«　WEEK 2　DAY 6　»

　　Rev. 19:7-9 Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And it was given to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the saints. And he said to me, Write, Blessed are they who are called to the marriage dinner of the Lamb…

　　Revelation 19:7-9 unveils that the Lord Jesus is the Lamb as the Bridegroom. Similarly, in the Gospel of John, Christ is presented both as the Lamb and as the Bridegroom. One day John the Baptist declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (1:29). This verse clearly reveals that Christ came as the Lamb to take away the sin of the world. Later, John the Baptist also indicated that Christ is the Bridegroom. John said, “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices with joy because of the bridegroom’s voice” (3:29). Hence, in the Gospel of John, Christ is revealed both as the Lamb who came to take away sin and as the Bridegroom who came that He might have the bride…The Lamb is for redemption, and the Bridegroom is for the wedding. The redemption was accomplished by Christ as the Lamb of God, and the wedding will take place when Christ as the coming Bridegroom takes His bride. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 4319)

　　Christ’s goal is not to remove sin—it is to have the bride. In the book of Revelation, which is also written by the apostle John, we see again that Christ our Redeemer is the Lamb and the coming Bridegroom. Therefore, as the Bridegroom, He must have a wedding. The wedding of the Lamb will be a universal wedding. It will be the marriage of the Redeemer and the redeemed. At the end of the Bible we see a city, the New Jerusalem. This city is the wife (21:2, 9-10), and the redeeming God is the Husband. Our position is that of the bride, and the position of the coming Christ is that of the Bridegroom. We are on the earth being prepared to become the bride to meet Him, and He is on the throne in the third heaven prepared to come as the Bridegroom to meet us. Thus, He is coming as the Bridegroom, and we are going as the bride (Matt. 25:1). The bride and the Bridegroom will meet, neither in heaven nor on the earth but in the air. When we meet Him in the air, we will have a wedding. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4319-4320)

　　[In Mark 2:18-22] the Lord answered the disciples of John and the Pharisees not in a direct way but by using certain figures of speech. [He] referred to Himself as the Bridegroom, and He also spoke of new cloth and new wine. The Lord seemed to be saying, “Why should My disciples fast when they have everything they need to make them joyful? They have Me as the Bridegroom, and they have Me as their righteousness, their new cloth, and also as their life, their new wine. I am everything they need. I am God and man; I am the Physician and the Bridegroom, the most pleasant person. It is ridiculous for My disciples to fast when they have Me. I am the garment that covers them and beautifies them, and My life is the real wine that fills them, stirs them, and satisfies them. Instead of fasting, they should be full of joy. You ask them to fast. But I tell you it is impossible for them to fast, because the Bridegroom is here with them, the new cloth is upon them, and the new wine is within them.” How wise and how wonderful is the Lord’s answer, His word concerning the Bridegroom, the cloth, and wine!

　　Perhaps we should have a gospel meeting and tell the people that Jesus Christ today is the Bridegroom, that He as our righteousness is the cloth to cover our nakedness and to beautify us, and that His divine life is the wine for us to drink for our satisfaction. This is the real gospel—a living person with righteousness and life. Hallelujah, we have the Bridegroom, and we have Him as righteousness outwardly and as our life inwardly! (Life-study of Mark, pp. 83-84)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Mark, msg. 9