A Summary of Consistent Biblical Types

Introduction

Throughout the Bible, God's relationship with His creation is represented in a variety of ways. The methodology of this symbolism includes the use of comparison, contrast, simile, metaphor, parable and analogy. It is important to note that while the chosen technique is not always the same, the basic types remain unchanged and each new allegory or figure of speech is specifically constructed to meet the needs of the principle being taught.

The Biblical types with which we are probably most familiar, are:

• God as Father of His creation - Romans 1:7.
• Those in covenant relationship as children of God - Romans 8:16-17.
• Christ as the bridegroom - John 3:29.
• The redeemed as Christ's bride - Revelation 19:7-9.

However, in discussion with non-Christians (and non-Christadelphians) it can sometimes be difficult to explain these from Scripture. In the case of non-Christians, this is usually because they find the language of symbolism rather challenging, while in the case of non-Christadelphian Christians, certain doctrinal differences may preclude the possibility of agreement on the exact interpretation. 1

This paper (which concentrates on the metaphorical use of the terms "wife", "bride" and "bridegroom") is intended as a Bible study aid, rather than an exhaustive consideration of the topic. In it, I have attempted to demonstrate the consistency of Bible teaching concerning the use of the husband/wife relationship to represent the unity of Christ and the covenanted believer.

1 Some denominations, for example, teach that since God "divorced" Israel, Christians now replace the Jews as Yahweh's chosen people. Others reject the notion that Christ's bride is a composite entity representing the redeemed saints. I have even met those who claim that the Song of Solomon has nothing to do with Christ, Israel or the redeemed.

Origins of the Type

In order to fully appreciate the final representation of Christ as a bridegroom attended by his redeemed bride, it is necessary for us to look back through Scripture and ensure that we have a good understanding of the Divine principles upon which this analogy is based. Without a doubt, the very first suggestion of the type is seen in the opening chapters of Genesis.

And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. 2

There are several aspects of this event which require our immediate attention:

• Genesis 2:18 specifically tells us that Eve was not a luxury for Adam, but rather a necessity. ("And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.")

• Adam is shown the entire animal kingdom and has the opportunity to study each species individually. During the course of this analysis he will realise that every adult has its counterpart except (at this stage) humanity. So Adam finds nothing comparable to himself - and it is not until he realises his need for a partner, that Eve is created.
("Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man." I Corinthians 11:9.)

• Adam is put into a deep sleep, and Eve is made from the part of him that is taken away. Upon awakening, he immediately understands the symbolism that God has used. ("And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.")

• Thus, Scripture teaches that Eve was created through the symbolic death of Adam; the sacrifice of his own body gives her life. (This symbolism, though perhaps not immediately apparent from the text, will be proved by the cross-references which follow.) Adam and Eve are the first husband and wife, and their relationship constitutes the foundation upon which later types are built.

Development of the Husband/Wife Analogy

With the birth of the nation of Israel (through the obedience of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), God created a wife for Himself. His needs were similar to those of Adam, yet different in a few crucial ways:

• God required a people for His name, through whom He might be manifest.
• God required an unchanging sign for all nations, to prove that He continues to work with His creation.

The connection between Israel and God was always intended to be an intimate one, so it comes as no surprise to find that He uses the language of a husband/wife relationship when speaking of His people.

For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.
For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer. 3

In time, Israel neglected the obligations of her marriage, and Ezekiel warned that this would bring severe punishment.

And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy. 4

During the decades that followed, Yahweh mourned the unfaithfulness of His nation and turned His face from her. As she continued to test His patience, God "put her away" for her infidelity, according to the privilege of a husband under the Law of Moses - but He also made it clear that this was a last resort, reserved against the day when His "wife" would no longer be entreated. By the time He took action against her, Israel had long since forgotten her first love, and so the prophets told the people that they only had themselves to blame for the resulting estrangement.

Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away. 5

Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD. 6

3 Isaiah 54:5-9
4 Ezekiel 16:38
5 Isaiah 50:1
6 Jeremiah 3:20

And yet the earnest desire of Yahweh to be reconciled with His "wife" is seen in the way He preserved her throughout the ages, never suffering her to be lost but always extending mercy and forgiveness.

Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 7

I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying,
Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life.
But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.
Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 8

Within the husband/wife prophecies, Jerusalem and Samaria receive individual attention.

Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations. 9

The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:
And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.
And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah. 10

This tells us that God considered both Samaria and Jerusalem to be guilty of adultery against Him. But why? The answer is that Samaria was herself the result of Israel's whoredoms.

Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.
Thou art thy mother's daughter, that lotheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which lothed their husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and your father an Amorite. 11

The Jews had intermingled with many idolatrous peoples, and the multifaceted Samaria (which had been a separate nation but now contained a mixed population of Jews and Gentiles) had sprung from this union.

