Who is the Bride of Christ?

Who is the Bride?

Who Is The Bride Of Christ?

... Ok, and are you absolutely certain?

Chapter 21 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.

For the sake of context, concerning the Bride, let’s first consider some historical shots over the bow:

INDEX

Disagreements over who the Bride is, likely began in the time of the Catholic scholar Augustine, when he confronted Faustus, the Manichaean. Faustus claimed that his Manichaean sect was the Bride of Christ.

“Faustus said: Why do we not receive the Old Testament? Because when a vessel is full, what is poured on it is not received, but allowed to run over; and a full stomach rejects what it cannot hold. So the Jews, satisfied with the Old Testament, reject the New; and we who have received the New Testament from Christ, reject the Old.... This is why we do not receive the Old Testament. Our Church, the Bride of Christ, the poor Bride of a rich Bridegroom, is content with the possession of her husband, and scorns the wealth of inferior lovers, and despises the gifts of the Old Testament and of its author, and from regard to her own character, receives only the letters of her husband. We leave the Old Testament to your Church, that, like a Bride faithless to her spouse, delights in the letters and gifts of another”.

Augustine, perhaps confronting the Bride is the “New Covenant Church” doctrine for the first time, had this to say:

“It is amazingly bold in the impious and impure sect of the Manichaeans to boast of being the chaste Bride of Christ. All the effect of such a boast on the really chaste members of the holy Church is to remind them of the apostle’s warning against deceivers: [Corinthians 11:2-3] ‘I have joined you to one husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear lest, as the serpent deceived Eve by his guile, so your minds also should be corrupted from the purity which is in Christ.’ What else do those preachers of another gospel than that which we have received try to do, but to corrupt us from the purity which we preserve for Christ, when they stigmatize the law of God as old, and praise their own falsehoods as new, as if all that is new must be good, and all that is old bad? The Apostle John, however, praises the old commandment, and the Apostle Paul bids us avoid novelties in doctrine. As an unworthy son and servant of the Catholic Church, the true Bride of the true Christ....”

So the fight was on. Different churches began claiming to be the Bride if Christ. However, one assumption every church held in common was the belief that the Bride (or fiancee) came into existence on the Pentecost following Jesus’ (actually Yeshua, off site) crucifixion.

About this same time, the church began teaching that eternity was given to “members” of the Bride upon death—there would be no waiting for New Jerusalem to come to us. Bliss before the wedding was far more popular!

However, the Kingdom, headquartered in New Jerusalem, will come to the Bride! Revelation 21 and 22 contains the most noteworthy commentary about what the Bride actually is. Ultimately, the Bride and the coming New Jerusalem will be inseparable—as far as the analogy can be taken:

Revelation 21:2 2 I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, descending from Yehovah out of heaven, like a bride *made ready*[2090] for her husband. YMES

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]”. YMES

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

Revelation 22:17 The Spirit and the bride-to-be[3565] say, “Come”. Let him who hears, say, “Come”. And let him who thirsts, come; and he who is inclined, let him receive* the living water *as a gift*[1432]. YMES

Once the carnage is past, and people no longer view New Jerusalem above as an alien invasion, they are going to want to experience the city for themselves. That’s where the Saints come in. As the graduating class of the First Resurrection, we must tutor our mortal brethren, so that they too can be literally “born again” Saints in the next resurrection (Revelation 20:1-7).

Before going on, here is something to consider. Why are these servants commended for NOT being at the wedding supper (or banquet)?

Luke 12:32-37, 40 Dont fear little flock; for your Father *takes pleasure* in giving you the Kingdom. 33 Sell your property, and give alms; make yourselves moneybags* that do not become old, and a treasure that is not temporary, in the heavens; where no thief approaches, and no moth eats. 34 For your treasure is now housed in your minds. 35 Be dressed for action*, and keep your lamps burning. 36 Be like people who expect*[4327] their master, so that when he returns from the *wedding banquet*[1062], and he comes and knocks, they will welcome him immediately. 37 The master’s servants will be elated when he comes, and he finds them still serving*. Assuredly, “He will *dress up*, but have them relax*, and will come to each of them and serve them! ... 40 So be ready; for in an hour that you *do not suspect*, the Son of man will come. YMES

But now let’s go back to the misconceptions about the Bride.

