 7. And it's the marriage supper of the lamb in verse 9. Now, I want you to get the hold of this. You know, we are united to the Lord Jesus just now. Every believer in this meeting is united to Christ. We're members of his body, and in fact he's the head of the body. And we're all one in that sense in Christ Jesus. And yet although that union has taken place, and it can never be broken, yet the marriage of the lamb has not taken place, and will not take place, and cannot take place until the whore is removed, this false woman. And this scene is the way of the end of the great tribulation. After these things in heaven, the marriage of the lamb takes place. Now, let's look at these questions that I've put down for you. Who is the bridegroom? And I don't think there are any problems with the answer, because the phrase is, it's the marriage of the lamb. And the lamb is the bridegroom, I think that's quite clear. Now, the next one is not as clear as some people think it is. When I say, who is the bride? You know, it's there that some of the people who don't hold the dispensations with me, begin to argue with me. You see, there's quite a crowd of people in this world who believe in a general judgment, and a general resurrection, and a general everything. They tell me, you see, that when you go all the way back over the flood into the Antediluvian, before the David's came, into the Antediluvian age, that Enoch, and Noah, and all the saints there, that they belong to the church. And then that's when you come to this side of the flood, Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the patriarchs before Moses came, that they belong to the church. And then you get Moses, and you get the prophets, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and so on, and they belong to the church, and then we belong to the church, and the tribulation saints belong to the church, and the millennial saints, and it's all one. I'm afraid that you're going to be in a bit of difficulty this evening, because we're going to have to look at the brides. And then we're going to have to look at somebody who's been invited to the marriage supper, and they're not the bride. And you're going to be in difficulty, you know. I think you know that people who are not prepared to learn that there are dispensations, they cannot possibly understand the book, and there's bits they've got to squeeze out. Ah, but they weren't put in for you to squeeze them out. They were put in for your learning. I was talking to somebody just the other day, and they were saying to me, you know, Jehovah married Israel. I said, that's right, Israel is sometimes called the wife of Jehovah. And he said to me, you see, Jehovah marrying Israel is the marriage of the Lamb. It's just the same thing. I said, now I want to tell you that the marriage of the Lamb doesn't take place until all these things have passed. And you've got to go from chapter six right to the end of chapter eighteen, and then it says, after these things. And you are having the marriage your way back there. You are a thousand years and two and three thousand too soon. But I did this for them, and I want to do it for you. And you young believers, watch this, because some of these fellows may talk to you. Let's go back to Isaiah, chapter fifty-four. Prophecy of Isaiah, chapter fifty-four. Now this is the prophet Isaiah, and he was one of Israel's prophets, remember. And he's talking to the nation of Israel, and that will be made quite clear. And in verse five he said this. We're at Isaiah fifty-four, verse five. For thy maker is thine husband, and that bit should be quite clear, that Jehovah is the husband of Israel. The Lord of hosts is his name, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of the whole earth shall he be called. For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I govern thee. I said, you're trying to tell me that the wife of Jehovah and the bride of the Lamb are one and the same? He said, yes, that's what I believe. I said, now you're quite sure that he's talking here to Israel, and he's saying thy maker is thine husband. Yes, he said Jehovah and Israel are together, Israel is the wife of Jehovah. And I said, you maintain that the bride and Christ is the same? He said, yes. I said, now he says to Israel here, in verse seven, for a small moment have I forsaken thee. Now, I want to ask you, did Jehovah forsake his wife? He said, yes. I said, that's right. I said, now he's forsaken her for a small moment. Of course, he's not altogether given her up, you know. With great mercy he should govern her. Now, I said the bride is just a little bit different. Because the Lord Jesus looks at every member of the church and he says, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Did you get that? Because that's tremendous. And for anybody who had got any scriptural sense at all, they could see the difference between God forsaking Israel and the Lord will never forsake the church. He's made the solemn promise, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. And the difference is absolutely clear. My dear friends, the day that the Lord founded the church at Pentecost, he said, upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it and he'll never forsake us. In fact, it says in the New Testament that he loved the church and gave himself for it. That he might sanctify it and cleanse it by the washing of water, by the Word. That he might present it unto himself, a thing without cost or blemish or any such thing. And I