At the end of our story, “The Twelve Dancing Princesses,” our young Hero marries the youngest daughter of the realm and there is great celebrating throughout the kingdom. And, of course, they lived happily ever after! Thus ends most of our Fairy Tales: Rapunzel, The Goose Girl, The Frog Prince, Beauty and the Beast, as well as all the other stories I have mentioned previously.
And thus ends the Book of Revelation as well. Chapter 19, verses 7- 9, “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour 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 the saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.”
Well, I don’t know about you, but that’s a party I would like to be invited to. I find it interesting that the Lord used weddings as the basis for two of his parables and both are in Matthew: The Marriage of the King’s Son, where people were invited, but didn’t come, and The Ten Virgins where only half were prepared to greet the Bridegroom. I also find it interesting that Christ’s first recorded miracle took place at a wedding supper.
I think God is very serious about all this marriage stuff. After all, marriage is a turning point in people’s lives. It defines you. It says you belong to someone. Our Savior wants us to belong to him, and when we do, some very remarkable things happen. Satan shall be bound a thousand years. When the end comes, the saints who were valiant and faithful unto the end enter into that Celestial Glory prepared for them. Is not this, “happily ever after?”
Oh, that our young people could know that “happily ever after” is not for mortality. Mortality is a testing ground, the place of tears, struggle, trial and woe. When Christ wipes away all tears, it is in that higher realm and woe is swallowed up in the salvation of our God. Happily ever after is for the here-after.
“The Twelve Dancing Princesses” clearly foretells the triumph of Christ over the world of sin and darkness. He breaks all spells and enchantments, but only when His people choose to follow him, keep the commandments and give their icy hearts over to Him.
In our story there were twelve princesses in all. What will become of the other eleven? Well, if you really think about it, the Princesses are the House of Israel. The Book of Revelation is all about the restoration of all the Tribes of Israel, not just one. So that means, eventually, all the princesses will become the bride of the Young Hero. This is what the Book of Revelation is all about, redemption and restoration, the restoration of Israel, the keeping of promises to The Fathers; Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
And now we know that in order to be called to the marriage of the Lamb, we need to enter into His Kingdom, a kingdom far, far away, and once upon a time. We must recognize the true bride, the only true Church, and then do all in our power to be obedient to the laws and ordinances of that kingdom and church, sustain it ans support it, so that we might be called to the marriage supper and join in the celebration. For God has said, “man is that he might have joy (2 Nephi 2:25)!”
And then, you may dance and dance and dance - and your dancing slippers will never wear out.
Next Week: A Summary of Western Civilizations Sacred Stories - Fairy Tales.
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