Chapter 30 of 106

in Matthew 22:2; it will be a reward to the overcoming believers:

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.

‹‹ Day 5 ›› 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.

‹‹ Day 6 ›› 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. 19:89. ‹‹ Hymn

Back to the table of contents

‹‹ WEEK 1 — DAY 1 ››

Morning Nourishment

Matt. 25:6 But at midnight there was a cry, Behold, the bridegroom! Go forth to meet him!

2 Cor. 11:2 For I am jealous over you with a jealousy of God; for I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

In 1 Corinthians 2:9 Paul says, "Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard and which have not come up in man's heart; things which God has prepared for those who love Him." To realize and participate in the deep and hidden things God has ordained and prepared for us requires us not only to believe in Him but also to love Him. To fear God, to worship God, and to believe in God (that is, to receive God) are all inadequate; to love Him is the indispensable requirement. 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, so that He becomes everything to us and we are one with Him practically in our daily life. In this way we have the closest and most intimate fellowship with God, and we are able to enter into His heart and apprehend all its secrets (Psa. 73:25; 25:14). Thus, we not only realize but also experience, enjoy, and fully participate in these deep and hidden things of God. (Life-study of 1 Corinthians, p. 144)

Today's Reading

If you have entered into the deep thought of the Bible, you will realize that the Bible is a romance, in the most pure and the most holy sense, of a universal couple.

The male of this couple is God Himself...This very God, after a long process, has resulted in Christ as the Bridegroom.

The female of this couple is a corporate human being, God's redeemed people, including all the saints of the Old Testament and the New Testament. After a long process this corporate person results in the New Jerusalem as the bride.

This holy romance is repeatedly revealed throughout the Old Testament...Several times...God referred to Himself as the Husband and to His people as His wife (Isa. 54:5; 62:5; Jer. 2:2; 3:1, 14; 31:32; Ezek. 16:8; 23:5; Hosea 2:7, 19)...Many times the prophets spoke of God as the Husband and of His people as His wife. Humanly speaking, we always think of God in a religious way as the Almighty, feeling compelled to worship Him. But do you married brothers expect this from your wives? Suppose your wife thought of you as a big body, as a giant, approaching you adoringly, bowing herself, and kneeling down to worship you. What would you say? You would say, "Silly wife, I don't need such a worshipper. I need a dear wife to embrace me and kiss me. If you will simply give me a little kiss, I will soar in the air." Our God certainly is the almighty God, and, as His creatures, we must worship Him. Many verses speak about worshipping God in this way. However, have you never read in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Hosea that God desires to be a husband? In ancient times God's people built the temple and established a system of worship complete with priesthood and sacrifices. One day God intervened and spoke through Isaiah saying, "I am tired of this. I am weary with your sacrifices. I want you to love Me. I am your Husband, and you must be My wife. I want to have a marriage life. I am lonely. I need you. I need you, My chosen people, to be My wife."

Song of Songs is more than a romance; it is a fantastic romance...It speaks of two people who fall in love...In Song of Songs we find a woman falling in love with a man, saying, "Oh, that he might kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. I am thirsty for this." Immediately, her beloved is at hand, and the pronoun changes from he to you (1:2-3). "Your name is sweet, and your love is better than wine. Draw me, my beloved. Don't teach me; draw me. I don't need a pastor or a preacher. I don't need an elder or even an apostle. I need you to draw me. Draw me; we will run after you." What a romance! (Life-study of Romans, pp. 1-4)

Further Reading: Life-study of Romans, msg. 1

Enlightenment and inspiration

< Previous | Next >

‹‹ WEEK 1 — DAY 2 ››

Morning Nourishment

Rev. 21:2 And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Rev. 21:9-10 ...Come here; I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. And he carried me away in spirit onto a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.

