Some believe the tribulation may be for some Christians, but not for the bride of Christ. But there are no Christians outside of the bride, for all believers form a single body (Ephesians 4:4-6), which is the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:30-32). We Christians who will be in the tribulation are Christians after the cross and after Pentecost, saved in no different way than Christians who have died or will die before the tribulation. Many of us will be slain for the word of God and cry out to the Lord (Revelation 6:9-10); we will have washed our robes in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:14); we will have the testimony of Jesus Christ (Revelation 12:17) and the faith of Jesus (Revelation 14:12) and will be in the Lord (Revelation 14:13); if we die, we will enter into heaven itself (Revelation 15:2); some of us will be beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God, and we will all live and reign with Christ (Revelation 20:4).
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Beating Up The Bride?
Will Jesus himself be the one beating us Christians up in the tribulation? Didn't Jesus let his bride go through the terrible days of persecution and martyrdom under the Roman emperors? How will our tribulation under the Antichrist be any different? When we Christians suffer and die, are we really harmed? "To live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21); "Some of you shall they cause to be put to death... But there shall not an hair of your head perish" (Luke 21:16, 18); "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life" (Revelation 2:10).
Didn't Jesus let his own body suffer at the hands of evil men even to the point of letting them crucify him? Are we better than Jesus himself, are we more precious than the Lord himself? "The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:20); "For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake" (Philippians 1:29); "Ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings" (1 Peter 4:13); "The sufferings of Christ abound in us" (2 Corinthians 1:5); "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death" (Philippians 3:10); "And fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church" (Colossians 1:24).
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Israel Not The Bride?
Can any Jew come to the Father apart from faith in Christ (John 14:6)? Can a Jew have faith in Christ without being part of the bride? Don't all believers form a single body (Ephesians 4:4-6), which is the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:30-32)?
Don't both Revelation 19:7 and Revelation 21:9 refer to the wife of the Lamb? "The marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready" (Revelation 19:7); "I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem" (Revelation 21:9-10), and doesn't this wife include "the twelve tribes of the children of Israel" (Revelation 21:12)?
Note that God said to Israel after divorcing her: "Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you" (Jeremiah 3:14), and Israel says: "I will go and return to my first husband" (Hosea 2:7), and God promises: "And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies" (Hosea 2:19).
Some say Israel can't marry Christ because the law says a high priest can't marry a divorced woman. But note that "the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law" (Hebrews 7:12).
Some say Israel can't marry Christ because the woman Israel gave birth to Christ (Revelation 12:5); they say "Christ can't marry his own mother!" But can Christ have his own brother as his mother? "For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother" (Matthew 12:50).
And if his mother calls Christ "Lord," how can Christ be her son? "What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?" (Matthew 22:42-45).
Some say Israel isn't the bride of Christ, but the bride of YHWH. But how do they understand Revelation 21:9, 12? Do they believe YHWH is someone with a body distinct from Jesus? If so, how do they understand Zechariah 14:3-4?
Some say the bride will include Israel only after the millennium. But do they believe the wife will be retro-fitted after the millennium to include Israel, and that the New Jerusalem in which Jesus is preparing places for believers now (John 14:2) is a different one that doesn't include Israel? If so, based on what scriptures?
Some argue the other way and say that the bride is only Israel, not the church. But note that in Revelation 21 the apostles of the church are pictured as the foundation of the bride: "Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem... And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (Revelation 21:9-10, 14), just as the apostles are pictured as the foundation of the church: "built upon the foundation of the apostles" (Ephesians 2:20).
Note that just as the 12 apostles of the church will reign over the 12 tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:30), and the 12 apostles are members of both the church and the 12 tribes; and just as Paul is a member of both the church and the tribe of Benjamin: "For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin" (Romans 11:1); so the very structure of the physical city of New Jerusalem expresses the inclusion of both the church and the 12 tribes in the body and bride of Christ which is made up of all believers, whether Israelite or Gentile: "Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; and had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel" (Revelation 21:9-12); "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:13).
