450. Friday after Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity.
The Lord shall be thine everlasting light,
and the days of thy mourning
shall be ended.
Revelation 19, 1-9. And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God: for true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshiped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia; for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: 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 the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
❦
The great harlot “in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones and pearls, and having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations,” this harlot “is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth” (Rev. 17, 4. 18), the seat of antichrist, Babylon and Rome revived, a caricature of the heavenly Jerusalem. The days toward the latter end of the world are in scripture described as a time of dreadful trials to the children of God. The woman shall be “drunken with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus” (Rev. 17, 6); but all nations shall revel in the abundance of her riches” (18, 3). Their life shall be to eat, and drink, and plant, and build, and luxuriate in the pleasures of the flesh (Luke 17, 28. 30). “No man may buy or sell, save he that has the mark, or the name of the beast” (Rev. 13, 17); then the people of God shall have sore temptation.
These dire prophecies have been and are being fulfilled;* the spirit of antichrist is even now at work; we also must make our choice! To us also comes the warning word: “Come out of Babylon, that ye be not partakers of her sin, and that ye receive not of her plagues!” Whom do you serve, and what is your God? Gold and silver? or fine clothes, and luxuries, and delicacies? or influence and power? Then you really live in the city of which it is said: “She saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.” (Rev. 18, 7. 8). Let none of the faithful be infatuated with the pleasures of the world, and abandon the cross. If Christ be your God, then lift up your eyes. “He that sitteth upon the white horse is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes are as a flame of fire, and on his head are many crowns. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” (19, 11. 12. 16). The marriage day approaches, and the bride is making herself ready! (Read our Bible lesson over again). — Help me, thou who art called Faithful and True; establish my steps in thy word, that neither pleasures nor sorrow may ever draw me away from thee. Give me grace to be arrayed in the fine linen, clean and white; cleanse me, and adorn me with thy full righteousness. Amen.†
Jesus, Sun of Righteousness,
Brightest beam of love divine,
With the early morning rays
Do thou on our darkness shine,
And dispel with purest light
All our long and gloomy night.
[ELH 84 (sheet music here); listen here]
* According to the Confessions of our Lutheran Church these prophecies refer primarily to the character and doings of Papacy, the Pope of Rome being the Antichrist.
† Here the head of the family says a short morning or evening prayer in his own words, and closes with the Lord’s Prayer and the Benediction. This is to be done every day. If the stanzas are not sung, they may be read in their proper place before the impromptu petition and the Lord’s Prayer.