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"A terrible earthquake is going to break the oceanic earth crust under the Pacific Ocean by the year 1996 AD
-- The Return of Jupiter
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Exclusive: Disagreements Concerning Who The Bride of Christ Is
Posted on Monday, November 17 @ 13:25:06 PST by David Timm |
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by David Timm
In the recent past there have been some disagreements on this website concerning the identity of the bride of Christ. The 3 mains views that have been shared so far include...
1) The New Jerusalem
2) The first century church
3) All Christians past, present, and future
I view that I believe is correct is that all of the above is the correct answer and that Christ married ONE bride. You may be agreeing with me or you may be saying "How could the New Jerusalem and its children both be the bride?" You are probably asking this question because of Galatians 4:24-31.
"Gal 4:24 This is allegorically speaking, for these women are two covenants: one proceeding from Mount Sinai bearing children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar. 25 Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai (the law) in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother. 27 For it is written, "REJOICE, BARREN WOMAN WHO DOES NOT BEAR; BREAK FORTH AND SHOUT, YOU WHO ARE NOT IN LABOR; FOR MORE NUMEROUS ARE THE CHILDREN OF THE DESOLATE THAN OF THE ONE WHO HAS A HUSBAND." 28 And you brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also. 30 But what does the Scripture say? "CAST OUT THE BONDWOMAN AND HER SON, FOR THE SON OF THE BONDWOMAN SHALL NOT BE AN HEIR WITH THE SON OF THE FREE WOMAN." 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of a bondwoman, but of the free woman."
The children (vs 31) of the New Jerusalem (New Covenant; vs 24) are also the bride of Christ. Paul writes of the church (children) as being the bride in Ephesians 5:25-32.
"Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. 28 So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 30 because we are members of His body. 31 FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND SHALL BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH. 32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church."
We clearly see that the church is the bride of Christ. The church is also the body of Christ and the temple of the New Jerusalem. Christ is the chief cornerstone of this New Covenant temple and He is the temple itself.
"Eph 2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit."
"1 Cor 12:27 Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it"
"Rev 21:22 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb."
The temple that was being fit together (Eph 2:21) was completed by the time the New Jerusalem (New Covenant; Gal 4:24) came down from heaven. The first wife of God was Paul's "present Jerusalem" in Galatians 4:25 whom God divorced a long time ago but she had not yet been judged for her adulteries. This would happen during Christ's second coming (Rev 17, 18). More about this later. The text in Revelation makes it clear that the New Jerusalem was the second wife of the Lamb.
"Rev 19:7 "Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready." 8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, "Write, `Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.' " And he said to me, "These are true words of God."
Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband....9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." 10 And 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"
Some believe that the New Jerusalem cannot be the wife of the Lamb because no place does it mention that she is clothed in white linen. Isaiah 52:1 is one verse though that describes the New Jerusalem as wearing beautiful garments. This could possibly be the wedding garments. But there is only ONE verse in the entire Bible that mentions someone wearing white linen. I would think that if this was an important part of the description of a bride in the Word, it would have been mentioned many times.
"Isaiah 52:1 Awake, awake, Clothe yourself in your strength, O Zion; Clothe yourself in your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; For the uncircumcised and the unclean Will no longer come into you."
"Revelation 19:14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses."
This is the only verse that mentions someone wearing white linen. If the rapture is true this could be referring the the church (whom I believe are the wedding attendants) coming out of heaven with the bridegroom (Christ) after the wedding (2nd coming) wearing their wedding garments. I'm undecided on this verse but there are many people who believe that these armies wearing the white linen are angels. Angels are mentioned as coming along with God during judgment in both the Old and New Testaments.
