Betrothed to Christ

 From the very beginning, Jesus Christ has made known to us His intention to marry a most exquisite Bride.  The marriage of the Lamb to His spouse will commence the eternal covenant longed for by Jesus Christ from time immemorial.  From the days of Israel’s espousal in the wilderness (Jeremiah 2:2) up until the marriage of the Lamb, Jesus Christ has loved His Bride-to-be with a perfect love that surpasses anything we can remotely imagine (Ephesians 3:19).  Their wedding will be the most superb ceremony the heavens and earth have ever witnessed.  Though this may sound like a dream or a fable, it is, in fact, a magnificent reality.

Brethren, we have only a short time to prepare.  Many of those who consider themselves to be a part of the Church of God are not prepared to be the Bride of Jesus Christ.  The seventh doctrine of Jesus Christ is, “Go on to perfection;” this is what the Bride must be doing (Hebrews 6:1-2).

It should go without saying that Jesus is going to be extremely selective when taking His wife for ever more.  Though the world prefers to believe that Jesus accepts us in our current condition –“just as you are”– it is obvious from the Scriptures that His Bride will be arrayed in the purest white wedding gown – symbolizing her perfect love for Him, her spotless spiritual condition, and her eternal faithfulness in marriage.

Are we absolutely certain that we meet that criteria – in other words, are we as ready and prepared as we can possibly be?  Anyone who assumes that they have attained to the perfect measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, underestimates the supreme perfection of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4:13).  To what degree of excellence must the Church brethren attain in order to be ready?

When comparing the unity of mind and heart within the marriage relationship to the bond of unity that exists between Christ and the Church brethren, the apostle Paul called it a great mystery.  What is the significance of the wedding of Jesus Christ to the Church?  Who is the Bride?  Remarkably, it is revealed that not everyone will participate in the marriage supper.  Blessed are they who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!  What can we do to ensure that we will be invited to take part in Christ’s wedding?

Prophetic Scriptures bring to light the splendor of the ultimate nuptial ceremony.  We do not wish to miss out on the most splendid wedding of all time.  What an incredible truth that our Lord and Master has chosen to make us His Wife by entering into an eternal pledge with us.  Mere words fail to portray the most glorious ceremony ever, which Christ has reserved for His Bride alone.  Divine music will reverberate across the heavens, and gleaming, brilliance will illuminate the throne room, as the Bride is presented to her Lord.  She will be accepted by Him, adorned in her radiant white silk wedding gown – and upon her head she will wear a beautiful sparkling crown (Ezekiel 16:12).

We are Betrothed to Christ

Even now, we are engaged.  This is the only time of preparation for us to become a pure virgin betrothed to Jesus Christ our Bridegroom.  “I have espoused you to one husband, so that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:2)   He is going to enter into an eternal new covenant marriage relationship with spiritual Israel – the Church of God – which will never be broken.  “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.”  (Hebrews 8:8, Jeremiah 31:31-32)

“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready.  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they who are invited unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said unto me, these are the true sayings of God.”  (Revelation 19:7-9)

The Church of God is not ready for the wedding. The lack of concern and respect of brothers and sisters in Christ for one another shows that we have a ways to go.  The split and scattered state of the Church attests to the fact that the Bride of Christ is not yet prepared.  After years of Christian living sermons explaining how we must let our light shine – the fruit of our lives is hardly distinguishable from those in the world.  We are not living according to the rules of the Kingdom – now – as we should be.  If we did, we would be, “A light to the world – and our light would so shine before men… that they would be glorifying our Father who is in heaven.”  (Matthew 5:14-16)  There are reasons that this is not happening.  This booklet describes what remains to be done by those who have been called and have begun to follow through on God’s plan of salvation.

The True Sayings of God

When we read, “These are the true sayings of God,” we are to understand this prophecy of the marriage of the Lamb to be real and factual – not merely allegorical.  It is our purpose to demonstrate the validity and reality of Christ’s words, and to alert the brethren to the critical need to make themselves ready – His wife has made herself ready.  Christ has fulfilled His part, but the question remains – what part of the Church is ready now?  The readiness of the Bride is the very thing we must be most concerned about because our eternal salvation is at stake and depends on it.

What will the Bride of Christ be like?  How can she be spiritually pure?  The Bride will be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white – meaning that she will be an innocent, virgin Bride.  Jesus has done His part in washing His Bride to make her righteous.  She will be perfect and spotless – her attributes matching Christ’s own perfection and glory – because He has made her spiritually pure.

“Christ loves the [Bride], and gave Himself for her; that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that she should be holy and without blemish.”  (Ephesians 5:25-27)

What an exceedingly beautiful ceremony it will be for the select Bride who looks for Christ’s coming.  “The glorious Bridegroom will come; and [only] those who were ready went in with Him to the marriage: and the door was shut.”  (Matthew 25:10)  The reality of God’s promise will far exceed the most sublime expectation of the Bride.  We do not want to miss out!  Let us make ready, and ensure that we are among those whom Jesus Christ will choose to be His Bride.

