The Church of God as the Bride of Christ

A. J. Pollock

We come now to the last aspect of the church as presented in Scripture. At the end of the thousand-year reign of Christ will arise the last and most terrible of man’s rebellions against God through the agency of Satan, let loose from the bottomless pit at the end of that period. We read, ‘And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea’ (Rev. 20:7–8).

Jerusalem will sustain its last siege, fire will come down from God, the devil will be cast into the lake of fire, where the beast and false prophet will have found their portion, a great white throne will be set up, the earth and the heaven will flee away before the face of Him who will sit on the throne, the wicked dead will stand before God, and the last great court session will take place. Those not found written in the book of life will be cast into the lake of fire.

Then there arises a vision of a new heaven and a new earth, wherein righteousness shall dwell, which will be characterised by the absence of all that makes this world sad (Rev. 21). In the new creation scene there will be no more tears, no more death, no more sorrow, no more crying, no more pain. The former things shall have passed away and all things become new, never to grow old.

In his vision, John sees the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down as a bride adorned for her husband. Will the reader note carefully the difference between Revelation 21:9 and Revelation 21:2?

• Revelation 21:9 presents the Lamb’s wife as a city; Revelation 21:2 presents the city as a bride.
• Revelation 21:9 sets forth the introduction of the millennium; Revelation 21:2 sets forth the introduction to the eternal state, and more than 1,000 years lies between the start of the millennium and the eternal state.
• In Revelation 21:9, the scene is the first earth and the first heaven — the old creation, which will pass away; in Revelation 21:2, the scene is the new earth and the new heaven — the new creation, which will never pass away.

So now we arrive at the last aspect of the church of God as the bride of Christ, the Lamb’s wife. It is touching that the church is presented as the Lamb’s wife, as if to indicate at what price our Lord secured His bride, even by His sacrificial death on the cross of Calvary. We shall never forget this throughout eternity. 

No longer will it be the figure of the Head and the body, for under this figure the Head is in heaven and the members on earth. No longer will there be the necessity for the gifts given by an ascended Lord in glory. There will be no necessity for evangelists, for there will be no unconverted to preach to there. There will be no need for teachers, for then all shall know as they are known, and knowledge shall pass away (1 Cor. 13:8, 12), in that all shall have full knowledge in heaven. What remains is a very rich and special presentation of the church of God as the object of the everlasting love of our blessed Lord using the most intimate relationship in life as illustration, that of husband and wife (Eph. 5:32).

It is deeply interesting to connect this last aspect of the church of God with its first type, namely Adam and Eve, who were types of Christ and the church. Eve was of Adam; the church is of Christ. Isaac and Rebekah also are typical of Christ and the church. Isaac  was walking in the fields at eventide, lifting up his eyes, and behold the camels were coming. Rebekah was about to be his — a moment of supreme joy to him surely.

May it not be true that our heavenly bridegroom may be lifting up His eyes in expectancy as the supreme moment comes for Him to shout the assembling shout that will bring His bride, spotless and pure, by His side? Can any finish be more glorious — a finish that will never know an end, for the bride will never grow old, as earthly brides do. The bride will be the bride throughout the countless ages of eternity. What a triumph of divine love! May the hour of His holy triumph and ours be very near.

Oh wondrous call, that brings to Thy side,
In unmarred beauty, Thy beloved Bride;
To know Thy love—its wonders to explore,
In rapture bow, and worship evermore.
Come, Lord Jesus, come!

A J Pollock[1]

[1] From: ‘The Church of God’.

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From: Truth and Testimony, 2022