"Matthew 16:27 "For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS. "
"2 Thess 1:7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire"
Revelation chapters 17 and 18 are a picture of the harlot (Old Covenant Israel; Paul's "present Jerusalem") being judged for her adultery. I'm not going to go into great detail concerning this because I'm sure most preterists would agree with me on this. Many futurists like Dave Hunt try to make this appear to be the Roman Catholic church but just by comparing a few verses we can clearly see that these chapters are referring to Jerusalem riding the Roman Empire and then being destroyed by the Romans.
"Revelation 11:8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the GREAT CITY which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified."
"Revelation 17:18 "The woman whom you saw is the GREAT CITY, which reigns over the kings of the earth."
"Matthew 23:32 "Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. 33 "You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell? 34 "Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, 35 so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 "Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation."
"Revelation 18:24 "And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth."
One picture of Old Covenant Israel meeting and then disobeying her husband is in Ezekiel 16.
"Ezekiel 16:1 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations 3 and say, `Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem, "Your origin and your birth are from the land of the Canaanite, your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 4 "As for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing; you were not rubbed with salt or even wrapped in cloths. 5 "No eye looked with pity on you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you. Rather you were thrown out into the open field, for you were abhorred on the day you were born. 6 "When I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood, I said to you while you were in your blood, `Live!' Yes, I said to you while you were in your blood, `Live!' 7 "I made you numerous like plants of the field. Then you grew up, became tall and reached the age for fine ornaments; your breasts were formed and your hair had grown. Yet you were naked and bare. 8 "Then I passed by you and saw you, and behold, you were at the time for love; so I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness. I also swore to you and entered into a covenant with you so that you became Mine," declares the Lord GOD. 9 "Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil. 10 "I also clothed you with embroidered cloth and put sandals of porpoise skin on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. 11 "I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your hands and a necklace around your neck. 12 "I also put a ring in your nostril, earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 "Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your dress was of fine linen, silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey and oil; so you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. 14 "Then your fame went forth among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you," declares the Lord GOD. 15 "But you trusted in your beauty and played the harlot because of your fame, and you poured out your harlotries on every passer-by who might be willing."
God divorced Old Covenant Israel long before she was destroyed.
"Isaiah 50:1 Thus says the LORD, "Where is the certificate of divorce By which I have sent your mother away? Or to whom of My creditors did I sell you? Behold, you were sold for your iniquities, And for your transgressions your mother was sent away."
"Jeremiah 3:8 And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also."
"Jeremiah 11:10 "They have turned back to the iniquities of their ancestors who refused to hear My words, and they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My covenant which I made with their fathers."
The Bible teaches that during the Old Testament times God allowed but did not approve of polygamous practices (Abraham, David, Solomon, etc). The Bible is very clear that a man is only to have ONE wife (Genesis 2:24) even though certain "Christian" groups and certain cults like the Mormons do not agree with me on this.
"1 Timothy 3:2 An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach"
"Titus 1:6 namely, if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion."
These groups see verses like Jeremiah 31:31,32 and they say something like "Look, God had more then one wife so we can too."
"Jeremiah 31:31 "Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD."
Here God says that He was a husband to both the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. Those within the house of Israel and the house of Judah were also under the Old Covenant and thus were married to God. God was only married to the the Old Covenant (mother, Isaiah 50:1) and by being married to the Old Covenant He was also married to those within that Old Coveant (the houses of Israel and Judah). God says in Jeremiah 31:31 that He will make in New Covenant (see Hebrews 9; see Exodus 24:8 concerning the Old Covenant) in the last days with the houses of Israel and Judah (New Covenant Israel; Gal 6:16 "Israel of God"). We know because of Galatians 4:24 and Revelation 21 that the New Jerusalem is the New Covenant and bride of Christ. The first century church (temple) is also the bride because it is within the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:22). No place in scripture does it say that the New Jerusalem went back to heaven after it came down in Revelation 21. We who place our faith in Christ today also enter the New Covenant (New Jerusalem) and by being within the New Jerusalem we are also the bride of Christ. Believers past, present, and future have had there sins forgiven though the blood of Christ and we are also the wife of Christ because we are within the city. Those who don't believe are outside the New Jerusalem (New Covenant) and thus are in their sins and will go to the lake of fire unless they place there faith in the Son of God. God didn't marry a partial city in Revelation 19, He married a complete bride. Every though that bride will change some (because of more believers entering the city) He will always be married to her.