True, Biblical dispensationalism does not divide, but unites: "In the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ" (Ephesians 1:10). "Ye have heard of the dispensation... That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body" (Ephesians 3:2, 6). Fellowheirs with who? Of the same body as who?
Who are the two parties Paul refers to when he says: "Hath made both one... to make in himself of twain one new man" (Ephesians 2:14-15)?
"Ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel... ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints" (Ephesians 2:12, 19).
I believe when a Gentile believer is grafted into spiritual Israel (Romans 11:17; Ephesians 2:12-19, Galatians 3:7-29; John 11:52), he or she is joined to any one of the 12 tribes, so that he or she will inherit a portion of the land of that particular tribe in the millennium (Ezekiel 47:21-23), for the land promise to Abraham is for all those in Christ (Genesis 17:8; Galatians 3:16, 29).
Jesus said "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God" (Revelation 2:7), and the tree of life is in New Jerusalem: "In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life" (Revelation 22:2).
Note that just as a building with a steeple and the Christians who meet within it can both be called a "church," so the city of New Jerusalem and the Christians who will live within it can both be called the "bride".
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OT Believers Not The Bride?
Note that there are no longer any OT believers, for now all believers of all past ages are part of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:4-5), which is the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:30-32), for now all believers of all past ages believe in Christ's finished work on the cross (Ephesians 4:8-10; 1 Peter 3:18-19; 1 Peter 4:6), which is our salvation (Matthew 26:28), and now all believers of all past ages are after Pentecost.
Note that no scripture says that there can be anyone saved outside of the body of Christ, for "there is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all" (Ephesians 4:4-6).
Note that no one at any time can be eternally saved without believing in Jesus and his finished work on the cross: "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: NO MAN cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6); "By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole... Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:10, 12).
This is why Jesus had to bring the New Covenant to the saints who died before the cross; otherwise, their sins could never have been forgiven: "For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:28); "For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead" (1 Peter 4:6).
I believe that after the resurrection Christ went and preached the completion of the gospel to the former OT (now NT) believers in the bosom of Abraham (1 Peter 3:18-19; 1 Peter 4:6), and that he led them up into heaven with him when he ascended (Ephesians 4:8-10).
"Being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison" (1 Peter 3:18-19); "For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead" (1 Peter 4:6); "When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)" (Ephesians 4:8-10).
Some say the "spirits in prison" (1 Peter 3:19) were incarcerated fallen angels. But the gospel of Christ was preached to them that were dead (1 Peter 4:6). The fallen angels weren't judged according to men in the flesh, nor will they live according to God in the spirit (1 Peter 4:6-7), nor were they taken into heaven with the Lord (Ephesians 4:8-10).
The Greek word translated "prison" (1 Peter 3:19) doesn't have to mean a punishing jail; it basically means guarding, and can be translated "watch," as in Luke 2:8, where the shepherds kept watch over their flock by night. The sheep were not being punished in prison, but were being lovingly guarded until the day dawned, just as Jesus lovingly watched over the souls in the bosom of Abraham until after his crucifixion and resurrection he went down to raise their spirits up into heaven to be with him.
Some say Jesus' preaching to the spirits of the dead (1 Peter 3:19, 4:6) was done in the days of Noah. But this is not necessarily the case. I believe that in 1 Peter 3:20, there could be a break after "disobedient," and a new thought could begin in "when once," for I believe that 1 Peter 3:18-19 means that it was not until after his resurrection that Jesus went and preached to them, and that 1 Peter 4:6's "live according to God in the spirit" and Ephesians 4:8's "when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men" mean that they believed the gospel Jesus preached to them and were led up into heaven by him when he ascended.
CHRIST IN THE OT
Note that "God... preached before the gospel unto Abraham" (Galatians 3:8); "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad" (John 8:56); "Esaias... saw his glory, and spake of him" (John 12:41); Hebrews refers to Moses "esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt" (Hebrews 11:26); Paul says of Israel in the wilderness that "they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:4); Peter says of the OT prophets: "the Spirit of Christ which was in them" (1 Peter 1:11).
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Millennium Believers
I believe some people will come to faith in Christ during the millennium (Isaiah 66:19-21), and so will become part of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:4-5).
