Swedenborg says that on a human level, a bride represents the affection for what is true, and the bridegroom represents the affection for what is good. But it also says that most references in the Bible use the terms at a deeper level, with bridegroom representing the Lord – who is perfect love and perfect goodness – and the bride representing the church, united to the Lord through ideas and knowledge of what is true.
This is sometimes hard to picture, since the church is made up of men and women together, but Swedenborg says the church as a “bride” is neither masculine nor feminine; it is a picture of truth wedded to the divine goodness of the Lord.
Like most correspondences, this can also be flipped, representing external evil instead of internal goodness. A notable instance of this is in Exodus 4, when Zipporah calls Moses her “bridegroom of blood.”
Passages from Swedenborg
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 3207
3207. ‘And she took a veil and covered herself means appearances of truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a veil’, with which brides used to cover their faces when they first saw their bridegroom, as appearances of truth. For among the ancients brides represented affections for truth and bridegrooms affections for good. Or what amounted to the same, they represented the Church which was called ‘the bride’ by virtue of the affection for truth, while the affection for good received from the Lord was ‘the bridegroom’, on which account the Lord Himself is called the bridegroom in various places in the Word. Brides veiled their faces when first approaching theirbridegroom to represent appearances of truth.
AC 4638 (Elliott)
[8] Heaven is likened to a wedding feast by virtue of the heavenly marriage, which is a marriage of good and truth, and the Lord to the Bridegroom because these people are joined to Him, while the Church is therefore called the Bride.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 7047
7047. ‘And said, Surely a bridegroom of blood are you to me!’ means that it was full of every kind of violence and hostility towards truth and goodness. This is clear from the meaning here of ‘a bridegroom’ as a representative of the Church or the external aspect of it since the representative Church itself is ‘the bride’ (in these three verses ‘Moses’ represents that nation, and a representative of the Church among them, see above in 7041. While ‘Zipporah’ represents the representative Church, 7044; and since ‘Zipporah’ represents the representative Church and ‘Moses’ the external aspect of it, Zipporah does not call him her man or husband but ‘a bridegroom’, for a bride can represent something dissimilar from that which the bridegroom represents, unlike man or husband and wife since the bond of marriage makes them one); and from the meaning of ‘blood’ as violence done to charity, dealt with in 374, 1005, and also as truth falsified and rendered profane, 4735, 6978, thus hostility towards truth and goodness.
Apocalypse Revealed (Rogers) n. 797
797. “And the sound of a bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore.” This symbolically means that those caught up in the Roman Catholic religion because of its doctrine and a life in accordance with it have no conjunction of goodness and truth, which is what forms the church.
The sound here symbolizes joy, because it is the sound of a bridegroom and bride. In the highest sense a bridegroom means the Lord in respect to Divine good, and a bride means the church in respect to Divine truth from the Lord. For a church is a church by virtue of its reception of the Lord’s Divine goodness in the Divine truths that it has from Him.
It is apparent from the Word that the Lord is called a bridegroom and also a husband, and that the church is called a bride and also a wife. That this produces the heavenly marriage that is a marriage of goodness and truth will be seen in a short work, On Marriage.*
Now because this heavenly marriage is produced in people in the church by their receiving Divine goodness from the Lord in Divine truths drawn from the Word, it is apparent that there is no conjunction of goodness and truth in people caught up in the Roman Catholic religion because of its doctrine and so a life in conformity with it, since they have no conjunction with the Lord, but instead a conjunction with men, living and dead. This conjunction in people caught up in a love of exercising dominion from a love of self over the Divine sanctities belonging to the Lord, and over the Lord Himself, is as though a conjunction with the Devil, who, as we said in the preceding number, is that love. And to turn to the Devil in order to come by him to God is detestable.
[2] That the Lord is called a bridegroom and the church a bride is apparent from the following passages:
He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. (John 3:29)
This John the Baptist said in reference to the Lord.
Jesus said…, “As long as the bridegroom is with them, the wedding guests cannot fast. The day will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them. Then they will fast. (Matthew 9:15, cf. Mark 2:19, 20, Luke 5:34, 35)
I…saw the holy city, New Jerusalem…, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (Revelation 21:2)
(An angel said,) “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” (Revelation 21:9, 10)
…(the time for) the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready…. Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. (Revelation 19:7, 9)
The bridegroom whom the ten virgins went out to meet, also means the Lord (Matthew 25:1-13).
