Does Revelation 21:9-11 equate the Bride of the Lamb with the City Jerusalem?

Question

And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

Answer 1

Yes, while many interpreters mistakenly think John is describing a physical heavenly city, his vision is in fact a rich combination of symbols reinforcing the basic point of the vision: "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them." Both the description as bride and city as we will see reinforce this basic intimacy of God's dwelling with his people.

In Johannine literature in general, but especially in Revelation, John uses the dual themes of hearing and seeing to give two seemingly contradictory descriptions of one reality. One of the most obvious examples of this is in Revelation 5:5-6, where John describes the Lion/Lamb:

Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."

Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders.

John is told here "See, the Lion..." and when he looks he says, "I saw a Lamb." On the surface a slain lamb doesn't seem very much like a conquering lion. But it is clear from the narrative that both descriptions are of one person: Jesus Christ.

So it's not unusual in Revelation for John to combine very disparate symbols to give a richer picture of some reality. We find a similar pattern at the beginning of Revelation 17 that will be quite helpful for understanding the bride/New Jersualem in chapter 21:

One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries."

Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting... The name written on her forehead was a mystery: BABYLON THE GREAT.

An later in 17:18, the vision is explained:

The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.

Now, notice the parallels with the text in chapter 21:

One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb."

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.

Just as the woman in the vision of chapter 17 is a whore who is also the great city Babylon, so here in chapter 21, the woman - the bride of Christ - is also the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven.

It's worth noting that the New Jerusalem is modeled in a lot of ways after a temple - it is made of pure gold and fine jewels, it is inhabited by priests, it is shaped like the inner sanctum, it has a lamp, and is a light to the nations. In other words, the New Jerusalem is the place where God dwells. And this city itself has no temple, because "the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple." That is, God dwells in the city, and the city dwells in God and in the Lamb.

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*All Bible quotations from NIV (1984), all bold emphasis is mine

Answer 2

Yes. Of course Jerusalem has always been the image of the church as it is God's house. As far as I can tell the most common interpretation is to understand this image of the New Jerusalem as the Church 'at the end of the world', where it is perfect and without sin.

In Chapter one in Revelations the seven churches are the bride of Christ on this earth. This is quite a contrast as it has many problems and blemishes. It is not so radiant there but here it is.

..Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 25-27)

There are strong parallels between this vision and the one Ezekiel had in Ezekiel Chapter 40-43.

Answer 3

Yes indeed! The earthly Jerusalem (type) was built in the image of the heavenly and was temporal, seen, with an external, ceremonial form of worship until the heavenly Jerusalem (antitype) will came to mankind. The wedding motif is about God and mankind being reconciled again after many ages of being alienated since Adam. Anyone, anytime, anywhere can call upon the father in the new name (Is 62:2; Rev 3:12) and be saved. No third party mediators needed anymore.