By the middle ages, “Bridal Mysticism” was the norm:

... Leon Podles offers a theory about how Western [Roman] Christian piety became feminized. In the 12th-13th century a particularly tender, even erotic, strain of devotion arose, one which invited the individual believer to picture him or herself (rather than the Church as a whole) as the Bride of Christ. “Bridal Mysticism” was enthusiastically adopted by devout women, and left an enduring stamp on Western Christianity. It understandably had less appeal for guys, and perhaps the rigor and objectivity of the Scholastic movement which arose about the same time was an equal-and-opposite reaction. “Head” and “heart” were split; men retired for brandy and cigars in the Systematic Theology Room, while praying and church-going were given over to women. For centuries in the West, men who chose the ministry have been stereotyped as effeminate. A life-long [Eastern] Orthodox layman says that, from the outside, Western Christianity strikes him as “a love story written for women by women.”

Ever since the Protestant Reformation there have basically been three viewpoints about the Bride:

But is there another possibility? What if the Bride is far older than Christianity?

Could Revelation 21 simply be elaborating on the same marriage that was prophesied about by the prophets of old? Is there a connection between this jubilant time and the restoration of Israel?

All of my life I have been told that we should strive to be a part of the Lamb’s Bride—a church of the faithful dating back to 31 AD. After all, virtually everyone teaches that being the Bride of the Messiah is the fantastic blessing of blessings that all of God’s Christian Saints should strive to become a part of, right now! Never mind that the wedding hasnt even taken place yet!

What if most of the scriptures that the churches say are in reference to them, actually pertain to the body of believers first assembled on Pentecost—not in 31 AD, but on the very first recorded Pentecost, under the administration of Moses?

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

Yeshua (who actually shares the name Yehovah) will remarry His Bride Israel.

Jeremiah 3:14 Return, backsliding children, says [Yehovah]; for I am a ‘husband’ [Strong’s 01166: “to be married”] to you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion.... WEB

Under the First Covenant (Exodus 20:1-24:7), God was a “Husband” to Ancient Israel. The marriage took place at Mount Sinai; the Bride was expected to be “holy”. She was referred to as the ASSEMBLY (making the analogy is a bit awkward), but she was to bring up her children in the way of righteousness, setting an example for the whole world (Deuteronomy 4:7-8). She was even to adopt righteous children from other nations (Deuteronomy 31:12). She was to be a “special treasure” a “holy nation” and a “kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:5-6). She was to have God’s “words” in her “HEART” (Deuteronomy 6:6).

Wouldnt she have been a good Bride?

But which of these terms should not apply under the Renewed marriage Covenant with the Assembly (Judah/Israel)?

But it’s a good thing that there was a prenuptial agreement because she failed in all points.

She abandoned Him. But that is not the end of the story. It will have a very happy ending. Backsliding Israel will return, the Covenant will be Renewed! They will live happily ever after in the new Zion—the New Jerusalem!

Most of those calling themselves “the Church” are truly not a part of the Assembly—they dont care if the trail to the church begins with Circe! They choose to believe that the “New Covenant” has been made with a Church rather than as it says:

Jeremiah 31:31-32 Behold, the days come, says [Yehovah], that I will make a New [Actually Renewed] 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 bring them out of the land of Egypt; which My covenant they broke, although I was a Husband to them [making, says [Yehovah]. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the House of Israel after those days, says [Yehovah]: I will put My law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.... WEB

The “New (Renewed) Covenant” is a better marriage covenant because there is no “till death due us part” clause!

There are numerous scriptures referring to Israel’s tenuous marriage proposal in which a reluctant fiancee will have a swift change of heart and come dashing for her Betrothed. This marriage, pictured by the symbolism of the Jubilee, is a time when God’s chosen people are blessed—at the restoration of Israel. Many of the scriptures that Christians say pertains to them actually pertain to the twelve tribes of Israel. A prime example is the 144,000 firstfruits of Revelation chapter 14:1-5, which are defined as the twelve tribes of Israel in Revelation 7:1-12.

