Who is the Messiah’s Bride?
Who Are The Servants At The Wedding?
Chapter 28, Part 1 Preview: This really shouldn’t be an issue. It should be readily apparent who she is—yet few people know! You have probably been taught that the marriage supper is between “Christ and His Church”. Could Revelation 21 simply be elaborating on the same marriage that was prophesied about by the prophets of old? Are there two marriages? Is there a connection between this jubilant time and the restoration of Israel?
“The first occurrence of the word “bride,” (Kalah), as applied to the Bride of Yehovah, is in Isaiah 49:18. This fixes the meaning of the term as applying only to Israel, and not to the Church, which is “the Body of Christ,” part of “Christ mystical”; in other words, part of the Bridegroom. We are thus pointed to the fact that Israel is the Bride. Compare Isaiah 61:10, Isaiah 62:5” —E.W. Bullinger.
[WARNING: Before saying anything else, let me make one thing clear: It could be deadly (Matthew 24:15-23) for spiritual Israelites (Galatians 6:16) to consider immigrating to Israel now, as some people are teaching! The physical descendants of Israel’s 12 tribes and non Israelites wise enough to join them (Ezekiel 47:12-23) will have an opportunity to inherit land in the coming 12 tribed nation of Israel. (Should We Move To Israel Now?):
Ezekiel 47:22 You will divide the inheritance by lots among yourselves and among the foreigners who live among you. They will be like native-born Israelites, and they will be allotted an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. —Gabriel Bible
This will be at the end of the Great Tribulation—as a result of the Second Exodus!
Jeremiah 23:6-8 In his lifetime, Judah will be delivered, and Israel will live in safely. This is the name that He will be given, ‘Yehovah [Jehovah] Our Righteousness!’ 7 That’s why the time will come,” declares Yehovah, “When people will no longer say ‘As Yehovah lives, who 'sprung' the Israelites from the land of Egypt.’” 8 Instead, they’ll say, ‘As surely as Yehovah lives, who brought about the 'exodus' of the descendants of the family of Israel from the North Country, and from all the countries where He had banished them.’ Then they’ll live in their own land.
However spiritual Israelites “from every tribe and language and people and nation” will either be resurrected or instantaneously changed (1 Corinthians 15:51-52) to spirit and rule over the nation of Israel as kings and priests. (Revelation 5:9-10), but they are definitely distinct from the people who will settle the land and raise generations of Israelites into the millennium!]
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Be Serving At The Wedding Supper!
While it may seem strange, I believe that it is more advantageous to introduce the “servants” before introducing the bride into this chapter!
I have heard people teach about the Bridegroom, the Bride, the Ten Virgins awaiting the wedding (Matthew 25, Revelation 21-22), those invited to the wedding, and even the guests who were brought in off of the streets for the wedding (Matthew 22), all of my life, but I have never heard of anyone really crediting the SERVANTS who make the wedding and the wedding supper possible, with even an honorable mention. The SERVANTS are always in the background, seldom if ever really noticed. Yet when the relevant accounts are read, and we will, we see that the bride is half asleep, there is a shameful list of prospective guests who refuse to attend, some even murdering the SERVANTS who invite them. There are other guests being replaced with people, seemingly at random. And John the Immerser saying that he is the best man. This is no ordinary wedding!
Matthew 22:1-10 As He was approaching Jerusalem and had arrived in Bethphage, beside the Mount of Olives, Yeshua (Jesus) sent two of His disciples ahead, 2 and had told them, “Go into this village ahead of you, and immediately you’ll find a donkey tied and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to Me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, tell them, ‘The Master needs them’, and he will send them here at once.” 4 This all took place in fulfillment of what the prophet had spoken when he said, 5 “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Your King comes to you, humble, and riding on an donkey along with a colt, the foal of a pack animal.’” 6 The disciples left and did as Yeshua had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put their coats on the colt, and Yeshua sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their coats on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowd that went ahead of Him and those who followed Him shouted, “Aloha [God] save the son of David, blessed is the One who comes in the name of YHVH (Yehovah), Aloha in the highest Heaven save Him.” 10 As He entered Jerusalem, the whole city was shaken with commotion and they asked, “Who is this?”
So the servants inviting people to the wedding feast are prophets, teachers and martyrs.
