Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
8 it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure”—
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” 10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
In the interval between betrothal and marriage the bride was to make herself ready. This is a particularly fruitful and challenging thought in the spiritual application, for this is the time, now, for making ready for the great day. It is not the time for seeking happiness, or satisfaction or pleasure in Christian things, but for the discipline and energy of preparation. Happiness comes at the later stage. This is the point of emphasis in 8 - 'the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints'. This can mean only one thing - the work of sanctification. It is of God, and yet the bride is to array herself. This is in line with the emphasis Paul makes in Philippians 2:12, 13, 'Work out your own salvation... for it is God that worketh in you...', and is a variation of the idea of 'character-building'. How we will be dressed on the wedding day will depend on how we live here. We are busy making that dress now, in the sense that it is how we prepare here, in terms of faithfulness and steadfastness, that will equip us and give us our capacity for the glory that is to follow. Suffering for Christ's sake will enlarge our capacity for grandeur and glory in the world to come, just as a wife who brings to her marriage a sound training in practical godliness and faithful living will immeasurably enrich her married life, and make it a thing both of beauty and usefulness, and charged with possibility. Viewed in this light, the training and discipline, with the privations these often entail, are infinitely worthwhile in both human marriage and spiritual. The end is worth all the waiting and the wanting!