The body of a bride can grow larger after her wedding.
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Guests
I believe that we can be the bride and the guests, for while the bride is one, she is made up of many members (1 Corinthians 12:12), which were all invited by the preaching of the gospel to become part of the body of Christ, though some believers will be subsequently rejected because of unrepentant unrighteousness (Matthew 22:2-14; Revelation 16:15, 19:8; Matthew 25:26, 30; Matthew 7:21).
I believe that we can be the bride and the guests and the "children of the bridechamber" (Matthew 9:15) all at the same time, in the same way that we can be the bride and the brother and the sister and the mother of the Lord all at the same time: "For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother" (Matthew 12:50), and in the same way that OT Israel could be the son and the children and the bride of the Lord all at the same time: "Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn" (Exodus 4:22), "Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you" (Jeremiah 3:14).
Note that the "children of the bridechamber" (Matthew 9:15) doesn't mean "old covenant guests of the bridechamber," for in Matthew 9:14-15 Jesus specifically contrasts the old covenant Pharisees and disciples of John who did not have the bridegroom with his own disciples who did have the bridegroom, and the Greek word translated "children" is used to refer to the "Son" of God (Matthew 8:29) and the "Son" of David (Matthew 9:27) and the "sons" of Zebedee (Matthew 26:37), not to the "Guest" of God and the "Guest" of David and the "guests" of Zebedee.
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Friends
Note that a bride can be the friend of her husband: "This is my beloved, and this is my friend" (Song of Solomon 5:16).
Note that Jesus said to the 12 apostles: "I have called you friends" (John 15:15), and the 12 apostles are the very foundation of the bride: "Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife... And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (Revelation 21:9, 14); "God hath set some in the church, first apostles" (1 Corinthians 12:28); "Ye... are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord" (Ephesians 2:19-21).
Note that all believers today can make the same statement that John the Baptist made: "He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice" (John 3:29), for none but Christ himself can claim to "have" the bride.
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Great Multitude
Aren't the "great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues" Christians? Would it be said of the unsaved that they "stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb" (Revelation 5:9)?
Note that the fact that the great multitude "washed" their own robes in Jesus' blood (Revelation 7:14) in no way means they aren't the bride. Compare Acts 22:16.
I believe the "fine linen, white" of Revelation 19:14 refers to the "white robes" of Revelation 7:9, as robes can be made of fine linen: "a robe of fine linen" (1 Chronicles 15:27). Note that "the fine linen is the righteousness of saints" (Revelation 19:8), and the "great multitude" that "came out of great tribulation" (Revelation 7:9, 14) also have the righteousness of saints, "even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference" (Romans 3:22), for their garments were made "white in the blood of the Lamb" (Revelation 7:14), "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins" (Romans 3:25).
Note that the two terms "robes" and "fine linen" aren't used to describe two unique sets of people, for even Babylon is described as wearing "fine linen" (Revelation 18:16), and even unbelieving scribes are described as wearing "robes" (Luke 20:46), as are angels (Mark 16:5, "garment" is the same word in Greek).
Note that Jesus spoke to the churches about a future clothing that all faithful believers would receive: "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment... He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches" (Revelation 3:5-6), as did Paul also speak of a future clothing believers will receive: "For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: if so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked" (2 Corinthians 5:2-3).
I believe those before the throne are believers (Revelation 7:14-15), and that all believers form a single body (Ephesians 4:4-6), which is the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:30-32). Many believers have died through the centuries, many will die before the tribulation, many will die in the tribulation, but whether we live or die, we are all the Lord's (Romans 14:8, Philippians 1:20-23).
Some point out that the bride should be "on" the throne, not "before" it. But she is on the throne (Ephesians 2:6, Revelation 3:21) and before the throne (Revelation 7:15), she is the pillars of the temple (Revelation 3:12) and will rule on the earth (Revelation 5:10, 2:26-29), just as Christ sits on the throne with his Father (Revelation 3:21) and approaches the throne (Revelation 5:6-7) and sits to the right of the throne (Hebrews 12:2) and will rule on the earth (Zechariah 14:4-9), and the apostles will sit on 12 thrones (Matthew 19:28).
