Jesus Christ is the Son of God, Jesus Christ is the Lord and not in any need of human flesh as a wife when He was on earth or as He sits on the right hand of the Throne of Power. The Bible states that the Church is the Bride of Christ.
Jesus came as the High Priest to all of mankind going back to Adam and Eve, the heritage path is the one given in Luke and the one in Matthew is for Joseph, Mary's husband.
Adam and Eve were created after the likeness and image of God and the Holy Spirit who are essentially the 'parents' of Christ. God's witness of creation is in Ge:1, the Holy Spirit's witness in in Ge:2 and Christ's witness is in the last half of Proverbs:8. God and the Lamb and the Throne are seen in New Jerusalem, the Throne is a representation of the Holy Spirit. As such, their Son will have one person as his wife as would fit with any man and woman. The only woman in Scripture that qualifies would be Mary of Bethany and in that study you will find that she is the unnamed disciple of John the Baptist that followed Jesus in John:1 and that same disciple is the one that signs off in the last few verses of that Gospel. The 3 Epistles are also helpful in that the 1st one is a letter from Peter saying that they were both there at the 'beginning' and Peter showed up the day after John's Disciples were with Him. The other epistles pint to the writer being a 'woman' and in this case 'the children' would be Gentiles that were bought into the Church rather than she married and had children. She was give charge of Jesus's mother at the cross and she would have cared for her (more than her own children) until she died. That is the duty that a wife would perform and she alone did it so the Church was not part of that aspect of who the Bride is.
It's not that long of a study so this thread would be more than enough room to post the references that show Mary was extra special to Jesus. If the RCC had their wits about them that is the Mary they would worship rather than it being Jesus's mom. The Mary that is the Beloved Disciple would also have been the correct Mary for an appearance like at Fatima. At the time of the resurrection she is the first person to be resurrected and would include the Apostles and Jesus's own family.
Question: "What does it mean that the church is the bride of Christ?"
Answer: The imagery and symbolism of marriage is applied to Christ and the body of believers known as the church.
She and Peter are the cornerstones of the Church and Mary alone is the Bride. The Church is invited to the wedding supper so the marriage has already taken place when Christ arrives. That arrival starts with wrath and then the resurrection of the 12 Tribes (Eze:37)
and she will be the first to be given a glorified body and a sinless heart.
Joe:2:15-19:
Blow the trumpet in Zion,
sanctify a fast,
call a solemn assembly:
Gather the people,
sanctify the congregation,
assemble the elders,
gather the children,
and those that suck the breasts:
let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber,
and the bride out of her closet.
Let the priests,
the ministers of the LORD,
weep between the porch and the altar,
and let them say,
Spare thy people,
O LORD,
and give not thine heritage to reproach,
that the heathen should rule over them:
wherefore should they say among the people,
Where is their God?
Then will the LORD be jealous for his land,
and pity his people.
Yea,
the LORD will answer and say unto his people,
Behold,
I will send you corn,
and wine,
and oil,
and ye shall be satisfied therewith:
and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:
Above the bolded line are 6 more that are included and the congregation is the NT Church and the others can also be identified so that the Bride must be a single individual of the female variety. In the bolded part below the marriage has already taken place and at the start of the 1,000 year reign the whole house of Israel is resurrected and the Church represents a portion of Gentiles as the Church is not whole until the Great White Throne event is completed as the one that appear there would include many gentiles and the Sea would give up the people who died in Noah's flood. One woman as the Bride/Wife and the rest are 'her family' and the Church is the 'invited guests'.
Re:19:6-9:
And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude,
and as the voice of many waters,
and as the voice of mighty thunderings,
saying,
Alleluia:
for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
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 saints.
And he saith unto me,
Write,
Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.
And he saith unto me,
These are the true sayings of God.
The church is comprised of those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and have received eternal life.
The problem with the Church being the Bride is that the Church is a small remnant of the people that were alive since Peter started preaching to Gentiles in Acts:10. The verses below that show that when the 7th trump sounds and the 7 vials are poured out that 2/3 of all Gentiles will die on that day. That would be the Church members that did not overcome the faults given in the 7 letters to the 7 Churches.
Re:19:21:
And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse,
which sword proceeded out of his mouth:
and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
Zec:13:7-9:
Awake,
O sword,
against my shepherd,
and against the man that is my fellow,
saith the LORD of hosts:
smite the shepherd,
and the sheep shall be scattered:
and I will turn mine hand upon
the little ones.
And it shall come to pass,
that in all the land,
saith the LORD,
two parts therein shall be cut off and die;
but the third shall be left therein.
And I will bring the third part through the fire,
and will refine them as silver is refined,
and will try them as gold is tried:
they shall call on my name,
and I will hear them:
I will say,
It is my people:
and they shall say,
The LORD is my God.
Christ, the Bridegroom, has sacrificially and lovingly chosen the church to be His bride (
Ephesians 5:25–27).
