The marriage has come and the bride of Christ has made herself ready to be joined to her husband. Marriage is an occasion of great rejoicing and this union is no different. Paul writes about this relationship in Ephesians 5. Verses twenty-five through thirty-three read, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the called-out and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant called-out, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the called-out— for we are members of his body. For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the called-out” (NIV with “called-out” as my emp.). You will notice that there is a presentation. Jesus is presenting her to himself a glorious bride without spot or wrinkle (v. 27). This is not a description of local churches, but the one body of Christ that is eternal, indestructible, and holy unto the Lord.
In making herself ready, the bride was given fine linen, bright and pure to clothe herself. The fine linen represents, according to the text (v. 8), the righteous acts of the saints. The lifestyle of the saints is bright and pure. Such purity is accomplished by trials and testing of one’s faith (James 1:2-4). 1 Peter 1:7 reads, “These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” The genuineness of faith defines that which is pure like gold that is refined by fire. 1 Corinthians 3:12-13 reads, ” If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.” The great tribulation, a historical event preceding the destruction of Jerusalem, would certainly accomplish this testing with fire. The character will be revealed by the fire so that those who were of the wood, hay, or stubble, were burned, but if it was gold, silver, or costly stones, the fire not only revealed its nature but refined it to produce purity (cf. Rev. 7:14). We may not be able to make such judgments of character, but God can and did. He knows now who are true and faithful and their names are recorded in the heavenly ledger. A place has already been reserved for them. These are the “called-out,” the bride with bright, pure fine linen. Meanwhile, associations with others who are wood, hay, and stubble did not endure in the face of persecution. These are not the called-out, holy and pure. They were only associations that claim the brotherhood for themselves with the gold, silver, and costly stones.
Not only did the trials and persecution like the great tribulation reveal what sort they were, but the resurrection would also reveal the true identity of the sons of God. This separation occurred in the first resurrection when Christ separated the tares among the wheat from the dead and the living. Those blameless saints who were alive at His coming were translated (1 Thess. 3:13; 5:23; 4:13-18). Those who are not vigil and find themselves unprepared for His coming were on the outside knocking at the door to be let inside the festivities of the marriage. If they had had the same concern and desire for the preparation of the groom, they would have been able to join that festive celebration when He came. Once the door was shut, it was not opened unto them. John was told to write, “Blessed are they that are bidden to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (v. 9).