The Gospels give us a full record of Christ as our Savior. However, have you noticed that the four Gospels also tell us that Christ has come as the Bridegroom (Matt. 9:15; Mark 2:19; Luke 5:34; John 3:29)? He has come for His bride. When the disciples of John the Baptist saw many people forsaking John to follow the Lord Jesus, John told them not to be troubled, that Christ is the Bridegroom, and that all the increase belongs to Him (v. 30)...The bride is the increase of Christ.

In the Epistles Christ and the church are portrayed as husband and wife (Eph. 5:25-32; 2 Cor. 11:2)...If we know what is unfolded in the Epistles, we will see that Christ is revealed in them as our Husband and that the believers are revealed as His counterpart, as His wife. (Life-study of Romans, pp. 5-6)

Today's Reading

In Revelation 19 we see that Christ will enjoy a wedding feast, and in chapter 21 we see that the New Jerusalem will be His wife...The ultimate consummation of the whole Bible is this universal couple—the Husband and the wife.

Furthermore, the Bible tells us that this couple with the two persons are one flesh (Gen. 2:24; Eph. 5:31). Adam and Eve were one flesh. Since they were one flesh, they were also one man. Christ and His chosen people are one, universal, corporate man with Christ, the Husband, as the Head (4:15) and with the church, the wife, as the Body (1:22-23). Eventually, these two become one, all-inclusive, universal, corporate man. In Ephesians 5 the church is presented as a wife, and in Ephesians 1 the church is presented as the Body of Christ. She is Christ's wife and Christ's Body. Christ is her Husband and her Head. So Christ and the church are a universal, corporate man. This is the kernel of the divine revelation in the Word of God. (Life-study of Romans, p. 6)

Eventually, all the overcomers will be the New Jerusalem, as the bride of Christ for one thousand years, in its initial and fresh stage. These one thousand years will be counted as one day (2 Pet. 3:8), the wedding day. This will be the initial and fresh stage of the New Jerusalem as the bride of Christ.

Eventually, the New Jerusalem will be consummated and completed in full, as the tabernacle of God and the wife of Christ in the new heaven and new earth for eternity (Rev. 21:1-3, 9-10). In the kingdom of one thousand years, the New Jerusalem will be composed only of the overcomers. Besides the overcomers there will be a great number of immature saints, but after the thousand-year kingdom, all the believers will be matured...If we do not get matured in this age, we will be matured in the next age. The process of being matured in the next age, however, will be very severe. Eventually, all the believers will join the overcomers to make the New Jerusalem larger than it was in the thousand-year kingdom. That will consummate and complete the New Jerusalem in full, as the tabernacle of God and the wife of Christ in the new heaven and new earth for eternity.

In eternity the New Jerusalem will be the wife of Christ. On the wedding day the wife is the bride, but after the wedding day she is no longer the bride but simply the wife...The New Jerusalem in eternity future will be with the addition of all the saints perfected for their maturity in the divine life through the discipline in the kingdom age (vv. 2, 12, 14). This will be for the eternal expression, to its fullest extent, of the processed Triune God in, with, and through all the regenerated, transformed, and glorified tripartite saints in eternity (vv. 10-11). (CWWL, 1991–1992, vol. 4, "The Overcomers," pp. 267-268)

Further Reading: Life-study of Revelation, msg. 54

Enlightenment and inspiration

< Previous | Next >

‹‹ WEEK 1 — DAY 3 ››

Morning Nourishment

Rev. 19:7 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.

John 3:29 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. This joy of mine therefore is made full.

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 [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)

Today's Reading

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.

Revelation 19:1-6 is the praise of the great multitude of the saints, the angels, and all creatures. Revelation 19:7 continues, "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." Here His wife refers to the church (Eph. 5:24-25, 31-32), the bride of Christ (John 3:29). However, according to Revelation 19:8-9, the wife, the bride of Christ, consists only of the overcoming believers during the millennium, whereas the bride in 21:2 is composed of all the saved saints after the millennium for eternity...The readiness of the bride depends on the maturity in life of the overcomers. Furthermore, the overcomers are not separate individuals but a corporate bride. For this aspect, building is needed...Christ will not marry each believer individually; instead, He will marry His corporate bride composed of His overcoming believers. When we have been fully saturated with the Triune God so that He flows out of us, we will be completely built and fitted together to become the glorious church, the beloved bride of the Lord Jesus.