In ancient Jewish weddings, the sources I checked say the wedding feast followed the actual wedding by a week. The bride and groom were to spend a week together before the wedding supper in a bridal chamber, before returning to the bridegroom’s father’s house.
“Mirth and gladness announced their approach to townspeople waiting in houses along the route to the bride’s house.” As soon as the moving torches were spotted, it signaled the groom’s approach, a cry went out, “The bridegroom is coming.” Upon hearing this shout, the bride would slip into her wedding dress and complete her final marriage preparations. The groom did not enter the bride’s home, the bride came out to meet him. Then the bridegroom with his bride accompanied by their wedding party returned to the bridegroom’s father’s house for the marriage ceremony.” —alwaysfollowthetruth (NOTE: Quotations are not endorsments of whole books or articles.)
In the Song of Songs (Solomon) account, said to be the ultimate account of Yeshua’s wedding, we have the Shulamite bride turning away her husband in her dream state!
Song of Songs 5:2-8 I was sleeping, but I was beginning to awaken. It is the voice of my beloved who knocks; “Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled; because my head is covered with dew, and my hair with the dampness of the night”. 3 She replied I’ve taken off my robe. Indeed, must I put it on again? I’ve washed my feet, must I soil them? 4 My beloved put his hand on the door opening. My emotions were all astir for him. 5 I got up to open for my beloved. My hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with liquid myrrh, on the handles of the lock. 6 I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had left; and had gone away. My thoughts went out when he spoke. I looked for him, but I didn’t find him. I called him, but he didn’t answer. 7 The watchmen who go about the city found me. They beat me. They bruised me. The keepers of the walls took my robe away from me. 8 I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him that I am faint with love.
This is commonly thought to represent Yeshua knocking on the door of the wedding chamber, and I would agree. Because the bride was asleep, and the Bridegroom apparently couldn’t even open the door, Yeshua left His bride. By the time the bride was ready to respond to Yeshua, He had left. We need to ask where He would have gone, and why the bride was beaten up by the watchmen.
We know from the account in Matthew 25 that all ten bridesmaids (virgins) fell asleep awaiting the surprise arrival of the bridegroom. The surprise arrival was traditional, but the bridesmaids sleeping with half of their lights going out certainly wasnt. By contrast Yeshua’s servants are not indifferent hired help, they are in fact really His Friends!
John 15:14-16 You are My Friends IF you obey everything I command you. 15 I don’t call you servants anymore, because a servant doesnt know what his Master is doing, but I have called you My Friends, because I’ve revealed everything to you that I’ve heard from My Father. 16 You haven’t selected Me, but I’ve selected you, and I’ve established you so that you can also go and yield fruit that will last, and He’ll give you whatever you ask for in My Father’s name.
Now let’s compare Yeshua’s servants/friends to the bridesmaids. By getting a contextual running head start, we see that those who are about to be addressed are compared to servants preparing for the great event that follows the wedding! Yeshua’s servants are dressed for action, and their lamps will still be burning. This appears to be a deliberate contrast to the “ten virgins”! They are the “little flock” who are to receive a Kingdom!
Luke 12:31-35 But strive for the Kingdom of YHVH and all of these things will be given to you as well. 32 Don’t be afraid little flock, because your Father is delighted to give you the Kingdom. 33 Sell your property and give to those in need. Make yourselves moneybags that will never wear out, and an inexhaustible treasure in Heaven where no thief can get near it or any moth can eat it. 34 Your treasure is in your minds! 35 Be dressed for action and keep your lamps burning.
Now here, continuing in the context, we come to THE MOST IMPORTANT PART. This tells you exactly who the servants/friends are!
Luke 12:36-40 Be like people who expect their master to return, so that when he returns from the wedding festivity [1], and he comes and knocks, they’ll open the door for him immediately. 37 The master’s servants will be blessed [or elated] when he comes, and he finds them still awake. It’s certain he’ll dress himself for service, but have them lean back at the table, and ‘he’ll’ come over and serve them! 38 Whether in the second watch, or in the third, when he comes and finds them still awake, those servants will be blessed. 39 But be sure of this, if the owner of the house had known the exact watch when the thief was coming, he would have been awake and wouldn’t have allowed his house to be broken into. 40 So be ready, because the Human Son will return at a time when you’re not expecting Him.”>
[1] Gamos is “a wedding or marriage festival, a wedding banquet, a wedding feast.” Contrast these wedding servants, awake and prepared with their lamps burning, to the ten sleeping virgins of Matthew 25!
