Part 1 The Bride of Christ: Gods Eternal Purpose

JESUS INHERITANCE: AN ETERNAL COMPANION God's ultimate purpose for His creation is to provide a family for Himself and a Bride for His Son as His eternal companion to reign with Him forever (Eph. 5:31-32; Rev. 19:7-9). The guiding principle of the Fathers activity throughout history has been to raise up a prepared Bride for His worthy Son. He has been training the Bride to rule the earth with Jesus (Rev. 3:21; 5:10).
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For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. (Rev. 19:7)
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To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne (Rev. 3:21)

And have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth. (Rev. 5:10) The inheritance that the Father promised Jesus is a people whom He fully possesses.
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I will give You, the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. (Ps. 2:8)
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For the LORDs portion is His people; Jacob is the place of His inheritance. (Deut. 32:9) Jesus inheritance: the mandatory obedience of all creation and the voluntary love of His Bride. Mandatory obedience: God will cause all creation to bow in obedience to Jesus.
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that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. (Phil. 2:10-11) Voluntary lovers of God: Jesus inheritance is to receive a people who fully love Him.
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I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you27I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes (Ezek. 36:26-27)
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The LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul (Deut. 30:6) Jesus loves us to the same degree that the Father loves Him (Jn. 15:9). We will love Jesus to the same degree that the Father loves Him (Jn. 17:23).
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As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. (Jn. 15:9)

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that the love with which You [the Father] loved Me may be in them (Jn. 17:26) We will love God to the measure of the stature that He loves us.
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till we all cometo a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13) The saints will be equally yoked to Jesus in love. Jesus will not be unequally yoked to His wife. Our currency in eternity will be the love that we cultivated for Him in this age.
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Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. (2 Cor. 6:14)

Paul prayed that we would know the riches of the glory we receive in being Gods inheritance.
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may knowwhat are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints (Eph. 1:18) From before the foundations of the world, Gods ultimate purpose was to have a people who were blameless in their love for God.
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He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love (Eph. 1:4)
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whom...Hepredestined to be conformed [in love] to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29) Jesus will share some of His glory with His Bride because He so desires that she be with Him.
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The glory which You gave Me I have given them24Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory (Jn. 17:22-24)
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I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be. (Jn. 14:3) REDEMPTIVE HISTORY CENTERS AROUND PREPARING A BRIDE Human history began in Eden with Adam and Eve joined as a bridegroom and bride (Gen. 2).
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God said, It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable [suitable NAS, NIV] to him21The LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs22Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man24Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. (Gen. 2:18-24)

Paul interpreted Genesis 2:18-24 as speaking of Jesus and the Church. In the relationship of Adam and Eve, we see a prophetic picture of Jesus joined to His Church as a Bride.
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A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh. 32This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. (Eph. 5:31-32)
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But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. (1 Cor. 6:17)

Natural history ends in an Eden-like city with Jesus and His people joined as a bridegroom and bride (Rev. 21-22). The New Jerusalem is called the Bride because it was prepared for the Bride and is where she experiences a face-to-face relationship with God (Rev. 22:3-5). The description of this city is given in relational terms or by our nearness to God (Rev. 21:1-8) and then in functional terms as the ultimate garden of Eden and Holy of Holies (Rev. 21:9-22:5).
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I will show you the Bride, the Lambs wife. 10And he carried me away in the Spirit and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven (Rev. 21:9-10) Natural history ends with the Church in a bridal identity. Rev. 22:17 is one of the most informative and significant prophecies in the Bible describing the end-time Church.
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The Spirit and the Bride say, Come! (Rev. 22:17) It shall be, in that daythat you will call Me [Jesus] My Husband (Hos. 2:16)

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This prophecy describes the Church in deep unity with the Holy Spirit, in saying and doing what the Holy Spirit is saying and doing. What is the Spirit saying? He is revealing the Churchs bridal identity as Jesus Bride. The Spirit for the first time in history will universally emphasize the Churchs spiritual identity as Jesus Bride. Notice that John does not proclaim that the Spirit and the family say, Come, nor the Spirit and the army, nor the kingdom, nor the body, nor the temple, and not the Spirit and the priesthood. The generation in which Jesus returns will be the most sinful and emotionally broken generation in history (Dan. 8:23; Mt. 24:10-14; 1 Tim. 4:1-3; 2 Tim. 3:1-5). Scripture describes it as having great anger, fear, cold love (selfishness), lawlessness (rebellion), betrayal (broken relationships), hatred, sexual perversion, and occult bondage.
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In the latter timewhen the transgressors have reached their fullness (Dan. 8:23) The Holy Spirits emphasis of Jesus as a Bridegroom God has been strategically reserved for the last generation to empower the Church to overcome the most lawless, fearful, demonic, and sexually perverted generation in history.

Natural history ends with a Bride who has been made ready for her marriage to Jesus (Rev. 19). The history of the redeemed before the wedding feast is the preparation for their life after it.
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The marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready He said to me, Write: Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. (Rev. 19:7-9) Jesus began His public ministry at a wedding (Jn. 2:1-12), and He ended it declaring that the kingdom of God was like a wedding (Mt. 22:1-14). Jesus began His ministry to the apostles by revealing Himself as the Bridegroom God (Mt. 9:15) and ended it by calling them to cultivate intimacy with Him as the Bridegroom God (Mt. 25:8). Jesus ministry was first introduced by John the Baptist functioning as a friend of the Bridegroom (Jn. 3:29); it was ended by the Apostle John revealing the Bride (Rev. 19-22). ALL THINGS WORK FOR GOD'S ETERNAL PLAN Salvation is an invitation to experience the deep things of Gods heart that He planned for us.
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Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. 10But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. (1 Cor. 2:9-10) All things work for Gods ultimate purpose in preparing a Bride as Jesus inheritance. The guiding principle of Gods activity in creation and in leading history has been to use His power and wisdom to select, train and prepare a bride to reign with Jesus.
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For all things are yours: 22whetherthe world or life or death, or things present or things to comeall are yours. 23And you are Christs, and Christ is Gods. (1 Cor. 3:21-23) Life: the life of humans, angels, animals, and plants are all for the benefit of the Bride Death: the reality of death serves to develop the Bride in love Things present: both blessing and challenges work together to train the Bride Things to come: the New Jerusalem and the end of the age dynamics are for the Bride

You are Christs: God gives all to the Bride because she belongs to Jesus It is inevitable that the Bride will be conformed to love like Jesus loves. All things work together for the benefit of those who love God. God overrules all for the highest good of the Bride.
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We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28) God has orchestrated natural history so that Gods people may seek, grope for, and find Jesus.
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He has made from one blood every nation of menand has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him (Acts 17:26-27) Boundaries: God has determined the national boundaries of where each nation dwells Times: God has determined the times in which each nation will rise and fall in power Grope: God determined national boundaries and times to cause people to grope for Jesus Find: Gods ultimate purpose is that people would find Jesus and fully walk with Him History is most often interpreted through the lens of significant events such as scientific breakthroughs, military crises, political developments, economic trends, etc. However, we can only rightly interpret history through the lens of Gods purpose to prepare a Bride (Rev. 19:7) and the Brides growth in love. Without understanding this, people have no way to accurately interpret the pains, struggles, and even the celebrations of this life. Many cannot see where history is headed or what purpose it accomplishes. They can see no definitive goals for the human race. History is so mysterious to them, often leaving them in despair and without hope by seeming accidental and even pointless.

Part 2 Understanding the Message of the Bride of Christ

INTRODUCTION The essence of the Bridegroom message is the revelation of Jesus emotions for us and His commitments to us as our Bridegroom God and our wholehearted response to Him and His will. The bridal paradigm refers to having a bridal perspective of the kingdom. (Paradigm refers to ones perspective or view). We see the kingdom through the eyes of a Bride with wholehearted loyal love. It focuses on Jesus beauty and affection and how they are imparted to Gods people. Jesus was the first to introduce the bridal paradigm to the Church. Jesus referred to Himself as a Bridegroom (Mt. 9:15); He compared the kingdom to His Father arranging a marriage for Him (Mt. 22:2); He described ministry as those encountering Him as a Bridegroom (Mt. 25:1); He will return in answer to the prayers of His Church crying out in her bridal identity (Rev. 22:17).
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The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son. (Mt. 22:2) There are many paradigms of the kingdom of God in Scripture including agricultural, military, and economic paradigms. The bridal paradigm is the most effective in transforming our hearts so that the first commandment may be restored to first place in the Body of Christ. WHAT THE MESSAGE OF THE BRIDE OF CHRIST IS NOT We must refuse all sensual overtones to the Bride of Christ message. Jesus is not our lover or boyfriend. We do not go on dates with Jesus. Receiving the kiss of Gods Word in Song 1:2 has nothing to do with physically kissing God!!! Neither the spiritual interpretation of the Song of Solomon nor references to the romance of the gospel have anything to do with sensuality, but with the adventuresome love that is filled with a spirit of abandonment that sacrificially loves and obeys Jesus. An example of this is seen when Paul and Silas sang songs of love to Jesus after being beaten and thrown into prison (Acts 16:22-26). We are not married to Jesus in this age. Paul describes believers as betrothed or engaged to Jesus. The consummation of the marriage is in the age to come when we see Him face to face. Single women do not marry Jesus in this age. Even in the age to come, they will not be married to Jesus in a special way that differs from married women or men who love Jesus.
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I have betrothed [engaged; promised, NIV] you to one husband [Jesus] (2 Cor. 11:2)

There is a great blessing in living single for Jesus in this age, but it is about securing undistracted devotion to Jesus now rather than about getting married to Jesus in this age.
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One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; 33but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, 34and his interests are divided35I say for your own benefitto promote what is seemly, and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord. (1 Cor. 7:32-35, NAS) MEN AND WOMEN ARE CALLED THE BRIDE OF CHRIST As women are called to be sons of God, so men are called to be the Bride of Christ. Both describe a position of great privilege before God for the redeemed. These privileges do not point to something that is intrinsically male or female, but to that which transcends gender (Gal. 3:28).
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There isneither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Gal. 3:28)

As sons of God, we are in a position to experience Gods throne as heirs of His power. As the Bride of Christ, we are in a position to experience Gods heart, His deep desire for us. Most Christian women do not struggle with the idea of being sons of God because they do not see it as a call to be less feminine. However, men often struggle with the idea of being the Bride of Christ because they wrongly conclude that it is a call to become less masculine. Experiencing the truth of the Bride of Christ does not undermine a mans masculinity, but rather strengthens it. Some of the greatest men of God functioned in the essential reality of the Bride of Christ. King David was Israels greatest warrior king, yet he was a lovesick worshiper, ravished by Gods desire for him and fascinated by His beauty (Ps. 27:4). A foundational issue in Davids life, as a man after Gods own heart, was in being a student of Gods emotions. The Apostle John described himself as one Jesus loved (Jn. 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20). John the Baptist was the fiery prophet that Jesus called the greatest man (Mt. 11:11). He understood Jesus as the Bridegroom God (Jn. 3:29).

WHAT IS THE BRIDEGROOM MESSAGE?

Intimacy with God: We are called to experience Gods emotions, secrets, and commitments to us as our Bridegroom God and to respond with wholehearted love and obedience to His will. Jesus spoke on intimacy with God by calling us to abide in Him as a branch abides in a vine (Jn. 15). The Spirit reveals to us the deep things of Gods heart (His emotions, desire, and thoughts about us) so that we can know some of the vastness of Gods love and enjoy active intimacy with God.
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The Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God12We have received the Spirit that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. (1 Cor. 2:10-12)
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You may be able to comprehendthe width and length and depth and height to know the love [vast affections] of Christ which passes knowledge (Eph. 3:1819)
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Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered... (Ps. 40:5) We can know Jesus and be known by Him in a similar way to how He and the Father know each other. We must not settle for less because Jesus won't settle for less. We cannot be content with a dynamic ministry alone when we can also know God in the way that Jesus insists on here. One difference between Christianity and world religions is in experiencing intimacy with God.
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I know My own, and My own know Me, 15even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father. (Jn. 10:14-15, NAS) Partnership: Jesus shares His power and heart with us because He wants us to be with Him where He is and to work together with Him in building the kingdom and ruling the earth forever.
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The glory which You gave Me I have given them24Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory (Jn. 17:22-24)
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To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me [Jesus] on My throne (Rev. 3:21)
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Have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth. (Rev. 5:10)
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They went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. (Mk. 16:20)

Delight: Jesus is filled with delight and gentleness towards us even in our weakness. He takes pleasure in believers who seek to obey Him and treats them tenderly and with great gentleness.
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He delivered me because He delighted in me. 35 Your gentleness made me great. (Ps. 18:19, 35)
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The Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble (Ps. 149:4) Gladness: Jesus has a heart of gladnessa happy heartmore than any man in history (Heb. 1:9). Many through church history have viewed God as mostly mad or mostly sad (grieved) when He relates to us. The good news is that Jesus is mostly glad when He relates to us.
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God has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions. (Heb. 1:9) Secrets: Jesus entrusts the secrets of His heart to His Bride. We each long for the intimacy of knowing and being known by God. Jesus rejoices and weeps with us (Rom. 12:15). Jesus understands the secret aspects of our life that are unknown, unnoticed, and misunderstood by others. He has intimate knowledge of our victory, passion, sacrifices, pain, and struggles.
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The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him (Ps. 25:14) Rejoice with those who rejoiceweep with those who weep (Rom. 12:15)

