A Suprising Exegesis of "The Bride" of Revelation

“Now, this to him I bid thee write:

If thou art not the bride,

Tell him to bring one that is right;

My Gospel's so applied.

For to the fulness cannot come,

Until the bride be foundationOut of her closet she must go,

With jewels deck'd around.

For here's the pearl of great price,

And unto thee 'tis given;

And in their jewels of no use;

Then she shall enter heaven,

In white appear before me there

While you in grief will mourn;

And all shall know that his words are true,

For vengeance shall come.

In heaven the wonder first was seen,

And you may wonder here.

The woman clothed with the sun

Shall make all nations fear,

Then let the stars begin to shine,

And publish my decree.

If there refuse, I'll others choose,

Though fatal destiny

To those that disobey their call.

'Tis me she hath obey'd/

The woman stands conremn'd by all.

Was man by her misled,

Then now by her he must come back

That paradise will regaain.

In her I'll break the serpent's neck,

And will set free her chain.

She poured the ountment on my head,

And a good work she wrought;

And with her tears she wash'd my face;

Let man deny her not;

For at the cross the woman stood,

The sword went through her soul,

While my Disciples saw and fled,

And so they left me all,

No women in the company,

When hands on me was laid;

And Pilate's Wife did pity me,

When Judas had betray'd.

When from the grave I did arise,

I ask'd, who was there first.

Then let the sons of men by wise,

If women love me best.

Have I her life and senses spar'd

For to assume the bride,

Then let the sons of men beware.

That she be not denied.

More fatal now than Adam's fall

'Twill happen to the man. Joanna Southcott, The Strange Effects of Faith, pp.40-41

Within this poem is some amazing exegesis of the "bride of the Lamb" who appears in the guise of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21-22, and whose marriage feast is celebrated in Revelation 19. Joanna Southcott, throughout her writings, connects 'the Bride' with herself by virtue of her belief that she is the Woman clothed with the Sun in Revelation 12. That in itself is a fairly impressive interpretative leap, as there is little in their respective descriptions to link the woman of Revelation 12 with the city of Revelation 21-22. But in this poem (which Joanna is instructed to write by Jesus/the Holy Spirit), Joanna goes even further, linking the predictions of the wedding of the lamb in Revelation both with herself as the mode by which prophecy is delivered in the early eighteenth century, but also with the substantial biblical trope of women "getting it right" vis a vis Jesus and his ministry. I personally feel it's a brilliant interpretative move, as it instantly legitimates Joanna's claim to divine inspiration by connecting her with the biblical narratives of faithful women who redeem the initial sin of Eve, but the poem also comes in a context in which she is defending herself agains the charge that the prophecy of the end could not possibly be delivered through a woman (not least, an uneducated and not particularly literate house-servant from Exeter).

What intrigues me most, however, is that I've never come across this particular reading of Revelation's "Bride Imagery". That probably says more about my ignorance of vast swathes of Revelation's reception history than it does about Joanna Southcott's unique prophetic inspiration, so if anyone can shed any light on any similar extant interpretations of "the Bride" in Revelation, please do let me know!