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Wedding Metaphor in Revelation Does Not Prove Church is the Bride of the Lamb
By Joe Ortiz - June 1, 2011
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Editor’s Note: This article is part of a special series dealing with the issue of the Rapture by author Joe Ortiz. This series argues against a “pre-tribulation” Rapture of the Church in the Last Days.
Pre-Tribulation Rapture to Heaven proponents have been promoting a doctrinal precept that the Church of God is to be seen as the Bride of the Lamb, a phrase that is mentioned in several verses in the book of Revelation.
One of the main reasons they promote this non-scripture-based idea is to place the Church of God up in heaven (supposedly because it was caught up there seven years before the beginning of the so-called "Great Tribulation") and can now be seen returning with the Lord at His 2nd Advent. All of their contentions are made by subtle inference but yet with no bold nor clear and distinct scripture to validate those theories. Several weeks ago I posted an excerpt of my book on the Internet with the title, Jesus Possesses the Promised Land, forever, when the Lord Marries the Bride!
The title of this chapter may confuse people. However, as we have done throughout the entirety of our book, The End Times Passover, we have studied the true and deeper meaning of key words in the Bible, two words especially that are crucial to understanding more clearly what they mean as people discuss the entire wedding metaphor found in Revelation 19:7-9. The two words are husband and marry, which in the original Hebrew text also mean master and possess, respectively.
The reader can click on the title to read it, as I follow up with two more chapters here on Hearken the Watchmen that provide Bible proof that the Church of God is not to be viewed as The Bride of the Lamb. The attachments include Chapter 8 of my book with the title The Ecclesia: Is It the Bride, Or a Radiant Church? This is one of several chapters in my book that addresses all the claims ever written by theorists who believe that the church is the Bride of the Lamb.
Included in this post is one of the other chapters in my book that address many of the other contentions that the Bride of the Lamb is the Church. In this chapter The Holy City of God, Adorned As a Bride, we make the connection that rather than seeing the Bride of the Lamb as the Church of God, the Bible makes it clear that the Holy City of God, New Jerusalem, is the true Bride of Christ.
This particular topic (the church should be viewed as the Bride of the Lamb) received more attention than any other aspect in our challenge of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture to Heaven theory. The reason for this is that these notions are interconnected with so many other points that premillennial dispensationalists try to make in support of their non-biblical theories. We believe that these three chapters alone provide more than convincing Bible truth that the long held notion that the Church of God should be viewed as the Bride of the Lamb (a concept designed solely to place the church in Heaven after their Rapture-to-Heaven polemic) has no biblical support whatsoever. I welcome your reply; I’m in His Peace!
P.S.
I recently received a comment from person who has read my book who said, “It always come down to what the Bible actually says and you have written the definitive work, as far as I am concerned. Unfortunately most people will not put in the time and effort to study them.”
My response to him was that “The only difference between those who agree with my research and those who don't is that the ones who agree have read the book!”
Joe Ortiz has the distinction of being the first Mexican American in US history to conduct a talk show on an English-language, commercial radio station. He began his broadcasting career in 1971 at KABC TALK RADIO 790 AM in the highly competitive Los Angeles media market. He went on to become an award-winning broadcaster, news reporter and newspaper columnist in Los Angeles for over 20 years. Joe writes regularly on his two blogs The End Times Passover and Why Christians Will Suffer Great Tribulation.
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