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1. He shares with us in our victory: He knows our greatness and nobility in redemption. 2. He shares with us in our passions: He knows our longings and dreams to love Him. 3. He shares with us in our sacrifices: He recognizes all our sacrifices to love Him. 4. He shares with us in our pain: He walks with us through difficulties and setbacks. 5. He shares with us in our struggle with sin: He forgives us and understands our struggle and the shame of our failure. He protects and covers us by not disclosing our sin. Cherishing: The Church is cleansed by experiencing Jesus nourishing and cherishing heart.
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He might...cleanse her...by the Word...27present her...a glorious church...29for no one ever hated his flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, as the Lord does the church. (Eph. 5:26-29) Beauty: Jesus possesses indescribable beauty that fascinates our hearts (Ps. 27:4).
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One thing I have desired of the LORD...to behold the beauty of the LORD... (Ps. 27:4)

Fiery affections: Jesus the Bridegroom has fiery affections and burning desire for His people. God loves us in the way God loves Himself (Jn. 15:9; 17:23). Jesus feels the same intensity of love for us as the Father feels for Him. He loves us with His all and He wants this from us.
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As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. (Jn. 15:9)

Abandonment: Jesus wants the first commandment to be in first place in our lives. He desires exclusivity and abandonment in our love for Him. A man does not marry his wife out of mercy, but desires her exclusive love and partnership. There is joy in wholeheartedness as we feel the power to love without reservation. Having something to die for gives us something to live for.
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You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. (Mk. 12:30) Jesus abandoned all to save and establish an eternal relationship with His people. He seeks this same wholehearted love from His Bride.
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He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that youmight become rich. (2 Cor. 8:9)
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Who, being in the form of God7coming in the likeness of men8He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (Phil. 2:6-8) Jesus greatly desires the beauty of His people as they respond to Him with abandonment or wholeheartedness (Ps. 45:10-11). When we deny our own heritage, we do it for love. The bridal heart is expressed in giving our all to Jesus. When a man asks a woman to marry him, he is asking her to leave her father's house and to leave all that gets in the way of love.
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Listen, O daughter, consider and incline your ear; forget your own people also, and your fathers house; 11the King will greatly desire your beauty (Ps. 45:10-11) Jesus is responsive to our love for Him. Foundational to the message of the Bride of Christ is the truth about our impact on Jesus heart and His impact on ours. It isnt mostly about mercy, (though mercy is greatly involved). Mercy is related more to revelation of the Father. A woman doesn't relate to her husband primarily based on mercy, but on partnership, respect, and feeling beautiful in the eyes of her husband. Marriage is very different from a parent-child relationship, because in marriage there is mutual partnership with both people bringing their all to the relationship. We do not bring our own righteousness (we receive His), but rather we bring our voluntary love.

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Jesus called for this when He said, Take up your cross, and Hate your father and mother. He was speaking as the Bridegroom God calling for loyal love. By taking up our cross, we begin the journey to become equally yoked to Him in love. There is nothing that moves Jesus more than this. When we deny ourselves because of our love for Him, it moves Him so deeply, because this is how His personality is and how He loves us. He is the Lamb who gave all in His sacrificial love for His Bride.
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If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross (Mt. 16:24)
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If anyone comes to Me and does not hate [by comparison of loyalty to Jesus] his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple 33 Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. (Lk. 14:2633) Jesus said that if we love Him, we would keep His commandments. Denying our lustful desires is the way God chose for us to express our love to Him. Each of us has a different struggle and, thus, a different assignment from which we offer our gift of love to God.
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He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me23Jesus answered and said to him, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word (Jn. 14:2123) Our longing to be wholehearted and abandoned to God requires the impartation of Gods love to our hearts (Rom 5:5). Only by living abandoned to Jesus can we know the joy of lovesickness. The heart of the Bride desires to walk in the power that enables her to give the deepest affection of her heart to Jesus (Mt. 22:37), to have an enlarged capacity to love Jesus more, and the power to be loyal in love. The power to walk abandoned to Jesus frees us from boredom, passivity, and compromise which leave us broken, burned out, discontent, and filled with shame. The Holy Spirit is restoring the first commandment to first place in the Body of Christ. Jesus gives us the power to be passionate, because He is a passionate God and we are created in His image. Love is not satisfied until it is fully returned in a reciprocal way. Think of the person you love most. You will never be satisfied until you have the capacity to fully love them. If we dont have something to die for, then we dont have anything to live for. The human heart does not work properly in half-heartedness. The passive heart is bored and is therefore vulnerable to many destructive lusts. In order to be emotionally whole, we must live wholeheartedly. The revelation of the Bridegroom filled with tenderness leads some to laziness because they have not seen the revelation of His heart of abandonment or His call for us to be abandoned to Him.

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Jealousy: Jesus the Bridegroom is filled with a holy, jealous desire for our love.
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You shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. (Ex. 34:14)
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Whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously? (Jas. 4:4-5) Phinehas stood against idolatry and immorality because of Gods jealousy burning in him. God is patient, but not passive or indifferent, with that which compromises our love or causes us pain.
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Israelbegan to play the harlot3Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor, and the LORD was angry against Israel7When Phinehassaw it, he arose11Phinehas turned away My wrathin that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the sons of Israel in My jealousy13It shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God (Num. 25:1-13, NAS) God is moved by His memory of our past love and devotion to Him.
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Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. (Rev. 2:4)

Thus says the LORD: I remember you, the kindness [devotion, NAS, NIV] of your youth, the love of your betrothal, when you went after Me in the wilderness (Jer. 2:2) Zealous: Jesus the Bridegroom is zealous for our safety, blessing, and honor (Zech. 1:14; 8:2; Ezek. 38:18-19; Prov. 6:34). In His zeal, He will destroy all that hinders love. Jesus intervenes to fight against that which injures His Bride. He rescues, protects, and vindicates His Bride.
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I am zealous for Zion with great zeal; with great fervor I am zealous for her. (Zech. 8:1-2)
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He has avenged on her [harlot Babylon] the blood of His servants shed by her. (Rev. 19:2)
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Shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him (Lk. 18:7)
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Jealousy is a husband's furyhe will not spare in the day of vengeance. (Prov. 6:34)
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The Lord shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of warHe shall prevail against His enemies. (Isa. 42:13)

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The beauty that God possesses is the very beauty that He imparts to us in redemption (Isa. 61:3). The things that He declares as beautiful are our heart responses, rather than any exceptional abilities or dynamic ministry impact. Whenever God speaks of the beauty of His people, it is related to their heart responses, because that is where He is looking and that is what moves Him. He searches the heart, because what happens in our heart is so personal and intimate. Praise from an upright heart is beautiful to God.
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Rejoice in the LORDfor praise from the upright is beautiful. (Ps. 33:1) A gentle and quiet spirit is beautiful and precious to God.
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The incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. (1 Pet. 3:4) Walking in the benefits of our salvation is beautiful to God (Ps. 149:4).
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The Lordwill beautify the humble with salvation. (Ps. 149:4)

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Part 3 Adam: The Human Spirit Designed for Intimacy with God
INTRODUCTION One of God's ultimate purposes for creation is to provide a bride for His Son as His eternal companion to reign with Him forever (Eph. 5:31-32; Rev. 5:10; 19:7). The guiding principle of the Fathers activity throughout history has been to raise up a prepared Bride for His worthy Son.
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For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. (Rev. 19:7) Genesis gives us two different accounts of creation, one in Genesis 1 and the other in Genesis 2. Gods record of creation emphasizes Adam and Eve and their relationship to God and each other, rather than scientific data. God wants us awestruck by the reality of who we are to Him. The Genesis 1 account gives a prophetic picture of the Bride by revealing that God designed the human spirit for intimate relationship with God. This shows us God's commitment to have a people who partner and rule with His Son in deep relationship. The Genesis 2 account gives us another prophetic picture of the Bride by showing Adam and Eve joined in marriage, as a picture of Jesus and the Church (Eph. 5:31-32).
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This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. (Eph. 5:32)

The Lord desired that Adam enjoy the garden (Gen. 2:9). Gods plan began and will end with His people ruling together with Him in a garden-paradise (Gen. 1-2; Rev. 21-22).
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God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. (Gen. 2:9) THE CENTERPIECE OF GODS PURPOSE: BRING HEAVEN AND EARTH TOGETHER
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Having made known to us the mystery [hidden plan] of His will10that He might gather together in one ALL things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth. (Eph. 1:9-10) The centerpiece of Gods eternal purpose is for Jesus to come back to establish His kingdom over all the earth as He joins the heavenly and earthly realms together. Heaven speaks of the supernatural realm where Gods presence is openly manifest. It is the place believers go to (last 2,000 years) as a temporary holding place for disembodied spirits. Earth speaks of the material realm as the place where natural process, human emotion, and physical sensation reach full expression, thus requiring a resurrected body in the age to come.

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Gods purpose has always been for His people to live together with Him in this way forever. God determined to make the earth His home forever. This is the most difficult yet ultimate reality that God determined to accomplish through redemption. The dilemma is that God cannot violate His holiness or mans free will in making a way for humans to live with Him on earth.
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Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them (Rev. 21:3)

God determined that we should experience the fullness of His personality and purpose. For His full purposes to occur, the natural earthly realm must come together with the heavenly realm.
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To know the love of Christ...that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Eph. 3:19) Jesus was the first human to experience the fullness of Gods purpose for humanity.
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It pleased the Father that in Him [Jesus] all the fullness should dwell, 20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himselfwhether things on earth or things in heaven... (Col. 1:19-20) In Genesis 1-2, God planned for the full expression of His purposes with His people. He created Adam from dust with a natural dimension and then breathed supernatural spiritual life into him.
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The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, [natural realm] and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life [spiritual realm]; and man became a living being. (Gen. 2:7) THE ANGELS WATCHED THE DRAMA OF CREATION The great heavenly drama was unfolding. The angels were not detached observers of creation, but deeply engaged, even singing and shouting with enthusiasm as God created in Genesis 1-2.
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The morning stars [angels] sang together, and all the sons of God [angels] shouted for joy. (Job 38:7) God was hiding a grand plan that the angels were seeking to understand.
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the mystery [Gods plan] which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God 10that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers [angelic and demonic realms] in the heavenly places (Eph. 3:9-10)
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Preached the gospel to youthings which angels desire to look into. (1 Pet. 1:12) THE GENESIS 1 PATTERN OF CREATION: ACCORDING TO ITS KIND

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The Genesis l principle is to bring together those who were according to their own kind to generate life. Ten times God created an original then created a seed or a counterpart according to its own kind (Gen. 1:11, 12b, 12d, 21c, 21d, 24b, 24d, 25b, 25d). This principle was at work with the grass, fruit trees, sea creatures, every living thing in the waters, birds, cattle, and beasts.
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God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind24God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind; and it was so. (Gen. 1:21-24) God clearly established this principle in the first five days of creation. ADAM WAS CREATED ACCORDING TO GODS LIKENESS God created a being in His own image and gave him dominion over all the earth (Gen. 1:2628). Only God has dominion over all the earth. This must have surprised the angels.
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God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominionover all the earth 27So God created man in His own image (Gen. 1:26-27) The human spirit was designed in Gods image and likeness. The very design of the human spirit is Gods statement of desire for intimate partnership with human beings. This was the first prophetic hint of the great wedding at the end of natural history (Mt. 22:2; Rev. 19:7). God created in an ascending order of glory, producing a dramatic crescendo as the angels observed His creative genius. The pattern of Genesis 1 had been clearly established ten times with a seed or counterpart according to its kind, in union with the original to generate life. God created a new order of being called humans as the counterpart of the uncreated Original (Jesus). The counterpart, Adam, was created for union with Jesus, the Original. What was God doing? This giant step in God's creation must have been surprising and dramatic to the angels. God went from plants, to fish, to birds, and to animals. He bypassed the angels by creating a new being (Adam) according to Gods likeness. This undoubtedly brought perplexity to the angels who may have asked: Why so exalted and so noble? Why in Gods likeness? What are the implications of such a union? Gods purpose was to have a class of beings who would live in union with God to release His life and power to creation. The angels must have been overwhelmed when it dawned on them that created beings would be married to God.