Jesus Christ has only one spiritual Body with many members.  Right now, they possess a token [earnest guarantee] of the Spirit of God and are scattered all over the face of the earth.  “As the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one Body: so also is Christ.  Jesus Christ has only one body of believers – that is the one true Church – the Church of God.  For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one Body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.  That is God's Holy Spirit.  For the body is not onemember, but many [brethren]… But now hath God set the members every one of them in the Body [the spiritual Body of Christ ], as it has pleased Him... But now are they many members, yet but one Body [the one spiritual Body of Christ]... Now you are the Body of Christ , and members in particular.”  (1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 18, 20, 27)

If we expect to be the Bride, we are obligated to extend our realm of brotherhood, fellowship, and service to include all who have the earnest of God's Holy Spirit.  We cannot hate, despise, neglect, or reject any of the saints, as that behavior will disqualify us from the Kingdom of God.  Those who are only interested in preparing themselves, while neglecting the spiritual welfare of their brethren, have fallen for the deception of Cain, who asked in Genesis 4:9, "Am I my brother's keeper?" 

Discern the Body

Are we able to discern who our brothers and sisters in Christ are?  Can we distinguish between the world and the Church?  Taking Passover – while refusing to be reconciled to others – renders the Passover service contemptible in God’s sight.  We must recognize all true Christians, without exception, counting them as brethren – our very salvation is at stake.   "He that eats and drinks [the Lord's Passover] unworthily, eats and drinks damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's Body.   For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep."  (1 Corinthians 11:29-30)

Let us analyze the meaning of this verse.  The heart of the matter is that they were: “not discerning the Lord's Body.”  The Lord’s Body is the Church – the saints – the elect children of God – the Bride – the brethren – members of the Lord’s Body (1 Corinthians 12:12).  Keep in mind that Paul is discussing the lack of discernment – the division taking place (1 Corinthians 11:18 ).  Those participants did not regard everyone there equally – as all members of Christ’s Body.  This division was going on at the Passover service in question.  “Discernment,” means understanding and perceiving that all the brethren, regardless of organization, comprise the one Body of Christ.  “Discernment,” means realizing that God places the members in the Body as He chooses – and none are to be excluded from our fellowship.

When we do not understand that all the brethren constitute the Church – look at the terrible consequences that follow – “For this cause [lack of discernment] many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.”  Spiritually, we will be weak, sick or dead [damnation is loss of salvation] because Christ’s sacrifice, the Passover, is taken unworthily.  This same division going on today is why the Church is so weak and sick spiritually.

Jesus is the head of His Church; and converted Christians are individuals in His spiritual body.  Paul wrote:  "[God the Father] has put all things under [Jesus’] feet, and gave Him to be the headover all things to the church, which is His body" [the one spiritual body of Christ].  (Ephesians 1:22-23)

Jesus Christ has only one body – thus, He has only one Church – one Bride.  Every part of the body (each one of the brethren) is indispensable to the whole body.  “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling… For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ… From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, makes increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.  (Ephesians 4:4, 12, 16)

Again, the Bible reveals that the one spiritual body of Christ is composed of Church brethren. "[ Christ ] is the head of the body, the Church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence… Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his Body's sake, which is the Church.”  (Colossians 1:18, 24)

Jesus prayed for the unity of the Church just before He died (John 17).  He inspired Paul to send us these words of 1 Corinthians 1:10:  “Now I beg of you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined togetherin the same mind and in the same judgment.”

When we read that we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones, let us understand the obvious reference to the new covenant marriage of Christ and the Church.  Marriages fail because of unrealistic expectations.  But, the new covenant marriage of Christ will never fail because Jesus has made it clear what He expects of His Bride.  Are we up to the task – are we equal to the challenge?  God the Father would not have called us to become the Wife of His Son if we did not possess the potential to acquire the essential attributes that are required.  We have a lot to accomplish – and time is short – even at the door.

we saw in our study of Esther, the Bride must prepare herself, and must make herself ready for the soon-returning Bridegroom. But because we have all heard various conflicting teachings and opinions of the Bride’s preparation, we must avoid error, by looking to the clear teaching of Scripture alone.

In this writing we will look at certain features of what Scripture says about the Preparation of the Bride. We will see who prepares the Bride, and most importantly, when and where this preparation takes place.

As we go into this study, there may be many who have un-answered questions. For example, we might ask, “Do we become prepared in the “twinkling of an eye” when we go to be with the King?”

Some may ask, “Isn’t it enough to be Born Again?” A few may ask, “Is there some particular preparation that Born-Again Believers must do, over some period of time while living in this life on earth?”

