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.
substantiated that lutrophora, amphoras with which the water for a bridal bath was fetched, were placed on the graves of virgins. It is possible that it was also usual in a broader sense to adorn dead women as brides. In this way Kalirrhoe, who was believed to be dead, was made up as a bride (Charito I.6,2). Conversely, some Greek epitaphs expressly regret that the deceased could not be adorned as a bride7.
If the "wreath of life" in Rev is also used specifically as an image of hope against death (martyrdom), the formulation does not only have to be understandable within the image of the "martyr as athlete" but also retains its meaning within the scope of the wedding. This shows up not least in the later depiction of the martyr Blandina whose death, described in detail, is depicted as a wedding. Her death is union (koinwni/a) with Christ8.
As the crown/wreath was used only once in the Judaic tradition as a metaphor for competition (cf. 4 Macc 17,15), and the imagery of Rev is without a doubt dependent on the Old Testament Judaic traditions9, it seems likely that the image of the wreath of life in Rev 2,10 and 3,11 alludes to the bridal wreath. The use of such a metaphor falls back on an inner-Judaic tradition in which the crown/wreath was associated with feminine figures (wisdom, virtue, Jerusalem/Zion) and in which at times the bridal crown was directly mentioned (Ezek 16,12; Cant 3,11). The NT metaphor of the wreath (of life) connects the wreath in Rev, as in Jas 1,12, with statements about faithfulness, fortitude and love. Further, the wreath of life in the sense of the bridal crown is regarded in the later Christian tradition as a symbol of (sexual) restraint (John Chrysostom)10.