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CREATED IN GODS LIKENESS 23 May your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless. (1 Thes. 5:23) Our spirit: We have the unique capacity to receive Gods Spirit or life (Greek: zoe).
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But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. (1 Cor. 6:17)

The riches of the glory of this mysteryis Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Col. 1:27) Our soul: We have personality traits and abilities like God so that we can relate to Him. 1) Mind: We have the capacity for reason, revelation, and creative thinking. 2) Emotions: We have the capacity for intense affection, joy, gladness, zeal, and holy anger. 3) Will: We have a free will with the capacity for dignified actions by making decisions that have eternal consequences of being remembered, valued, and rewarded by God forever. Our body: We will have a resurrected body made with the same glory as Jesus' body (Phil 3:21).
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Will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body... (Phil. 3:21) Dominion: God created humans to rule with Him. Angels are servants (Heb. 1:14).
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God said, have dominion...over every living thingon the earth. (Gen. 1:28)
4 5

What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? You have crowned him with glory and honor. 6You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet (Ps. 8:4-6)
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You have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands. 8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet (Heb. 2:7-8) The Bride will be crowned with glory and honor in being like Jesus forever.
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When He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. (1 Jn. 3:2) He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29)

29 9

Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. (1 Cor 2:9)

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Adam exercised dominion over the garden. He had the responsibility to name the animals, which involved discerning the nature and purpose of each one and overseeing their work in the garden.
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God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it19God formed every beastand every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. (Gen. 2:15, 19) The Bride holds a unique position of partnership with Jesus in Gods eternal government.
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To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne (Rev. 3:21)

Have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth. (Rev. 5:10) As Gods image-bearers, we reflect God's personality and represent God to creation as kings and priests. We are designed, equipped, and qualified to be His ambassadors, who act and speak on His behalf (2 Cor. 5:20). We will represent God for all eternity to angels, demons, and creation.
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We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us (2 Cor. 5:20) God gave Adam the opportunity to express his voluntary love by giving him opportunity to sin.
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Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. (Gen. 2:16-17) Gods purpose was to have a people living in supernatural unity with God and with one another.
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They may be one in Us22The glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know Youhave loved them as You have loved Me. (Jn. 17:21-23)

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Part 4 Eve: Relating to God in Intimacy without Shame (Gen. 2)

INTRODUCTION Four women in the Old Testament are pictures of the Bride of Christ. Each woman gives us insight into different ways in which we relate to Jesus as our Bridegroom God. 1. Eve: as a suitable companion relating to God in intimacy without shame (Gen. 2. Rebekah: the extravagant obedience of the Bride (Gen. 24) 3. Ruth: as a Gentile bride who was exalted and delivered from hopelessness (Ruth 1-) 4. Esther: as a bride reigning with authority and triumphing over the enemy (Esth. 1-10) Adam and Eve are types or pictures that help us understand Gods purposes. Adam is a type of Christ (Rom. 5:14; 1 Cor. 15:45-49) and Eve is a type of the Church (Eph. 5:31-32). Genesis 1 and 2 give two accounts of creation from two different points of view. Genesis 1 reveals the fact that we were created with a unique capacity to relate to God. Genesis 2 reveals how we relate to God, including leaving, cleaving in wholehearted love from a heart that is fully opened and free from shame, being one flesh with Jesus as the Body of Christ, and having confidence that we are desired by God. That is the message from the picture of Eve. Our spiritual identity and value is based on Jesus desire for us as His eternal companion. THE GREAT MYSTERY God revealed the events of creation to Moses in about 1500 BC (2,500 years after it occurred).
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The LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on AdamHe took one of his ribs24A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined [cleave, NAS] to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25They were both nakedand were not ashamed. (Gen. 2:21-25) In Ephesians 5:31-32, Paul interpreted Genesis 2:24. Paul tells us that God was thinking of Jesus and the Church when He orchestrated the events around piercing Adams side to bring forth Eve. Paul calls this revelation a great mystery because it has profound significance to the redeemed.
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A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 32This is a great mysteryI speak concerning Christ and the church. (Eph. 5:31-32) Three purposes for giving us the record of His creation of Eve (Gen. 2:18-24) 1. To provide a historical record of creation so that we know what happened in sequence 2. To provide understanding of Gods order for marriage 3. To provide insight into Gods eternal plan to give Jesus a Bride as His eternal companion

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Jesus quoted Genesis 2:24, implying that the Father was the One speaking of His grand purpose.
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And He [Jesus]said to them, Have you not read that He [the Father] who made them at the beginning made them male and female, 5and said, For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? (Mt. 19:4-5) ADAMS DEEP SLEEP IS A PICTURE OF JESUS DEATH God caused deep sleep to fall on Adam, to pierce his side and take a rib. This is the first picture in Scripture of Jesus work on the cross. God brought Eve to Adam as a picture of bringing the Church to Jesus. God closed up Adams flesh, or healed himthis points to Jesus resurrection.
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God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22Then the ribHe made into a woman (Gen. 2:21-22) The Father caused Jesus to embrace the deep sleep of death by delivering Him up for us all.
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He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Rom. 8:32) God created Eve from Adams side before they fell into sin (Gen. 3:7). In other words, Gods plan for Jesus to die for our sins was established before the foundation of the earth.
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The Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Rev. 13:8) ADAM RULING WITHOUT A COMPANION
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The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 18And the LORD God said, It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable [suitable; NAS, NIV] to him. 19God formed every beast and every birdand brought them to Adam...20Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birdsand to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable [suitable] to him. (Gen. 2:15-20) Gave names: Adam was ruling in paradise without Eve (Gen. 2:8-22). God assembled the animals to awaken in Adam the understanding of the glory of a companion. God reveals some of the fullness of His plan for Jesus as a man, in giving Eve to Adam as a companion. It is not good: It was Gods observation that it was not good for Adam to be alone. God saw something that was not good in the midst of everything that was very good (Gen. 1:31). It is in Gods nature to plan for the happiness and fulfillment of His people.

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God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. (Gen. 1:31) I will make him: God promised to act to make Adam a partner that was suitable for him. The Church is Jesus suitable companion. This is the first hint of the gospel in the Scripture. This is now: Adam had great delight as he discovered his new companion who was bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh. She was like him in spirit, soul, body, mind, emotions, and will.
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The LORD Godtook one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 23And Adam said: This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. (Gen. 2:21-23) We are designed according to God's image and likeness (Gen. 1:26-28). We are designed according to what Jesus desires. We are what God likes and are enjoyable to Him by our design. Our physical features and abilities are attractive and beautiful to God. To be suitable for God is an indescribable privilege. It includes receiving and returning love and sharing our thoughts, and working and reigning together. Adams desire for a companion gives us insight to Jesus desire for a companion.
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Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My gloryfor You loved Me before the foundation of the world. (Jn. 17:24) Jesus is filled with joy over His Bride.
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As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. (Isa. 62:5)
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As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you10Abide in [stay connected to] My love, just as Ihave kept My Fathers commandments and abide in His love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. (Jn. 15:9-11)
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Jesuswho for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross (Heb. 12:2) Flesh of my flesh: Eve was brought forth from Adams rib, from his body, instead of coming from dirt like Adam and the rest of creation (Gen. 2:7, 9). Jesus Bride comes from His body. WHY WE ARE BEAUTIFUL TO GOD

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Let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us (Ps. 90:17)

Personality of God: We are beautiful to God in redemption by virtue of who God is and what He is like. God is so loving and has great capacity to enjoy His people. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Gods personality and perspective is filled with love and generosity. Design of the human spirit: We were created in Gods image, in a way that He likes. God designed us to be delightful or suitable to Jesus. We are what He likes or desires. Gift of righteousness: We are clothed with Jesus righteousness (2 Cor. 5:17-21; Isa. 61:10). The very quality of Gods righteousness has been given to us as a gift. Our willing spirit: At our new birth, we had a willing spirit or sincere intentions for obedience (Mt. 26:41, 1 Jn. 3:9; Ps. 51:10, 17; 34:18; Isa. 57:15; 66:2) Our eternal destiny: We are the Fathers chosen inheritance for Jesus. He sees us according to where we are going in our destiny in redemption. The fact that our eternal destiny is to be Jesus Bride means that for 99.99999999999% of our life, we will walk in the full beauty of holiness. ADAM IS JOINED TO EVE: INTIMACY WITHOUT SHAME (GEN. 2:24-25) Gods purpose is fulfilled as Adam is joined to Eve in full partnership, together without shame.
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A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined [cleave] to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. (Gen. 2:24-25) Leaving: Jesus left all when He became a man and died (Phil. 2:6-8); He calls us to do the same. Cleaving: Mutual embrace involving love for each other with all our heart, mind, and strength. Naked: This speaks of living with an open heart. Jesus opens the deep things of His heart to us, and we do the same to him. God gives His secrets to those who hunger for them (Ps. 25:14). Not ashamed: We are to live now and forever with confidence in love, without shame or guilt. One flesh: The Bride is a part of Jesus body.
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We are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. (Eph. 5:30)

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You are the body of Christ, and members individually. (1 Cor. 12:27)

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will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body (Phil. 3:21) THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPRESS VOLUNTARY LOVE (GEN. 2:17) God gives us the opportunity to obey or disobey Him as one way to show our love for Him.
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But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. (Gen. 2:17) Eve was deceived by Satan. We are not to be ignorant of Satans devices or tactics (2 Cor. 2:11).
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The serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field...he said to the woman, Has God indeed said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 4The serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die. 5For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. (Gen. 3:1-5) 1) Satans half-truth: Has God said? 2) Satans lie: You shall surely not die. 3) Satans accusation of God: You will be like God. Paul used Eves deception to show us how Satan leads people astray from pure devotion to Jesus.
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For I betrothed you to one husband, that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. 3But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. (2 Cor. 11:2-3; NAS)

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Part 5 Rebekah: The Extravagant Heart of the Bride (Genesis 24)

INTRODUCTION Genesis 24 tells two dramatic stories at the same time. One is spiritual and the other is natural. The two stories overlap and intersect at significant points. The spiritual story tells of the Fathers commitment to find a Bride for His Son. It is told symbolically in the natural story of Abrahams commitment to find a bride for his son Isaac. The details in the natural story illustrate truths that are taught in the New Testament. Every detail does not correspond to a truth. Some events in the Old Testament illustrate New Testament truths (1 Cor. 10:4; Gal. 4:24; Eph. 5:32; Heb. 11:19). Abraham: pictures the heart of God the Father filled with zeal to provide a wife for His Son. Isaac: is a type of Christ (Gal. 4:24; Heb. 11:19). Pauls treatment of the Ishmael-Isaac story is referred to as symbolic (NKJV), figurative (NIV), or as an allegory (NAS).
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Abraham had two sons23he who was of the bondwoman [Ishmael] was born according to the flesh, and he [Isaac] of the freewoman24 which things are symbolic (Gal. 4:22-24)
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Abrahamoffered up Isaac19concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him [Isaac] in a figurative sense. (Heb. 11:17-19) Abrahams servant: a type of the Holy Spirits ministry. He is the only servant in the Fathers house who rules all of His house (v. 2) and is entrusted with all of the Fathers goods (v. 10). Rebekah: is a type of the Church as the Bride of Christ. She speaks of the Bride who wholeheartedly responds to the Spirit and experiences the riches of grace (Eph. 1:7, 2:7; 3:8).
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We have redemption through His bloodaccording to the riches of His grace (Eph. 1:7) The storyline: Jesus declared that the Fathers plan was to arrange a wedding for His Son. The Father sends His most trusted servant, the Holy Spirit, on a mission to prepare a Bride for His Son. The Bride must voluntarily and extravagantly respond to God during this journey through the wilderness to the wedding. Natural history ends with a celebration of the full success of the Fathers glorious plan to have a Bride ready, one who lives with extravagant love and obedience.
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The kingdom of heaven is like aking who arranged a marriage for his son (Mt. 22:2)

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The voice of a great multitudesaying, Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be gladfor the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready9Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb! (Rev. 19:6-9) This is not a story of how the bride became saved, but of how grace strengthened her to live in the wholeheartedness of the bridal ideal. She enters the story as one already in the faith of Abraham; we see her journey to walk out her wholeheartedness. This is a story of how to live in abandonment to God, not how to receive forgiveness of sin so that we go to heaven when we die. THE FATHERS PLAN: TO TAKE A WIFE FOR HIS SON (GEN. 24:1-4)
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Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had I will make you swear 4you shall go to my country and my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac. (Gen. 24:2-4) Servant who ruled over all: Abraham sent an elderly servant who ruled over all he had (v. 2). This speaks of the servant ministry of the Holy Spirit. Take a wife: The Spirits mandate is to prepare an equally yoked Bride for Jesus. Jesus declared the Fathers great plan in arranging a wedding for His Son (Mt. 22:2).
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The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son. (Mt. 22:2) Swear: The servant makes a solemn oath to complete Abrahams plan to take a wife for his son. Here, we see the Holy Spirits commitment and determination to prepare a Bride for Jesus. You shall go: Speaks of the active ministry of the Spirit. We can only succeed as we participate with the Spirits work, as He goes forth in our personal lives and with His plan in the nations. THE HOLY SPIRITS COMMITMENT TO GODS PLAN (GEN. 24:5-10)
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The servant said to him, Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came [Babylon]? 6 Abraham said to him, Beware that you do not take my son back there. 7The LORDtook me fromthe land of my familyand swore to me, saying, To your descendants I give this land [Israel], He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son8If the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath9The servantswore to him concerning this matter. (Gen. 24:5-9)

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Willing: The issue of the Brides free will is emphasized throughout the story (v. 5, 8, 39). The necessity of making our own choices is essential to love. So much is in the balance of our free will. There is no substitute for choosing obedience and love. No one can do it for you. The angel: Abraham promised the Spirits help and guidance throughout the process of preparing the bride. Supernatural assistance is given to us, including the ministry of angels. Do not take my son back there: Abraham was from Ur of the Chaldeans, which became the Babylonian Empire. The end-time bride is to come out of Babylon (Rev. 18:4). I give this land: The land of Israel is central to the Fathers plan for Jesus to rule the earth with His Bride. The marriage supper occurs in relationship to the time of the resurrection and when Jesus returns to Jerusalem and calls it married to the Lord (Isa. 62:1, 4-5; Rev. 19:7-21).
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For Jerusalems sake I will not rest until her righteousness goes forth4You shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married 5As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall God rejoice over you. (Isa. 62:1-5)

THE PROMISE OF SUPERNATURAL HELP (GEN. 24:10-14)

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The servant took ten of his masters camels and departed, for all his masters goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor. 11He made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water. 12 Then he said, O LORDplease give me success this day13I stand here by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, Please let down your pitcher that I may drink, and she says, Drink, and I will also give your camels a drinklet her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master. (Gen. 24:10-14) City of Nahor: It was about a two-week journey from Abrahams home in Hebron to Nahor. Ten camels and all of Abrahams goods: This speaks of the riches of Gods grace, the gifts of the Spirit, and Gods abundant provision available to all who will receive it (Eph. 1:7; 2:7; 3:8). Well of water: The salvation story throughout the Scripture is often told in relation to wells of water or rivers. The Spirit encounters us in the place of our thirst, as we seek to be satisfied.