But let’s look at an assumption that is partially responsible for the “wife swapping” situation.

Revelation 19:7-9 Let’s rejoice and be exceedingly glad, and give the glory to Him; for the marriage supper of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready. 8 It was granted her to be clothed in fine linen, bright and clean; for fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. 9 He said to me, “Write; Blessed are they who is called to the supper of the marriage feast of the Lamb”. He said to me, “These My sayings are the true words of Yehovah”. YMES

We see that the fine wedding linen “is the righteous acts of the Saints”. Here, if we were to look no further, is the basis for the Church/Bride theory. But who are the Saints? Traditional teachings would have you believe that Christians, or only special Christians, are the Saints (off site). Yet, if you look at the many Hebrew references to the Saints, it becomes apparent that the Saints have always been God’s people Israel, as well as those of other nationalities grafted into Israel. “The Israel of God” is not the Church either. The Israel of God includes everyone, of all time who will be in the Kingdom of God. It includes all of the patriarchs of Israel, it includes those of us who are grafted into Israel in this age, and it will include everyone who will ever reside in New Jerusalem!

The Bride (or Betrothed or Fiancee), if we apply that term to us today, would of necessity include all of the people who died under the First Covenant. These are people who never heard the name “Yeshua” (or Jesus) during their entire lives, but will quickly get up to speed on Judgment Day—as well as those of us, of the last couple of millennia, who are repentant “Nazarenes”.

It is difficult to come up with an airtight “proof text” that proves that the Assembly itself is even included in the “Bride of [the Messiah]”—without understanding that the remnant Assembly of Israel was to continue in a rebuilt form:

English translators went to extreme measures to concoct a Bride/church connection from the book of Romans. Let’s look at it:

Romans 7:3-4 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married[ginomai] 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[ginomai] to another man. 4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married[ginomai] to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. KJV

This comes right out and declares that Paul’s “brethren” will “be married to” “Him who was raised from the dead!” But there is a huge presumption in this translation. Actually, in this instance, calling it a translation is a real stretch. The word “ginomai”, which modern versions translate as “married”, in this context, is a word that literally means “to become” or even “certainly not”. Of the 600+ times that “ginomai” is used, it is only twisted to mean “married” in Romans 7. As an illustration, look at how Paul used “ginomai” in the book of Romans before he got to Chapter 7:

Romans 1:3 ...concerning his Son, [Yeshua] who was born [ginomai] in the flesh a descendant of the house of David.... YMES

Romans 2:25 For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law: but if you break the law, your circumcision ‘has become’ [ginomai] uncircumcision. YMES

Romans 3:4 ‘Certainly not’ [ginomai]! ‘Let’ [ginomai] Yehovah ‘be’ [ginomai] found truthful, and every man’s words false: As it is written: “That you might be *declaired righteous*[1344]; and your speech proven victorious, during the Judgment’”. YMES

Romans 3:6 ‘Certainly not’ [ginomai]! Otherwise how will Yehovah judge the world? YMES

Romans 3:19 Now we know that whatever the law, it says to those who are under the law that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world ‘may become’ [ginomai] guilty before God.

Romans 3:19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law; that every mouth may be silenced*, and all the world ‘may become’ [ginomai] *liable of punishment*[5267] before Yehovah. YMES

Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? ‘Certainly not’ [ginomai]! On the contrary, we establish the law.

Romans 4:18... who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he ‘became’ [ginomai] the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, ‘So shall your descendants be.’

Romans 6:2 ‘Certainly not’ [ginomai]! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?

Romans 6:5 For if we ‘have been’ [ginomai] united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection....

Romans 6:15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? ‘Certainly not’! [ginomai]

Translating “ginomai” as “married” was simply a deception on the part of translators with an agenda! Perhaps they rationalized that they were trying to help God make a point that He had neglected to make!

Here is the complete definition of “ginomai”:

[The following numbers tell you how many times that the Authorized Version translated “ginomai” as “be” or “come to pass” etc.]

