The Bride of Messiah
Messiah is the bridegroom…..
Mark 2:18 And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not? 19 And Yah’shua said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.
John 3:28 Ye yourselves bear me (i.e. John the Baptist) witness, that I said, I am not the Messiah, but that I am sent before him. 29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
Isaiah 54:5 For thy Maker is thine husband; Yahweh of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The Elohim of the whole earth shall he be called.
And the kahal (Hebrew for the body of believers) is His bride…..
Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Sovereign. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Messiah is the head of the kahal: and he is the saviour of the body. 24 Therefore as the kahal is subject unto Messiah, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. 25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Messiah also loved the kahal, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious kahal, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
And let us be glad and rejoice in the coming Marriage Supper of the Lamb. That is Messiah as the bridegroom and His kahal as His bride!
Revelation 19:5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our Elohim, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. 6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Sovereign Yahweh omnipotent reigneth. 7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of Yahweh.
Ezekiel 16:8 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Sovereign Elohim, and thou becamest mine. 9 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil. 10 I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers’ skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk. 11 I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck. 12 And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head. 13 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom. 14 And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Sovereign Elohim.
Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in YAHWEH, my soul shall be joyful in my Elohim; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
Isaiah 62:5 For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy Elohim rejoice over thee.
Romans 7:4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Messiah; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto Yahweh.
And the marriage of Messiah (bridegroom) and the kahal (bride) mirrors the marriage of man and wife. That is after marriage, they shall become one. Not that they become one being but one in the sense of character and purpose.
Ephesians 5:31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Messiah and the kahal. 33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband
Genesis 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Matthew 19:4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, 5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? 6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore Yahweh hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
1 Corinthians 6:16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. 17 But he that is joined unto the Sovereign is one spirit.
Unlike the marriage between man and wife, the marriage of Messiah (bridegroom) and the kahal (bride) is for eternity in the New Heavens and Earth!
Revelation 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from Yahweh out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of Yahweh is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and Yahweh himself shall be with them, and be their Elohim. 4 And Yahweh shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his El, and he shall be my son. 8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. 9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife. 10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from Yahweh,
If you believe that the bride only consists of believers of this age and ages past, then you would think the culmination of the Marriage Supper would occur right before or at the start of Messiah’s 1,000-year reign. Instead, Scriptures talk about New Jerusalem “coming down from Yahweh out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” at the end of the ages. This allows for believers in a future age after Messiah’s 1,000 year reign (i.e. Last Great Day) to be part of the Bride of Messiah. Yes believers in this age and ages past will be the Bride of Messiah at His Second Coming, but the finality of the marriage supper does not occur until there is a New Jerusalem.
New Jerusalem includes all the saints whether in ages past, this age, or ages to come (i.e. Last Great Day). Scriptures are clear, those who are allowed to enter New Jerusalem are those who believed and obeyed Yahweh’s Commandments. Therefore New Jerusalem contains all of Yahweh’s saints and is the Bride of Messiah.
Revelation 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city (New Jerusalem).
Also, we see in Revelation 19:7, the Marriage of the Lamb, that His wife is arrayed in fine linen. The fine linen symbolizes the righteousness of all saints, not just believers in this age and ages past. Therefore we can again conclude all saints from all the ages are the Bride of Messiah. This is clarified in the Parable of the Laborers.
Matthew 20:1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. 2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. 5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? 7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. 8 So when even was come, the master of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. 9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. 10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. 11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, 12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. 13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? 14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? 16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
We also have the parable of the Marriage Feast found in the Book of Matthew. Yahweh initially invites His chosen people, the Israelites, to the Marriage Feast. But they made light of the invitation, even killing Yahweh’s prophets and their Messiah. And because of this, Yahweh scattered them from their homeland and destroyed the Holy City of Jerusalem.
Matthew 22:1 And Yah’shua answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, 2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 3 And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. 4 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. 5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: 6 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. 7 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.
Because some of the Israelites rejected Yahweh’s invitation to the Wedding Feast, the Almighty opened up the invitation to Gentiles. Both good and bad and as many as they could find. This invitation of Gentiles started on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) and will culminate at the end of the Last Great Day. That is the end of the ages.
We see that some that were invited to the Wedding Feast did not have on a wedding garment, which is the fine linen, clean and white, of righteous saints (Revelation 19:8). And for not having on a wedding garment, they were cast into outer darkness where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. This outer darkness is synonymous with the Lake of Fire, which occurs after the White Throne Judgement at the end of the ages. Therefore those invited to the Wedding Feast, that have on the fine white linen of obedience and are Yahweh’s saints must include all those who were invited from all ages.
Matthew 22:8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. 11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
Based on all we discussed, Messiah is the bridegroom, the kahal, that is all saints from all ages, is the bride and the Marriage Supper culminates at the coming of New Jerusalem in the New Heavens and Earth (Revelation 21:2).
HalleluYah
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