Some point out the great multitude don't have crowns. But believers won't receive their crowns until the judgment of the saints at Jesus "appearing" (1 Peter 5:4) after the tribulation (Matthew 24:29-31, Mark 13:24-27, Psalms 50:4-5).
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Servants
Note that even after the cross we're still servants of Christ (Philippians 1:1, Ephesians 6:6, Romans 6:22, 1 Peter 2:16, Revelation 1:1) just as we may still be his friends (John 15:15), though as his bride we are more than these, just as a bride may serve her husband and be a friend to her husband (Song of Solomon 5:16), though she will always be more than these.
Note that Christ himself refers to those in the church as his servants (Revelation 2:20, compare Revelation 1:1).
Note that the bride serves Jesus now and will serve him and reign with him (Colossians 3:24, 1 Thessalonians 1:9, John 12:26, Hebrews 9:14; Revelation 22:3-6, 2:26-29, 20:4-6).
Note that those in the church will serve in the temple of God and will serve him and reign with him in New Jerusalem, and will have his name written on them: "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches" (Revelation 3:12-13); "Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them" (Revelation 7:15); "And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it... but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done" (Revelation 21:22, 22:3-6).
Note that a bride can also be a maidservant to her husband (Exodus 21:7-8), just as a son can also be a servant to his father (Malachi 3:17).
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Adam Analogy -- Bride Comes Out Of Body
By this analogy, do you feel that Adam's own body missed out on being married? Did Eve's body have a closer relationship to Adam than Adam's own body?
Note that Adam's body and Eve's body together became one body, "one flesh" (Genesis 2:24), just as "we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church" (Ephesians 5:30-32). Note that Christ doesn't marry part of his body, but his entire body, the church. Note that no verse in the Bible distinguishes between the body of Christ and the bride of Christ, or says that the bride of Christ is only part of the body of Christ.
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Church Not The Bride?
Note that Paul compares the relationship between Christ and the church to the relationship between a husband and a wife: "the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church... Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church" (Ephesians 5:23, 25).
Note that in Ephesians 5:31-32 Paul says that the "man" is Christ and "his wife" is the church: "For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church" (Ephesians 5:31-32), just as in Revelation 19:7-8 "his wife" are "saints": "The marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints" (Revelation 19:7-8).
Note that in Revelation 21:9, 14 the apostles are pictured as the foundation of the "wife": "Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife... And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (Revelation 21:9, 14), just as the apostles are pictured as the foundation of the church: "built upon the foundation of the apostles" (Ephesians 2:20).
Note that Ephesians 5:23 says "the" body in the context of comparing the relationship between Christ and the church to the relationship between a husband and a wife: "the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church... Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church" (Ephesians 5:23, 25), and in the context of "they two shall be one flesh" (Ephesians 5:31).
Note that Ephesians 5:28 refers to the husbands' "own bodies" in the context of "they two shall be one flesh" (Ephesians 5:31) and "He that loveth his wife loveth himself" (Ephesians 5:28).
Note that the "one flesh" refers to the husband and the wife together: "they two shall be one flesh" (Ephesians 5:31).
Note that the Greek conjunction "de" (which means either "but" or "and") in Ephesians 5:32 in no way forbids that Paul be referring to the church as the wife of Christ, no matter whether it is translated as adversative or continuative, for the only thing adversative between "they two shall be one flesh" (Ephesians 5:31) on the one hand and "Christ and the church" (Ephesians 5:32) on the other is that the former was originally spoken in reference to the mystery of the physical union of the physical flesh of husbands and wives (Genesis 2:24), whereas Paul is referring to the spiritual union of Christ and the church: "But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit" (1 Corinthians 6:17); "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body" (1 Corinthians 12:13); and Young's Literal Translation translates the conjunction as continuative in Ephesians 5:32, which makes sense in the context of Paul's having just represented the church as the wife of Christ in Ephesians 5:23, 25.
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The Bride Is All Believers Cont'd
See BrideAllBelievers2.html