Who Is The Bride Of Christ?

Who Is The “Bride Of Christ”?

Chapter 21, Part 2 Preview: Few people know who the “Bride of Christ” is. The vast majority believes her to be “the Church”, or their church. Others believe she is physical Israel. Yet some few need far more than two words to explain her (like me). Chances are, you are among the majority who have been taught that the marriage supper is between the “Christ” and His “Church”—end of story.

The Next Bride: God’s Marriage to Israel

Israel broke its first or “Old” marriage Covenant with God, but God promised to make a “new” and “better” marriage covenant with the Church-oops, I mean “with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah”.

Hebrews 8:6-8 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. 8 Because finding fault with THEM, He says: Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah-

Jeremiah 3:18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given as an ‘inheritance’ [or heritage or possession] to your fathers. 19 But I said: ‘How can I put you among the children and give you a pleasant land, a beautiful heritage of the hosts of nations?’ And I said: You shall call Me, ‘My Father,’ and not turn away from Me.’ 20 Surely, as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, so have you dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,’ says the LORD. 21 A voice was heard on the desolate heights, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel. For they have perverted their way; they have forgotten the LORD their God. 22 Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Indeed we do come to You, for You are the LORD our God.

So let’s see, we now have Brides, sons of the Father, a chaste virgin, heirs, body parts, a “perfect man”, flock, sheepfold, husbandry, pillars, the temple, the light of the world, the salt of the earth, the body of Christ, and a menorah. Let’s not forget that we are to graduate from servants to friends as well. All of these are attempts to help us visualize the indescribable relationship that we will have so long as we persevere in righteousness to the very end.

Despite Israel’s treachery, God will “still choose” to remarry Israel.

Isaiah 14:1 For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will still choose Israel, and settle them in their own land....

The exact terms of the new marriage covenant are explained in Jeremiah 31! Jeremiah 30, in the same context, leads right up to it. When the time is right, God will still choose to marry “Israel”. When you read this thru notice that very little of this could really apply to the tribe of Judah returning to the land, as pioneers, in 1947.

Jeremiah 31:1-40 At the same time, says the LORD, I will be the God of all the ‘families’ [or nations] of ISRAEL, and they shall be My people.... 4 Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel! You shall again be adorned with your tambourines, and shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice. 5 You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant and eat them as ordinary food.... 10 Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd does his flock.’ 11 For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of one stronger than he.... 31 ‘Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah-32 ‘not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a HUSBAND to them, says the LORD. 33 ‘But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 ‘No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. [There will not be any evangelism at this time.] For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more’. 35 Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, and its waves roar (The LORD of hosts is His name): 36 ‘If those ordinances depart from before Me, says the LORD, then the seed of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before Me forever.’ 37 Thus says the LORD: ‘If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, says the LORD. 38 ‘Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that the city [Jerusalem] shall ‘be built’ [“be rebuilt” or “established”] for the LORD from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39 ‘The surveyor’s line shall again extend straight forward over the hill Gareb; then it shall turn toward Goath. 40 And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to the LORD. It shall not be plucked up or thrown down anymore forever.

When Jerusalem is surveyed and rebuilt, and when God Himself is teaching the neighbors, then the New Covenant is in effect!

Paul explained that the “Old” and “New” covenants were “symbolic” marriage covenants, the first like a “bondwoman” and the other like a “freewoman”. The New Jerusalem is the gift granted to the Saints-those who were faithful under the First Covenant, the Saints of this age, and the future Saints in the flesh living under the “New Covenant with the house of Judah and the House of Israel”. On the next Jubilee we will have both the New Jerusalem and a New Marriage Covenant.

Galatians 4 shows us that the First Covenant “corresponds to Jerusalem which now is”. In fact the First Covenant was still in effect, not only “now” as Paul was speaking, but it was still in effect in 70 AD when the Temple was burned. For now the First Covenant is on hold, God never formally ended it. In fact when the Third Temple is rebuilt, the First Covenant will continue for a while. But now notice that the other Covenant is “Jerusalem above”, a reference to New Jerusalem! This age we live in is not operating under either Covenant!

Galatians 4:22-25 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, 24 which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar-25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children-26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the motherland* [3384] [or “motherland”] of us all.

Read about the Everlasting Covenant here:

Isaiah 61:7-11 Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, and instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; everlasting joy shall be theirs. 8 For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering; I will direct their work in truth, and will make with them an everlasting covenant. 9 Their descendants shall be known among the [Nations], and their offspring among the people. All who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the posterity whom the LORD has blessed. 10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a Bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a Bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth brings forth its bud, as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

Israel will again have Brides and Grooms who know and praise Yehovah in the House (Temple) of Yehovah:

Jeremiah 33:10-11 Thus says the LORD: “Again there shall be heard in this place-of which you say, ‘It is desolate, without man and without beast’-in the cities of Judah, in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast, 11 ‘the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the Bridegroom and the voice of the Bride, the voice of those who will say: ‘Praise the LORD of hosts, for the LORD is good, for His mercy endures forever’-and of those who will bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause the captives of the land to return as at the first,” says the LORD.

