Revelation 21:1-2 English Standard Version
The New Heaven and the New Earth
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Many will conceptualize that being the bride of Christ is being married to Christ. This is a misunderstanding of the historical aspect of Jewish weddings. The example set before us in those customs identifies how God prepares for the wedding feast. We have not come to the wedding, nor the wedding feast. We are being prepared to become the worthy bride where our gown will be spotless white. As long as we live, we are still being prepared and we have not arrived yet.
Matthew 1:18-20 English Standard Version
The Birth of Jesus Christ
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
A woman betrothed is called a bride but is not called wife until after the wedding. Jewish custom was such that the father of the groom would decide when the son had sufficiently prepared a home for his betrothed. Jesus in like fashion is waiting on the Father to say when all the preparations are ready for the wedding.
John 14:3 English Standard Version (ESV) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.