Here is how the passage in question is more literally translated. Keep in mind that women were treated differently in those days:

Romans 7:3-4 If, while her husband is alive, she would *appear in public*[1096] with another man, she would be considered an adulteress: but if her husband dies, she is freed from the marriage law; and would not be an adulteress tho *appearing in public*[1096][1] with another man. 4 Now, my brethren, you also have *been put to death in relation to*[2289] the marriagelaw, by the body of the Messiah; that you might *appear in public*[1096] via resurrection* from corpses*[3498]; and yield fruits for Yehovah. YMES

The real word for marry is “gameo”, Strong’s 1060, which is translated as “marry” or as “married”: AV-marry 24 [times], married 3, marry a wife 2, 29 [total]

Pope Peter?

For anyone who believes that the Bride Yeshua marries is “the church”, here is an entire chapter that you must explain away! Look carefully at this stunningly picturesque prophecy about the coming marriage of the Nations of Israel. But also notice one very important detail. We are all familiar with the creation statement, “Let us make man in Our image”. This is traditionally translated correctly, yet Isaiah 54:5 simply does not fit into Christian theology, and is altered in every translation that I am aware of!

Isaiah 54:3-15 For you shall spread aboard on the right hand and on the left; and your [descendants] shall possess the nations, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. 4 “Dont be afraid; for you shall not be ashamed: neither be confounded; for you shall not be disappointed: for you shall forget the shame of your youth; and the reproach of your widowhood you shall remember no more. 5 For your [Makers are your HUSBANDS]*; [Yehovah’] of Armies is His name: and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; the God of the whole earth shall He be called. 6 For [Yehovah] has called you as a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, even a wife of youth, when she is cast off,” says your God. 7 “For a small moment have I forsaken you; but with great mercies will I gather you. 8 In overflowing wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting loving kindness will I have mercy on you,” says [Yehovah] your Redeemer. 9 “For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah shall no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I will not be angry with you, nor rebuke you. 10 For the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed; but My loving kindness shall not depart from you, neither shall My covenant of peace be removed,” says [Yehovah] who has mercy on you. 11 “You afflicted, tossed with storms, and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in beautiful colors, and lay your foundations with sapphires. 12 I will make your pinnacles of rubies, and your gates of sparkling jewels, and all your walls of precious stones. [This parallels Revelation 21:18-21 exactly-it’s New Jerusalem and humans can even visit their ‘inheritance’.] 13 All your children shall be taught of [Yehovah]; and great shall be the peace of your children. 14 In righteousness you shall be established: you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not be afraid; and [far]from terror, for it shall not come near you. 15 Behold, they may gather together, but not by Me: whoever shall gather together against you shall fall because of you”. WEB

* The Hebrew is plural, it does NOT say “your Maker is your husband”. The shared roles of the Father and the Son are better explained in I and My Father are ONE The plain truth of the matter tho, is that They both marry! The heavy emphasis on Yeshua’s return, rather than Them both returning is simply due to the fact that only Yeshua will be seen. In fact “every eye will see Him”. (Revelation 1:7) The Father must remain humanity’s invisible God because, for as He said: “You cannot see My face, for man may not see Me and live”. So while flesh and blood may only see Yeshua their Husband, there is no reason why the Spirit born Sons of Yehovah wont see Him, for we “will see Him as He is”: (1 John 3:2, Daniel 12:3).

The concept of “Husbands”Husbands necessitates more commentary. While I have written about both The Lord AND His Christ returning together and have even speculated about both of Them being married, perhaps to different Brides, I was at a loss until I happened to discover this plurality. (In the final battle, BOTH Father and Son will be seen by the armies of the earth. Those men observing the Father will die as surely as if they had been exposed to heavy radiation, but maybe not instantaneously).