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Prayer: The servant asks God for help (v. 12-14). The importance of prayer in Gods plan to prepare the Bride is emphasized here. Prayer is dialogue with Gods heart and is foundational to the bridal relationship. God speaks and moves our hearts, and then we speak and move His heart. I will know: he looked for two signs: her extravagant response, and being in Abrahams family. THE HEART OF THE BRIDE: EXTRAVAGANT RESPONSIVENESS (GEN. 24:15-21)
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It happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son ofNahor, Abrahams brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. 16Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold, a virginand she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. 17And the servant ran to meet her and said, Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher. 18She quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. 19She said, I will draw water for your camels also 20She quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the welland drew for all his camels. 21The man, wondering at her, remained silent (Gen. 24:15-21) I will draw water for your camels also: She responded quickly and extravagantly (v. 18, 20, 28). The servant only asked her for a little response (v. 17), but she gave an extravagant one (v. 19). Here we see the heart of the Bride as God intended. The Spirit is looking for an extravagant response from us. When the Spirit asks us for a small response, He is giving us the opportunity to give an extravagant response. The heart of the Bride goes far beyond the call of duty (Song 8:7). Note: Camels can drink up to 50 gallons in one sitting. Ten camels would require 500 gallons of water (weighing 8 pounds/gallon). She moved 4,000 pounds of water between the well and the trough. If she took ten gallons per trip, at 5 minutes a trip, it would have taken her about 5 hours. Jesus view of His Bride: We are beautiful to God and stand as a pure virgin in His sight (v. 16). Beautiful: All believers are made beautiful to God. He gives us beauty for ashes.
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To give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning (Isa. 61:3) And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us. (Ps. 90:17)

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Virgin: All believers stand before God as a virgin because of Jesus righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21). The gift of righteousness makes each believer a pure virgin to Jesus. The Bride is holy and spotless, receiving both imputed and imparted righteousness (Eph. 5:27).

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...that I [Paul] may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. (2 Cor. 11:2) The servant ran: The servant ran to her (v. 17), illustrating the Spirits zeal to help us. We can be taken aback by the Spirits zeal in pursuing us, since we are often unaware of His great plans. Until they finished drinking: She did not stop until all ten camels had finished (v. 19). Perseverance and follow-through are necessary to wholeheartedness. Many begin well, but get sidetracked. We can say yes or no to the assignment, but we do not choose the assignment itself. MANIFESTATIONS OF THE RICHES OF GOD'S GRACE (GEN. 24:22-27)
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When the camels had finished drinkingthe man took a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold, 23and said, Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there room in your fathers house for us to lodge? 24So she said to him, I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcahs son, whom she bore to Nahor 25we have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge. 26Then the manworshiped the LORD. 27And he said, Blessed be the LORD Godwho has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the LORD led me to the house of my masters brethren. (Gen. 24:22-27) Nose ring and bracelets: He gives her a nose ring and two bracelets (v. 22, 30, 47). These are evidences that she is receiving the grace of God. These are manifestations of the anointing of the Spirit on her. Initial blessings are meant to woo us to greater abandonment to Jesus (Rom. 2:4). This story is not about how the Bride receives salvation. She is already in the household of faith. This is about how she is drawn into a wholehearted response, to the lifestyle of the Bride. Room to lodge: The servants requests increased from, Give me a drink to Can we stay in your house? When we say yes to the Spirit, He will ask for more abandonment. One measure of obedience gives us the courage to embrace the next. The Spirits call increases as we have more encounters with Him. First, she received gold (v. 22). Next, he asked to stay at her house (v. 23). She received more gold and silver and clothing (v 53). Finally, he called her to come to the promised land to marry the son (v 58). Will we invite the Spirit to our home, which is often our most private setting? Or are we content to meet with Him occasionally at the well?

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Worshiped: After she confirmed her lineage in Abrahams family, then he worshiped (v. 26). The servant worshiped twice in this story, here and after Laban consented to give Rebecca to marry Isaac (v. 26, 52). This speaks of the Spirits joy in the unfolding of Gods plan step by step. He is not a passive observer, but a fully engaged participant. This spirit of celebration will occur when all see the Bride prepared for the wedding day, fulfilling Gods plans (Rev. 19:1-9).
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The voice of a great multitudesaying, Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns 7For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. (Rev. 19:6-7) Mercy and truth: Mercy and truth are essential elements, manifest in all the events in the story. ENTHUSIASTIC TELLING OF THE STORY OF REDEMPTION (GEN. 24:28-30)
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So the young woman ran and told her mothers household these things. 29Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban, and Laban ran out to the man by the well. 30So it came to pass, when he saw the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sisters wrists, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekahhe went to the man. And there he stood by the camels at the well. (Gen. 24:28-30) Rebekah ran: She ran to tell the story. Telling the story is key to the unfolding of Gods plan. Laban ran to the well: Rebekahs story provoked her brother Laban to run to the well (v. 29). He saw the evidences of grace on her (v. 30). Laban stood at the well waiting for his own encounter. By testifying of our experiences in God, we help others run to the well to meet the servant. Jesus asked a woman at a well for a drink. She ran to tell the story causing many to come (Jn. 4:7-30). HONORING THE HOLY SPIRIT (GEN. 24:31-36)
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And he said, Come in, O blessed of the LORD! Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house 32The man came to the house. He unloaded the camels, and provided straw and feed for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33Food was set before him to eat, but he said, I will not eat until I have told about my errand. He said, Speak on. 34He said, I am Abraham's servant. 35My masterhas become great36Sarah my masters wife bore a sonwhen she was oldto him he has given all that he has. (Gen. 24:31-36) Come in: Laban invited the servant to stay in his home (v. 31). We must value the presence of the Spirit enough to continually invite him in to dwell with us, not just to occasionally visit us. We must prepare ourselves for the Spirits continual presence.

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Will not eat: The servant refuses to eat until he tells the story to the family (v. 33). The servant tells the story of the divine assignment that he was on (v. 34-48). Here we see the zeal and focus of the Spirit to tell the story throughout the whole world (Mt. 24:14). The Spirits purpose in telling the whole family the story is to move them into abandonment. I am Abrahams servant: He does not tell us his name or story (Jn. 1:23). The Spirit focuses on the testimony of Jesus and the plan of the Father from the foundation of the earth. THE HOLY SPIRIT WAITS FOR OUR RESPONSE (GEN. 24:49-53)
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Now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me. And if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left. 50Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing comes from the LORD51Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be your masters sons wife 52When Abrahams servant heard their wordshe worshiped the LORD53Then the servant brought out jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother. (Gen. 24:49-53) Take her and go: They agreed to fully embrace Abrahams plan by letting her go with them. Jewelry and clothing: The servant gave her more gold with clothing as a bridal dowry (v. 53).
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I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you says the Lord GOD 11 I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your wrists12I put a jewel in your nose 13 You were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linenyou were exceedingly beautiful, and succeeded to royalty. 14Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor (Ezek. 16:8-14) THE BRIDES VOLUNTARY LOVE TO GO ON THE JOURNEY (GEN. 24:54-61)

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And he and the men who were with him ate and drank and stayed all night. Then they arose in the morning, and he said, Send me away to my master. 55But her brother and her mother said, Let the young woman stay with us a few days, at least ten; after that she may go. 56And he said to them, Do not hinder mesend me away so that I may go to my master. 57So they said, We will call the young woman and ask her personally. 58 Then they called Rebekah and said to her, Will you go with this man? And she said, I will go. 59So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abrahams servant and his men. 60And they blessed Rebekah and said to her: Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands of ten thousands; and may your descendants possess the gates of those who hate them. 61Then Rebekah and her maids arose, and they rode on the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed. (Gen. 24:54-61)
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Listen, O daughterincline your ear; forget your people and your fathers house; 11then the King will desire your beauty; because He is your Lord, bow down to Him. (Ps. 45:1011, NAS) ENCOUNTERING THE BRIDEGROOM (GEN. 24:62-67)
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Isaac came from the wayin the South. 63And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening; and he lifted his eyes and looked, and there, the camels were coming66The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done 67She became his wife, and he loved her. (Gen. 24:62-67) The camels were coming: The camels speak of the bride coming through the wilderness, being carried with the riches of grace. Jesus watches with confidence as the camels are coming. She became his wife and he loved her: Rebekah became his wife and he loved her (v. 67). Experiencing Jesus love is the ultimate reality as seen in John 15:9-11 and Ephesians 3:18.

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Part 6 Cultivating the Oil of Intimacy with Jesus (Mt. 25:1 -13)
THE CONTEXT OF THE PARABLE OF THE WISE AND FOOLISH VIRGINS (MT. 25:1-13) Jesus connected preparation for the end times to intimacy with God. In Matthew 24-25, Jesus taught on the end times (M t. 24:3 -44) then applied his teaching in three parables to those He called to leadership (Mt. 24:45-25:30) before describing His final judgment (Mt. 25:31-46). These two chapters are one teaching that is focused on preparing leaders for the end times. The greatest revival and the greatest pressure in history will come in the generation in which Jesus returns. We are to continue in our ministry to bring in the great harvest and to impact the seven spheres of society. The light will increase at the same time that the darkness increases. The wheat and tares will mature together at the end of the age (Mt.13:30). Jesus said that He would come quickly. We are to be faithful during the time of His delay. Parable #1: Jesus delay is shorter than expected. The parable of the good and evil servants in Mt. 24:45 -51 contrasts two types of leaders in the kingdom. The wicked leaders worked with wrong motives that abused their God -given blessing and authority. The good servants are the leaders who are wise and faithful as they feed Gods people. Parable #2: Jesus delay is longer than expected . The parable of the wise and foolish virgins in Mt. 25:1 -13 emphasizes the need to stay connected with the Spirit to cultivate intimacy with Jesus as our Bridegroom God. Some wis e leaders with good motives end up working with a wrong spirit by neglecting to maintain their intimacy with God. Parable #3: Jesus delay is harder than expected. The parable of the faithful steward in Mt. 25:14 -30 focuses on being faithful in our minist ry assignment in the times it seems small and hard (Mt. 25:21, 24). The majority have a small ministry assignment. Those responding wrongly worked with the wrong evaluation and neglected their assignment. In the end times the Spirit will emphasize three as pects of Jesus personality and ministry in being Bridegroom, King, and Judge (Mt. 24 -25, Rev. 19; Isa. 61 -63; Ps. 45). We encounter His desire for us as a Bridegroom; His power as King; and His zeal, as Judge, to remove everything that hinders love. Jesus highlights these three aspects of His ministry in Mt. 24 -25.

In Mt. 24 -25, Jesus was preparing His people to walk in power and victory in the Tribulation.

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The Church is raptured at the end of the Tribulation. The Church will partner with Jesus to release judgment on the Antichrists kingdom through prayer in the way that Moses released the ten plagues on Pharaoh. This type of prayer will be used to liberate those being oppressed by the Antichrists reprobate oppressors of the nations in the final 3 years before Jesus returns mmediately after the tribulation of those daysHe will send His angelsthey will gather together [rapture] His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven (Mt. 24:29 -31) Jesus main exhortation to us to be prepared for t he end times is that we should watch, or develop a heart connection with the Spirit. (Mt. 24:36, 42 -44, 50; 25:13). We are exhorted to watch and pray ten times in relation to preparing for the end times (Mt. 24:42; 25:13; Mk. 13:9, 33, 34, 35, 37; Lk. 21:36; 1 Thes. 5:6; Rev. 16:15). Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. (Mt. 24:42) Watchfor you know neither the day nor hourthe Son of Man is coming. (Mt. 25:13) Acquiring oil is actively connecting with God , not just being in isolation to take down-time for myself. To watch is to have an attentive heart to what the Spirit is speaking to our lives and to be anointed observers of what He is doing in society, with a response of prayer. Watching involves cultivating faith that agrees with what the Word and the Spirit say about Jesus return. We prepare by watching what the Spirit is saying in Scripture, in circumstances, and in our life. Scripture : Watch or search out what the Bible says about the signs of His coming. Circumstances : With a heart of faith, watch the sign events and trends that are predicted in Scripture progressively unfold. Set your heart to be an anointed observer of these. Personal life: Be alert to the Spirits stirring and challenges in your personal life and ministry. We watch to position ourselves to receive strength from the Spirit to love God and people. It is the place we are empowered to obey and love. It is presumptuous to seek to do this without being connected to the Spirit. I compare it to taking time to put fuel in our car instead of pushing it.
KINGDOM LEADERSHIP A T THE END OF THE AGE : DEFINING WISE LEADERSHIP

Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom . Five of them were wise , and five were foolish . (Mt. 25:1 -2) Virgins: All believers are as virgins before God because of Jesus righteousness (2 Cor. 5:17).

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I betrothed you to one husbandI present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. (2 Cor. 11:2) Lamp: Each of these virgins had a lamp which spoke of a ministry that brought Gods light to others (Mt. 5:15-16; Rev. 1:20; 2:5; 11:3 -6; Zech. 4:2; Isa. 62:1; Jn. 5:35). Bridegroom: All these ministries had revelation of Jesus as the Bridegroom God. These are ministries who went out to meet, or encountered, Jesus as the Bridegroom God. The Spirit and the Bride say, Come! (Rev. 22:17) Then: We ask, When is then? The word then points back to the end of the age theme just emphasized in Mt. 24. This is when the kingdom functions like virgins meeting the Bridegroom. In this parable, Jesus warning is that the wise can become foolish if they neglect to continue to cultivate intimacy with Jesus by going out to meet the Bridegroom (Mt. 25:1), Jesus. FIVE WISE VIRGINS: ACQUIRED OIL AS THEIR MINISTRY LAMPS SHONE Five of them were wise , and five were foolish . Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. (Mt. 25:2 -4) The oil speaks of the presence of the Spirit touching our heart as we spend time with God (2 Cor 1:21; 1 Jn. 2:20, 27). The oil of the Holy Spirit touches our hearts in different ways: It It It It tenderizes our heart , enabling us to feel more of Gods desire for us. enlarges our desire for Him by encountering His desire for us. illuminates our understanding with revelation of Gods beauty. imparts zeal for righteousness, which helps us in our struggle with besetting sins.

