The Wedding Dress

Douglas L. Crook

“And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude and as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, ‘Hallelujah for the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.’ And it is given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” Revelation 19:6- 8 NAS.

In these verses we have the announcement of the most glorious event of time and eternity. Many do not believe in the second coming of Christ or in this glorious marriage of the Lamb but it was for this day that all creation was created. The grand purpose of the plan of redemption was to provide a wife for the Son of God. For the joy that was set before Him, for the joy of obtaining an eternal companion, Jesus suffered all that He suffered. (Hebrews 12:1,2) We shouldn’t be surprised then, to see all the inhabitants of Heaven saying, “Hallelujah!” There will be great joy and praise on that day.

Everyone who has been saved by faith in Jesus will be present in Heaven on that day but not all will be dressed in the beautiful wedding garment. All believers will know Jesus as their loving Shepherd who one day will wipe away all their tears but only those who have prepared their wedding dress in this life will know Him in that day as their Bridegroom.

When we attend a wedding in the natural, our attention is usually directed to the bride and her dress. This heavenly wedding is no different in this regard. Jesus is always the center of attention in Heaven. After all it is the marriage of the Lamb. But here we see that it is His pleasure that she be exalted and admired. It is important that we understand the significance of the wedding dress if we are going to be counted worthy to adorn ourselves in its beauty.

The bride’s dress is made of fine linen, clean, bright and white. White, even in our weddings, is symbolic of moral purity and faithfulness. The white dress of the bride of the Lamb also speaks of purity and faithfulness but in the spiritual sense. Those Christians that will dress themselves with that wedding garment will be those who have been faithful, those who have lived their life in the hope of the coming of the Lord. That group of believers that will make up the Bride of Christ will be those who have loved Jesus with all their heart. Such a love and hope purifies us and makes us worthy to be numbered among that group that will be called the Bride of the Lamb. We have been espoused to one Husband, even Jesus Christ. May we be faithful to Him and not be deceived by Satan into being distracted into indifference to spiritual things. (II Timothy 4:7,8 / I John 3:1-3 / II Corinthians 11:2,3) Desire to know more about Jesus and the Bible and live according to that knowledge and you will share together with Christ, the most glorious day of all the ages.

Our text says very distinctly that the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. It speaks of practical righteousness. In other words, this dress is the result of a life filled with good works, a life that demonstrates the life of Christ. It is the result of a life that manifests love, patience, joy, temperance and all the fruit of righteousness, It is the product of the obedience of the faithful. This life is a time of preparation in which we are to prepare our wedding garment. If we do not prepare it now, in this life, there will not be opportunity to hurriedly prepare one on that day.

The marriage of the Lamb is a very special occasion and therefore, the wedding dress must also be very special. In order to make a dress worthy of such an occasion, we need a pattern to show us how to select the proper material and then to cut it to fit. The Bible is our pattern, complete with all the necessary instructions to make a dress, a life, that is pleasing to our Beloved. We also need someone who knows what He is doing when it comes to making such a dress. We have been given the best dressmaker possible, the Holy Spirit. God has supplied everything we need to prepare a glorious wedding garment. Our part is to be willing to stand still and permit the Spirit to cut, sew, conform and adjust our life according to His divine wisdom.

In Psalm 45 and Proverbs 31:10-31 we have some wonderful types of the Bride of Christ. In both of these passages, special emphasis is given to their garments. The queen of Psalm 45 has on a dress interwoven with gold. The gold speaks of the divine life of Christ. Every believer possesses this life within but the queen displays this life for all to see. Her dress, her life is adorned with the life of Christ.

Also we read that the queen is arrayed in embroidered work. To embroider you have to start out with some kind of design. Then, the material must be tightly stretched and put over a hoop that holds it in place. After this, the material will be penetrated many times with the embroidering needle. The thread will be cut and tied many times before the job is done. When the process is finished, the result is a beautiful work of art. Our life is much like embroidered work. God has a design, a plan for our life. He wants to make something beautiful of our life. Are we willing to let Him stretch us, poke us and cut and tie the threads of our life? Many times we do not understand why we suffer the things we suffer in this life but if our life is surrendered to God, we know by faith that He is simply working His design in us and that the result will be a beautiful work of His grace.

The purple dress of the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31 reveals the wealth and authority of the Bride of Christ. The believers that will attain to this blessed place will be those who have reigned in this life over sin, the world and the flesh. They will be those who have enjoyed the riches of Christ (joy, peace, contentment...) in a practical sense in this life.

In summary and conclusion, if we are going to be found worthy to be adorned with that glorious wedding dress on that day, we must in this life, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provisions for the flesh in regard to its lust.” Romans 13:14 NAS.