Bride of Messiah: The Inheritance of Israel
Bride of Messiah: The Inheritance of Israel
We are going to take a deep dive into 1) the theology surrounding the bride 2) the covenant of promise 3) the expectation and breaking of the covenant 4) the Father's plan for restoration 5) the end times bride and inheritance. This post will consist of as little commentary as possible as the point is to make scripture connections in order to accurately interpret the text. I recently created an Instagram post titled "Literary Devices & Scripture Study" please review that content before moving forward with this article.
Let’s begin by untangling the theology that has been created around descriptive language, and search out the context and definition behind these scriptures. Literal meaning does have Spiritual application. But you cannot take a spiritual sounding thought and make it a literal definition for scripture.
Theology Breakdown
Theory: Genesis 15 has been called a threshold covenant, where the sacrifice was split and two parties would pass through signifying a contract. In this portion of Scripture, it is theorized that the pre-incarnate Messiah passed through in order to take Abraham's place.
Problem: scripture does not say this. If we take a look at the book of Jubilees, a more detailed account of Genesis-Exodus, we see that in 14:9-12 Abraham was making a proper altar sacrifice to Yah. He was given a prophetic vision of the events that would transpire in Exodus then his sacrifice was accepted by fire. Please note, it was not uncommon for fire to come down to accept a sacrifice throughout scripture. This was recorded in Jubilees as happening during the third month, the same month in which Noah was given a covenant and kept a feast. Abraham was instructed to keep this feast yearly; the feast of Shavuot.
Theory: Mt. Sinai was the "I do's" of Yah's covenant with Israel; the wedding.
Theory: Yah divorced Israel and the only way for Israel to return to Him was by the death of Messiah. . . because He was the one who passed through the threshold covenant. And at Messiah's second coming He would return for His bride- the church/ Israel.
Problem: #1 A son cannot reconcile his father's divorce according to the Torah.
#2 Yah used marriage and divorce as a metaphor, there was no literal marriage at Sinai. Mt. Sinai was the re-confirmation of the covenant (on Shavuot) already given with added details because the people had lost their identity.
#3 Yah calls the land, Zion/ His Holy Mountain, His wife
#4 Messiah never calls the church/ Israel His bride. Only Paul uses this term as allegory to describe being dedicated and prepared.
#5 Revelation explicitly names the city, Zion, as the Lamb's wife.
We're going to unpack each of these but I wanted to lay out for the reader what exactly we're dealing with and studying out.
Covenant with Abraham
Genesis 12:1-3 is the first mention of promise- I will make you a great nation
Genesis 12:7 is the second mention- to your seed I give this land
Genesis 13:14 is the third mention- this land I give you, your seed as the dust of the earth
Genesis 15:5 is the fourth time, this is where Abraham was instructed to bring a sacrifice before Yah- count the stars if you can, give you this land to inherit
Genesis 15:18 is the fifth mention where the covenant was consummated at the meal presented to Yah; the accepted sacrifice- I have given this land to your seed
Terms of the covenant were laid out. Prophecy of what would happen up to the fourth generation was given to him in the vision. The contract was sealed by both parties.
Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy is the second giving of the Torah and a re-confirmation of the covenant contract with the children of Israel who were preparing to cross the Jordan. These, unless they were small children, were not at Sinai. So before they were able to cross over, this generation had to agree to the terms of the contract.
Deuteronomy 6:5 love Yah completely
Deuteronomy 7:6-9 Yah will be lovingly-committed
Deuteronomy 28:32-37 lays out the curses for breaking the covenant.
Deuteronomy 28:64 gives prophecy of dispersion
Deuteronomy 29:1 begins the words of the covenant- this defines all prophecy
Deuteronomy 29:9-15 accepting and entering into contract
Deuteronomy 30:14-20 final statements and witnesses (heaven and earth)
Deuteronomy 31:9-13 the priests took hold of the covenant and we're instructed to teach it to all generations
Moving forward into the prophets, this layout will be our foundation and literal definition for what Yah means for His covenant with Israel and with their rights to the land.
