Sermon Synopsis
This sermon reminds believers of the coming reunion with Jesus Christ when He returns for His church. Using the imagery of Jewish marriage customs, it explains the rapture as the bridegroom coming for His bride and the beginning of the heavenly marriage celebration. Scripture passages from Acts, Thessalonians, Revelation, and John reveal that Christ desires not only to save His people but to be united with them and share His glory with them. Therefore, believers are urged to live in readiness—pursuing purity, fellowship, prayer, and gospel witness—while eagerly watching for the Lord’s return.
Please note: This transcript is provided as close to verbatim record of the sermon.
The Great Reunion That Awaits Us
Opening Prayer
Brothers and sisters in the Lord, and those of you who have been praying for me, it is very much appreciated. Standing here, I feel really quite inadequate. Those who come here know that we cannot do this without the help of the Lord. Let us have a quick word of prayer and ask God to help us understand His Word.
Our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for this morning’s worship as we look to our Lord Jesus Christ. As we now look into Thy Word, we pray that Thy Spirit may lead and guide us. Use me, Lord, that Thy Word and Thy words will come through me, and help us to apply Thy Word to our hearts and to our lives. For we pray and ask this in the name of our soon-coming Lord and Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
A Reminder of the Great Reunion
This morning I want to bring a reminder to all of us about the great reunion that awaits us.
When the pandemic broke three years ago, and through the events that followed during those years, many of us thought that the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ was imminent. But now that the pandemic has waned and the restrictions have been lifted, our anticipation has also waned.
My hope this morning is to stir, simmer, and stoke our watchfulness again by reminding us of the great reunion that awaits us when our Lord Jesus Christ comes for us.
We all love reunions—Chinese New Year reunions, old school reunions, and family reunions with friends as well. Man was created for fellowship with God. He saved us so that we can have a relationship with Him, abiding closely with Him.
That is why Jesus came, died, resurrected, and has gone to heaven. And we all know that He is coming again—even though it has been nearly two thousand years and counting.
But why did He do all this? What is the reason for His death, resurrection, and promise to come again? Is it simply for our salvation? That is a good reason, but it is much more than that.
A Simple Illustration of Love
Two weeks ago, our brother Izumi shared how he asked his wife how she knows that he loves her. That made me think: how do I know that I love my wife?
We have been married for fifty years—last February we celebrated our golden anniversary. Looking back over those fifty years together, I can say two things about God: He has a good sense of humor.
For fifty years and more we have been both adoring and enduring—well, I will not tell you what we endured, but much of it involved enduring hardships.
So how do I know that I love my wife? I know because I enjoy being together with her. Something as simple as this: she goes to the market every Tuesday morning, and when she comes home and I hear the front door open, my heart lifts up. I am elated that she is back home and that we will be together again.
You see, the Lord Jesus Christ is coming again because He greatly desires to be reunited with His church—His bride. What bridegroom does not want to be reunited with his bride?
He has already broken the new covenant in His blood so that He may be with His bride forever. The goal of His death and resurrection includes this great reunion.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said:
“In my Father’s house are many mansions… I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
He has promised that He will come again.
The Jewish Marriage Picture
To understand His coming, we need to look at the culture of Jewish marriage during the time of Jesus.
A Jewish marriage had two stages:
This is very similar to what we see in Chinese weddings as well.
The Betrothal
During the betrothal stage, the relationship was legally binding. The bride was set apart for the groom.
In the same way, when we receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Lord, we are set apart for Him. Salvation leads to sanctification—being set apart for Christ.
After the betrothal, the bridegroom goes home to prepare a place in his father’s house for his bride.
This is exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ is doing now.
The Bridegroom Returns
The second stage is when the bridegroom returns to take the bride home to his family house. The Jews understood this culture well.
And this helps us understand the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ—and His promised return.
The Ascension and Promise of His Return
(Acts 1:9–11)
When Jesus ascended into heaven, He did not go up in a chariot of fire like Elijah. He did not ride a white horse. He simply rose into the clouds, higher and higher, until He disappeared from sight.
Then the angels said to the disciples:
“This same Jesus… shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
This same Jesus—meaning Jesus in His resurrected human body—will come again.
He ascended from earth into the clouds, and He will come again from heaven into the clouds.
The Rapture: The Beginning of the Great Reunion
(1 Thessalonians 4:13–17)
Paul writes:
“The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout… and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
Notice two things here:
Paul assures us that this teaching comes directly from the word of the Lord.
He also writes in 1 Corinthians 15:51–52:
“Behold, I show you a mystery… we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.”
This is a special revelation given to Paul—the mystery of the rapture of the church.
This moment begins the great reunion:
The Marriage Feast
When the Lord Jesus Christ takes His bride to heaven, the marriage feast begins.
In Jewish culture, wedding feasts lasted seven days.
We see this in:
Both passages indicate a seven-day celebration.
Is it a coincidence that while the church celebrates in heaven, the earth experiences the seven-year tribulation?
The marriage feast in heaven parallels the tribulation period on earth.
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
(Revelation 19:7–9)
Revelation describes the climax of this celebration:
“The marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.”
The bride is clothed in fine linen, clean and white, representing the righteous deeds of the saints.
This is a moment of great rejoicing. John himself was so overwhelmed that he fell down before the angel in worship and had to be corrected to worship God alone.
The Second Coming
After the marriage feast comes another event: the second coming of Christ.
At the rapture, Christ comes to extract His church.
At the second coming, He returns to execute judgment.
In Revelation 19, Christ rides on a white horse and returns to earth to judge those who have gathered against Him.
Four Suppers in Scripture
Before closing, notice four suppers mentioned in Scripture:
Everyone will attend at least one of these suppers.
Some will eat.
Others will be eaten.
Those who reject the first invitation—the supper of salvation—will not be present at the marriage supper of the Lamb, but will face the judgment described later.
The Greatest Reason Christ Wants Us With Him
(John 17:24)
In His prayer, Jesus says:
“Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory.”
He not only wants us to be with Him—He wants us to share in His glory.
The Bible tells us that we will partake of the glory that the Lord Jesus Christ now has.
When we have something wonderful, we want to share it with others. The Lord Jesus Christ wants to share His glory with us.
Preparing for His Coming
Therefore, we must be prepared for the coming of the Lord.
The bride must be ready.
Some ways we prepare include:
Many Scriptures remind us of this preparation—such as Matthew 24, Hebrews 10, 1 John 3, and Philippians 4.
These passages all connect our daily Christian life with the expectation that the Lord is coming again.
An Illustration: Knowing Where We Are Going
Albert Einstein was once travelling on a train. When the conductor came to check the tickets, Einstein could not find his.
He searched his briefcase, his pockets, and the seat. The conductor said, “Dr Einstein, we know who you are. Don’t worry about the ticket.”
Later the conductor looked back and saw Einstein still searching on the floor.
He ran back and said, “Dr Einstein, we know who you are. You don’t need the ticket.”
Einstein replied:
“My dear young man, I know who I am also. But I don’t know where I’m going.”
But we know where we are going.
The Lord Jesus Christ is coming for us.
Therefore we must be ready.
Closing Prayer
Our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for reminding us that our Lord Jesus Christ will come again to take us to be with Him. We thank Thee that we will see Thy glory and partake in Thy glory.
As Paul says, the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.
We thank Thee that it is Thy plan for us to share in Thy glory. We pray also for the members travelling to camp today, that Thou would grant them a safe journey and safe passage.
We give Thee thanks for hearing our prayer, and we pray in the name of our soon-coming Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen.