813. "And His wife has made herself ready." This symbolically means that those who will belong to this church, namely, the New Jerusalem, are being gathered together, introduced to it, and instructed.

The wife symbolizes the Lord's New Church, namely, the New Jerusalem, as is clearly apparent from chapter 21 that comes later, where we find the following:

I... saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (Revelation 21:2)

And in the same chapter:

(An angel) came to me..., saying, "Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife." And he... showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God... (Revelation 21:9-10)

The wife's making herself ready means, symbolically, that those who will belong to that Lord's New Church are being gathered together, introduced to it, and instructed. And because her making herself ready has the symbolic meaning, therefore it follows next that as a wife she was "arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright," which symbolizes an introduction through instruction. Moreover, for the same reason a white horse is also afterward described, which symbolizes an understanding of the Word provided for them by the Lord.

'Meat,' as in Genesis 40:17, signifies celestial good, because 'the meat of the angels' are nothing but the goods of love and charity, which not only enliven them, but also re-create them.

(Препратки: Arcana Coelestia 5147)