The Bride - Ready or Not?
Hi Friends,
I am sharing two important visions today regarding the faith. There are so many ideologies and beliefs and practices that have become woven into the fabric of our culture. People are introducing these philosophies and ideas into the churches today. Truth and philosophies are becoming mixed. The Lord wants us to be aware, but so many I know have accepted the lies. Will they ever believe? Will they be ready when the Lord returns?
The Visions
The Bride
In this vision, I saw a bride stumble out from behind a wall. She had a look of bewilderment, for she was not prepared. Having no veil or headdress, she wore only a simple white full-length gown.
The bride represents the Bride of Christ, the Church. Because she was behind a wall, she was hiding from something or someone. We know that a wedding tradition promotes the idea that a bride is not supposed to be seen by the groom until she walks down the aisle. But this bride was hiding behind the wall because she was not prepared to meet her bridegroom. She was not ready, for she was not dressed as a “radiant” bride “without spot or wrinkle.” Her dress was very plain and she had no veil or covering on her head. Perhaps she stumbled because she was pushed forward before she was ready.
The wall can represent separation from God. What separates us from him? Sin.
Is there sin in the body of Christ? Yes. Unfortunately there are people who have believed in a “cheap” salvation or have been misled into believing that God’s grace will allow them to sin with no negative consequences. These are false teachings that many of the churches have adopted as “truth.”
Sin, any sin, leads to death. It separates us from God. The wall in the vision represents a belief, a half-truth or lie that is a hindrance created by the wicked one to keep us from the truth, and from genuine salvation.
This is one example of a half-truth promoting a cheap salvation: “Just ask Jesus into your heart and you will be saved.”
That is extremely misleading! Can you imagine what goes through a person’s mind? You mean all I have to do is ask him into my heart and I can go to heaven? No strings attached? I can go on living with my gay partner? I can drink and party? Nothing is required?
What about someone who does tarot cards and astrology or who follows Buddha or Krishna, or several gods? If all they do is ask Jesus into their hearts, what has changed? Aren’t they merely adding Jesus to their repertoire of beliefs like adding a cross to a charm bracelet? Are they actually saved? But they did ask Jesus into their hearts, didn’t they?
How many gods can one have and still call Jesus Lord? Where is the idea of godly sorrow over sins? Where is the idea of repentance and dying to oneself? Where is the idea that we acknowledge that Jesus is Lord and there is no one else? Cheap salvation is no salvation!
There has to be remorse over sin, and a turning away from sinful lifestyles. There has to be a renunciation of evil practices, false religions and idolatry. There has to be a breaking away from sinful habits, pastimes and associations that are opposed to God. Without a true desire to change, a person will keep his lifestyle and beliefs. They will be consumed with the things of the world and Jesus and his Lordship will only be a remote thought.
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
The dress that the bride wore was plain. She had no veil. She acted as if she were embarrassed to be seen in her underdressed, unpresentable attire. She was not ready to meet her bridegroom. The Lord told his followers a parable of Ten Virgins, some who were ready and some who were not.
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. Matthew 25:1-13
This parable is really a warning. It is about the Church. All ten virgins were engaged to be married to their bridegroom. They were all waiting in anticipation of his coming. They all had lamps. They all started out with oil. But there was one thing that separated them. Five had brought extra oil in their lamps and five had run out of oil. I believe that the oil represents the presence of the Holy Spirit.
There may be people who disagree, but I believe that the Holy Spirit does not have to stick around if you continue to sin with no desire to change. I believe that the Holy Spirit will leave the believer if he continues to sin and is so taken by it, that he grows callous to the presence of the Lord and is not interested in hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Notice in the following passage that Paul is speaking to the church at Ephesus. These are believers who are engaged in all kinds of sin, for he has to point out what will keep them from eternal life with the Lord.
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:30-32
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. Ephesians 4:30-32 and 5:1-12
In the Book of Revelation, John was to write to the very same church, the church at Ephesus. The Lord dictated to John saying:
“But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.” Revelation 2:4-5
This is a warning to all churches today, for the Lord is looking for people in the body of Christ who genuinely love him, and are not simply gathering together to be sociable or to do “their duty,”whatever they think is required. The Lord threatened to remove their lampstand. In Revelation 1:20, we are told that the lampstand is the church. So the lampstand represents the church (the body of believers) and the oil for the lamps in the parable represents the Holy Spirit, so if we do not have the Holy Spirit, we are no longer the true church. The church (all those gathering together) become the apostate church, an entire church who has fallen away from the true faith.
The five virgins who had no oil in their lamps were not ready to go into the wedding banquet because they are not truly in the faith, having grieved the Holy Spirit repeatedly. This is what I believe to be happening in the church today. Too many people are coming to churches without oil in their lamps. If the church is not teaching that salvation comes with repentance and a true desire to devote themselves to serving the Lord, then the entire church is without the witness of the Holy Spirit. It is not a true church, even though its members believe they have salvation and eternal life with the Lord.
The Bridegroom said to those who who came late: “I never knew you!”
So we must take warning that the Lord is returning, and we must be prepared. We need to ask ourselves if we are truly in the faith, or have we become members of a church who is teaching a watered down gospel? Could it be that we are attending a church with a social gospel that only teaches what “our itching ears want to hear.”?
