Ruben Zimmermann, «Nuptial Imagery in the Revelation of John», Vol. 84 (2003) 153-183
In this article is argued that the nuptial imagery of the Book of Revelation is not limited to chapters 19 and 21 but rather runs throughout the book. While the imagery is certainly most pronounced in the final part of the book, it also appears in the letters to the churches (bridal wreath in Rev 2,10; 3,11), in the scene depicting the 144,000 as virgins (Rev 14,4-5), and is encountered again in Rev 18,23 (silencing of the voice of bridegroom and bride) and Rev 22,17 (summons of the bride) at the end of the book. Thus the wedding metaphors can be seen as one of the structural patterns of Revelation as a whole directly in contrast to the metaphors of fornication.
marriage22. It is even more probable that this is an allusion to the fact that, after the legal reforms of Augustus, being purchased for marriage was the only way for a female slave to attain freedom23.
In the final analysis, virginity, the promise of the 144,000 to follow, and the ransom of the first fruit incorporate linguistic forms characteristic of the Judaic tradition of imagery (Jer 2,2-4). The motifs of following after another and the first fruit demonstrate a close linguistic connection to Rev 14,4 (oi( a)kolouqou=ntej or a)parxh/). Further, there are unmistakable allusions in Jer 2,2-3 to the bridal ritual. The MT speaks explicitly of the love of the betrothal (K7yItfOlw%lk@; tbahj)a), and this semantic field is also present in the Greek translation a)ga/phj teleiw/sew/j sou for the wedding was called te/loj in Greek. In addition, the sanctity alludes to the betrothal, for the betrothal was called "Qiddushin" (aram. N#$d@q) in Hebrew as well as Aramaic. The betrothal formula was "You are sanctified to me" (b. Qid 5b). The undefilement and immaculateness of the 144,000 could be seen as an expression of this sanctity. As in the metaphoric tradition Israel is sanctified as a bride for JHWH 24, so are the chosen ones sacred for God and the lamb, so that they are shifted into the scope of the celestial bride Jerusalem.
All interpretations come to be unified in the function of the chosen 144,000 being removed from the influence of foreign power and foreign claims to ownership. The metaphors of immaculateness and