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Spiritual warfare is a matter of the Body; we are a corporate army fighting the battle for God's interest on earth (17:14; 19:14; cf. 2 Tim. 2:4).
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Christ will come as a fighting General with His bride as His army to fight against Antichrist at Armageddon (Rev. 19:11-21):
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When Christ comes with His army, He will come as the Son of Man (Matt. 26:64; Rev. 14:14).
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As the Son of Man, He will need a counterpart to match and complete Him; this counterpart will be His bride (John 3:29).
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The wedding garment—Christ lived out of us as our daily righteousness—qualifies us not only to attend the wedding but also to join the army to fight with Christ against Antichrist in the war at Armageddon (Matt. 22:11-12; Rev. 19:7-8, 14).
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In Song of Songs we see that when the overcoming lover of Christ becomes one with God to be God's dwelling place, in the eyes of God she is as beautiful as Tirzah and as lovely as Jerusalem; however, to the enemy she is as terrible as an army with banners (6:4, 10):
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The lovers of Christ should be lovable and terrible at the same time; however, many believers have lost their loveliness before the Lord and their terribleness before the enemy (vv. 4, 10):
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The lover of Christ is beautiful and comely before the Lord, as solid as the heavenly city and as serene as the sanctuary; at the same time, she displays the glory of her victory before the enemy and the world (v. 4).
Morning Nourishment
2 Tim. 2:4 No one serving as a soldier entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please the one who enlisted him.S.S. 6:4 You are as beautiful, my love, as Tirzah, as lovely as Jerusalem, as terrible as an army with banners.
As the church, we are the bride and the warrior. In God's economy there is one army constituted of a corporate warrior. This means that the warrior in Ephesians 6 is a corporate entity. Only as a corporate entity, the Body, can we put on the whole armor of God. This is contrary to the concept held by many Christians that an individual believer is able to wear the entire armor. The armor in Ephesians 6 is not for Christians as individuals; it is for the church corporately as the Body. What this chapter reveals is not the believers fighting as individuals but a corporate army fighting the battle for God's interests on earth.
Spiritual warfare is not an individual matter; it is a matter of the Body, a corporate entity to fight the battle against God's enemy....God's strategy is to use the church as His army to fight against the enemy. Therefore, it is very dangerous to be isolated from the army. Only by remaining in the army will we have the necessary protection. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4340-4341)
Today's Reading
After His wedding feast, Christ will come as a fighting General with His bride, the overcoming believers who are His army, to fight Antichrist, the kings under him, and their armies at Armageddon.Christ, the embodiment of God, will come with His bride to crush the human government.
When Christ comes as the smiting stone, He will not come alone. Rather, He will come with His bride. This is because when Christ comes to fight against Antichrist and his army, He will come as the Son of Man. As the Son of Man, He will need a counterpart to match Him and complete Him. This counterpart will be His bride. After gaining and marrying the church as His bride, Christ will come as the smiting stone. If Christ did not have a bride, He would have to fight alone against Antichrist and his army. However, Christ will have an army, and this army will be His bride.
The overcoming saints have two garments, one for salvation and the other for reward. The fine linen in Revelation 19:8 is the second garment. This second garment of the overcomers qualifies them both to attend the marriage dinner of the Lamb (v. 9) and to fight with the Lord against His enemy. Thus, the wedding garment becomes the fighting garment....The bride's wedding garment will be the uniform that she wears as God's army to fight against His enemy. As we have seen, this garment is Christ lived out of us to be our daily righteousness. Even today, we are fighting by Christ as our garment. Ephesians 6 indicates that the whole armor of God is Christ. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4333, 4346, 4340)
When the overcoming lover of Christ becomes one with God to be God's dwelling place, in the eyes of God she is as beautiful as Tirzah and as lovely as Jerusalem. However, to the enemy she is as terrible as an army with banners. Banners indicate a readiness to fight and also are a sign that the victory is won....Eventually, the overcomers will be a bride collectively to marry Christ (Rev. 19:7-9). After their wedding, this bride will become an army to fight alongside Christ, her Husband, to defeat Antichrist with all his followers (Rev. 19:11-21). (S.S. 6:4, footnote 2)
Song of Songs 6:4 indicates that the maiden is beautiful and comely before the Lord, as solid as the heavenly city and as serene as the sanctuary. At the same time, she displays the glory of her victory before the enemy and the world. (CWWN, vol. 23, "The Song of Songs," p. 97)
Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 425-426