Metaphor: BrideRev 19:7-8 "Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready." 8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
Rev 21:2-3 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. Rev 21:9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb."
Rev 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost. NASU
This brief introduction from the ISBE Rev edition gives us a little help in understanding this imagery.
BRIDE OF CHRIST [Gk. nýmph¢ — 'bride'] (John 3:29; Rev 21:2,9; 22:17); [gyn¢¡ — 'wife'] (Rev 19:7; 21:9); [parthénos — 'virgin] (2 Cor 11:2); [kyría — 'lady'] (2 John 1,5). An image for the Church which emphasizes the ideas of purity, subjection, faithfulness, and intimate communion with Christ her bridegroom-husband; one constituent feature of a larger complex of nuptial imagery symbolizing the relationship between Christ and the Church. While the OT is the primary source of this imagery, its application to the relationship between Christ and His Church in the NT was facilitated by (1) the messianic interpretation of some features of OT nuptial imagery in Judaism, (2) the tendency in Judaism to depict the messianic age as a wedding feast, (3) early Christianity's functional substitution of Jesus for Yahweh, and (4) the Greco-Roman penchant for personifying corporate bodies with feminine imagery.
Jesus cleanses us from all unrighteousness 1 John 1:9 but we must continuously submit ourselves to his will, according to the Word or bible if we are to be a Bride without spot or wrinkle.
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