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KINGDOM BIBLE STUDIES

“Teaching the things concerning the kingdom of God...”

BRIDESHIP AND SONSHIP

Part 2

Originally published in June 1971

THE COMING OF THE BRIDEGROOM

The scriptures teach that Christ is coming as a Bridegroom and also as a King. There is a definite distinction between a Bridegroom and a King. Christ is to reign as KING over all the earth. “And the LORD shall be KING over ALL THE EARTH: in that day shall there be one Lord, and His name one” (Zech. 14:9). “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD are become the KINGDOMS OF THE LORD, and of His CHRIST; and He shall reign…” (Rev. 11:15). But Christ is NOT coming as Bridegroom over all the earth! He is coming as a Bridegroom ONLY unto His BRIDE!

The scriptures make some clear distinctions between the coming of the KING and the coming of the BRIDEGROOM. These facts are overlooked by most Christians because they know nothing of the Bridegroom and therefore do not know the nature of His coming or where or how to meet Him. Let us seriously consider together what the Spirit would reveal to us from the scriptures concerning the coming of the KING and the coming of the BRIDEGROOM.

1. Wherever the coming of the Bridegroom and King are mentioned together, Christ’s manifestation as Bridegroom is set forth FIRST and His coming as King is placed SECOND. This occurs in Revelation chapter 19. In verses 7-9 we read of His Bridegroom manifestation: “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for 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 the saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb!” Then in verses 11-16 Christ comes as King: “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness doth He judge and MAKE WAR (doesn’t sound much like a wedding feast, does it?). And out of His mouth goeth a SHARP SWORD, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God (still doesn’t sound like a good way to spend your honeymoon, does it?). And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Another example is in Matthew chapter 25. In verses 1-13 is a detailed explanation of events surrounding the manifestation of the BRIDEGROOM. In part we read, “THEN shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and WENT FORTH to MEET the Bridegroom. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; GO YE OUT to meet Him. And they that were READY went IN WITH HIM to the marriage: and the door was shut.” Then in verses 31-34 we find that “When the Son of man shall come in His glory and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the THRONE of His glory: And before Him shall be gathered all nations (not the bride): and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And He shall set the sheep (nations) on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the KING say to them on His right hand…” It is abundantly evident from these and other scriptures that there is a great BRIDEGROOM manifestation of Christ UNTO HIS BRIDE – PRIOR – to His return to earth as KING OF KINGS.

2. The coming of the Bridegroom is a SPIRITUAL coming forth of the Lord unto His elect Bride – while the coming of Christ as King is the literal, bodily return of the Resurrected, Ever-living, MAN Christ Jesus to establish His Kingdom here on this earth! Of course His Bride and the Sons of God shall share in all the glory and administration of that glorious Kingdom! Study closely Revelation chapter 21 concerning the NEW JERUSALEM, which IS the BRIDE of Christ, and you will see that the Bride of Christ is the true QUEEN OF HEAVEN who shall, as part of the great GOD FAMILY – together with God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son, and with ALL the SONS OF GOD – REIGN over ALL THIS PLANET, yes indeed, over the whole vast universe of God!

It is evident that the marriage feast referred to In Revelation 19:9 is NOT a physical, natural feast. When the scriptures refer to “eating” or to “feasts” in relation to God’s SPIRITUAL PEOPLE they never speak in carnal terms of natural partaking of food. For instance, “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies… my cup runneth over” (Ps. 23:5). “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” (I Peter 2:2). “I have fed you with milk, and not with meat…” (I Cor. 3:2). “For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters” (Rev. 7:17). “FEED the flock of God which is among you…” (I Peter 5:2). “Therefore let us KEEP THE FEAST, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (I Cor. 5:8).