Read the Bible, read the church’s statement of faith. Do the pastor’s messages line up with the word of God or are they compromising with the world’s values? If you do not know the Bible, how can you know the truth?
And alongside the warning there is hope in the Lord who said:
“I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it!” Matthew 16:18
And Paul to the Ephesians writes:
“... just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” Ephesians 5:25-27
And John writing in Revelation:
“Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. Revelation 19:7-8
A Baby
In this next vision, I saw a baby girl that was old enough to sit up by herself. She was dressed in a white ruffled diaper cover. She placed both hands on the floor and raised her hips just enough to turn her body. Then she sat back down facing another direction.
I believe that the infant dressed in white also represents the church. I believe that the Lord is showing us that the church is not mature, and has changed direction. All churches should teach that the Bible is the Word of God and that it is the truth.
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17
But so many believers today do not study the Bible for themselves. The word of God helps us to know the heart of God and to know his ways. The Bible with the Holy Spirit judges our hearts so that we can mature spiritually comparing the truth of God’s word to our own attitudes and behaviors.
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
The baby in the vision was wearing only a diaper and a white ruffled diaper cover, there was nothing to cover her upper body. Just as the bride above was unprepared, we see that the infant was also unprepared, being only half dressed.
“But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human? 1 Corinthians 3:1-4
The infant was looking in one direction and then lifts herself up to change her direction. Just as in the church at Ephesus where they needed to return to their first love, we see in Paul’s letter to the Galatians that they began on the right track and then somehow changed directions.
“Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Galatians 3:3
You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” Galatians 5:7-9
The Galatians started out well, but soon there came false teachers to throw them off track. The Galatians had teachers arise that taught them that they should return to following the Law, as if by following the Law they would “earn” their salvation. This teaching would have destroyed their true faith in the Lord and negated the salvation that came through faith in the Lord’s perfect sacrifice for sins. The warning to them was that this teaching did not come from God but through the wicked one whose desire is to keep people in spiritual darkness. Any false teaching can work its way through the body to contaminate the whole church.
As the infant representing the church turned to face another direction, we see that today as in the past, we have false teachings that turn people’s heads. People are somehow intrigued with the novel, the different, the romantic, and the interesting. Thoughts that are new are exciting. Many people in our nation have opened the door to New Age concepts. They are captivated by the Oriental philosophies and religions. Buddha statues, yoga, astrology, and the yin and yang symbols are common. People practice karate, tai chi, meditation, and Zen Buddhism. Some people believe in reincarnation. Some desire to explore levitation and out of body experiences. Some look to hear the voices of “angels.” Many of these ideologies and practices have turned the heads of those around us. These practices have infiltrated our culture and our churches. Churches see themselves as competing for attendees. They compromise their teachings to appeal to more people. As a result, we have churches that have compromised with the world. Rather than calling sin sin. They prefer to focus their messages on making people feel good about themselves. Some churches will no longer give altar calls. Some churches will not preach the gospel of truth. And signs, wonders and miracles that once followed the preaching of the gospel are rare. Because of the lack of power in the church, they choose to say to the people, “healing is not for today.” There is no power in some churches because they do not give the Holy Spirit opportunity to move. Some churches are powerless because they no longer pursuing the presence of God, and righteousness, but are content with prosperity and popularity.
So the Baby represents the immature Christians who do not know the basics of the Christian faith. They are only capable of understanding the “milk” of the word. They are not able to digest the “meat” of the word. Paul said they are not ready. That by this time, they should be teachers, they still have to be taught to live by the Spirit and obey the commands of God. Jesus said:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” John 14:15
If the Lord were to come back today, would we be ready? We do not have to be scholars in the word of God, but we do need to know if we are in the faith. Do we have a relationship with the Lord Jesus? Do we know him? I would like to share and consider the portion of scripture that speaks of the two thieves who were crucified with Jesus. They had two different destinies. Let’s see why.
Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”
One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:32-43
What is the difference between theses two men? One was like the soldiers and the religious leaders who hated him, mocked and ridiculed him. But the other thief acknowledged him as God, for he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He knew that he was the Messiah, and that he came from a heavenly kingdom. This thief acknowledged his own sin, for he said that he and the other thief were getting what their deeds deserved. And the thief acknowledged that Jesus was innocent, that he was suffering for righteousness. The thief probably did not understand that Jesus was dying as a sacrifice for sins. Even his disciples did not truly understand at that time. But the thief knew enough to say “remember me, do not forget me when you take your place at the Father’s side.”
The Lord wants us to acknowledge him like this. The thief was not a Biblical scholar, he was not a pastor or teacher, he did not have time to live a life for the Lord. All he had was his last hours before he died. And the Lord showed him his love and salvation because this man had a humble and contrite heart.
This is what the Lord desires from us. Can we simply give him our love and adoration? Can we give him our all? For we are not our own. We were bought at a price. We love you Jesus, forgive us our sins. Purify us from all unrighteousness, cover us with your precious blood and lead us to eternal life with you! Amen! So be it!
Please share this post with others. I pray that we all will pursue God with all our hearts and choose to do his will not our own. God bless you!
