He brought me into His chamber,” Song 1:4.

Now exactly what took place in this “chamber moment,” (or private inner room/bedroom) we aren’t told. But it is my sense that the Shulamite became Solomon’s wife through sexual consummation. And it’s downplayed for a reason – partly because what took place for the Shulamite’s “first time” was too sacred to talk about – beyond words, really.

Eye have not seen, nor ears have not heard…what God has prepared for those who love Him, 1 Corinthians 2:9.

︎ 1. The Custom of Preparing a Bridal Chamber

Be not troubled…My Father’s house has many rooms… I go to prepare a place for you. And I will come again, and receive you unto myself, so that where I am, you will be also, John 14:1-3.

As I’ve been contemplating “consummation,” I remembered this little nugget about ancient Jewish marriage customs:

After a couple was espoused (engaged) the man would return to his father’s house to build a home for his bride. It was typically attached to his father’s house, surrounding a central courtyard for enjoying corporate fellowship and shared life with the family. But the individual room was for the couple’s special use only. It was for them to share intimacy, private discussions, and fellowship together in their unique way, apart from the din and distraction of the outside world.

When the man finished preparing all the details of this “bridal chamber,” he would then return with a wedding party to get his bride. She didn’t know when exactly, but she did have a little warning; usually just enough time to get her stuff (already packed) and light her lantern and go out to meet him.

He would then take her back to the bridal chamber, the marriage would be consummated, and the rest of the week was one long party! :-)

Now back to Jesus saying to the disciples, “in my Father’s house are many rooms,” and “I go to prepare a place for you” …

It is first compelling to consider anotherancient Jewish custom, regarding the marriage proposal and engagement. It actually corresponds to the the “last supper” that Jesus shared with His disciples! (See this short article I posted here.)

That being the case, Jesus’ death represents the dowry price that was necessary in a Jewish marriage contract. (“You are bought with a price,” 1 Cor. 6:20)

And then finally, after His resurrection, Christ goes away to prepare a bridal chamber in His Father’s house!

“…That where I am, you will be also.”

︎ 2. A Brief Look at Timing

When this began to come together for me, I was curious if any of the books and commentaries I own on the Song (which number about 18) made a similar connection between Song 1:4 and Jewish marriage customs. Nothing.

At first this puzzled me, until I remembered that the common view of Jesus “preparing a place” and “coming back for us” is all future! They say it will happen at Jesus’ “second” coming. And that these dwelling places are in heaven.

But is this true?

Partly – if we are talking about a new physical-like reality in resurrected bodies. But one thing that helps me understand a lot of confusing concepts, is to remember that God is beyond time. He can see the past, present, and future joined as one layered reality, and He can see things in the future as they already happened. The Bible doesn’t make any apologies in expressing all of the separate parts in seeming randomness. Sometimes it will say something is a past reality, other times that it is future, and then right along with it – say that it is a process unfolding that won’t happen without our participation!

So as to Jesus “coming back to get His Bride” and “bringing her to His bridal chamber,” we can understand this too, in a past, present, and future reality. They are all true.

The “past” reality is the one I am primarily dealing with in this post, however, because it’s the very ground from which our life of ongoing intimacy with God is rooted into!

︎ 3. When the Bride Enters His Chamber

So to summarize things up to this point:
(1) There is a marriage proposal and engagement experience pictured in the last supper.
(2) There is a picture of a dowry paid, in the death of Jesus on the cross.
(3) Then upon His ascension, Jesus returns to His Father to prepare a home for His bride.

So the next question is….When did Jesus come back for His bride and enter with her into His prepared chamber?

Well, if you remember, after Jesus was resurrected, and before He returned to God, he paid His followers some visits in His spirit body telling them about an experience they would have of receiving “power from on high.”^⁠1 He told them to wait (like a bride would eagerly wait) because, “in a little while you won’t see me, but then in a little while you will.”^⁠2

Then when the fulness of time came, the disciples were gathered together “in one accord” in an upper room waiting, according to Jesus’ instructions. It was at this perfect “time of love”^⁠3 that we then have a picture of Christ coming (in the form of His invisible spirit) and “filling” the people gathered there.

And the resulting ecstasy of union between them and God? Well, if you know the story, it could only be expressed in something beyond words. :-)

So from this point on, the mystery was revealed. The mystery of “Christ in us.”^⁠4The mystery that We (our bodies) are the actual dwelling place of Christ’s Spirit! We, each as individuals, are the smaller rooms within the larger house (the Father’s house) that Christ has prepared (and is still preparing) for sweet fellowship and intimacy!

By this we know we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He has given us [through consummation] of His Spirit,” 1 John 4:13.

He in us and us in Him…this is oneness with God on its basic foundation.

︎ But Be Filled Again and Again!

The beautiful thing about the Song, and the reason I love it so much, is that it takes a lot of words (like all that I wrote above) and simplifies it down to a relationship between a man and a woman. You don’t have to know a lot of Jewish customs, or the Writings, in order to unpack a whole lot from that. Like the fact that a husband and wife aren’t intimate just once, and call it a life. Even as we too give evidence in our lives of being the bride of Christ by being filled with the Spirit again and again, and feeling grieved whenever the Spirit is quenched by our spiritual dryness!^⁠5

The Shulamite may have had a “first time” experience in the opening of the Song, and whether it was as amazing as the second time, or the 50^th time – we don’t know – and that part doesn’t matter. There is a process to learning how to intimately dance together, and is different all the time and for every couple. And it is so much more than orgasm and the giving and receiving of seed. 99.9% of it is all the little acts of kindness and faithfulness shared between a couple, including the many ways they notice and call attention to each other’s beauty and virtues. Or another way of putting it…foreplay to orgasm is what you do the other 24 hours and 55 minutes of the day!

Sadly, most people who profess to be Christ’s do not have a rich spiritual life with Him, as these two have in the physical. They may believe they are the Bride of Christ, in theory, but their lives don’t feel or show it. They go about their days weighed down by all the cares and pleasures of this life, even staying busy for God, but as to a healthy spiritual inner life – it is at best like a couple who just live together as friends. If there is an ongoing experience of being “one” with God, it is a reality they see as off in the future,instead of something that can be realized and walked in right now.

Again, that’s why in this post I wanted to talk about our position in Christ, as seen from past events that He already accomplished. If we believe we are born from above and have the Spirit because of Christ’s work, then the serious question to ask is, “What now?” Is it really reasonable to rest on a first-time experience and no longer expect more? What does that say about our relationship with Him, and the great cost that He paid to have us, if we don’t give Him our all in return?

A great thing to do once in a while, is go back to the simplicity of the prayer that the Shulamite starts off with, which is what I’ve also been praying again lately:

“Draw me, O God! Yes, draw me to that vulnerable place of encountering You again as You really are, and You encountering me as I really am. Not just once, as when you first awakened me and filled me with Your spirit. But like You, I long to share tender moments like that over and over again! Help me be more sensitive to those times You are nudging and pulling me into our secret place, or call me out of my slumber or busyness to meet You there. Take pleasure in me O God. I don’t want to ever miss a single moment of your sweet presence in my life!”

¹Luke 24:49, John 14:16-18 / ²John 16:16 / ³Ezekiel 16:8 / ⁴Colossians 1:26-27 / ⁵Ephesians 5:18, 4:30, 1Thessalonians 5:19

Living like the Bride of Christ

This is a Process that begins with your Self Image of who you are, and how you think the King of Kings wants his BRIDE to be living. It is a State of Mind. Your Perception of your Reality.

God has Promised to Supply all our needs, so what do you think you are worth?

Your self worth is where your Faith level will be on how God is going to take care of you.

JESUS wants his BRIDE to have the Very, Very Best. Are you able to step up and receive that NOW?

We can all mentally ascend to that, but living it out is another story?

So we move from FAITH to FAITH. You start with what you can believe and CONFESS that you are Living as his BRIDE and it will begin to unfold according to your Faith.

It is all by FAITH so you must STRETCH Your FAITH and ACT on his WORD.

The enemy will certainly try to block you from Moving to Higher Ground in the Spirit, where you will be able to LIVE like a Real Women, when JESUS takes care of you.

BECOMING A KEPT WOMEN

JESUS wants to take care of You/ This is what is so Weird. We are always trying to Provide and take care of
our self, when JESUS wants to do this for us.

We have to allow JESUS to take care of us/ This will of course take some time, as you evolve Spiritually
and learn to receive More and More, from Heavenly Places in Christ JESUS, where his Storehouse is located.

No Limits, No Lack/

As your Image of who you are begins to Unfold and you see that you are to be REFLECTING more of
his GLORY, then you will become MORE of the Women God has in Mind for you to be.

You must get a NEW IMAGE of who you are becoming, so you have something your minds eye see's you
are being TRANSFORMED into day by day.

You must see yourself MATURING and MOVING on to HIGHER GROUND, Living a more FULFILLING
LIFE, as JESUS becomes your HUSBAND , you will have a WHOLE NEW LIFE Living as a Women of God.

Start this JOURNEY NOW/ stop looking at your present situation, and see yourself as his BRIDE, where your
Going and who you are becoming. START TO MATURE and GROW, and MOVE ON WARD and UPWARD
from this Point on.

The only LIMITS are in your imagination of who you are? and who THE BRIDE Must Become/

The BRIDE is a Kept Women, who simple lives to Glorify JESUS/ She is RESTING at his feet, with
No cares, Waiting on him to direct her path as she looks to him for all she needs.

Resting in the Bridal Chamber, Free from all earthly cares/ receiving the Gifts that he sends her daily/

Her Husband Lavishes on her Gifts and sends her Surprises just to delight her.

As she delights herself in the LORD, then he will Open unto her his Good Treasure/

He will send her secret presents, Gifts so special only she will see them/

(These Gifts can be untapped Talents or creative skills you suddenly begin to come into. )

Heavenly Delights from Heavenly Places.

The Desires of her Heart will be to simply have MORE OF JESUS/ all earthly desires have fallen away/

Here in is a Secret Place, of secret communicate/ There is only CONTENTMENT in his Presence.

The BRIDAL CHAMBER is the Secret Place, where the BRIDE is RESTING, surrounded by the Gifts
that just keep coming from the Bridegroom.

Beyond The Veil VIDEO

by
Ms Terry Mosley
2014

Hbr 6:3 And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding.

Isaiah 54
5 For thy Maker [is] thine husband; the LORD of hosts [is] his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel;
The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
6 For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou
wast refused, saith thy God.
7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.

Eph 1:3 Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings
in heavenly [places] in Christ:

This is not something you can mentally ascend to and walk in/ It is a Walk of FAITH that is Produced from ABIDING in his WORD and sitting at his feet/ Day by day, by day/ Morning by Morning/ Living by FAITH
in the Word of God/

A Relationship with JESUS is developed by HOT PURSUIT of him above all else. This then allows the
Holy Spirit to communicate with you in a very Supernatural way/

What is the “closet”?
In considering this verse, the use of the word “closet” from the King James Version particularly grabbed my attention. To my way of thinking it seems an odd way to describe a room you might enter for prayer. But there are several meanings for the word “closet” that shed much light on Jesus’ instruction to his disciples.