Only the church as the golden lampstand can be the bride of Christ (1:20). This indicates that we need to live out the life of Christ...We should not focus on caring for the goodness or wickedness that comes out of us. Instead, we need to care for the tree of life, the Triune God, and Christ as the all-inclusive Spirit. Whether we are at home with our family or in the church meetings with the brothers and sisters, we all need to live out Christ. If we live by Christ, what we live out is God, who is Spirit, signified by the pure gold that shines forth the light; then we will become the bride of Christ who satisfies His desire. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4319-4321)

Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 424

Enlightenment and inspiration

< Previous | Next >

‹‹ WEEK 1 — DAY 4 ››

Morning Nourishment

Rev. 19:7 ...The marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.

Heb. 6:1 Therefore leaving the word of the beginning of Christ, let us be brought on to maturity...

We need to pay attention to the phrase His wife has made herself ready. Matthew 25:1-13 speaks of the parable of the ten virgins. In this parable the prudent virgins who took oil in their vessels—who had the Spirit of God filling and saturating their souls—were those who "were ready" and thus went in with the bridegroom "to the wedding feast," into the enjoyment of the marriage dinner of the Lamb at His coming back (v. 10). This indicates that God's work throughout the generations is to build Himself into man...When He builds Himself into us, He constitutes the nature of God and the element of heaven into us. The more we allow Him to work Himself into us, the more we will have the element of God and the element of heaven in us...When we submit to the Holy Spirit, allowing God to work Himself into us, we have the presence of God and the taste of heaven within us. We can grow as God builds Himself into us. God's building and our growth are for the preparation of the bride...The bride having made herself ready means that the church has been completely built up and has grown to maturity. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 4323)

Today's Reading

To be ready in Matthew 25:10 [cf. 24:44] means that the bride has made herself ready, that God has completed His building work in man, and that we have grown and matured in the Lord's life...These three matters are actually one matter.

The church today is a miniature of the glorious New Jerusalem in the future, and it will continually grow until the day that it is fully grown. We grow through God's continuous building work in us. The more God builds Himself into us, the more we grow...Our growing is actually God's building (Eph. 4:12-13).

There is no doubt that Revelation 19 will be completely fulfilled...The bride, however, cannot be prepared quickly. This preparation is a gradual work that takes

place over a period of time...This preparation involves the work of a corporate building. Those who make up the bride must not only be mature in life; they must also be built together as the one bride. The primary work of the Lord in His recovery is to prepare His bride. In His recovery He is calling out a remnant of those who love Him and who are faithful to Him. He is sending out the call to overcome the degradation of Christianity so that a number of those who seek Him may be prepared as His bride.

The bride, the wife, of Christ will be prepared in full by Him for His wedding as His pleasure and satisfaction. The preparation of the bride is by Christ's redemption, organic salvation, and the intensified work of His organic salvation. Revelation 19 says that the bride is prepared fully by being properly adorned. Christ is now adorning us to make us His bride. Christ's pleasure and satisfaction are His bride, prepared, adorned, in full. The coming of the marriage dinner of the Lamb in Revelation 19:7 refers to Christ's marrying the New Jerusalem as His bride in the millennium.

God in the beginning was merely God. He was alone. But it is not good for God to be alone (Gen. 2:18). He desires a counterpart. Jesus came not merely to be the Redeemer but to be the Bridegroom, and as such He needs a bride (John 3:29). Paul says that he had betrothed the Corinthian believers as a pure virgin to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2). Ephesians 5 reveals that the church is the wife of Christ, and Christ is the Husband. Then in the book of Revelation we are told that the wife has made herself ready and that the marriage of the Lamb has come (19:7). This will be a universal marriage in which the overcomers will marry Christ, our God. From that time God will never be alone. Our God will be a married God. He will marry the holy city, the New Jerusalem, as His bride. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4323-4325)

Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 424

Enlightenment and inspiration

< Previous | Next >

‹‹ WEEK 1 — DAY 5 ››

Morning Nourishment

Rev. 19:8 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.

