The Bride of Christ

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This Bible study goes over the main scriptures connected to the bride of Christ and explaining who she is. There are several points surrounding the body of Christ, the church, that support the overall view of end-time events as well and label for us the general timing of the bride’s catching away to the marriage of the Lamb. This study is my attempt to put together all relevant scriptures pertaining to the bride.

Who is the bride of Christ?

There are two lines of thought I’m aware of as to who the bride is, the church (true Christians) and New Jerusalem.

Church As The Bride

I believe The church is the bride of Christ. We are the bride-to-be now waiting for the Bridegroom’s return. I just have a hard time getting past the obvious parallel connection made between Christ (head) and the church (body) and the husband and wife. Here it is in context:

Ephesians 5:15-32
See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church 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 church, 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 church, 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 church: 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 church.

In Ephesians 5:15-32 above, we see a relationship between husbands and wives laid out:

• Husband head of wife (Christ head of church and savior of the body) [The church is called the body of Christ]
• Wives subject to husbands (Church subject to Christ)
• Husbands love wives as Christ loves the church and gave Himself for it
• Husbands love wives as their own bodies (Christ nourishes and cherishes the church)
• Man leaves mother/father and is joined unto his wife (two are then one flesh)
• We are the body of Christ and He is the head, but we are one in Him and He in us | John 17:18-26 | 1 John 4:12-13 | 1 John 3:24 (Same thing that happens in marriage)

This is our marriage where we become one with Christ. There is also this kingdom of heaven parable that is very similar to ancient Jewish wedding custom. A good look at Jewish wedding tradition and how it relates to our relationship with Yeshua and prophecy can be found in the book Lost In Translation: Rediscovering the Hebrew Roots of Our Faith.

Matthew 25:1-13
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. Matthew 7:13-23 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.

And in Matthew 25:1-13 we see the relationship of virgins waiting for the bridegroom to come. Half of the virgins are foolish and have let their oil run out over the night. When they are called to go out and meet the bridegroom, they don’t have oil meaning they don’t have light, which means they can’t see and therefore don’t go out to the bridegroom. They don’t try to get oil until after it’s too late to get the oil, Christ is the only way to receive this oil. Hebrews 1:9 I believe the oil represents the Holy Spirit Then we see those five virgins that did have oil go with the bridegroom to the marriage and the door shut. This is a kingdom parable meant to show how the kingdom of heaven comes.

I think this is the picture of the end-times church. There are some who really love God and there are some that are too content without Him to have much to do with Him. What does it mean to love God? John 15:10-15 says that to love God is to obey His commandments, the Shadows of Love. Obedience to His Word, which leads to imitating Christ, brings the Holy Spirit to bring to remembrance what He commanded from His Word, the Bible. 1 Corinthians 8:3 says, “But if any man love God, the same is known of him.” Those who love God know Him because they know His Word. Through prayer we communicate and listen to the still, small voice. It is not just us who do the talking. When you understand how thought is the voice of the spirit realm, communication becomes easier to comprehend, but we must take time to communicate -- pray in stillness meditating on His Word and taking in who He is in communion with Him.

Revelation 3:14-22
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

When you understand the customs, the parallels to the harpazo are pretty amazing. But does the Bible tell us who the bride of Christ is? I sure believe it does...

Romans 7:1-4
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.

Ephesians 5:25-27
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, 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 church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Ephesians 5:29-32
For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 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 church.

2 Corinthians 11:1-3 (Paul speaking to the church)
Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. 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. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Ephesians 5:22,23
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

Christ is the head, and we are the body of Christ. We see this relationship of husband and wife incorporated with the union of the head (Christ) and body (church). This doesn’t mean if you go to church, you’re part of the bride of Christ. Only those who worship Yeshua in Spirit and Truth as their personal Savior are the bride. They are filled with the Holy Spirit, being the oil in the lamps. They are the ones called out in the parable of the 10 virgins. According to the parable, 50% of those who consider themselves to be the bride don’t have the oil and will have the door shut on them. Matthew 25:1-13

This shouldn’t scare you if you love Jesus. The Bible says we love Him because He first loved us. I lived in fear much of my life because I hadn’t read the details for myself from the Bible. I had no understanding with which to stand against the lies with so I accepted some of them. We have a sword though, God did not leave us defenseless.