The Greek translation of the New Testament defines the closet as a place for storage. It is not the type of storage we typically think of when we use the word in connection with the word closet as in “storage closet”. We store our clothes, the broom, the mop, maybe the vacuum or some other household items in the closet. It’s not a very welcoming or desirable place to go for prayer. Most of us would probably not choose to go into one of our closets to have a prayer time!

The meaning of this word in the Greek more closely relates to that of a storehouse in which you would keep provisions. This type of storage room would be situated in the interior of an individual’s house and would most likely be located on the ground floor making it easily accessible. It has some parallels to our understanding of the storehouses or storage rooms that were located in the biblical temple in terms of what they might contain, such as grain or flour, olive oil and water or wine. These items would be the “daily bread” sorts of food items that would sustain life on a regular basis. In biblical days people might have used this “closet” to keep these types of food items on hand in much the same way we store food in our kitchen cabinets or pantry. They would have used this storehouse not only for the purpose of meeting their own need, but for gathering surplus or extra so that others’ needs could also be met. They might also have some of these same items stored in anticipation of and preparation for a time of famine.

In today’s culture many people typically have stored away some emergency supplies in the event of a sudden power outage, a hurricane or a heavy snowstorm. Your storeroom might contain some non-perishable food items, bottled water, a flash light or battery-powered lantern; all the things you might need to sustain life for a short period of time.

The word “closet” also means “a defense” or a private place of escape. It would be a place where you could find refuge from the threat of intruders or enemies; people wanting to cause you harm, or a place where you would be protected from terrible storms or other disasters. If you combine the idea of a storage closet or storehouse and the idea of a defensive, protected place it begins to look more like you might imagine a “panic room”, more commonly called a “safe room” in a house today. The website of a modern safe room builder describes the most popular, contemporary style of safe room as a “ground floor closet whose foundations have been reinforced with steel and concrete.”

A safe room is easy to get to yet it’s closed off from the rest of the house. It is impenetrable by enemies, and it provides shelter and protection. It contains provisions so that you can stay there for a while and not worry about going hungry or dying from thirst. It is a place that allows a person to contact outside help and to be at peace while waiting for them to arrive; to be kept safe, regardless of what is happening around them. This defensive kind of storehouse would be a place of sanctuary, a place where you would feel secure and where your needs would be met. You would go into the storehouse, into this defensive shelter, to access what is already there. If the provisions were not there, it would not be a storehouse. Neither would it provide a defense for you but rather it would be just another room in the house.

A parallel to this type of defensive place is a third meaning for the word “closet,” namely “a magazine”, a place where goods are stored, especially ammunition. You are likely to find this type of storeroom in a fortress. Here we have a place where weapons of war or munitions capable of destroying an enemy are readily available. These weapons are intended to completely avert, and if necessary, demolish whatever threatens the life and security of those who have taken refuge in the fortress.

Another definition of “closet” is “dispensary”, a room or a place where medicines and treatments are prepared and given out to those who are sick or injured. A well stocked dispensary will have on hand whatever might be needed for treating injuries, healing wounds, and remedies for various types of sicknesses.

In the King James version of the Bible, the word for “closet” is used once in the Old Testament passage from Joel 2:16c, “Let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber and the bride out of her closet.” The Hebrew word for “closet” here refers to a place of privacy, especially a person’s most private room. Other translations of the Bible use the term “secret chamber” or simply “chamber”. The King James’ use of the word “closet” has elements of the protective, defensive definition which we find in the Greek usage of the term. So, here we can see a distinction between the bridegroom’s chamber and the bride’s closet. The bride is afforded a special place of protection – a defensive shelter which the bridegroom does not necessarily require. When referred to in context of the bride and groom together we can understand that this “closet” or “secret chamber” is the bridal chamber, that place where no one else but the bride and bridegroom are allowed to enter. It is exclusive to them. It is a place where there is no disturbance; a guarded place that is closed to the outside world. It is a place of uninterrupted communion.

And finally, the term “secret chamber” is frequently used interchangeably with the terms “inner chamber”, “inner room” or “inner sanctuary.” These terms are used in the Old Testament to describe the Most Holy Place in the temple, the place where the presence of the Almighty God dwells in all his glory. The Most Holy Place was inaccessible to the average Jew of his day. As Christians we know that it is only through the death of Jesus Christ that this inner chamber was opened to ordinary human beings. Only through Jesus can we enter into that Most Holy Place where God dwells in splendor and majesty. This is the inner chamber, the throneroom of God where we are invited to enjoy intimate fellowship with him, to gain an audience with the King of Kings and Lord of all Lords. There is no higher place than this inner chamber!

What is God calling us to?
The term “prayer closet”, and it’s many nuances, shed much valuable light on what God is calling us to as we enter into prayer with him. If we understand this verse from Matthew and the word “closet” as it is defined here, then what God calls us to in this place is almost beyond our ability to describe; it is much more wonderful than our words can say. It is most certainly far beyond what we deserve. If we begin to think of our place of prayer as this type of room, then it takes on a whole measure of rich meaning for us.

C.S. Lewis’s classic children’s tale, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, describes the adventures of four siblings who, while playing hide-and-seek, unwittingly discover a whole new world as they step out the back of an old, musty wardrobe. God is calling us to approach our time with him by stepping over the threshold that allows us to enter into a vastly different environment from the one in which we live. He wants us to see this place of prayer as an easily accessible, protected, private place; a place that is already filled with his provision for us; gifts and graces that he is ready to pour into us; a place of quiet refuge, built on a strong foundation, where we are kept safe from the storms that often rage outside. In this storehouse, this safe room, he is our daily bread and the living water. He is also our source of light, providing wisdom and spiritual sight, inspiration and revelation. He wants to care for us as a father cares for his children by providing everything we need for life, but also that we might have a surplus to give to others. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). He wants to be our refuge from trouble. He is our defense and with his word as our weapon of war we are equipped, ready to fight against any enemies. “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4). He is waiting to dispense his healing balm so that we might be restored to wholeness. We enter into prayer and we are in a safe, restful, warm and secure place (Psalm 23: 1-6).

In addition, he wants us to come to him in this secret chamber to gain intimate knowledge of him; he wants to reveal himself to us; to be close to us. He ultimately wants union with our souls, something we find unimaginable and hard to fathom. What he desires is to give himself totally to us. And when we consider our unworthiness and fallen state it becomes a thought so big, so grand, and so unreasonable that we cannot wrap our brains around it!

Finally, we are given the astonishing privilege of entering into the very throne room of God, to have an audience with the Great King; to enter free of fear into the inner sanctuary. In this room, “…we are raised up with Christ and seated with Him in the heavenly realms…” (Ephesians 2: 6), and called to enter into the very presence of the Almighty God, the Creator of all that is, whose greatest and all-consuming desire is to love us without limits!

Our Lord Jesus is saying to us, “When you pray, enter all alone into your room, your closet, your storeroom, your safe room, your secret chamber, the inner chamber that is the throne room of your King, and closing the door behind you, shut out the rest of the world and pray to your Father who is unseen. And your Father who has provided everything you could ever need, the One who heals you, who is your defense and protector, the One who sees to the very center of your soul, who alone knows your heart and who sees all that is done in this secret place, will reward you.”

What is the “reward”?
The writer of Hebrews tells us that “…anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewardsthose who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6c). If the reward is for those who seek him earnestly, then we should ask ourselves, “What does it mean to seek the Lord “earnestly”? It is to seek him with a zealous determination to know him; to approach the Lord in all seriousness, with a thoughtful and sober recognition of who he is, who you are, and a heart full of gratitude for the great privilege we’ve been given that allows us to enter into his presence.

The writer of Psalm 63 understood what it meant to seek the Lord “earnestly”.

“God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
like a land that is parched,
              weary and without water.
I long to gaze on you in the sanctuary
and to see your power and your glory.
Your love is better than life itself!
My lips will recite your praise.
All my life I will bless you
and in your name I will
     lift up my hands.
On my lips there is a song of joy
and in my mouth, praise.
My soul feasts most richly.
On my bed I think of you;
I meditate on you all night long
for you have always helped me.
I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.
My soul clings close to you;
your right hand upholds me.”

The writer of this psalm is consumed with desire for God. He is suffering from a spiritual longing that can only be compared to the pain of dying from thirst. He wants to be lifted up into the higher place where he can “see” the glory of the Lord. He has known the love of God and is desirous of more of him, even to the point of preferring God to life itself. There is a profound ache within him to be in the Lord’s presence, to worship him, to keep him in the forefront of his mind at all times. He finds the same satisfaction in the presence of the Lord as feasting at a great banquet table. Even as he prepares for sleep his thoughts turn to the Lord, and throughout the night he is moved to give thanks for the help God has continually granted to him. He is determined to remain in the Lord’s providential care, trusting that God will take care of him. There is nothing casual about his relationship with God; he does not take it lightly. When he speaks with God it is with the utmost respect, honor, sincerity and solemnity. He is seeking the Lord “earnestly”.

In all earnestness we enter into our prayer “closet” believing the words of Jesus that “your father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:6).

So what is the “reward”? As it is used here, “reward” is a term that means to deliver, to give, to restore and to pay. But in this sense it is not a “one time” deal. It connotes a broader, ongoing intent to deliver again, to give again, to restore again and to pay again. Every time we enter into prayer, our Father is there waiting to give us again what we need, to deliver us from our sin and our enemies, and to restore us again to right relationship with him! And as we seek him in earnest our “payment” is the possession of God himself. He rewards us by allowing us to come into his presence – into the secret, exclusive, and private chamber where we can have the full attention of our King!

It would seem appropriate and reasonable for us to spend as much of our time as we can in this place with awe and wonder at our God and Father who has provided so abundantly for our needs. Here in this room he seems to be disinterested in our whimperings of unworthiness, but rather, he waits eagerly for us to come with an excited anticipation to receive his extravagant grace, mercy and love. Praise, worship and thanksgiving should be our primary occupation in this place.

Our Father certainly wants us to ask him for the things we need and to intercede for the needs of others. His storehouse has been opened to us and “he gives generously to all without showing favoritism.” Everything he has is ours for the asking. But in Matthew we see Jesus admonishing his hearers to, “Seek first the kingdom of God and all these other things will be added to you” (Matthew 7:6). Seek the higher things and the lesser things will be given as well. Seek the eternal and trust him for the temporal. Seeking God, wanting God, loving God for his own sake, in all earnestness, without any other agenda, is what he calls us to strive for with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 22:37). Giving glory and honor to the One who has so generously provided for our needs from his abundance is what is most fitting in this room set apart for our exclusive time of prayer with God.

