The Preparation of the Bride
Message One
The Bride—the Goal of the Lord’s Recovery
THE EXTRACT OF THE OUTLINES
Scripture Reading:
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.
Rev. 19:7-9 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. 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. 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.
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.
I. The Bible is a romance of a universal couple—God in Christ as the Bridegroom and God’s redeemed people as the bride—John 3:29, Rev. 19:7, 21:2: (Monday)
A. God and man have a romance; His purpose in creating man was to gain a counterpart—Gen. 1:26.
B. God is a Lover; He created man according to His own image as this Lover in order that we may love Him—Mark 12:30, Eph. 3:14-19.
C. The entire Bible is a divine romance, and the Song of Songs is a digest of this romance—1:2-3, 8:14.
D. Whatever we love, our whole heart and soul are placed upon what is loved and preoccupied and gained by it—1 Tim. 6:11.
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II. Revelation 19:7-9 reveals Christ as the Bridegroom—Rev. 19:7-9: (Tuesday)
A. The wedding of the Lamb is the result of the consummation of God’s New Testament economy to gain a bride for Christ, who is the church—Rev. 19:7.
B. Christ’s bride is composed of all the overcomers—vv. 7-9; cf. Gen. 2:22, Matt. 16:18.
C. The overcomers become the New Jerusalem to be Christ’s bride for the Millennium—Rev. 19:7.
D. All the believers are united with the overcomers, and the New Jerusalem is the ultimate consummation to be Christ’s wife unto eternity—21:2, 9-11.
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III. The bride is the goal of the Lord’s recovery—19:7-9: (Wednesday, Thursday)
A . The time of the wedding of the Lamb has come—v. 7b, John 1:29, 3:29.
B. His wife has made herself ready, which is the maturity of the life of the overcomers—Heb. 6:1, Phil. 3:12-15, Eph. 4:13.
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C. It was given to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, bright and clean, which is the righteous acts of the saints—Rev. 19:8. (Friday)
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D. Blessed are those who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb, which is a reward for the overcoming believers—Rev. 19:9, Matt. 22:2. (Saturday)
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
Rev. 19:7-8 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. 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.
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.
Word of Appetizer
What is the goal of the Lord’s recovery?
The Bible is a romance, in the most pure and the most holy sense, of a universal couple—God in Christ as the Bridegroom and God’s redeemed people as the bride—the goal of the Lord’s recovery.
Christ’s goal is not to remove sin; it is to have the bride; 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. 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.
Spiritual Burden
The Bible is a romance, in the most pure and the most holy sense, of a universal couple—God in Christ as the Bridegroom and God’s redeemed people as the bride—the goal of the Lord’s recovery.
To love the Lord Jesus is to appreciate Him, to direct our being to Him, to open to Him, to enjoy Him, to give Him the first place, to be one with Him, to live Him, and to become Him.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
The Bible is a romance, in the most pure and the most holy sense, of a universal couple—God in Christ as the Bridegroom and God’s redeemed people as the bride.
Revelation 19:7-9 unveils Christ as the Bridegroom.
The bride is the goal of the Lord’s recovery.
The Experience of Life
God is a lover, and He created man in the image of Himself as a lover; this means that He created us so that we would love Him. Our relationship with the Lord should become more and more romantic.
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.
Practice and Application
Whatever we love, our whole heart, even our entire being, is set on and occupied and possessed by. To love the Lord Jesus is to appreciate Him, to direct our being to Him, to open to Him, to enjoy Him, to give Him the first place, to be one with Him, to live Him, and to become Him.
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.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 To love God means to set our entire being—spirit, soul, and body, with the heart, soul, mind, and strength absolutely on Him (Mark 12:30)
(Please illustrate that 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.)
T2 The Bible is a romance, in the most pure and the most holy sense, of a universal couple (Matt. 25:6; 2 Cor. 11:2)
(Please illustrate that the male of this couple is God Himself; the female of this couple is God’s redeemed people, including all the saints of the Old Testament and the New Testament.)
Day 2
T1 The ultimate consummation of the whole Bible is this universal couple—the Husband and the wife (Matt. 9:15; 2 Cor. 11:2)
(Please illustrate that the four Gospels also tell us that Christ has come as the Bridegroom; in the Epistles Christ and the church are portrayed as husband and wife.)
T2 In the kingdom of one thousand years, the New Jerusalem will be composed only of the overcomers (Rev. 21:2, 9-10)
(Please illustrate that eventually, all the believers will join the overcomers to make the New Jerusalem larger than it was in the thousand-year kingdom.)
Day 3
T1 The Lord Jesus is the Lamb as the Bridegroom (Rev. 19:7)
(Please illustrate that The Lamb is for redemption, and the Bridegroom is for the wedding.)
T2 The readiness of the bride depends on the maturity in life of the overcomers (Rev. 19:7; John 3:29)
(Please illustrate that the overcomers are not separate individuals but a corporate bride.)
Day 4
T1 God’s building and our growth are for the preparation of the bride (Rev. 19:7; Heb. 6:1)
(Please illustrate that the bride having made herself ready means that the church has been completely built up and has grown to maturity.)
T2 The primary work of the Lord in His recovery is to prepare His bride (Rev. 19:7; Heb. 6:1)
(Please illustrate that those who make up the bride must not only be mature in life; they must also be built together as the one bride.)
Day 5
T1 The fine linen is the righteousnesses of the saints (Rev. 19:8; Phil. 3:9)
(Please illustrate that the righteousnesses refers to Christ lived out of us in our daily life.)
T2 According to the revelation of the whole Bible, we, the saved ones, need two garments (Luke 15:22; Rev. 19:8)
(Please illustrate that one for our salvation and one for our reward.)
Day 6
T1 The bride of the Lamb and the guests invited to the marriage dinner of the Lamb refer to the same group of persons (Rev. 19:9; Matt. 22:2, 14)
(Please illustrate that those who constitute the bride of Christ are the guests invited to the wedding feast.)
T2 When Christ comes, the overcoming believers will join Him to feast at the marriage dinner of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9; Matt. 22:2, 14)
(Please illustrate that the judgment at the judgment seat of Christ will not determine whether or not we will be saved or perish; it will decide whether we will receive a reward from the Lord or suffer a loss.)
