article by Peter Eddington
Having attended several weddings already this year, I was reminded of what marriage between a man and a woman pictures—it’s a vision of Christ and the Church.
Source: Stock.Xchng/segundoIt’s summer here in the Northern Hemisphere—and love is in the air with numerous wedding celebrations going on!
Having attended several weddings already this year, I was reminded of what marriage between a man and a woman pictures—it’s a vision of Christ and the Church.
It’s amazing to consider: Our human marriages are a type of Christ and the Church. A marriage between a man and a woman is something that is designed and ordained by God. No man or civil government can change that marriage vow into some other kind of relationship—than that between a male and a female!
“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the Church” (Ephesians 5:31-32 [31] For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
[32] This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
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As revealed in Revelation 19, at Christ’s return those who are betrothed to Him will then go through a wedding celebration. Glorified as spirit beings they will be made perfect and will never sin again—having God’s laws ingrained perfectly into their character—continuing in unbroken oneness with Jesus Christ thereafter.
Our Awesome Destiny
This is our destiny, this is our inheritance! This is the culmination and fullness of the New Covenant marriage—and God intends to offer this marriage relationship to all human beings—to all who will ultimately agree to surrender themselves to Him and be spiritually transformed.
When Jesus returns and joins into the fullness of marriage with His Church, He will then extend His engagement proposal to all mankind alive at that time. And as all of mankind is offered this relationship, and as a great majority of humans accept it, peace will extend to encompass the earth—all under the rule of Christ and His perfected saints.
We are fast approaching the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement, to be followed by the Feast of Tabernacles. More than any other time of year we thus focus on Jesus’ return to wed His bride. At the sound of the seventh trumpet we will be raised to spirit life, and as Jesus’ millennial rule unfolds across our planet, millions and millions of human beings will be offered salvation, and they too will join the family of God.
When two people exchange wedding vows, they make a lifelong commitment. Likewise, our commitment to God should not be taken lightly or maintained only when we feel like it. God does not advocate only occasional bursts of loyalty and obedience to Him whenever it is convenient for us.
Remember Your Name
We are betrothed to Jesus Christ, and He will remember us each by name. In the book Actions Speak Louder Than Verbs Herb Miller recounts an illustration from World War II:
“While visiting in Leningrad, a woman heard the story of 900,000 people who perished in the long siege of Leningrad during World War II. At one point they were trying to save the children from both the Nazis and starvation—so they placed them on trucks to cross a frozen lake to safer locations. Many of the mothers, sure that they would never see their children again, yelled to them as they got on the trucks, “Remember your name. Remember your name” (Herb Miller. Actions Speak Louder Than Verbs. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1989, p. 103).
When baptized, we commit ourselves to faithfully remember who we are. We are now betrothed to Christ. We are now God’s children. We show our commitment of who we are by living our lives in such a way that we bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
If we continue to show the fruits of God’s way, being led by the Holy Spirit, God will never forget who we are. He entered into a special covenant with us at baptism. And thus, we work diligently to follow Him in all that we do. “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? [Not very likely!] Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” says God (Isaiah 49:15Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
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God will never leave us or forsake us. He will remember our name. And, as long as we are genuinely repentant, striving to put sin out of our life, we can be assured of our marriage with the Lamb of God upon His return.
As we approach the next season of Holy Days, let’s be reminded to keep up our end of the marriage covenant—and prepare to be a spirit being in God’s family.
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