Phil. 3:9 And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness which is out of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is out of God and based on faith.

[In] Revelation 19:8...the fine linen, which is the righteousnesses of the saints, refers to Christ lived out of us in our daily life. This indicates that while the church is under great degradation, we should be the overcomers to live Christ and even live Him out as our subjective righteousness day by day.

In verse 8 the word clean refers to the nature, whereas bright refers to the expression. The Greek word translated "righteousnesses" may also be rendered "righteous acts." The righteousnesses do not refer to the righteousness (which is Christ) that we received for our salvation (1 Cor. 1:30). The righteousness we received for our salvation is objective and enables us to meet the requirement of the righteous God, whereas here the righteousnesses of the overcoming saints are subjective (Phil. 3:9) and enable us to meet the requirement of the overcoming Christ. Hence, the fine linen indicates Christ, as our overcoming life, whom we live out of our being. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 4325)

Today's Reading

The righteousness that is Christ Himself is sufficient for us to be justified and saved; this righteousness is singular in number. The use of righteousnesses in Revelation 19:8 is in the plural, however, and proves that what is mentioned in this verse is not Christ as our righteousness for us to be justified. Rather, it is righteous deeds, the daily walk, the Christian living, which Christ as our life works out through us. This outworking of the inner life is the white linen with which we are clothed. In order to attend a feast, especially a wedding feast, we must dress in a proper way. In the same way, we need the proper clothing in order to attend the wedding feast of the Lamb.

According to the revelation of the whole Bible, we, the saved ones, need two garments—one for our salvation and one for our reward. For our salvation we need a robe to cover us. This robe is the robe put on the prodigal son in Luke 15. Upon his return, the prodigal son...thought himself unworthy to be in the presence of the father [v. 21]. But the father said to his servants, "Bring out quickly the best robe and put it on him" (v. 22)...We all have this first robe, which is Christ as our righteousness, our justification, that enables us to stand before the righteous God.

However, we also need the second garment. This garment is not for our salvation; rather, it is for our reward, qualifying us to attend the wedding feast of the Son of God. The first garment qualifies us to meet God for our salvation...This second garment is the work of the Holy Spirit within us. It is actually the Christ by whom we live and whom we live out. It is the Christ expressed through us in our daily living.

This is...illustrated by the wedding garment in Matthew 22:11 and 12. In this parable the Lord spoke of a man who comes into the wedding feast without a wedding garment. The king, seeing the man, says, "Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?" The guest is speechless. Then the king says to his servants, "Bind his feet and hands, and cast him out into the outer darkness. In that place there will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth" (v. 13)...According to the custom of the ancient Jews, no one could attend a wedding feast without a special wedding garment...If we would be qualified to attend the wedding feast of Christ, we need to live by Christ and live Him out in our daily living. This Christ, the subjective Christ, will be the wedding garment to qualify us to be admitted into the wedding feast. Therefore, we need both the justifying garment and the wedding garment. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4325-4327)

Further Reading: Truth Lessons—Level Four, vol. 1, lsn. 17

Enlightenment and inspiration

< Previous | Next >

‹‹ WEEK 1 — DAY 6 ››

Morning Nourishment

Rev. 19:9 And he said to me, Write, Blessed are they who are called to the marriage dinner of the Lamb. And he said to me, These are the true words of God.

Matt. 22:2 The kingdom of the heavens has become like a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son.

Matt. 22:14 For many are called but few are chosen.

The bride of the Lamb and the guests invited to the marriage dinner of the Lamb [in Revelation 19:9] refer to the same group of persons. In other words, those who constitute the bride of Christ are the guests invited to the wedding feast.

