The Lamb's Marriage Is At Hand!

You woman enemy of mine"! That is how Jerusalem, the location of Jehovah's temple of worship, addressed idolatrous Babylon. (Micah 7:8) Likewise, "the holy city, New Jerusalem," made up of the bride of 144,000 members , has had every reason to address Babylon the Great as her enemy. (Revelation 21:2) But at last the great harlot has suffered adversity, calamity and ruin. Her spiritistic practices and astrologers have been unable to save her. (Compare Isaiah 47:1, 11-13) A major victory, indeed, for true worship!

With the disgusting harlot, Babylon the Great, gone forever, attention can now be focused on the virgin-pure bride of the Lamb! Hence, the heavenly throngs sing exultantly in praise of Jehovah: "Let us rejoice and be overjoyed, and let us give him the glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has arrived and his wife has prepared herself. Yes, it has been granted to her to be arrayed in bright, clean, fine linen, for the fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the holy ones." -Revelation 19:7, 8.

Down through the centuries, Jesus has made loving preparation for this celestial marriage. (Matthew 28:20; 2 Corinthians 11:12) He has been cleansing the 144,000 of spiritual Israel so that A"he might present the congregation to himself in its splendor, not having a spot or a wrinkle or any of such things, but that it should be holy and without blemish." (Ephesians 5:25-27) With a view to attaining to "the prize of the upward call of God,"each anointed Christian has had to strip off the old personality with it s practices, put on the new Christian personality, and perform righteous acts "whole-souled as to Jehovah." -Phillipians 3:8, 13, 14; Colossians 3:9, 10, 23.

From Pentecost 33 C.E. on, Satan uses Babylon the Great as his tool in trying to contaminate the prospective members of the Lamb's wife. By the end of the first century, he has sown seeds of Babylonish religion in the congregation. (1 Corinthians 15:12; 2 Timothy 2:18; Revelations 2:6, 14, 20) The apostle Paul describes those who were subverting the faith in these words: "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself keeps transforming himself into an angel of light." (2Corinthians 11:13, 14) In succeeding centuries, apostate Christendom, like the rest of Babylon the Great dressed herself in the clothing of wealth and privilege, "purple and scarlet, . . . gold and precious stone and pearls." (Revelation 17:4) j Her clergy and popes consorted with bloodthirsty emperors, such as Constantine and Charlemagne. She was never arrayed in "the righteous acts of the holy ones." As a counterfeit bride, she was truly a masterpiece of satanic deception. At last, she is gone forever!

Next time: The Lamb's Wife Has Prepared Herself.

Revelation Its Grand Climax At Hand! Watchtower Bible And Tract Society, 1988