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[Question]

The book Truth Proclamation claims that the bride mentioned in Revelation 22:17 is not the church (saints), calling it a false argument. This has left me confused. Is it possible to help a friend caught up in this belief? There seems to be a counter-argument to everything.

[Answer]

Who is the Holy Spirit?
Before Jesus died, He told His disciples during the Last Supper that the Spirit of Truth would come after He left. Jesus explained that the Holy Spirit would not come in the flesh but as a spirit dwelling within believers.

[John 14:17]
"He is the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you."

Additionally, the Holy Spirit does not come with a different name but in the name of Jesus.

[John 14:26]
"But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."

Thus, in the early church, the Spirit of Jesus (referred to as the Holy Spirit) dwelt within believers. When the Spirit of Jesus spoke through them, it was expressed as the Holy Spirit and the bride giving the water of life.

[Acts 16:6–7]
"Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them."

Believers who received the Holy Spirit became one with the Spirit of Jesus, described as the bride of the Spirit (the bridegroom).

[Ephesians 5:31–32]
"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ (Jesus) and the church (believers)."

The mouths of believers filled with the Holy Spirit pour out the water of life, which is referred to as the Holy Spirit and the bride freely giving the water of life.

[John 7:38–39]
"Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them." By this, He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive."

[Revelation 22:17]
"The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let the one who hears say, 'Come!' Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life."

Conclusion

The Spirit and the bride in Revelation 22:17 do not refer to Ahn Sahng-hong and Zahng Gil-jah, as claimed by the Church of God. Instead, they symbolize Jesus, who comes as the Spirit, and the believers who have received His Spirit. The water of life represents the truth of God’s word, not literal water.