1 John 4:15-21
Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

If you believe that is true, then nothing Satan says can change it. Rebuke that spirit in the name of Yeshua! The Bible says that God dwells in you and perfect love casts out fear. God is our strength and He has not left us in darkness! Your love for Him and obedience to Him make you the bride and nothing can take that away except you yourself withdrawing from Him. The Holy Spirit fills a true believer who sets their sights on Yeshua. They are obedient and believe the Word, by faith they are saved through the grace of God.

Matthew 25:1-13
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. [Matthew 7:13-23] 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.

Hebrews 9:28
So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

I believe there is a reason we are told to watch for His coming. We should all as Christians understand the importance of watching according to God’s Word.

New Jerusalem As The Bride

Ref: TrueLight Ministries

There are some who believe that New Jerusalem is the bride of Christ based on these passages:

Revelation 21:1,2
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Revelation 21:9-11
And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

If John is viewing all of the bride and the bride resides in New Jerusalem, then seeing the bride, the Lamb’s wife as a whole would be to view them through the crystal clear New Jerusalem adorned as a bride for her husband.

Revelation 21:18
And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.

Revelation 21:21-23
And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

In addition, Malachi associates them that fear the Lord and think upon His name with jewels. To me it seems that when John is shown the Lamb’s wife and sees New Jerusalem, the bride of Christ together dwelling in New Jerusalem are what is seen. I don’t think it fits Biblically that New Jerusalem itself is the bride given the rest of this page.

Malachi 3:16,17
Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that though upon His name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

The Convergence?

Is there a medium in this study that falls in line with Truth? As I mentioned before, some think the bride is New Jerusalem, and others look at Christians as the bride of Christ. I’d like to point out a couple of things.

First, in Revelation 21:1-2 New Jerusalem is seen by John “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” I would like to point out the word “as” which shows a relation without stating that New Jerusalem is the bride. Also that New Jerusalem is a city. Is Christ marrying a city?

The 12 gates of New Jerusalem mirror the 12 tribes Revelation 21:12 and the 12 foundations of it are named after the 12 disciples Revelation 21:14. This means New Jerusalem is designed around the people who founded God’s people and represented God on the earth. These are all they who lived by faith. Why would the bride have parts of her named after these things? Wouldn’t the bride be the center? You don’t create a city that you marry that’s named after the ones you love, you marry the ones you love and name cities after them.

This brings me to the second question. What is God’s most precious creation? All of history is played out for the benefit of redemption of humans to God. All other things will pass away except those who love God. Marriage, in my mind, is based on love and that’s what God is. He so loved us that He sent His only begotten Son to die for us. Do you marry a city or do you marry those created in your image, such that marriage is the joining of two into one. We have Christ in us when we place ourselves in Him by giving our lives to Him. So is the bride a city, or those people that love God?

I believe the convergence of these two is the answer. God loved us so much that He sent His Son who willingly died so we could live. When we accept that, He sends His Holy Spirit, the comforter, to be with us while He is preparing His Father’s house with many mansions for when He comes back for us.

John 14:1-3
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

He loves us so much and names the city gates of New Jerusalem after the 12 tribes of Israel, who were responsible for God’s Word being available to us. It was through the Jews that salvation came, and it’s through the gates named after them we must enter the city through.

By the way, the Jews can be grafted back onto the root, just as all Gentiles who have accepted Christ have been, and therefore be part of the church. (Romans 11) They just need to accept Christ as their Meshiach Nagid. All who accept Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for their sins and obey His Word are part of the church, regardless of where they go to church. The true believer will not be caught in lies though, because their Bible is the foundation of all their beliefs, not what other people say. In Christ there is no Jew or Gentile, but we are all one in Christ.

