THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB. (CONTINUED.)
SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH. No. 23.
THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB. (CONTINUED.)
THERE are but two positions, at least we know of but two, taken on the question, Who is the bride? One is that it is the church; the other, that it is Jerusalem above. As we seek for information concerning it, the mind naturally turns to the testimony of John in Rev. xxi. "And there came to me," says he, "one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither. I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God." The angel made a positive declaration to John that he would show him the bride, the Lamb's wife. The only thing he did show him was the great city, the holy Jerusalem. Now did the angel fulfill his promise? None will have the hardihood to contend that he did not. Then the city, whatever that may be, is called by the angel, the bride, the Lamb's wife. There is therefore only one way in which those who hold the church to be the bride, can make their position appear; and that is, to show us that the great city, the Jerusalem above, of which John speaks, is the church. But this cannot be shown conformably to that plain and literal mode of interpretation to which the Bible is entitled. And how can the language which John applies to the city, possibly be made applicable to the church? If the church and the city of Rev. xxi, are the same thing, the former may be substituted for the latter. Verses 12-16, will then read as follows: And the church "had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. On the east, three gates; on the north, three gates; on the south, three gates; and on the west, three gates. And the wall of the church had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked with me, had a golden reed to measure the church, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And the church lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth; and he measured the church with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length, and the breadth, and the height of it are equal." It will be sufficient to add that any view which would transform the language of scripture into such nonsense, is inadmissible. But it will be asked if Isaiah does not call the church the bride; if it is not in reference to the church that the Lord speaks by the Prophet. "For thy Maker is thy husband, the Lord of hosts is his name." Isa. liv, 4. A reference to Paul's commentary on this passage, is our reply. It is found in Gal. iv, under his contrast of the two covenants. He says, "But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all." Verse 26. He then proceeds to support his declaration by a direct appeal to the scriptures: "For it is written," says he, "Rejoice thou barren that bearest not," &c. For it is written. Where is it written? In Isa. liv, and there only: the very chapter now in hand. Then Paul applies Isa. liv. not to the church, but to the Jerusalem above. We think we are as safe in taking his application, as we should be in adopting that of any modern and uninspired commentator. But does not Paul mean the church when he says Jerusalem? No; for he speaks of the church in contradistinction, as the children. "But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all, (the church.)" Jer. iii, 14; xxxi, 32; Eze. xvi, 8; Hos. ii, 18, 20; John iii, 29; 2 Cor. xi, 2; Eph. v, 23-33, may be supposed by some to teach an opposite doctrine. One fact kept steadily in view, will give us the true bearing of all these texts. We must remember that the marriage of the Lamb is a definite event to take place at the end, and nowhere else. That the union between Christ and his people is illustrated by the marriage covenant and the union between man and wife, we readily admit. But Christ has had a church in all ages; and we inquire in reference to the first four texts quoted, Has the marriage of the Lamb been going on for about six thousand years? And on John iii, 29, we inquire again, Did the marriage of the Lamb take place, or had it taken place, when our Lord was upon earth? And further, in regard to 2 Cor. xi, 2, Was the marriage of the Lamb consummated by Paul in Corinth? Such questioning as this, instituted in regard to these texts, or any of their kind, place them at once in their true light; for although in each of these instances the figure of marriage may be used to illustrate the union between Christ and his people, it shows us that they have no reference whatever to the marriage of the Lamb, and consequently have no bearing on the question as to who or what constitutes the bride, the Lamb's wife, in that particular event. But there are further considerations on this point. If the church is the bride, who are the guests? for "Blessed are they who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb," is the testimony of the angel, Rev. xix, 9. It would be singular indeed to represent the bride as an invited guest at her own marriage supper! Again, if the church is the bride, and is represented by the city in Rev. xxi, who are the nations of the saved who are to walk in the light of it? for, says the angel, speaking of the city, which he calls the bride, the Lamb's wife, "And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it, and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it." Verse 24. Certainly, those who walk in the light of the city, must be distinct from the city itself. Again, Christ is represented as the Father of his people; [Isa. ix, 6;] but if the church is the bride, who are the children? The bride, or the mother, and the children, cannot be identical. From the testimony adduced, though it is by no means exhausted, we see that the church cannot be the bride. We must then look to the holy city, the New Jerusalem which the angel plainly calls the bride, and which Paul says is the mother of us all. But here many are ready to meet us with ridicule. What! say they, the city the bride? and Christ married to a mass of inert matter, to the walls and buildings and foundations of a great city? Well, we know not how gross their ideas of the marriage of the Lamb may be, or what particulars they may insist upon having carried out. But if we are to particularize, how much better, or how much freer from absurdity, is the view that the bride is an innumerable number of subjects? Those who hold it thus, will be obliged to confess, that the marriage is only indicative of a special union that takes place between Christ and some other object. No one will attempt to carry it any further. We only ask an equal privilege. And the objects between which this union takes place, are, Christ and his kingdom. When Christ ascended, he took his station on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; [Heb. viii, 1;] or, in other words, upon the throne of his Father, where he has been ruling conjointly with him. Rev. iii, 21. But he is promised the throne of his Father David, or his own throne; and when he takes this throne and commences his reign thereon, of his kingdom there will be no end. Luke i, 32; Isa. ix, 7. This reception of the kingdom is what is brought to view in Dan. vii, 13, 14; and its chronology is shown by the place it occupies in the vision of that chapter. With his throne he will of course receive the metropolis of his kingdom, the holy city, the New Jerusalem. Here is the glorious beginning of his reign. How appropriate that it should be represented as the bride. The earth, the territory of the kingdom, has after this to be renewed from the curse, and purged from sinners. And that this is accomplished after he receives the kingdom, is evident from the fact that when he comes for the accomplishment of this work, he has on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords. Rev. xix, 15. Then you believe, says one, that the marriage of the Lamb has taken place? No; but we believe that he went in to the marriage, on the change of his ministration from the holy to the most holy of the heavenly Sanctuary, when he was brought by his angelic attendants near before the Ancient of days, to receive a kingdom, glory and dominion. The marriage takes place, or he ascends his own throne, of course at the end of his ministration, when he lays off his priestly habit for a kingly robe. Truth is always harmonious. So in the subject before us: We have Christ the everlasting Father of his people, [Isa. ix, 6;] we have the New Jerusalem above, the bride, the Lamb's wife, the mother of us all, [Rev. xxi; Gal. iv, 26;] and we have the church, the guests, those who are called to the marriage supper, the nations of the saved who will walk in the city's light. Luke xii, 37; xix, 9; xxi, 24. Thus another momentous event is shown to be in process of consummation. Our Lord has gone in to the marriage. Matt. xxv, 10. The work is going forward. Brethren, what is our condition? Are our loins girded about, and our lights burning? Are we like men in waiting for their Lord when he shall return from the wedding? Blessed are those servants whom their Lord when he cometh, shall find so doing.