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Christ is our Bridegroom, a most pleasant person, who is making us His bride.

The Bride, the Wife, New Jerusalem

New JerusalemIn Revelation 21:9 an angel spoke with John “saying, Come here; I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” Then (v. 10), John tells us that the angel “carried me away in spirit onto a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem.”

In this record, the bride, the wife of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, equals the holy city, Jerusalem. Jesus Christ will not take a physical city as His wife. The holy city is a living person! It is composed of all God’s people, chosen, redeemed, and matured in life.

This city, the wife of the Lamb, is the outcome of John 3. In 3:3-6 the Lord Jesus speaks of being born again, our human spirit born of the Spirit. In 3:14-17 all who believe are saved from the death brought in by the serpent, Satan, and receive eternal life. In 3:26-30 the people coming to Jesus, the Bridegroom, and believing into Him are the bride.  Verses 31-36 confirm that Jesus came and that those who believe into Him have eternal life.

The bride, composed of all the born again people, who all have eternal life, is the Lord’s bride, His increase!

That the city, Jerusalem, is the bride, the wife of Jesus Christ, is also seen with the church presented to Christ in Ephesians 5:25-27. This presentation is in the context of human marriage, which is a picture of the eternal marriage of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, and the city, Jerusalem.

More about the eternal marriage, in both Old and New Testaments, is in
The Divine-Human Romance thru the Bible

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by Don on April 3, 2019  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on April 3, 2019

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2019/04/03/the-bride-the-wife-new-jerusalem/

New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:1-8

This is a summary of the recent posts on Revelation 21:1-8, which review life on the new earth emphasizing the details about New Jerusalem. Each verse is followed by the title with a link to related posts.

New Jerusalem

Verse 1: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and the sea is no more.”

New Heaven and New Earth

Verse 2: “And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”

John Saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem
New Jerusalem is Holy with God’s Holiness
New Jerusalem is the City of the Great King
New Jerusalem is Divinely New
New Jerusalem is the Foundation of Peace
New Jerusalem is on Earth from God
New Jerusalem is Heavenly, On Earth
New Jerusalem Comes Down, Prepared
New Jerusalem is the Bride of Christ
New Jerusalem is Adorned with Christ
New Jerusalem is the Bride, Jesus Christ is the Husband

Verses 3-4: “And I heard a loud voice out of the throne, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will tabernacle with them, and they will be His peoples, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death will be no more, nor will there be sorrow or crying or pain anymore; for the former things have passed away.”

A Loud Voice out of the Throne
Behold the Tabernacle of God is with Men
Life on New Earth around New Jerusalem

Verses 5-6: “And He who sits on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said, Write, for these words are faithful and true. And He said to me, They have come to pass. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give to him who thirsts from the spring of the water of life freely.”

The Throne and All Things New
The Faithful and True Words of God
The Water of Life, Now and New Jerusalem

Verses 7-8: “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be God to him, and he will be a son to Me. But the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and fornicators and sorcerers and idolaters and all the false, their part will be in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Overcome to Inherit God’s Blessings
God is Leading Many Sons into Glory

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by Don on March 29, 2019  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on March 29, 2019

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2019/03/29/new-jerusalem-in-revelation-211-8/

New Jerusalem is the Bride,                        Jesus Christ is the Husband

New JerusalemNew Jerusalem is “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Rev. 21:2). “The marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready” (Rev. 19:7). The entire city is the bride and the Husband is the Lamb, Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 5:25-26 speaks of the Lord’s work to prepare the bride “that He might present the church to Himself glorious” (v. 27) at His second coming, His coming in glory.

John the Baptist spoke of the Lord Jesus as the Bridegroom with all the believers as His increase (John 3:28-30). And in Mark 2:19-20 the Lord Jesus described Himself as a Bridegroom. These words point toward the Husband of New Jerusalem in Revelation 21.

Jesus Christ as the Husband of the church in Ephesians 5 and of New Jerusalem is also prophesied in the Old Testament. Isaiah 54:5, “For your Maker is your Husband; Jehovah of hosts is His name. And the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth.” The Lord Jesus is our Redeemer so that He can impart eternal life into us to constitute us to be His bride so that He can be our Husband.

