The Bride Of Christ Rejoices

Let us be glad and rejoice

and give Him glory, for

the marriage of the Lamb has come,

and His wife has made herself ready.

and to her it was granted to be arrayed

in fine linen, clean and bright, for the

fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Then he said to me, ‘Write: ‘Blessed are those

who are called to the marriage supper of the lamb!’”

These are the true saying of God.

Revelation 19:7–9

            It is easy when writing polemically to lose sight of the joy that  comes by being one of the called ones of God, the Bride of Christ. The day is coming when Jesus Christ will return for His Bride, the Church, the ekklesia, the called out ones by God the father to enjoined in marriage with the Lamb. Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory. It is God who calls those who are being chosen, invited to the supper of the Lamb. We have every reason to be glad and to put Jesus Christ, God Himself as our object for our love and worship. This being so let us then be found doing righteous acts and make ourselves ready for the return of Jesus and the wedding supper. Jesus is coming on the Last Day with a shout: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words” (1Thessalonians 4:16–18). Some Churches teach of a rapture of Christians and then a subsequent coming of Jesus Christ and use the above versed to postulate their theory but this is not what Scripture teaches. Scripture does not in any place speak of two returns by Jesus Christ. Yes, the dead in Christ will rise first and then those of us who are alive on earth will then follow the dead in Christ to live forever with Jesus Christ. WE need not be concerned about the times of His coming for we know that when God promises anything it will occur and this return of Jesus Christ is promised and we who are converted by the calling of God as the Bride of Christ before the foundation of the world will rise to be with our Savior for eternity. Yes, we must be cognizant of the times and not be in darkness in regard to the times but must not be as some such as the Jehovah Witnesses have done in the past, to leave it all and go to a mountain to await His coming because they have falsely determined His coming. Jesus comes as a thief in the night, that is, He is coming when we least expect Him to come but God’s children are not in the dark, we are not asleep, we are busy doing the will of God. We are living our lives in accordance with His commandments and it these acts that God will say to His children: “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord” (Matthew 25:23). How pleasant it will be to hear those words spoken to me, and to you.

            We who are called by God, the Bride of Christ, being one of God’s children are healed. We are healed from the atrocity that has befallen man since the fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden: sin. This is the healing we need, it is eternal and we fear not, for this disease of sin shall never return to buffet us again. Malachi wrote this fact: “But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall–fed calves” (Malachi 4:2). Who is this Sun of Righteousness? It is no one else but Jesus Christ and He comes with healing in His wings for all of His children. Until He comes there will continue disease and sickness, death, and pain and God within His Providence at times mediates these diseases so that He is known as the God and creator of the universe, and to show His power and glory. For those who are never healed in this manner; we know this, we will die unless called on the Last Day when we are alive to be with Him, but nonetheless we will be healed permanently.  Jesus Christ is the remedy for our health and for sinners to be healed and restored. Jesus Christ God incarnate taking on our weakness, found in the form of man knows our every pain and struggles Jesus now applies the bandages needed for our wounds and as the Wisdom of God in His healing has applied Himself to His cure. This we can place our faith in for our faith in His healing is buttressed by His resurrection and ascension into heave to sit at the right hand of God making intercession for all those given to Him by His Father. We should be strengthened by this fact that Jesus Christ laid down His life for us by giving His life for us. Jesus Christ so freely gave of Himself and although we see Him not at this time we will see Him and we may have confidence in Him, the object of our love and worship. Until He comes He has given gifts to the Church that we may do what is necessary in spreading the Gospel reaching to those who are elected by God and are in need to act upon their election and this by hearing the word of God and allowing the free gift of faith to empower them to choose Him, to choose to live for Him. This choosing does not bring a murmur, or grumbling, rather it brings joy and delight. You who are called, those of you that have within your soul the need to convert and choose Him, the calling of your name to return to Him, I pray that you do so and allow the array of fine linen be placed upon you, draping your shoulders and hanging down to your feet. All dressed in white, as a sign of your righteous standing before God and as that old song states: “you will walk streets of Gold;” not real gold but streets that are precious.

“They shall be Mine,” says the

            LORD of hosts, on the day

that I make them My jewels, and

            I will spare them as a man

spares his own son who serves Him.

                                    Malachi 3:17

Serve the Lord today in all you do!

Richard L. Crumb