These two garments are also seen in Psalm 45. In this psalm the queen has two garments (vv. 13-14): one corresponds to the objective righteousness for our salvation and the other to the subjective righteousness for our victory. The latter is equivalent to the wedding garment in Matthew 22:11 and 12. The queen in Psalm 45 signifies the church. Her first garment is of “wrought gold,” and her second is “raiment of embroidery” (Heb.). In the Bible gold signifies the divine nature of God. At the time of our salvation we received a golden garment that enabled us to be in the presence of God. In addition to this, we need another garment, a garment of embroidery. This embroidery signifies the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit today is working on us to transform us just like an embroiderer puts many stitches into cloth. Although we have the first garment, our second garment is now being prepared under the embroidering work of the Holy Spirit. This garment will qualify us to see Christ at His judgment seat. Day by day we are under the needle, the transformation, of the Holy Spirit. How we need this second garment! This is a serious matter.
However serious this matter may be, most Christians only care for the first garment. Some even say, “As long as we are justified, redeemed, and saved, everything is all right.” Do not listen to this. You may be all right as far as salvation is concerned, but what about the reward? You not only need justification—you also need approval. When you appear before the judgment seat of Christ, will He approve of you? Matthew 22:14 says very clearly that some will be chosen and not others. Only those who have the second garment produced by the embroidering work of the Holy Spirit will be chosen and qualified to attend the wedding feast of the Lamb.
In verse 6 the voice of the great multitude proclaims, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns!” The reign of God, the kingdom, is related to the marriage of the Lamb, and the marriage of the Lamb is the issue of the completion of God’s New Testament economy. God’s economy in the New Testament is to obtain for Christ the Bride, the church, through His redemption and divine life. By the continual working of the Holy Spirit through all the centuries, this goal will be attained at the end of this age. Then the Bride with the overcoming believers will be ready. Simultaneously, the kingdom of God will come. This corresponds to the Lord’s prophecy in Matthew 26:29.
The wedding will bring in the reign of the Lord, the kingdom, because all the guests invited to the wedding will be both the corporate Bride and the co-kings of the Groom. The Bridegroom, who will take the whole earth as His kingdom, certainly needs many sub-kings to be His co-kings. All His co-kings will be His corporate Bride.
I am not certain how long the wedding feast will last. The wedding itself, which will take place in the air, will last a short time. After the wedding, there will be the wedding feast. A wedding feast is always much longer than the wedding. Although I believe that the wedding feast will last a thousand years, the Bible does not give us the ground to say this with full assurance. To the Lord, a thousand years are as one day (2 Pet. 3:8). Matthew 22 indicates that the wedding feast will be the millennial kingdom. To us, the thousand years of the millennial kingdom will be a wedding feast. Everyone invited to the wedding feast will also participate in the thousand-year reign as kings. Our King will be the Groom; we, His co-kings, will be His Bride; and the thousand years will be our honeymoon. Christ’s thousand-year reign will be our feast.
I am quite certain that many Christians will not receive the reward of reigning with Christ in the coming kingdom. Although you may be saved, you must become an overcomer in order to receive the kingdom as your reward. For the overcomers, reigning with Christ in His kingdom will be the wedding feast.
Verse 9 says, “And he said to me, Write, Blessed are they who are invited to the marriage dinner of the Lamb. And he said to me, These are the true words of God.” The marriage dinner of the Lamb here is the wedding feast in Matthew 22:2 (Gk.). It will be a reward to the overcoming believers. Only the overcomers will be invited to it, not all the saved ones. The five foolish virgins in Matthew 25:8-13 will miss it. However, after being dealt with by the Lord in the kingdom age, they will participate in the New Jerusalem for eternity. Hence, to be invited to the wedding feast of Christ, which will usher the overcoming believers into the enjoyment of the millennium, is to be blessed. The overcoming believers invited to the marriage dinner of the Lamb will also be the Bride of the Lamb. The blessing referred to in verse 9 is the blessing of participating in the millennium.
Matthew 22:14 says, “For many are called but few are chosen,” and Revelation 17:14 says, “They who are with Him are called and chosen and faithful.” To be called is one thing, and to be chosen is another. Those who will follow the Lord to fight against Antichrist will not only be called, but also chosen. Although we have the assurance that we have been called, we do not yet have the assurance that we shall be chosen. This will be decided at the judgment seat of Christ. After we have been raptured, we shall stand before the Lord at the judgment seat, and He will decide whether or not we are qualified to be chosen. Only those who are chosen will be invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb.
Verse 10 says, “And I fell before his feet to worship him. And he said to me, Don’t do that! I am a fellow-slave of yours and of your brothers who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of the prophecy.” This verse indicates that the Bride, the invited guests, are the testimony of Jesus. Although the church today should be the testimony of Jesus, some among us are below the standard of the testimony of Jesus. However, at the time of verse 10 all the invited overcomers will be fully up to this standard. After the Lord has gained His Bride, He will be able to boast to Satan and to the whole universe, saying, “This Bride is My testimony.”
Verse 10 says that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of the prophecy. The entire book of Revelation has a spirit, and this spirit is the testimony of Jesus. The spirit of the prophecy is the reality, substance, disposition, characteristic, of the prophecy. Thus, the testimony of Jesus is the reality, substance, disposition, characteristic, of the prophecy of this book. Today, the testimony of Jesus is the church. However, not all the members of the church have reached the Lord’s standard. Therefore, the Lord must wait until He has the Bride before He can declare to Satan, “This is My testimony. It is perfect and complete to the uttermost.” Hence, the Bride is the reality, the substance, and the element of the prophecy of the book of Revelation. This book is for the church life, for the Bride.