The Church of God-The Bride of Christ

The Church of God-The Bride of Christ

During the years A.D. 81 - A.D. 96, the Apostle John was excommunicated & banished to the Isle of Patmos because of his testimony & faith in Jesus Christ. This was during the reign of Domitian who was an evil, sadistic type of emperor, which reigned over the Jews while they were bound under the captivity of the government of Rome.

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Jerusalem had been taken captive & the temple destroyed in 70 A.D. in fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy, which was confirmed by Jesus Christ himself. Matt. 24:1-3

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Titus had destroyed the temple & stopped the Jews from worshipping God as they were accustomed to doing in their temple. He also had given consent to the persecution & evil slaughter of all Christians who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. This brings us to the time of destruction upon the early church at Jerusalem & the greatest revelation of all times.

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As John began to give his account of how Jesus appeared unto him on the Isle of Patmos, he said he was in the spirit on the Lord's Day & heard behind him a great voice as of the sounding of a trumpet. John declared this message of Revelation knowledge to be the very words of Jesus Christ. He said Jesus was the faithful witness & also the Prince of all the Kings of the earth.

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John realized that Jesus had been crucified, buried, resurrected from the dead, and ascended back to the Father, emerging from the grave with the keys of death & hell. Rev. 1:1-18.

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As Jesus began to speak the Revelation to John, he made him to understand that all these things in the Revelation were future things to come to pass & not to be confused with past history of the Church of the Acts of the Apostles. Rev 1:1-4. As we see the Revelation unfolding to John, the time is A.D.96, 26 years after the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem & after the great persecution of the early church of the Acts of the Apostles.

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John was the only apostle left from the early Church & they banished him to the Isle of Patmos thinking he was no longer a threat to the Roman Emperor. Yet when they felt he no longer was a threat to their religious order, Jesus appeared unto him there all alone & he received the greatest Revelation concerning the last days of the Church age that was ever given to man.

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Jesus had already spoken unto his disciples before his crucifixion & told them it was expedient for them that he go away, for if he didn't go away, the Comforter would not come. John 16:5-16.

Jesus told the disciples when he was making preparation to go to Calvary that he had many things to say to them that they would not be able to bear, but yet the Church would remain on a firm foundation even though the gates of hell would prevail against her. The works that he did & even greater works would the Church do after he ascended to the Father. John 14:9-21.

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This was the beginning of Jesus making himself known unto the Church or being manifested unto them by appearing to John on the Isle of Patmos as a personal witness to the things which were to come to pass between the early Church age & the Church in her fullness @ the end of the age when the fullness of the Gentiles would be accomplished. Eph 1:10; Rom 11:25-26.

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The prophet Micah gave his prophecy concerning the church for the last days saying the Daughter of Zion (the Church) was the stronghold & the tower of the flock & that the first dominion (government) would come to the Daughter of Zion. Micah 4:1-13. It would be @ a time when the nations of the world were gathered against her & it would look like she was ready to be swallowed up by the system of world religion & confusion of Babylon.

Yet it would be a time for the Church to emerge victorious over all her enemies as she comes out of the Babylonian wilderness of confusion & puts on her beautiful garments & prepares to meet her bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Head of the Church, the Savior of the Body & the Fullness of all things abide in the commission which he gave to the Church, which he called by his Father's name & delegated the authority unto her to put all enemies under her feet before he returns to receive her unto himself without spot, wrinkle or blemish. Song of Sol. 8:1-5; Song of Sol. 6:9-13; Eph 5:23-32.

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According to all the prophets & Apostles, including John, the Church for the last days was a mystery to be revealed & made known to the nations in the end times. This is also the fullness of the Gentile times which is made known by the manifold wisdom of God as he continues to impart wisdom unto the Church. The Revelation is made known only by the Holy Ghost, which the Father sent in the name of his son, Jesus Christ. John 14:26.

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The Apostle Paul spoke of the mystery of the Church to be the last order of business to be accomplished before all nations of the world preceding the second coming of Christ. The Church, by Revelation knowledge of God, will make all men see the fellowship of the mystery which had not been made known unto the Sons of Men in other ages as it is revealed unto his Holy Apostles & Prophets for the last days of the Church age. Eph 3:3-10; Eph 1:4-14.