This strongly suggests Yeshua’s wedding week; perhaps revealing what time of year the Wedding Supper will be. Yet the Aramaic and Greek are not definitive as to precisely when during the customary wedding week is being spoken of. This would explain why Yeshua’s dear servants could still be busy making preparations for the Supper at the end of the week, I don’t believe that the servants miss out on any of the main events.
This is where I believe Yeshua would go when His bride had drifted off to sleep and He couldn’t open the door. He would go and hang out at His house, away from the sleepy bride.
Might it actually be better to be a servant of the Master, as He returns FROM the Wedding festivities, before the Wedding Supper, than to be the bride? Maybe ask one of these guys.
Titus 1:1 From Paul, a servant of Yehovah and an envoy of Yeshua (Jesus) Messiah, ‘advancing’ the faith of YHVH’s select, and their knowledge of the truth that leads toward Aloha,
James 1:1 From “James” [Yakub, “Jacob”], a servant of Yehovah and of our Master Yeshua Messiah, to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion [Gr. diaspora] among the nations. Greetings.
2 Peter 1:1 From Simon Peter, a servant and envoy of Yeshua Messiah, to those who have received equally precious faith with us, thru the righteousness of Our Master and Life Giver, Yeshua Messiah.
Jude 1:1 From Jude, a servant of Yeshua (Jesus) Messiah, and brother of James. To those who are invited and loved by Yehovah the Father, and kept safe by Yeshua Messiah.
Revelation 1:1 ... to His SERVANT John.
Now why was the bride in the Song of Songs beaten up by the watchmen? What do watchmen have to do with the wedding story?
To hear other people explain this wedding, the week in the wedding chamber represents the joyful stay of the bride with her groom, following a rapture and seven full years of Great Tribulation. I agree that there is a seven year period, explained in Daniel 9, and even that there is a seven year period associated with the wedding, traditionally alluded to in Genesis 29:27, but this is where I believe that the story has been twisted. Let’s revisit the account in Song of Solomon:
Song of Songs 5:7 The watchmen who ‘patrol’ the city found me. They beat me. They bruised me. The watchmen of the walls took my robe away from me.
While the bridegroom was gone, the bride was abused by the watchmen. The watchmen are supposed to be our protectors, but in some prominent places in the Bible they are wolves in sheep’s clothing!
Isaiah 56:10-11 His watchmen are blind, they are all ignorant, they are all mute dogs, they can’t bark, dreaming, lying down, loving to sleep. 11 Yes, the dogs are greedy, they can never have enough, and these are shepherds who don’t understand, they’ve all gone their own ways, all looking for money, by any extreme.
Jeremiah 6:17-19 I set watchmen over you, saying, “Listen to the sound of the trumpet”; but they said, “We won’t listen”. 18 So hear, you nations, and know, congregation, what is among them. 19 Hear, earth; look, I will bring evil on these people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not listened to My words; and as for My Torah, they have rejected it.
The bride’s watchmen will cause her to enter a seven year period, punctuated by Israel’s Great Tribulation! The collective bride (the 12 end time Israelite nations) and half of the collective bridesmaids (virgins) will accompany her into the Great Tribulation, but later into the Restored Israel, and the collective foolish half of the bridesmaids won’t yet be ready and will likely just go away not suffering the Tribulation destined for Israel. (Much of the rest of the world will suffer during the Day of Yehovah, immediately following the tribulation.)
Who are the foolish virgins of Matthew 25? If the root word of foolish, musterion (not the word itself) is of any help, we see righteous people who have been deceived by a mystery religion. Could this be the Mystery Babylon of Revelation 5?
