Rev. 21:23-27; The Bride of Christ!

Side BarBride Of Christ/Wife Of The LambSticks and Stones, with Streets of Gold? Is it the Body of Christ (made up of all the saints, from all the ages), or is she the city, the New Jerusalem (a literal city in Heaven)? Young Mr. K. C. Price Jr. spent several Sundays developing his thesis and proclaiming his point. It seems that Mr. Price has some serious issues, axes to grind and bones to pick, with any and all who take the position such that the bride of Christ mentioned in the Lord’s Revelation to the apostle John might be in any wise the church, or Christians. According to him, the bride of the Christ/wife of the Lamb is the New Jerusalem. Is it? Really?! A stone cold, heartless, lifeless collection of Heaven-built buildings and streets paved with ‘see-through’ gold?! Is that actually what God has been waiting an eternity to cozy up to, and spend the next eternity in a relationship with?! Is it rational to think that He sent His only begotten Son to die on a cross among men, to perpetuate such a thing? Does it seem rational in light of the costs (the drama and the trauma) associated with the Apocalypse? I should think not! Metaphor: the use of words or phrases with reference to someone or something, never literally, as rather the intent is to draw a comparison; any use of figurative or symbolic language not intended to literally portray actual or real things; using or considering one to be representative of another (from the Encarta World English Dictionary). It appears that, in doing his preparation for his sermon project, Mr. Price may have been less than thorough in his research. In his dissertation, he spent a colossal amount of time ranting and pounding out his thesis to the affect that a non-living “thing” is to be the Bride of Christ, not the saints (Jews and/or Gentiles). The text for his sermon was of course centered here in Revelation 21, with a botched effort to weed in corroborating evidences from elsewhere, including his own weak understanding. One of the first things he should have noticed is that the entire Book of the Revelation is heavily (although not altogether) metaphorical. Moreover, had he been the astute student of the scriptures he should have been, before entering the ministry (certainly after graduation from seminary, and, with a well-known preacher as his father/mentor), he would have not failed to realize that our God is a Master of metaphor. His word the Bible is replete with them from cover to cover. Thus, one of the first things of which this exuberant, neophyte preacher should have been fully apprised of (and contrary to his line of reasoning) is that the normal, usual usage and meaning of any given term does not necessarily depict or dictate, nor does it at all limit, confine or otherwise define God’s metaphorical intent or, usage of that term! Had He been using the term the way it was ordinarily intended, it would no longer have been a metaphor. Hence, to reiterate, as all serious students of Holy Writ are well aware (assuming you have walked with Him regularly, and/or systematically), God is well rehearsed, in which case He knows all about the use of metaphors. Therefore, when He chooses to express Himself through the use of figures of speech, one need not always look to Webster’s (or, Greek/Hebrew Lexicons), as much as to His own word (our only, and requisite window into the mind of God, aided by the guidance of His Holy Spirit), in order to ascertain the point the Lord wishes to convey.