The phrase "like a bride adorned" is one of the ways Revelation describes the new Jerusalem which descends from heaven. This phrase also can be read as describing one of the ways interpreters historically have understood the relationship between Revelation and its metaphorical language. In contrast, this dissertation argues that Revelation's persuasive power resides within the text's metaphorical nature and articulates a method for exploring how the text employs metaphor to shape an audience's thought. This dissertation specifically examines the conceptual metaphors undergirding Revelation's nuptial imagery, located in chapters 19 and 21. Positioned at the culmination of the narrative, this imagery provides one of Revelation's final characterizations of the Christian community. In exploring Revelation's nuptial imagery, this dissertation includes a discussion of the conventional metaphorical framework utilized by certain Hebrew Bible prophets that depict cities as women and the relationship between God and community as a wedding. This brings into relief some of the ways that John employs conventional metaphorical mappings in creative ways. This dissertation also includes an exploration of the depiction of marriage, brides, and weddings in Revelation's cultural context, the first century Greco-Roman milieu. Discourse about marriage and family was an important part of Revelation's context, functioning as a crucial part of the Empire's ideological program. This raises the question of how Revelation's conventional metaphorical mappings might reflect and respond to Greco-Roman depictions of weddings and family. Exploring how Revelation's nuptial imagery employs conventional mappings in relation to its first century context reveals a vision of the Christian community in transition. Revelation encourages the audience to envision the community as a bride who constructs "her" identity as she transitions into a new role in relation to God and the Lamb. By exploring Revelation's nuptial imagery with the insights of conceptual metaphor theory, this dissertation seeks to uncover ways in which John employs this imagery to shape his audience's thought. This project has broader implications as it brings to light how Revelation employs metaphorical language as a tool for persuasion. (Lynn Huber)