Here Comes the Bride
“Here Comes the Bride”
Revelation 21:9-11, 22-27 (22:1-5)
All Saints Day
November 1, 1998
Do you men remember when you first saw your bride on your wedding day. When Bonnie and I were married, custom dictated that I would not see her until she stepped with her father into the entrance of the church. How well I remember that moment. I had to give myself a command to stand at-ease so I could turn and see her coming to me, all adorned in white and as beautiful as beautiful can be. There was not a spot or a wrinkle or any other flaw that distracted from her beauty in my eyes. That was 30 years ago this month.
But there is another bride for us to consider this morning. The bible often refers to the true believers in Jesus Christ as the bride. When the angel says to John, “Come, I will show you the bride,” he is talking about the Church; the Holy City, Jerusalem; in which no one who is “cowardly, or unbelieving, or vile, or a murderer, or sexually immoral, or a practitioner of magic arts, or an idolater, or a liar, will ever gain access. Only the righteous whose names are inscribed in the book of life, are there. These are the saints of God.
Today, we celebrate with the ancient church “All Saints Day”. Today we remember the lives of those who have died in the faith and entered the glory of the Lord. Today we acknowledge ourselves as sinners made saints by the blood of the lamb, Jesus Christ. And today, all the saints join in songs of praise and adoration to worship and honor the One who makes people holy to the Lord.
Perhaps it’s a little old-fashioned to speak of marriage in terms of security and love. But that’s what I believe this union of two into one flesh is all about. This is something I have always wanted to provide for my wife and family. Even so, I know there have been all to many times when things have not been very secure, or loving in my family. Yet, I believe this is exactly why our union with God is so important.
The Holy City, Jerusalem, is seen coming out of heaven. That means security. Paul talks about it this way, “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”
Peter gives testimony of this security when he says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed.” Man! What power to have protecting us and our inheritance among the saints. What love it must take to make the impure, pure.
No wonder John describes his vision of the Holy City in such awesome terms. “It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.” You see, there is not one impure thing in it. But how can that be? Are we not all sinful from birth? How, then, is the impure given such purity? Isaiah gives us a hint, saying: “When your judgements come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness. Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us.”
Paul is more direct. “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, …to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” By this light, and in this love, all may enter through the gates of glory.
So let me ask you: What stain or wrinkle or other blemish marks you as unclean? What is it that makes you feel poor in spirit before your God? Whatever it is, hear the word Jesus speaks to you, “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.” Remember the apostles’ message to those marred with sin and struck with grief. “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
You, my dear friends, are fellow saints with all who believe. In Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, your name is written in the book of life. And the word you now hear is the river of the water of life that flows from the throne and the Lamb.
Perhaps some of you might be thinking, “Gee! That preacher makes it sound as though we are already in heaven.” Well thank you very much. That’s the point of being united with God and the Lamb. But then you might think, “How can we be in heaven if all the things that are supposed to be excluded from heaven are still around us?”
Indeed! How sad it truly is that evil abounds in the world we now inhabit. There is much corruption and decay and sin. There is much going on that will never be allowed in heaven. But that’s the point. The saints of God are no longer controlled by those things.
The saints of God mourn because of them, but the day of comfort is upon them. The saints calmly wait for the Lord to fulfill his promises and do not impose their rights on others. Yet, they will inherit all things. The saints hunger and thirst for righteousness, holding on to the promise that will be filled with all righteousness. The saints have been brought out of the darkness of sin into the marvelous light of Christ. Thus they are merciful, even to those who show no mercy, because in the face of Christ they see God face to face. The saints desire is for all to find the peace that fills their hearts because they are called the Sons of God.
Yes, even though sin and evil abound, the Church, the Holy City, Jerusalem, remains unstained because of the blood of Jesus Christ. Can there be such security and love from any other source. No! Say the saints. God is love.
So, as we celebrate “All Saints Day,” we rejoice! We are the saints , the beloved bride of Christ. We are united as one in Christ with God with all those who have died in faith. That is why when we have communion we say, “Therefore with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven we laud and magnify your glorious name, evermore praising you and saying: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Amen.