"Hebrews 9:15 For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance."
David Timm
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David Timm is a columnist for PlanetPreterist.com. David and his wife live near Houston, Texas. After realizing the truth of preterism, he has a strong desire to share his understanding of God's words with others on Planet Preterist.
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Note: Opinions presented on PlanetPreterist.com or by PlanetPreterist.com columnists may not necessarily reflect the position of PlanetPreterist.com, or reflect the beliefs, doctrine or theological position of all other preterists. We encourage all readers to first and foremost carefully analyze all articles in the light of God's Word.
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Average Score: 4.5
Votes: 2
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Re: Disagreements Concerning Who The Bride of Christ Is (Score: 1)
 by SuperSoulFighter on Monday, November 17 @ 15:25:26 PST
(User Info | Send a Message) | Goood thoughts, Dave, and interesting observations! It's always good to hear from you and examine the Scriptures with one whose views so closely parallel my own.
Having said this, I'd like to make a couple of observations if I may. You made the following statement, toward the end of your article: "We know because of Galatians 4:24 and Revelation 21 that the New Jerusalem is the New Covenant and bride of Christ." I'm really not sure this was conclusively established in the preceding comments and texts posted in your article. You correctly identified the differing viewpoints and attempted to find evidence for the idea that the New Jerusalem and the Bride are one and the same entity.
Gal. 4:24 identifies the "Jerusalem which is above" (v.26) as the "mother of the saints" and the New Covenant (contrasted with the physical, earthly Jerusalem representing the Old Covenant in v.25). The fact that the New Jerusalem represents the New Covenant does not necessarily equate it with the Church itself. I find the fact that the Church existed on the planet, in this material, physical realm when Paul made these statements, while the New Jerusalem was still in heaven ("above") as further evidence that they are two, distinct entities.
Dave: "Some believe that the New Jerusalem cannot be the wife of the Lamb because no place does it mention that she is clothed in white linen. Isaiah 52:1 is one verse though that describes the New Jerusalem as wearing beautiful garments. This could possibly be the wedding garments. But there is only ONE verse in the entire Bible that mentions someone wearing white linen. I would think that if this was an important part of the description of a bride in the Word, it would have been mentioned many times.
"Isaiah 52:1 Awake, awake, Clothe yourself in your strength, O Zion; Clothe yourself in your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; For the uncircumcised and the unclean Will no longer come into you."
"Revelation 19:14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses."
This is the only verse that mentions someone wearing white linen. If the rapture is true this could be referring the the church (whom I believe are the wedding attendants) coming out of heaven with the bridegroom (Christ) after the wedding (2nd coming) wearing their wedding garments. I'm undecided on this verse but there are many people who believe that these armies wearing the white linen are angels. Angels are mentioned as coming along with God during judgment in both the Old and New Testaments."
Actually, Dave, Rev. 19:6-8 states the following, "6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready." 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints."
Anyway, I found your article thought-provoking and a good reminder that there is a very real need to clarify and confirm the true nature of Christ's Bride. I don't believe, for example, that we are "added to the Bride" on our conversion. That "elect number" of saints was complete forever in 70 AD. WE, I believe, are the "spiritual offspring" of Christ Jesus and His Bride. We are their spiritual descendants by faith.
Anyway - just thought I'd offer those clarifications! Thanks for re-opening a very good topic here!
Your co-laborer in the Truth,
JM
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- by preteristdave on Monday, November 17 @ 16:44:37 PST
- by SuperSoulFighter on Monday, November 17 @ 17:11:04 PST
- by preteristdave on Tuesday, November 18 @ 07:41:39 PST
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