Some people have fancied that at the marriage supper of the Lamb we would literally be floating around on top of the clouds somewhere eating porkchops or some other such foolishness. The literal feasts that God gave to Israel of old were only types of the great SPIRITUAL FEASTS that God is, in this age, bringing His people into. Of the three great feasts of Israel, the first was Passover. We are called to the SPIRITUAL FEAST of Passover in the experience of salvation. “For even Christ OUR PASSOVER is sacrificed for us” (I Cor. 5:7). We are then called to the second feast of Israel when we are called to the great SPIRITUAL FEAST of PENTECOST in the experience of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. “And when the day of PENTECOST was fully come… they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4). In Israel of old the feast of Pentecost was, “the feast of harvest, the FIRSTFRUITS of thy labours” (Deut. 16:9-12 Ex. 23:16 34:22). Under New Testament economy this is the FIRSTFRUITS OF THE SPIRIT. “And not only they, but ourselves also which have the FIRSTFRUITS of the SPIRIT, even we ourselves… wait… for the redemption of the body” (Romans 8:23).

The third great feast of the Israelite year was TABERNACLES… and startling as it might seem, THIS is the FEAST that REMAINS to be FULFILLED! TABERNACLES is called “the feast of ingathering, which is in the END OF THE YEAR” (Ex. 23:16 34:22 Deut. 16:13-15). So let us UNDERSTAND! Pentecost is only the FIRSTFRUITS of the Spirit, but Tabernacles is the time of harvest – of FULLNESS! And this fullness comes in the END of the year! Moreover, the feast of Tabernacles of old could not be celebrated until Israel had left the wilderness behind and was dwelling in Canaan. Even so, Christ is going to bring His Bride in this LAST HOUR out of her wilderness wanderings of immaturity, blundering, error and faithlessness and into her Canaan land – the measure of the stature of the FULLNESS OF CHRIST! “Let us be glad and rejoice… for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife HATH MADE HERSELF READY.” Yes, God in this last hour is going to give unto His Elect the FULNESS of the SPIRIT OF GOD of which we, up until this time, have only received the “earnest” or “firstfruits.” In this connection, it is interesting to note that the Bride, at the time of the espousal (under the customs of the Holy Land) received a PORTION of the DOWRY paid by the Bridegroom. But at the time of the MARRIAGE FEAST she became joint processor of ALL HE (the Bridegroom) WAS AND OWNED! Even so, in the feast of Pentecost, in our baptism in and walk in the Spirit of God in this present time, we are ESPOUSED to Christ and have received a PORTION, a “firstfruit” of HIS SPIRIT. But at the marriage feast (the SOON COMING FEAST OF TABERNACLES!) we shall receive of ALL HIS GLORIOUS FULNESS! We are now partaking of God’s great feast of Pentecost. How bountifully the table has been spread with His Presence and divers gifts of the Holy Spirit! But the Feast of Tabernacles, the feast at the END of the year, is the “marriage supper of the Lamb!” And BLESSED are they who are called to this great feast, that which supersedes Pentecost, that which is the BALANCE OF THE MEAL of which Pentecost was but the first course. And the balance must therefore come, the remainder of the meal which will give strength to the laborers to go forth and accomplish great and mighty things for the Master. And this Tabernacles Feast, being the LAST, will bring perfection! And as we leave this feast in great strength, those who will be in control of this planet from that time forth will be abiding in Resurrection Life and will be free from the curse. It is impossible to corrupt one who is incorruptible, either spiritually or physically. So apostasy and shame shall have had its day and never shall it raise its ugly head in God’s true people anymore!

