The premise of this blog to use the book filled with such a high concentration of metaphors as a Rosetta Stone for clarifying Christian eschatology my seem an oxymoron. Even so, using the metaphors of the Book of Revelation to distill metaphors on the same subject in other books has provided clarity and unity between scriptures written hundreds of years apart.
An unexpected example came recently while listening to a sermon by a well education and sincere minister where he called the Church the bride of Christ. There is no scripture in the Bible that calls the Church the bride of Christ but there is a scripture that names Jerusalem as Christ’s bride (Revelation 21:9-10). The question must be asked if the metaphor in Revelation refers to the city itself or those who dwell in the city, the saints. The rest of the chapter speaks only to the city itself and Jesus. There is nothing suggesting that the inhabitants of Jerusalem are intended. Indeed, a scripture from Isaiah describing the future Messiah, Jesus, as the father of those who dwell in Jerusalem and compliments the metaphor of Jerusalem being the bride (Isaiah 22:20-22; 2Corinthians 6:16-18). The parables showing that the saints are guests to the wedding feast also compliment the idea that Jerusalem is the bride (Matthew 22:1-14; 25:1-13). To ascribe the Church as the bride convolutes the meaning of the metaphors.
Where does the doctrine come from that the Church is the bride of Christ? It comes from the Apostle Paul’s use of the marriage relationship as a metaphor for the saint’s relation to Jesus. Three Epistles of Paul talks to the saint’s relationship with the Savior as being akin to marriage (Ephesians 5:22-33; 2Corinthians 11:1-2; Romans 7:4). In each of these Epistles it is the sanctity of the relationship between Christ and the saint and not the marriage being discussed. It is beyond the intentions of the Apostle to ascribe to the Church the role of the Bride of Christ.
The difference between the two understandings of the Bride may seem innocuous. Yet, to accept the Church as the bride elevates the Church to a position never intended. It replaces Old Testament saints with New Testament saints. It doesn’t matter whether the replacement is temporary or permanent, there is no Biblical bases for New Testament saints having precedence over Old Testament saints in this current age or at any time. Most Protestant ministers that ascribe the Church as the Bride of Christ would be gassed and offended at the suggestion they preach replacement theology. That is not the intention of this article. What has happened is, this doctrine slipped into the Church by ignoring the force of unity between scriptures.
All the scriptures sighted in this article harmonize with the metaphor of Jerusalem as the Bride of Christ without any word games or manipulation of the writers intent. To accept the Church as the Bride requires supposition not intended by the writer to connect the scriptures and dilutes the unity between them. A benefit from using the Book of Revelation as a Rosetta Stone is an awareness of the force of unity infused by the Holy Spirit into the scriptures. The force of unity brings clarity and a true understanding of the meaning of scripture.
May God bless you in your study of His word.