What will happen at the end of history — when God is finished with this world?

At the end of history there will be a wedding supper. God the Father (the perfect Father) will give His bride (which is us — the Church), whom He has perfected and protected throughout all of history, to the perfect Bridegroom (which is Christ — the Lamb of God).

Revelation 19:7-9 “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”

Revelation 21:2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Revelation 21:9 Then one of the seven angels… came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”

Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Human marriage is a picture and a shadow of this future event.

Hebrew 9:9 It is a symbol for this present time….

Ephesians 5:23-24 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. … This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

The imperfect earthly father (a weak and fault-filled example of the perfect Father) gives his daughter, whom he has perfected and protected throughout her life (although in a weak and imperfect way), to the bridegroom whom the father has deemed suitable. At the wedding supper the preacher asks, “Who gives this bride to this bridegroom?” The father responds, “I have deemed this bridegroom to be suitable and so I give my daughter to him, if she so agrees.” The father hands over his daughter to the bridegroom, and if the daughter agrees, she then takes the hand of the bridegroom.

2 Corinthians 11:2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

This is an imperfect picture and shadow of the perfect culmination of history — when God is finished dealing with this wicked world.

The great betrothal of the Prince of Glory is ours, for it is to us that He is affianced, as the sacred nuptials shall ere long declare to an assembled universe. C.H. Spurgeon