And there came unto me one of the seven angels
Either the first of them, as one of the four beasts is the first
of them, ( Revelation
6:1 ) or it may be the last, and very likely the same as in (
Revelation 17:1 )
which had the seven vials full of the seven last
plagues;
that is, the wrath of God poured out by them on the antichristian
party; see ( Revelation
15:1 Revelation
15:7 ) ( 16:1 ) .
And talked with me, saying, come hither;
see ( Revelation
17:1 ) .
I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
The "Lamb" is Christ, who is often so called in this book; see (
Revelation 5:6 Revelation
5:7 Revelation
5:9 ) ( 14:1 ) (
13:8 ) ( 21:23 ) (
7:17 ) ( Revelation
19:7 ) and is the Son of God, the heir of all things, the
Maker and Governor of the universe, the King of kings, and Lord
of lords; and who, as Mediator, has all accomplishments and
qualifications to recommend him as a bridegroom, such as beauty,
riches, and wisdom: the bride, his wife, is not any particular
believer, nor any particular church; not the Gentile church, nor
the Jewish church only, but all the elect of God, consisting of
the raised and living saints at the coming of Christ; who will
make up one body, one general assembly, and be as a bride,
prepared and adorned for her husband: these were first betrothed
to Christ in eternity, and were openly espoused by him, one by
one, at conversion; and now being all gathered in by the
effectual calling, the dead being raised, and the living changed,
and all glorified, the marriage is consummated, and they are
declared publicly to be the bride, the Lamb's wife; (See Gill
on Matthew
22:2). And now, though John had had a sight of her
before, ( Revelation
21:2 ) yet that was but a glimmering one, at a distance, he
being in the wilderness, ( Revelation
17:3 ) wherefore the angel calls him to him, and proposes to
give him a clear, distinct, and particular view of her, in all
her glory; and a glorious sight this indeed! to see the bride
brought to the King in raiment of needlework, and the queen stand
at his right hand in gold of Ophir. This is a sight of a quite
different nature from that of the filthy strumpet, which the same
angel proposed to give to John in ( Revelation
17:1 ) .