And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. (Revelation 22:17)
THE CHURCH AS THE BRIDE
The primary identity of the End-Time Church, the generation that we are in now, will be that of a bride. This dynamic will ensure that the Church will stand in the understanding that we are loved by Jesus as a bridegroom loves a bride. Esther is a picture of the End-Time Church before the King of kings.
God the Father has given the Church as a bride to Jesus as His inheritance. Jesus deserves to have a Bride, a people that love Him out of every tribe, tongue and nation. The Church, as the Bride of Christ, is not an issue of gender. For example, King David and John the Baptist loved Jesus, and had at the heart of who they were the identity of a lovesick worshipper. Bridal identity isn't about gender, or sexuality, it is all about a place of privilege, of friendship and intimacy. We are invited to experience love in a way that nothing else in created order can experience.
King David said that he desired one thing above all other things – he desired to gaze upon God’s beauty. Here he was, a man's man, he was ruling the nation, running the government and leading one of the most powerful armies in the known world of that time; and yet he had set his heart upon this one desire more than all the others. King David was a warrior king, who loved to gaze on beauty.
One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. (Psalm 27:4)John the apostle understood this as well. Though he was one of the “sons of thunder,” yet he described himself as “the one Jesus loved” and leaned upon the Lord’s breast.
One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table close to Jesus, (John 13:23)
When John the Baptist described the motivation of his heart, he described himself as one who stands and hears the voice of the Bridegroom.
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)
THE UNITY OF THE END-TIME CHURCH
The End-Time Church, the believers on the earth in the generation in which the Lord returns (which I believe will occur in this generation), will be functioning primarily in Her role as the Bride of Christ. The Bride will be saying and doing the same thing that the Spirit is saying and doing. For the first time in Church history, since the birth of the Church age, the Spirit and the Bride will be together in unity.
The members of the Body of Christ will be in unity together as the Bride, crying out together with one voice with the Spirit of God for Jesus' return:
And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. (Revelation 22:17)
Only when we understand this can we make sense of all the apparent chaos that we see about us in today's mixed up world. God is bringing His people to an understanding of their role as the corporate Bride of Christ, and bringing them to the place that all they want is to be with the Lover of their souls. When those two dynamics co-exist and merge, then Spirit with in the Bride will initiate a Bridal cry - and when He hears that Bridal cry - then He will come!
E ven so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!!!