MARRIAGE OF THE CHURCH.

The marriage takes place in heaven between the appearance of the Lord for His saints and the coming to earth with His saints. "Let us be glad and rejoice and give the glory to Him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife has made herself ready." Revelation 19: 7,8

The cleansing of oneself.

Paul exhorted Timothy, "Keep yourself pure". 2 Timothy 2:15-21

"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene. 

...If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work." 2 Timothy 2:21

It is a personal, individual heart cleansing, not only outward reforms, but constantly going to the 'laver of the water', the Parenthetic writings to cleanse ourselves, for we soon forget what the Lord has done for us, and are quick to associate ourselves with the world. We are only pilgrims and foreigners on this earth, journeying to a better place. It is God's desire for the Ecclesia "to be Holy and flawless in His sight" Ephesians 1:4

It is in this area that many of today's servants of God's Word are lacking.  Church leaders who have been found in many nefarious and evil behaviors is caused by preparing the mind, but not cleansing the heart before God before their service.  Today's churches are penetrated by such men and women.

It is not for us to judge these for the Lord shall do so in His time, yet we should discern under whom we serve lest we forfeit our own reward in Eternity as many of these have done.

The espousal

While the bride was chosen before the foundation of the world (COSMOS), the espousal could not take place until the Word assumed the adapted body to do the Father's will. "yet a body do you adapt for me... Then I said, 'Here I am -- it is written about me in the scroll -- I have come to do your will, O God.'" Hebrews 10:5-10 Then He was taken up to heaven to be "the Man Christ Jesus".

"For there is one God and one Mediator of God and mankind, a MAN, Messiah, Christ Jesus, the one giving Himself a correspondent ransom for all, the testimony in its own time for which I, Paul, was appointed a herald, and an apostle". 1 Timothy 2:5-7

The marriage

It does not say the marriage of the bride... but of the Lamb! This grand spiritual event will be so much the consummation of the expectations of the bride, as it will be the consummation of the plan of God for His Son, arranged before the creation of the world. Ephesians 1:4

This marriage would not have been possible if Christ, the Word, had not been born 'in the flesh' as Messiah. It would have been the union of dissimilar natures, for the bride is the Ecclesia, consisting of many Souls brought together by the Holy Spirit through the sacrifice of the bridegroom's soul and physical life. Even now the believer can say, in anticipation and in faith "For we are members of His body, and of His flesh, and of His bones." Ephesians 5:30

At present the Ecclesia is a virgin espoused, "I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him." 2 Corinthians 11:1,2

"This union will unite the entire universe. "Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else in this world or in the world to come. And God has put all things under the authority of Christ, and he gave him this authority for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is filled by Christ, who fills everything everywhere with his presence." Ephesians 1:20-23

This ushers in the millennium when Christ rules with 'a rod of iron' and peace reigns over all the earth for a thousand years.

"The Spirit and the bride are saying come!
And let Him who is hearing say come!
And let him who is thirsting be coming"  Revelation 22:16,17

Are we longing to be united to the One, who has redeemed us from our sin through His offering? If not, let us accept the Word and receive a glorious heavenly future forever with Him. Romans 10:9 says, "Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved".