I have a question. Jesus is sometimes referred to as the Bridegroom. Question, who is the Bride? Book, Chapter and Verse or how do you arrive at your conclusion? ~ Ed Brown
Jesus Christ referred to Himself as the “Bridegroom” (Matthew 9:15; 25:1). John the Baptist referred to Jesus Christ as the “Bridegroom” (John 3:29).
We have more passages in the New Testament that refer to the bride than we have passages that refer to Jesus Christ as the Bridegroom. “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, ‘Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife’” (Revelation 21:9). The Lamb here refers to Jesus Christ. Who, then, would be the bride of the Lamb? Adam Clarke (Methodist) and Albert Barnes (Presbyterian) both conclude that the Lamb’s wife is the church. Brother John T. Hinds, who wrote the Gospel Advocate commentary on the Book of Revelation, concludes that the bride in Revelation 21:9 refers to the church. B.W. Johnson of the People’s New Testament, refers to the bride as the “glorified church,” and likewise does James Burton Coffman make the exact same reference in his commentary.
There is no other conclusion to which I could come, and I am not aware of any other conclusion to which students of the Bible have come. The bride of the Lamb (Jesus Christ) is the church that belongs to Jesus Christ. Like a bride, the Lord’s church has readied itself for this marriage. “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7). Perhaps in a broader sense, when we think of the eternal kingdom of God, comprised of the redeemed from all ages, the bride of Christ includes, but includes more than the New Testament church. “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21:2).