We then realise that the Scriptures reveal the answers! Our Father has given us very many witnesses of Scripture, from which we may draw our conclusions. So let’s look at the Scriptures.

Who Prepares the Bride?

First, let us see who does the preparing. As we saw in our study of Esther, all the things necessary for Esther’s preparation were given to her — but it was Esther herself who did the preparing. Let’s look at how Esther’s preparation is a pattern for us today.

Notice the following passages:

Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. (Revelation 19:7)

And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness <1345> of saints. (Revelation 19:8)

In the above passages, in verse 7, we see the Betrothed Wife — the Bride — has made herself ready. Notice that it was the Wife who made the preparation. We also see in context, that the Lamb speaks of our Bridegroom-Messiah, and His (Betrothed) Wife speaks of the company of those Believers who choose to make themselves ready.

In verse 8, we see her ‘array’ (her clothing and covering) was granted, or given to her, by the Holy Spirit. We also see that this clothing is of linen, which we are told speaks of the righteousness <1345> [“righteous deeds; actions”] of the set-apart Believers.

So the preparation of the Bride involves the Bride’s action, as well as the action of the Holy Spirit. Both are necessary. This two-fold process is confirmed in Esther:

And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him; and he speedily gave her her things for purification, with such things as belonged to her, and seven maidens, which were meet to be given her, out of the king’s house: and he preferred her and her maids unto the best place of the house of the women. (Esther 2:9)

Here we see that Hegai, the eunuch, as well as the seven maidens given to her, all picture the Holy Spirit, given to the Bride to provide help, and to provide everything that is needed to the Bride for her purification — her preparation. In Esther 2:9, notice the two-fold process that made up her preparation: (1) “he speedily gave her;” and (2) “with such things as belonged to her.”

The preparation of the Bride of Messiah is a co-operation between the Holy Spirit, and the Bride.

When and Where is the Bride Prepared?

Next we will address the question, “When does this preparation take place — after going in to the presence of the King — or before?” Is the Bride prepared in heaven — or on earth? Again we will look at a few passages in Esther:

Now when every maid’s turn was come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve months, according to the manner of the women, (for so were the days of their purifications accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odours, and with other things for the purifying of the women;) Then thus came every maiden unto the king… (Esther 2:12b-13a)

Notice also that Esther’s preparation was over a twelve-month period of time, which was six months of one preparation, and six months of another. And it was all to be done before going into the presence of the King.

Let’s look further. Let’s look at the following Bride preparation passages in Matthew 25:1-13:

Matthew 25:1-13

1.  Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
2.  And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3.  They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
4.  But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5.  While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
6.  And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
7.  Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8.  And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
9.  But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
10.  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
11.  Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
12.  But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
13.  Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

In the above parable, five Virgins were called wise, and 5 were called foolish. There are two groups — a wise group and a foolish group. What were the two groups based on?

We see in verse 10, “They that were ready” went in with him to the marriage. In verse 11 we see the “Other Virgins” who came afterwards, but they could not enter in.

The first thing we notice is that the five WiseVirgins had wisdom. The five Foolish Virgins, however, lacked Wisdom.

Furthermore, the Ten Virgins were divided into two groups, based on being “Ready.” Those Virgins that had Wisdom had prepared themselves ahead of time, and they were Readyto go in with the Bridegroom, when He arrived.

Those that lacked Wisdom, however, had not prepared themselves. They were not yet Ready.

Notice that the five Wise Virgins were “Ready” before going in with the Bridegroom to the marriage.

Conclusion

We are led to conclude that the reason the Foolish Virgins were not allowed to enter in when the Bridegroom came, is because they were NOT YET READY.

The Foolish Virgins were perhaps unaware that they were not ready. They had been Born-again, but had not personally sought the Bridegroom in the Scriptures, nor had they sought those things of Wisdom necessary for their preparation, that the Bridegroom gives to all liberally, to all who ask Him (James 1:5).

And so the group of Foolish Virgins were divided from the group of Wise Virgins.

This division confirms what we have seen thus far — that being ready, being prepared, is a requirement to be met, in order to be allowed to enter in with the bridegroom — and that this preparation must occur BEFORE the arrival of the Bridegroom.

We may now conclude that the preparation of the Bride is NOT done in heaven, but only on earth, before going in with the Bridegroom.

Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him:
for the marriage of the Lamb is come,
and his wife hath made herself ready.
(Revelation 19:7)

Wedding Preparation Details

1. The Bride Washes Her Body

a. The first part of the Bride’s preparation is the washing of the body. Notice the command is for you to do the washing:

Wash you, make you clean; put away the evilof your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isaiah 1:16-18)

We see above that the washing of our body speaks of ‘cleaning up’ our doings, our daily walk. However, the cleaning is done from inside-out. The cleaning must first come to our innermost being — our ‘heart.’ But we then realise we ourselves cannot do this cleaning. Only by the Blood of the Covenant, sealed by Yahushua’s Blood, can we be cleansed within (1John 1:7; Psalms 51:7; Exodus 12:22).

b. We then realise that we must cry out to Yahuweh to do the washing, the cleansing. He will do so when we acknowledge our sin.

Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. (Psalms 51:2-3)

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. (Psalms 51:7)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1John 1:9)

And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood… (Revelation 1:5)

For everything regarding the bride’s preparation must be by Yahuweh’s Grace — by his own power, by the Holy Spirit, to accomplish.

c. We then realise that we have tried to wash under our own efforts, our ‘own works,’ but we have not really accomplished the required washing.

There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. (Proverbs 30:12)

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; (Titus 3:5)

So we see the first step, of washing the body, is the Regeneration that occurs initially, and is the Righteousness Yahuweh imparts to us by the Holy Spirit.

d. Our washing must be accompanied with prayer and fasting.

But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; (Matthew 6:17)

e. Our own washing includes allowing ‘Messiah-in-you’ to wash the feet of others. It is in this way that we show the humbling of self:

And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. (Luke 7:44)

If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. John 13:14

…Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. (Matt 25:40)

2. The Bride Chooses Her Clothes.

After washing the Body, the Bride must then choose the clothes, the Garments she will wear. We are told much in Scripture that we must have clothing, and we must wash our clothes before coming into the presence of the King:

And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes, And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. (Exodus 19:10-11)

In the above passage we see a very important principle. We must wash our clothes, before we may come into the presence of Yahuweh, the King. We are given a similar word in Ephesians:

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:25-27)

Some today have thought the only washing necessary is the washing of the body—the Regeneration, and imparting of Righteousness, as seen in the first section above. Thus many have heard that if they have been Born-Again, they are ‘ready.’ Many have assumed that since a white robe was first given to them at salvation (See Isaiah 61:10), there is no garment-washing needed. When we were first redeemed, we were each given a Robe that was white. However, over time we have all soiled, spotted, and dirtied our robes—and they must be washed, and made white again.

There is now much washing needed for our clothes. Our Garments have become full of spots, and wrinkles, and full of blemishes. How has this happened?

“Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins…” (Psalms 19:12,13). Every day we face the possibility of sinning, and thereby ‘spotting’ our garments (See also Matthew 24:12 and James 3:2). Our garments need to be prepared. But in order to wash our clothes, and prepare our garments, we must know and understand just which clothes to wash. We must understand exactly what our wedding clothes—our garments, and our robe—really are. Let’s look at these in Scripture.

What are the Bride’s Garments?

Before we look at washing the garments, we must first understand what our garments are.

In this section we will give a brief recap of what we saw clearly from Scripture, in Righteousness Sown, Righteousness Harvested. We found that the Scriptural, prophetic meaning [the ‘now’ meaning for us] of our garments, and our robe, is our works.

Garments, Robes, and coverings in Scripture speak of many things. In general, they speak of what we do. These ‘works’ consist of two types of Garments:

1. Filthy Rags (Isaiah 64:6)
2. Fine linen, clean and white (Isaiah 61:10; Revelation 19:8)

We saw that these garments can either be filthy rags — works produced from our own efforts, in our own strength, in trying to keep and observe Yahuweh’s Word (Isaiah 64:6). Or they can be clean and white garments, works of righteousness produced by the leading and strength of Messiah-in-you, as He gives Grace for obedience to all of His Word (Isaiah 61:10; Colossians 1:27; Revelation 19:8).

In all cases, the clean and white garments of Righteousness originate only from Messiah, who gives the garments to those who desire them, and who willingly receive them.

We saw also that Scripture shows a parallel example, in that the Fruit we produce is likewise our works, both good and bad. The Fruit and the Garments are one and the same parable — to teach us that both garments and fruit can be either good fruit or bad fruit [bad fruit is evil or ‘wicked’ fruit]. They are good if they are works of Messiah-in-you, in obedience to Scripture. They are bad if they are works done in the imagination of our own heart, or by our own initiative or ambition [See 1Corinthians 3:9-15, showing the contrast of good and bad works].

We also concluded that our clean garments are NOT the works of Titus 3:5:

“…not by works of Righteousness, which WE have done…” (Titus 3:5)

We saw clearly that it was ‘not by works of Righteousness, which WE have done‘ that we are saved. No, these works are merely filthy rags and barren branches in the sight of Yahuweh, no matter how good, how Righteous, noble or sincere they may be.

We saw that the Garments we are to prepare, however, are the works of Righteousness as seen in Isa 61:10:

“I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness…” (Isaiah 61:10)

We must make it absolutely clear, that what counts for our garments, or works of Righteousness — is ONLY what Yahuweh Himself has done, by His grace, and not we ourselves.

