HERE COMES THE BRIDE (Continued)
Before any wedding, the Bride spends a lot of time preparing herself for her husband. The parable of the ten virgins tells of people who are and are not ready for the appearance of the groom. Our king is coming! And we are all being called to get ready to meet him. Are we ready?
Since Jesus is returning as the Bridegroom, shouldn’t we His Bride, the Church, focus more on deepening our commitment to Him than on browsing over global last day catastrophic events at great length? We ought to be a burning shining lamp to our generation.
What does it mean that Jesus is the Bridegroom? – God did not give up on His unfaithful people. He himself came near as Immanuel who dwelt among us. John the Baptist calls himself a friend of Jesus the Bridegroom.
He said: “The one who has the Bride is the Bridegroom. The friend of the Bridegroom, who stands and hears Him, rejoices greatly at the Bridegroom’s voice. Therefore, this joy of mine is now complete” John 3:29
Jesus calls himself the Bridegroom when criticized for not enforcing the kind of fasting among His disciples, that the Pharisees practised.
He said: “The attendants of the Bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the Bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the Bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast” Matthew 9:15.
The Bridegroom is coming! Are we ready for the wedding day?
Matthew 25: 1-4,10 At that time the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the Bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps…But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet.
The Church is called to be the radiant Bride of Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:2.
The members of Christ’s Church are “promised,” engaged now to Him, for eventual presentation to Him as a perfect Bride, to be married to Him in a profound spiritual union.
Eagle Vision School of Prophets International 