7 Jeremiah 31:32-33
8 Romans 11:1-5. The specific reference to the patriarchs precludes the possibility that this passage refers to modern Christians. Paul wants to ensure that the Gentiles understand they have been adopted into Israel, and not chosen as a replacement. (See also Romans 11:22-27.)
9 Ezekiel 16:1-2
10 Ezekiel 23:1-4
11 Ezekiel 16:44-45

The Wife of the New Covenant - Spiritual Jerusalem

The Jews still remain God's chosen people, and therefore we must be associated with them if we are to share the privileged relationship that they have with our Father.

For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. 12

Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.
For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?
For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. 13

This principle (shown first in the analogy of adoption) is carried through into the analogy of the husband/wife relationship - but this time Jesus is the bridegroom and all the redeemed (whether Jew or Gentile) are the bride. So although the Gentiles have been offered a marriage relationship, the promise is necessarily Judeo-centric.

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 14

We must not forget the vital elements of this symbolism:

• The city is "new" because its constituents are (1) born again and (2) no longer exclusively Jewish. (The basis for being a child of Abraham, therefore, is no longer literal but figurative.)
• The city is called "Jerusalem" because it constitutes the fulfillment of God's promise to His chosen people, into whom we have been adopted.

12 Galatians 3:26-29
Romans 11:22-27
Revelation 21:2

The Wife of the New Covenant - Redeemed Saints

Having established the foundation and historical example of the husband/wife analogy, we are now in a position to link the Old Testament references with New Testament parables, starting with the representation of Jesus as a bridegroom, and the redeemed believers as his bride.
How is this done? Firstly we need to demonstrate that the union of Adam and Eve is symbolic of Christ's union with the saints. This is not difficult.

And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 15

Jesus, then, is a symbolic Adam.

But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. 16

Like Adam, Jesus' side is opened. This occurs after his literal death, of which Adam's sleep was symbolic. Just as Eve was born from Adam, so the redeemed are born into a new life through the death of Jesus and the shedding of his blood.

Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
And having an high priest over the house of God;
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. 17

Even at the beginning of his ministry, long before we were "born again", Christ was considered a bridegroom-in-waiting.

Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.
He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. 18

15 1 Corinthians 15:45
16 John 19:33
17 Hebrews 10:19-22
18 John 3:28-29

In order for Eve to be born, Adam first had to "die". Eve could not come into being without him; she would never be his bride unless he was willing to make the necessary sacrifice. So it is with Christ and the redeemed.

Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?
For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.
So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. 19

Christ's mission, then, was to give life to those who would become his bride, by freeing them from the law of sin and death.The marriage of Christ to his spiritual bride is the final stage of God's reconciliation to His creation.

"Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God." (Revelation 19:7-9.) 20

But how can we be sure that we have been promised this union? Is it possible to prove that present-day believers will constitute the bride of Christ? Most certainly.

For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the ecclesia: and he is the saviour of the body.
Therefore as the ecclesia is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the ecclesia, and gave himself for it;
That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
That he might present it to himself a glorious ecclesia, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the ecclesia:
For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the ecclesia.21

19 Romans 7:1-4
20 2 Corinthians 11:2
21 Ephesians 5:23-32

Note that in the final verse of this passage Paul takes us all the way back to Genesis 2, proving without any shadow of a doubt that the circumstances surrounding the birth of Eve and her union with Adam constituted the definitive type of Christ's relation to his new-born bride.

The language of the wife/husband analogy contains a heavy emphasis on the principles of chastity, faithfulness, cleanliness and preparation.
This is further confirmation that the union we are promised is a privilege and not a right. Although only espoused to Christ at this present time, we are forbidden to enter other relationships, or seek temporary satisfaction in pre-nuptial affairs. This is true in both a literal and a figurative sense; it refers to our way of life, our way of thinking, and the religious teachings we accept. It will never be an easy task to maintain our separation from the things of this world, but "he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." 22

The salvation plan of God - wrought through His Son Jesus Christ - finds its culmination in the marriage supper of the Lamb.

And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. 23

22 Matthew 24:13
23 Revelation 14:1-4

Reconciling Apparent Contradictions

In recent discussions with an ex-Christadelphian, I was told that the notion of the redeemed believers constituting the bride of Christ was a purely Christadelphian fabrication, with no Scriptural support. In response to these allegations, I have included this final section, which will address one or two alleged problems with the interpretation thus far proposed.

Question: Isn't this whole "We are the bride of Christ" just another Christadelphian invention, designed to besmirch the teachings of other denominations and argue that only Christadelphians will be saved?