Let us open the door!
If we would enter into prayer with our heavenly Father we need to be the ones who open the door. The Lord has issued the invitation, “behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, and I will come…” (Revelation 3:21). Our Father has made provision for us; he has provided for all of our needs. We can come into the storehouse which he has provided or remain outside, defenseless and needy. It is our choice to either access and receive his gifts or refuse his provision. He awaits his beloved in the secret chamber, in the exclusive closet. We make the decision whether to embrace him or to remain at a distance; to engage our King or to settle for less than he offers. Jesus makes a promise to those who open the door, “And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:6). God himself is our great reward – our greatest treasure and possession. What could possibly be more important and worth the investment of our time?

When Jesus spoke of the kingdom of heaven, He compared Himself to a bridegroom who was engaged to be married. “I love you as My bride,” He said, in effect, “so I’ll pay the bride price. I’ll give up My life for you. I’ll go to My Father’s house where there are many rooms to prepare a place for you. One day I will return and take you to be with Me forever in heaven.”

The metaphor Jesus used is one in which people who have accepted Him as Lord and Savior will be together in one family complex. Heaven will be like a joyous wedding reception, celebrating the love between the bride and the Bridegroom. This metaphor also gives new meaning to Jesus’ important teaching about love, community, and support. Only by living in that way could the people of Jesus’ day (and ours) be the vibrant, caring, influential community Jesus founded in His bride-the church.

In order to communicate His deep love for us, Jesus described His love in terms of a family community – terms that His audience clearly understood. He compared Himself to a bridegroom who chose a bride (the church); who paid a steep price for her (His life on the cross); who has gone to prepare a place for her in his father’s house (heaven); and who will come again to take her home. This metaphor was familiar to the people of Jesus’ day because a bridegroom customarily left his fiancée to build a home for her, then returned to get her. Likewise, Jesus will one day return to take His followers to His home in heaven, where ewe will experience joyous community with Him forever.

Our betrothal contract is the Word of God, for it contains every promise our loving, Groom has made on our behalf.

We exchanged gifts at our betrothal. When we accepted Him, Jesus gave us love, commitment, and loyalty. And at that moment God Himself has given us the Holy Spirit, who has bestowed His own gifts of eternal life, grace, faith, love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Like the bride in her purifying mikvah, we have been baptized with water and by the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:16; Acts 1:5). And in this interim, as we wait between Pentecost and Trumpets, Jesus Christ, our Bridegroom, returned to His Father’s house to prepare everything for our arrival.

Before He departed this earth, Jesus said, “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” John 14:2-3.

How do we publicly demonstrate our acceptance of Christ? Just like the bride, each time we take the communion cup and drink we proclaim our wedding vows to our beloved Lord. We demonstrate that we love only Him, that we are loyal to Him, and that we are waiting for Him.

In ancient163 Israel, when it was time for a man and woman to marry, both fathers would negotiate the bride price to compensate the bride-to-be’s family. After exchanging a glass of wine to seal the agreement, the couple was formally engaged.

Then the young man would say to his fiancée, in effect, “I’m going home to my father’s house and prepare a place for you. When I’ve done that, I’ll return and take you to be my wife.”The son (typically in his mid-twenties) would then build a new house onto his father’s existing one. As generations married and built their houses onto the original one, they created a housing complex called an insula.Here, family members ate, worked, and lived together. The children knew their grandparents, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews. Everyone benefited as family members shared their lives and values.

As her fiancé and his father prepared her new home, the bride-to-be (typically fourteen or fifteen years old) would remain at her parent’s home, preparing her wedding clothes and learning the skills of homemaking. During this time, she was known in the community as “one who had been bought with a price.” She might wait six months, nine months, or even longer for her beloved to return. No one knew the exact time when he would come for her.

Like the eager164 bride, we keep our lamps burning and strive to be ready, for we don’t know when He might come. Our bridegroom will soon come for us. Make no mistake, we must wait with our ears attuned to hear the trumpet sound. We’re not going into or through the Tribulation. We’re going home, to the city where there will be no death, no parting, no sorrow, no sickness. We’re going to the city where the Lamb is the Light, to the city where roses never fade, to the city inhabited by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and King Jesus.

When the couple’s house was completed, the husband-to-be would gather his friends and family and go to his fiancées house to announce the wedding and take his bride to their new home. People would gather in the open courtyard of the insula, and the “best man” would stand by the door of the wedding chamber and wait while the couple consummated the marriage. Then he would announce that the wedding had taken place, and a joyous seven-day reception would follow. These insights help us to understand how wonderful heaven and our eternal relationship with God will be.

Jesus left us in His church with a reminder of His last night on earth. That last night witnessed the inauguration of the Last Supper, which we celebrate tonight as the Lord’s Table or Communion. Tonight we need to examine one aspect of Christ’s giving this supper. It is evident in the words He used and the sequence in which the Lord’s Supper was given.

Jesus says right after the Lord’s Last Supper these words:
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am there ye may be also” (John 14:1-3).

To us who love the Bible, the words of John 14:1-3 are familiar words of promise from Jesus to His Church. But tonight we need to also remember that Jesus actually drew from the culture of His day, and used words similar to those of a Jewish bridegroom to his bride.

In the Old Testament world the people of the Lord had wedding165 customs, service, and ceremonies which were (Romans 3:2; 9:4) to teach us about the Messiah Yeshua (Colossians 2;16-17). With this in mind, let’s examine the biblical wedding ceremony that the Lord gave to the Jewish people. The ancient Jewish wedding ceremony G-d gave to the Jewish people to teach us about the wedding of the Messiah consisted of 12 steps.

SELECTED: The selection of the bride.
PURCHASED: A bride price was established.
BETROTHED: The bride and groom are betrothed to each other.
COMMUNICATED: A written document is drawn up, known as a kitubah. This betrothal contract is called, in Hebrew, a shitre erusin.

CONSENTED: The bride must give her consent.
SEALED: Gifts were given to the bride and a cup called the cup of the covenant was shared between the bride and the groom.

CLEANSED: The bride had a mikvah (water immersion), which is a ritual of cleansing.

SEPARATED: The bridegroom departed
PREPARED: The bridegroom went back to his father’s house and prepared the bridal chamber, while the Bride prepared for her new home.

AWAITED: The bridegroom would return with a shout, “Behold, the bridegroom comes” and the sound of the ram’s horn (shofar) would be blown.

ESCORTED: He would abduct his bride, usually in the middle of the night, to go to the bridal chamber where the marriage would be consummated. This is the full marriage, known in Hebrew as nesu’in.

CELEBRATED: Finally, there would be a marriage supper for all the guests invited by the father of the bride.

The ancient Jewish wedding ceremony G-d gave to the Jewish people to teach us about the wedding of the Messiah consisted of 12 steps.

The selection of the bride. Ephesians 1:4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
A bride price was established. 1 Peter 1:18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers,
The bride and groom are betrothed to each other. Romans 8:28-30 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

A written document is drawn up, known as a kitubah. This betrothal contract is called, in Hebrew, a shitre erusin. John 14:21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. 3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

The bride must give her consent. Revelation 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.

Gifts were given to the bride and a cup called the cup of the covenant was shared between the bride and the groom. 1 Corinthians 11:25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

The bride had a mikvah (water immersion), which is a ritual of cleansing.Titus 3:5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, Acts 2:41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

The bridegroom departed. John 16:7But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

The bridegroom went back to his father’s house and prepared the bridal chamber. Meanwhile, the bride was to wait eagerly for the return of the bridegroom. In the mind of the bride, the bridegroom could come at any time, even in the middle of the night or at midnight. Therefore, she had to be ready at all times. Mark 13:32-37 “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. 34 It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. 35 “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back— whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’” and Matthew 25:1-3. Matthew 25:1-3 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. While waiting for her bridegroom to come, the bride had to have thought to herself, “Is he really coming back for me? Is he really going to keep his word?” John 14:1-2 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.

The bridegroom would return with a shout, “Behold, the bridegroom comes” and the sound of the ram’s horn (shofar) would be blown. The time of the return of the bridegroom was usually at midnight. When the bridegroom did come, he came with a shout (Matthew 25:6) and with the blowing of a shofar (trumpet) (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 4:1). The marriage between the bride and the groom will take place under the chupah or wedding canopy. Since Heaven is a type of chupah, we can see that whenYeshua gives a shout for His bride, accompanied by the blowing of a shofar (trumpet), the marriage between Yeshua and His bride will take place in Heaven. The marriage ceremony will have a sacred procession. For this reason, the bridegroom (Yeshua) will be led to the chupah first. When the bridegroom approaches the chupah, the cantor chants, “Blessed is he who comes.” “Blessed is he who comes” is an idiomatic expression meaning “welcome.” Yeshua said that he would not return for His bride until these words were said (Matthew 23:39). The groom is greeted like a king under the chupah. During this time Yeshua, the bridegroom, will be crowned King under the chupah, which is Heaven. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 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. He would abduct his bride, usually in the middle of the night, to go to the bridal chamber where the marriage would be consummated, known in Hebrew as nesu’in. 1 Thessalonians 4:17 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. 18 Therefore encourage each other with these words.

Finally, there would be a marriage supper for all the guests invited by the father of the bride. Revelation 19:9Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”

? What a powerful picture of what God has prepared for us! We are the betrothed bride of Christ, sought by the Holy Spirit and purchased at Calvary with Jesus’ precious blood. Paul said, “For you were bought at a price” (1 Cor. 6:20)

? The almighty Father looked down from heaven and accepted the price of our redemption..
? We, the bride, accepted the Groom and the evidence of His love for us.
? Our betrothal contract is the Word of God, for it contains every promise

our loving, Groom has made on our behalf.

? We exchanged gifts at our betrothal. When we accepted Him, Jesus gave

us love, commitment, and loyalty. God Himself has given us the Holy Spirit, who has bestowed His own gifts of eternal life, grace, faith, love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

? Like the bride in her purifying mikvah, we have been baptized with water and by the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit.
? In this interim, as we wait between Pentecost and Trumpets, Jesus Christ, our Bridegroom, returned to His Father’s house to prepare everything for our arrival.
? Before He departed this earth, Jesus said, “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” John 14:2-3
? How do we publicly demonstrate our acceptance of Christ? Just like the bride, each time we take the communion cup and drink the wine we proclaim our wedding vows to our beloved Lord. We demonstrate that we love only Him, that we are loyal to Him, and that we are waiting for Him.
? Like the eager bride, we keep our lamps burning and strive to be ready, for we don’t know when He might come. Our bridegroom will soon come for us. Make no mistake, we must wait with our ears attuned to hear the trumpet sound. We’re not going into or through the Tribulation.
? We’re going home, to the city where there will be no death, no parting, no sorrow, no sickness. We’re going to the city where the Lamb is the Light, to the city where roses never fade, to the city inhabited by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and King Jesus.