Scripture could not get any plainer than this one, except of course when “creative translations” are used. Hosea is a book focused on spiritual adultery-breaking the marriage covenant with God. In fact, Hosea had to marry a harlot to illustrate the point. Yet there is a glimmering ray of hope for national salvation mentioned. The very name Hosea means “salvation”. How can we know if the husband/wife relationship is not merely a relationship that applied solely to the distant past. The scripture is quite plain about the timing:

Hosea 2:13-20 I will punish her for the days of the Baals to which she burned incense. She decked herself with her earrings and jewelry, and went after her lovers; but Me she forgot,’ says the LORD. 14 ‘Therefore, behold, I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her. 15 I will give her her vineyards from there, and the valley of Achor as a door of hope; she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt. 16 ‘And it shall be, in that day,’ says the LORD, ‘That YOU WILL CALL ME ‘MY HUSBAND,’ and no longer call Me ‘My Master’... 19 I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in loving kindness and mercy; 20 I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know the LORD.

The monolog continues a few verses later in the next chapter:

Hosea 3:4-5 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without ephod or teraphim 5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They shall fear the LORD and His goodness in the LATTER DAYS....

This is the time period that I believe parallels the Matthew 25 account concerning “the virgin daughter of My people”.

Jeremiah 14:17 Therefore you shall say this word to them: ‘Let my eyes flow with tears night and day, and let them not cease; for the virgin daughter of my people has been broken with a mighty stroke, with a very severe blow. 18 If I go out to the field, then behold, those slain with the sword! And if I enter the city, then behold, those sick from famine! Yes, both prophet and priest go about in a land they do not know.’ 19 Have You utterly rejected Judah? Has Your soul loathed Zion? Why have You stricken us so that there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, but there was no good; and for the time of healing, and there was trouble.

We have a tendency to read into Revelation 21 the belief that the New Jerusalem is strictly for the “spirit born beings”-certainly not flesh and blood humans. Yet read who John said it is for:

New Jerusalem is for “Men” and “they shall be His people”. You had better be grafted into Israel. Israel will not be grafted into “the church”!

Revelation 21:2-3 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a Bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with MEN, and He will dwell with them, and THEY shall be HIS PEOPLE. God Himself will be with them and be their God”.

The only true “Bride scripture” in the Bible calls New Jerusalem the Bride. OK, it just says New Jerusalem is “as” a Bride. But if Israel is a Bride, and I am grafted in, then in that sense Bride is an apt description. And after all, a house is not a home without the family. It is only in Revelation where we get the end of the story details—and Israel, as a Bride wins. You simply cant miss Israel in Revelation.

Revelation 21:12 Also she [New Jerusalem] had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel....

Then of course there are the 144,000 Israelites:

Revelation 7:4-7 And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed: 5 of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed; 6 of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed; 7 of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed; 8 of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.

Still, in Matthew 9, Yeshua refers to himself as the Bridegroom, while He refers to His Disciples as, in essence, “groomsmen”, not the Bride! Was He confused?

Matthew 9:15 Yeshua said to them, “Can the groomsmen* [5207] of the bridal chamber fast, so long as the Bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the Bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast”. YMES

It seems that Paul, perhaps to his vision of the third heaven, also knew about the enormous “building”, the New Jerusalem, God’s dwelling place:

Ephesians 2:19-22 So, you arent foreigners* *without citizenship*, rather, you are fellow citizens with the Saints, and of the family* [3609] of Yehovah. 20 You are the *finished structure* [2026 upon the foundation [2310] of the Apostles AND the prophets; and Yeshua the Messiah has become the cornerstone of the building. 21 By Him each part of the building is framed together, and grows into a holy temple in Yehovah; 22 while you also are built in Him, for a *dwelling place* [2732] of Yehovah thru the Spirit. NMP

Romans 11:13 For I speak to you “gentiles” [non Israelite Nations]; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the [other Nations], I magnify my ministry, 14 if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. 15 For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16 For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree....

The following verses indicate that God “keeps His [marriage] covenant” “with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments ... ” in spite of the fact that most of Israel, at this time, had broken the covenant. This primary, eternal, marriage covenant was the essence of the covenant that that God made to Abraham.

Daniel 9:4 And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, ‘O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments ...