The book of Acts mentions this prophecy from Ezekiel:

Acts 4:26 The kings of the earth and the rulers stood up, and they allied*[4863], against Yehovah, AND against His Messiah. YMES

Let’s look at the source of the quote:

Zechariah 14:3-5 3 Then [Yehovah] will go out and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle. 4 His feet will stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in two, from east to west, making a very great valley. Half of the mountain will move toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5 You shall flee by the valley of my mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azel; yes, you shall flee, just like you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. [Yehovah] my God will come, and all the [Saints] with [Him]. WEB

Also as explained in The Lord and His Christ, Yeshua seems to make His first appearance on another mountain—Mount Zion.

Revelation 14:1 I looked in amazement; a Lamb stood on Mount Zion; and with Him the number of a hundred and forty and four thousand, having His name AND the name of His Father written on their foreheads. YMES

Yeshua gave up something quite extraordinary to become our visible Savior. If it were possible for the Father to “turn the lights” down occasionally to see His Bride, it would seem that He would most assuredly do so! When the one who became Yeshua first began dealing with Israel, as the Angel of the Lord, He may have had to do some sacrificing to even exist in our visible world. When He became flesh He gave up more than we can begin to imagine!

[As an aside, there is a theocratic church/state woman in prophecy, she is the polar opposite of the Bride of Yeshua, but I will simply cite a reference to her:

Revelation 18:16-18 ... saying, “Alas, alas, the great city, which was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and arrayed with gold, and precious stones, and pearls; because, in one hour, such wealth has become wasted”. 17 Every captain, and every navigator sailing anywhere, and the mariners, everyone who made their living from the sea stood far off, 18 and cried, when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, “What other city is like this great city”! YMES]

The Manichaean Wall Revisited

Having deciphered the fraudulent scriptures mentioned above, I believed that it was just a matter of time before I found positive evidence that Ephesians 5, the closest thing to a Bride text, would also exclude the Assembly of Believers in Yeshua from the marriage supper. I was content to be a guest at the wedding. I thought that “the New Assembly that Yeshua built from scratch”, would trump even the Bride.

Even some church/Bride advocates who understand that the Revelation Bride is New Jerusalem, feel that Ephesians 5 is as close as they can honestly get to proving that the church is the Bride. I viewed Ephesians 5 as a coincidental analogy. So in the first version of this chapter I rejected the following metaphoric text regarding the depth of Yeshua’s love for the Assembly as being a bride analogy. After all, it doesnt mention the word “bride”.

Ephesians 5:22-33 Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, and [the Messiah] also is the head of the Assembly, being Himself the Savior of the body. 24 But as the Assembly is subject to [the Messiah], so let the wives also be to their own husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, even as [the Messiah] also loved the Assembly, and gave Himself up for it; 26 that He might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present the Assembly to Himself gloriously, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28 Even so husbands also ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself. 29 For no man ever hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord also does the Assembly; 30 because we are members of His body, of His flesh and bones. 31 “For this cause a man will leave his father and mother, and will be joined to his wife. The two will become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is great, but I speak concerning [the Messiah] and of the Assembly. 33 Nevertheless each of you must also love his own wife even as himself; and let the wife see that she respects her husband. WEB

It finally dawned on me that there were remnants of the Manichaean wall still kicking around in my mind—remnants of hearing “we are the Bride of Christ” during the fifty years that I sat in churches. These remnant thoughts came from teachings that promoted the idea that “the church” is far superior to those primitive “Old Testament” Israelites. Yet we must realize that there could be no finer company than to “sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom from Heaven.”

The Wedding is on Judgment Day!

Revelation 21:9-12 ... “Come here. I will show you the wife, the Lamb’s bride”. 10 He carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, as if it was a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 12 having a great and high wall; having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.

Yeshua will marry both mortal Israel AS WELL AS an immortal Assembly of Saints! This does not imply that anyone will get a free ride into the Kingdom, just because they live into the Kingdom of Yehovah on earth. Physical Israel will be remarried to Yeshua—but they will be judged individually on their faithfulness to the marriage covenant.