These beautiful comparisons between the Jewish marriage and the coming of our Bridegroom teach us many things, but the most important is to be ready for our Bridegroom’s coming. We are ready positionally when we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior, but are we ready in our daily walk?

What does the coming of the Bridegroom mean to you?
Do you love Jesus Christ as much now as when you took Him to be your Savior? Is He the One who gives meaning and purpose to your life?
Are you being faithful in your commitment to Him? If not, rededicate your life to your wonderful Savior and Bridegroom so that you can be

ready for the hour of His coming.

THE ANCIENT CULTURE OF JEWISH WEDDINGS WAS BEAUTIFUL

What Jesus had repeatedly166 declared during His ministry earlier in the Gospels? He said He was the Groom and we are His Bride! Before we look at those passages, listen as I trace the customs of a Jewish marriage in the days of Jesus. Here is the ancient history of Jewish marriage customs. As we examine them we will see some very powerful prophetic implications applying to the Lord Jesus and His Church. As you listen you will find that He used the very same terms as the 1st Century Jews used, to portray His coming as Savior, and the Heavenly Bridegroom for His Bride–the Church. Christ’s offer as our Bridegroom is a glorious promise!

SHEWASSOUGHTBYTHEGROOM.InBibledays,whenayoungJewish man chose his bride-to-be, he traveled from his father’s house to her home to discuss betrothal–the first major step in establishing the marriage covenant.
SHEWASPAIDFOR.Therehenegotiatedwithherfatherthepurchasepricehewould pay (called in the Hebrew tongue the mohar) to make her his own.
SHEWASSETAPARTEXCLUSIVELYFORTHEGROOM.Oncethebridegroom had agreed on the price, and paid that price, the marriage covenant was established; and the young man and woman were betrothed, or regarded as promised to one another—as husband and wife. From that moment the bride was declared “sanctified,” or set apart exclusively for her bridegroom. Throughout this waiting time, the bride wore a veil as a symbol of her consecration to her groom alone. She was declaring her desire to not be seen or known by strangers.
SHEWASGIVENASYMBOLOFTHECOVENANT.Totestifyofthebindingnature of this promise, there was the offering of a symbol of this established covenant relationship. This symbol was the sharing of a cup of wine, as the groom and the bride drank from a cup of wine over which a betrothal benediction had been prayed.
SHEWASLEFTWITHAPROMISEDRETURN.Then,beforeleavingHisbeloved bride, the groom would offer words of comfort. Often it was as long as a year before he would return to take her to the wedding. So he would say, “Don’t be troubled, I am going to prepare the home for you to stay in with me, and then I will return.” Listen again to this special promise he made before departing: “Let not your heart be troubled . . . I go to prepare a place for you. . . and . . . I will come again.”

SHEWASLEFTTOPREPARE.Then,withthemarriagecovenantsettled,the groom would leave his bride’s home and return to his father’s house, where he remained, separated from his bride for a period of days, weeks, and months. This was also a time for the bride to prepare. She was at work on her wedding dress, and she was busy gathering the necessary items for setting up her home. These were all part of getting ready to be the wife of her beloved groom when he returned.
SHEWASPROMISEDANEWHOME.Duringtheirtimeapart,thegroomwould be at work adding onto his father’s home. The homes of Israel were built around central courtyards, and often had many smaller dwellings all forming the family home. So as the groom built a bridal chamber in his father’s house, he was preparing for their coming marriage day.
SHEWASSWEPTAWAYUNEXPECTEDLY.Thenwhenthegroomwassure that all was ready, he set out with his best man and groomsmen. This was usually a nighttime torchlight procession (like Matthew 25 portrays then walking at night with torches) to the bride’s home. There a cry was made that the Groom was coming, and the bride would come out to meet him. The groom then took his bride to be with him. Though the bride expected her bridegroom to come at any time, she did not know the exact day or hour when he would appear. His only warning of arrival was a shout–alerting the bride that it was time at last to come out to meet and greet her groom.
SHEWASTAKENTOPREPAREDPLACEINTHEFATHER’SHOUSE.Then the groom, with his bride and the entire wedding party, returned back to his father’s house, where they found that the father had prepared a great marriage feast for all his wedding guests.
SHE WAS UNITED WITH HER HUSBAND. Soon after arrival, the bridegroom and bride were escorted by wedding party members to the bridal chamber (Hebrew: huppah). The bridegroom and bride went together into the bridal chamber to enter into their first physical union, consummating their covenanted marriage. The best man waited outside the chamber, listening for the groom’s prearranged signal. During the seven-day wedding celebration, the bride remained hidden in the bridal chamber.
SHE WAS KEPT FOR SEVEN DAYS IN SECRET AND THEN BROUGHT OUT. When the marriage was consummated, the groom signaled the best man (John 3:29), who told the good news to the wedding guests; and all rejoiced and feasted in a seven-day marriage celebration. During that celebration, the bride remained hidden in the bridal chamber. When the seven days were completed, the groom brought his bride out of the bridal chamber (with her veil removed) so that all could see her.

DID YOU NOTE THE AMAZING PARALELLS BETWEEN CHRIST’S BRIDE
AND A JEWISH BRIDE OF THE 1ST CENTURY?

WEAREBOUGHTWITHAPRICE.TheJewishgroompaidapricetopurchasehis bride, and Jesus paid a price to purchase His Bride. The price He paid was His own life. He said, “. . . I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:15). Also read Matthew 20:28 and 1 Peter 1:18-19.
WEARESANCTIFIEDFORCHRIST.Oncethemarriagecovenantwasestablished, the Jewish bride was set apart exclusively for her groom. Likewise, the Church has been sanctified, or set apart exclusively, for Christ (Eph. 5:25-27; 1 Cor. 1:2, 6:11; Heb. 10:10, 13:12).
WEPARTAKEOFCHRIST’SCUP.ThecupofwineattheJewishweddingwassymbolic of the marriage covenant by which the Jewish groom obtained his bride. And the cup of communion that we drink is symbolic of the New Covenant through which Christ has obtained the Church (1 Cor. 11:25).
JESUSWENTTOHEAVEN.JustastheJewishgroomreturnedtohisfather’shouse after the marriage covenant had been established, so Jesus left the earth and returned to His Father’s house in Heaven after He had established the New Covenant and rose from the dead (John 6:62, 20:17).
WELONGFORCHRIST’SRETURN.JustastheJewishgroomandbridewereseparated for a time, Christ has been separated from the Church for over 1,900 years. The Church is now living in that period of separation.Philippians 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Hebrews 9:28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

As the Jewish groom came to take his bride to live with him at the end of the period of separation, so Christ will come to take the Church to live with Him at the end
of this Church Age (John 14:3).

JESUSISPREPARINGAPLACEFORUS.JustastheJewishgroomspent time preparing living accommodations for his bride in his father’s house, Jesus has been preparing living accommodations for us in His Father’s house in Heaven (John 14:2).
JESUSISCOMINGAGAIN.AstheJewishgroomcametotakehisbridetolive with him at the end of the period of separation, so Christ will come to take the Church to live with Him at the end of this Church Age (John 14:3).
WEAREALWAYSTOBEWATCHING.JustasthecomingfortheJewishbride began by a torchlight procession of the groom and groomsmen from the groom’s father’s house to the home of the bride, so the taking of the Church will be accomplished by a procession of Christ and an angelic host from the Father’s house in Heaven to the earth (1 Thess. 4:16).
WEAREALWAYSTOBEREADY.JustastheJewishbridedidnotknowthe exact time of the groom’s coming, the Church does not know the exact time of Christ’s coming. In the same way that the Jewish groom’s arrival was preceded by a shout, so Christ’s arrival to take the Church will be preceded by a shout (1 Thess. 4:16).

10.WE WILL JOIN THE SAINTS AT CHRIST’S BANQUET TABLE. Just as the Jewish wedding party found wedding guests assembled in the groom’s father’s house when they arrived, so Messiah and the Church will find the souls of Old Testament saints assembled in Heaven when they arrive. These friends of the bridegroom will serve as the wedding guests. Luke 13:29 They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.

11.WE WILL BE ONE WITH CHRIST. Just as the Jewish groom and bride entered into physical union after they arrived at the groom’s father’s house (thereby consummating the marriage that had been covenanted earlier), Jesus and the Church will experience a great spiritual union after their arrival at the Father’s house in Heaven. John 17:20-22 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:

12.WE WILL STAY WITH JESUS IN HEAVEN. Just as the Jewish bride remained hidden in the bridal chamber for a period of seven days after arrival at the groom’s father’s house, the Church will remain hidden for a period of seven years (the Tribulation) after arrival at the Father’s house in Heaven. While the seven-year Tribulation Period is taking place on earth, the Church will be in Heaven–totally hidden from the sight of those on the earth. Revelation 4:1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first

voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up

here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.”

While the seven-year Tribulation Period is taking place on earth, the Church will be in Heaven– totally hidden from the sight of those on the earth.

13.WE WILL RETURN WITH OUR KING. Just as the Jewish groom brought his bride out of the bridal chamber at the conclusion of the seven days so that all could see who the bride was, so Christ will bring the Church out of Heaven at the end of the seven-year Tribulation Period, so that all can see the identity of the true Church (Col. 3:4).

BELIEVERS ARE CHRIST’S BRIDE

So, who is the “Bride of Christ”? Obviously, we who are Church-age believers belonging to Christ are His Bride. In Revelation 19:7 we see the Jewish wedding imagery. Remember that Hebrew weddings consisted of 3 phases:

1) The Promise or betrothal (the price, the cup, the wait);
2) The Presentation (the coming, the taking, the festivities, often lasting several

days,
3) The Proclamation (the public exchanging of vows).

The Bride167 of Christ is that vast body of believers who in these last 2,000 years have received Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord. Consider another passage from Paul’s pen, where he told the Corinthian believers: “. . . I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:2).

167 The Church Was Betrothed To Christ By His Sovereign Choice In Eternity Past (Eph. 1:4; Heb. 13:20) And Will Be Presented To Him At The Rapture (John 14:1–3; 1 Thess. 4:13–18). The Final Supper Will Signify The End Of The Ceremony. This Symbolic Meal Will Take Place At The Establishment Of The Millennial Kingdom And Last Throughout That 1,000 Year Period (Cf. 21:2). While The Term “Bride” Often Refers To The Church, And Does So Here (2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:22–24), It Ultimately Expands To Include All The Redeemed Of All Ages, Which Becomes Clear In Revelation 21:2 As John’s Imagery Here Extends From The Third Part Of The Jewish Wedding, The Ceremony. Believers (The Bride) In The New Jerusalem Come To Meet Christ (The Bridegroom) In The Final Ceremony Of Redemptive History. The Whole City, Occupied By All The Saints, Is Called The Bride, So That All Saints Must Be Finally Included In The Bride Imagery And Bridal Blessing. God Has Brought Home A Bride For His Beloved Son.

