The Bride's Glory

 

“And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.” Rev. 21:2

 

“And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal – clear jasper.” Rev. 22:10 – 11.

 

This is the Divine Wedding March. The Bride walking down the aisle, being presented to her Husband, being unveiled for the world and universe to behold. John attempts to describe her brilliance in general, then moving to her twelve gates and twelve foundations, her wall, the city’s dimensions, the river, and the Tree of Life; he writes “the city was pure gold, like clear glass.”

 

But how does John “see” the City? How does he see the Bride? How does he see the gold, the jasper, the sardius, the pearl, the amethyst, the sapphire; how does he see that the River is “clear as crystal”? Are there lamps or torches on each side of the aisle? Are there stars glistening in all their glory? Are there a thousand suns or a million moons?

 

In 21:11 we read that the Bride “has the glory of God.” In 22:23 we see that, “And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb,” who is Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom.

 

The Bride’s glory is the Bridegroom; it is the glory of the Bridegroom that illuminates the Bride. The Bride does not derive glory from the sun or moon or stars or earthly lamps or lights – Her light is the True Light, Jesus Christ. Why should she desire any other glory? Why should she ever desire to have any other light shine on her?

 

Consider the glorious love of the Bridegroom, that “Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the world, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she would be holy and blameless.” Ephesians 5:25 – 27.

 

O Christian, let us not soil our wedding garments by the things of the world (Jude 23; 2 Cor 7:1; 1 John 2:15 - 17), let us not run to other suitors on our wedding day. In a promiscuous age which debases the holy and pure and good, and clothes evil with the light of hell (2 Cor. 11:14), let us keep ourselves holy, and wholly, unto Him, our Bridegroom.

 

The serpent convinced us in the Garden that we needed something more, and he has not stopped his assault (2 Cor. 11:1 – 3).

 

Dear, dear friend, our fidelity to our Divine Spouse has a critical missional dimension, for “The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it…” (Rev. 22:24: see also Isaiah 2:1 – 3; 60:1 – 3; Matt. 5:13 – 16). We do not help the world by being like the world, by playing the political or economic or entertainment games of the world – we serve the world by being the faithful Bride of Christ, wearing the white robes He has given to us and unambiguously refusing the red and blue and green robes of the world – no matter how convincing the serpent tires to be, no matter the peer pressure surrounding us, no matter the enticements.

 

The Bride should have eyes only for the Bridegroom.

 

Where are our eyes fixed today? (Hebrews 12:1 – 3; Colossians 3:1 – 4; 1 John 3:1 – 3).

 

Let us live by the Light and Glory of our Bridegroom, and His Light and Glory alone.