The 12 disciples were the foundation for salvation being spread across the whole earth. So too are their names written on the foundations of the city of New Jerusalem, symbolic for the body. In this way, the beloved part of God’s creation who obey His voice and love Him with all their hearts reside in the Father’s house with many mansions. When New Jerusalem is adorned as a bride for her husband, it symbolizes the completed body, Christ the head (cornerstone) and we the body joined in marriage to one. It is the habitation of God, Christ, and all that are His, and apparently the only place that isn’t destroyed before the new heavens and new earth. So it makes sense that New Jerusalem the city in which the bride resides would descend out of heaven AS a bride adorned for her husband and indeed represents the purpose of God’s creation who reside inside of it with Him.

The Body of Christ

Christians are also called, as the church, the body of Christ. We are linked to the idea of being the body and Christ the head many times through scripture. Indeed, the communion we take as believers is a symbol of that and the marriage is when we are no longer two anymore, but married to Christ, one with Him. This is represented, I believe by New Jerusalem, a 1,500 mile cubed pyramid, with Christ represented in the capstone (chief cornerstone) and the body of the pyramid below it. Here are some more scriptures linking the church/body/bride under the Chief Cornerstone (Capstone)/Head/Groom.

Romans 7:4
Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the bodyG4983 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.

1 Corinthians 10:16
The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the bodyG4983 of Christ?

1 Corinthians 12:27
Now ye are the bodyG4983 of Christ, and members in particular.

Ephesians 1:18-23
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his bodyG4983, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Ephesians 4:12
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the bodyG4983 of Christ:

Ephesians 2:13-22
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh [close] by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one bodyG4983 by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

1 Peter 2:6
Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

Click picture for more on New Jerusalem

There is reason that this theory of the pyramid may be incorrect...

Revelation 21:16
And the city lieth foursquareG5068, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

Foursquare (G5068)
tetragōnos (tet-rag’-on-nos)
From G5064 and G1137; four cornered, that is, square: - foursquare.

Is this “square” talking about the whole shape? Or by saying the city “lieth foursquare” does it mean that the base of it is a square? To be honest, I don’t know, but the information I’ve shared leads me to just present what I’ve found and make it clear that I don’t feel this is something we can know for sure and it really doesn’t matter that much anyway. I found The Great Pyramid-Lost Legend of Enoch to lay out a very interesting possible connection to this theory. So continuing on...

Israel as the Bride?

Hosea 2:1-13
Say ye [Jews living by faith] unto your brethren [Unbelieving Jews], Ammi [H5971-A people/tribe]; and to your sisters, Ruhamah [H7355 -Love compassionately/show mercy]. Plead with your mother [Israel as a nation], plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: [Conditional]-> let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts; Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst. And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of whoredoms. For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink. Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths. And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now. For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal. Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness. And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of mine hand. I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts. And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them. And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the LORD.

Here we see several groups of people mentioned.

• The Lord (man)
• Mother (woman)
• Her children (sons and daughters)

The mother is the one whom the Lord is not betrothed to because of her whoredom.

Hosea 2:14-23
Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi [H376 -Good husband]; and shalt call me no more Baali. For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name. And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely. And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD. And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the LORD, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel. And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.

The only reconciliation I can see now with my current understanding of the bride of Christ is if this is speaking specifically to particular individuals out of Israel who find Christ before the harpazo. This can’t be after the harpazo because the marriage of the Lamb is before Christ returns in glory. . Revelation 19:7-14 I think this is verified by the first 13 verses of Hosea 2. Keep in mind that within a people there are both believing and unbelieving. For instance, not all Christians live their lives as Christians are supposed to and therefore are not truly Christians because they don’t live by faith. This is shown Biblically in the kingdom parable of Matthew 25:1-13, where five of the ten virgins have the door to heaven closed on them. Those who do not have the door shut on them are the bride of Christ, comprised of Jews and Gentiles. They are also called the just.

The Just

Who are the just? The answer is those who live by faith in Christ, or Christians, Jew and Gentile. However to be clear, national Israel is yet blinded, Luke 19:41-44 and Romans 11, until the fullness of the Gentiles. Romans 11:25 So the majority of Jews will not accept Christ until after the harpazo.

Romans 1:16,17
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

Galatians 3:7-14
Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Hebrews 10:38
Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

What is faith then?