2 Kings 17:15 And they rejected His statutes AND His covenant that He had made with their fathers, and His testimonies which He had testified against them; they followed idols, became idolaters, and went after the nations who were all around them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them that they should not do like them.

Isaiah 59:20 The Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob, says the LORD. As for Me, says the LORD, ‘this is My covenant with them: My Spirit [which] is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,’ says the LORD, ‘from this time and forevermore.’

Jeremiah 34:13 Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying....

Jeremiah 50:4-5 In those days and in that time, says the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together; with continual weeping they shall come, and seek the LORD their God. 5 They shall ask the way to Zion, with their faces toward it, saying, ‘Come and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that will not be forgotten.’

This awareness of God’s covenant, and willingness to agree to its terms, is due to the message that they heard from the Two Witnesses! [The Two Witnesses’ message to Israel, about a great reconciliation between Israel and her God, is covered in detail in Jubilee 2027 AD.]

Ezekiel 16:8 When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; so I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine, says the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 37:3-28... Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God. 24 David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. 25 Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever. 26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 28 The nations also will know that I, the LORD, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.

This is really what the New Covenant, or marriage agreement is all about: it is about Israel’s being faithful to our God and His remaining our faithful provider.

The so called “Old Covenant” was is really an addendum that was added to the “perpetual covenant” or “everlasting covenant” that God made with Abraham! It was the Constitution of ancient Israel.

Galatians 3:8-19 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the [Nations] by faith, preached the [Good News] to Abraham beforehand, saying, ‘In you all the nations shall be blessed. 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.... 16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, ‘and to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ WHO IS [the Messiah]. 17 And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the [primary] covenant that was confirmed before [to Abraham] by God in [the Messiah], that it should make the [original] promise of no effect. 18 For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise. 19 What purpose then does the law [the “first covenant”] serve? It was added because of transgressions, TILL the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator.

Even the land will be “married”. It will be extremely productive and literally bear much fruit. It will not be burdened under a constant rain of chemical sprays and cursed weather:

Isaiah 55:9-12 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 For as the rain comes down and the snow from the sky, and doesn’t return there, but waters the earth, and makes it bring forth and bud, and gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater; 11 so shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing I sent it to do. 12 For you shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing; and all the trees of the fields shall clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree; and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to [Yehovah] for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

Isaiah 62:4-5 You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married. [This is a tie in to the Jubilee and land Sabbaths] 5 as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you; and as the Bridegroom rejoices over the Bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

Here is a final comment on the covenant presenting evidence that the [marriage] covenant will be implemented after the Two Witnesses have finished their work-when the Beast is attacking “the people who know their God”. [As is elaborated upon in The Time After Jacob’s Trouble.]

Daniel 11:31-32 And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation. 32 Those who do wickedly against the [“holy”: v.28] covenant he [the Beast] shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. And those of the people who understand shall instruct many; yet for many days they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering.

The prophetic scriptures invariably portray Israel as the Bride. The “Lamb” is the husband who is to marry Israel. It is scripturally evident that the Father and Son share everything, including the Throne of David. Why wouldnt they “share” the collective Bride as well?

Kings and Priests OR Queens and Priestesses?

Revelation 5:9-10 And they sang a new song, saying: You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 10 and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.

Can we, with a clear conscience, disregard the testimony of these scriptures-that Israel is the Bride of the Messiah? These overwhelming statements, contrary as usual to “church doctrine”, should make it difficult to rationalize that “the Church” is the fulfillment of the ancient prophecies. If people would simply quit trying to misappropriate the things that belong to Israel, they might be free to understand the astonishing splendor of yet another mystery.

Keep in mind that during the millennium all the Saints of the earth from every past age will be citizens of the Kingdom of Yehovah. This is what Yeshua indicated in Matthew:

Matthew 8:11 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom from Heaven.

In the next breath He indicated that many Israelites would not inherit the kingdom:

Matthew 8:12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

In addition to the Saints, there will be a great number of people in the Kingdom by surprise!

John 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

Here is a quote from Chapter 5: The Called, the The Called, the Culled, and the Excused. Notice what these righteous say to Yeshua. Truly none of them have ever read Matthew 25:

“The following passage describes the Great Judgment Day. This assessment is not a parable; rather, this is an unambiguous pronouncement”!

Matthew 25:31-40 When the Son of Man comes ... All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom .... Then the righteous will answer Him saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry ... thirsty ... a stranger ... naked ... sick ... or in prison and come to You? [Answer:] “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me”....

