Is there sense in the Wedding Feast parable?

[marco]

Let's look at Matthew 22:1–14, the parable of the Wedding Feast.


Even for Jesus parables are tricky things to handle what with surface meaning and hidden message. Presumably the Jews were sent an invitation - but they didn't recognise it. Jesus comes along to say they got an invite, but the Jews maintain there was no invite. Jesus makes blasphemous claims and the Jews, according to their rules , asked for his execution. So God in his beenevolence turns to the vagabonds, the gentiles, and huffily lets them come to heaven's feast but causes gnashing of teeth among those improperly prepared.

What is the meaning? We might deduce (a) That Jews are punished in God's eyes and their "city" destroyed.


(b) That non-Jews are unworthy mendicants but by luck have been allowed to eat food not meant for them.


(c) That even then, some will suffer punishment, just for a breach of etiquette.



In what way are we to take a meaning for Heaven from the parable?

Is there a clever - non-absurd - meaning beneath the tale of feast and fear?

Or was this one of Christ's off-days for making up parables?

[JehovahsWitness]

[Replying to post 1 by marco]

Would you like me to share the JEHOVAH'S WITNESS interpretation?



King: Jehovah

Marriage: 144,000

Subjects: Nation of Israel


Invitation:[1513 BCE] Mosaic Law Covenent

First Call: [29-33CE] Natural Israelites

Second Call: [33-36] Pentecost

King's Wrath: Destruction of Jérusalem [70CE]

Replacement Call: Call to the Gentiles - see Acts 10 [29-36 CE - present]

Full Room: [20th Century] 144, 000 complete

Inappropriately dressed guest: Imitation Christians (never invited)

Many Invited: Natural Israelites

Few Chosen: Few natural Israelties




FURTHER READING
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1102014707

[marco]

Would you like me to share the JEHOVAH'S WITNESS interpretation?

I am pleased you share. No doubt others will have have already made my obvious points but here we are.



King: Jehovah An obvious analogy

Marriage: 144,000 An impossible comparison. One man, one bride. The bride or groom is not mentioned so parallel is weak. Marriage and 144,000 have nothing to say to each other.

Subjects: Nation of Israel Fair enough


Invitation:[1513 BCE] Mosaic Law Covenent Possibly

First Call: [29-33CE] Natural Israelites Probably

Second Call: [33-36] Pentecost Remote; inexplicable
King's Wrath: Destruction of Jérusalem [70CE] Weak - God didn't destroy Jerusalem and the Romans didn't act at his command. Strained comparison. Nor was Jerusalem destroyed because of the crucifixion, as the parable would demand.

Replacement Call: Call to the Gentiles - see Acts 10 [29-36 CE - present] Yes, the gentiles were involved in the analogy. That's clear.

Full Room: [20th Century] 144, 000 complete There is no mention of full room but of dress infringement. However if you say that the capacity was 144,000 then at least one of these was expelled. Bad comparison.

Inappropriately dressed guest: Imitation Christians (never invited) - they were asked but their attire didn't suit; more work needed here.

Many Invited: Natural Israelites - gentiles were invited as well

Few Chosen: Few natural Israelties Many and few involve those chosen; it requires special pleading to associate these terms with Israelites only. I very much doubt if Christ had the number 144,000 in his head when composing the parable. I think one would have to be already convinced to accept all this as Christ's meaning. It almost certainly wasn't, since large portions don't fit.


Thanks for sharing.

[ttruscott]

Marriage: 144,000 An impossible comparison. One man, one bride. The bride or groom is not mentioned so parallel is weak. Marriage and 144,000 have nothing to say to each other.

The wedding referred to in Rev 19:6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
8 Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear.�

(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)


...is taken by most to refer to the marriage between the holy Perfect Church and GOD, ie, billions of people including all the elect and holy angels. Marriage is the same state as the meaning of communion and fellowship. It is a unity of loving righteousness and purpose achieved by the free will acquiescence of all people involved to be in the marriage under its rules including entry into it by faith, an unproven hope and not by proof.

This is all achieved by a telepathic link of emotional satisfaction, fulfillment, and communication between everyone in the marriage with each other and with GOD which is the essence of the necessity of the banishemen of the eternally evil ones because if they were ever to be included in the heavenly telepathetic link while evil, their aggressively hostile evil would immediately contaminate, corrupt and destroy the communion and fellowship and unity of the heavenly marriage. This is the ultimate reason why HIS mercy cannot trump HIS justice for those who sinned the unforgivable sin who can't be brought to repentance.

[ttruscott]

[Replying to post 1 by marco]

Would you like me to share the JEHOVAH'S WITNESS interpretation?

Sounds favourable though it's been years since I looked at this but as an ordinary protestant I do not limit the marriage to 144,000.

[JehovahsWitness]

[Replying to post 3 by marco]

When you say "weak" are you suggesting there is no biblical basis for such an interpretation or that the interpretation isn't strong enough to convince you as an atheist to accept it since you base your conclusions on what scientists have written on the subject?

[JehovahsWitness]

[Replying to post 1 by marco]

Would you like me to share the JEHOVAH'S WITNESS interpretation?

Sounds favourable though it's been years since I looked at this but as an ordinary protestant I do not limit the marriage to 144,000.

Fair enough, I wasn't sharing what you believe only the Jehovah's witness interpretation.

We believe the "invitation" to the marriage refers to the invitation to humans to become members of the "bride of Christ". This bride we believe refers symbolically to the men and women that are spirit anointed Christians and that this same group are those refered to at Revelation 14:1 (which we take to be a literal number). These (144,000/bride of christ/spirit anointed Christans) are, we believe those who will be part of the incoming world government that will rule in heaven with Christ over the planet earth.

Initially only the descendants of Abraham were to receive the invitation to make up this group but, as Jesus indicated, few natural Jews accepted the offer so God opened the opportunity up to others.





JW


144,000 explained
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 594#846594

[marco]

This is the ultimate reason why HIS mercy cannot trump HIS justice for those who sinned the unforgivable sin who can't be brought to repentance.

I appreciate poetry and clever use of metaphor. However, I consider it a waste of human time to attribute sense and meaning to Revelation. If someone wants to communicate an important message, the proper words are available.


There is no "ultimate reason" why God does this or refuses to do that. There is ultimate speculation and guesswork, from the little ants who scuttle around trying to see a meaning in the grass. It seems grossly insulting to attribute any part of Revelation to God's direct or indirect agency, whether he exists or not. I am sure a fit punishment awaits the author.

Thankfully the Wedding Feast parable offers us normal words and a story. We can then look for meaning in that tale and discuss whether the symbols are appropriate.

[marco]

[Replying to post 3 by marco]

When you say "weak" are you suggesting there is no biblical basis for such an interpretation or that the interpretation isn't strong enough to convince you as an atheist to accept it since you base your conclusions on what scientists have written on the subject?

The marriage is referred to in the background; details are not part of the story. To suggest a specific 144,000 refers to that unspecified bit of the story is a weak analogy. Like the curate's egg, your comparison is good in parts.

Incidentally an atheist affirms there's no God. I have never found myself blessed with the ability to make such a pronouncement. It was once believed he lived in Liverpool.

[JehovahsWitness]

[Replying to post 9 by marco]

Thank you for taking the time to write me but I can't seem to find the anwers to my very specific question, which was ....

When you say "weak" are you suggesting there is no biblical basis for such an interpretation ?

Upon what do you base your analysis? Emotion? Scientific papers on the subject? Personal experiences of wedding attendance?