I Will Show You The Bride

I Will Show You the Bride

Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His Bride has made herself ready!  Rev. 19:7

 

It is late in the evening; the bride leaps to her feet as she hears the long awaited shout outside the door: The bridegroom is here! Come out to meet him! (Matt. 25:6) The groom has finally come to escort her to his father's house for the marriage ceremony and celebration! She covers her face with a veil and goes out to meet him. Friends and family, carrying torches and lamps, surround them; they crown the bride and groom with garlands, and then begin to make their way down the narrow streets. All along the way joy-filled friends and family join the singing, dancing procession.

 

When they arrive at the groom's home a formal legal document is signed. The couple exchanges vows followed by a ceremonial washing of the hands (as prescribed by Jewish law), then the marriage cup is filled and a solemn prayer of bridal benediction is spoken over it. The bride and groom drink from the cup and the feast begins. Depending upon the wealth of the groom's family, the feast could be a few hours or last more than a day. At some point during the celebration, the bridegroom leads his bride to his private quarters where the marriage is consummated. The bride is secluded for 7 days (according to purity regulations of the Mosaic Law) and then the groom brings her out so everyone can see her unveiled face. In some regions of Israel, the unveiling of the bride and her presentation to the guests is the high point, and conclusion, of a week of feasting and celebration.

 

It is noteworthy that the first miracle recorded by the apostle John takes place at a wedding feast (John 2:1-10). The wine has run out before the end of the feast, but the Lord Jesus turns water into the best wine so that the guests will continue to enjoy the celebration. The quality of the wine, coupled with the generous quantity, speaks symbolically of Christ's desire for His people to experience the joy of knowing Him in all His fullness. His fullness – this is a theme that begins in the opening pages of John's Gospel, and then runs throughout all of his writings. It culminates in the book of The Revelation where we read about the marriage supper and the glorious unveiled presentation of the Bride (Rev. 19:7-10).

 

John saw, and reveals to us, the magnificent future of the Body of Christ! Paul spoke about the grace of God for our life on earth, the hope of our calling and the richness of our inheritance in Christ. He tells us how the Church will hear the shout of the Bridegroom and will be caught up to meet Him in the air (1Thess. 4:16-17) – but he did not see what John saw. It is John who describes what will happen following the betrothal period (the age in which we are now living) when we are taken to "the place I've prepared for you." In Revelation 4 through 18 he witnesses and describes the awful events of the great tribulation on earth. During this seven year period, the Lamb's Bride is in heaven, hidden from view. Suddenly, in chapter 19, John observes the hosts of heaven as they sing praises to the Lord for the tribulation has come to an end and the Lord appears with His Bride. John is so overcome by the vision of the Church at the marriage supper, that he falls down to worship the messenger who brings the vision. However, this is not the only time he sees her.

 

The Bride is at the Lamb's side when He reigns for a thousand years in the millennial kingdom, and she is with Him when He reigns over the new earth for all eternity (Rev. 21&22). People from all the nations will be welcome to go in and out of the New Jerusalem, the eternal Holy City; but the Church will be the wife who dwells within the city – for it is her home. The Father's desire has always been for His Son to have a Bride; we can see expressions of this desire throughout the Scriptures if we know where to look. Eve was given to Adam, 'bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh,' to complete him; Rebekah was found, wooed and taken to Isaac so that he would have someone to love and to share his inheritance with; Abigail acknowledged David as the only true sovereign and willingly suffered with him in his life of rejection. When David takes the throne, Abigail is by his side – not as his servant, but as his wife.

 

Long before God gave His people the law or a human king, He established Himself as One who wanted to live with mankind as the Provider, Protector and Lover of his soul. The Church on earth was set apart as the Body of Christ – filled with the Spirit – called to continue the work of Jesus, the humble earthly Servant of the Father. However, when she is taken up into heaven she becomes the Bride of the Lamb. Although Christ is sitting on His throne, ruling over the nations as the righteous King of Kings and Lord of Lords, His wife is not referred to as the bride of the king – she is the Bride of the Lamb! He is the Lamb who was slain so that He could have us as His own for all of eternity!

 

What does the Bride look like?  Why did John fall down in worship when he saw her in Revelation 19? Was it because of her personal beauty? No, I believe it was because he saw the full glory of the Lord reflected in her. This is our destiny – not to be His servants forevermore (that is the purpose of angels) and not to be subjects in His kingdom (that is the position of the saints who will dwell in the earthly kingdom). We are the Bride for whom He has longed since before the foundations of the earth! His fullness and glory will be reflected in us – His pure and spotless Bride (Eph. 5:27).

 

 Come here, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.    Rev. 21:9b

The Spirit and the Bride say, Come.        Rev. 22:17a