We found that the clean and white garments of our ‘works’ consist of two parts:

Our two-part Clean and White Garments Consist of:

1. The initial work of the Holy Spirit, “by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5).
2. The ongoing life of ‘Messiah-in-you’to produce the Fruit of Righteousness in us, by His Life in us, and by His Grace to accomplish. This occurs only when we allow Him to walk in us, in obedience to the Father, in obedience to His Holy Spirit, and in obedience to His Word — in obedience to His own Commandments.
3. We found that in order to identify which Commandments He refers to, we need only imitate Messiah, and do what He did when He was on earth 2,000 years ago, when He lived in His own body.
4. We then saw that what Messiah did, was simply to obey the Torah that He Himself spoke to Moses, which He calls “My Commandments” — and that we are called to walk as He walked (John 14:15; Romans 5:9-10; Colossians 1:27; 1John 2:6-7; 1John 5:2-3).

The net result is that both the initial work, as well as the ongoing, daily life of Messiah-in-you, is all by His Grace — His power in us to initiate and to finish His work in us. We saw that it is Messiah Yahushua Himself — as both the Seed and the Tree — who is our Righteousness.

Likewise, we saw that what He produces in us, becomes both the Fruit of works, and the Garment, or Robe of Works — of His Righteousness — of His obedience in us, as He lives in our bodies, and as He provides the Grace to accomplish His work.

With this understanding, we will go on to discuss the next step: the washing of our clothes, our garments.

3. The Bride Washes Her Clothes

We have seen that our works — what we do — are our Garments, our covering. So how do we wash our Garments — our works? We saw the answer above, in Ephesians 5:25-27. It is by the ‘washing of water by the Word.’

This washing of water by the Word is not simply ‘reading’ the Bible. It is in reading, hearing, and in particular, the doing of the Word, that brings the cleansing of our garments — our works. However, again we must be warned, that even the cleansing of our garments can NOT occur by our own efforts:

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; (Titus 3:5)

How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:14)

Notice that any ‘works of Righteousness, which WE have done…’ can not, and will not, avail anything — because these are ‘dead works.’ It is only what ‘Messiah-in-you’ does, that ‘serves the living Yahuweh.’ It is only the Holy Spirit in you, that can make your garments clean. We are told why this is true in the following passage:

But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. (Isaiah 64:6)

But we are told which righteousness does produce much:

Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:11)

Remember, fruits of Righteousness are works; Garments and Robes of Righteousness are works. Filthy Garments [works of iniquity] will be removed, resulting in nakedness (Isaiah 59:6; Rev 16:15). Fruit and Garments are one and the same parable.

We must fully understand that it is ONLY ‘by works of righteousness which HE has done’ that will become clean garments for us. You ask, “How does this happen?” It is only when we allow ‘Messiah-in-you’ to do works of obedience in us.

The only clean garments we can have, are the works of Righteousness which ‘Messiah-in-you’ has done, when we allow Him-in-us, to walk in obedience to the Scriptures, as He lives in OUR body. This is the making of the clean Garment. This is the washing of water by the Word—by Messiah-in-you.

In order for you to wash our Garments — to produce ‘good’ works — we must Allow ‘Messiah-in-you’ to keep his own commandments today, while walking around in our body, in the same way he did when he walked around in his own body 2,000 years ago (Luke 4:16).

Therefore if we want to wash our clothes, we must allow ‘Messiah-in-you’ to wash our ‘garments’ — to bring the ‘doing’ of His Word into our life and daily practice. And that includes allowing ‘Messiah-in-you’ to observe His weekly and annual Sabbaths, while living in our body.

As was said previously, when we were first redeemed, we were each given a Robe that was white. However, during the long waiting period, we have all soiled our robes, and they must be made white again. Only Messiah-in-us can clean the Robe.

But Messiah-in-us will do only what we allow Him to do. He will not force us to do obey His Word. If our ‘doctrines’ prevent Him-in-us from walking in full obedience to all of His Word, He will not force us to obey. It is in this way that He knows who chooses to love Him, and who does not (John 14:15, 15:10; 1John 5:3).

At this point is would be good to summarise the washing that the Bride-Candidate must choose to do, if she would be ready.

Washing the Clothes – A Summary

In the list below, each item is covered in specific articles, along with the Scripture passages that give us the details.

