25现在我们要来看一件非常要紧的事,就是新妇的预备。七节说,“我们要喜乐欢腾,将荣耀归与祂;因为羔羊婚娶的时候到了,新妇也自己预备好了。”新妇,直译,祂的妻子。这是指召会(弗五24~25、31~32),就是基督的新妇(约三29)。然而,按照启示录十九章八至九节,这里的妻子(基督的新妇),只包含千年国中得胜的信徒;而二十一章二节的新妇(妻子),乃是由所有得救的圣徒所组成,从千年国以后直到永远。新妇预备好,是在于得胜者生命上的成熟。再者,得胜者不是分开的个人,乃是团体的新妇。为着这一面,就需要建造。他们不仅在生命上成熟,更是同被建造,成为一个新妇(启示录生命读经,七二六至七二九页)。 25Now we come to a very crucial matter—the matter of the readiness of the bride. Verse 7 says, “Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” His wife refers to the church (Eph. 5:24-25, 31-32), the bride of Christ (John 3:29). However, according to Revelation 19:8 and 9, the wife, the bride of Christ, here consists only of the overcoming believers during the millennium; whereas the bride, the wife, in 21:2 is composed of all the saved saints after the millennium for eternity. The readiness of the bride depends on the maturity in life of the overcomers. Furthermore, the overcomers are not separate individuals but a corporate bride. For this aspect, building is needed. The overcomers are not only mature in life but are also builded together as one bride. (Lifestudy of Revelation, pp. 603-606)