3. Now let us also note that the coming of the Bridegroom is for the purpose of bringing about the consummation of the marriage – bringing the Bride into her ultimate UNION with the Bridegroom. This is NOT a physical union! To be the Bride of Christ does not mean that we shall experience a physical love relationship with Jesus. It is rather a SPIRITUAL UNION! Since it is a spiritual union it does not necessitate the PHYSICAL PRESENCE of Jesus, our Bridegroom. Many try to picture themselves kneeling at the feet of Jesus, as did Mary, kissing His feet. Or, gazing intently into His eyes, or strolling hand in hand with Him, or just sitting down and personally talking things over with Him – asking all the questions they have always wanted to ask Him and telling Him all the things they have so long desired to tell Him personally. BUT – do you realize that there are MILLIONS upon MILLIONS of people (Dan. 7:10, Jude 14) who have been saved by His grace? John saw them in Revelation 7 as “a great multitude which NO MAN CAN NUMBER!” And each and every one of these long personally to speak to Him and enjoy personal fellowship with this resurrected MAN – Christ Jesus! Do you realize that with such a throng around Him you probably could not get within 50 miles of Him? And if He spent ALL His time interviewing each saint personally – and spent only 10 MINUTES with each one – you possibly could not get to speak to Jesus for 200 YEARS!!! Certainly UNION WITH CHRIST involves far more than a mere physical return of our Lord! We are ALREADY MARRIED to Christ in BETROTHAL! He is already our HEAD! We are already in love with His glorious Person! He has already manifested His tender love and gracious Presence unto us! And HOW has He done all this? Why, BY HIS SPIRIT! And it is BY THIS SAME SPIRIT that we shall be brought INTO HIS FULNESS – into the most intimate fellowship and full UNION with Him to EXPERIENCE the utter ecstasy of ALL HE IS… of which we now enjoy only a “taste.”

On the contrary, the coming of Jesus as KING shall be the literal return of THE MAN CHRIST JESUS. “And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? THIS SAME JESUS, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven” (Acts. 1:10-11). “For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle… Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle. And His feet shall stand in that day UPON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES, which is before Jerusalem on the east… and the Lord my God shall come and all the saints with Thee!” (Zech. 14:2-5) “Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and THEY ALSO WHICH PIERCED Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him” (Rev. 1:7).

HOW THE BRIDEGROOM SHALL COME

We are told in Matthew chapter 25 that in this, our day, shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins. Virgins are pure and undefiled: not the common run of Christians who have defiled themselves with every kind of flesh and lover-idol they can find. These ten virgins took their lamps and went forth to meet the Bridegroom. Not very many saints are doing that! Not very many know who or what the Bridegroom is, and therefore do not know where or how to meet Him. Not knowing who or what He is, they therefore cannot know how to GO FORTH to meet Him! Most Christians, unfortunately, are busily preparing themselves to go “up” to meet the Bridegroom. But all their stir and fuss will be in vain. For you do not go “up” to meet the Bridegroom. All of God’s true saints shall indeed go “up” to receive and welcome to THIS PLANET the KING when He comes. But in order to meet the BRIDEGROOM, one must go “out.” “Go ye ‘OUT’ to meet Him!” Matt. 25:6. The only way to go “out” to meet Him is to “come out” of every fleshly, carnal and defiling thing that separates us from HIS FULNESS!

In II Corinthians 6:16-17 we are told, “And what agreement hath the TEMPLE OF GOD with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Wherefore, COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and I WILL RECEIVE YOU.” In order to BE RECEIVED by the Lord, what must we do? COME OUT! “Go ye ‘OUT’ to meet Him!”

A clear picture of this great truth is recorded in Revelation chapters 17 and 18. In chapter 17 we read of a woman who is NOT the Bride of Christ, but a lewd woman, a HARLOT. She is no more than the great systems of organized religion (popular Christianity) which have not followed the truth and the Spirit of God but have corrupted their ways and committed spiritual adultery with this world order of things. They have defiled themselves with every fleshly lover-idol they can find and have left the center of the road (the pure walk in the Spirit) and slithered off into the ditch there to slop and flounder around in error, deception, carnality, and ignorance of every sort. This woman in Revelation 17 and her daughters are CHURCHES – Harlot Churches who have not kept their virgin purity before the Lord but have chosen to walk in their own fleshly, man-made, carnal ways. In Revelation chapter 14 the 144,000 are pictured as “virgins” who are not defiled with women – with man-made, man-formed, man-organized, man-named, man-controlled, man-propagated, apostate, government chartered, babylonish churches. They FOLLOW THE LAMB withersoever HE GOETH, and not human leaders and institutions and programs which have ever SUPPLANTED the pure walk in the Spirit of God!