Musterion 1) hidden thing, secret, mystery 1a) generally mysteries, religious secrets, confided only to the initiated and not to ordinary mortals 1b) a hidden or secret thing, not obvious to the understanding 1c) a hidden purpose or counsel 1c1) secret will 1c1a) of men 1c1b) of God: the secret counsels which govern God in dealing with the righteous, which are hidden from ungodly and wicked men but plain to the godly 2) in rabbinic writings, it denotes the mystic or hidden sense 2a) of an OT saying 2b) of an image or form seen in a vision 2c) of a dream
Yeshua is knocking on His Bride’s door, as well as His Servants. Most of the seven Assemblies (“churches”) of Revelation 2-3 will also experience the Great Tribulation. Notice Laodicea’s closed door:
Revelation 3:14-20 “To the Messenger of the assembly in Laodicea write: ‘The Aw-main, the Witness, the Faithful, the True, the Originator of YHVH’s creation, says: 15 ‘I know your works, that you are neither hot or cold. I wish that you were either cold or hot. 16 So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot or cold, I’m about to vomit you from My mouth. 17 You say, ‘I’m rich and I don’t need anything’, not realizing that you are sick, miserable, destitute, blind and naked! 18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, so that you’ll actually become rich, and buy white clothing from Me so that you can clothe yourself, and the shame of your nakedness won’t be so apparent, and eye salve for yours eyes, so that you can see. 19 I admonish and discipline everyone I love. So be zealous and make amends. 20 I have been standing at the door knocking. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I’ll come in to them and eat with them, and they with Me.
Note Philadelphia’s open door:
Revelation 3:8-11 I know your works. Look, I have put an open door in front of you that no one can shut, because you have a little strength and you’ve kept My Word and haven’t denied My name! 9 I have something for those of the cabal of Satan who claim to be Jews and arent, but lie, I’ll make them come and worship before your feet, and realize that I have loved you! 10 Since you’ve patiently obeyed My Word, I’ll protect you from the Hour of Trial that is coming to the entire inhabited world, to test those who live on the earth. 11 I AM COMING QUICKLY! Hold tightly onto what you have, so that no one takes your crown.
There actually is a way to escape the great Tribulation for many of the servants, in of all places New Jerusalem! But some of the very servants of Yeshua will fail to be included at the wedding due to poor behavior (they won’t be included in the Kingdom):
Luke 12:45-48 But if the head servant thinks to himself, ‘My master is postponing his return’, and starts beating the men and women servants and starts wining and dining and getting drunk, 46 that servant’s master will come on a day when he isn’t expecting him, and at a time of day when he doesnt suspect, and will cut him in two, and relegate his destiny with the unbelievers. 47 The servant who knew what his master wanted, but wouldn’t do as he was instructed will be beaten with many stripes, 48 while the person who did something deserving stripes in ignorance will be beaten with fewer stripes. Much is required of anyone who is given much, and much is expected from anyone who has been entrusted with much.
All symbolism aside, the wedding appears to be Israel’s agreement to reoccupy “marry” the land of Israel—the New Israel, not just the piece of it that the Jews have now:
Isaiah 62:2-5 The nations will see Your righteousness, and every king Your splendor, and you will be called by a new name, that Yehovah will specify by name. 3 You will also be a crown of splendor in Yehovah’s hand, and a royal diadem in Elohim’s (God’s) hand. 4 You will no longer be called Forsaken; nor will your land be called Desolate any more; but you will be called ‘Hephzibah’ [Literally “My delight is in her”], and your land ‘Beulah’ [Literally; to marry]; because Yehovah will delight in you, and your land will be married. 5 Just as a young man marries a virgin, your sons will marry you [the land of Israel]; and as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, that is how your Elohim will rejoice over you.
This special wedding celebration ends with both good and bad news. Finally guests arrive; but some don’t belong:
Matthew 22:9-14 Now go to the entrances of the city and invite everyone you find to the banquet’. 10 So the servants went out to the crossroads and gathered together everyone they found, both bad and good, and the banquet hall was filled with guests. 11 When the king came in to see the guests he saw a man there who wasn’t wearing festive clothes. 12 He asked him, “Friend, how did you get in here without festive clothes?” But he was speechless. 13 Then the king told his “deacons”, “Tie his hands and his feet and throw him into the outer darkness, there will be crying and grinding of teeth. 14 Many guests are invited [kletos], but few have chosen” to participate.
These servants will go on to become Kings and Priests in the Everlasting Kingdom, serving the bride for at least the next one thousand years!
Going a step further, the best man is also mentioned by name! He said it himself:
John 3:29 The man holding the bride’s hand is the Bridegroom. The Bridegroom’s best man stands by His side and listens to Him and celebrates when he hears the Bridegroom’s voice. So my anticipated joy has been realized!