think for the first time in his life he was pulled up and he said, you know, there is a difference. I said, look, there's a thousand differences. So don't let's get off on that foot, let's get this quite clear. That the Lamb is the bridegroom, that's quite clear, it's the marriage of the Lamb. And only the New Testament saints from Pentecost up until Jesus comes again compose the bride. That is called the church. And the church is the bride. And he will never leave and he will never forsake. Now let's get this bit quite clear. See the next question on your sheet. Who are the friends of the bridegroom? Let's go over to John's Gospel for a moment or two. We're at John chapter 3, it's that great chapter. John's Gospel chapter 3, verse 22. John 3, 22. After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judea. And there he tarried with them and baptised. And John also was baptising in Enon, near to Salom, because there was much water there. That should keep some of you about infant sprinkling, you know. You know, I was down at this place called Enon, near to Salom, one day. And as I went down there, there was a baptismal service in the Jordan. And the man who was baptising waded out into the street where he could get baptised. Why do you think John wanted much water for, for sprinkling? Why he could take enough in a lemonade bottle and would do a crowd. My dear friend, look at it. John also was baptising in Enon, near to Salom, because there was much water there. You know, he needed to bury the people. Why not for baptism is all about, it's the mercy. You take the candidate and he's saying this to the crowds. When Christ died, I died with him. When he went in, I went in. When he went down and was buried, I was buried. When he rose, I rose. What's wrong with this? Oh, you would rather have potpourri than truth. Yes, that's truth you see right now. Some of the folk are all talking about blessing. They're afraid of truth. Don't talk to me about being blessed when you're afraid of a book. My dear friends, it's quite clear that John was baptising by immersion. Because he needed to go to the place where there was much water there. Verse 23 again. And John also was baptising in Enon, near to Salom, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptised. For John was not yet cast into prison. Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying. And they came on to John and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou bearest witness, behold, the same baptises us. And all men come to him. All babies. All men. John answered and said, A man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom. But the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heals him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. This, my God, therefore, is fulfilled. Tell me what John was. Was he a part of the bride or one of the friends of the bridegroom? I don't think that some of these boys who talk about prophecy can read that, in my opinion. I would have no quibbles answering the question. He doesn't consider himself to be one of the brides. He says, he that hath the bride is the bridegroom. And you know the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heals him, my, he rejoices. And then John said this, my joy is fulfilled. He was one of the friends of the bridegroom. I believe that from Pentecost until Jesus comes again composes the bride all the believers. I believe that the Old Testament saints are all the friends of the bridegroom. Because John the Baptist was an Old Testament prophet. Oh, I know he appeared in the New Testament. Nevertheless, it was under the Old Testament that he came. Because the Holy Ghost filled him from his mother's womb. And in the old economy the Holy Ghost could come upon whom he would, when he would, where he would. And John was one of the old economists. You know, John's a very interesting character. This is John's joy that we're looking at. I preached at a convention not so very long ago. On John's joy, and John's job, and John's Jesus. Which is a very interesting line. Now that's John's joy. He was a friend of the bridegroom and when he heard his voice he rejoiced. Have a look at John's job for a moment or two. Go way back to John chapter 1. John 1 verse 6. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. You know, he was really sent, this fellow. Why he didn't take this on among his own? God sent him. You know what he was sent for? This is the job. The same came for a witness. That was his job. He was the witness. To bear witness of The Light, capital L. Here's what he said in verse 16. John bare witness of him and cried saying, This was he of whom I speak. He that cometh after me is preferred before me. For he was before me. But you know that John the Baptist was born six months before Christ was born. You know that. He was six months older. And yet in bearing witness he stands up and says, He was before me. You see, he knew about the eternality of the Son of God. He knew that he was eternal. He knew he was the eternal Son. And he's bearing witness to his eternality. Look down the chapter a little bit. Verse 19. The record of John. When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem, they asked them, Who art thou? And he confessed and denied not, but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he says, I am not. Art thou thy prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou that we may give an answer to them that sent us? What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord. You