My Clothes Washing List: Turning from Works of Darkness to Works of Righteousness

1. Learn and understand who Messiah reallyis — and demonstrate my love for Him (John 14:15), by keeping the commandments Messiah spoke. These consist of all of Scripture [both ‘Old’ and ‘New’ Testament writings], as follows:
2. Remove all Graven Images and Idols from my home and office — from my decorations, collectibles, and from the childrens’ toybox (Exodus 20:4; Deut 7:26);
3. Remove the abominations from my religious customs and practices — cease celebrating man-made and pagan holy days — such as Christ-mass, Easter, Saints’ Days, and Lent (Leviticus 10:1; Jeremiah 10:2-4);
4. Begin to observe the Biblical holy days — Yahuweh’s weekly Sabbaths, and His annual Sabbaths — for example, Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot; Find others who observe these in a Biblical manner, and learn from them (Leviticus 23:1-43);
5. Cease eating things sacrificed to idols, the man-made substitute or ‘counterfeit’ Passover meal initiated by Rome, also called communion — and begin to eat the true Passover meal (1Co 10:21; Rev 2:14, 20);
6. Begin to discern clean from unclean — what is ‘set-apart’ by the Word of Yahuweh, from what is common (Ezekiel 44:23; 2Co 6:17-18);
7. Remove myself from, and have no fellowship with, those who continue to walk in darkness; Messiah exhorts His Bride to come out of Babylon, and to flee from the ‘strange woman’ congregations (2Co 6:17; Rev 18:4).

The above list is not exhaustive, but are most of the majors, for those desiring to follow Yahushua, and to walk with Him in Everlasting [New] Covenant Truth. For details on these and others, see Related Articles listed below.

What is NOT included in this washing instruction is the special Robe-washing that will take place, for those Virgins that will come later — who do not ascend alive as the Company of the Bride. As a result, these Virgins must go through the furnace of testing, and perhaps physical death. This washing may be seen in (Rev 7:14).

After washing, the Garments are ready to be ironed.

4. The Bride Irons Her Clothes.

After the clothes are thoroughly washed, to remove the spots, they must next be ironed, to remove the wrinkles:

…not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:27b)

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2Corinthians 4:17-18)

The heat and pressures of the day are our ‘light affliction, which is but for a moment’ — and indeed it does work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. However, these afflictions do us good only on one condition. And that is ONLY ‘While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen….’

These afflictions are our preparation and testing from Yahuweh, who is unseen. If, in our afflictions, we lash out at the affliction, or at those around us who cause the afflictions — we then tend to forget that the affliction is from Yahuweh, for our good. The final result of that affliction is, that the affliction does us no good at all!

In this example the garment has not been ‘changed.’ It is still ‘wrinkled,’ because it did not respond to Yahuweh’s heat-and-pressure ironing of our garment. How we respond to the affliction makes the difference. Notice the result of patience [patient endurance] in the following passages:

Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. (James 1:3-4)

We see above that the result of patience is ‘perfection.’ One of the hallmark goals of the Bride’s preparation is the word perfect. The Bride’s main goal of preparation is seen as perfecting of Love (1John 2:5, 4:12, 4:17-18), and how she accomplishes this perfecting of Love is revealed in her Garments.

With patient endurance comes perfection [of love], and we thus see that the wrinkles are gone, because of how she responded to trials and afflictions (See Revelation 3:10; Revelation 14:12). The Bride may now proceed beyond the ironing. She may now begin to put on her Garments.

5. The Bride Puts On Her Clothes

The Scriptures are abundant in describing the putting on of the Garments that are prepared for the Bride. In the first section above we saw one overriding Truth. This is the Truth that all of our Righteousness — both the washing of the Body in Regeneration, and the Washing of the Garments of Works — must be done by ‘Messiah-in-you’ in order to avail anything.

With this said, we will now look at the ‘putting on’ of these garments. Let us first be reminded that it is not merely ‘Garments’ that are to be put on, but proper ‘Wedding Garments’ as we see in this passage:

And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son… And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few chosen. (Matthew 22:1-2; 22:11-14)

In this parable for the Bride, we see the importance of the ‘Wedding’ Garments. These are not just any Garments; these Garments are not just ‘Good Works’ that one may perform. We will look at the Scriptures, to confirm what the Bride has chosen, and to give us a further clue of what else she is to put on. First we will list the Scriptures, then note what we see in the Scriptures:

I put on righteousness <06664>, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem. (Job 29:14)

Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon? (Isaiah 51:9)

Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. (Isaiah 52:1)

The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. (Romans 13:12)

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. (1Corinthians 15:51-54)

For as many of you as have been baptised into Christ have put on Christ. (Galatians 3:27)

And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. (Ephesians 4:24)

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (Ephesians 6:11)

And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: (Colossians 3:10)

Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. (Colossians 3:12-13)

But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. (1Thessalonians 5:8)

Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. (1Peter 5:5)

In the above passages we see many things that the we are to put on. As Bride-Candidates, we should investigate each aspect of the above passages diligently. The one central idea is that we are to be clothed with, and put on, Messiah Himself. When this occurs, His attributes begin to shine forth through our own individual personality, as seen in the above passages.

As we saw in Righteousness Sown, Righteousness Harvested, the Hebrew words for Righteousnessin Isaiah 45:8 are Strong’s numbers <06664> and <06666>. The word <06664> is the noun of the masculine gender, and denotes the Seed, which is Messiah Himself. The word <06666> is the noun of the feminine gender, and denotes all that comes from the Seed — all that Messiah produces.