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

“Faith enables the believing soul to treat the future as present and the invisible as seen.” | Dr. J. Oswald Sanders, Hebrews 11:1

Nobody alive has seen Yeshua, yet we believe He is God. That is faith. Our faith is built upon belief in the Bible. Our belief in Christ, whom the Bible is all about Revelation 19:10, is the evidence of what we can’t see. Faith is what we cling to because it is promised to be connected to our salvation, which is what we all hope for. So the just are those who accept Christ’s sacrifice for our sins and we repent for them. That’s what He died on the cross for. They aren’t just in themselves, but only through believing in Christ.

The Harpazo Tie-In

Now the marriage aspect is limited by certain time constraints because the marriage of the Lamb Revelation 19:7-8 happens before Christ returns in glory. Revelation 19:11-14 Therefore, our harpazo to the marriage of the Lamb must happen before Christ returns in glory if we are to even attend our own marriage. Since we also are not appointed to God’s wrath 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 which is coming on the children of disobedience Ephesians 5:1-7 dwelling on the earth, we must be removed from the earth before it comes. God’s wrath starts before He returns in glory, in fact, according to scripture, the sixth seal comes before the day of the Lord (Joel 2:31) and the day of the Lord is the beginning of God’s wrath as also laid out in Isaiah 13:9-13. So there must be a catching away spoken of in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:50-54 before that point. For more detail on the harpazo, visit here.

This brings me to an aspect to our gathering to the Lord I’ve noticed in a couple of passages that seems to attach the importance of watching to being caught up.

Revelation 3:2,3
Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

This is just one of the many watch scriptures that seem to attach watching with not being caught off guard regarding Christ’s coming. We don’t know the day or hour of that coming, but we are also not in darkness regarding it either. So the middle ground seems to be that we’ll know just about everything as the day gets closer except the day or hour of this time. This is what I have found in my study of Bible prophecy, that God has not left us in darkness regarding the coming times.

The key is to think in terms of the Bible and not the 21st century. There are so many opinions of scripture that confuse what it actually says so there is division and some just give up worrying about it. This is why I started from scratch taking the Bible for what it says and interpreting what is symbology with scripture to the best of my ability.

In doing so, many foundational points became clear without which none of Bible prophecy would fit or make sense. First and foremost was the belief stated above that God means what He says. This destroyed the replacement theology deception that skews many peoples’ view of Bible prophecy among many other issues.

I’ve found that the more I study Bible prophecy, the more I see that Yeshua truly IS the Word, and all that the prophets wrote was focused on Him. The more I recognized Israel when God spoke of her, the more clearly I saw that events of the end would focus around her. To study Bible prophecy accurately requires a love of God’s Word and deep respect for it as written. It also forces one to learn the whole council of God.

To me, this shows a true love for God and our Bridegroom Yeshua. Many people out there have no idea what God’s Word says. One important thing is that if we love God, we will obey Him and keep His commandments. If we don’t know what He said or what His commandments were, how can we obey? If we aren’t really interested in obeying, conforming our mind to that of Christ, how much love does that show for Him?

The bride of Christ is a group of people who love God, His ways, and His Word. Not everyone who says they are Christians obey His Word, and not everyone that says they are a Christian will enter the kingdom of heaven, even some who cast out demons in His name! The parable of the 10 virgins shows that half of those who were waiting for the Bridegroom (Christians) are shut out of the door because they have no oil to light their lamps. The Holy Spirit is that oil, without which there is no flame and no light. We only receive the Holy Spirit through Christ. Some “Christians” just aren’t interested in acquiring said oil because they are content where they are...in the world.

Now I’m not judging anyone without placing myself at the top of the list because the majority of my life was spent in the world and focused on it over God. I changed my mind though (repent is 2 words in Greek, change mind), and God has been faithful to answer my prayers for understanding regarding His plans, not my wishes or vain imaginations. Again it boiled down to taking God at His Word, the Bible. Which again points back to Christ and God’s plan for our future and layout of God’s dealing in Israel’s past in the world.