know, he was the forerunner of the Lord. Do you notice how he puts the word in now? You see, he didn't only bear witness to Christ's eternality, he bore witness to Christ's authority. He said, He's the Lord. I'm just sent before him. Have a look at this. Verse 27 he says, He it is who coming after me is prepared before me, whose shoes latcheth I am not worthy to unloose. You see, he doesn't only witness to Christ's eternality, and to Christ's authority, but to Christ's superiority. He said, I'm not even worthy, man, of stepping down and loosing his shoes. See, verse 29, The next day John seeeth Jesus coming unto him and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. You see, the testimony he gave, he witnessed to Christ's eternality. He said, He was before me. He witnessed to Christ's authority. He said, He's the Lord. He witnessed to Christ's superiority. He said, I'm not even worthy to stoop down and loose his shoes. He witnessed to Christ's sufficiency. He's the Lamb of God to bear away the sin of the world. Oh, what a wonderful testimony. But it doesn't finish there. You see, he said this, verse 32, And John bear record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove unto the boat on him. And I knew him not, but he that sent me. He was sent from God, you remember. He that sent me to baptize with water. The same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him. The same is he which baptizes with the Holy Ghost. And I saw and bear record that this is the Son of God. You see what he's doing now? He's bearing witness to his deity. He's the Son of God. My, what a witness he was. He bore witness to Christ's eternality. He was before me, he said. He bore witness to Christ's authority. He says he's the Lord, you know. He bore witness to Christ's superiority. He said, I'm not worthy to stoop down and loose his shoes. He bore witness to Christ's sufficiency. He's the Lamb of God to bear away the sin of the world. He bore witness to Christ's deity, he said. He's the Son of God. But where we're looking in chapter 3, go back to it now. You see, he's saying in verse 29, He that hath the bride is the bridegroom. But the friend of the bridegroom which standeth and heareth him rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. This my joy therefore is fulfilled. You know, he's witnessing to Christ's identity now. He's the bridegroom. And he'll have the bride, and I'll be at the wedding. I'm the friend of the bridegroom. I think that all the arguers about dispensations and so-called amillennialists ought to wake up a little bit. Do you read it at all? Surely the friends of the bridegroom cannot be the bride. I have married, I suppose, hundreds since I came here in twenty years. And I can tell you the difference every time between the bride and the friends. It's a great pity that some of the so-called scholars couldn't see the difference, isn't it? There's a vast difference. Let's get this bit. I think I should do this, you know. I'll do this quickly. You know, John's joy is the joy of the friend of the bridegroom. And John's job was to bear witness. It would interest you scholars to go through everything that John the Baptist said about our Lord Jesus, to see John's Jesus. Because John's Jesus was the Lamb. John's Jesus was the Son of God. John's Jesus was the bridegroom. John's Jesus was the Christ. Here's something that you should notice. He says this in verse thirty. He must increase but I must decrease. Verse thirty-three. He that hath received his testimony hath yet to receive that God is true. For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God. For God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into his hand. John saw that, you know. John saw him as the heir of all things. Yes, John's Jesus is worth looking at. He knew him all right. Go back to Revelation nine to you. I want to get this little bit done this evening. We're up these questions. Who is the bridegroom? And it's the Lamb. And who is the bride? It's the church. Who are the friends of the bridegroom? And I say the Old Testament saints. Where does the marriage take place? In heaven. When does the marriage take place? After these things. After chapter six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, up to the end of eighteen have been completed. And don't make any mistakes about that. That's when. Now here's a question. What does making herself ready mean? It says in verse seven, For the marriage of the Lamb is come and his wife hath made herself ready. You see, I'm absolutely sure that the marriage of the Lamb has to be kept back until the whole tribulation course has run its course. For the one purpose that the false church, this scarlet woman, had to be removed. But while these seven years of tribulation were going on down here on this earth, you know the saints that had risen to meet the Lord in the air at the beginning of the tribulation, where were they? Oh, well they were at the judgment seat of Christ. Because you see, she'll never be ready. She'll never be ready for a whole lot of things. The things that have happened between Christians down here. And they go back biting one another and they say things about one another. And they never apologize and they never make it up and they never say they're sorry. Oh, well I haven't seen you all. You know the day that we rise to meet the Lord in the air, oh I know all about this. I know it'll be the Lord himself. I know it'll be the master of the house. I know it'll be this same Jesus. I know