All The Saints Live With Christ In The Father’s House (A Promise Made Before The Church Began168). Now, Read John 14:1-3 With Me Again, And Remember What Jesus Said In That Powerful Promise Passage.

What do these Jewish marriage customs mean to you and me today? Why recall or study them at all? Because they give us an exciting “wedding portrait” of our blessed Savior and His Bride-the Church! No less than ten major statements in New Testament Scripture refer to Jesus Christ the Son of God as the “Bridegroom,” and to the Church as His “Bride.” It is the most magnificent and beautiful love story anywhere in the pages of prophecy. And we who belong to the Savior, who are the “Bride of Christ,” eagerly and expectantly await the return of the Bridegroom.

Matthew 9:15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

Matthew 22:1-4 And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, 3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. 4 Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.” ’

Matthew 25:1-4 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

Mark 2:19-20 And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. 20 But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.

Luke 5:34-35 And He said to them, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days.”

John 3:29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.

John 14:1-3 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

Romans 7:4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.

2 Corinthians 11:1-2 Oh, that you would bear with me in a little folly—and indeed you do bear with me. 2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

Ephesians 5:23, 30-32 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. 31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Revelation 19:7-9 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”

Revelation 21:2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

The Bride of Christ is that vast body of believers who in these last 2,000 years have received Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour and Lord.

Jesus chose us to be His Bride. Just as the Jewish bridegroom left his father’s house to seek his bride, so Jesus left His Father’s house in Heaven and came to earth 2,000 years ago to select His Bride.

ARE YOU WAITING FOR YOUR GROOM’S RETURN PERHAPS TODAY?

Jesus’ Relationship169 with His Bride – the Church – Jesus often used the metaphor of the marriage relationship to describe His love for His church.

Infirst-centuryIsrael,abridegroom’sfamilyagreedtopayabrideprice(usually a large sum) to compensate the bride’s family for the loss of their daughter. What price did Jesus pay for you? (See 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Galatians 3:13- 14; 1 Peter 1:18-19.) Suggested Response: Jesus bought us at a great price. He died on the cross to redeem us with His precious blood.
An engagement in first-century Israel was as serious as marriage. (Breaking an engagement required a divorce.) After the families agreed on the “bride price,” the couple drank a glass of wine together to indicate their life commitment to each other. How does your knowledge of this engagement custom enhance your understanding of Luke 22:20? Suggested Responses: Jesus was making a life commitment to His followers – a commitment that would require Him to lay down His life. When we participate in the Lord’s Supper, we are affirming our life commitment to Him.
Afterhisbetrothal,thehusband-to-bereturnedtohisfather’shouseholdand, supervised by his father, prepared a place for his bride by adding on to the family insula. Where is Jesus, our Bridegroom, and what is He doing? (See John 14:1-3.) Suggested Responses: Jesus is in heaven, preparing a place for each of His followers in His Father’s household of many rooms. He will return and take all believers home with Him, where we will live forever in a joyous community.
Infirst-centuryIsrael,thebride-to-beremainedatherparents’home,preparing for her wedding and learning how to be a wife and mother. One day, often in the evening, the husband-to-be and his friends and family would arrive at her home and announce their arrival with singing, dancing, shouting, and maybe even by blowing a trumpet. After the couple went to their new home and consummated their wedding, a lengthy celebration followed. How and when will Jesus, our spiritual Bridegroom, announce His arrival? (See Matthew 24:36-39; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.) When His Father says the time is right, Jesus will return from heaven with a “loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God,” and take His followers to His home in heaven forever.
Theparableofthetenvirgins,recordedinMatthew25:1-13,portraysthereturn of the bridegroom and the bride’s need to be ready. In light of this parable, why must Christians always be ready for Jesus’ return? Suggested Responses: We do not know when Jesus will return for us, so we must always be prepared and live expectantly, just as the brides-to-be in ancient Israel.
In light of the imminent return of Jesus, our spiritual Bridegroom, what should be our motive for godly living? (See 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.) Suggested Vander Laan, Faith Lessons On The Life & Ministry Of The Messiah. Leader’s Guide, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Responses: Jesus paid the “bride price” for us, so we belong to Him, not to

ourselves. Because we are His, we ought to honor Him with our lives.
7. What does Jesus promise, according to Revelation 19:7-9; 21:2-4? Suggested

Response: Jesus (the Lamb) promises to return for us (His beautiful bride, the church) and begin a wedding celebration in honor of God’s eternal dwelling with His people in heaven.

Wedding in Jewish culture has some very powerful images for us as Christians today. A young man and his father negotiate the price for his bride, after that price is agreed upon a cup of wine is poured for the son. The son then holds out that cup for his bride and says “This cup I offer you”. It is his way to say I love you and I offer you my life. For the girl it is a moment of decision, either to say no or to take and to drink.

So in the middle of the Passover meal Jesus turns to His diciples and holds out a cup just like in the marriage negotiations and says to them, “I love you, will you marry Me? Will you be my spiritual bride?” And that is what Jesus says to us today at this Lord’s Supper. This is an incredibly personal moment, as God looks down at us and when we take this cup Christ has offered and drink it we say again to Christ “I love you, I accept your life and I give you my life in return.”

Grooms paid a high price for their bride, but not mant thought they would have to give their life for their bride. The elements of the Lord’s Supper represent God’s promised Lamb to die for our sins. And to celebrate that sacrifice God has invited us to have dinner with Him. I love you He says to me!

What will Jesus170 say when you stand before the Savior? I’d like to mention one final picture found in the Festival of Pentecost. Just as the giving of the Law was a rehearsal for the giving of the Spirit, the entire Pentecost experience is part of our “wedding rehearsal” for the marriage of the Lamb. When you accepted Christ and were baptized by His Spirit, you became betrothed to the Lamb. The image of a wedding is often used in Scripture. Typically, an ancient Hebrew wedding took place in two stages:

The first stage was the betrothal, during which the bride and groom were legally joined, though they did not live together. The written betrothal contract was called a ketubah, and could not be broken without a legal divorce, a get. You may recall from the Christmas story that Mary and Joseph were betrothed when she became pregnant with Jesus. Alarmed at the thought that his bride-to-be was carrying another man’s child, Joseph was tempted to quietly obtain a divorce until an angel spoke to him in a dream and told him that Mary carried the Son of God. The second stage of a Hebrew wedding is the consummation of the marriage. The groom prepares a place for his bride, then journeys to her father’s house to get her. Amid great rejoicing, the groom returns with his bride, calls his friends, and arranges for a festive wedding supper. Jeremiah 2:2-3 tells us that at Mount Sinai, God betrothed Himself to Israel: I remember you, The kindness of your youth, The love of your betrothal, When you went after Me in the wilderness, In a land that was not sown. Israel was holiness to the LORD, The first fruits of His increase. (NKJV) The Torah, or teaching, which God gave to Israel at Mount Sinai was a betrothal contract. Just as marriage is a covenant, or an agreement between two people, even so the words that Moses wrote formed a marriage covenant between God and Israel: And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. …Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, ” All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient.” And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words.” (Ex. 24:4, 7-8 NKJV) But when Moses came down from the mountain, the newly betrothed nation of Israel had already forsaken her first love. Her leaders were dancing around the image of a golden calf; her love had already eroded to unfaithfulness. In a fit of righteous anger, Moses threw down the stone tablets upon which God Himself had written, breaking the record of a covenant with Israel (Ex. 32:15-19). God did renew the covenant with Israel (Ex. 34:10-28), but Moses, not God, wrote upon the second set of stones. The bride’s fickle heart interrupted the “wedding rehearsal,” but God’s love is an enduring love. As we will see next week, the wedding plans are still valid. Christians are betrothed to Christ through the new covenant written on our hearts and sanctified by the blood of Christ. We love a heavenly Groom we have not seen, and believe He may come at any moment. Today the Master’s Son, Jesus Christ, waits to come for His bride. When He comes to fetch her away, anyone who has trusted Him, Jew or Gentile, will go with Him to the place He has prepared. If you are a believer in Christ, a place at the wedding supper is reserved for you. But we can’t become so heavenly focused that we forget one important fact: The purpose of Pentecost is evangelism. Pentecostal power was given so that you can be a witness for Christ in your Jerusalem, your Judea, and your Samaria.

? What a powerful picture of what God has prepared for us! We are the betrothed bride of Christ, sought by the Holy Spirit and purchased at Calvary with Jesus’ precious blood. Paul said, “For you were bought at a price” (1 Cor. 6:20 NK]V). T
? he almighty Father looked down from heaven and accepted the price of our redemption..
? We, the bride, accepted the Groom and the evidence of His love for us.
? Our betrothal contract is the Word of God, for it contains every promise

our loving, Groom has made on our behalf.

? We exchanged gifts at our betrothal. When we accepted Him, Jesus gave

? Like the bride in her purifying mikvah, we have been baptized with water

and by the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit {Luke 3:16; Acts 1:5).

? In this interim, as we wait between Pentecost and Trumpets, Jesus

Christ, our Bridegroom, returned to His Father’s house to prepare

everything for our arrival.

? Before He departed this earth, Jesus said, “In My Father’s house are

many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” John 14:2-3 NKJV).

? How do we publicly demonstrate our acceptance of Christ? Just like the bride, each time we take the communion cup and drink the wine we proclaim our wedding vows to our beloved Lord. We demonstrate that we love only Him, that we are loyal to Him, and that we are waiting for Him.
? Like the eager bride, we keep our lamps burning and strive to be ready, for we don’t know when He might come. Our bridegroom will soon come for us. Make no mistake, we must wait with our ears attuned to hear the trumpet sound. We’re not going into or through the Tribulation. We’re going home, to the city where there will be no death, no parting, no sorrow, no sickness. We’re going to the city where the Lamb is the Light, to the city where roses never fade, to the city inhabited by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and King Jesus.

Bridal Encounters was born out of intimacy with the Bridegroom. In a season of separation, the Lord showed me His bride and spoke to me about awakening the bride to His sound like never before, being in tune with His frequency and vibration and becoming spotless and without wrinkle.

The Bridegroom has a deep desire to reveal more of who He is to His bride. He is calling us deeper into the bridal chamber for face to face encounters that will farther cement us in Him. It is time to move to a different dimension of intimacy. Deep is calling unto deep. Go beyond the veil, ascend into the heavens and take your rightful place beside Him.

To seek Him is to know Him. To know Him is to be one with Him.

Jeremiah 33:3 Call to Me and I will answer you. I will tell you of great things beyond what you can imagine, things you could never have known.(The Voice)

Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say: “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wants it take the water of life free of charge. (The Voice)

Revelation 21:6 I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will see to it that the thirsty freely drink from the fountain of the water of life. (The Voice)

Earlier Bridal Chamber Christianity efforts such as the Joseph and Asenath and the Gospel of Thomas in the late first century, the Gospel of Philip in the early second century, and the Odes of Solomon from probably the mid-second century all were fairly shy and discreet about revealing the secrets of the Bridal Chamber. By the early third century Irenaeus had published his attacks on heresy and the secrets were out. Exegesis of the Soul reads like a Bible study with a number of long quotations in a full scale defense marshaling the Scriptural prophets and apostles and Greek literature in the allegorical method of interpretation in defending the fundamental mythology of the descent of Adam and Eve from the Primal Adam and the need to return to that unity in the Bridal Chamber.

