“… the Bride, the Lamb’s wife”   –  Rev. 21:9

According to 1 Cor. 10:1 – 11 Old Testament Israel is an EXAMPLE of the New Testament Spiritual  Israel.  In the O.T. Israel was first a Bride and then became the Wife.  This is a type and example of the Church as the New Testament Spiritual Israel (Gal. 6:16), as Bride and Wife.

In the O.T. Israel was YaHUaH’s Chosen from all the nations (Ex. 19:4 – 6) and He committed Himself to Israel like with an engagement between a man and his chosen girl.  The people said “yes” to Him (Ex. 19:8).  They then received the Ten Words/Commandments as a sign of the covenant that was made and it was  placed in the ark of the covenant.

This betrothal happened at Sinai, in the desert.  The Bridal age is therefore the wilderness age in which we are now spiritually.

Since David established Jerusalem as his capital when he brought the ark of the covenant to Zion (which was accompanied by festive worship, compare 1 Chron. 15 – 16 with Jer. 33:11 and Rev. 19 :9), Jerusalem was often referred to by the prophets as ‘the Wife’ of YaHUaH.  It involves the inhabitants of Jerusalem as the people of Israel.

In the N.T. an engagement accordingly takes place in Acts 2 (as at Sinai) and it is also the origin of spiritual Israel as the “Chosen” (Heb. 12:18 – 29, John 15:16 – 17, Eph. 1:4)).  The Bride is those who said “yes” by accepting YaHUsha as the Messiah like the disciples did, and then received the Spirit while they were waiting in Jerusalem.  The outpouring of the Spirit is the sign of the betrothal, because the Spirit is the Seal or proof of it like what a ring is today (Eph. 1:13 – 14).

As the Bride, every believer in YaHUsha is still in the Wilderness, but when He will come again with the blow of the last trumpet, the Bride will become ‘the Wife of the Lamb’ during the marriage supper (Rev. 19:9).  The Wife of the Lamb is then called the ‘new Jerusalem’ (Rev. 21), like old Jerusalem was once the Wife in the O.T.  This Wife is not an unfaithful wife, but is set apart and she washes her clothes and makes them white in the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 7:14).  The Wife then also gets her husband’s Name (Rev. 22:4), as well as dowry and she rules with Him, because He is the King of kings.

Application

Old Jerusalem committed harlotry.  The prophets often wrote about Jerusalem as an unfaithful wife who committed harlotry and Hosea had to marry a harlot as an illustration of it.  YaHUaH then divorced His people (Jer. 3:8 – 10) and allowed her to be taken away, away from Jerusalem, away from Israel, away from Him.  But He will be merciful to those who would accept His Son’s atonement for them. They will be able to be Israel again, not the Old Testament Israel, but a Glorified Israel … not in old Jerusalem, but as the new Jerusalem from above, Gal. 4:22 – 31 (also compare Eph. 19 – 22 with Rev. 21:9 – 14).

That is why the Father sent His Spirit to look for a bride for His Son (just as Abraham sent Eliezer to look for a bride for Isaac, Gen. 24).  The Spirit that prompts us when we hear the gospel is like a marriage proposal that must be responded to.  If one accepts the ‘poposal’ one becomes part of the Bride, the Beloved of YaHUsha. Believers in YaHUsha are called the ‘Beloved’ (Rom. 1:7, 16:5, 8).  John was the Beloved disciple (John 13:23), and his name means: “YaHUaH is merciful”.  He is a type of the Bride who received grace from YaHUaH and loves Him because of it.

The Bride as a Glorified Israel originated from a Remnant (or root) of Old Testament Israel namely YaHUsha, as He is a physical descendant of David.  He is of the Root and offspring of David, Rev. 22:16.  In and through Him are the “sure mercies of David” (Is. 55:3 – 9).  From Him sprouts forth the Glorified Israel as a people, like when David once brought all the tribes of Israel together as a people when he ruled from Jerusalem.  Messiah, YaHUsha is the Anointed One, as David as a type was also YaHUaH’s anointed.

We as the Beloved, the Bride of YaHUsha our Bridegroom, will eventually be in the House of the Father.  He went to prepare a place for us and then He will come back to fetch His Bride (John 14:2 – 3).  There will be a wedding, a marriage supper.  After that we will be forever with Him, but this time as ‘the Wife of the Lamb’.  We will be with Him in the House of the Father, as the ‘new’ Jerusalem (Rev. 21:9).

In the meantime, we are also sent to communicate His marriage proposal to others under the guidance of the Spirit, as Eliezer did in Gen. 24.

Follow now for further reading a very old sermon by Horatius Bonar (1808 – 1889) in which he summarized all the above smoothly.

For the PDF, click here.