Hebrews ch 4 speaks about those who have decided to enter
His rest, cease from their own works
those who have surrendered their will to Jesus
to let Jesus have His way in their lives
They are the ones with oil
The bride is not Israel, it is those who have chosen to
follow Jesus, both Jew and Gentile
They are the raptured
The new testement makes this mystery clear
Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved
the church and gave himself up for her 26 to
make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water
through the word, 27 and to present her to
himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or
any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
Sandra
Jean (17
Aug 2013)
"Who
is the Bride of Christ?"
Question:
"What does it mean that the church is the
bride of Christ?"
Answer: The imagery and
symbolism of marriage is applied to Christ
and the body of believers known as the
church. These are those who have trusted in
Jesus Christ as their personal savior and
have received eternal life. In the New
Testament, Christ, the Bridegroom, has
sacrificially and lovingly chosen the church
to be His bride (Ephesians 5:25-27).
Just as there was a betrothal period in
biblical times during which the bride and
groom were separated until the wedding, so
is the bride of Christ separate from her
Bridegroom during the church age. Her
responsibility during the betrothal period
is to be faithful to Him (2
Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:24).
At the Second Coming of Christ, the church
will be united with the Bridegroom, the
official "wedding ceremony" will take place
and, with it, the eternal union of Christ
and His bride will be actualized (Revelation 19:7-9;
21:1-2).
At that time, all believers will inhabit the
heavenly city known as New Jerusalem, also
called “the holy city” in Revelation 21:2
and 10. The New
Jerusalem is not the church, but it takes on
the church’s characteristics. In his
vision of the end of the age, the Apostle
John sees the city coming down from heaven
adorned “as a bride,” meaning that the
inhabitants of the city, the redeemed of the
Lord, will be holy and pure, wearing white
garments of holiness and righteousness.
-
Some
have misinterpreted verse 9 to mean the
holy city is the bride of Christ, but
that cannot be because Christ died for
His people, not for a city. The city is
called the bride because it encompasses
all who are the bride, just as all the
students of a school are sometimes
called “the school.”