The foolish took their lamps (ministry), but took no oil . In other words, they pursued ministry as their first priority, instead of acquiring oil in their relationship with Jesus. The wise ministries took oil in their vessels with their lamps. In other words, they pursued acquiring oil as their first priority before seeking to expand and network their ministry. Our relationship with Jesus is our most important dream, not our ministry assignment. Zechariahs prophecy of two sons of oil, includes the two witnesses (Zech. 4:14; Rev. 11:4). THE FORERUNNER MINISTRY IN THE END TIMES : THE THREEFOLD CRY While the Bridegroom delayed, they all slept.

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At midnight a cry was heard: Behold, the Bridegroom is coming, go out to meet Him. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. (Mt. 25:5 -7) At the midnight hour of history, forerunners will cry out with a threefold message to the nations. First, Jesus is coming refers to His manifest victory and judgment. Jesus will come to us by progressively releasing waves of revival that win the lost and transform society. These waves will build and intensify more and more until Jesus comes in the sky to rapture the Church. Second, Jesus is coming as a Bridegroom God with deep desire for relationship with us. Third, we must go out to meet Him or to make the necessary effort to position ourselves in worship, obedience, prayer, the Word, and fasting to encounter Jesus. They all slept and all trimmed their lamps. Sleeping in this parable is not bad. The wise and unwise both sleep (Mk. 4:27). This speaks of cultivating oil in the natural processes of life. We sustain intimacy with Jesus in the midst of the rigors, routine and mundaneness of life. They all sleptall those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps . (Mt. 25:5 -7) JESUS EMPHASIZED THE GREAT NEED TO CULTIVATE OIL IN THE END TIMES The foolish ministries recognize their mistake in neglecting oil. The foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil , for our lamps are going out . The wise answered, No, lest there should not be enoug h for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves. (Mt. 25:8 -9) Many ministry lamps will go out because they will lack the spiritual vitality of the Spirits oil. They asked the wise to give them oil to bolster their ministries. The wise understood their limitation knowing that their spiritual history and spiritual preparedness is not transferrable. Christian self -help and pop psychology sermons will not meet the need of the hour in that day. In that day, we must be a voic e that pursues the truth in our secret life, and not just an echo. Jesus exhorts us to buy oil, to engage in the God-ordained process of acquiring intimacy with God. We do not earn this, but invest ourselves in a costly way to receive it.

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I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich (Rev. 3:18) BEING PREPARED FOR THE NEXT WAVE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT While they went to buy, the Bridegroom came [progressive seasons of revival] , and those who were ready went in with Him to the wedding; and the door [of opportunity for usefulness] was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us! He answered, Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you. (Mt. 25:10 -12) This passage is not a warning about losing salvation. Jesus neither knew nor recognized them as those who engaged with Him as the Bridegroom. When Jesus said, I do not know you, He was describing their lack of intimacy with Him, not their lack of salvation. He did not call them evil, wicked , or cursed (Mt. 24:48; 25:26, 41); neither did He say that He never knew them (Mt. 7:23). The Jewish custom involved celebrating a wedding for several nights (ideally seven nights for a wealthy family). Those closest to the married couple were invite d on the first night and subsequently on the following nights. The waves of the Spirits activity are building up to the fullness of the end -time revival, culminating at the wedding supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7 -9). Only those who were ready by being close to the Bridegroom went in to the celebration. This speaks of those who will be prepared to be powerfully used by God in the end-time revival. Only those who were ready went in to celebrate on the first night and, therefore, the nights that followed. The others cried out, Open to us! give us a place of usefulness in end-time revival. Many will miss future opportunities to be used in their fullest way. Jesus advice is to watch , or to open our heart, to develop intimacy with Him as the Bridegroom. The most substantial way to acquire oil is by feeding on Gods Word. This positions our heart before God to freely receive. Watchfor you know neither the day nor hourthe Son of Man is coming. (Mt. 25:13)

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Part 7 End-time Revelation of Jesus: Bridegroom, King, and Judge

INTRODUCTION The years leading up to Jesus return will see unique dynamics, both positive and negative. The greatest outpouring of the Spirit in history is coming. It will surpass the book of Acts in power (Acts 2:17-21). All nations will receive the witness of the kingdom with power (Mt. 24:14). As the light gets brighter, so the darkness will get darkerSatan will rage against the human race and Gods most severe judgments will be poured out against the Antichrists empire.
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In the last daysI will pour My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy 20before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. (Acts 2:17-20)
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There will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time22And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved (Mt. 24:21-22) Forerunners proclaim from the Scripture what will happen before it occurs. They prepare people to respond rightly to Jesus by giving them understanding of His plans, so that they will be able to agree with what He is doing in that hour instead of resisting it. If people lack understanding, they will be more vulnerable to yield to fear, offense, confusion, compromise, and deception. The Word and the Spirit emphasize Jesus as Bridegroom, King, and Judge at the end of the age. As the Bridegroom, He is filled with desire for His people. As King, He possesses all power. As Judge, He is zealous to intervene and remove all that hinders love, as He confronts oppression. Passionate Bridegroom: Jesus is revealed as the One with burning desire for His people. The Holy Spirit will restore the first commandment to first place in the Church. Sovereign King: Jesus is revealed as the One who possesses all power and authority, causing His people to experience the supernatural power of God in their lives and ministries. As King, Jesus restores individual lives, all the nations, and the earth (atmosphere, agriculture, animals, etc.). Righteous Judge: Jesus is revealed as the One with great zeal to intervene and remove everything that hinders love, as He confronts all oppression instead of ignoring it (Zech. 1:14; 8:2; Ezek. 38:18-19; Rev. 19:2). Jesus is the only man worthy to judge the nations because, as Creator, He understands the design of the human spirit, and because He humbled Himself to become a man (2 Cor. 8:9). He alone understands Gods plans and His story line for history.

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Those who misunderstand Gods judgments will be tempted to be offended or angry with Jesus. As Gods judgments unfold, many will lose their perspective and objectivity in seeing Gods love and wisdom. They need biblical perspective and understanding in order to rightly interpret the events as expressions of Gods love and wisdom. The purpose of Gods end-time judgments against the Antichrists empire is to remove all that hinders love and to stop oppression. WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW THIS 3-FOLD REVELATION OF JESUS? There are no contradictions: There is no contradiction in Jesus as Bridegroom, King, and Judge. It is one reality. The King uses His great power to express His burning desire for His people and to deliver them from everything that hinders love. The same overwhelming furnace of desire for Gods people is turned on the oppressors of Gods people. In the last days, the Spirit will give increased revelation of Gods loving purposes in judgment.
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The anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has executed and performed the thoughts of His heart. In the latter days you will understand it perfectly. (Jer. 23:20) We must not neglect truth: To neglect any one of these truths is to diminish the others. There are different camps in the Church that refuse or emphasize one of these truths over the other two. They feed their spirits primarily on one of these truths about Jesus to the exclusion of the others. To understand Jesus as the Bridegroom without seeing Him as the King and Judge may lead to sentimentality without obedience and understanding of His end-time plans. To understand Jesus as the King without seeing Him as the Bridegroom and Judge may lead to an authoritarian view of God or to a misunderstanding of why God releases His power through us. He releases His power not only to reveal love to us, but to awaken love in us for God. The Spirit will restore the first commandment to first place in the Church. To understand Jesus as the Judge without seeing Him as the Bridegroom King may lead to a harsh view of God or to a misunderstanding of why God releases His judgments. If we preach on Gods judgments without encountering Him as the Bridegroom King, then we will be tempted to operate in a wrong spirit (Lk. 9:5356). Jesus, our champion, is the avenger of the oppressed. David proclaimed: I have a God who fights for me, who avenges me even with flaring nostrils (Ps. 18:7-17). David understood that God was doing it for him. That God sees and cares enough to intervene on His own time and in His own way comforted Davids heart in the midst of the battle.

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The Lord is calling some to embrace a season of rigorous preparation to equip them to more effectively proclaim the forerunner message in the midst of the coming pressures. Forerunners prepare themselves by going deep in God through studying the Scripture with prayer and fasting, walking in purity, ministering to people, and learning to flow in the Spirits power. Because of love, they prepare themselves to prepare others for the greatest transition in history. The importance of this 3-fold revelation of Jesus is that it expresses Gods heart and personality, it is the way natural history ends as seen in Revelation 19, and it reflects how Jesus created the human spirit. Among the most beloved stories of the many diverse cultures of the earth is a kingly figure who selects a bride from lowly means and then rescues her from an oppressor to set her in a place of power, often on a throne with him. JESUS BROUGHT THE MESSAGE TOGETHER In Jesus last public message to Israel, He emphasized the revelation of God as Bridegroom, King, and Judge (Mt. 22:1-14).
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The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, 3and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding4Again, he sent out other servants, saying, Come to the wedding. 5But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. 6And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. 7When the king heard about it, he was furious. He sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8Then he said to his servants, The wedding is ready9Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding. 10So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. (Mt. 22:2-10) In Jesus last message before the upper room discourse (Jn. 14:17), He revealed Himself as Bridegroom, King, and Judge (Mt. 25).
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Then the kingdomshall be likened to ten virgins whowent out to meet the bridegroom 6 At midnight a cry was heard: Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him! 31 When the Son of Man comes in His gloryHe will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them34The King will say to those on His right hand, Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world 41He will also say to those on the left hand, Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. (Mt. 25:1-41) LAST MESSAGE IN THE WORD: BRIDEGROOM, KING, AND JUDGE (REV. 19-22) The final revelation in the Word reveals Jesus as Bridegroom, King, and Judge (Rev. 19-22).

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True and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her7Give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready9Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb! 11In righteousness He judges and makes war...15He should strike the nations. He Himself will rule themHe Himself treads the winepress ofthe wrath of Almighty God16on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS. (Rev. 19:2-16)
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I, John, saw theNew Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband...9One of the seven angelstalked with me, saying, Come, I will show you the bride, the Lambs wife11having the glory of God. (Rev. 21:211) ISAIAH: BRIDEGROOM, KING, AND JUDGE (ISA. 61-63) The primary face of the Lord in Isaiah is as a king (Isa. 6:5; 32:1; 33:17, 22; 41:21; 43:15; 44:6).
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A king [Jesus] will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice. (Isa. 32:1)
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Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer (Isa. 44:6)

Isaiah 61-63 is the clearest Old Testament description of the ministry of the Spirit in the generation the Lord returns, revealing the messianic redeemer as Bridegroom, King, and Judge.
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For Jerusalems sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness You shall also be a crown of gloryand a royal diadem in the hand of your God4You shall be called Hephzibahfor the LORD delights in you5As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you...8The LORD has sworn by His right handSurely I will no longer give your grain as food for your enemies10Prepare the way for the peoplebuild up the highway!...11The LORD has proclaimed to the end of the world: ...Your salvation is coming; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. (Isa. 62:1-11)
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Who is this who comes from Edomthis One [Jesus] who is glorious in His apparel, traveling in the greatness of His strength?...2Why is Your apparel red, and Your garments like one who treads in the winepress? 3I have trodden them [nations] in My anger, and trampled them in My fury; their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, and I have stained all My robes. 4The day of vengeance is in My heart, and the year of My redeemed has come. (Isa. 63:1-4) FORERUNNERS PROCLAIM JESUS AS BRIDEGROOM, KING, AND JUDGE John the Baptist was the first man in the New Testament to bring together the revelation of Jesus as the Bridegroom, King, and Judge.

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John the Baptist came preaching2saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand3Prepare the way of the LORD7When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?...11He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12His winnowing fan is in His handHe will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. (Mt. 3:112)
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He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroomrejoices greatly because of the bridegrooms voice31He who comes from above is above all (Jn. 3:29-31) In Psalm 45, the great song of love, we see the Messiah as the Bridegroom, King, and Judge.
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My heart is overflowing with a good themeconcerning the King2You are fairer than the sons of men3Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O Mighty One, with Your glory and Your majesty. 5Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the Kings enemies; the peoples fall under You...9At Your right hand stands the queen in gold10Listen, O daughterforget your own people, and your fathers house; 11so the King will greatly desire your beauty (Ps. 45:1-11) David outlined the three responses that Jesus wants from those who are His eternal inheritance.
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I will give You [Jesus] the nations for Your inheritance9You shall dash them to pieces 10 Be wise, O kings11Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. (Ps. 2:8-12) 1) Kissing: the response of extravagant devotion and loving obedience to our Bridegroom God 2) Rejoicing: the response of joy in seeing His manifestation of power as our sovereign King 3) Trembling: the response of awe in the midst of the fierce judgments of our righteous Judge

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Part 8 Our Call to Emphasize Jesus as Bridegroom, King, and Judge

REVIEW: JESUS AS BRIDEGROOM, KING, AND JUDGE The Word and the Spirit both emphasize Jesus as Bridegroom, King, and Judge at the end of the age. These truths are central to the forerunner ministry, and are essential to correcting the increasing distortion of the truth about who Jesus is. Passionate Bridegroom: Jesus is revealed as One with burning desire for His people. The Spirit uses this revelation of Jesus to restore the first commandment to first place in the Church. The essence of the message of the Bride of Christ is the revelation of Jesus beauty, His emotions for us, and commitments to us (to share His heart, throne, secrets, and beauty with us) as our Bridegroom God, and our response of abandonment, or wholehearted love and obedience. Jesus is responsive to our love. Foundational to the Bridegroom message is the truth about our impact on Jesus heart and His impact on ours. Jesus desires the beauty of His people as they respond to Him with wholeheartedness (Ps. 45:10-11). We refuse all sensual overtones to the bridal message. Jesus is not our lover or boyfriend. We do not go on dates with Jesus. Sovereign King: Jesus is revealed as the One who possesses all power and who anoints His people with power in their lives and ministries. As King, Jesus restores individual lives, every sphere of society in the nations, and the earth itself (atmosphere, agriculture, and animals). Righteous Judge: Jesus is revealed as the One who removes everything that hinders love; He intervenes with great zeal to confront all oppression, instead of ignoring it (Zech. 8:2; Rev. 19:2). There will be a great crisis on the earth related to misunderstanding Jesus judgments. Those who misunderstand them will be more vulnerable to yield to fear, confusion, compromise, deception, and offense (anger) at Jesus leadership. His judgments against the Antichrists empire remove all that hinders love and stop oppression and corruption (Rev. 19:2). In the end times, the Spirit will give an increase of understanding of His loving purposes in judgment (Jer. 23:20). There are no contradictions: There is no contradiction in Jesus as Bridegroom, King, and Judge. God never suspends one attribute to exercise another. The King uses His great power to express His burning desire for His people and to deliver them from everything that hinders love. The same furnace of Jesus holy desire for His Bride is turned toward the oppressors of His people. In the 1970s, I began to see Jesus the King. In the 1980s, I began to see Jesus the Bridegroom. In the 1990s, I began to see Jesus the Judge. In 2000, I put them together (forerunner ministry).