Solution: Far from being an exclusively Christadelphian idea, the symbolism of Christ as the bridegroom and the redeemed as his bride is common to nearly all Christian denominations. Indeed, the King James Version of the Bible (written long before our religious community was ever formed) supports this interpretation quite unashamedly. Turn to Song of Solomon and read the chapter synopses for confirmation of this. Here are just a few: "The church's love for Christ; the church and Christ congratulate one another; the graces of the church." Besides, Christadelphians have never argued that we alone possess God's truth. Brother Alan Eyre has written extensively about small Protestant communities of the Reformation era, which held the same beliefs as Christadelphians. 24

24 The Protestors (1975), and Brethren in Christ (1982.)

Question: I'm confused! You say that we are espoused to Christ, and therefore his bride-in-waiting. But what about the parable of the wedding feast, where Christ is obviously the bridegroom? Aren't we actually the guests in that one? And how about the parable of the wise and foolish virgins? Aren't we supposed to be the virgins in that one? How many weddings are we talking about here? And how can we fulfill all these types at once?

Solution: At first glance it may appear that we are being asked to accept a number of parables, which all talk about the same thing and yet contradict one another, thereby undermining the interpretation of the bride/bridegroom analogy. However, this is not the case.
Here's an exegetical checklist for parable-based studies:

1. The most important aspect of any parable is the principle being taught.
2. The principle is usually found at the end of the parable, in the form of a single sentence or couplet.
3. The first part of the parable establishes the subject. (I.e., the thing that Jesus is explaining.)
4. The "story" part of the parable is intended to draw a comparison between the subject and the principle.
5. Sometimes the same theme will be used to illustrate different principles. This is where confusion is most likely to occur.

Now let's apply the checklist to a couple of parables and see how it all works.

Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;
And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.
Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.
And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. 25

It's not a parable in the strictest sense of the word, but it will do. We'll break it down step by step.

First, Jesus gives an instruction:

"Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;"

Symbolic language already, but we understand he wants us to be ready for something. This is the subject - being ready.

25 Luke 12:35-38.

And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.

Here's the "story" part of the parable. A bunch of servants waiting for their lord to come home. Don't worry about the fact that there's a wedding in there somewhere - you'll only be confused if you get fixated on it. As far as we're concerned, the lord might be coming home from the office. It doesn't matter right now where he's coming home from - the bottom line is, he's coming. What's next?

Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.
And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.

The master comes home and the servants are ready. Why are they ready? Because they were watching. What did Jesus say before he began the parable?

Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;

If your loins are girded about, it means you're prepared. If your lights are burning it means you're watching. So the message is "be ready, and watch", and the principle is "prepare yourself for Christ's return to the earth." Very simple.

Let's try another one.

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. 26

Similar theme, different characters, identical principle. How do we know?

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

Christ says that the kingdom of heaven is like the story in this parable. But in what way is it like the story?

26 Matthew 25:1-13.

And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

The kingdom of heaven is expected, like the bridegroom in the story. The kingdom of heaven will come suddenly, like the bridegroom in the story. The kingdom of heaven is anticipated, like the bridegroom in the story - and the people who wait for the kingdom are at different stages of preparation, like the virgins in the story.

Notice that although Jesus is the bridegroom (while we are the virgins). this does not contradict the idea that we are also meant to be the eventual bride of Christ. Jesus is simply saying "Be prepared, as if you were waiting for the start of a wedding.
If you're not prepared, you'll miss out." That's all he's saying.

We may confirm this by looking at the final instruction:

Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

There's the principle: watching for something that will arrive unexpectedly. Never mind about who the bridegroom is going to marry - this is not the subject of the parable.

Here's a one last example.

And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said,
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,
And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.
But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:
And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.
But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.
Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.
Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.
So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
For many are called, but few are chosen. 27

27 Matthew 22:1-14.

Clear and straightforward. Don't be put off by the fact that this is yet another wedding story. The emphasis is on the principle contained in the final verse - "many are called, but few are chosen." That's all it's teaching. It's not designed to prove the bride/bridegroom types that we've considered; it's talking about something else entirely. We can find out what this is by examining the story.

The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,
And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.
But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:
And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them…
…Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.
Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.
So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.

The people who were first invited, made excuses not to come. Where else do we find a similar attitude? Well, let's think back to Matthew 10, where the Jews were offered the gospel first because they were God's people.

These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 28

The apostles did the same, speaking first to Jews and then to Gentiles.

And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.
And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles. 29

But many of the Jews turned away from the gospel, just as they had turned from Christ. So, just like the parable, the initial invitations had been rejected and new guests had to be found. What happened at the wedding?

28 Matthew 10:5-6
29 Acts 18:5-6

So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
For many are called, but few are chosen.

Those who were invited to replace the first guests were not given any special privilege. They were expected to arrive on time, to be dressed appropriately, and to conduct themselves with dignity. The king was quite prepared to turn out any guest who made light of his invitation.

This reminds us once again of Romans 11:22-27, and also reinforces the general principle of living the spirit of the law under liberty, instead of the letter of the law under condemnation.

For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. 30

The final warning is "many are called, but few are chosen" - a message which forms the basis of another "second advent" parable, in which the same principle is reaffirmed.

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.31

30 Romans 2:28-29
31 Matthew 25:31-33