“Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

 

Thursday, December 21, 2023


Psalms 120; 121

Isaiah 24:1-20

Revelation 21:9-21


Observance: Thomas, apostle and martyr


“Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”


The Australian economy runs on real estate: this nation is obsessed with property. Where to live is such an important decision that real estate agents have harnessed the power of the algorithm to help us spend even more time thinking about it.


But no matter where we live, there is still the chance of hearing the sirens of emergency vehicles. There will always be neighbours somewhere in the vicinity, and their domestic lives will have issues of varying degree, just as ours will. There is no such thing as the perfect neighbourhood; the ideal city is a myth.


Towards the end of John’s vision, he was shown something incredible which was described to him as “the wife of the Lamb”. We know from elsewhere in the Bible that the people of God have been described in such a way. But here, the Bride of Christ is a city. John communicates such brilliant imagery that it becomes plainly obvious that the spiritual reality behind this vision is so wonderful that it cannot be described completely with mere words.


We, the body of believers, the wife of the Lamb, are being prepared for this holy city of the New Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit dwelling within each of us is transforming us into the image of Christ, so that when we enter that city we will be the perfect neighbour for one another. Isaiah’s prophecy is concerned with the end of treacherous and wicked cities; John’s concern is with what God will replace it with. The Psalmist gives us a song from the lips of the faithful as they ascend to the hill upon which that city is built. There is no need for locked doors and security cameras; the Lord will protect our going out and our coming in forevermore in that perfect, new city, the bride, the wife of the Lamb.

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