Scripture Reading: Rev. 19:7-9; John 1:29; 3:29; S. S. 1:2-3; 8:14
Ⅰ
The Bible is a romance, in the most pure and the most holy sense, of a universal couple—God in Christ as the Bridegroom and God’s redeemed people as the bride—John 3:29; Matt. 25:6; Rev. 19:7; 21:2; 22:17:
A
Throughout the centuries God has had a romance with man; He created man with the purpose of having a counterpart—Gen. 1:26.
B
God is a lover, and He created man in the image of Himself as a lover; this means that He created us so that we would love Him—Mark 12:30; Eph. 3:14-19.
C
The entire Bible is a divine romance, and Song of Songs is an abridged form of this romance—1:2-3; 8:14:
１
The Bible is a romantic book, and our relationship with the Lord should become more and more romantic.
２
If there is no romance between us and the Lord Jesus, then we are religious Christians, not romantic Christians—S. S. 1:2-3.
３
Romance is a word of the divine courtship; in the Bible we see that God is seeking our love—2 Cor. 11:2.
４
Song of Songs is more than a romance; it is a fantastic romance.
D
Whatever we love, our whole heart, even our entire being, is set on and occupied and possessed by—1 Tim. 6:10-11; 2 Tim. 3:2-4; 4:8, 10a; Titus 1:8:
１
“To love God means to set our entire being—spirit, soul, and body, with the heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30)—absolutely on Him, that is, to let our entire being be occupied by Him and lost in Him” (footnote 3 on 1 Cor. 2:9).
２
To love the Lord Jesus is to appreciate Him, to direct our being to Him, to open to Him, to enjoy Him, to give Him the first place, to be one with Him, to live Him, and to become Him—Matt. 26:6-13; 2 Cor. 3:16; Mark 12:30; Col. 1:18; 1 Cor. 6:17; Phil. 1:20-21; Hymns, #477, stanza 2.
Ⅱ
Revelation 19:7-9 unveils Christ as the Bridegroom:
A
The marriage of the Lamb is the issue of the completion of God’s New Testament economy, which is to obtain for Christ a bride, the church, through His judicial redemption and by the organic salvation in His divine life—Gen. 2:22; Rom. 5:10; Rev. 19:7-9; 21:2, 9-11.
B
The bride of Christ in Revelation 19 is composed of all the overcomers—vv. 7-9; cf. Gen. 2:22; Matt. 16:18.
C
All the overcomers will be the New Jerusalem as the bride of Christ for one thousand years in its initial and fresh stage—Rev. 19:7.
D
Eventually, all the believers will join the overcomers to consummate and complete the New Jerusalem in full as the wife of Christ in the new heaven and new earth for eternity—21:2, 9-11.
Ⅲ
The bride is the goal of the Lord’s recovery—19:7-9:
A
“The marriage of the Lamb has come”—v. 7b:
１
In the beginning of his Gospel, John speaks of the Lamb and the Bridegroom, and in Revelation he says that the marriage of the Lamb has come—John 1:29; 3:29.
２
After the rapture of the majority of the saints (Rev. 14:16; 1 Thes. 4:15-16) and the judg¬ment at the judgment seat of Christ for the giving of the reward (Rev. 11:18; 2 Cor. 5:10), the events that immediately follow should include the marriage of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7b):
ａ
If we are rewarded at the judgment seat of Christ, we will participate in the wedding feast.
ｂ
If we are not rewarded but are disapproved of by the Lord, we will not perish but will suffer a loss like that described in 1 Corinthians 3:15.
B
“His wife has made herself ready”—Rev. 19:7c:
１
His wife refers to the church (Eph. 5:24-25, 31-32), the bride of Christ (John 3:29).
２
According to Revelation 19:8-9, the wife, the bride of Christ, consists only of the over¬coming believers during the millennium, whereas the bride, the wife, in 21:2 is composed of all the saved saints after the millennium for eternity.
３
The readiness of the bride depends on the maturity in life of the overcomers—19:7; Heb. 6:1; Phil. 3:12-15; Eph. 4:13.
４
We need to adorn and consummate the New Jerusalem as the bride of Christ with God the Father as the gold, God the Son as the pearl, and God the Spirit as the precious stones—Rev. 21:2, 19a; 1 Cor. 3:12; S. S. 1:10-11.
５
The overcomers are not separate individuals but a corporate bride.
６
The overcomers not only are mature in life but also are built together as one bride.
C
“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”—Rev. 19:8:
１
Clean refers to the nature, and bright refers to the expression.
２
The Greek word translated “righteousnesses” may also be rendered “righteous acts.”
３
The righteousnesses do not refer to the righteousness that we received for our salvation—1 Cor. 1:30.
４
The righteousness we received for our salvation is objective and enables us to meet the requirement of the righteous God, whereas in Revelation 19:8 the righteousnesses of the overcoming saints are subjective (Phil. 3:9) and enable them to meet the requirement of the overcoming Christ.
５
Thus, the fine linen indicates our overcoming life, our overcoming living; it is the Christ whom we live out of our being.
D
“Blessed are they who are called to the marriage dinner of the Lamb…These are the true words of God”—Rev. 19:9:
１
The marriage dinner of the Lamb is the wedding feast, the kingdom of one thousand years, which is one day in the eyes of God, as a reward to the overcoming believers—v. 9; Matt. 22:2, 11-14; 2 Pet. 3:8.
２
To be called to the marriage dinner of Christ, which will usher the overcoming believers into the enjoyment of the millennium, is to be blessed—Rev. 19:9.
３
The marriage dinner of the Lamb in Revelation 19:9 is the wedding feast in Matthew 22:2; it will be a reward to the overcoming believers:
ａ
To be called is to receive salvation (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2; Eph. 4:1), whereas to be chosen is to receive a reward.
ｂ
Only the overcomers will be called to the marriage dinner as a reward to them; not all the saved ones will participate in it.
ｃ
The overcoming believers, who will be called to the marriage dinner of the Lamb, will also be the bride of the Lamb—Rev. 19:8-9.