Copyright © 2022 Michael A. Brown
The narrative
of the word of God begins with the creation of the first couple and their life
together in a garden. It culminates in
the marriage of the Lamb with his redeemed bride and their eternal life
together in the heavenly city. As I have
emphasised previously, this is the ultimate purpose of God in human redemption,
vis. the forming and preparing of a bride for his Son, Jesus
Christ. In one of his parables,
Jesus likened the kingdom of heaven to a king who was preparing a wedding
banquet for his son (Matt. 22:1-14). And
it is for this day that we wait expectantly, when we are finally and
inseparably united with our heavenly Bridegroom in our eternal home.
A
bride’s greatest joy is the anticipation of celebrating her wedding day. This day is considered widely to be the
bride’s day, so it should come as no surprise then that the Lamb’s wife,
represented both as a community of redeemed people and as a heavenly city, is
the major focus of the last chapters of the book of Revelation. We are told that the apostle John is taken by
an angel and shown the beautifully adorned bride who is finally ready to be
presented to her husband:
‘Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the
Lamb.’
(Rev. 21:9)
‘And I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming
down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her
husband.’ (Rev. 21:2)
Furthermore,
in these last chapters of the word of God, we can see once again that the
marriage of the Lamb with his bride is rooted in the concept of covenant:
‘And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”’ (Rev. 21:3)
The
statement ‘I will be their God, and they will be my people’ (or statements very
similar to this) is/are God’s affirmation of coming into covenant relationship
with his people, and it is repeated very often in the Old Testament (e.g. Lev. 26:12 etc.). So
in Revelation 21:3 above, God is re-affirming his commitment to living in
eternal covenant with his redeemed people, as a husband with his wife.
The
broader picture given to us is one of the triumphant victory of the Lamb; of
eternal rest and of freedom from sin and oppression; of peace, security and
rejoicing; of comfort and healing; of reward; of free access to the tree of
life and the river of the water of life; and of eternal blessing and happiness
as the wedding of the Lamb and the bride is celebrated in heaven:
‘Let us rejoice and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his
bride has made herself ready. Fine
linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear… Blessed are those who are
invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb.’ (Rev. 19:7,9)
‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or
crying or pain…’ (Rev. 21:4)
‘…and he who sits on the throne will spread his
tent over them. Never again will they
hunger; never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will
be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And he will wipe away every tear from their
eyes.”’ (Rev. 7:15-17)
‘Then the angel showed me the river of the
water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the
Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of
life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the
healing of the nations.’ (Rev. 22:1-2)
‘To him who is thirsty I will give to drink
without cost from the spring of the water of life.’
(Rev. 21:6)
‘The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let
him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is
thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the
water of life.’ (Rev. 22:17)
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