So now let us HEAR the cry that goes forth in Rev. 18:4: “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, COME OUT OF HER, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Do WHAT? Come ‘OUT’ of her! Not “go UP” but come OUT! “Go ye OUT to MEET HIM!” “Come OUT from among them… and I will receive you!” You will never go “up” to meet Christ as your Bridegroom. There is only ONE WAY, and that is to come OUT of every carnal, Babylonish, fleshly and devilish thing to MEET and FOLLOW the Lamb! No wonder we read in Rev. 18:23 that AFTER God’s chosen ones have COME OUT of the Babylonish harlot system, God says of Babylon, “And the light of a candle (the little light that is left in popular religion) shall shine NO MORE at all in thee; and the VOICE OF THE BRIDEGROOM and of the BRIDE shall be heard NO MORE AT ALL IN THEE!”

Let me here issue one word of caution. Many think that because they have come out of some Babylonish church and have forsaken the foolishness of man-made human organizations that this in itself qualifies them to be a part of God’s end-time Body which shall be brought into God’s fulness. This is NOT SO! For there were TEN virgins who WENT OUT to meet the Bridegroom but only FIVE entered into the feast! Five of these virgins were foolish, and while they indeed WENT OUT – they only had a measure of oil (Holy Spirit), the same measure they always had. They did not go on to possess a FULL MEASURE – they had not themselves entered into the FULLNESS of God that is required in THIS LAST HOUR! And REMEMBER! Five out of every ten virgins BELONG TO THIS CLASS!

THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE OF BRIDESHIP

A wife is one who has reached full maturity, one who has given herself completely and unreservedly for her lover, one who has lost her own name and identity to take HIS. She has left all to follow him. The RESULT of such a UNION is stated by Paul in Romans 7:4: “that we should be married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth FRUIT (children) unto God.” So here we find that the great PURPOSE of our marriage unto Christ is that we might bring forth FRUIT, the “fruit” of the womb, off-spring, UNTO GOD!

In the 3^rd chapter of Genesis, we have an account of the temptation and fall of Adam and Eve with God’s judgement and also promise of a DELIVERER to come forth from the woman. The fifteenth verse reads, “And I will put enmity between thee (Satan) and the woman and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel.” We have here the first promise that a SEED should come forth of the woman that would conquer and DE-THRONE Satan, and other scriptures tell us that this coming seed will liberate from Satan’s power ALL of God’s creation. The hidden purpose of God in making Adam and Eve husband and wife was the bringing forth eventually of a SEED, a SON, to bruise Satan’s HEAD.

But who was to be THE WOMAN and who was to be THE SEED of whom God spoke? Let us SEE!

It is interesting to note in Ephesians 5:30-32, “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.” Jesus spoke of this same great truth when He said to some Pharisees: “Have ye not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?” Now WHO, according to Jesus’ VERY OWN WORDS, made the statement way back there in the beginning, that “for this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and twain shall be one flesh?” WHO made that statement IN THE BEGINNING? Jesus said, “Have ye not read that HE THAT MADE THEM SAID…” GOD was the one who said this! And yet, in the Genesis account we read, “And ADAM said, This is now bone of my bones… therefore shall a man leave his father… and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” On the surface it appears that we have here a contradiction – that Moses tells us that Adam spoke these words, and Christ tells us that God spoke them. But the TRUTH is, of course, that Adam spoke the words – but he did so in the SPIRIT OF PROPHECY! So, since he spoke by the Spirit of Prophecy it was in reality GOD who was speaking through Adam! And, of course, since Adam was speaking prophetically, MUCH MORE IS INVOLVED in his statement than the mere setting forth of the human husband-wife relationship. It is TRUE that a natural man should leave his father and mother and cleave only unto his wife – but this is only a type of what God was REALLY SAYING! This prophecy was pointing forward through the ages to THAT ONE – the LAST ADAM – who would leave the glory of the Father and lay aside all the splendor of Deity that He might come and choose a human-divine Bride for Himself from among mankind. And it is remarkable, that after Eve had sinned, the first Adam deliberately followed her in sin in order to be lowered to her fallen level – rather than eternally be separated from her – for so great was his love for her! (I Tim. 2:13-15) BUT – the LAST ADAM deliberately OVERCAME sin, Satan and death in the flesh – so that He could take His fallen Bride and redeem her and LIFT HER BACK UP to His DIVINE LEVEL of glory and God-like-ness! So great was His love for US! And Christ, by becoming man, and FOREVER (in His glorified human body) taking upon Himself the identity of humanity, has chosen to cleave only unto HIS WIFE! And they are ONE FLESH, yea, one SPIRIT! So, in referring to the prophetic statement of Adam, Paul concludes, “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! The TRUE HUSBAND that Adam spoke of is CHRIST. And the TRUE WOMAN he spoke of is the BRIDE of Christ!

