What Does Revelation 21:9 Mean?
And one of the seven messengers, who holds the seven bowls full of the seven last blows, comes and speaks with me, saying, Come here, I will point out to you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
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.THE KEY
The messenger who carries the seven plagues now unveils the Lamb’s bride, so catastrophe is not the final shape of what is revealed.
THE MEANING
The verse places the seven last plagues beside an intimate bond: a bride belonging to the Lamb. The messenger’s invitation turns your attention from what fills the vials to whom the Lamb is joined. Catastrophe is present, but it is not all that is disclosed.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The vision does not end with plague alone; the messenger also shows a bride joined to the Lamb.
THE ROOT
δείξω
deixō from deiknymi
GROWS FROM
δεικ-
deik-
To show, point out, or make visible.
“point out” in this verse is deixō from deiknymi. “Shew” here is more than passing along information: the messenger directs John’s sight toward the bride. The Greek word belongs to a family of words for pointing out and demonstrating, making the unveiling itself part of the revelation.
ALSO GROWS
apodeiknymi: To demonstrate or show clearly.
ἀποδείκνυμι
Its shared deik- root connects showing with making something evident, echoing the messenger’s act of revealing the bride.
endeixis: An indication or demonstration.
ἔνδειξις
This related word keeps the sense of a visible sign, sharpening the force of “I will shew thee.”
νύμφη
nymphē
GROWS FROM
νυμφ-
nymph-
Bride; a woman in the relation of marriage.
The verse calls the same figure both “the bride” and “the Lamb’s wife,” presenting her through a bond rather than as an isolated image. The Greek word family also names the bridegroom and the bridal chamber, keeping the people, their counterpart, and their place of union in view.
ALSO GROWS
nymphios: Bridegroom.
νυμφίος
This paired wedding word brings the bride’s counterpart into view beside the Lamb.
nymphōn: Bridal chamber.
νυμφών
The related word evokes the place of a wedding union, adding a shared setting to the image of bride and Lamb.
THE PATTERN
Scripture uses marriage imagery to reveal belonging as a bond between bride and bridegroom.
Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother, and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.The one 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. So this joy of mine has been filled.Let us be glad and rejoice, and give weight to him, for the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready.THE THREAD
One of the seven messengers who hold the seven bowls comes and speaks with me, saying, Come here. I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits upon many waters.The invitation repeats nearly word for word: an angel of the seven vials says, “Come hither; I will shew thee.” One vision shows the great whore; the other shows the bride, making the contrast between them part of what the repeated invitation reveals.
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