Last summer, my daughter Lucy was the maid of honor at her best friend’s wedding. Her dress, and those of everyone in the wedding party, was special. However, the bride’s dress is the one that everyone wants to see. Traditionally, the bride’s dress is spotless white. In our Scripture passage today from the Book of Revelation, we read of a wedding. Let’s look and see who the Bride and Groom are, and what is worn at this wedding.
Hebrew weddings in Biblical times had three phases. The first was the betrothal, where the two parties agree to marry. Sometimes, especially in wealthier families, the betrothal was even arranged in childhood. During this phase the marriage contract was approved by both parties. The second phase consists of the groom leaving to prepare the house he and the bride would live in. At a specified time he would return, and there would be a lot of pre-wedding festivities lasting several days. The final phase was the actual wedding ceremony, followed by the wedding supper.
As we read in our Scripture passage, the Apostle John is present when the elders and living creatures give praise to God before His throne in heaven (vs. 4 - 6). Then the announcement is made that the marriage of the Lamb and His bride will take place (vs. 7). As we have seen before in the Book of Revelation, the Lamb is the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Lamb of God, the One who was sacrificed for our sins, and triumphantly rose again.
Who is the bride? The bride is the Church, who is composed of all true believers from every age. The Church was betrothed to Christ from eternity past (Ephesians 1:4), and will be presented to Him when He returns to earth, summoning His bride to Himself (John 14:1-3; I Thessalonians 4:15-18). This follows the same pattern of the traditional Biblical wedding - betrothal, groom preparing the future home, then coming and claiming the bride, followed by the wedding and the marriage feast.
Jesus also describes this when He tells the story of the wise and foolish virgins who await the coming bridegroom in Matthew 25:1-13. The bride always wanted to be prepared and ready when her bridegroom returned, having prepared their future home. It would have made her look foolish, unloving, and uncaring if she wasn’t ready. And if she was caught not behaving as a proper bride should, what a shame that would be for her! As the bride of Christ, we need to be ready for when He returns to bring His bride to the home He has prepared, and acting as a bride of Christ should.
As we continue reading our passage, we read of how the Bride of the Lamb is dressed. We read that she is clothed in fine linen, clean and bright. White symbolizes purity and righteousness. We might wonder how the bride could be pure and righteous, as no believer is pure and sinless. If we were clothed in our own deeds, our robes would be filthy and mud spattered. The Church as a whole would not be clothed any better. We have all failed our Bridegroom. Yet we read that we are clothed in clean and bright linen. Our Bridegroom has given us His righteousness. Isaiah 61:10 says He gives us the garments of salvation and the robe of righteousness. When we accept Jesus as Savior, we receive His righteousness (Romans 4:5). The garments of the Bride of Christ stand in sharp contrast to the gaudy clothes of the great prostitute, (Revelation 17:1-6), who represents the world system and false religions, which have always opposed the Triune God. The two are as different as a beautiful bridal gown is to the attire of a corner prostitute.
After a wedding everyone looks forward to the wedding dinner! There is always good food, and everyone toasts the bride and groom, wishing them a wonderful life together. People feel honored to be invited to a prominent or famous person’s wedding. This wedding described in the Book of Revelation will make any royal wedding pale in comparison. It is the biggest and grandest wedding in all of history, and as John said, “Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!” (vs. 9). If you have accepted the Lord Jesus as Savior, then you will be there at this wedding feast, as you are a part of the Bride of Christ. If you haven’t accepted the Lord Jesus as Savior yet, do not wait any longer. We do not know when He will return for His bride. You do not want to miss this great event!
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