The marriage dinner of the Lamb [v. 9] is the wedding feast in Matthew 22:2. It will be a reward to the overcoming believers...The five foolish virgins in Matthew 25:8-13 will miss it. However, after being dealt with by the Lord in the kingdom age, they will participate in the New Jerusalem for eternity. Hence, to be invited to the wedding feast of Christ, which will usher the overcoming believers into the enjoyment of the millennium, is to be blessed. The overcoming believers invited to the marriage dinner of the Lamb will also be the bride of the Lamb...To be invited to attend the wedding feast is to have the privilege of sharing the millennial kingdom as co-kings with Christ. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4329-4330)

Today's Reading

Matthew 22:14 says, "Many are called but few are chosen," and Revelation 17:14 says, "They who are with Him, the called and chosen and faithful." To be called is one thing, but to be chosen is another. Those who will follow the Lord to fight against Antichrist will not only be called but also chosen. Although we have the assurance that we have been called, we do not yet have the assurance that we will be chosen...After we have been raptured, we will stand before the Lord at the judgment seat, and He will

decide whether or not we are qualified to be chosen. Only those who are chosen will be invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb.

The marriage of the Lamb will follow the judgment at the judgment seat of Christ. If we are not rewarded but are disapproved by the Lord, we will not perish; however, we will suffer a loss like that described in 1 Corinthians 3:15, which says, "If anyone's work is consumed, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire." The saved ones who suffer loss will certainly miss the wedding feast. The judgment at the judgment seat of Christ will not determine whether we will be saved or perish; it will decide whether we will receive a reward from the Lord or suffer a loss.

Eventually, when Christ comes, the overcoming believers will join Him to feast at the marriage dinner of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7, 9). That unique, universal wedding feast will last one thousand years. During those thousand years the church is the bride, and after the one thousand years the church is the wife (21:9-10)...On the wedding day there is the bridegroom and the bride; on the following day there is the husband and the wife. The millennial kingdom of one thousand years will be a wedding day to Christ, in which the overcoming believers will be with Christ, enjoying His wedding feast.

In the Gospel of Matthew the Lord said that the kingdom of the heavens is likened to a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son and who sent his slaves to call the invited ones to come to the feast (22:2-4). Then Revelation 19 speaks of the coming of the marriage of the Lamb and the marriage dinner of the Lamb (vv. 7, 9). This indicates that the New Testament not only begins with a feast but also ends with a feast. When we attend a proper church meeting, we are enjoying a foretaste of the marriage dinner of the Lamb, the wedding feast prepared by God the Father for His Son. At the Lord's return, the overcoming believers will enjoy the marriage dinner of the Lamb. At the marriage dinner of the Lamb, the believers will enjoy a special portion of Christ...At that time, the Lord Himself will be a special portion for the overcomers to enjoy. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4330-4332)

Further Reading: Truth Lessons—Level Four, vol. 1, lsn. 17

Enlightenment and inspiration

< Previous | Next >

‹‹ WEEK 1 — HYMN

Hymns, #1316

1 Our Bridegroom soon is coming

To claim His holy bride, The one whom He has wooed, won,

And wholly sanctified. O Lord, we would be ready

And get our hearts in tune For the wedding day that's coming

Very soon.

Oh, the wedding day is coming,

Is coming very soon, When the bride shall be prepared

And shall marry her Bridegroom. Oh, what love and consecration

Should all our hearts attune For that wedding day that's coming

Very soon.

2 Oh, that fine linen garment

Which on that day we'll wear E'en now, Lord, work within us

And stitch by stitch prepare. For this we would redeem

Every moment opportune For the wedding day that's coming

Very soon.

3 Lord, may Your portion in us

Continually increase That we may be invited

Unto that wedding feast. And keep us always watching—

At morning, night, or noon— For the wedding day that's coming

Very soon.

< Previous

↑ Back to top