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Jesus emphasized the revelation of God as Bridegroom, King, and Judge in His final public message to Israel (Mt. 22:1-14) and in His final message to the apostles before the last supper (Mt. 25). The final revelation in the Word reveals Jesus as Bridegroom, King, and Judge (Rev. 19-22). Isaiah 61-63 is the clearest Old Testament description of the ministry of the Spirit in the generation the Lord returns, revealing the messianic redeemer as Bridegroom, King, and Judge. ENCOUNTERING THE BEAUTY OF JESUS
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One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple. (Ps. 27:4) Encountering the beauty of Jesus was to be the foundation and strength of this movement. This was the beginning of the Lord calling us to emphasize the bridal paradigm. JESUS CALLS US TO BECKON HIM TO COME TO US AS THE JEALOUS BRIDEGROOM
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Set Me [Jesus] as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is as strong as death, [Gods] jealousy as cruel [demanding] as the grave; its flames are flames of fire, a most vehement flame. 7Many waters [sin, pressure] cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it. (Song 8:6-7)

CALL THEM HEPHZIBAH

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You shall be called Hephzibah...for the LORD delights in you5For as the bridegroom rejoices [enjoys] over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. 6I have set watchmen on your wallsthey shall never hold their peace [be silent, NAS] day or night7give Him no rest till He establishesJerusalem a praise in the earth. (Isa. 62:4-7)

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Part 9 The Bridegroom God and His Bride: A New Testament Overview
REVELATION OF THE BRIDE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT Bridal paradigm of the kingdom: A paradigm speaks of ones perspective or world view. To have a bridal paradigm of the kingdom is to have a perspective of the kingdom through the lens of a Bride. It includes subjects of wholehearted love, beauty, a wedding, and partnership with Jesus. Once you see the Bride in the Scripture, you find this glorious truth in many places. Summary: Jesus mentioned the bridal relationship three times, but always from the perspective of the Bridegroom (Mt. 9:15; 22:2; 25:1). Jesus and John the Baptist spoke of the Bridegroom rather than the Bride. Seeing Jesus as our Bridegroom God awakens understanding of who we are before Him as His cherished Bride. We see the truth of our identity by understanding His.
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Beholdingthe glory of the Lord, [we] are being transformed (2 Cor. 3:18)

Paul wrote of Jesus union with the Bride without directly mentioning her (Eph. 5:25-32). He spoke of his ministry as betrothing believers to Jesus as their husband (2 Cor. 11:2).
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I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present youto Christ. (2 Cor. 11:2)

The Bride is not mentioned directly until the last four chapters of the Bible (Rev. 19-22).
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For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb! (Rev. 19:7-9) Saying, Come, I will show you the bride, the Lambs wife. (Rev. 21:9)
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And the Spirit and the bride say, Come! (Rev. 22:17)

Jesus miracle ministry began at a wedding (Jn. 2:1-11). The master of the ceremony noted that the bridegroom had kept the best wine until the last (Jn. 2:10).
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The water that was made wine10And he said to him [bridegroom], Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good [saved the best, NIV] wine until now! (Jn. 2:9-10) This was a prophetic statement that gives insight into how Jesus leads His kingdom. The wine points to the celebration of Gods love at the marriage supper of the Lamb. He saves the best wine until the final hour of natural history when His power and revelation are released in the greatest measure in the context of preparing His Bride for the wedding of the Lamb (Rev. 19:79).

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I imagine Jesus sitting in this wedding watching the bride come down the aisle and thinking on His future wedding day. He may have prayed, Father, I have waited from ages past, can I now begin My ministry to secure My Bride? Suddenly, at the wedding in Cana, Gods power was released and Jesus public ministry began there. JOHN THE BAPTISTS REVELATION OF THE BRIDEGROOM GOD About a month after Cana, Jesus was revealed by John the Baptist as the Bridegroom God (Jn. 3:29). Gabriel appeared to Zacharias to announce the birth and ministry of John the Baptist. John went before Jesus to tell the people about Him so as to prepare them to respond to Him. John did this by turning them to the wisdom of the just (this was developed by John in John 3:27-36).
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He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. (Lk. 1:17) The Father sent John as His messenger to tell Israel about Jesus. John had great insight into Jesus heart and mission (Mt. 11:10) and was sent before Jesus to prepare the people (Jn. 3:28).
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For this is he [John the Baptist] of whom it is written: Behold, I [the Father] send My messenger before Your [Jesus] face, who will prepare Your way before You. (Mt. 11:10) Johns most detailed message about Jesus is in John 3:27-36. He described Jesus as, He who has the bride is the bridegroom, revealing His desire and sovereignty. This is the first declaration in the New Testament of Jesus as the Bridegroom God. The context of this is when Johns disciples were concerned with issues related to purification or dedication to God (v. 25) and the decrease of Johns ministry influence (v. 26). Both are answered in seeing the God of burning desire.
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There arose a dispute between some of Johns disciples and the Jews about purification. 26 And they came to John and said, He [Jesus] is baptizing, and all are coming to Him! 27 Johnsaid, 28I have been sent before Him. 29He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroomrejoices greatly because of the bridegrooms voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30He must increase, but I must decrease. 31He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth speaks of the earth. (Jn. 3:25-31) He is the bridegroom: Jesus is not just a king who merely fulfills the function of a bridegroom. He is a bridegroom in the essence of His personality. He feels, thinks, and acts as a bridegroom, because He is a bridegroom forever.

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He who has the bride: From ages past, the Father committed to give Jesus a Bride as His inheritance and Jesus was committed to purchase her on the cross. Gods commitments could not be stopped. Thus, from Gods point of view, Jesus already possessed His Bride. John spoke with the certainty of Gods sovereignty. We can declare this in worship by saying, You are a Bridegroom and have a Bride. Your heart is set. Our destiny is sure. John functioned in ministry as a friend of the Bridegroom. This speaks of having a specific message and spirit in ministering to people. The message is to make known Jesus desire, beauty, and commitments as the Bridegroom God and to call people to love Him with all their heart. As believers, we seek to excel in our dedication and ministry calling. Both issues have struggles that can be answered by encountering the Bridegrooms desire, beauty, and sovereignty. The secret of Johns life was found in encountering the Bridegroom. By seeing that we are desired by Jesus, that He is above all and already has the Bride, brings godly perspective to our struggle. JESUS REVEALED HIS HEART AS THE BRIDEGROOM GOD Summary: Jesus referred to Himself as a Bridegroom, and to the apostles as friends of the Bridegroom (Mt. 9:15). He compared His kingdom to His Father arranging a wedding (Mt. 22:2) and described the need of His people to encounter Him as a Bridegroom (Mt. 25:1-13). He will return only in answer to the intercessory prayer of His Church with a bridal identity (Rev. 22:17). This is Jesus first self-disclosure to Israel as the Bridegroom God. He revealed Himself as the God with burning desire for His people. He is not just a savior who forgives, or a king who rules. His eternal nature is to burn with desire as the Bridegroom. Being a Bridegroom is an essential part of His nature and personality. He will never change. He will live married for all eternity.
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The disciples of John came to Him, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast? 15Jesus 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. (Mt. 9:14-15) The Bridegroom is with them: He was making a statement about His emotional makeup and identified Himself as the fulfillment of prophecies about the Bridegroom Messiah. Israel knew the prophecies about the Messiah coming as a Bridegroom. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Hosea prophesied about the Bridegroom God (Isa. 54:5; 62:5; Jer. 2:2; 3:14; 31:32; Hos. 2:16).
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In that day, says the LORD, that you will call Me My Husband (Hos. 2:16)

For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is His name (Isa. 54:5)

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Will be taken away: This is His first mention of His death. It was made in the context of revealing His desire as a Bridegroom. He died to purchase His Bride. Jesus passion as a Bridegroom was expressed in His passion on the cross. There is a significant connection between Jesus as the slain Lamb and the revelation of the Bride (Rev. 19:7, 9; 21:9). Jesus was declaring to Johns disciples that the apostles had the same calling as John did in being friends of the Bridegroom. This conversation occurred about one year after John 3:29. THE BRIDEGROOM REVELATION: TWO PARABLES (MT. 22:1-14; 25:1-13) Jesus only taught two parables about the kingdom as a wedding and both were in the final week of His life. He spoke one publicly (Mt. 22:1-14) and one privately (Mt. 25:1-13). At the end of His ministry, after entering Jerusalem, the final public message that Jesus chose to give Israel and the human race was to set forth His kingdom as a wedding (Mt. 22:1-14). With His own lips, Jesus gave the invitation to Israel to receive Him as their Bridegroom God. Jesus made two main points in this parable. First, His Father was the king, arranging a wedding for Him (v. 2). Second, people must respond in the right way to this glorious plan of God (v. 3-14).
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The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son. (Mt. 22:2) Immediately after the parable of the kingdom as a wedding, Jesus called Israel to love Him with all their heart (Mt. 22:37). The great commandment is also the great prophecy. Jesus prophesied to Israel: You shall love the Lord with all your heart. He referenced Moses endtime prophecy (Deut. 30:6) which promised that Gods people would love Him with all their heart. This promise was very dear to Jesus heart. This is the primary emphasis of the bridal paradigm.
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You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart 38This is the first and great commandment. (Mt. 22:37-38)
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The LORDwill circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul (Deut. 30:6) Jesus, knowing that He would die in two days, looked at those before Him who were responding to His call to the great wedding and to love Him (Mt. 22:37). Jesus saw the responsive people in that hour as a down payment of Gods promise to Him (Deut. 30:6). Jesus endured the cross because of the joy set before Him. Part of the joy set before Him was the people that He called to Himself. He felt joy in seeing some say yes to His final sermon in Jerusalem.
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Jesuswho for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross (Heb. 12:2)

God defined His joy in Scripture as being like a bridegroom who rejoices over a bride (Isa. 62:5).

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As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. (Isa. 62:5) In private, Jesus urged the disciples not to neglect developing connection and intimacy with Him as the Bridegroom God (Mt. 25:1-13).
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Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the Bridegroom...6At midnight a cry...The Bridegroom is coming... 8The foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, our lamps are going out.10The bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. (Mt. 25:1-10) Jesus final teaching to the disciples was filled with revelation of His love, care, joy, and plans for them (Jn. 14-17). His final teaching to the disciples emphasized themes related to the bridal paradigm. Jesus gave His ultimate statement of desire and love for us in John 15:9-11.
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As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love (Jn. 15:9)

Jesus final intercession for the Church is in John 17:24-26. Here, He prayed for the core realities seen in the bridal paradigm. He prayed: 1) that His people be with Him; 2) that they experience His glory; 3) that He revealed the Father to them; and 4) that they love Him like the Father does.
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Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory26I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them. (Jn. 17:24-26) Jesus was soon to be in anguish at Gethsemane, yet He continued to be focused on His desire for His people to be with Him. He died so we could be with Him (Mt. 9:15, Lk. 23:43; Jn. 17:24; Rev. 3:20-21; 22:17). This is a call to have consistent, deep, affectionate partnership with Him. Salvation is not just an escape from hell, but a call to be with Him and reign with Him in glory. Jesus final recorded conversation on earth was with the thief on the cross (Lk. 23:43). Even on the cross, His desire was fixed on His Father being glorified and the Church being with Him. Jesus said to the thief what He had prayed for His disciples: You will be with Me (Jn. 17:24).
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Jesus said, Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise. (Lk. 23:43) Jesus last message to the Church recorded in Scripture continues over two chapters in messages given to seven different churches. He starts with a call to wholehearted love (Rev. 2:4) and ends with the same (Rev. 3:20-21). To be with Himdining and rulingis the same heart cry that we see in John 17:24. He starts it with the subject of their love and ends with the wedding feast theme of dining and ruling with Him. Even on Patmos, Jesus spoke like a Bridegroom God.
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Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. (Rev. 2:4)

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If anyoneopens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne (Rev. 3:20-21) Jesus began His final message to the Church in the Scripture, saying, You left your first love. You dont love Me the way you used to. The theme of love was still on His heart. He didnt say, You dont work as hard as you used to. He spoke like a Bridegroom. The church of Ephesus was a great revival center (Acts 19-20). Yet, they did not sustain the freshness in their love for Jesus. They became workers for God more than lovers of God. When we work without intimacy, we work as a hireling and the work burns us out. Jesus called for their responsiveness to open to Him by promising to dine with them and to allow them to partner with Him in ruling the nations (Rev. 3:20-21). The ultimate expression of dining or feasting with Jesus is at the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7-9). It also speaks symbolically of dining with Him by feasting on His Word now. PAULS REVELATION OF THE BRIDE IN EPHESIANS Romans and Ephesians are Pauls two most important doctrinal books. In Ephesians, Paul emphasizes the mystery of the Bride joined to Jesus forever (Eph. 5:31-32).
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A man shall leave his fatherand be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 32This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. (Eph. 5:31-32) I. God washes us by the Word as we fill our hearts and mind with it. The end-time Church will be washed and filled with glory as Jesus nourishes and cherishes her (Eph. 5:29). In other words, the revelation of Jesus cherishing hearthow He feels about uswashes our heart and mind.
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Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church26that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27that He might present her to Himself a glorious church28Husbandslove their wives as their bodies29No one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church (Eph. 5:25-29) THE HEART IMPACT OF THE BRIDAL REVELATION John the Baptist described the emotional impact that hearing the Bridegrooms voice had on him. Joy speaks of his gratitude and of being preoccupied with Jesus rather than the difficulty of his lifestyle. He had no complaints or regrets about the lonely fasted lifestyle.
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The friend of the bridegroom...rejoices greatly because of the bridegrooms voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. (Jn. 3:29)

