The Heart of The Bride

Matt 25:1Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: 4But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 6And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. 7Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 9But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. 11Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 13Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

If we had to pick one Biblical teaching that shoots down the most end times non-sense this would be it:  The Bride and the Bridegroom.

There are so many layers to this, I hope I do not leave any of them out.  What teaching from the Bible do the pre-wrath, mid-trib, and post-tribulation teachers always leave out?  The Bride and the Bridegroom.  Why?  It absolutely devastates their arguments.  How so?  Follow along....

From Genesis to Revelation the Bible is about one thing:  A Wedding.

Genesis 1-3 Man and woman become one.  That's the wedding.
First of our Lord Jesus' miracles: John 2 Wedding at Cana: That's the wedding.
Paul's revelation of the mystery of the Jew and Gentile becoming one:That's the wedding.
Ephesians 5:31-32 God and man becoming one, Christ and the Church:That's the wedding.
Revelation 22:17  The Spirit and Bride say "Come!" :That's the wedding.

Now, take your time and settle down your heart, mind and spirit.  Do not miss this.  When a bridegroom has proposed, he goes to make a place for the bride then he comes back for her.  What condition should the bridegroom find the bride in.  Forget theology, forget debates, what is the heart of the bride and what is the heart of the bridegroom?  What is in their heart during this period between proposal and marriage?  The bride has one thing on her mind, almost exclusively from anything and everything else:  The bridegroom and the wedding..PERIOD.   Do we really have to prove this?  Do we really have to argue this?  This is self evident fact.  No go back up and read Matt 25:1-13 again.

We have heard so much non-sense and so many non-starter arguments that we have forgotten the most important facts.  We are the Bride, whose heart is solely and exclusively for the Bridegroom.  What would the Bridegrooms reaction be to coming to gather the Bride and He finds her preparing for something else besides the wedding?  Disappointment?  No, more than disappointment go back up and read Matt 25:1-13.  How many people today are preaching and teaching the Bride to do everything BUT prepare for the wedding? 

Fact:  Our Lord already came back as Savior when he revealed Himself in the flesh to the apostles after His death and resurrection John 20:19-21
Fact:  Our Lord Jesus is coming back as a Bridegroom. (Matt 25:1-13)
Fact:  Our Lord is coming back as a Warrior King (Rev 19:11-16)

So this idea that there is only one "second coming" can be dispensed with up front.  The Lord can come back in the flesh or in Spirit form whenever and wherever He wants to.  What we want to pay particular attention to is His return as Bridegroom.

So, I asked the Lord "Lord, where is the Bride then in Revelation?"  If what we are about to see is patterned after the Hebrew wedding ceremony, the Bridegroom will come for the Bride, they both will be hidden away for 7 days, then they will reappear as a married couple after the 7 days in the wedding chamber are over.  We see the Bride in Revelation 21, can we find the Bride anywhere else in Revelation?  Here is what the Lord showed me, yes we find the Bride in Revelation 3:

10Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. 11Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. 12Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. 13He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

What do you see there? 1.  Kept from the hour of temptation and 2.  THE BRIDE

Rev 3:12 I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem

Rev 21: 9One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.

Does it fit the Hebrew wedding pattern?  Exactly. Precisely.  Where do we see the Bride in the book of Revelation?  Revelation 3 and Revelation 21.  Nowhere else.  Why?  She is hidden away in the wedding chamber.

Forget about the arguments, forget about everything and anything else besides being THE BRIDE OF CHRIST.  If we are the Bride, where should our heart be?  What should we be preparing for?  The Bridegroom.  The wedding.  Period, end of story, end of argument, end of discussion. 

If some of the virgins want to be foolish, we cannot stop them but we who have a heart for the Bridegroom should be ready and waiting for Him.  The foolish can busy themselves with preparing for everything else but the Bridegroom and we cannot stop them, but we should remain wise virgins.  When the Bridegroom arrives, He should find us ready and waiting for HIM ALONE.

If we do what the Lord told us to do we will not be disappointed.  We are the Bride of Christ and as such we should be preparing for the Bridegroom and Wedding, period.  The Bridegroom has asked us to do some things, we find those things written throughout our Bibles but the Word is very clear.  The Bridegroom will come back at a time when we do not expect Him.  No, that is not the coming of the Warrior King (Rev 19:11-16) it is the coming of the Bridegroom

Genesis 1-3 Man and woman become one.  That's the wedding.
First of our Lord Jesus' miracles: John 2 Wedding at Cana: That's the wedding.
Paul's revelation of the mystery of the Jew and Gentile becoming one:That's the wedding.
Matt 25:1-13: The wise and foolish virgins:  That's the wedding.
Ephesians 5:31-32 God and man becoming one, Christ and the Church:That's the wedding.
Revelation 22:17  The Spirit and Bride say "Come!" :That's the wedding.

I will repeat this one last time, the Bride has one thing on her mind all the time after she has been proposed to:  the Bridegroom/the wedding.  The Lord told us very clearly in Matt 25 what it will be like sometime in the very near future.  When He comes back He is going to find many foolish virgins running around getting ready for everything else but the Bridegroom and the wedding.
What will become of those foolish virgins?

11Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 13Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

He is going to tell them that He doesn't know them....

Let us set our hearts diligently on the Bridegroom right now today.  He is coming back as a Bridegroom and at a time we know neither the day nor the hour.  Those who ignore these things does so at their own peril.

Let us be the wise virgins who are ready and waiting for the Bridegroom whenever He show up for us.

grace and peace