Ephesians 5:25-27 ..............
"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish."
Revelation 19:7-9 ................
"Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God."
Revelation 21:2.....................
"And 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 ....................
"Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
The imagery and symbolism of marriage is applied to Christ and the body of believers known as the church. These are those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as their personal savior and have received eternal life. In the New Testament, Christ, the Bridegroom, has sacrificially and lovingly chosen the church to be His bride. Just as there was a betrothal period in biblical times during which the bride and groom were separated until the wedding, so is the bride of Christ separate from her Bridegroom during the church age. Her responsibility during the betrothal period is to be faithful to Him. At the Second Coming of Christ, the church will be united with the Bridegroom, the official "wedding ceremony" will take place and, with it, the eternal union of Christ and His bride will be actualized.
At that time, all believers will inhabit the heavenly city known as New Jerusalem, also called “the holy city” in
Revelation 21:2 and
10. The New Jerusalem is not the church, but it takes on the church’s characteristics. In his vision of the end of the age, the Apostle John sees the city coming down from heaven adorned “as a bride,” meaning that the inhabitants of the city, the redeemed of the Lord, will be holy and pure, wearing white garments of holiness and righteousness.
Some have misinterpreted verse 9 to mean the holy city is the bride of Christ, but that cannot be because Christ died for His people, not for a city. The city is called the bride because it encompasses all who are the bride, just as all the students of a school are sometimes called “the school.”
The Lord is coming FOR His bride. Who will meet him in the air.
Then after she has gone the restraining power of the Holy Spirit is gone as well and the antichrist will have his rope.
But there will be people saved or born again after the Bride has gone .
Those gentiles who were not ready BORNagain will be tried and 'proved' " as through fire" and become martyers .
Then you have the Jews as a people who will "see Him whom they have pierced" and a remnant will be saved in a day .
The Bride is the first fruits . Those saved after are the general harvest and the few who will be saved after the millenium reign will be the gleaning. Then commeth the end for the whole harvest is gathered.
It is not enough simply to quote all those well known verses .But ignore all those scripture that I have before given that paints another picture.
I point out the 5 foolish virgins and it is simply claimed but not proved that that does not pertain to believers but to the world or unsaved. Despite the fact as I have pointed out among other things that they are barred from thje marriage .
Was not John the Baptist 'saved'? Yet he considered himself but a "Friend of the g room"
In heaven there are people "under the alter" "before the throne" in the throne" seated with Christ and others standing .
There are people in all sorts of places IN heaven and believers . But NOT in the bride.
I point out Lot .ignored.
I point out Enoch, who was translated BEFORE the outpouring of Gods wrath upon the earth . and Noah who was saved FROM it but saved THROUGH it .
I point out that the first Adam who was "a foreshadow of him who was to come " had a bride .who was not created FROM THE EARTH . But from his BODY .
So too then I mentioned that Abraham sought a bride for the Son by the servant not from the world but "from among his bretheren"
I also in passing mentioned that Joseph was ALREADY married when he revealed himself to his bretheren the SECOND time .
As also was Moses and both to gentile wives.
The Bride will be primarily made up of gentiles but there will also be SOME Jews . For out of every tounge and tribe etc.
I also mentioned how as Eve was out of the body .
So too was the bride for Issac .
That the tribe of Levi was a body out of the body whos inheritence was God.
As also was Peter James and John out of the 12.
I mentioned that Lot was counted righteous but walked by sight .
That a carnal christian will not be or can be ready fro the coming of the Lord.
That the lord by His own words when he "speaks to the churches" is OUTSIDE knocking on the door .
That too has been rejected as a message to the church and applied to the world and the unsaved.
That Paul warns the church not to be like those who were 'saved' and who came out fo Egypt but failed to enter into the promise because of unbelief.
He also warns the church and was concerned that she be not like the Eve who was deceived ,She too if you remember listened to and believed the wrong message. and she too did that which was good in her own eyes and by her own reasoning.
I have reconciled the fact how the church which you mentioned can be the Bride but not count all of His body being in the Bride but still part of His body. By scripture .
But you by the scriptures you mention do not reconcile how all believers of the gospel and are BORN again and thus 'saved' are saved before the translation of the bride as some are also after she has gone to the "marriage". Wether they be Jew or gentile.
I also pointed out how the children of Isreal like the foolish virgins were given the same gospel (thats more than beign BORNagain) and the same promises but missed the oppurtunity to "enter into the promise " when the door was opened for unlike the TWO who were ready they were not.
and by the time they were ready the door had been closed to them.
These too you must reconcile with those scriptures you have quoted.
You may say you do not have to. They are enough .
"we are rich increased with goods and in need of nothing"
The church is a prodigal church and it cannot be less than it was in the beginning .
and "little children " may well and do "know the father" But it is not little children who get married .
It is "ye fathers" who are as it were married .
"Who know Him who is from the beginning"
There are many children of God who are in truth "BORNagain but do not believe Gods account in the book of Genesis . But for the sake of peace with the world have mixed truth with error or deny it all together.
How can you know Him who is from the beginning if you do not believe His Word who first spoke "in the beginning"?
In Christ
gerald