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John recorded the joy of the saints at the marriage celebration and the bridal city (Rev. 19-22). He was overwhelmed at this. For example, in Rev. 19:9, while receiving a commission to write to reveal the Bride, John was overwhelmed in seeing his personal destiny. It became intensely personal as he understood it was his story. This is not just a theological issue. It is who you are.
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Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready9He said to me, Write: Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!10I fell at his feet to worship him. (Rev. 19:7-10) Twice, he fell down to worship an angel: first, after seeing the marriage supper (Rev. 19:10), then again after seeing New Jerusalem as the Lambs wife (Rev. 21:9; 22:8).
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I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. (Rev. 22:8) THE HOLY SPIRITS END-TIME EMPHASIS ON THE BRIDAL PARADIGM The Churchs identity at the end of the age will be as a cherished Bride, interceding for Jesus to come as the Bridegroom God that we might be with Him. (Rev. 22:17).
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The Spirit and the Bride say, Come! (Rev. 22:17)

The final picture of the Church at the end of the age is as His glorious Bride (Eph. 5:27-32).
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He might present her to Himself a glorious church31A man shallbe joined to his wife32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. (Eph. 5:27-32) Hosea pointed to the prominence of the bridal paradigm in the generation of the Lords return.
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It shall be, in that day, says the LORD, you will call Me My Husband. (Hos. 2:16) Isaiah noted the prominence of the bridal paradigm in the end times by prophesying that Gods people will be called Hephzibah. The literal meaning of the Hebrew is: My delight is in her.
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You shall be called Hephzibahfor the LORD delights in you5As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. (Isa. 62:4-5) The Bridegroom generation: The bridal paradigm of the kingdom has been reserved by God for the unique dynamics that will be present in the end times. The truths of Jesus as the Bridegroom God and the Church as His cherished Bride will lead to such transformation of the Church that the first commandment will be restored to first place. This will happen in the context of the most emotionally broken generation in history. These truths will equip the Church to walk in Gods glory and love in the midst of the greatest temptations and pressures in human history.

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Part 10 The Bridegroom God and His Bride: Old Testament Overview
GODS ETERNAL PLAN: TO GIVE A BRIDE TO HIS SON The message of the Bridegroom God and His Bride was established in the Old Testament. Four women in the Old Testament are pictures of the Bride of Christ. Each woman gives us insight into the different ways in which we relate to Jesus as our Bridegroom God.

1. Eve: as a suitable companion, relating to God in intimacy without shame (Gen. 2) 2. Rebekah: as a bride of extravagant obedience (Gen. 24) 3. Ruth: as a Gentile bride who was exalted and delivered from hopelessness (Ruth 1-4 4. Esther: as a bride reigning with authority and triumphing over the enemy (Esth. 1-10) THE BETROTHAL IN THE WILDERNESS Jeremiahs first prophecy was during the reign of King Josiah and Israels last reform before the Babylonian captivity in 586 BC (2 Chron. 34-35; 2 Kgs. 22-23). Josiahs reform was influenced by Jeremiahs first sermon calling Israel to remember that they were betrothed to God (Jer. 2:2). Jeremiah interpreted the time when God established a covenant with Israel as a betrothal (Ex. 19). Gods betrothal ceremony with Israel as a nation occurred in the wildness at Mt. Sinai.
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Cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, Thus says the Lord: I remember you, the kindness of your youth, the love of your betrothal, when you went after Me in the wilderness 3Israel was holiness to the LORD, the firstfruits of His increase. All that devour him will offend; disaster will come upon them, says the LORD. (Jer. 2:2-3) The betrothal was at Mt. Sinai (Ex. 19) The consummation is at the second coming (Rev. 19).
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The covenant that I madeI took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. (Jer. 31:32) Moses described the time when God made a marriage covenant with Israel (Ex. 19:1-20). Israels first meeting with God was a prophetic picture of the glory of the second coming.
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If you willkeep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people 17Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God 18Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire 19 The blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder (Ex. 19:5, 17-19)

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All the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled (Ex. 20:18) Jeremiah began his ministry with a bridal paradigm of Gods kingdom (Jer. 2-3). He trumpeted this message in the generation of Josiahs national reform.
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Return, O backsliding children, says the LORD; for I am married to you (Jer. 3:14) HOSEAS REVELATION OF THE BRIDEGROOM GOD Central to Hoseas book is the unique story of God commanding him to marry a prostitute named Gomer. Gods people were living in spiritual adultery. He wanted Hoseas marriage to offer a prophetic picture of it. His pain-filled marriage was a picture of how God felt. This was at the very beginning of his long prophetic ministry (over 50 years). God wanted him to experience the pain, disappointment, and joy of the recovery of a broken marriage relationship. This equipped Hosea to be the first prophet to make known the Bridegroom God to Israel and the nations.
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When the LORD began to speak by Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea: Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry, for the land has committed great harlotry by departing from the LORD. (Hos. 1:2) Hoseas story is told in chapters one and three. God charged Israel with marital unfaithfulness. God prophetically compared Hoseas unfaithful wife to the nation of Israel (Hos. 2:2-13). In the midst of her pain, Israel will confess, I will return to my husband, for it was better for me.
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Behold, I will hedge up your way with thorns, and wall her in, so that she cannot find her paths. 7She will chase her loversshe will seek them, but not find them. Then she will say, I will go and return to my first husband, for then it was better for me than now. (Hos. 2:6-7) Hoseas message was new in two ways: first, in introducing the Lord as a Bridegroom God, One with burning desire; second, in saying that the northern kingdom would be destroyed within one generation. The message was that a Bridegroom God orchestrated both judgment and restoration. Hosea suffered a double heartbreak over his adulterous wife and his nation; he loved them both. Hoseas message was given just before a severe judgment came on the northern kingdom of Israel. Israel experienced civil war in 931 BC. For about 200 years (931 721 BC) there was great division. Hosea prophesied to the north during a time of economic prosperity. This was the first time that the Bride of Christ message was declared to Israel, and it was given in the context of judgment. Only by understanding His heart as a Bridegroom can we interpret His judgments. The One who judges loves so much that He will remove all that hinders love.

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HOSEA: REVELATION OF THE BRIDEGROOM GOD (HOS. 2:143:5) Israel forgot, but God will pursue her until she loves Him. Jesus will allure Israel to Himself. He uses both the judgment of thorns (2:6-7) and the allurement of His kindness and beauty (2:14).
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But Me she forgot 14ThereforeI will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her 15She shall sing thereas when she came up fromEgypt. (Hos. 2:13-15)

Allure: Gods main way of turning us from unfaithfulness is by His kindness and beauty. The revelation of Gods beauty and kindness deeply touches the human spirit (Isa. 4:2).
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Do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? (Rom. 2:4) She shall sing there: God awakens her with new songs even in her wilderness struggles. THIS MAKES MORE SENSEWHEN WE BREAK DOWN THAT THE WILDERNESS IS DURING THE TIMES OF TRIALS,TRIBULATIONS,CIRCUMSTANCES.SHE IS NOT OFFENDED AT HER BRIDEGROOM. Hosea was the first one to declare that Israel would receive their Messiah as a Husband (v. 16). Gods people will call Jesus my Husband not just my Savior, Healer, and King (Rev. 22:17).
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It shall be, in that day, says the LORD, that you will call Me My Husband, and no longer call Me My Master, 17for I will take from her mouth the names of the Baals, and they shall be remembered by their name no more. (Hos. 2:16-17) My Husband: Israel will accept Jesus as their Messiah when they see Him as their Husband! All Israel will be saved (Rom. 11:26) in context to the bridal paradigm. Calling Jesus my Husband in the singular is very personal. We pray our Father, in the plural. My Master: You will no longer call the Lord my taskmaster (slave driver). When our view of God changes, we gain new confidence and love in our relationship with Him. Hoseas unprecedented statement was that God wants to marry His people forever.
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I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and mercy; 20I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know the LORD. (Hos. 2:19-20)

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Significant points about our relationship with Him: Yes, I: It is the Genesis 1 God who is speaking and acting. Betroth: He wants to marry His people, not just forgive them and use them. You: Weak and broken people like Israel. Forever: It is not just for the 1,000 years of the millennial kingdom. I will: It is settled. It is not in the balance. It is final and cannot be turned back. The nature of the marriage relationship: In righteousness: Emotional wholeness with a radiant heart in total victory. In justice: He will never allow injustice to harm His people. In lovingkindness: We are the object of His tender affections and goodwill. In mercy: Our weakness and failure do not disqualify us. In faithfulness: He is true to everything He says about Himself and to us (Rev. 19:2) You shall know the Lord: His goal is intimacy with His people forever. Jesus bridal gift to His people is His blessing, when He supernaturally restores the atmosphere, agriculture, animals (without any animosity) of the whole earth and causes all wars to cease (Hos. 2:18-23). The conditions of the garden of Eden will fill the earth (Isa. 11:69).
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In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, with the birds of the air, and with the creeping things of the ground. Bow and sword of battle I will shatter from the earth, to make them lie down safely21I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth. 22The earth shall answer with grain, with new wine, and with oil (Hos. 2:18-22)
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The wolf also shall dwell with the lambthe calf and the young lion and the fatling together9The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD (Isa. 11:6-9) Hosea was required to love his wife and pay to redeem her from slavery (Hos. 3:1-5). Jesus paid a great price to purchase us. The God who restores is the same One who paid the price for us.
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The LORD said to me, Go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery, just like the love of the LORD for the children of Israel 2So I bought her for myself5Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They shall fear the LORD and His goodness in the latter days. (Hos. 3:1-5)
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You were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body (1 Cor 6:20) ISAIAH: REVELATION OF THE BRIDEGROOM GOD We receive a new name from the Lord who delights in His people (Isa. 62:2-5).
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You shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD will name. 3You shall also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the

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hand of your God. 4You shall no longer be termed Forsakenbut you shall be called Hephzibahfor the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married 5 For as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. (Isa. 62:2-5) Walking free from fear and shame is rooted in seeing the Bridegroom God (Isa. 54:4-6).
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Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore. 5For 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. 6For the LORD has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, like a youthful wife when you were refused, says your God (Isa. 54:4-6) The reason we can overcome fear and shame is because of who our husband is: Our Maker: Our creator or our Genesis 1 God is the husband of His people. Lord of Hosts: The captain of heavens armies wars to destroy all obstacles against us. Redeemer: He paid the price so none can accuse us before God (Rom. 8:31-39). God of the whole earth: None of our enemies can escape His rule and authority. Holy One: Because He is holy or infinitely superior to all, He will fascinate us forever. Forget the shame of your youth: We move into confident love and shame-free living as we encounter our Bridegroom God who desires us, wars for us, provides, and protects us. Shame and fear lie to us, making personal restoration seem impossible and out of reach. A woman forsaken and grieved in spirit: Jesus heals our wounded spirit. When someones spirit is crushed, they want to give up. The spirit of despair is compared to the tragedy a young bride would feel if her husband rejected her soon after their wedding.
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Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...38For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come39shall be able to separate us from the love of God (Rom. 8:35-39)

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Part 11 Breaking Strongholds: Revelation of the Bride (2 Cor. 11:2-3)

PULLING DOWN STRONGHOLDS
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For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ... (2 Cor. 10:3-5) VARIOUS TYPES OF STRONGHOLDS Personal (mental) strongholds collection of ideas that are in agreement with Satan. These ideas are lies that accuse God and thus ourselves. Cultural (society) strongholds collection of acts and laws established in the social and legal order within a specific region that are in agreement with Satan and against Gods righteousness. Cosmic (geographic) strongholds territorial spirits that energize an entire geographic area with influence of the demonic hierarchy (Eph. 6:12; Dan. 10:12, 20-21). Intercession with repentance (corporate solemn assemblies) is Gods way to destroy cosmic strongholds (Joel 2:12-17). UNDERSTANDING STRONGHOLDS Natural strongholds fortified city with a large stone wall built around it. Some walls were 50 feet high and 10 feet thick. The purpose of these walls was to keep an invading army out. Paul uses a well-known positive word picture to illustrate something negative. In this case, the stone wall is built by Satan and the invading army is the manifest presence of God to plunder all the darkness and pain in our heart. This stronghold or demonic stone wall blocks the influences of the manifest presence of God from fully impacting our emotions. Personal spiritual stronghold collection of distorted ideas about God (a tyranny of lies). These lies cause us to first accuse God and then ourselves and others. They are arguments or negative information about Gods character, power and wisdom. When we believe lies about God then we believe lies about who we are in Christ. We can only know the truth about ourselves as we understand the truth about God. How are personal strongholds established? They are established by opening the door to Satan through sin and unbelief. Satans domain is the domain of darkness. Wherever there is darkness, he has legal access. If the darkness is in our hearts, then he has legal access to us. If darkness fills our heart, we cannot effectively avoid Satans torment against us. Jesus gave him no darkness or access points to His life.