it will be the great shepherd of the sheep. The chief shepherd. But I also know that it will be the righteous judge. Paul said, there's a crown laid out for me which the righteous judge. Oh, there's a whole lot of things that's to be put right, you know. And the Lord will make the saints stand in front of him not to be mad. And a whole lot of mean and miserable and horrible and diabolical things that have been done by believers, unbelievers. Has to be put right, you know. I am not getting off with it. You'll have to stand in your own shoes. And not until he has dealt with everything. Not until there's not one blemish or blot or spot left. When shall we be ready? We shall be made ready then. Oh, the judgment seat will be passed when we come to chapter 90. While the tribulation is going on on earth. The judgment seat will be taken place in the heavens. I think that you can see this tonight. The excitement before the marriage. Let us be glad and rejoice. And you can see the announcement of the marriage. And you can see the garments for the marriage. And you can see the enjoyment of the marriage because it's the marriage supper. And we'll all sit down and there'll be neither spot nor blemish nor any such thing. Now I think there are one or two things for young folks to learn here this evening. And I want to take a bit of time with you. Because we're living in a day and hour which is called the permissive society. And you know I hear them coming on the TV. And they come so boldly. I heard a young woman saying the other night, to hell with marriage. Oh yes, she was quite bold. She thinks she knows everything. Yes, it's quite alright for me to live with a man. It is a leisure. It'll not be just so alright then. And all of them that want to prove proof. Just you sit up now while I talk to you. Friend, I'll tell you what God's Word says about marriage. In Hebrews 13 it says, marriage is honourable. That's what it says. And I think that anybody with the least little pick of brains can see this. If God's Son is going to enter into the ceremony of marriage, there must be nothing wrong with it. Because this happens to be the marriage of the Lamb. My dear friends, marriage was ordained of God. Make no mistake about it. Let's have a look at this this evening. Matthew's Gospel, chapter 19. Matthew's Gospel, chapter 19. Young folks, take your time and have patience with me. And try to get the hold of what I'm going to say to you now, because you'll need it as you grow up in this marriage. Verse 3. The Pharisees also came on to him, tempting him. They were always doing this, coming with questions to try to put him in a fix. The Pharisees also came on to him, tempting him and saying on to him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? Well, listen to the way the Master answered. You preachers, and what do you learn from me? And the answer he said unto them, Have ye not read? He always went to the book. Have ye not read? And time after time in this very Gospel, he saith again and again to these men who bring these questions, these crooked questions, he says, Have ye not read? Because the answers are always in the book, you know. And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female? And don't make any mistakes about that. We didn't come from monkeys, you know. He which made them male and female, he created them, he's the creator. Now, he which made them male and female said, he talked, you know, to them. In fact, the day that he made Eve and brought her to Adam, he talked to the two of them. Have ye not read? That he which made them at the beginning made them male and female and said, and this is what he said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother. And it's good for the fathers and mothers in this meeting to know that when they get married they're leaving. And don't be trying to hold on to them. And if they come back in a huff one night, haunt them. Don't be taking them in now. They're out of the nest for good. No use of any old boys coming near our door. No, we've all had bits of rouse, you know. Oh, well, it's sweeter when you make it up again. Well, this is what the Lord said, this is God talking to him. For this cause shall a man leave father and mother and shall cleave to his wife. Mind you, you've got to learn that. That's to cleave to her. Don't be putting the old man and the old woman in front of her. Oh, I know you're to honour them. I know all about that. But you're to cleave to her, you know. You're going to take her. That's how it's got to be. And they, twin, shall be one flesh. Wherefore they are no more twin. No more. One flesh. What therefore God hath joined together. I think that some people forget that this goes on in knowledge. You know, it's a very solemn thing. Oh, I know that you can come and know nothing above it. But God joins them together. Now, God said this, let's go back to see where he said it. And that's the thing we must get. It's the way in Genesis chapter 2, which gives you young people another thing to think about. That while the modernists say that the early chapters of Genesis are no good, remember the Lord Jesus quoted them. He happened to know all about Genesis too, and he believed it too, and so do I. He believed it. Verse 21, to save time, The Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept. And he, the Lord God, took one of his ribs, and clothed up the flesh instead thereof. And the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. This was a mighty moment, you know, when God led her