Hosea 2 speaks of Jehovah’s reclaiming Israel from idol worship. Verse 16: “And in that day, declares Jehovah, You will call Me My Husband.”

New Jerusalem as a bride for Jesus Christ the Husband is not a new idea in Revelation; rather, it is the consummation of what is presented to us throughout the Bible.

Photo courtesy of pixabay.com.

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by Don on March 8, 2019  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on March 8, 2019

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2019/03/08/the-bride-the-husband/

New Jerusalem is the Bride of Christ, Adorned with Christ

in Revelation 21:2 New Jerusalem is “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” New Jerusalem as the bride of Christ is a corporate person, composed of all the believers.

This bride is adorned, not with physical jewels and fancy clothing, but with the virtues of Christ lived out through the believers. An example is 1 Timothy 2:9, “women adorn themselves in proper clothing with modesty and sobriety, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly clothing.” Our real modesty and sobriety come from Christ living in us.

New JerusalemSimilarly Titus 2:10 speaks of “all good faithfulness” adorning “the teaching of our Savior God.” And 1 Peter 3:3-4 says that adorning should not be outward things but “the hidden man of the heart in the incorruptible adornment of a meek and quiet spirit, which is very costly in the sight of God.”

Peter also tells us that even gold and silver are corruptible in the eyes of God. Jesus Christ is longing for a bride adorned with incorruptible beauty which can only come from Himself.

Revelation 21:19 records “The foundations of the wall of the city [New Jerusalem] were adorned with every precious stone.” In 1 Peter 2:4-7 Christ Himself is the living Stone who is precious to God. The wall of the city (which is not physical because it is a living bride) is not adorned with physical jewels but with the precious Christ wrought into us through transformation.

The adorning of New Jerusalem as the bride is Christ Himself lived out through all His members. This is the highest beauty in the universe.

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by Don on March 6, 2019  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on March 6, 2019

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2019/03/06/new-jerusalem-is-the-bride-of-christ-adorned-with-christ/

New Jerusalem is the Bride of Christ

Revelation 21:2, “I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” Revelation 21:9-10, “the bride, the wife of the Lamb….the holy city, Jerusalem.”

New JerusalemNew Jerusalem is the bride, the wife of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. This is a very important statement in Revelation 21. It declares that New Jerusalem is not a physical city but a corporate living person!

Revelation is a book of spiritual signs. New Jerusalem described as a city shows that it is God’s kingdom built up. New Jerusalem as a bride shows it is a corporate person as the consummation of the church as the Body of Christ, the one new man, and the wife (all three of which are presented in Ephesians).

Ephesians 5:25-27 announces that (1) “Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her” through His death to redeem her, (2) He is now sanctifying her to match the purity of New Jerusalem, “cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word,” and (3) at His second coming He will “present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish.”

In Ephesians 5 the church is described in the human context of husband and wife. This church will be the glorious bride, New Jerusalem, which Christ will present to Himself.

Bible verses quoted in these posts are from The Holy Bible, Recovery Version, published and © by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim CA, 2003. The New Testament of this Bible, with its outlines, footnotes, and cross-references, is at online.recoveryversion.org; this too is © by LSM.

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by Don on March 4, 2019  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on March 4, 2019

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2019/03/04/new-jerusalem-is-the-bride-of-christ/

New Jerusalem is the Wife of Jesus Christ

New Jerusalem

 

New Jerusalem is not a physical city. It is a corporate person composed of all the children of God to be “the bride, the wife of the Lamb” Jesus Christ (Rev. 21:2, 9-11).

Regular posts on this blog will resume Wednesday, January 2, 2019.

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by Don on December 21, 2018  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on December 21, 2018

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2018/12/21/new-jerusalem-is-the-wife-of-jesus-christ-2/

The Wife of the Lamb, New Jerusalem,  Made Herself Ready (2)

New Jerusalem is “the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” “Let us rejoice and exult, New Jerusalemand let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready” (Rev. 19:7).

In Matthew 24 the Lord spoke to us about being ready. Three keys here are living contact with the Lord’s word, loving God, and watching in prayer. In Matthew 25 He continued with a parable about being ready for a wedding feast, which depicts the real wedding feast with Him, the feast tied to New Jerusalem.