Defining Descriptions
Idolatry is related to adultery or whoring because it's the state of turning one's heart away from the one you love. It's the breaking of Deut. 6:5. Adultery gives a spiritual picture of literal idolatry- it reveals the heart issue. In this same respect, we can read verses like Jeremiah 31:32 "though I was a husband to them," and understand the heart breaking Yah felt over His people turning away.
Jeremiah 3:8 And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a certificate of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and prostituted herself also.
This passage reveals the spiritual heart issue of the people and their physical idolatry. So what are we to do with the divorced term? This also, is a spiritual issue that produces a literal putting away. If we understand Torah and the laws for divorce there must be a proof of adultery (they worshiped images), there must be a certificate given (prophets prophesied against them), and there must be a putting away (the dispersion). Using the term divorce gives a picture-type of the events thats transpired; the events that were prophesied to transpire in Deut. 19:64 as terms of contract. Does that mean that Yah forsook ¾ of His chosen people? No. Because within the terms of the covenant contract, He would remain lovingly-committed and accepted His lost people back upon repentance.
Jeremiah 3:12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say, ‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD; ‘I will not look at you in anger. For I am gracious,’ declares the LORD; ‘I will not be angry forever.
Israel broke their side of the covenant. Yah never broke His. He has always been willing to forgive and receive them back.
Put Away From The Land
Within the covenant originally given to Abraham, the land was intended to theirs forever. This is why we see re-confirmation of covenant before the new generation enters the land. But as we know through the historical accounts of Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, and 1 & 2 Chronicles, the Israelites defiled the land. They breached the contract and were removed from the land.
Israel was/is Yah's chosen precious possession. The land between the Nile and Euphrates was His chosen place to dwell among His people. But His people defiled the land, leaving the land as a desolation.
Jeremiah 16:18 I will first repay them double for their wrongdoing and their sin, because they have defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable idols and their abominations.
There are a handful of verses relating Yah to being a husband to Israel. But there are also verses relating the land to being the wife of Yah. Again, we have to remember the descriptive language. The land was as much a part of the covenant as the people themselves. When the people defiled the land, their rights to the land were revoked. They were put away as an adulteress wife. And the land paid for the sins of the people.
In Deut. 11:12 the Israelites were being told that this is a land Yah looks after, His eyes are always on it. Yah had a connection to this land and was not going to stand for it being defiled. Even in Deut. 9:4-6 the point is repeated three times that they were not possessing the land because of their righteousness but because of the wrong of the nations dwelling there. He dispossessed them because of this, then later had to dispossess His own people for the same abominations. The stipulation was set within the covenant that if the people disobeyed Yah and refused to turn back they would be put away and the land would be left uninhabitable.
Ezekiel 33:29-29 And I will make the land a desolation and a waste, and the pride of her power will be brought to an end; and the mountains of Israel will be deserted so that no one will pass through. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I make the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations which they have committed.
Breaking the covenant meant that rights/ inheritance to the land was stripped away. However, there was still a possibility to return to Yah and take part in the everlasting New Covenant of the Kingdom Land when it comes.
Ezekiel 16:59-60 For this is what the Lord GOD says: “I will also do with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Nevertheless, I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.
Welcomed Return to Yah
In 2 Chronicles 30 we see a righteous king of Judah, Hezekiah, step up and set things straight for a period of time. He planned to hold an extravagant Passover feast. Messengers were sent out to the lands in the north to invite the dispersed tribes. Ephraim, Manassah, Issachar, Zebulon, and Asher accepted the invitation and came to Jerusalem for the feast. Along with the Judean tribes of Levi, Benjamin, and Judah, 8/12 tribes gathered to keep the feast and worship Yah. The text tells us that even though they weren't fully prepared, He accepted them because their hearts desired to be there.