The submission being referenced would include the chastisement mentioned in Hebres:12 and that is something that takes place at the GWT event rather than at the beginning of the 1,000 year reign. Re:7 also echos that as it is a chapter that gives who is first to be 'sealed for protection from physical harm' as being the 144,000 and that is just before any trump sounds but the 2nd group mentioned are the ones that come alive only at the GWT so that would mean some of the Church is missing so how could she possible be the wife of Christ during the 1,000 year reign???
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.
The Church has the authority to use prayer in the same way that Daniel did in order to 'communicate with Christ'. The Temple mentioned in RTe:11 is the same one mentioned in Re:4 and 5 and the prayers of the Saints rise as vapor from the altar that is before God and that is also where our words end up when we say our prayers. That is how you are counted as being a member in Re:11. The 1/3 that survives the fire that is the 7 vials are Gentiles who have repented their sins. The exact umber at the start of the trumps is not the same number as will make up the 1/3 on the day the 7th trump sounds. (it will increase during the 3 1/2 years that expire during the first 6 trumps)
Her responsibility during the betrothal period is to be faithful to Him (
2 Corinthians 11:2;
Ephesians 5:24). At the
second coming of Christ, the church will be united with the Bridegroom and the official “wedding ceremony” will take place and, with it, the eternal union of Christ and His bride will be actualized (
Revelation 19:7–9;
21:1-2).
Mary wrote the Gospel of John, established 7 Churches in greece and wrote Re4velation just before she died so that is about 100AD. That would give her 70 years off service, 'we', on the other hand are not likely to even be readers for that long before we die so her service is the longest in the NT and her reward will be the greatest.
In the eternal state, believers will have access to the heavenly city known as
New Jerusalem, also called “the holy city” in
Revelation 21:2 and
10.
No we don't, we have access to the altar in the Temple in Re:4 and5. The first ones to have access to New Jerusalem are the (static) population that is alive for the 1,000 year reign. When Satan and the fallen angels are being sent to the fiery lake the people are taken to the 3rd heaven and they enter New Jerusalem without facing God for the GWT event as that is for all people that were not alive on earth for that first part.
M't:22:30:
For in the resurrection they neither marry,
nor are given in marriage,
but are as the angels of God in heaven.
Isa:51:6:
Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look upon the earth beneath:
for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke,
and the earth shall wax old like a garment,
and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner:
but my salvation shall be for ever,
and my righteousness shall not be abolished.
Joh:14:2:
In my Father's house are many mansions:
if it were not so,
I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you.
With that population inside New Jerusalem they are then joined by all the ones that appear before God at the GWT as they are the ones given the water and the (new) Law in Re:21, the ones alive on earth receive the living water from the River in Eze:47. Two references requires there be two different groups.
When NJ lands on earth all of mankind back to Adam and Eve are inside the City with the exceptoion of the Beloved Disciple as she is the one that Christ carries to a mountain top to witness that event from outside of the City.
The New Jerusalem is not the church, but it takes on some of 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 city will be gloriously radiant
NJ in the New Earth will be home to the static population that was alive for the 1,000 years and both the 12 Tribes and Church had a yearlt celebration in Zec:14 and together they will play ;Israel' and the 'remnant of the Nation' will no be 'the rest' that just came alive at the GWT event so they are like the population at the start of the 1,000 years. They learn for that period of time and at the end of it they are Saints and that means the fire that destroys all sinners leaves them untouched as they have been purified.
and the inhabitants of the city, the redeemed of the Lord, will be holy and pure, wearing white garments of holiness and righteousness.
So will the ones living outside of the City in Isaiah:65 and the univers will be the new earth as the holy angels will have moved to the 3rd heaven (Mount Sion in Hebrews:12) as that is their promised 'new heaven' so manking will have eternity to make a garden out of the universe.
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.
(plus it says 'like a bride' but the part that is missed is the the term 'me' is a reference to who the wife of Christ will be.
Re:21:9:
And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues,
and talked with me,
saying,
Come hither,
I will shew thee the bride,
the Lamb's wife.
Re:21:10:
And
he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain,
and shewed me that great city,
the holy Jerusalem,
descending out of heaven from God,
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.”
(it says like a bride rather than it is the bride)
Believers in Jesus Christ are the bride of Christ, and we wait with great anticipation for the day when we will be united with our Bridegroom. Until then, we remain faithful to Him and say with all the redeemed of the Lord, “Come, Lord Jesus!” (
Revelation 22:20).
We are invited to be alive at the beginning, witnesses rather than acting as the bride does, that is a role reserved for Mary of Bethany.
Hope that was long enough to cover most of the main points and how my version uses the references that is in context and supported by many references, most not mentioned in this post.
Smartest thing you have said on this or any other religion based thread. Too bad it came after you made a fool out of yourself.