Now notice that the word ‘Righteousness’ in Job 29:14 above is Strong’s number <06664>, the noun of the masculine gender. And as we saw in Isaiah 45:8, this Righteousness having the masculine gender is the Seed of Righteousness, Messiah Himself. We are then told in the above passage in Job, “It [Righteousness, denoting Messiah Himself] clothed me.”

Indeed, just as we saw in Isaiah 45:8, and again in the parable of the sower (Mark 4:3-20), the masculine Seed of Righteousness [Messiah Yahushua] becomes planted within us, when we hear the Word of the Gospel. And when we respond by repentance, we become Born-again. That is, the Seed [the Spirit of Messiah Yahushua in us] sprouts, and brings forth Righteousness of the feminine gender, which is the tree of Righteousness produced by the Seed (Isaiah 61:3).

Then over time, this tree of Righteousness [Messiah-in-us, in union with our spirit] grows and matures, and goes on to produce further Righteousness of the feminine gender, which are the fruits of Righteousness, as we see in Isaiah 45:8. These fruits of Righteousness are the outward, visible works of Righteousness that are produced by Messiah-in-us, as we take footsteps day-by-day, to walk in obedience to His Word.

It is the fruits of Righteousness, the works of Messiah-in-us, that testify of our outward garments, and insure that we will not be found naked. It is in this way that ‘He’ [Messiah Himself] clothes us with the garments of salvation — and clothes us, and covers us, with the robe of righteousness (Psalms 132:9; Isaiah 61:10).

Again, as the apostle Paul confirms to us (Philippians 1:11), it is ‘our’ [fruit of] Righteousness, and ‘our’ Garments — ONLY to the extent that ‘Messiah-in-us’ has done the producing!!

But let us be warned at this point. It is the many ‘Good’ works produced by self, that could find us clothed in filthy rags.

With this understanding, we can see the many attributes expressed in the remaining verses — the ‘one new man’ that is Messiah-in-us; the attributes of righteousness, holiness, mercy, forgiveness, and love — are all attributes of Messiah, that Messiah-in-us desires to express, as He lives out His life in our bodies. It is these attributes that are produced by Messiah-in-us, that become the Wedding Garments that clothe us.

Let us now proceed to the Girdle, or Belt.

6. The Bride Puts On the Belt

The next item the Bride is to put on is the Belt, or Girdle. The Girdle is an outer belt, or band, used to secure the clothing, and to hold it in place during various activities. Like the clothing, the Girdle has many prophetic qualities very similar to those of the Garments. The one special quality we may see related to the Girdle is that of ‘perfection’ — perfection indicating wholeness, completeness, ripeness or finality of preparation.

Again, we will show a few of the Scripture passages, with highlighting, and then make a few observations. Let’s look at the following passages:

And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. (Genesis 17:1)

And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. (Exodus 28:8)

And thou shalt embroider the coat of fine linen, and thou shalt make the mitre of fine linen, and thou shalt make the girdle of needlework. (Exodus 28:39)

He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on. (Leviticus 16:4)

Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God. (Deuteronomy 18:13)

Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day. (1Kings 8:61)

It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. (Psalms 18:32)

And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. (Isaiah 11:5)

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)

Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. (Matthew 19:21)

And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. (Luke 8:14)

Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.
(2Corinthians 13:11)

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; (Ephesians 6:14)

Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. (Philippians 3:15)

And above all these things put on charity [love], which is the bond of perfectness. (Colossians 3:14)

That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. (2Timothy 3:17)

Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:21)

Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? (James 2:22)

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; (1Peter 1:13)

But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. (1John 2:5)

No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. (1John 4:12)

Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. (1John 4:17-18)

And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. (Revelation 1:13)

Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
(Revelation 3:2)

As we look at the passages above, we can begin to notice several things. First, the prophetic items that make up the Girdle appear to be similar to the items we saw as Garments in the previous section. Like the Garments, these qualities appear as both fruit and works, and include such attributes as Righteousness, Faith, Love, and Perfection [maturity and completion].

One great illustration of the Divine Commentaryaspect of the New Testament can be seen in two companion verses above. Notice that one of the items of priestly Garments was the ‘Curious Girdle’ of Exodus 28:8. The name for this garment in Hebrew is chesheb, Strong’s number <02805>, from <02803> meaning “devise, think, imagine, consider, purpose.” This definition reveals the importance of our thoughts, and our motives — how we think, and purpose in our minds. The Apostle Peter tells us we are to “gird up the loins of your mind…” (1Peter 1:13a).

