The Bride of Christ

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

I’m writing this in response to a reader who commented on our blog last week about the “pre-tribulation” position that I and many evangelicals hold.

I must remind our readers, on both sides of the issue, that we are first and foremost
Christians! We are followers of the “Way”, believers in the one true avenue to God the
Father…Jesus the Son. Because of this, we must treat one another with loving
kindness, respect and patience. We must remember that though we are all born into
the same family as believers, like earthly brothers and sisters, we cannot and will not
end up living in the same house. Some will live in Baptist houses while others will live in
Lutheran houses. Why? Because of our own sinful, earthly natures we just don’t seem
to be able to “get along”. James chapter 4 gives us insight into why we treat each other
badly, why we choose to fight and quarrel with each other…motive. There is nothing
wrong with questioning, discussing or even having a healthy argument as long as we do
so in love and respect! According to God’s Word, I cannot condemn you as a heretic
and take you to the city gate and stone you to death for holding a “pre-trib”, “post-trib” or
“no-trib” view of eschatology.

With that said, I do believe that after more than 35 years of reading and studying God’s
Word, that He has placed His truth within those pages. I also believe that He intends for
us, through His Holy Spirit, to know that truth! I do not believe that the God of all
creation would play some maniacal guessing game with his followers about the most
crucial and dangerous times in church history. At the same time, I do believe that the
adversary (Satan) would do just that very thing! After all…who is the author of
confusion, bickering, and deception? Who would stand to gain if the Church in the very
last days was confused or unsure of what was happening around them? Satan is also
an expert in human nature and since the Garden of Eden he has been playing on our
fears, our desires and most of all our trust in God’s Word. Does He really mean what
He says or is He just speaking figuratively? Well, Adam and Eve found out first hand in
Genesis chapter 3 that God in fact means what He says and says what He means!

I was reminded, as I researched articles on both sides of the rapture isle, of the deep
seated feelings of anger and hatefulness that emanate from the anti pre-tribber’s toward
those of us who understand God’s Word differently. It’s not just that we have a different
view; it’s that it is an inferior and un-intelligent view that must be eradicated from all of
Christendom!
Because of this strong visceral reaction to anything pre-trib I am going to choose a
different approach. Instead of going back over the old ground of hermeneutics,
etymology or even the history of a pre-trib theology, (you’re welcome to view those at
our web site www.fbiministries.com – articles) I will, instead, ask you to consider your
own personal position in the Lord Jesus Christ. Who is Jesus to you? Who are you to
Jesus and what do you expect from Him?

I can almost hear the feathers ruffle up as many of you answer these questions as
almost rhetorical. He is my Savior, Lord of Lords, King of Kings, etc. But how many of
you immediately thought of “Bridegroom”? Oh yea…well, that too. Knowing who the
God of the universe is to me through His Son Jesus makes the whole rapture/tribulation
issue crystal clear! I know, I know…how could little ole me know what men and women
with Phd’s can’t agree on? It’s settled for me because I am sure of who God and Jesus
are to me and who I am to them. Knowing this informs me of how both will act toward
me and conversely how they expect me to act toward them.

There are two Brides alluded to in scripture; the Bride of God, who is national Israel
(Ezekiel 16:8-14) and would give birth to the Messiah, and the Bride of Christ, who is
the Church. I would like to focus on the latter because I believe that it is this
relationship that will give us our understanding of eschatology. But before we can
completely explore who Jesus is as our “Bridegroom” we must look at an old Jewish
tradition. Why, because, in order to understand your words or actions I must first
understand a little of their context. You might call this good exegesis. For instance,
who were you talking to, when were you talking to them, and how in that time and place
would they have understood you? Bob Cornuke of Base Institute did a great
presentation on this very subject in one of his presentations. Bob recited the lyrics to “A
Little Deuce Coupe” which was recorded by the Beach Boys in 1963. Most of the
audience under 50, and a great many over, had no idea after just 47 years what the
meaning of most of the lyrics were! But, once he took us back into time and gave us a
context of how the audience of the 1960’s would have understood the lyrics it all
became clear. There are countless other examples like “the whole nine yards” and
“flash in the pan” that we have completely lost the original meanings of and have
instead replaced them with contemporary meanings. For instance, if I described my
friend Joe as being “witty and giddy and gay” – lyrics from an old Broadway musical The
Gay Divorcee (1934), - you might mistakenly believe that Joe was homosexual just
because of the way we have come to understand a particular word in 2010. How many
words do you use today that had completely different meanings when you were a kid?
Here are some to ponder…groovy, neat, cool, gay, dude, and the list goes on. So how
do we then know, let alone understand, what Jesus was saying over 2000 years ago?
Context, context, context! And where and how do we get this context? We have to do
a little homework. First, we start with God’s Word. Read and study it from Genesis to
Revelation. It’s the mind, word, heart and essence of God. Another excellent example
of this is an article on our site; 2 Thessalonians 2:13, A Rapture Passage? by George
Gunn.