Matthew 25:10: “The bridegroom came; and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast.” The key to readiness is being filled with the Spirit. signified in this parable by oil in the vessels.

God created man with spirit, soul, and body. Due to the fall of man, man’s spirit was deadened and his soul became the self. In regeneration the Spirit enlivened our spirit. Now there is a need to deny our self by exercising our spirit to take our cross daily so that the Spirit may spread from our spirit to saturate our soul. One aspect is Ephesians 4:23, “be renewed in the spirit of your mind,” a part of our soul.

To be ready, we need to deny our self in its ambitions, pride, pleasures, complaints, and many other things, and instead seek the Lord in His word, in prayer, in rejoicing, in singing, both alone and with other believers. This is our path to readiness on our way to the wedding feast and New Jerusalem.

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by Don on October 3, 2018  •  Permalink
Posted in Life and New Jerusalem, Preparation of New Jerusalem
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Posted by Don on October 3, 2018

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2018/10/03/the-wife-of-the-lamb-new-jerusalem-made-herself-ready-2/

The Love of the Marriage of the Lamb

New Jerusalem is “the bride, the wife of the Lamb” (Rev. 21:2, 9). This marriage is foreshadowed by Christ and the church, presented in the context of human marriage in Ephesians 5. This relationship is in love. Here is a link to each post about this relationship in Ephesians plus a verse from each. The last four links are for a song about Christ’s love for the church.

New Jerusalem

The Love of the Marriage of the Lamb Presented in Ephesians 1
“He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before Him in love.”

The Love of the Marriage of the Lamb Presented in Ephesians 2–3
“God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us…made us alive together with Christ.”

The Love of the Marriage of the Lamb Presented in Ephesians 4
“Holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ” for “the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.”

The Love of the Marriage of the Lamb Presented in Ephesians 5
“Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her…that He might present the church to Himself glorious.”

The Love of the Marriage of the Lamb Presented in Ephesians 6:23
“Peace to the brothers and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

The Love of the Marriage of the Lamb Presented in Ephesians 6:24
“Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in incorruptibility.”

The Love of the Marriage of the Lamb Spoken to Ephesus in Revelation 2
“I have one thing against you, that you have left your first love”

The Love of the Marriage of the Lamb Spoken to Ephesus in 1 Timothy 1
“Remain in Ephesus in order that you might charge certain ones not to teach different things….The goal of the charge is love.”

Christ Loves the Church & New Jerusalem
“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”

Christ Loves the Church & New Jerusalem, 2
“I was their Husband, declares Jehovah.”

Christ Loves the Church & New Jerusalem, 3
“The good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”

Christ Loves the Church & New Jerusalem, 4
“The bride, the wife of the Lamb….the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God”

Photo courtesy of pixabay.com.

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by Don on September 10, 2018  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on September 10, 2018

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2018/09/10/the-love-of-the-marriage-of-the-lamb/

Christ Loves the Church & New Jerusalem, 3

This is the next verse of a song about Christ’s love for the church as His wife. This love extends to New Jerusalem, His eternal wife.

New JerusalemIt begins with mercy and love. Ephesians 2:1-3 speaks of our fallen condition but 2:4 declares the contrast, “God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us.” Through mercy and love, God made us alive together with Christ and raised us up together with Him.

Ephesians 2:7 tells us that God’s desire is that “He might display in the ages to come the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” The ability to produce this display out of our fallen condition manifests God’s unsurpassed wisdom and is through His grace, both mentioned in the verse and the song.

Certainly we can sense the love of God and must thank Him for this love, yet we are limited. We should expect, as in the song, that the fulness of this love is only comprehended by God.

This verse of the song ends with Christ laying down His life as a fragrant offering. The Lord spoke of this in John 10:11, “the good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” And Ephesians 5:25 tells us, “Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her.”

The fragrance at the end is clearly typified by the fragrance of the offerings in Leviticus and implied by the Father’s word “This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I have found My delight” (Matt. 3:17).

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by Don on September 5, 2018  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on September 5, 2018

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2018/09/05/christ-loves-the-church-new-jerusalem-3/

Christ Loves the Church & New Jerusalem, 2

We look at a song about Christ’s love for the church, a love clearly stated in Ephesians 5:25-27. This statement is in the context of human marriage as a portrait of Christ and His wife, the church in Ephesians and New Jerusalem in Revelation.