We then see in Exodus 28:8 that the ‘Curious Girdle’ shall be the “same work thereof — even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.” These items are regarded by all as very costly or valuable, and are items to be guarded and treasured. The meaning thus portrayed is that for a priest [‘Believer’], his thoughts and works are to be the same. They are to be of ‘gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen’ — all of which are prophetic terms, each of which speaks of one particular, treasured aspect of the working of ‘Messiah-in-you‘ within our heart and mind [our thoughts], and our actions.

The one additional quality we see over and over in the above passages is that of perfection. This implies to us that the putting on of the ‘Girdle’ is the bringing to perfection — bringing to completion — of the Bride-Candidate’s Garments. She is now ready to put on her veil.

7. The Bride Puts on Her Veil

The Bride is the Glory of the Husband (1Co 11:7). As such, she has a covering, and even a hidden quality with regard to the rest of the virgins. There are several things we must know about the Bride’s veil. First we will notice the following about the Bride:

She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple. (Proverbs 31:22)

This covering is first of all, of her own making. But in other passages, we have seen that the Bride’s covering is given to her (Hosea 2:9; 1Co 11:15). So again we must conclude that the Bride’s covering veil is the result of a co-operative effort, between the Bride-Candidate and the Holy Spirit.

The Bride’s covering veil is a sign, or indicator, of one who is a Bride-Candidate. In this regard we must be warned: the Bride’s covering veil, the token of her Bride-Candidacy, may at times be in jeopardy. Notice the following passage:

The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me. (Song of Songs 5:7)

As we saw in The Bride-as Seen In Chavah [Eve], it is the ‘Watchmen’ – the Church Leaders – those that are charged with keeping of the ‘Walls of Salvation’ in the lives of the people – that smite the Bride. These ‘Watchmen’ going about the City are ‘Shepherds’ in name only, and they do not really guard the welfare of the Sheep (See Eze 34:1-10). The goal of satan is to use these well-meaning Leaders to remove the Bride qualities from the Bride, through the Leaders’ ignorance of Scripture.

The Bride is hereby warned, that it is only by studying Scriptures for oneself, that will allow one to break free of the ‘paradigms’ that the Doctrines of Men have created. We must trust that we can hear from the Holy Spirit, who promises to lead us into all Truth (Psa 25:5; Psa 119:104,128; John 16:13; 1John 2:27).

Additional insights into the Bride’s covering may be seen in Covering Principles for the Bride. As a finish to the preparation of the Bride’s Clothing, we will list the final verses of Proverbs 31, without comment. Notice the great number of ‘Bride attributes’ that can be seen:

She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. 18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night. 19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. 20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. 21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet. 22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple. 23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. 24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. 25 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. 26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. 27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. 28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. 29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. 30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.  (Proverbs 31:17-31)

8. Now Ready – Watching and Waiting

After going through the long process of preparation, the Bride is finally prepared. She hopes she is Ready for the Bridegroom’s knock, but still she can not be sure. The Apostle Paul was not sure that he would make the First Resurrection Company, so how much less can we be sure? The only thing left to do, is to watch, and keep our Garments (Rev 16:15). We must keep the Garments, to prevent them from becoming spotted, or soiled. Then we must ‘Watch.’

How does the Bride Watch? Let’s look at a few passages, then comment on what we see.

Bind up the testimony, seal the law [Torah] among my disciples. And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. (Isaiah 8:16-17)

Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. (Matthew 24:44)

For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you, I say unto all: ‘Watch’. (Mark 13:34-37)

And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. (Luke 1:17)

And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. (Luke 12:36)

Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not. (Luke 12:40)

The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. (Luke 12:46)

So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. (Hebrews 9:28)

It is apparent from the above passages that the Bride is to ‘watch.’ This is a process that involves seeking, waiting, making ready, and looking for His appearing.

But above all, it includes the command to ‘watch’ – a reference to several Old Testament Hebrew words. The word tsapha, Strong’s number <06822>, meaning “watchman, watch, behold, and look,” occurs 37 times. From Prophetic Numbers in Scripture, we understand that the number 37 speaks of the Word of Yahuweh. Thus we see the word tsapha refers to watching, beholding, and looking, to the Word of Yahuweh.

Another Hebrew word for ‘watch’ is shamar, Strong’s number <08104>, meaning “observe, watch, beware, watchman, heed, and keep.” The BDB Hebrew Lexicon gives further understanding: “to observe; celebrate; keep sabbath or covenant or commands; perform a vow.”

From these and similar words for watch, we see that the one who is ‘watching’ is one who chooses to observe, keep, and heed, the Word of Yahuweh, and who is watchful to keep His Covenant Commandments!

After making ourselves ready, this now becomes the primary work of the Bride-Company — to watch, as we wait, and look for the Bridegroom.

How does the Bride Prepare?

She simply allows ‘Messiah-in-you’ to perform the work of obedience, by His Grace, as He lives within.

Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him:
for the marriage of the Lamb is come,
and his wife hath made herself ready.
(Revelation 19:7)