No, John won’t be “part of the bride”.
Who is the Messiah’s Bride?
All of my life I have been told that we should strive to be a part of the Lamb’s Bride. After all, virtually everyone teaches that being the “Bride of Christ” is the fantastic blessing of blessings that all of “Elohim’s (God’s) kadishea (saints)” should strive to become—an unsurpassable gift! But could Elohim have in mind, for His true Followers, a reward that even surpasses being His bride? Could it be that all of those Bible verses that the churches say are in reference to them, actually pertain to another group of people becoming the bride? After all, do the verses admonish the kadishea to be a part of the “bride”, or are we to be a part of the very “body of Christ”—the body of the bridegroom? If the bride proves not to be the Assembly of Yehovah (“Church of God”), then who will be married? Read on to find answers from the Bible in this all encompassing study.
There are numerous Scriptures referring to Israel’s tenuous marriage proposal, where a reluctant bride-to-be 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 Elohim’s “chosen people” are blessed—at the restoration of Israel. Many of the verses that the churches say pertains to them actually pertain to the twelve tribes of Israel. A prime example is the 144,000 firstfruits of Revelation 14:1-5, that 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 exuberant and praise Him, because the Marriage Banquet of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready. 8 She was given fine linen clothing to wear, bright and pure, because fine linen represents the righteousness of the kadishea. 9 He told me, “Write this, ‘Those who are called to the Marriage Banquet of the Lamb are blessed.’” Then he told me, “These are the true words of YHVH.”
We see that the fine wedding linen represents “the righteousness of the kadishea”. Here, if we were to look no further is the basis for the Church/Bride theory. But who are the kadishea? Traditional teachings would have you believe that Christians, or only special Christians, are the kadishea. Yet, if you look at the many Hebrew references to the kadishea it becomes apparent that the “kadishea” are Elohim’s people Israel, as well as “the Israel of Elohim”, His grafted in kadishea. We can’t base a marriage on a single reference to the word “kadishea”, especially when so many other Scriptures specify exactly who is to be married. Nor do the “righteous acts” preclude the kadishea of old; in fact most of the references to the “righteous” are from the “old” Hebrew Scriptures, not to mention the faithful patriarchs listed in “the faith chapter”: Hebrews 11.
Look down a little further in the chapter:
Revelation 19:17-18 I saw a Messenger standing in front of the sun, and he shouted to all the birds flying in midair, “Come, gather for the great supper of YHVH, 18 so that you can eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains of thousands, the flesh of valiant men, the flesh of horses and their riders, the flesh of everyone both free and slave, those of little status and the highly esteemed.”
As I mention in “I and My Father Are One”, Part 3, (that incidentally explains who the Bridegroom is), concerning this and Luke 12 below:
“This alludes to an earthly wedding—a wedding where there are wicked people present, who will be cast from the wedding into “outer darkness”! At this wedding “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 22:13). So the Marriage Supper is the same as the separation of the sheep from the goats—Judgment Day!
“The wedding supper does not sound very appetizing either, unless you understand that at this time, the nations of Israel have just been freed from their captors. The captors are destroyed and Elohim’s renewed relationship with His ancient bride will now resume. It’s the knight slaying the dragon and marrying the princess scenario again, leaving the dragon’s body (in this case, the Beast’s body!) for the buzzards.”
And as I mention in Jubilee 2027:
“Not only does this say that “the Church” (Greek: Assembly) will not marry, in the Kingdom, but SPECIFICALLY, it is at the very resurrection associated with the “wedding supper”, that they do not marry! You have probably always heard that this marriage supper was for Yeshua and His “Church”. Could John’s quotation of Yeshua actually have been referring to a marriage that was alluded to at a much earlier time? Might the marriage actually be the jubilant time when His kadishea are blessed; the time that I believe typifies what the Jubilee actually commemorates—the restoration of Israel? I believe that it is. A great many Bible verses that the churches say pertains to them actually pertain to the twelve tribes of Israel. A salient introduction to this topic is The Actual Message of Matthew 24.” (Note: Richard Fix now rejects the Bible!)
