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.

These days we tend to think of "roads" as smooth swaths of pavement and judge them by how fast we can drive cars on them. A "path" is something different, suitable only for walking or maybe bicycles, and a "way" has more to do with giving directions than any physical reality. When we get "lost" it usually means we're in a car on an unfamiliar road -- a far cry from being in the middle of a trackless wilderness with no idea which direction to go. The ancient world was very different, with isolated towns and endless square miles of trackless wilderness. Then a "way" was a set of landmarks to follow to get from one place to another through the wilderness. A "path" was a way used enough to leave a visible trace on the ground, and a "road" was a heavily used path, easily followed and walkable. So it makes sense that when used in the Bible, all three terms represent guiding truth, ideas that lead us where we want to go. This is pictured in the modern use of "way" -- when we talk about the "way" to do something or the "way" to get somewhere. We're talking about the correct, best, most efficient method of doing something or getting somewhere. And it's good information -- truth -- that helps us find that best way.