New JerusalemThe graphic begins with part of the second verse of the song. Creation is presented in Genesis, but the church and New Jerusalem are the “mystery which has been hidden from the ages” until after the resurrection of Christ. Although it was not revealed before the resurrection, as the song says, it was “hidden in God” and hinted by the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis 2.

The graphic continues with part of the third verse of the song. Sin entered and man was shut out of the garden of Eden, with no chance to be one with God. Man’s helpless state is shown in many ways through the Bible, for example in Romans 7.

Nevertheless, Christ’s love for the church and His longing for New Jerusalem did not end. He is not discouraged. Even during the Old Testament times, God sometimes spoke of Himself as the Husband of His people (e.g. Jer. 31:32).

God waited for the time proper in His divine view, the time to come in incarnation, the time to manifest His love for mankind. Continued in the next post.

Bible verses quoted in these posts are from The Holy Bible, Recovery Version, published and © by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim CA, 2003. The New Testament of this Bible, with its outlines, footnotes, and cross-references, is at online.recoveryversion.org; this too is © by Living Stream Ministry.

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by Don on September 3, 2018  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on September 3, 2018

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2018/09/03/christ-loves-the-church-new-jerusalem-2/

Christ Loves the Church & New Jerusalem

The graphic is the first verse of a song about Christ’s love for the church. His love is clearly stated in Ephesians 5:25-27, “Christ also New Jerusalemloved the church and gave Himself up for her that He might sanctify her…that He might present the church to Himself glorious.”

This expression of love is in the context of human marriage, which is a pattern of Christ and the church. Christ and the church as Husband and wife eventually develops to Christ and New Jerusalem as Husband and wife (Rev. 21:9-10).

This song says, “Before the earth’s foundation His thoughts were filled with her.” This eternal thought is unveiled in Genesis 2. Man was created and then placed in front of the tree of life. With the tree of life is a river (of life) and out of these came Eve, the wife of Adam.

This is a picture of Christ desiring to become our life so that we match Him and can become His counterpart, His wife, first as the church, then as New Jerusalem.

In Genesis 3 man fell into sin which brought in death. But, as the song says, “His heart’s love is established, And nought can Him deter.” God cannot be defeated. We can delay Him but eventually He will win our hearts and bring forth New Jerusalem. Then we will join the multitude to declare:
“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” (Rev. 19:6-7)

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by Don on August 31, 2018  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on August 31, 2018

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2018/08/31/christ-loves-the-church-new-jerusalem/

Our Path to New Jerusalem (2)

New Jerusalem, the bride of the Lamb, is composed of all God’s chosen, redeemed, regenerated, transformed, and glorified people. God’s choosing determined that we are on the path to New Jerusalem. Although we were among fallen men, Christ’s redemption brought us back to God and regeneration gives us God’s eternal life, the life of New Jerusalem.

New JerusalemTRANSFORMED: Regeneration is to be born of the Spirit in our spirit, as the Lord spoke in John 3. Transformation is the spreading of divine life into our soul to renew our mind. This renewing is also our transformation (Rom. 12:2).

This is based on our consecration (Rom. 12:1) and is accomplished by our cooperation with the Spirit’s work in us and is “unto glory” that is, unto New Jerusalem, the city of glory.

GLORIFIED: Transformation develops God’s glory within us. However, transformation is in our soul and the expression of glory is still constrained by the body of our humiliation (Phil. 3:21). Glorification, transfiguration, is the divine life saturating our mortal body so that it will “be conformed to the body of His glory.” This is “the redemption of our body” which is the full sonship.

This glorification will occur when the Lord returns, “When He comes to be glorified in His saints and to be marveled at in all those who have believed” (2 Thes. 1:10). This, our glorification, is “the Lord of glory” (1 Cor. 2:8) whose glory we “behold and reflect” (2 Cor. 3:18) throughout our transformation, saturating our entire being and radiating through us that all may behold.

This glory developed in us began with regeneration, continues through transformation, and is concluded by glorification. This causes us to match New Jerusalem, the city which “has the glory of God.”

New Jerusalem is the Consummate Glory

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by Don on April 23, 2018  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on April 23, 2018

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2018/04/23/our-path-to-new-jerusalem-2/

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