Here is another factor that, it would appear; no one has taken the time to examine. Could Yeshua marry “the body of Christ”— His own body?
1 Corinthians 12:12-27 Just as a body has many parts, and all of the many parts of the body still form a single body, so it is with the Messiah. 13 Similarly, all of us have been immersed into one body by one spirit, whether Jews or Arameans, whether slaves or free, and we were all allowed a drink into one spirit. 14 The body isn’t one part, but many... 27 Now you are the body of the Messiah, each member is one of the constituent parts of a whole.
We start our relationship with Yeshua as a servant, then we become friends—friends so close that figuratively we share the same body; much like Elohim and His Son.
For those people who believe that the bride is the “church”, here is an entire chapter that you must explain away! Is Elohim a polygamist? Is He to marry both mortal Israel AND an immortal Assembly of kadishea? Look carefully at this prophecy about the wedding of Nation of Israel.
Isaiah 54:3-15 You’ll spread aboard toward the right and toward the left, and your descendants will possess the nations and inhabit the desolate cities. 4 Don’t be afraid, because you won’t be ashamed or humiliated and you won’t be disgraced, because you’ll forget the shame of your youth. You won’t remember the stigmatism of widowhood. 5 Your Makers are your HUSBANDS [yes, both are plural search wordmakers], Yehovah the ‘Warrior’ King is His name, and the Kadosh One of Israel is your Redeemer. He is called the Elohim of the entire earth. 6 Yehovah has called you like a deserted wife tormented by grief, like a wife rejected early in life”, says your Elohim. 7 For a brief moment I let you alone, but with infinite compassion I’ll bring you back. 8 In a spurt of anger I hid My face from you momentarily, but with eternal love I’ll have compassion on you”, says Yehovah your Redeemer. 9 This is like the waters of Noah to Me, because as I’ve sworn that the waters of Noah will no longer go over the earth, so have I sworn that I won’t be angry with you, or reprimand you. 10 The mountains may depart, and the hills be removed, but My loving kindness won’t depart from you, nor will My covenant of peace be removed”, declares Yehovah who has mercy on you. 11 You who are afflicted, and tossed by storms, and not comforted, look, I’ll set your stones in beautiful colors, and lay your foundations with sapphires. 12 I’ll make your pinnacles of rubies, and your gates of sparkling jewels, and all your walls of precious stones. 13 All your children will be taught by Yehovah, and your children will experience great peace. 14 You’ll be established in righteousness. You’ll be far from oppression, and you won’t be afraid of anything because nothing terrible will come near you. 15 Look, they may gather together, but not by Me. Whoever gathers together against you will fall because of you.
The Husband will remarry His bride Israel.
Jeremiah 3:14 Return, backsliding children, says Yehovah; because I am to be married to you: and I will take one of you from this city, and two from that family, and I will bring you to Zion.
Under the Previous Covenant (Exodus 20:1-24:7), Elohim had been a “Husband” to Ancient Israel:
Jeremiah 31:31-32 “The time is coming”, declares Yehovah, “when I’ll make a New Covenant with the family of Israel, and with the family of Judah, 32 Unlike the Covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt, (My Covenant that they broke, tho I was married to them, declares Yehovah):
As an aside, this woman is in deliberate contrast to the other woman of prophecy:
Revelation 18:16-18 and saying, “How terrible, how terrible it is for the great city! She was clothed in fine linen, purple and scarlet clothes, and was adorned with gold, gemstones and pearls, 17 and in one hour, all of this wealth has been destroyed ”. Every captain and every navigator sailing anywhere, mariners, anyone making their living from the sea stood in the distance. 18 When they saw the plumes of smoke rising from her flames, they cried, “What other city is like this great city?”
How did the idea that the Assembly (Church) is the focal point of Bible prophecy, rather than the instrument that Elohim created to teach, among other things, about the prophecies concerning Israel come about? This teaching, commonly called “Replacement Theology”, is clearly traced to Augustine’s (354-430 AD) “Sermon Against the Jews”. Doing a web search on “Replacement Theology” will uncover lots of leads. Within these articles you can specifically search for the name “Augustine”.
If the term “Replacement Theology” is new to you I highly recommend that you read Replacement Theology , Its Origins, Teachings and Errors.
Now for Part 2
Here is the ADDENDUM (or appendix)
