The heavenly banquet or Messianic banquet is a concept in Christian theology which has its roots in Isaiah 25:6. It refers to a place in heaven or the new Earth where the Christian faithful, in particular the martyrs, go following heaven. Though frequently depicted in early Christian art, the imagery is now used sparingly except for references in the Eucharist.

Textual basis

The Gospel of Matthew repeatedly describes banquets and feasts as being present in the kingdom of heaven. Elsewhere, Jesus mentions eating and drinking in the heavenly kingdom. Some references to the heavenly banquet conceive it as being thrown by

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...

(cf. sqq.). The heavenly banquet is mentioned in several third-century martyrdom narratives, including the '' Martyrdom of Marian and James'' and the Testament of the Forty Martyrs.

Eucharist

The heavenly banquet is referenced in the communion liturgy in a number of Christian sects. For example, the close of the standard communion liturgy of the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

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In Christian art

The heavenly banquet was a common motif in early

catacomb Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etymology and history The first place to be referred ...

art. Typically, these would depict a table of seven men feasting on bread, wine and fish. Some scholars allege that the heavenly banquet imagery is linked to that of the pagan

refrigerium In ancient Rome, a ''refrigerium'' () was a commemorative meal for the dead, consumed in a graveyard. These meals were held on the day of burial, then again on the ninth day after the funeral, and annually thereafter. Early Christians continued ...

. Catacomb art depicting the heavenly banquet may alternately be interpreted as depicting the Eucharist or the

agape feast An agape feast or lovefeast (also spelled love feast or love-feast, sometimes capitalized) is a communal meal shared among Christians. The name comes from ''agape'', a Greek term for 'love' in its broadest sense. The lovefeast custom originat ...

Music

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonically ...

's 1928 organ piece ''Le banquet céleste'' deals with the heavenly banquet as its subject. In addition, his orchestral piece ''Le banquet eucharistique'', from which the former piece stems, deals with the heavenly banquet as associated with the Eucharist.

References

{{reflist Christian terminology Eucharist New Testament Greek words and phrases