It is particularly important that you notice that these “righteous” are totally oblivious as to why they are being rewarded! They truly dont understand why they are being offered eternal life! They had certainly not understood God’s plan for humanity! Yet this is a very positive judgment. It is an invitation to pre-qualified (i.e. not wicked) people to become “like the angels”. I seriously doubt that anyone will decline the offer when God says to them: “Enter into the joy of your Master”. This is, however a very brief account. I fully expect that these people, when God has their totally undivided attention, will be exceedingly willing to pledge their allegiance to Yeshua, their savior, as they are forgiven of their sins. These compassionate “gentiles” will be EXCUSED and will be welcomed into the Kingdom!

The Assembly of Yehovah will become the Kingdom of Yehovah. The wise will be given glory and will shine like the stars forevermore. The earth’s greatest age will pale into significance by comparison. Everyone who persecuted the Assembly thru the past ages will bow down to them. Yeshua will compensate everyone according to his works. At this time, the faithful will receive the highest honor possible-becoming Kings and priests in the Everlasting Kingdom.

By contrast-take a look at these prophecies having to do with “Jerusalem”, “Zion” and “her” in the APPENDIX. Unlike old English or German, the scriptures do not apply gender to myriads of inanimate objects. There are very few of the hundreds of scriptures mentioning “her” that are not in reference to things literally pertaining to actual women; making all of the references to Jerusalem and “her” all the more noteworthy. The proverbs do personify “wisdom” and “virtue” as women, as is done almost universally in prose. The sun, moon and earth are occasionally referred to as “her”, especially in reference to prophetic restoration. Other city-states and nations, almost exclusively those who have tried to destroy Israel, are personified as women-the Babylonian whore and Moab in particular. And yes, there are two references describing a ship as “her”.

I think it’s more likely that the wedding still hasnt taken place in Revelation 21:9, thus my choice of synonyms:

Revelation 21:9 One of the seven *celestial Messengers* came to me, who have the seven bowls filled with the seven last calamities*, and spoke with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the fiancee* [3565] [1], the Lamb’s virgin [1135]”.

[1] The root word, [3565] numphe (noom-fay’), is a bridal veil.

It appears to me that the whore of Babylon will claim to be the “virgin fiancee” of the Lamb, i.e “the Bride of Christ”. Contrast the next two verses and notice Isaiah’s sarcasm:

Revelation 17:18 The woman whom you saw, is the great city, who clings* [2192] onto* the kings of the earth. NMP

Isaiah 47:1 Come down, and sit in the dust, virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, daughter of the Chaldeans: for you shall no more be called tender and delicate. 2 Take the millstones, and grind meal; remove your veil, strip off the train, uncover the leg, pass through the rivers. 3 Your nakedness shall be uncovered, yes, your shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and will spare no man. WEB

Jeremiah 2:2-3 Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, “Thus says [Yehovah], I remember for you the kindness of your youth, the love of your [betrothal]; how you went after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. 3 Israel was holiness to [Yehovah], the first fruits of His increase: all who devour him shall be held guilty; evil shall come on them, says [Yehovah]”. WEB

The Torah was the prenuptial agreement.

Deuteronomy 6:1-6 Now this is the commandment, the statutes, and the ordinances, which [Yehovah] your God commanded to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you go over to possess it; 2 that you might fear [Yehovah] your God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, you, and your son, and your son’s son, all the days of your life; and that your days may be prolonged. 3 Hear therefore, Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with you, and that you may increase mightily, as [Yehovah], the God of your fathers, has promised to you, in a land flowing with milk and honey. 4 Hear, Israel: [Yehovah] is our God; [Yehovah] is one: 5 and you shall love [Yehovah] your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. 6 These words, which I command you this day, shall be on your heart....

Exodus 19 records the ceremony. In unison, the entire Assembly agreed to the terms of the Marriage with an “I do”.

Exodus 19:8 All the people answered together, and said, “All that [Yehovah] has spoken we will do.”

Moses reported the words of the people to Yehovah.

But trouble came way too quickly. The marriage was over. Bible history records the dismal account.

Zechariah 7:11-12 But they refused to listen, and turned their backs, and stopped their ears, that they might not hear. 12 Yes, they made their hearts as hard as flint, lest they might hear the law, and the words which [Yehovah] of Armies had sent by His Spirit by the former prophets. Therefore great wrath came from [Yehovah] of Armies.

Yet the Renewed Covenant, also based on the Torah, is destined to work. The faithful remnant will be considerably larger this time.

So, when was the “church” established? It was established at the FIRST recorded PENTECOST at Mount Sinai.

Acts 7:38 It was He, who was in the Ekklesia* [Assembly, “Church”, Strong’s 1577] in the wilderness, with the *celestial Messenger* who conversed with him and with our fathers at Mount Sinai; and it was he [Moses] who received the living words and gave them to us. YMES

(To find out who the Bridegroom is see I and My Father are ONE)

Here is the APPENDIX