Chapter 1
Origins of the Bride
“Come out, you daughters of Zion, and look at King Solomon wearing the crown, the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, the day his heart rejoiced.”
The striking literary feature of the New Testament is vivid use of first century customs as illustrations of spiritual truths. From the colloquial parables of Jesus to the apocalyptic imagery of John, doctrinal truths are impressed upon the reader’s mind by spiritual application of first century culture. In the midst of this rainbow of illustrations, the beauty of the marriage metaphor is unsurpassed. The figure begins with John the Baptist; Jesus taught parables of the Bridegroom and the Wedding Feast; Paul introduces the Bride; and John concludes by presenting the Bride, the wife of the Lamb, Jesus Christ.
The symbolism is found in the familiar hymn, The Church’s One Foundation: ”From Heav’n He came and sought her to be His holy bride; with His own blood He bought her, and for her life He died.”8
Medieval writers employed the Figure extensively, but they interpreted nuptial imagery as the mystical marriage of the individual believer to Christ, not figuratively of the corporate Church and Christ. Allegorical interpretation of the Song of Songs contributed to this philosophy. Mystical treatment led also to the Gnostic abuses of the second and third centuries of the Christian era. It is these same Gnostic teachings that the Church is now accused of suppressing. Gnostic mysticism influenced later novelists and caused Christian writers to ignore the metaphor. It is regrettable that extravagant mystical language has colored and distorted this vivid New Testament symbolism.9 The present day resurgence in popularity of “goddess spirituality “and novels like The Da Vinci Code are revisiting the Gnostic and mystical abuses of earlier times. The New Testament writings give no basis for a mystical marriage between individual Christians and Christ, and certainly not a physical union with one of His followers.
Sadly, the present day Church has ceased to consider that she is now the Bride. “New interpretations” of end times that began in the mid eighteen hundreds all but destroy the continuity of this symbol from the Old Testament to the New. Those who follow dispensational teachings view the Church as only a parenthesis in God’s plan for the ages. The supporters of this view want to give away to a false bride (a restored Jewish nation) a large amount of the “New Covenant” (the New Testament), which is the “marriage contract,” belonging only to the Church who is the new Bride. In addition, even those professing to be followers of Christ are drawn away into skepticism regarding the true Bridegroom by the resurgence of Gnostic nonsense in modern novels and movies. The postmodern world in which we live is ready to accept such false notions believing it is impossible to make sense of life.
Since the “Bride of Christ” imagery was relegated to the future, there has been a tendency to ignore the figure in present day preaching. Emphasis is placed on the future of the figure to the detriment of understanding the present reality. One author writes, “We cannot speak correctly of the Church being now the bride. It is only in the end that the Church becomes the bride.”10 The evidence is abundant in the New Testament to justify the title “bride” for the present Church. The sublimity and beauty of this figurative theme shines brilliantly when the balance between the present reality, and the future hope of the Church is understood.
Present readers of the Bible find the imagery vague Because of inadequate teaching regarding this symbolism. There is limited knowledge of marriage customs during the New Testament times. The lifestyle and focus in today’s church ministries is not helpful in clarifying this unique view of the Church. Nevertheless, “Here Comes the Bride”; She continues to prepare her trousseau, and awaits the coming of the Bridegroom. His coming will be announced with bold celebration, like the lightning that comes from the east and shines to the west11. At the Bridegroom’s coming every eye will see Him12, but only the Bride and Bridegroom will rejoice.