“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. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces.” Isaiah 25:6-8a (ESV)
In October during their Pastors Convention I ate many meals with the pastors of the Indonesia Christian Lutheran Church (GKLI). During dinner on Thursday 10, October the Holy Spirit brought to my mind these words from Isaiah. The Word of God frequently describes our eternal life in the resurrection as a feast or a great banquet. In my mind I have always imaged something like a big wedding feast where everyone is at the same table and somehow converse with everyone at the table, in front of us plates full of food with still more in the serving dishes. Fork and knife in hand I am ready to dig in and have my fill of steak, potatoes, roasted vegetables, shrimp, rolls, salad (the salad isn’t for eating it is just for looks), well aged wine, beer, and cheesecake for dessert. Then of course there are cigars on the patio overlooking the streets of gold and the river of life.
I was thinking of these verses as we ate that night and the thought struck me that these pastors most certainly have a different vision of what this heavenly banquet looks like. No plates, probably no silverware, maybe not even a table. Food, certainly food, rice and stewed fish, maybe some dried and smoked boar, coffee that is more sugar than coffee, fresh fruit for dessert. And, of course, conversation after, but they’ll let me have the cigar and enjoy a cup of tea that’s more sugar than tea with some sweet crackers. The whole event is surrounded by festive flower boards.
Later that night I went to my room and looked up the whole passage. How differently we view the great banquet. But the verse goes on to talk about on what God himself feasts. He will swallow up death forever. No matter how differently we imagine that great feast, we all experience the pain and sadness of death. The reality of death is not left up to our imagination. We might try to deny the pain in different ways, but death remains death. We know that Jesus has already defeated death. We know that we share in His victory now. At the great feast we will see and experience Christ’s victory over death fully and completely. Indeed the apostle Paul proclaims, “When the perishable puts on the imperishable and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in Victory. O death, where is our victory? O death, where is your sting?’” 1 Corinthians 15:54-55.