Matthew 22:1-14 Jesus answered and spoke again in parables to them, saying, 2 “The Kingdom of Heaven [the very same Kingdom the bride will possess] is like a certain king, who made a marriage feast for his son, 3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “Behold, I have made ready my dinner. My cattle and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the marriage feast!” 5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his merchandise, 6 and the rest grabbed his servants, and treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 When the king heard that, he was angry, and sent his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. 8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited weren’t worthy. 9 Go therefore to the intersections of the highways, and as many as you may find, invite to the marriage feast.’ 10 Those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together as many as they found, both bad and good. The wedding was filled with guests. 11 But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man who didn’t have on wedding clothing, 12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here not wearing wedding clothing?’ He was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and throw him into the outer darkness; there is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.’ 14 For many are called, but few chosen.” WEB

Under circumstances like this, is it any wonder that five of the ten virgins, in the parable of Matthew 25, will not be ready for the wedding? The virgins do not represent a “church”, but they might represent the lost ten tribes of Israel (1 Kings 11:31-35). Even during the end time, many who think that they are ready for the wedding are still being fooled by “the church”. They wont be ready, but then the text does not indicate that they wont be ready to join the Kingdom some time after the wedding. If they do represent Israel, then they simply must truly have the opportunity to “go rather to those who sell [oil], and buy for yourselves....”

After the coming “time of trouble” some will be quite ready to enter into the Promised Land, others will have been prepared in advance to guide them and heal them.

The Assembly of Yehovah will become a part of the supernatural component of the Bride. But the entire 6000 year old Assembly, composed of both Israelites and proselytes will also be a part of the Bride!

There are other family relationships mentioned in regard to our ultimate spiritual relationship.

The newly remarried Israel, “the Lamb’s wife” is the Bride of the Messiah.

Yet the Assembly is also called “One new man”, as well as the Bride of the Messiah. Being set apart, “sanctified”, if you will, to be married to Yeshua, as a wife is with her husband, will certainly be cause for celebration. However, to be “sons of Yehovah” or “children of Yehovah”—“heirs” not Brides-“glorified together” with Him, in a John 17 way, is magnificent beyond human comprehension! Again, read what Paul said:

Romans 8:10-17 10 But if Messiah is in you, the body is dead, in regard to sin; and the Spirit is alive in regard to righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of Him, who raised our Master Yeshua the Messiah from the dead, lives in you; He who raised our Master Yeshua the Messiah from the dead, will also endow with life your mortal bodies, because of His Spirit that dwells in you. 12 Now we are debtors, my Brethren, not to the flesh, that we should walk according to the flesh: 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if, by the Spirit, you put to death the practices of the body, you’ll live. 14 For those who are led by the Spirit of Yehovah are the sons of Yehovah: 15 For you have not received the spirit of bondage, again to fear; but you have received the Spirit of *becoming Sons*[1], by which we cry, Abba, Father.16 This Spirit testifies to our spirit, that we are the sons of Yehovah. 17 If sons, then heirs; heirs of Yehovah, and *companion heirs*[4789] of the inheritance of Yeshua the Messiah: so that, if we suffer with Him, we will also be glorified with Him.

This is actually talking about going one step further. Instead of being the spouse of the King, some of us will become Kings outright, ruling as “kings and priests” in the Kingdom of Yehovah.

The body of Saints can be composed of anyone of any race.

Ephesians 2:6-7 For He is Himself our peace, who has made the two[1] become one, and has demolished the wall which stood in the middle, and the enmity, by His flesh; 15 Having destroyed*[2673]with His flesh the hatred* [2189] of the law of *prescribed rules* [1785] contained in *public decrees*[dogma, 1378] so that, He might make the two[1] to be one new man. In this way He made peace. YMES

[1] Both Israelites and “Gentiles” v.11.

Ephesians 3:6 ... that the Nations should share in His inheritance, and be partakers of His body, and of the promise which is given in Him by the Good News.... YMES

So now we the Bride, sons, and heirs. Yet the comparisons keep on going. Yeshua is the head of the body; we are the hands and feet and every other part! Yet we also comprise a whole “perfect man”—we will be like the Groom!

Ephesians 4:11-16 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of [the Messiah], 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, TO A PERFECT MAN, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of [the Messiah]; 14 that we should no longer be ‘children’ [male or female: Strong’s 3516], tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head-[the Messiah]-16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Now for Part 2