Adulterous Bride

We as the Church are called to be the Bride of Christ, however we are also an adulterous bride. But God in His infinite mercies knew all along that the Church would be an adulterous bride, so He made a plan to save us from our sins. Christ is calling His Bride to return back to Him.

In the ancient Hebrew culture the man would pay a price, probably in the form of livestock, to the father of a girl he liked just so that he could have the opportunity to ask her to marry him. If she accepted his marriage proposal, by drinking a cup of wine representing his covenant, then she was referred to as one who was bought with a price.We too have been bought with a price, the ultimate price, because it cost Jesus His life blood. We have accepted His new covenant, but we tend to forget that a covenant is a two way thing. Jesus has promised us that He will do certain things for us, such as preparing a place for us in His Father’s house in Heaven, never leaving us even until the end of the age. We too have promised things we have promised that we will follow Him and be obedient to Him, praise and worship Him.

I look at the modern Church and how quick it has been to compromise on God’s commandments in order to fit in with the world, divorce, same sex marriages. Yes we are called to love the world and to have compassion with one another, but we have also been call out of the world. We are supposed to stand out and not blend in. I know that it is not easy to stand out, but considering everything that God has done for us, standing out for Him is a small price to pay and one that we don’t even have to do on our own. By compromising God’s commandments we are also breaking our covenant with Christ, thus being an adulterous bride. We have also been distracted by the things of this world – fame and fortune, thus forsaking our first love, Christ.

God knows that we will and do make mistakes, mess up, but because of grace it’s okay. It is okay to make a mistake, it’s okay to fall, but God wants us to do all of this while we are in communion with Him. He doesn’t want to us to go through all of our human struggles by ourselves, but He wants us to come to Him of our own free will. We don’t need to be perfect to come to Jesus, we just need to come to Him. We can’t save ourselves, but the work that was done on the Cross does save us and that work was done while we were still sinners.

However, while God is a merciful God He is also a righteous God and if you are not in communion with Him at the time of the Rapture of His Bride, then I believe that the parable of the Ten Virgins alludes to the fact that you shall go through the Great Tribulation. But because God is a God of second chances, the Great Tribulation will be a second chance for many to turn back to God. My fervent hope is that those who do receive that second chance will take it. But I also urge you not to wait until you get a second chance such as the Tribulation, because you do not know when you will die or when the Rapture or Tribulation will happen, before you turn back to God.

Christ is calling you, His adulterous bride whom He loves so much He died for you, back to His side. Won’t you turn back?

Rapture Debate

I have been for quite some time now, as most of you know, doing a lot of end times research. I think that my parents are starting to think that I’m going a bit over board, but that is besides the point. One thing that I have recently become interested in is the Rapture. There is a debate when it comes to the Rapture, quite a large and complex one. There is a debate as to when it is going to occur with regards to the Tribulation, is it before, middle or after? There is a debate as to whether or not it is even going to happen at all. I thought that I would share with you what I have found. Let me just say something first, though no one knows exactly when and how or if the Rapture will occur, but that doesn’t really matter. What matters is that you are ready for the Rapture or Second Coming of Christ to happen at any moment, that you have a strong, personal relationship with God.

The main points of view are that either we will be “caught up” or Raptured into the clouds where we will meet with Jesus are Saviour before the Tribulation starts and will spend the seven years in Heaven. We will then return with Christ to Earth and reign with Him for a thousand years. The other main view is that there will be no Rapture at all and that the Church will go through the Tribulation and that Christ’s Second Coming is a singular event.

Those who say that there shall be no Rapture often make this claim by first stating that there are no records of Rapture teaching before the 1800’s. However, those who do believe in the Rapture dispute this statement arguing that the Bible clearly teaches about the Rapture in 1Thessalonians  4:17 “After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them(the dead in Christ) in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” Those who dispute the Rapture also point to the fact that the word “Rapture” is not mentioned at all in the Bible, but is derived from the phrase “caught up”. They also say that before the 1800’s this verse was simply viewed as a resurrection passage.

The main argument against the Rapture is the reference to the Parable of the Weeds Jesus told in Matthew 13:24-30, in which the Kingdom of Heaven is described as a man who goes out and plants his seed in his field and while the workers are sleeping the enemy goes and plants weeds in the field. The man’s servants ask him whether they should pull up the weeds, but the man says no, as they may pull up the wheat as well. Then at harvest the weeds are first collected and burned and then the wheat is harvested. It is argued that this parable proves that there will be no Rapture as the evil/wicked have to be judged and removed first.

One main verse used to argue the Rapture is in Matthew 24:40-41,”Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be take and the other left.” Those, however who dispute the Rapture argue that Jesus was not implying that the one who was taken was Raptured, but rather that they were/will be the unbelievers who will be killed as a sign of judgement, as in Luke 17:37 in response to this same statement the disciples ask, “Where, Lord?” the asked. He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.”

Another verse strongly used for the argument of the Rapture is John 14:2-3, “In my Father’s house there are many rooms, if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be were I am.” The very interesting thing about what Jesus says here is that it is exactly, at least the last two thirds are, what the bridegroom would say to his bride after the betrothal contract had been signed in the ancient Jewish wedding. I think this is a valid point to note as the Church is the Bride of Christ and what God command the Israelites to do is a fore shadowing of things to be fulfilled. There are a few interesting things to be noted regarding an ancient Jewish wedding. First, that the groom had to go away for about a year to prepare a place for him and his bride to stay and his father oversaw the building. the father had to give his nod of approval first before the groom could go and receive his bride, so only the father knew the day or the hour when the son would be ready to receive his bride. Another very interesting thing to note is that the bride and the groom went to the place the groom had prepared for a period of seven days before being publicly presented to the community. This is viewed by some as a potential fore shadowing of the Bride of Christ, the Church, being Raptured pre-tribulation.

In all of this, however I believe that this most important thing is not to lose sight of God and Jesus, for therein lies our Salvation. Jesus says (this is just what He has said t me now while I have been writing this post and asking for His guidance) that there will be a loud shout at His coming and we will know that it is His coming and we will not be afraid. So look up for your salvation drawth nigh. Run the race that God has set before you and do not tire as you reach the end, but finish strong. Seek God with all of your heart and He will reveal Himself to you. You need not fear these times as those who have no hope, for all these things have been reveal to us ahead of time that we might be prepared. So be watchful, take note of the signs in the heavens and on earth and pray.