Exeg. Soul could very well have been inspired or modeled after the first century allegorical ‘Joseph and Asenath’ that is a story of a conversion from idol-worshipping through repentance to a holy union with a twin soul in a Bridal Chamber typology. It could have been responded to by the Hymn of the Soul which is a similar allegory with much less sexually charged language written from a male viewpoint rather than the female-oriented Exeg. Soul. Scholars widely suspect the Hymn of the Soul was composed by Bardaisan who had a much more benign view of sexuality since he was married and had several children. His death in 222 CE allowed time for Exegesis of the Soul to have been published early in the third century and responded to by Hymn of the Soul.

The first very interesting insight that Exeg. Soul discusses is that while the womb is internal, ‘the womb of the soul’ is external: “is around the outside (of the body) like the male genitalia, which are external”. It is cleansed through repentance when the person turns inward. (section 131-132) This author is not aware of something like an aura having been discussed in similar early literature.

Exeg. Soul is very explicit in discussing the souls ‘bridegroom’ who “came down to her in the bridal chamber”. She, first, had to “cleanse herself in the bridal chamber: she filled it with perfume”. The bridegroom then came and “decorated the bridal chamber”. Later on “she adorned herself still more so that he might be pleased to stay with her” and “when the soul (had adorned) herself in her beauty”. This ‘adorned’ verbiage shows up elsewhere in the Bridal Chamber literature such as the Gospel of Philip and Tripartite Tractate.

The most shocking climax to the Bridal Chamber discussion and the book itself is the description of the bridegroom as “the firstborn”. The shocking part is that in this book designed as a Bible study for an orthodox Christian audience that it is clear this nomenclature is not applied to Jesus. This ‘firstborn’ is the male part of the soul. Genesis 2:24 is quoted and explained: “For they were originally joined to one another when they were with the Father before the woman led astray the man, who is her brother.”

Exeg. Soul does not reveal or make any reference to any special psychomantium meditation techniques such as using a mirror or dyed water. However, extended periods of meditation seem to be referred to: “she filled it with perfume; she sat in it waiting for the true bridegroom. No longer does she run around the marketplace…she did not know what he looked like” and “Then gradually she recognized him…”

Christ is given lip service early on: “But as to this prostitution the apostles of the savior commanded…” and later in quoting him several times, even in Jn 6:44: “…I myself will raise him up on the last day” but when it comes to giving credit: “when she becomes young again she will ascend, praising the father and her brother, by whom she was saved”. This does not seem to be an oversight from the general context of the book.

Exeg. Soul fits right in with Dialogue of the Savior’s discussion of the merger of two spirits with one soul and Joseph and Asenath’s heavenly marriage, especially, in the Bridal Chamber literature’s focus on the reunification of ‘Adam and Eve’. The secret is completely out-of-the-bag with Exeg. Soul. This is what the popular draw of the Bridal Chamber was all about and why it survived well into the second century despite repression by governments and religions.

Translated by William C. Robinson Jr.

Wise men of old gave the soul a feminine name. Indeed she is female in her nature as well. She even has her womb.

As long as she was alone with the father, she was virgin and in form androgynous. But when she fell down into a body and came to this life, then she fell into the hands of many robbers. And the wanton creatures passed her from one to another and [...] her. Some made use of her by force, while others did so by seducing her with a gift. In short, they defiled her, and she [...] her virginity.

And in her body she prostituted herself and gave herself to one and all, considering each one she was about to embrace to be her husband. When she had given herself to wanton, unfaithful adulterers, so that they might make use of her, then she sighed deeply and repented. But even when she turns her face from those adulterers, she runs to others and they compel her to live with them and render service to them upon their bed, as if they were her masters. Out of shame she no longer dares to leave them, whereas they deceive her for a long time, pretending to be faithful, true husbands, as if they greatly respected her. And after all this they abandon her and go.

She then becomes a poor desolate widow, without help; not even a measure of food was left her from the time of her affliction. For from them she gained nothing except the defilements they gave her while they had sexual intercourse with her. And her offspring by the adulterers are dumb, blind and sickly. They are feebleminded.

But when the father who is above visits her and looks down upon her and sees her sighing - with her sufferings and disgrace - and repenting of the prostitution in which she engaged, and when she begins to call upon his name so that he might help her, [...] all her heart, saying "Save me, my father, for behold I will render an account to thee, for I abandoned my house and fled from my maiden`s quarters. Restore me to thyself again." When he sees her in such a state, then he will count her worthy of his mercy upon her, for many are the afflictions that have come upon her because she abandoned her house.

Now concerning the prostitution on the soul, the Holy Spirit prophesies in many places. For he said in the prophet Jeremiah (3:1-4),

If the husband divorces his wife and she goes and takes another man, can she return to him after that? Has not that woman utterly defiled herself? "And you prostituted yourself to many shepherds and you returned to me!" said the lord. "Take an honest look and see where you prostituted yourself. Were you not sitting in the streets defiling the land with your acts of prostitution and your vices? And you took many shepherds for a stumbling block for yourself. You became shameless with everyone. You did not call on me as kinsman or as father or author of your virginity".

Again it is written in the prophet Hosea (2:2-7),

Come, go to law with your mother, for she is not to be a wife to me nor I a husband to her. I shall remove her prostitution from my presence, and I shall remove her adultery from between her breasts. I shall make her naked as on the day she was born, and I shall make her desolate like a land without water, and I shall make her longingly childless. I shall show her children no pity, for they are children of prostitution, since their mother prostituted herself and put her children to shame. For she said, "I shall prostitute myself to my lovers. It was they who gave me my bread and my water and my garments and my clothes and my wine and my oil and everything I needed." Therefore behold I shall shut them up so that she shall not be able to run after her adulterers. And when she seeks them and does not find them, she will say, 'I shall return to my former husband, in those days I was better off than now."

Again he said in Ezekiel (16:23-26),

It came to pass after much depravity, said the lord, you built yourself a brothel and you made yourself a beautiful place in the streets. And you built yourself brothels on every lane, and you wasted your beauty, and you spread your legs in every alley, and you multiplied your acts of prostitution. You prostituted yourself to the sons of Egypt, those who are your neighbors, men great of flesh.

But what does "the sons of Egypt, men great of flesh" mean, if not the domain of the flesh and the perceptible realm and the affairs of the earth, by which the soul has become defiled here, receiving bread from them, as well as wine, oil, clothing, and the other external nonsense surrounding the body - the things she thinks she needs.

But as to this prostitution, the apostles of the savior commanded (Acts 15:20, 29; 21:25; 1Th 4:3; 1 Co 6:18; 2 Co 7:1): "Guard yourselves against it, purify yourselves from it," speaking not just of the prostitution of the body but especially that of the soul. For this reason the apostles write to the churches of God, that such prostitution might not occur among us.

Yet the greatest struggle has to do with the prostitution of the soul. From it arises the prostitution of the body as well. Therefore Paul, writing to the Corinthians (1Co 5:9-10), said, "I wrote you in the letter, 'Do not associate with prostitutes,' not at all (meaning) the prostitutes of this world or the greedy or the thieves or the idolaters, since then you would have to go out from the world." - here it is speaking spiritually - "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood - as he said (Ep 6:12) - but against the world rulers of this darkness and the spirits of wickedness."

As long as the soul keeps running about everywhere copulating with whomever she meets and defiling herself, she exists suffering her just deserts. But when she perceives the straits she is in and weeps before the father and repents, then the father will have mercy on her and he will make her womb turn from the external domain and will turn it again inward, so that the soul will regain her proper character. For it is not so with a woman. For the womb of the body is inside the body like the other internal organs, but the womb of the soul is around the outside like the male genitalia which is external.

So when the womb of the soul, by the will of the father, turns itself inward, it is baptized and is immediately cleansed of the external pollution which was pressed upon it, just as garments, when dirty, are put into the water and turned about until their dirt is removed and they become clean. And so the cleansing of the soul is to regain the newness of her former nature and to turn herself back again. That is her baptism.

Then she will begin to rage at herself like a woman in labor, who writhes and rages in the hour of delivery. But since she is female, by herself she is powerless to beget a child. From heaven the father sent her her man, who is her brother, the firstborn. Then the bridegroom came down to the bride. She gave up her former prostitution and cleansed herself of the pollutions of the adulterers, and she was renewed so as to be a bride. She cleansed herself in the bridal chamber; she filled it with perfume; she sat in it waiting for the true bridegroom. No longer does she run about the market place, copulating with whomever she desires, but she continued to wait for him - (saying) "When will he come?" - and to fear him, for she did not know what he looked like: she no longer remembers since the time she fell from her father's house. But by the will of the father <...> And she dreamed of him like a woman in love with a man.

But then the bridegroom, according to the father's will, came down to her into the bridal chamber, which was prepared. And he decorated the bridal chamber.

For since that marriage is not like the carnal marriage, those who are to have intercourse with one another will be satisfied with that intercourse. And as if it were a burden, they leave behind them the annoyance of physical desire and they turn their faces from each other. But this marriage [...]. But once they unite with one another, they become a single life. Wherefore the prophet said (Gn 2:24) concerning the first man and the first woman, "They will become a single flesh." For they were originally joined one to another when they were with the father before the woman led astray the man, who is her brother. This marriage has brought them back together again and the soul has been joined to her true love, her real master, as it is written (cf. Gn 3:16; 1 Co 11;1; Ep 5:23), "For the master of the woman is her husband."

Then gradually she recognized him, and she rejoiced once more, weeping before him as she remembered the disgrace of her former widowhood. And she adorned herself still more so that he might be pleased to stay with her.

And the prophet said in the Psalms (Ps 45:10-11): "Hear, my daughter, and see and incline your ear and forget your people and your father's house, for the king has desired your beauty, for he is your lord."

For he requires her to turn her face from her people and the multitude of her adulterers, in whose midst she once was, to devote herself only to her king, her real lord, and to forget the house of the earthly father, with whom things went badly for her, but to remember her father who is in heaven. Thus also it was said (Gn 12:1) to Abraham: "Come out from your country and your kinsfolk and from your father`s house"

Thus when the soul had adorned herself again in her beauty [...] enjoyed her beloved, and he also loved her. And when she had intercourse with him, she got from him the seed that is the life-giving spirit, so that by him she bears good children and rears them. For this is the great, perfect marvel of birth. And so this marriage is made perfect by the will of the father.