Now with context as our guide, let’s look at the Jewish tradition of betrothal. Traditions
are important to our understanding of people, places and words. Paul uses the word
traditions in 2 Thessalonians 2:15. Of course the Greek word he uses is paradosis
which translated means; a precept; specifically a Jewish traditionary law; - ordinance,
tradition. It would seem that in teaching the church at Thessalonica, a predominantly
Gentile congregation, he not only taught them the Scripture (Septuagint) and the Gospel
(his own testimony and that of the disciple’s) but many of the traditions of the Jewish
people who gave birth to this Messiah – Savior to whom they had given their lives. I
believe that one of those traditions was the Jewish wedding ceremony and betrothal. I
was first introduced to this concept by the late Zola Levitt in an article he wrote; “A
Christian Love Story” (which you can read on our web site www.fbiministries.com).

The Jewish tradition of engagement consisted of a contract, a bride’s price and an
acceptance. The fathers of the bride and groom would usually agree on a contract
which would stipulate exactly what price would be paid for the bride. This price was a
goodly sum to show the earnestness of the groom. No groom paid such a price and
then decided not to take the bride! Do you see anything familiar here? Once the price
and the contract were acceptable, the groom would bless and drink from a cup of wine
and then offer it to the young bride to be. If she accepted this cup and drank from it the
deal would be sealed! To break the agreement, a legal paper of divorce would have to
be given and legal grounds proven. We see a similar situation between Mary and
Joseph before the angel of the Lord explained Mary’s predicament (Matthew 1:20).

Once the contract and price were set and the cup was shared, the new groom would be
off to prepare a place, or what we might call a room, for his new bride to be. This was
usually a structure added to the family insula or compound and was closely supervised
by the groom’s father. Take note that the drinking of the cup and the contract price was
paid in full before the groom left to prepare “the place” for the bride. When the place or
room for the bride was complete to the father’s satisfaction he, the father, would give
the go-ahead for the groom to return for his bride. Jesus illustrates this idiom in
Matthew 24:36 when He declares “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the
angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father”. This statement has perplexed many
a scholar as to why Jesus the “God-man” would not know all things including the hour of
His own return. Could it be that Jesus was once again showing His willingness to
submit to the Father’s will in the context of a bride and groom. Twice in the gospel of
John Jesus states clearly that we the Church, the Bride, are given to Him by the Father.
First in John 10:29, “My Father, who has given them to me…” and again in John 17:24,
“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am…”
It’s interesting that when you lay this Jewish tradition over the truth we know in scripture
it fits like a glove…and we all remember the O.J. trial and what happens when the glove
does or does not fit. Have you ever looked at this as a love story instead of a
theological discourse? If you and I are the bride, what price was paid for us and when
did we accept His proposal and become the betrothed? If we truly are the bride of
Christ and He is our bridegroom what should we be expecting him to do? Well,
according to tradition, once the cup had been accepted and the price paid, the groom
would go away with a promise to come back and get his bride. In about a year the
Father, seeing that the “place” was ready, informed the Son that it was time to go get
his bride. Then, at about midnight, the best man accompanied by the groom would
come within shouting distance of the bride’s house and would shout to her to come and
meet her bridegroom. Did this kind of stuff really happen? Did Jesus ever say anything
that might lead us to believe they really did corny things like this? Yes! Jesus himself in
telling the story of the ten virgins says this: “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the
bridegroom! Come out to meet him!” (Matt. 25:6)

You may be asking at this point…what all this has to do with a pre-trib, post-trib or notrib
rapture of the Church? I would submit to you everything! Consider this. At the last
supper Jesus had to become our Bridegroom before he could be our Passover Lamb.
Think about it…when did we become the Bride? I believe that Jesus did a new but
ancient thing that night in the upper room. During the meal He took the bread and
broke it and gave it to the disciples as a symbol of Himself, (His body) the price that
would have to be paid and they accepted it. After supper He took the cup and blessed
it. He then, did something that was not part of Passover. We read in Matthew, “Then
he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you.”
(Matt. 26:27) The cup is offered just like in our “Love Story” and must be accepted or
rejected. If you take the cup and drink you have accepted His terms and are
betrothed…if you reject the cup, the price and the contract it represents you walk away
with nothing! I find it interesting that only one of the twelve failed to accept and drink
from the groom’s cup…Judas.