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30

For the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. (Jn. 14:30)

PULLING DOWN MENTAL STRONGHOLDS

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The weapons of our warfare are...mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:4-5) Pulling down strongholds (NKJ, KJV), demolish (NIV), destruction of fortresses (NAS) Casting down arguments (NKJ) or imaginations (KJV); destroying speculations (NAS) Every high thing (NKJ); every pretension that sets itself up (NIV), every lofty thing raised up (NAS), every proud obstacle to (RSV), every high thing that exalteth itself against (KJV) God wants us to destroy and dismantle personal strongholds. Paul instructs us by giving a word picture of a high stone wall that is dismantled stone by stone. In other words, dismantle that stone wall. Pull it down! Gods Word is like a hammer that strikes the wall demolishing it stone by stone. Every high thing prominent in our thought life, weighty in impact on our emotions, demonically powerful and/or energetic, and of high importance in Gods plan PULLING DOWN STRONGHOLDS BY CASTING DOWN ARGUMENTS By casting down the arguments, we dismantle strongholds. Paul used the imagery of a stronghold (fortress), in which every stone that made up the wall is thrown down. We cast the stones of accusation against God down. The Devil seeks to get us to cast stones of complaint against God. We cast them down (negative) as we bring thoughts into captivity to God (positive). Time in the Word, renewing our minds, is fundamental to this. We fill our mind with the Word and make it a love slave captive to the truth of God. How to cast down arguments (strongholds involved in our mind, emotions, and will) We expose the lies lodged in our hearts: We fill our mind with truththinking right is the key to dismantling personal strongholds. Renewing our minds will lead to emotional change, which results in behavior transformation in time. We renounce our agreement with those lies: Sin gives demons the permission they need to operate in our lives. Permission is given, resulting in heightened demonic energy. We shut that door by repenting and by renewing our minds. This dismantles demonic activity in our lives. We resist Satans heightened energy against us (Jas. 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:9).

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Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (Jas. 4:7)

ARGUMENTS AGAINST GOD THAT MUST BE CAST DOWN TWO ESSENTIAL TRUTHS
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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. 3But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity [led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ] that is in Christ. (2 Cor. 11:2-3) II. That I may present you a chaste (pure, clean) virgin This is a legal truth declaring how we stand in Gods court. Legally, we are declared to be a pure virgin by the gift of righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21). This occurred instantly, on the day we were born again. We are pure and clean virgins before God as a free gift (righteousness of God). We are declared as righteous (clean before God) as Jesus is. It is a righteousness that cannot be improved on. In other words, everything that hinders Gods affections towards us and that directs His wrath to us is removed. Every legal hindrance that would keep God from receiving us is removed forever.
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If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new...19God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them21For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Cor. 5:17-21) III. I have betrothed (engaged; promised, NIV; espoused, KJV) you to one husband (Jesus) You are the one He wants! He longs for you, the burning heart of the uncreated God burns with desire and passion for you. He wants you as His intimate partner forever. He has a holy obsession about you. He laid aside the form of God to purchase you. The Song of Solomon develops this truth of God being ravished, enthralled, overcome, and filled with desire for humans that are redeemed. His longing for you is seen in the fact that He chose you as His eternal partner and betrothed you as His bride. This causes us to reinterpret our lives entirely different in light of this holy obsession. This redefines everything about us: we see Gods passion, desire and longing, and we see ourselves as a virgin, an espoused desired bride. Our image of God and our image of ourselves changes when we see these two truths. When we feel differently about ourselves, we will act different. These two truths are foundational to our lives as they disarm one of our most powerful emotions which is fear of rejection from both God and people. Fear is a powerful destructive force.

IV.

God uses the knowledge of God, or divine information anointed by the Spirit, to enter our heart and remove distorted information about God that empowers us to walk in love.

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Our core spiritual identity Are we essentially a slave to sin who struggles to love God? Or are we essentially a lover of God who still struggle with sin? Are you a hopeless hypocrite who is trying in a futile attempt to love God or are you an authentic lover of God who is still struggling? Do you feel chosen, and desired and clean? Do you feel like a betrothed virgin? Do you feel like a clean desired chosen one who is longed for by Jesus? Do we define ourselves by our struggles or by His work on the cross and passion for us as Bridegroom God? Many believers define themselves by their struggle. When we feel shame then we often will live shamefully. When Gods corporate woman (the Church) feels clean, loved and filled with dignity, then she is powerful. She is tenacious in love; as one who cannot be denied. God is raising up a corporate woman, who looks clean, feels clean, looks loved, and lives loved. She is called the Church, with a bridal paradigm at the end of the age. DECEIVED BY FALSE TEACHINGS
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But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted [led astray, NAS] from the simplicity that is in Christ [purity of devotion to Christ, NAS]. 4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not acceptedyou may well put up with it! (2 Cor 11:3-4) Paul warned us about how Satan the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness. The false teachers, called Judaizers told them lies about Jesus and the gospel. They preached another Jesus, and operated in a different spirit with a different gospel and Corinth put up with it! Another Jesus Judaizers preached another Jesus. They believed that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah, but not one who offered the gift of righteousness by faith nor was He understood as the Bridegroom God filled with desire for His people. Another gospel Their gospel kept them in the identity of a slave of sin. This false gospel had law as its motivating foundation. The true gospel is motivated by the free gift given. Their false teaching required that one earn Gods favor and salvation. God would only relate to them according to how they were attaining spiritually. God was only interested in them to the degree they kept the rules. Their gospel was one they earned. A different spirit They operated in a spirit of condemnation, fear, threatening, and bondage. The spirit of bondage never empowers the human heart in love nor transforms the believer into an extravagant lover of God. It does not impart the power to obey and thus to walk in love. Paul was sent to them by God to betroth them to Christ by bringing the gospel with a free Spirit that has a confidence in God even in their immaturity.

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False ideas about God harm us by hindering us from growing in love. Paul used the hammer of Gods Word to destroy these accusations and lies against Jesus.

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Part 12 The Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:1-10)

GODS MISSION STATEMENT: TO PROVIDE AN ETERNAL COMPANION FOR JESUS
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I heardthe voice of a great multitudesaying, Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. 8To her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9He said to me, Write: Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb! (Rev. 19:6-9) Marriage of the Lamb God's eternal purpose for His creation is to provide a family for Himself and an equally yoked bride for His Son as His eternal companion (Jesus inheritance).
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The LORDs portion [reward] is His people; Jacob is the place of His inheritance. (Deut. 32:9)
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That theFather of glory, may give to you the spirit ofrevelation1that you may know [experience]what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints...(Eph. 1:17-18) His wife has made herself ready (prepared) to walk in mature voluntary love and holiness. God has zeal in this hour to train and purify the Church on the earth as a Bride that is fully ready. This is glorious and terrifying that God would be zealous in His commitment to see that we are ready. He granted her to be arrayed in fine linenthese are distinctive wedding garments that are given individually to each believer according to their behavior (acts of obedience). All saints receive the robe of righteousness because of Jesus death on the cross (2 Cor. 5:21; Isa. 61:10).
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For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. (2 Cor. 5:10)
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There is one glory of the sunanother glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory. 42So also is the resurrection of the dead. (1 Cor. 15:41-42) The Brides garments will be comprised of different elements: glory, fabric, color, fragrance, etc. A bride chooses her wedding garments with great care and love. This is different from the way that she chooses her other clothing. We will resist the temptation to sin (compromise), to quit (lose heart), to neglect diligence (laziness) because of love for Jesus as our Bridegroom God.

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The wedding garments that we will possess forever are being formed now by our obedience that is done in the spirit of love. We are making choices now that we will literally wear forever. What we do now has impact far beyond our natural lives. Our choices before the wedding are preparation for the life of the redeemed after the wedding. Lord God Omnipotent God is praised for releasing His power to prepare the Church (v. 6). THE CHURCH WILL BE FILLED WITH GLORY AT THE SECOND COMING (EPH. 5:26-29)
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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 wrinklebut that she should be holy and without blemish. 28Husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies29No one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church (Eph. 5:26-29) In this passage, Paul gives us key details and defines what it means for the Church to be made ready at the time of the second coming. The Church will be so filled with glory, sanctified and cleansed, that she will not have spots or wrinkles (her garments reflecting her actions) or blemishes (her skin reflecting her inner life). The Churchs mind, emotions, and actions will be radically cleansed while on earth before Jesus coming. This is glorious and terrifying because the Church worldwide is far from walking in purity in this hour. What will make the difference? How will this glory be released in the Church? The causes of pressure on a compromising believer are 3-fold. They include Satans rage, mans sin and Gods zeal to discipline us for our good (Heb. 12:5-11). However, the means of grace that God prefers to use to cleanse the Church is His Word (v. 26) and prayer (Rev. 22:17), as we understand that we are cherished by Jesus; i.e., the Church must feed on portions of the Word that reveal His tender emotions for Her. God will release great grace on our private times in the Word as well as raising up vessels who will sing and proclaim His Word in great power so as to help transform the Church. Prayer, fasting, meditation on the Word, and obedience position our heart before God to freely receive. These activities do not earn us Gods favor. Analogy: we put our cold heart before the bonfire of Gods presence by seeking Him in the Word, in spirit and truth. We give our heart to God and receive from Him as we read Scripture in a way that creates an active dialogue in our heart with God. Scripture gives us the conversational material in our prayer life. We pray truths back to Him that exhort us to believe His Word by thanking God for such truths and by asking God to reveal them to us. We dialogue with God by praying truths back to Him that exhort us to obey His Word and by committing ourselves to obey God in the specific way set forth in a passage. As you pray-read the Scripture, make simple declarations of your resolve to obey the Word and ask God to empower you to obey particular truths.

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THE NECESSARY 3-FOLD CRY OF THE BRIDES INTERCESSION

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The Spirit and the Bride say, Come!20Hesays, Surely I am coming (Rev. 22:17, 20) This age will end with a worshiping and praying Church in a bridal identity. This passage is the most significant, most comprehensive, and clearest end-time prophecy. It reveals to us what the Spirit is saying and doing. The Church, in unity with the Spirit, will be anointed with power, engaged in intercession, established in her bridal identity, and effective in the harvest. The 3-fold cry for God to come in power (Holy Spirit breakthrough). COME NEAR US IN INTIMACY (renewal or personal encounter): touch my heart Come TO US in revival (historic visitation of the Holy Spirit): touch our city with signs, wonders and apostolic authority until we see the habitation of the Lord established Come FOR US in the sky (second coming of Jesus): touch the earth God delegated the earth to the authority or domain of the human race (Gen. 1:26-28; Ps. 116:15).
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The heavens, are the LORDsthe earth He has given to the children of men. (Ps. 115:16)
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Let Us make man in Our imagelet them have dominion overall the earth (Gen. 1:26)
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You have crowned him [man] with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands. 8You have put all things in subjection under his feet He [God] left nothing that is not put under him. (Heb. 2:7-8) Each person has a specific sphere of authority or domain entrusted to them by God that includes their inner man, ministry, finances, family relationships, and the geographic area they live in, etc.
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He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. (Prov. 16:32)
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We, however, will not boast beyond measure, but within the limits of the sphere which God appointed us--a sphere which includes you. 14For we are not overextending ourselvesas though our authority did not extend to you (2 Cor. 10:13-14)

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The kingdomis like a man [Jesus] traveling to a far country [heaven], who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15To one he gave five talents (Mt. 25:14-15)
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A certain nobleman [Jesus] went into a far country... 13So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, Do business till I come. (Lk. 19:12-13) Prayer is a covenantal way in which we open the windows to that which is under our domain (heart, circumstances, geographic area, etc.). Our prayers invite the Holy Spirit on a covenantal basis to come into the areas that are under our domain (inwardly and outwardly). Prayer provides the covenantal tracks on which the Spirit works. He comes in the measure that He is invited. The key of David and the keys of the kingdom operate by covenant with justice before Gods court. The Bride will prepare a place for the coming of the Lord to dwell individually, corporately, and geographically, as she invites Jesus to come near us, to us, and for us (Ps. 132:1-5).
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How he [David] swore to the LORD, 4I will not give sleep to my eyes 5 until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob. (Ps. 132:1-5) THE EXHORTATION TO ACQUIRE WEDDING GARMENTS We can buy white garments or acquire them in the ways that the grace of God teaches. They declare the measure of our love for Jesus in this life. Jesus wants to give us more white garments.
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I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fireand white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness [lack of garments] may not be revealed... (Rev. 3:18) Some will suffer the loss of their rewards while keeping their salvation.
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If anyones workendures, he will receive a reward. 15If anyones work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. (1 Cor. 3:1415)
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Look to yourselves, that we [you; NAS, NIV, RSV] do not lose those things we [you; NIV, RSV])worked for, but that we [you; NAS, NIV, RSV] may receive a full reward. (2 Jn. 8) God will wipe away all tears and sorrow after the millennial kingdom is completed.
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I saw a new heaven and a new earththere was no sea. 3I heard a loud voice saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men4God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor cryingno more pain (Rev. 21:1-4)

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Jesus exhorted us to watch (pray) as the way to keep our garments in the end-time pressures. We can keep our garments, however, some will lose the garments that they could have had.
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Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame. (Rev. 16:15) Believers can defile their testimony and lose some of their wedding garments by compromise.
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You have a fewin Sardis who have not defiled their garments; they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 5He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments. (Rev. 3:4-5)

John exhorts us to now abide in Jesus so we do not draw back in the shame of denying our faith at the second coming of Jesus.
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Nowabide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed [not shrink away from Him in shame; NAS, RSV] before Him at His coming. (1 Jn. 2:28) There will be people on earth at the second coming who will seek to celebrate the wedding banquet. Friend is the same term that Jesus used with Judas (Mt. 26:50). To bind him is to take him prisoner and cast him into darkness (lake of fire).
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The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for His Son. He sent out His servants to call those who were invited to the wedding4saying, Tell those who are invited, I have prepared my dinnerall things are ready. Come to the wedding. 11When the king came inhe saw a man who did not have on a wedding garment. 12He said to him, Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment? He was speechless. 13The King said, Bind him...and cast him into outer darkness (Mt. 22:2-4, 11-14)

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