Now it is fitting that the soul regenerates herself and become again as she formerly was. The soul then moves of her own accord. And she received the divine nature from the father for her rejuvenation, so that she might be restored to the place where originally she had been. This is the resurrection that is from the dead. This is the ransom from captivity. This is the upward journey of ascent to heaven. This is the way of ascent to the father. Therefore the prophet said (Ps 103:1-5):

"Praise the lord, O my soul, and, all that is within me, (praise) his holy name. My soul, praise God, who forgave all your sins, who healed all your sicknesses, who ransomed your life from death, who crowned you with mercy, who satisfies your longing with good things. Your youth will be renewed like an eagle's."

Then when she becomes young again, she will ascend, praising the father and her brother, by whom she was rescued. Thus it is by being born again that the soul will be saved. And this is due not to rote phrases or to professional skills or to book learning. Rather it is the grace of the [...], it is the gift of the [...]. For such is this heavenly thing. Therefore the savior cries out (Jn 6:44), "No one can come to me unless my Father draws him and brings him to me; and I myself will raise him up on the last day."

It is therefore fitting to pray to the father and to call on him with all our soul - not externally with the lips, but with the spirit, which is inward, which came forth from the depth - sighing; repenting for the life we lived; confessing our sins; perceiving the empty deception we were in, and the empty zeal; weeping over how we were in darkness and in the wave; mourning for ourselves, that he might have pity on us; hating ourselves for how we are now.

Again the savior said (cf Mt 5:4, Lk 6:12): "Blessed are those who mourn, for it is they who will be pitied; blessed, those who are hungry, for it is they who will be filled."

Again he said (cf. Lk 14:26), "If one does not hate his soul he cannot follow me." For the beginning of salvation is repentance. Therefore (cf. Acts 13:24), "Before Christ`s appearance came John, preaching the baptism of repentance."

And repentance takes place in distress and grief. But the father is good and loves humanity, and he hears the soul that calls upon him and sends it the light of salvation. Therefore he said through the spirit to the prophet (cf. 1 Cl 8:3), "Say to the children of my people, 'If your sins extend from earth to heaven, and if they become red like scarlet and blacker than sackcloth, and if you return to me with all your soul and say to me 'my Father!', I will heed you as a holy people.'"

Again another place (Is 30:15), "Thus says the lord, the holy one of Israel: "If you return and sigh, then you will be saved and will know where you were when you trusted in what is empty."

Again he said in another place (Is 30:19-20), "Jerusalem wept much, saying, 'Have pity on me.' He will have pity on the sound of your weeping. And when he saw, he heeded you. And the lord will give you bread of affliction and water of oppression. From now on, those who deceive will not approach you again. Your eyes will see those who are deceiving you."

Therefore it is fitting to pray to God night and day, spreading out our hands towards him as do people sailing in the middle of the sea: they pray to God with all their heart without hypocrisy. For those who pray hypocritically deceive only themselves. Indeed, it is in order that he might know who is worthy of salvation that God examines the inward parts and searches the bottom of the heart. For no one is worthy of salvation who still loves the place of deception.

Therefore it is written in the poet (Homer, Odyssey 1.48-1.59), "Odysseus sat on the island weeping and grieving and turning his face from the words of Calypso and from her tricks, longing to see his village and smoke coming forth from it. And had he not received help from heaven, he would not have been able to return to his village."

Again Helen <...> saying (Odyssey4.260-261), "My heart turned itself from me. It is to my house that I want to return."

For she sighed, saying (Odyssey 4.261-4.264), "It is Aphrodite who deceived me and brought me out of my village. My only daughter I left behind me, and my good, understanding, handsome husband."

For when the soul leaves her perfect husband because of the treachery of Aphrodite, who exists here in the act of begetting, then she will suffer harm. But if she sighs and repents, she will be restored to her house.

Certainly Israel would not have been visited in the first place, to be brought out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, if it had not sighed to God and wept for the oppression of its labors.

Again it is written in the Psalms (6:6-9), "I was greatly troubled in my groaning. I will bathe my bed and my cover each night with my tears. I have become old in the midst of all my enemies. Depart from me, all you who work at lawlessness, for behold the lord has heard the cry of my weeping and the lord has heard my prayer."

If we repent, truly God will heed us, he who is long suffering and abundantly merciful, to whom is the glory for ever and ever. Amen!

The relationship of the Bride actually began with Abraham. God established a covenant with Abraham, extending it down to all of his descendants. In so doing, God established Israel as His chosen people, and through the covenant that He made with them, He became married to Israel and all the natural descendants of Abraham.

In Isaiah 54:5, the Lord says to His people Israel, "For your Maker is your Husband, the Lord of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth."

So, right there, God Himself states that He is Israel's Husband. He makes it perfectly clear by defining that God and their Husband are one in the same.

But Israel began to turn to idol worship, which in Jeremiah Chapter 3, the Lord addresses to His chosen one - Israel - telling her that by this practice she is defiling the land and committing adultery. In verse 14, He offers her forgiveness if she will only return to Him and come away from her adulterous ways, telling her, "...for I am married to you."

You see, when the Lord establishes a covenant, He does not take it lightly. When God makes a covenant, He establishes it to be an everlasting covenant, only to be released out of it by means of death. A covenant comes by way of agreement. Both parties involved in the covenant must have come into a mutual contract of agreement that has bound them together within an established union. When the Lord makes covenant, He faithfully keeps His word in it, and likewise, He expects everyone who establishes covenant to remain faithful to the agreement.

The Intimacy of Worshiping with the Heart

When you worship the Lord, you are offering up and surrendering your heart and adoration unto Him. Worship is supposed to be a time of communion with the Holy Spirit that releases to Him and receives from Him intimate affections. Just as in Jeremiah where the Lord said Israel was defiling the land by turning to other gods, in Matthew 15:8-9, Jesus speaks about it also being defiling to render lip service in worship while your heart is given elsewhere.

Just as in the natural it would be defiling to the marriage for a spouse to give their heart's affections to another outside of the marriage, it's as equally defiling for one who is in covenant with the Lord to turn their affections to another, placing that person or thing above the Lord in their heart...whether it be a job, a person, money, or even a ministry.

Why is it so important to the Lord that your heart be actively involved in all that you do and say in His presence?

"(It's) with the heart one believes unto righteousness..." Romans 10:10

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:21

The place that you put the abundance (or focus) of your attention will eventually be the place that you surrender the adoration of your heart over to, also.

Even though Israel turned her affections to another, God loves His Bride, with a fervent passion. Listen to what He says to her about the day that she turns aside from all others and back to Him:

"And it shall be, in that day," says the Lord, "that you will call Me 'My Husband,' and no longer call Me 'My Master'...I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and mercy; I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you shall know the LORD." Hosea 2:16, 19-20

When He says "and you shall know the LORD" in this Scripture, the word "know" in its Hebrew meaning is the same meaning as what is used in Genesis 4:1: "Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, 'I have acquired a man from the LORD.'"

This use of "know" and "knew" is describing the sexually intimate relationship of a husband and wife in marriage. Now, if the Lord is telling His people that His will is for them to "know" Him, He is talking to them about having a relationship with Him that is deeply intimate and is within the covenant of a marriage.

Ancient Jewish Wedding Ceremony

In America, our process of marriage goes something like this: we see a significant other that we are attracted to, we date, we fall in love, we become engaged, and on an agreed-upon date we go through a somewhat-short wedding ceremony by exchanging vows with one another and signing some paperwork that makes it all legal...and we're off and married! This process can be as short or as long as we desire it to be.

In an ancient Jewish wedding, the process is a little different than what most of us are used to.

The wedding was performed in two stages: the first being the Betrothal, and the second being the Consummation.

Betrothed means to engage or promise in marriage by a mutual contract. Consummation means to be carried to the utmost extent or degree; to bring to completion.

Because the Betrothal stage of the marriage process is what pertains to the present stage of the Church, that's what we will focus on primarily. Although being betrothed to one another was similar to being engaged to one another, it is different than how our culture considers the engagement portion. For the most part, our engagement is established only by trust and integrity that the other person will be true to their commitment and follow through as planned, with the absence of anything legally binding.

In an ancient Jewish wedding, the betrothal was considered to be a binding, legal contract, and was recognized as marriage. To break it, a certificate of divorce must be given. And it was possible for the betrothal process to take, on the average, up to 12 months to complete.

I have listed the steps involved in the Betrothal portion of an ancient Jewish wedding, each followed by Scriptural reference of the new covenant Jesus established with His Church. It is my prayer that you are blessed as you discover and understand that our Lord and Savior truly established us in the most intimate covenant there is...the covenant of marriage.

The Betrothal

1) The first step in the wedding process comes when the man, who is ready to take a wife, chooses the woman that he wants for his bride, and receives his father's blessing for the marriage process to begin. He will then invite the woman to his father's house. And she of course, knowing the custom well, knows that at that time she has the choice to accept his invitation or reject it.

Jesus said in John 15:16, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you."

When the woman accepts the invitation, she then enters into the father's house to meet with the father and his son. The father, son, and the bride all know that this is the first stage in the wedding process, and this step is to be taken seriously.

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me." Revelation 3:20

The Covenant: His Promise and Purchase Price

2) The father and son will at that time present a marriage contract to the bride. Within this contract are promises that the son makes to the bride, telling her what he will do for her within their marriage covenant.

"...as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." 2 Peter 1:3-4

It also states what the bride's obligations are within the marriage covenant.

"...but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct." 1 Peter 1:15

And there must be a purchase price - so, it also lists the price that the man will pay for his bride.

"For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." 1 Corinthians 6:20

"Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the Church of God which He purchased with His own blood." Acts 20:28

The Marriage Cup

3) The man and woman will then drink a sip of wine from the cup to seal the contract of marriage. By the both of them drinking from the cup, they are signifying that they have now become one, and they both know that the marriage contract has at that point been made official and legally binding.

"Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.'" Luke 22:20

The disciples were very acquainted with the wedding ceremony and marriage covenant, so they understood well that as they drank from the cup, they had become as one with Jesus, and all that He had became theirs, also.

Sealed by Gifts for All to See

4) The father and son give gifts to the bride as proof that the marriage contract was sealed. This was evidence that could be seen by others that there was indeed a binding marital contract.

"But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore He says: 'When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.'"Ephesians 4:7-8

"...who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee."2 Corinthians 1:22

"In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory." Ephesians 1:13-14

Set Apart for Her Husband

5) Now the bride would place a veil upon her face that all could see and know that she was set apart for her husband only. She now belongs to him and to him only. No one else is allowed to look upon her, because she is a married woman. Even though they have not yet consummated the marriage, they are considered legally married. They have taken the vows, and she is to walk in purity, reserving herself for her husband.

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." Romans 12:1

"But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him." 1 Corinthians 6:17

He Prepares for Her a Bridal Chamber

6) At that point, the husband and wife will part ways for a time. The husband will go away with his father, to his father's house, to prepare a bridal chamber for his bride. As they depart from one another, the son would say to his bride something like, "I go to prepare a place for you, and when my father tells me it is ready, I will come and receive you unto me." During this time, the husband and bride will not actually be together, but she will have the promise of the gifts to take with her that ensures her he will return for her when the preparation of the bridal chamber is complete.