You will re-call that when God separated Eve from Adam, God separated the reproductive organs of mankind. God left with Adam the LIFE GIVING organs and in the woman He placed the organs for MATURING LIFE, causing it to grow and eventually bring forth a new creature. What a glorious picture this is of Christ and His Bride! They shall bring forth a “seed” and that seed is the fulness of the Christ-life which is planted in the womb of the Bride of Christ as a divine “seed.” She then nurtures that life, causing it to grow and bring forth a new creature in the exact image of GOD! This new spiritual creature is those who grow up into FULL SONSHIP to the Father.

THE SEED OF THE WOMAN – THE SONS OF GOD!

With this truth in mind, it is clearly evident that when God promises that there shall be a “seed” of the woman who shall bruise the “head of the serpent,” He is speaking of the divine seed that shall come forth from the union of Christ and His Bride.

But let us go back for a moment and begin again from the beginning. Adam and Eve made their great mistake in obeying the voice of Satan instead of their creator, but God in His mercy and compassion did not leave them in a hopeless condition but gave a promise that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15), and thereby bring deliverance to His disobedient people. The conflict was on, the battle began, and century after century it continued with Satan seemingly getting every advantage. The very thoughts and intents of Man’s heart becoming more and more wicked and more and more subjected to Satan as the centuries rolled by. Throughout this God continued to deal with man on the basis of divine love and compassion, from time to time sending them righteous men to lead them back to Himself; reminding them periodically by His word given through His prophets of the promise of the “seed of the woman” that was to bruise Satan’s head, dethrone him from his place of power and authority and dominion and restore that which had been lost.

The Lord made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that of their seed one would come who would be a blessing to all the families of the earth. In due time the fulfillment of this promise to Abraham came according to God’s predestined plan and a virgin was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit and was about to bring forth a son (not conceived by sin-cursed man) and her son made a way for a full deliverance of mankind from the power and dominion of Satan. Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign, behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Emmanuel.” Luke 1:30-32, “And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son… He shall be called the Son of the Highest…” Luke 2:11, “For unto you is born this day… a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” The seed which God had promised to Abraham had come, and He suffered, died on a cross, was buried and rose again triumphant over him who hath the power of death (Heb. 2:14). Yet the promised deliverance was not fulfilled for the Old Serpent still was operating in the bodies, souls and spirits of the human family. The conflict is STILL raging and after nearly two thousand years of the church age, Satan is STILL the Prince and Power of the air! In Ephesians 6:12 we read, “For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood – contending only with physical opponents – but against the despotisms, against the powers, against the master spirits who are the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly sphere” (Amplified Bible). Yes, Satan is still operating with the same power, authority and dominion in both earthly and heavenly realms; his head HAS NOT YET been bruised! That Satan’s head was NOT bruised at Calvary is proved in Romans 16:20 where Paul tells us, “And the God of peace shall BRUISE SATAN under your feet shortly.” The Lord’s saints are still subject to carnality, sickness, sin, death and corruption; nevertheless, the promise STANDS SURE and CERTAIN of FULFILLMENT! The “seed of the woman” SHALL bruise Satan’s head and set creation free from his dominion.