Jesus would now go to the cross and pay the pledged price and then depart to prepare
a place for his betrothed, the Church. But before He does so we see another powerful
illustration of the importance of the cup and covenant as Jesus goes to the garden to
pray. In His prayer we hear Jesus pleading with the Father, “My Father, if it is not
possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” (Matt.
26:42) The next time you participate in the Lord’s Supper be mindful of just how serious
it is to have accepted the cup of the Lord Jesus Christ! It may very well cost all you
have here to gain eternity with Him. On the other hand, the Apostle Paul exhorts
“Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner
will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord…For anyone who eats
and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on
himself.” (1 Corinthians 11:27-29) I believe Paul is telling us to be careful, not of having
forgotten some arbitrary sin, but not to drink unless we are truly born again! For if we
are Christian in name only and have not drank from His cup and become one with the
Savior, we truly eat and drink judgment. Go back and read the parable of the ten
virgins, (Matt. 25: 1-13) five had oil (the Holy Spirit) and five did not. Which are you?

The exciting part of our “Love Story” is the ending…the happily ever after part! After the
time of preparation the groom finally returns for his bride. The shout is heard and the
bride goes out to meet her promised bridegroom! He, according to tradition, would
whisk her away to the bridal chamber where they would be sequestered (locked away)
for a period of…wait for it…seven days! That’s right for seven days the wedding would
go on without the bride and groom while they consummated there marriage. At the end
of the seven days, both of them would emerge from the bridal chamber and join the
feast. Why is this so exciting? Because if we are the bride this is exactly what we
should be expecting! That at any moment (imminence) we should hear the “shout of the
archangel” and be whisked away (Harpazo-Greek/Rapturo-Latin) to be taken by our
bridegroom (1 Thess. 4:13-18) to the “place” He has been preparing for us so that we
can consummate our marriage with Him for…wait for it…seven years! After which we
will return with Him on white horses “I saw heaven standing open and there before me
was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With Justice he judges and
makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He had a
name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped
in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him,
riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.” (Rev. 19:11-14) You
see, it’s only the bride who is dressed in white linen! That’s us. You are the Bride of
Christ if you have accepted his gift of grace and drank from his cup of sacrifice for you.
Unlike pagan religious purification rights, the Jewish bride was purified by the choice of
her groom! She was worthy because she was chosen and given. Her worth was
established in the price the groom was willing to pay for her not in anything that she did
or provided! We have been chosen and given our worth before God by the price Jesus
was willing to pay to redeem us. This may be bad news for those of you who are
determined to be somehow cleansed or purged in some or all of the tribulation. We as
the Bride, as all brides down through history, are subject to the trials and tribulations of
this world. Jesus himself told us that as long as we were in this world we will have
troubles, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world
you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

So I would encourage you to begin thinking like a bride. I know that may be hard for
some of you burley guys…but, that is who we are! We are not meant for purging,
judging or some final purification. We are meant to be delivered without spot, wrinkle,
bruise or scar to the Bridegroom. According to the Revelation given to John, over a
third of the world’s population will die in the first half of the tribulation. That’s over 1.5
billion people! Is that what you really believe is in store for the Bride of Christ? Are you
encouraged by these words? Is this your hope and your joy? If the answer is yes, then
I think I would look for another bridegroom! As for me, I watch every day, I keep looking
up and listening for the shout of the archangel, to hear those words…”come up here!”
(Rev. 4:1) I am worthy to be called out, rescued…saved from God’s judgment! Why?
Because my worth and position lies firmly in the price my Bridegroom was willing to pay
for me personally. He paid the price that God the Father demanded and He paid it once
for all! There is no final installment that must be paid by me or you in the tribulation that
is called Jacob’s trouble, the time of God’s wrath. (Jeremiah 30:7) “For God did not
appoint us to suffer wrath, but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ”. (1
Thess. 5:9) There is a distinct purpose for that seven years that the prophet Daniel lays
out and it will exact a great and terrible price. But not on the Bride of Christ!

I leave you with the words of Paul; “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven
with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God,
and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be
caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will
be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.” (1 Thess.
4:16-18)

Maranatha!