"In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know." John 14:2-4

Only the Father Knows the Time He Will Choose for His Son

7) It is up to the father to tell the son when the chamber is complete and is time to go receive his bride unto him. The son does not know when the father will decide it's time, only the father knows the time he will choose.

"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of Heaven, but My Father only." Matthew 24:36

"Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming." Matthew 25:13

The Coming Consummation

The next step of the ancient Jewish wedding was the consummation process. But just prior to the consummation process, the bride would disrobe and dip down into a pool of water to signify that she is cleansed and sanctified for her husband.

"...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 5:26-27

"...let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." Hebrews 10:22

This is crossing over a bit into the consummation portion of the wedding, but I want to throw this in, because it's so awesome. As I said previously, no one knows, not even the son - only the father knows the time that the bridegroom will return to receive his bride, because the father is the one who appoints the time. It was common for the bridegroom to return in secret, suddenly and unannounced prior to his arrival, and oftentimes he would arrive late at night.

"Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." Matthew 24:44

"And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!'" Matthew 25:6

Once the bridegroom receives his bride unto him, he will then bring her to the marriage supper!

Grafted In

Whenever I teach or make mention of the Bride, I almost always get a huge response. There are those who respond with excitement and a passionate desire to know the Lord more so, as being His Bride. There is also the belief among many that Israel is the only Bride.

Yes, God is married to Israel, so therefore, Israel is His Bride. But, let's read on.

"But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says: 'I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation, I will move you to anger by a foolish nation.' But Isaiah is very bold and says: 'I was found by those who did not seek Me; I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me.' But to Israel he says: 'All day long I have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.'" Romans 10:19-21

"I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles...

"And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you." Romans 11:11, 17-18

Although God's original plan was of His chosen people Israel, through Jesus, we, His people brought in by the new covenant, became grafted in and share in the same marriage covenant and inheritance as what the natural olive tree does. Jesus and the Father are one (John 10:30); ALL that Jesus has is the Father's, and ALL the Father has is the Son's (John 17:10); therefore we have become grafted in to being a chosen people. We have become one and the same, and are also His Bride! Praise be to the Lord!

The Apostle Paul recognized that we are in a marriage covenant with the Lord: "Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another - to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God." Romans 7:4

"For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." 2 Corinthians 11:2

Approaching The Lord in Intimacy

The betrothal stage of the wedding of the Church took place while Jesus was on the earth. That's when this marriage contract was made legal. That's why we can walk in the same power and authority of Christ, because we have been given His name and sealed with His Spirit, and in all the spiritual realm, it is recognized as a legal and binding contract.

Let's talk about our relationship with the Lord as His Bride. How often is it that we approach Him in timidity, unsure that He wants us to get close and intimate with Him?

Let me say this: a husband delights in his bride approaching him, desiring intimate fellowship. In the same manner, our Lord and Bridegroom, delights in us as we approach Him, being confident that He welcomes us unto Him, in a rich, deeply personal and intimate relationship. He has already told us that He wants us to know Him as a husband and wife know one other within the marriage bed. That may seem way out there to you, but it's nonetheless true.

Spiritually speaking, we can have that deep intimate relationship with our Lord. He created us to know Him in a fellowship of deep communion. And we should not fear approaching Him in that way. He has given us the liberty of His Spirit to boldly seek to know Him more and more in a deeper intimacy every day than what we knew Him in the day before. And because there is so much depth to the Lord, it's more than just a possibility to know Him more deeply with each and every passing day. How delighted our Bridegroom would be if we made it our quest to know His heart - because we have drawn near enough to hear His heart!

Here's the thing, it's impossible to know someone - really know them up close and personal - unless you spend time with them and make it your focus to learn everything you can about them. I'm not talking about knowing aboutthem, because you are merely told about them, rather, getting to know them because you are interacting with them directly - and frequently.

What Are We Going To Do With It?

Now that we know that we know that we know we are called to be His Bride, let's not keep a distance from Him. Let's get really close and personal with Him - as His Bride. Remember, He created you for Him - for His eyes - for His pleasure. He sees you as the most beautiful creation there is...when He looks at you, He sees you as the most beautiful and most lovely that there is. When He looks at me, He sees me as the most beautiful and most lovely that there is. Each and every one of us, individually unique, are the most beautiful and the most lovely of all to our Bridegroom, who is waiting for us to draw near to Him.

So, when your Lord, your Husband, beckons unto you to enter into the secret place with Him, don't hesitate - answer His call and go to the place of the deep with Him, surrendering your heart fully unto Him with confidence that He is willing, eager and delighted to receive you. YOU!!

So, right there, God Himself states that He is Israel's Husband. He makes it perfectly clear by defining that God and their Husband are one in the same.

The Intimacy of Worshiping with the Heart

Why is it so important to the Lord that your heart be actively involved in all that you do and say in His presence?

"(It's) with the heart one believes unto righteousness..." Romans 10:10

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:21

The place that you put the abundance (or focus) of your attention will eventually be the place that you surrender the adoration of your heart over to, also.

Even though Israel turned her affections to another, God loves His Bride, with a fervent passion. Listen to what He says to her about the day that she turns aside from all others and back to Him:

Ancient Jewish Wedding Ceremony

In an ancient Jewish wedding, the process is a little different than what most of us are used to.

The wedding was performed in two stages: the first being the Betrothal, and the second being the Consummation.

Betrothed means to engage or promise in marriage by a mutual contract. Consummation means to be carried to the utmost extent or degree; to bring to completion.

The Betrothal

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me." Revelation 3:20

The Covenant: His Promise and Purchase Price

It also states what the bride's obligations are within the marriage covenant.

"...but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct." 1 Peter 1:15

And there must be a purchase price - so, it also lists the price that the man will pay for his bride.

"For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." 1 Corinthians 6:20

"Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the Church of God which He purchased with His own blood." Acts 20:28

The Marriage Cup

"Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.'" Luke 22:20

Sealed by Gifts for All to See

4) The father and son give gifts to the bride as proof that the marriage contract was sealed. This was evidence that could be seen by others that there was indeed a binding marital contract.

"But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore He says: 'When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.'"Ephesians 4:7-8

"...who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee."2 Corinthians 1:22

Set Apart for Her Husband

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." Romans 12:1

"But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him." 1 Corinthians 6:17

He Prepares for Her a Bridal Chamber

Only the Father Knows the Time He Will Choose for His Son

"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of Heaven, but My Father only." Matthew 24:36

"Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming." Matthew 25:13

The Coming Consummation

"...let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." Hebrews 10:22

"Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." Matthew 24:44

"And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!'" Matthew 25:6

Once the bridegroom receives his bride unto him, he will then bring her to the marriage supper!

Grafted In

Yes, God is married to Israel, so therefore, Israel is His Bride. But, let's read on.

"I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles...

"For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." 2 Corinthians 11:2

Approaching The Lord in Intimacy

Let's talk about our relationship with the Lord as His Bride. How often is it that we approach Him in timidity, unsure that He wants us to get close and intimate with Him?

What Are We Going To Do With It?

The secret place is simply a life of continual fellowship with the Father, without the need to be seen by others as “spiritual.”

The secret place is implied throughout the whole Bible, but it is primarily mentioned in two places. In Matthew chapter 6 by our Lord Jesus, and in Psalm 91 by King David.

In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus is in the middle of delivering the sermon on the mount and He gives us the best definition of what the secret place means.

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” (Matthew 6:5-6)

Some people think this means that the secret place only has to do with praying in a bedroom by yourself, but this isn’t what Jesus was trying to communicate.

In the context of this passage, Jesus is addressing three spiritual disciplines: giving, prayer, and fasting. When He addresses giving, He tells us to not “let our left hand know what our right hand is doing” (Matthew 6:3). When He addresses fasting, He tells us to wash our face so that we do not appear to men to be fasting. Jesus refers to these as actions done in secret (Matthew 6:16-18).

So, although it is true that the Lord is being practical and saying to get alone and spend time with the Father, His main point was not about being alone in a bedroom, but about developing a life of prayer without the motivation of being seen by men.

What does it mean to dwell in the secret place?

To dwell in the secret place means to live in a place of continually drawing near to the Father through communion. It is a place where you talk to Him in the morning, at night, and throughout the day, without the motivation of being recognized by people, only the pure desire to know Him.

Dwelling in the secret place doesn’t only have to do with going in your bedroom and praying when no one is watching. This is included but it is not required.

Instead, it means to engage in fellowship with God and then never leave. Consistently coming before Him in sweet communion with our Lord, moment by moment.

This is what you and I were created for: to live in daily fellowship with the Father and to be empowered by His Spirit to bear His image to a lost and dying world.

Benefits of dwelling in the secret place

You will be delivered. You will receive deliverance from those against you who try to trap you, and from deadly sicknesses. (Psalm 91:3)

He will cover you from your enemies and from evil. (Psalm 91:4)

You will have no fear in your life. You won’t be afraid of sickness, darkness, destruction, or man-made weapons.(Psalm 91:5-6)

No evil shall befall you. Others may fall, but you’ll be protected. (Psalm 91:7,10,11, & 15)

No sickness will come near you or your household. Sickness is never from God and those who dwell in Him will be free from sickness and disease. (Psalm 91:10)

Angels will guard and protect you.(Psalm 91:11-12)

You will have authority and power over satan and his demons. The Bible uses creatures such as lions, serpents, and scorpions to represent the enemy. If you dwell in the secret place you will “trample him underfoot.” (Psalm 91:13)

God will answer your prayers. (Psalm 91:15)

God will be with you in trouble. God will be with you as he was with other men and women of God who loved Him. He will deliver and rescue you from trouble. (Psalm 91:15)

You will be blessed with long life. Many people think that God has a timestamp for everyone, but this verse reveals that how we live our lives judges when we will die. So, if we dwell in God, He promises to “satisfy us with long life.” (Psalm 91:16)

He will show us His salvation. I believe this is twofold. (1) God will show us salvation and deliverance from times of trouble and evil on this earth, and (2) He will show us His eternal salvation by being with Him forever! (Psalm 91:16)

Whew! That is a whole lot of promises. I encourage all of you to read Psalm 91 and study it out. Let those benefits listed there become real to you. Spend time in His presence, commune with Him throughout the day, and you will see the glory of God.

#watchingandwaitingforjesus

Saturday, May 6, 2023

Bridal chamber - the secret place

︎ 1. The Custom of Preparing a Bridal Chamber

︎ 2. A Brief Look at Timing

︎ 3. When the Bride Enters His Chamber

︎ But Be Filled Again and Again!

Living like the Bride of Christ

BECOMING A KEPT WOMEN

Beyond The Veil VIDEO

What does it mean to dwell in the secret place?

Benefits of dwelling in the secret place

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