Question:
You refer to the church as the “bride of Christ.” How can it be that both New Jerusalem and the church can be the bride of Christ?
Answer:
There are three different relations referred to in the Scriptures as marriage: (1) the union of Christ with the individual believer (Romans 7:4; Galatians 3:27); (2) the relationship between Christ and the church, or the people of God (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:23-32; Jeremiah 2:32; 3:1, 14; 31:32); (3) the relationship between Christ and His kingdom, the complete and glorious consummation of all His travail of soul (Isaiah 54:1, 5; Galatians 4:25, 27; Isaiah 62:1-4; Revelation 21:1, 2, 9, 10). Of that eternal kingdom, the New Jerusalem, the bride, “the Lamb’s wife,” is the capital, and her reception is the reception of the kingdom.
