The prophet Isaiah describes a sumptuous feast that the Lord will prepare for his people in the day of his salvation:
On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. (Isaiah 25:6)
It’s enough to make one’s mouth water! Will we actually feast upon savory food and enjoy fine wine in the new heavens and new earth? Maybe so. God’s purpose for our redemption in Christ is not to save our souls from our bodies and this physical world, but to raise us up in new bodies fit for a renewed creation. Perhaps then, part of the glory of heaven will be enjoying some of the physical delights of this world, such as a lavish feast. We read in the book of Revelation of an angel of God declaring, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9). There’s no reason to assume these promises of feasting are purely symbolic.
But we’ll only know this for sure once we’ve arrived to our eternal home. Isaiah’s purpose in this prophecy is not to give us a menu of what we may eat in heaven, but to picture for us the consummate bliss of the fellowship we’ll enjoy in glory with our Savior Jesus Christ. The presence of Jesus, and the fullness of our communion with him on that day, are the realities that will make this feast a true, heavenly banquet.
And the promise is not exclusively for the future. Rather, even now by faith in Christ, we enjoy the riches of his grace. The luxuriousness of the feast Isaiah describes for us – the richest food and the most exquisite wine – represent the richness and abundance of all the blessings Christ so freely gives us in this life. We feast on him by faith, and he satisfies our hearts with the fullness of his love, joy, and peace.
Does your heart hunger to be filled with this heavenly fare? Jesus not only promises a glorious feast in the world to come, but fills our souls with the banquet of his grace even now.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Pastor Johnson