Let us turn now to Revelation chapter 12, that most wonderful symbolic revelation of God’s purpose and plan for the days that are just ahead of us. “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon… and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a MAN-CHILD, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up to God and to His Throne. And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels (messengers) fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed NOT; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan… And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, NOW IS COME SALVATION, and strength, and the Kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of OUR BRETHREN is cast down, which accused them before God day and night. And THEY OVERCAME HIM by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony…”

Some would tell us that the woman in this chapter is Mary, or Israel, and that the man-child who was birthed is Jesus. But we must remember that John the Revelator was being shown things which “MUST BE HEREAFTER” and not things which had already taken place. Here, the Bride of Christ is pictured as a symbolic woman in the closing days of this dispensation. She is clothed with the sun, which is the glory and power of Christ “the SUN of Righteousness.” The crown of twelve stars upon her head is representative of her SUBMISSION to the Divine Government (authority) of God, for 12 in the scriptures is the number of the Divine Government. But 12 is also the number of FULNESS, showing that Christ’s Bride at this point is moving on into the FULNESS OF GOD. But she is in travail to bring forth a MAN-CHILD. And since the Bride of Christ is a many-membered body, this man-child must necessarily be a many-membered body also – a corporate SON!

The Bride is referred to as a woman in the scriptures. Her characteristics are those of the female, or feminine. She is never referred to as a male CHARACTER. But the child BORN OUT of this woman, the Bride, is referred to as a man-child, a son, a male child, or a masculine child, one which is of MASCULINE character. I have wondered for years why so many Bible students call this masculine company the “Bride of Christ.” This distinctly masculine company corresponds with the MANIFESTED SONS OF GOD, who the scriptures DECLARE are going to liberate all groaning creation according to Romans 8:20-23! While the Bride of Christ is God’s Elect in it’s feminine relationship of love and submission to Christ, the MAN-CHILD, or the Sons of God, are masculine in their spiritual nature and relationship to THE FATHER. Their masculinity speaks of their great spiritual STRENGTH, AUTHORITY. POWER AND DOMINION.

With this in mind, Rev. 12:1-12 gives us a very clear and definite picture of God’s method of dethroning Satan from the heavenly realm. We have the symbol of the Spirit-anointed Bride of the last days of this dispensation in the woman travailing in birth pains to be delivered of a man-child who is to rule the nations with a rod of iron. (For PROOF that Christ is not the one ALONE who will rule all nations with a rod of iron, READ Rev. 2:26-27 & 3:21 – These are vital KEYS to understanding the book of Revelation!) This SON represents a many-membered company of FULL OVERCOMERS who have become partakers of the divine nature of Jesus, conformed to His image, a chosen, called and elect company, who are the “seed of the woman”, the offspring of the Bride who has been taken from the LAST ADAM, Jesus! And it is this seed of the woman who is to completely conquer and dethrone Satan!

Satan is so concerned about this man-child that he tries to stop him from reaching the Throne of God (the place of supreme power and authority), for he, Satan, knows that the test of his ability to maintain his standing in the heavenlies is at hand. Now, the important question is, BY WHOM will Satan and his host be defeated? The 11^th verse should settle this question for it is definite and clear. The warriors who fought with Michael are described as “THEY (who) overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” Were these warriors then angel spirits, or were they redeemed human beings? (For PROOF that the “angels” in the book of Revelation are not angelic creatures of another creation, but are in fact MEN, see Rev. 22:8-9 where the “angel” who showed John all these things is a MAN – one of the PROPHETS of GOD!) To be true to the Word, you must admit that they are a company of saints redeemed by the blood of Calvary and who had a testimony that they were even WILLING (if necessary) to lay down their lives in death! The seed of the woman shall bruise Satan’s head! Note verse 12: “Therefore rejoice ye heavens and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, BECAUSE HE KNOWETH THAT HE HATH BUT A SHORT TIME!”

Now let us turn to another scripture. This gives us an enlarged vision of the work of dethroning Satan in the EARTHLY realms. “All creation is yearning, longing to see the MANIFESTATION OF THE SONS OF GOD. For the creation was made subject to futility, not of its own choice, but by the will of Him who so subjected it; yet with the hope that at last the Creation itself would be SET FREE from the thraldom of decay to enjoy the liberty that comes with the glory (manifestation) of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation is moaning in the pangs of childbirth until this hour. And more than that, we ourselves, though we possess the Spirit as a foretaste… yet we ourselves inwardly groan as we wait for FULL SONSHIP in the redemption of our bodies” (Rom. 8:19-21).