to the man. He was given her away. And if you're at a wedding and the father gives the girl away, there's nothing wrong with it, you know. I just hope that he gets it into his mind that he has given her away. Yes, this is what God did. And the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, Adam recognized this, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother. Now in your Bible you don't see here, Aunt, now that it was God that was talking. Now you might think it was Adam, but it wasn't. Because the Lord Jesus was quoting from here when we're over at Matthew 19. And he's saying, Have you not read? Did you not read? And in the old Jewish first five books of Moses, the Talmud, it's quite plain there that God is talking. And we've lost that little bit. But the Lord Jesus has saved it for us. Because he said to them, Have you not read that he that made them male and female said, Therefore shall a man leave his father. Now here's what God said, verse 24. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh. Now that's exactly what the Lord Jesus is quoting. Let's go back to Matthew 19. Because these fellows don't stop arguing just like that, you know. They're like some of the critics that we meet around. Now the Lord is speaking to them and saying, Have you not read that he which made them male and female said, Verse 5. For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall be one flesh. And the Lord Jesus is quoting from Genesis 2. Wherefore they are no more swain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder. They say unto him. Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement and to put her away? It was very quick with that, wasn't it? They say, if you say, God said, let there be one and no more swain, what about Moses? Well here's the answer to that. The Lord Jesus answers. He says unto them, Moses, because of the hardness of your heart suffered you to put away your wives. But from the beginning up to the time that Moses did that, it was not so. It was never God's idea. Oh I know that God allows and God permits things to happen. He permitted Jacob to have several wives, but he never granted them. Let's get the hold of this. It was never God's mind at any time that you could get out of this marriage vow. From the beginning, it was not so. Let's go on with the rest of it, in case you have read it already. Verse 9. I say unto you, whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication. And so some of the fellows say, all right, even the Lord said, except it be for fornication. You see, when Moses was in the wilderness and this great multitude was around him and I could understand him quite well, he heard her coming from every tent almost and said, look, I'm fed up with her. Something will have to be done. And so Moses gave them a bill of devotion. From the beginning, it was not God's idea. God allowed. And in the day and hour when our Lord Jesus was on this earth, the law of the land in Jerusalem just then was that if she be taken in fornication, you can get rid of her. And he's quoting their own law. But from the beginning, it was not so. See our land today. Why, if a man sneezes three times at night in bed, now she can get rid of him. Oh, no bother now. If he snores, you can get rid of him. That's the law of our land. In America, you know, I was preaching in America and I was told that a big church that I was going to preach at, there was a choir and I think I'm right in the figure. It doesn't matter. I think there were twenty-four ladies in the choir. And the choir master had been married to eight of them. So they were able to sing a bit, weren't they? Not for me, they weren't. I said, I'm not cool. Well, those fools are not singing, but I'm preaching. I can have a night off if that's the only clout you can get. Oh, let's get God's mind on the thing. It's not our law. I know all about our law. I know about the law in the days of Christ in Jerusalem. I know about Moses' law. We Christians are under God's law. You remember that. God doesn't want you to do this thing. My dear friend, there's no way out of it for you if you get money. If you're a Christian, you'll be made one and you'll be no more twenty. That's God's law. You see, God thinks a lot about marriage. It's a very honourable thing. You know, my Lord blessed the marriage in Cana of Galilee, both with his presence and with his power. I trust we'll learn from this this evening. Now, next week we're going on into one of the greatest portions in the book of Revelation concerning the coming again of our Lord Jesus. Have a look at chapter 19. You'd better open the book again. See verse 11. John says, And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make law. This is Christ coming to the earth. You know, we have been looking in the book of Revelation at Christ coming to the earth and when he comes one of these nights, we'll rise to meet him. And then these chapters of the tribulation will take place and we saints will be at the judgment seat of Christ. And when everything's put right and the marriage supper is all sealed and settled, then the Lord will come to earth. That's where we'll be next week. God bless you. Father, we're singing, Lord. 967. Just sing the first and second verses only. First and second. 967. When my life work is ended and I cross the swelling tide, when the bright and glorious morning I shall see. 967. First and second verses only. Thank you. Dear Lord, part us in thy fear, and with thy blessing for thy holy name's sake. Amen.