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The Church in the earth has the keys of the Kingdom of God. The authority of Government given by commission of the Lord Jesus Christ himself unto the Church to make herself ready & put all enemies under her feet before she is to meet the Bridegroom. Matt 16:15-19; Heb. 10:5-14; Matt 28:11-20; John 14:11-12.

There came a time during the old testament times that God's chosen people were in bondage under the power of the Kingdom of Media & Persia & it looked like the entire nation of Judah would be destroyed because of the evil deeds which Haman decreed to bring forth for the purpose to destroy the chosen people of God that he might be exalted to the highest honor before King Ahasuerus.

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Mordecai had been conditioned for the purpose of leading the chosen people of God out of their hard bondage & Haman devised evil against him & all the providence of Judah because of his desire to be exalted.

There was a Jewish maiden by the name of Esther who prevailed because of her love for her people. Esther, being interpreted, Star, chose to stand out against the decree that was made against her people even if it meant death. She said, if I perish, I perish. Yet God had allowed her to make necessary preparation to become Queen & be deliverance for all of her household.

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Mordecai spoke to Esther in such a manner as the Father is speaking to the Church in these last days. Think not that thou shalt escape in the King's house any more than all the rest of the House of Judah. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace @ a time like this, then shall enlargement & deliverance arise to the Jews from another place. But thou & thy father's house shall be destroyed. Esther 1:1-12; Esther 4:10-16.

Vahsti, the Queen, refused to do the King's bidding which caused the King to choose another Queen acceptable to his will to be the means of receiving the first pre-eminence to him. The Church of God has come to the Kingdom for just such a time as this. A time for the saints to judge the world & possess the Kingdom in honor, in Victory & to make ready a people prepared to meet the Lord.

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The Lamb's wife is making herself ready. Rev 19:7, Eph 5:23-32. As the Church takes her place of honor in the Kingdom of God, then the nations of the entire world will begin to acknowledge the authority of God's divine government.

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Isaiah & Micah, the true prophets of God were in agreement that God's judgments would be so great in the earth in the last days that the nations of the world would beat their swords into plowshares & their spears into pruning hooks & learn war no more, but rather they would come up to the House of the Lord in Jerusalem & unto the House of the God of Jacob.

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The Lord will be exalted in the earth & his government will be the law for all nations as the law comes forth from Zion, the Church & the word of the Lord will be taught from Jerusalem unto every nation of the world to bring the fullness of the Gentile times to a close before the coming of Jesus to reign over a Kingdom made ready for his coming as the tares are gathered out of the Kingdom by the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom to all nations. Matt 13:37-43; Isa. 2:1-4; Micah 4:1-5; Joel 2:28-32.

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Micah said it would be a time when all people will walk in the name of whatever God they were serving but yet the saints of God would walk in the name of the Lord God of Heaven from that time & forever. Micah 4:5.

Daniel said the wicked will do wickedly & none would understand, but the righteous would understand & turn many to righteousness even unto the time of the end. This will be after God had accomplished to scatter the power of the Holy People thru purging & righteous judgment. Dan 7:18-22; Dan 11:32-35; Dan 12:1-10; Rev 22:10-17

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We must acknowledge the fact that Jesus gave John the revelation of what is to come @ the end of the Church age. A time when all nations of the world are striving for power of leadership under a One World order of Secular Humanism, Communism, New Age Movement & utter chaos because of their desire to rule in the Kingdoms of this world. It will be a time when darkness will cover the earth & gross darkness will cover the people that the glory of the Lord will rise upon the Church & all the Gentile Nations & Kings of the Earth will come to the brightness of her rising while they can find no answer from the government of the nations.

The glory of the crown upon the head of the Church is the greater work that Jesus said the church would do in reconciling all the House of Israel back to God when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. The 12 stars upon the crown of the Church represent the whole House of Israel. Isa 40:5; Isa 60:1-5; Rev 12:1.

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