[3] From these passages it is apparent what the sound and joy of a bridegroom and bride symbolize in following places:
As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. (Isaiah 62:5)
My soul shall rejoice over my God…, as a bridegroom puts on the turban, and as a bride adorns herself with her vessels. (Isaiah 61:10)
Again there shall be heard in this place…the sound of joy and the sound of gladness, the sound of the bridegroom and the sound of the bride, the sound of those saying, “Confess Jehovah Zebaoth….” (Jeremiah 33:10, 11)
Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, and the bride from her room. (Joel 2:16)
I will cause to cease…from the streets of Jerusalem the sound of mirth and the sound of gladness, the sound of the bridegroom and the sound of the bride. (Jeremiah 7:34, cf. 16:9)
I will take from them the sound of mirth and the sound of gladness, the sound of the bridegroom and the sound of the bride, the sound of mills and the light of the lamp. And this whole land shall be a desolation (because of) the king of Babylon…. (Jeremiah 25:10, 11)
Apocalypse Explained (Tansley) n. 1189
1189. And the voice of the bridegroom, and of the bride, shall be heard in thee no more.- That this signifies no joy from the conjunction of good and truth, is evident from the signification of abridegroom, as denoting, in the highest sense, the Lord; and from the signification of a bride, as denoting in the highest sense, the church. And because the Lord enters into man by influx from the Divine Good of Divine Love, and is conjoined to the man of the church in Divine Truth, therefore by bridegroom and bride is meant the conjunction of the Lord with the church, and also the conjunction of good with truth. As all spiritual joy springs from that conjunction, it follows, that by the voice of the bridegroom and the bride is signified joy therefrom. The angels also have all their wisdom and intelligence, and consequently all their joy and happiness, from and according to that conjunction. Because this is signified by the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride, therefore heavenly joy is described also by the bridegroom and bride in other parts of the Word.
As in Jeremiah:
“I will take away from them the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of the millstones, and the voice of the lamp” (xxv. 10).
Again:
“Behold I will cause to cease out of this place the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride” (xvi. 9).
And again:
“I will cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride” (vii. 34).
In Joel:
“Let the bridegroom go forth out of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet” (ii. 16).
In Jeremiah:
“As yet shall be heard in this place the voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, of them that say, confess ye Jehovah Zebaoth” (xxxiii. 10, 11).
In these passages the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride signifies joy and gladness from the conjunction of the Lord with the church, and therefore from the conjunction of good and truth; for the subject there is the state of the church, and it is also said plainly, joy and gladness, joy from good and gladness from truth.
[2] Similarly in Isaiah:
“I will be glad in Jehovah, my soul shall exult in my God; as thebridegroom putteth on the mitre (eidaris), and as the bride adorneth herself with her vessels (vasis suis)” (lxi. 10).
To put on the mitre is to put on wisdom, and to adorn herself with vessels, means with the knowledges of truth.
Again:
“As the joy of the bridegroom over the bride, thy God shall rejoice over thee” (lxii. 5).
That the Lord is meant in the highest sense by the bridegroom, and the church by the bride, is evident in the Evangelists. When the disciples of John enquired concerning fasting, Jesus said,
“So long as the bridegroom is with them, the sons of the nuptials cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, then shall they fast” (Matt. ix. 15; Mark ii. 19, 20; Luke v. 34, 35).
There the Lord calls Himself the bridegroom, and the men of the church the sons of the nuptials; fasting signifies mourning on account of a deficiency of truth and good.
In Matthew:
“The kingdom of the heavens is like unto ten virgins, who, taking their lamps, went forth to meet the bridegroom” (xxv. 1, 2, and following verses).
There also the bridegroom means the Lord, the virgins mean the church, and the lamps the truths of faith.
In John:
“He who hath the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of thebridegroom, who standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth with joy because of the bridegroom’s voice” (iii. 29).
John the Baptist spoke these words concerning the Lord, He being meant by the bridegroom, and the church by the bride.
That the church is meant by the bride, is evident from the following passages in the Apocalypse:
“I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (xxi. 2).
By the New Jerusalem is meant a new church.
Again:
“Come, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife; and he shewed me the city Jerusalem” (xxi. 9, 10).
And again:
“The Spirit and the bride say Come, and he that heareth, let him say Come” (xxii. 17).
By the spirit and the bride is signified the church as to good and as to truth.