My
Sheep Hear My Voice- Rev. 21:9
Before
Jesus was crucified He told the disciples to watch and pray,
something so simple, but they let their physical bodies take over and
they fell back asleep. In these last hours of time you need to hear
His voice. When He tells you something, it is very important, but
most ignore my voice or just discuss it and go on with what they were
doing. You will see many things start to happen shortly and if you do
not hear and obey His voice,... it will mean death for some of
you....Jesus has only your best interest in mind. Christ knows you
heart, and if you are truly His you will hear His voice. He awakes
many of you at 3am on the dot, but most will roll over and go back to
sleep. There are a few who will get up and pray. Your day is filled
with so many things and Jesus is the last thing many of you give your
time to. But Christ needs to talk to you,... to fellowship with you
and only when you are still and quite (3am) can you hear Him,... the
rest of your day is so busy you do not have time for Him,... but you
need to make time, for time is short and the Lord has instructions
for you.
Revelation
21
The
New Jerusalem
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. Rev. 21:9
saying,
Come hither,... The
Bride of Christ
Rev.
21:9-10 should settle once and forever what the bride of Christ is.
What
Bride of Christ Is Not:
1.
It is not Israel of Old Testament times.
2.
It is not a part of the New Testament church.
3.
It is not the whole New Testament church.
4.
It is not the 144,000 Jews.
5.
It is not the tribulation saints.
6.
It is not any single individual or any one special group of
individuals out of the redeemed.
7.
It is not any one denomination or all the denominations combined.
What
the Bride of Christ Is:
It
is "that great city, the holy Jerusalem" (Rev. 21:2,
21:9-10). This is what the angel pointed out to John when he promised
to show him the bride, the Lamb’s wife—the Holy City, the
heavenly Jerusalem. What a simple revelation!
It
is unscriptural to speak of any one company of redeemed as being the
exclusive bride of Christ. If the city, the New Jerusalem, is the
bride, then all who go to live in the Holy City make up the bride and
not just a part of them.
All
redeemed will live in the city:
1.
The Old Testament saints were promised the New Jerusalem (Heb.
11:10-16).
2.
The early church was promised the city (John 14:1-3; Heb. 13:14).
3.
Every Christian is promised the city (Rev. 3:12; John 14:1-3; Heb.
12:23).
4.
The 144,000 Jews will be there (Rev. 7:1-8; 112:5; 14:1-5).
5.
The tribulation saints will go there (Rev. 6:9-11; 7:9-17; 15:2-4;
20:4-6).
Therefore,
we conclude that since all saints in the first resurrection (from
Abel to the last one saved in the future tribulation) will go to live
in the New Jerusalem that all such saints will be members of the
bride. No one person, group of persons, denomination, mansion, temple
or any other building can be called the city, the Lamb’s wife. It
takes all to be the city—the bride.
It
would be scriptural, however to say concerning the redeemed, that
they are now married to Christ under the terms of the New Covenant,
that they are citizens of heaven, that they have a hope of going to
live in the New Jerusalem, and that because of this they expect to be
a part of the bride of Christ or a part of the heavenly city. But no
one is actually a part of the bride until he begins to live in the
city, which is the bride, the Lamb’s wife (Rev. 21:9-10).
Students
for centuries have called the church the bride of Christ but this is
unscriptural. The church will become a part of the bride when its
members begin to live in the New Jerusalem but it will not be the
exclusive bride of Christ. All the redeemed of all other ages will
also be a part of the bride (Rev. 21:9-10).
thee
the bride...
The word bride is used only 5 times in connection with believers
(John 3:29; Rev. 21:2, 21:9; 22:17). The word bridegroom is used 10
times in connection with believers (Mat. 9:15; Mar. 2:19-20; Luke
5:34-35; John 3:29). All these passages refer to believers who will
live in the New Jerusalem, which is the bride, the Lamb’s wife
(Rev. 21:2, 21:9-10).
the
Lamb's wife...The
Wife of Christ:
Greek:
gune, a woman,
married or unmarried; a wife. Translated "woman" 129 times
and "wife" 92 times. That it refers to single women and
widows as well as married woman is clear from (Luke 4:26; 10:38; John
19:26; 20:11-15; 1Tim. 5:2, 5:14. Therefore, the theory based upon
this word that Israel is the bride of Christ because she is married
to God is not proved. The Greek for "bride" is numphe.
It is translated "bride" (John 3:29; Rev. 18:23; 21:2,
21:9; 22:17) and daughter-in-law (Mat. 10:35; Luke 12:53).
The
wife or wife or bride here is the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, and
is the same as the wife in Rev. 19:7, which is the redeemed of all
ages who will have part in the first resurrection and who will live
in the New Jerusalem forever. Just because the wife of Rev. 19:7 is
not called a bride is no proof that she is not a bride. Are not all
women who marry called brides? It is true that Israel is married to
God, but this is no proof that she is the wife and bride of Rev.
19:7; 21:2, 21:9; 22:17.
Eight
proofs that the church is now married:
1.
Jesus called Himself the bridegroom of Christians (Mat. 9:15; Mar.
2:19-20; Luke 5:34-35).
2.
John called Christ the bridegroom (John 3:29). The Greek word for
"bridegroom" in all these passages is numphios,
a newly married man.
3.
Christians are married to God and Christ under the terms of the New
Testament as Israel was married to God under the terms of the O.T
(Mat. 26:28; Luke 22:20; 2Cor. 3:1-18; Heb. 12:24).
4.
Paul taught that Christians are married to Christ by the new covenant
(Rom. 7:1-6).
5.
Paul taught that Old Testament saints will not be perfected apart
from New Testament saints (Heb. 11:40). This means that all will be
perfected together as those who make the inhabitants of the New
Jerusalem, the Lamb’s wife.
6.
Jesus in Rev. 22:16-17, after the ascension, recognized that
believers on earth were already His bride or were to be a part of His
bride.
7.
Paul in 1Cor. 11:3; 12:12-28; Eph. 4:12-16; 5:25-33 used the marriage
relationship to illustrate and teach the relationship of Christ to
His church, proving Christians are now married to Christ.
8.
Paul taught that believers are now joined to the Lord or married to
Him in one Spirit, as Israel was in the Old Testament days (Isa.
56:6; Jer. 50:5).
The
marriage of Christ completed:
It
is clear from the above the Christians are now married to Christ. It
is also clear from Rev. 19:1-10 that they are to have final marriage
festivities. The seeming difference may be explained by Hebrew custom
(Mat. 1:18). The betrothed parties were legally in the position of a
married couple and unfaithfulness in this period was adultery (Deut.
22:23; Mat. 1:19). The concluding festivities took place at the
actual time of coming together as man and wife at which time a
marriage supper was given. The marriage was consummated by entrance
into the wedding chamber. The marriage supper of the Lamb in Rev.
19:1-21 is simply the concluding ceremony, not the marriage contract
entered into at conversion.
And there came... From the past, at the beginning of the millennium, one of the seven angels who poured out a bowl or vial appeared to John.
seven last plagues,... (see Rev. 15:1-8).
Now the angel was to show John the Lamb's bride, the Lamb's wife. New Jerusalem is likened to a bride because the redeemed are forever united to God and the Lamb.
At this point, the marriage has already taken place (in 19:7), and now is referred to as the Lamb's wife.
The
New Jerusalem As The Bride (Rev. 21:9-11)
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