If you are a genuine disciple of Christ, then you are part of the Bride of Christ. You are betrothed to the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ. You should be sensing that the wedding day is at hand. The marriage of the Lamb has come. Last-minute preparations need to be made. Soon the Bride and the Bridegroom will be together in heaven, united as one forever. Anticipation builds. Excitement mounts. The Bride is checking her garments to make sure they are without spot or winkle. All this is in focus in their lives.
The Oneness Between Christ and the Church
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 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. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body. 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. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband." (Eph 5:25-33)
The relationship between Christ and the Church is a profound mystery (v. 32), which is typified by the relationship between husband and wife. This passage teaches us that Christ loves the Church (v. 25). He gave Himself up to make her holy (v. 26). Notice that making her holy is His purpose. He is coming for a holy bride, not a dirty or profane one, corrupted by the world or stained with sin. He cleanses her by washing with the Word (v. 26). Now is the time to be cleansed. We need to get rid of all spots and any dirtiness in our lives. All blemishes must go. Then when He comes for His Bride, He will present her to the Father without spot or wrinkle or any other blemish—holy and blameless. (v. 27).
The preparation leading up to that presentation does not take place without full participation on the part of the Bride. She will not be prepared if she is unrepentant, continues in sin, loves the world, sleeps at this hour, hardens her heart at the voice of the Lord, or fails to cooperate with the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Church must submit to Christ in everything, if she is to be prepared (v. 24).
The Ten Wise Virgins Prepared Themselves in Advance
"Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. But at midnight there was a shout, 'Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the prudent, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the prudent answered, 'No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.' And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. Later the other virgins also came, saying, 'Lord, lord, open up for us.' But he answered, 'Truly I say to you, I do not know you.' Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour. (Mat 25:1-13)
Although the foolish virgins failed to prepare (v. 3), the wise ones took oil in jars, along with lamps (v. 4). The ones who were ready went in with the Bridegroom to the wedding banquet. The door was shut and the foolish ones who didn’t prepare were left outside (v. 11)
The Wedding Song
Psalm 45
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil. A wedding song.
1 My heart is stirred by a noble theme
as I recite my verses for the king;
my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.
2 You are the most excellent of men
and your lips have been anointed with grace,
since God has blessed you forever.
3 Gird your sword on your side, you mighty one;
clothe yourself with splendor and majesty.
4 In your majesty ride forth victoriously
in the cause of truth, humility and justice;
let your right hand achieve awesome deeds.
5 Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies;
let the nations fall beneath your feet.
6 Your throne, O God,[c] will last for ever and ever;
a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy.
8 All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia;
from palaces adorned with ivory
the music of the strings makes you glad.
9 Daughters of kings are among your honored women;
at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir.
10 Listen, daughter, and pay careful attention:
Forget your people and your father’s house.
11 Let the king be enthralled by your beauty;
honor him, for he is your lord.
12 The city of Tyre will come with a gift,[d]
people of wealth will seek your favor.
13 All glorious is the princess within her chamber;
her gown is interwoven with gold.
14 In embroidered garments she is led to the king;
her virgin companions follow her—
those brought to be with her.
15 Led in with joy and gladness,
they enter the palace of the king.
16 Your sons will take the place of your fathers;
you will make them princes throughout the land.
17 I will perpetuate your memory through all generations;
therefore the nations will praise you for ever and ever.
This is clearly about Christ and the princess Bride. Christ is referred to as God (v. 6-7) on His throne, reigning over His Kingdom. It is confirmed in Heb 1:8-9 that this is about Christ.
Look at how the Lord is dressed for the occasion (v. 8). The Bride says, "All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; from palaces adorned with ivory the music of the strings makes you glad." The Bride is at His right hand, dressed in gold. Its says, "at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir." (v. 9).
He calls us to pledge our love to Him above our family, as He says to the Bride, "Forget your people and your father’s house" (v. 10). Paul spoke of this leaving and cleaving in Eph 5:31, when he said, "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." (Eph 5:31; cf; Mt 19:4-6). The Bride leaves her parents and cleaves to Him.