2 Chronicles 30:25 The whole assembly of Judah rejoiced, also the priests and Levites, all the assembly that came from Israel, the sojourners who came from the land of Israel, and those who dwelt in Judah.
This historical record throws a giant wrench in the divorce theology that says Israel was separated from Yah until Messiah came. The separation was a heart issue of turning back to idolatry, not an issue of divorce from Yah. They were allowed to return to Him with all their heart, mind, and strength at any point in time, they just weren't able to live in the land as their own inheritance anymore.
To be specific, there was Jewish Oral law that prohibited association with "gentiles," but this was never a stipulation of Yah. This train of thought is a major culprit of the divorce from Yah theology and is proven by how the Pharisees were baffled by Yeshua preaching in the surrounding countries. This we see continually played out in Paul and Peter's ministry where Rabbinical Jews were coming behind them trying to convert new believers to Judaism- according to their tradition this was the only way for salvation.
Yah always took in the gentile and the sojourner as long as they put their faith in Him and turned from their pagan ways. Within Yeshua's genealogy there are gentiles- Ruth and Rahab. Abraham himself was a gentile. The book of Jubilees goes into more detail about how Abraham recognized the nonsense of idolatry and sought after the Creator. This is why he was called out, he believed in the one true God. This concept never changed and this concept is the point of Peter’s vision in Acts 10. People who desire Yah are made clean-by grace. Yeshua's ministry re-opened the door for this reality and paved the way for complete atonement. It wasn’t about canceling the divorce, it was about preaching the true way to life and dashing the Jewish doctrine that was hindering people’s belief and understanding. He gave an open invitation just like King Hezekiah had done 700 years prior.
Matthew 15:24 But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
The True Land is Coming
Yeshua came to preach the Kingdom of Heaven- the true land of promise.
Luke 4:43 But He said to them, “I must also preach the kingdom of God to the other cities, because I was sent for this purpose.”
Mark 1:38 He said to them, “Let’s go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may also preach there; for this is why I came.”
Messiah’s message was literally to turn back to Yah, the land of inheritance is coming! Remember, all of the earthly types and images were just a picture of the real deal. Exodus 25:40 Moses is instructed to do all according to the pattern he was given. This is repeated in Hebrews 8:1-5 a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. Likewise, the Promise Land was only a copy and shadow of the Kingdom.
Hebrews 11:9-10 By faith he lived as a stranger in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Abraham was living in the Promised Land, but he understood the true land of inheritance was not yet on the earth. This is where we are going to connect concepts together. Let’s back up to Isaiah and the prophecies describing the land as Yah’s wife.
Isaiah 54:5 For your husband is your Maker, Whose name is the LORD of armies; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, Who is called the God of all the earth.
The entire context of Isaiah 54 is Yah laying out the rebuilding of the desolate land and her children returning to her. Verses 10 -15 describe His loving-commitment to the city, that He will lay her foundations and her children will be taught by Him. Continuing into Isaiah 55 we see the call for the nations to come up to her for sustenance; to her Sovereign (Messiah) and Yah. Verse 5 says that He has adorned her. We will circle back to this idea of adornment. These chapters are describing the city to be the inheritance of the set-apart ones; the righteous who are going to be raised at the first resurrection.
Yeshua’s earthly ministry was proclaiming this reality. It was time to turn back to the Father: Repent, the Kingdom is at hand. All who come into covenant and practice covenant behavior have the rights to the land.
The Priestly King
Yeshua did the job of the- the ministry- that the priesthood had failed to do. He exemplified what the true priesthood was to be doing: healing, teaching covenant behavior, practicing Torah, distinguishing clean from unclean. He fulfilled all that He was able to on the earth without being a Levite (it is finished). He willingly laid down His life, suffered Roman capital punishment (not Torah punishment) so that He could raise and assume His prophesied place as High Priest.