Christ’s blood covers our sins, but if He doesn’t know us, we will not enter the kingdom of heaven. How does He “know” us? Associating this to our relationships with each other, can we say we know someone if we never communicate with them? Of course God knows our innermost thoughts. I believe the thrust behind Christ saying He doesn’t know someone is to point out to them that they never made an effort to communicate with Him. Today’s world is hustle-bustle and nobody has time anymore it seems. How many Christians take time out of the world to make time for Yeshua? I have no idea, but it’s a struggle for believers more in this generation than probably any other in history.

This is not advocating “works,” but rather recognizing relationship and unity in God’s Word and obeying and following that Word. The blood of Christ is all we need to cover our sins, but true relationship with Christ begins right now and continues for eternity!

I think much of this is brought on by a lack of understanding, which is how God’s people perish. I believe that lack of knowledge has been the result of millennia of Satan’s attacks on God’s Word and the continuation of the Babylonian system in it’s myriad of forms. See History of the Mystery of Iniquity.

Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

This is where the church must speak up, repent, and obey God’s Word. I think much of the church is asleep because the Word of God is not central to them. I know for me, I grew up in the world without understanding the spiritual influences of that world and much of my own selfish desires mixed in, a deadly combination without Christ. I never tried to outright disobey God’s Word, but I never really studied it either. How do we obey what He said if we aren’t sure what He said?

I believe the bride of Christ is starting to wake up now and as prophecy is fulfilled more will recognize the signs of the times. At the same time, the Bible is clear that in the end there is a falling away from God, one of the prerequisites to our gathering to Him. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 The key is to have the Word of God as our foundation in these coming times because deception is one of the main warnings of the end times. Many will be deceived and teachers will tickle the ears of those looking for a belief system that will fit their desires rather than the Truth. So as the bride of Christ, let us be girded about with the Truth of God’s Word and prepared with understanding of what God says is coming so that we can see through the deceptions and be a light in the darkness that is prophesied to take over the world.

The Just and the Bride

What is the difference between the bride of Christ and the rest of those saved and going to heaven? It seems from scripture, when taking into account a linear timeline of history, that there are different groups in eternity that are all saved, but are still distinct. 

Galatians 3:25-29
But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.

If we are sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, then would this still apply when faith is no longer required?

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

During the millennium, will there be faith in Christ Jesus? He will be dwelling on the earth among us as the Meshiach Nagid, having taken the kingdoms of the earth to rule with a rod of iron. This will be after the marriage of the Lamb. Revelation 19:7-8 So if faith is the evidence of things not seen, can there be faith when Christ is seen and known throughout all of the world? Everyone will be required to travel to Jerusalem to worship Him.

People will still have to accept Christ when He dwells among us, but this will be after the bride of Christ is married to Him. This doesn’t mean that nobody else will go to heaven and we must put on our immortal bodies for that, which are what the fallen angels disrobed from to come to earth in Genesis 6:1-8 according to Jude 1:5-7.

Jude 1:5-7
I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

Genesis 6:4
There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

The term “sons of God” refers to direct creations of God, which we will be when given our new incorruptible bodies. In the case of Genesis 6, they were the fallen angels. Angels are directly created by God while humans are born of their mothers and fathers. Through faith in Christ now, we are born again. We are already born again now in the spirit, but we are awaiting our bridegroom to come back for us to consummate the relationship and give us our new bodies, which are direct creations of God. Then our spirit will reside in these new temples, one with Christ as two become one in marriage.

So more than just the bride will be “sons of God,” but I believe the distinction between “the redeemed that comes after the harpazo and the redeemed of today” is that the redeemed today are the bride of Christ and the redeemed from after the harpazo are not, even though they are saved by accepting the atoning sacrifice of Christ. The bride of Christ is differentiated by those who live by faith. That state can’t happen during the time when faith is not required because what is real is evident and apparent among us.

I would like to first direct you to a book I just found, Lost In Translation: Rediscovering the Hebrew Roots of our Faith, which goes into this topic in greater detail regarding the Hebrew marriage customs and the parallels in scripture regarding the bride of Christ. Moreover it clarifies the responsibility of the bride to accept a series of covenants as in the marriage tradition that show the bride’s desire to complete the marriage. The page linked above are some excerpts from this book which you can purchase at Amazon. I highly recommend this book to expand greatly on the ideas expressed above.