See how she is clothed so beautifully. "All glorious is the princess within her chamber;
her gown is interwoven with gold. In embroidered garments she is led to the king; her virgin companions follow her— those brought to be with her. Led in with joy and gladness, they enter the palace of the king." (v. 13-15). Therefore, the king is enthralled by her beauty (v. 11)
Another Wedding Song
Let's look at another wedding proclamation in Scripture that is found in the book of Revelation.
"Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, 'Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. 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.' 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." (Rev 19:6-8)
At the time when this proclamation is made, the Wedding of the Lamb will have come (v. 7). At that point, the bride has made herself ready (v. 7). This further confirms what we saw in Ephesians 5 and Matthew 25 that the Bride must prepare. There is emphasis placed on the fine linen, bright and clean that is given her to wear (v. 8). This is not imputed righteousness, but her own righteous acts—those of the saints (v. 8). This also agrees with Ephesians 5 about being cleansed so that she is "without spot or wrinkle or any other blemish—holy and blameless."
A beatitude is spoken over those invited to the wedding: 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." (Rev 19:9)
The Bridegroom Cometh!
The message to the Church right now is wake up, the Bridegroom cometh!
"And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, 'KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.' Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, 'Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.' And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh." (Rev 19:11-21)
In this passage we see the Bridegroom coming in splendor and majesty. He is riding on a white horse (v. 11), dressed in a robe dipped in blood (v. 13), His eyes are like blazing fire (v. 12), and on His head are many crowns (v. 12). He is King of kings and Lord of lords. (v. 16). The armies of heaven were following Him on white horses, dressed in fine, white, clean linen. (v. 14). What a glorious moment that will be!
We are told that the reason He has a sharp sword proceeds from His mouth (v. 15) is to strike down the nations. If the Church loves the world, then she will be among those the Bridegroom comes to strike down. As James says, friendship with the world is enmity with God.
You see, He’s coming to rule with an iron scepter (v. 15). He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty (v. 15). He is not coming to die on the cross again, He is coming to take His Bride and take vengeance on the enemies of God. He is coming to kill the enemies of God (v. 21).
Revelation to Boy About the Lord's Wedding Day
I have previously written an article called The Day of Our Lord's Wedding is at Hand, in which I reported on a revelation from Jesus Christ given to a teenage boy in 2013.
He saw Jesus dressed in a white suit like He was going to a wedding. He said with a meek voice, “One more chance. Repent. My marriage is at hand. Repent before I come. May the grace of my Father rest upon the heads.” The Lord also said, "I have sent my angel proclaiming with a loud voice, 'Behold, the day of our Lord’s wedding is at hand.' Repent! The Lord has spoken."
Putting it All Together
It’s not time to sit on the fence or be half-hearted about serving the Lord. It’s not time to be in love with the world. It’s all going to be destroyed very shortly. This is a wake up call going out to all sleeping virgins: The Bridegroom cometh! It’s time for the Bride to make herself ready.
Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Psalm 45 taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®. "Behold He Comes" painting © 2012 Danny Hahlbohm, all rights reserved by the artist.
Author's note: You must take responsibility for your own actions. Nobody knows the day or the hour, and in no way am I date setting. This is only to provide you with information, so that you can make your own decisions, for which you will be accountable to God.
If you enjoyed this post, you may also like The Contractions Are Coming Closer Together, Something is Going on in 2017, The Vegas Massacre Marks a New Chapter, Prophetic End Time Warnings from Little Children, America's Doom Punctuated by a Boom!, Wars and Rumors of Wars, The 311 Moment, The Land Mourns in the Last Days, The End Time Plagues, Peace, Safety, and the Thief in the Night, Outline of Endtime Events, Urgent End Time Warning from the Lord, The Coming Wrath of God, Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster, my daughter's poem, The Midnight Hour, and the other posts in this blog available through the Signs of the Times Directory. I also recommend my daughter's music video called The Coming. You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."
Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?
“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and believe.
Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"
_________________________________________________
Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.
No comments:
Post a Comment