Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Ephesians 5:32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Ephesians 5:32 This mystery [of two becoming one] is great; but I am speaking with reference to [the relationship of] Christ and the church. |
Subject: Is the bride of christ the church? |
Bible Note: Hi, Tim :::: In Revelation 22:17 in the construction, "the Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!'" to whom does "the bride" refer? .... If in 21:9 John in calling the new Jerusalem "the bride, the Lamb's wife" means only the city itself and not its inhabitants -- the redeemed: hence, the church -- then he must mean something quite different in 22:17 when he writes that "the Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!'" It can't mean just the city itself: cities can't talk. I submit it is the church which John has in mind here. These passages along with Jesus' parable of the marriage feast in Matthew 22 all lead one to make a very strong inference that the bride of Christ is the church. You're a keen exegete, Tim, and I'd like you to enlarge on these passages a bit more if you will. --Hank |