Scripture: Revelations 21 v 9 - 12: "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 God,
11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:"
Revelations 22 v 17: "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."
Today's Bible Study is important to me because it is number 777, a number associated with Jesus Christ, as much as 666 is for the Antichrist. I asked the Lord what subject would please Him and He immediately responded, Talk about My Bride.
From the creation of man in Genesis to the last few verses of Revelations, marriage is spoken about. Eve was given as a wife to Adam, and 5 verses before the Bible ends the Spirit and the bride say to Jesus, Come. This is a long time after the Rapture of the Church, the body of Christ.
I grew up under the teaching that the church was the bride of Christ and in the Rapture would be joined to Jesus and that was the Marriage Feast of the Lamb. I never doubted it nor checked it in the Bible. Since I was shown by the Holy Spirit that the Bride is Israel, which I fiercely argued against, I have sought through scripture to find actual proof.
To my amazement there was not one scripture that said the church is His Bride. Not one! The closest one is in Ephesians 5 v 22 - 33 where Paul writes that the husband is head of the wife, even as Christ is head of the church, and He is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
I really wrestled with this passage but found in v 29 - 30: For no man ever yet hated his own flesh but nourished and cherished it even as the Lord the church: for we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. In verse 32 - This is a great mystery but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
It was only after I was led to John 3 v 29 that the mystery was revealed: "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."
John the Baptist after declaring Jesus to Israel as the Lamb of God, in the next breath shows that Jesus is the Bridegroom talking to Israel His Bride. After John's death Jesus said of him that He was the greatest prophet who ever lived! It was because he recognized Jesus as the Lamb of God and as the Bridegroom!
At the time of the Rapture, the church, the actual Body of Jesus Christ, will join Jesus who is Head of the Body back to His Body. Colossians 1 v 18: "And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence."
1 Thessalonians 4 v 16 - 17: "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
I have read up on ancient Jewish weddings as believed that they would have relevance to this subject. I discovered that they lasted for approximately seven days. The groom would make a contract of marriage, or an engagement, which would be counted as a binding marriage contract.
After he had built her a home the marriage feast would begin. At some time during this feast the groom would leave to find his bride waiting in her family home, with a lamp lit in the window. She would be in her wedding garments with her bags packed ready to leave. He would take her to his father's house where the marriage would be consummated. They would rejoin the feast for another few days of celebration.
In the revelation the Holy Spirit showed me, which took five years to complete, the marriage in Heaven, between Jesus and His Bride was about to begin. The marriage feast began with Him and His friends in Heaven, which included the archangels Gabriel, Michael and Lucifer.
At a certain point Lucifer told Jesus he needed to run an errand. Be quick said Jesus. Lucifer went to the bride and took her for himself, as he wanted to rule Heaven. The blood of her lost virginity stained the whole of Heaven.
War broke out and the Devil, formerly known as Lucifer, and all his fallen angels, were thrown out of Heaven. They took the weeping broken bride with them.
The Father called a council together which included some who would later be called "sent ones", and He asked who is going to be the ransom for the bride, as Lucifer demanded an exchange for her of one of equal or greater value? Jesus answered, I Am. All these events happened before the foundation of the world.
Zechariah 3 v 1 - 4: "And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
2 And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?
3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.
4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment."
Joshua is the Hebrew name for Jesus. The Lord is rebuking Satan the Devil, for taking Jerusalem, the Bride, and that He has plucked her out of the fire. In exchange Jesus has put on her blood-stained garments meaning that her sin has been transferred onto Him.
I believe a great distance in time on Earth came between verse 3 and 4, although in Heaven it was always in the now. But the filthy garments and the passing of iniquity happened immediately after the Resurrection of Jesus when He said to Mary Magdalene in John 20 v 17 - 19: "Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.
19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you."
It was in this instant ascension and fast return that The Bride's spiritual garments of sin, which Jesus took on Himself, were removed and the sins forgiven.
Satan fought back and to this day most Jews, sadly, do not believe that Jesus is their Messiah, Saviour, Lord or One who paid the Ransom for her. This will change when, after the Rapture, the Antichrist goes into the Holy of Holies in the rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem and declares himself God. The Jews will flee from this imposter and their eyes will be open to the truth.
The bloodstain in Heaven was covered year by year by the blood of bulls and lambs on the Day of Atonement. When Jesus died His blood covered that stain and blotted out every sin forever for those who believe.
After Jesus put on those bloodstained garments, He descended into Satan's newly formed kingdom, where He saw the fragmented body of His Bride stored in 12 containers. (This was echoed in Israel when He fed the 5000 and they collected 12 baskets of leftovers......He was trying to stir her memory!)
His Body was likewise fragmented into billions of tiny pieces now called souls. And each one became one of us humans. We not only had endured the agony and torture but had inherited the terror, anguish, disintegration of His Bride. Satan brainwashed our souls with every evil imaginable, trying to remove God the Father and Jesus from our memories.
Then Satan sent these broken bodies of the Bride and Jesus back to God. This is the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world in Revelations 13 v 8. God's plan was now to create Earth for the souls to have a human body through which the damage could be assessed and healed.
The marriage feast in Heaven was interrupted when Lucifer left the party, it will continue where it stopped after Armageddon, when the completed Bridegroom rescues His Bride. The Last Supper was a enactment of what happened in Heaven. When Judas left to betray Him, He said, What you are doing, do quickly. Every moment after that was agony for Jesus as His memories were very vivid.
The Sent Ones were people like Noah, Moses, Elijah, Samuel, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, all the apostles and of course Jesus Himself. Moses recognized Him at the Burning Bush......I Am THAT I Am who said I would be the ransom for Israel my bride. David remembered the words cried by Jesus as He left Heaven clothed in the sin of His Bride....My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me.
Isaiah chapter 6 recalls in verse 8....(Isaiah was caught up to Heaven)...Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, here I am send me. In Jeremiah 1 v 5 it talks about God saying to him, before I formed you in the womb I knew you. He is saying it to every one of us. It's all about memories being stirred and connecting people back to their original home.
A true revelation from God fits into every book of the Bible and never detracts from the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It brings us into greater understanding of who we are and who He is. We are not Jesus but we are part of Him for real. Are we an active, moving healthy, vibrant, loving, forgiving, powerful part? Or are we still outside the body through unbelief? Are we part of the body but dormant, lukewarm, self-seeking and below God's expectations?
This revelation changed my life totally. I have been privileged to see it in its entirety from 1979 when it began till now. This is the nutshell version. It contains so much more but space is limited. I hope you catch a glimpse or more of all that Jesus did for His Bride, Israel, and why His Body should love her like He does.
I would be delighted to have some feedback from you. If you would like to share some thoughts with me please e-mail me brendarethman1@gmail.com.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, what a journey in Spirit this has been with You and Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Please open the eyes and give understanding to all who read this testimony. This is the very beginning of the gospel of Jesus and tells how we came to be separated from You and our home. You have done everything possible to restore us back to You. It's up to us to bring in the harvest of souls before time is up. We ask for revival in Jesus' name. Amen.