It is very evident from the above scriptures that a blood-washed, FULL REDEMPTION company of saints are to be the means in God’s hand in liberating the Creation from the bondage of death and corruption; but BEFORE they can become liberators, they must first CONQUER HIM who has the power of death, that is, the devil (Heb. 2:14). Just as Satan and his host were overcome and cast out of the heavenlies. Even so must he be cast out of the earthly realms by the instrumentality of a warrior company who will meet him in the conflict of the ages, thus liberating all EARTHLY realms.

We have a very forceful reference to this BATTLE and the PREPARATION for it in Ephesians 6:10-13 (Weymouth Translation): “In conclusion, strengthen yourselves in the Lord and in the power which His supreme might imparts. Put on the COMPLETE ARMOUR of God, so as to be able to stand firm against all the stratagems of the devil. For OURS is not a conflict with mere flesh and blood, but with the DESPOTISMS, the EMPIRES, the forces that CONTROL and GOVERN this dark world – the spiritual hosts of evil arrayed against us in the heavenly warfare. THEREFORE put on the complete armour of God, so that you may be able to stand your ground IN THE EVIL DAY (the great time of trouble at the climax of this age), and, having fought to the END, to REMAIN VICTORS ON THE FIELD (earth)!” These who fulfill this at the end of this age shall defeat Satan in both the heavenly and earthly realms and become the long awaited liberators that God promised Creation when it became subjected to death and corruption through the devil. Thus we see that the man-child company and the Manifested Sons of God are the same company and they are assuredly the “seed of the woman” which will “bruise Satan’s head” and by a complete victory over him will “stand victors on the field.” “All that see them shall acknowledge them that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed” (Isaiah 61:9).

CONCLUSION

The question is probably still rising in some minds: “What company am I in? Which company of saints am I apprehended for? Am I a part of the Bride or a member of the man-child company? Which should I DESIRE to be? Can I be in BOTH? Is there REALLY a difference – a separation – between the two?”

It is so easy to try and draw fine lines. But what the revelation God is giving us in Rev. 12 REALLY MEANS is THIS: The WAY to Sonship is Brideship! It is the realm of Brideship that gives birth to the reality of Sonship. Jesus said, “I am the WAY, the truth and the life; No man cometh UNTO THE FATHER but by Me.” Your relationship to Jesus must come FIRST and your relationship to the Father in FULL SONSHIP shall come SECOND. It is only through intimate fellowship and vital union with Jesus that we will be enabled to move on into a full relationship with the Father and the transcendent glory that will bring. If you have never really fallen in love with Jesus – don’t expect to ever be a SON. If you have not made Jesus your HEAD and submitted your whole life, will, thoughts and actions to HIS WORD and HIS SPIRIT and HIM ALONE – then don’t ever expect to stand in full Sonship to the Father! If you have any other love… master… Lord… any “reserved” areas of your life… then you are one of the FOOLISH VIRGINS! We must first BOW in feminine love and submission to Jesus – as a wife – before we can stand erect in the majesty and splendor of Sonship. It is just that simple. There IS NO OTHER WAY!

There are three companies. The Harlot (apostate Babylonish religious system), the Bride and the Sons. Some precious (but mistaken) people, because they have separated from some Babylonish denomination or group mistakenly IMAGINE that this was the “mother church” BIRTHING them into Sonship! That is WRONG! The “mother” of the man-child is NOT THE HARLOT CHURCH but the perfected BRIDE OF CHRIST! When the Spirit calls, “Come out of her My people,” He is not calling to Sons. He is calling for a people to come out of the defilements of Babylon and be CLEANSED – that they might become a VIRGIN (through the blood) unto Christ. And it is this VIRGIN BRIDE which shall bring forth a man-child! There is no such thing as being birthed out of Babylon into SONSHIP! So let us grasp the tremendous IMPORTANCE of Brideship as a prerequisite to SONSHIP! Your eternal destiny depends upon it!

J. PRESTON EBY

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