Psalm 110:1-4 The Lord says to my Lord:“Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”The Lord will stretch out Your strong scepter from Zion, saying,“Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”Your people ]will volunteer freely on the day of Your power;In holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew.
The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind,“You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”
With Yeshua in His priestly position, He is able to complete the priestly duties in the heavenly tabernacle: offer gifts (serves Heb. 8:2), mediate between Yah and mankind, rule (in Zion), and teach instruction by sending the Spirit of Truth. At the appointed time, having greater authority and power than any other priest, He will resurrect the righteous believers from the dead and bring them into inherit New Jerusalem/ Zion- the city, the “bride.” Rev. 21:9-14 the Lamb’s wife
But how can Yeshua be married to a city?
Isaiah 11:9-11 They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea. Then on that day The nations will resort to the Root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal flag for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious. Then it will happen on that day that the Lord Will again recover with His hand the second time The remnant of His people who will remain.
Jeremiah 23:5 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land.”
Yeshua’s promised reign of Zion is likened to a marriage. His bride is His city of rulership. As a wife is the glory and esteem of her husband, to be led by him- so also is Zion the glory and esteem of Yeshua's kingship. The word ‘bride’ in Hebrew is gyné which has a root verb of ginomai meaning- to become, to come into existence, to arise, to appear in history. Zion coming down as the bride of Messiah is her appearance in history; her coming into existence as the Kingdom of His reign; her becoming the inheritance of the righteous.
Final Connections
The land that was left as a desolation is restored in the heavenly Kingdom:
Joel 3:17 Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, Dwelling on Zion, My holy mountain. So Jerusalem will be holy, And strangers will no longer pass through it.
Micah 4:6-8 “On that day,” declares the LORD, “I will assemble those who limp And gather the scattered, Those whom I have afflicted. “I will make those who limp a remnant, And those who have strayed a mighty nation, And the LORD will reign over them on Mount Zion From now on and forever. “As for you, tower of the flock, Hill of the daughter of Zion, To you it will come— Yes, the former dominion will come, The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.”
Isaiah 62:4-5 It will no longer be said to you, “Forsaken,” Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”; But you will be called, “My delight is in her,” And your land, “Married”; For the LORD delights in you, And to Him your land will be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, So shall your sons marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So shall your God rejoice over you.
Isaiah 62:11-12 Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your salvation is coming; Behold His reward is with Him, and His compensation before Him.” And they will call them, “The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD”; And you will be called, “Sought Out, A City Not Abandoned.”
Zion is the completion of the earthly images- the land, the tabernacle, the kingdom priesthood, a righteous King. The resurrection and gathering to the city is our inheritance- the new covenant of eternal peace. The first Adam was intended to have dominion over Eden with his wife but allowed sin to enter. The second Adam conquers sin and will reign in Zion with His set-apart ones. The Levitical priesthood corrupted themselves, but the kingdom of priests will have the Law literally written on our hearts, never able to sin again, to serve under our Melchizedek. The Israelites lost their inheritance of the Promised land, but Zion will be our eternal inheritance.
Ezekiel 37:26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them. I will multiply them and put my sanctuary among them forever.
Jeremiah 31:33 “For this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD: “I will put My law within them and write it on their heart; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
Isaiah 57:13 But the one who takes refuge in Me will inherit the land And possess My holy mountain.
Adornment
We are the adornment of the city. (Isaiah 55:5, 60:21). The righteous deeds of the saints are fine linen clothing her. The children of Israel are stones and jewels adorning her walls and gates. The bride is prepared when the set-apart ones are taken to her, to fill her. The bride of Messiah is the city, the inheritance of the saints.
Revelation 19:8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
Zechariah 9:14 And the LORD their God will save them on that day As the flock of His people; For they are like the precious stones of a crown, Sparkling on His land.
1 Peter 2:5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:19-22 So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
For now, we have the downpayment of the Holy Spirit which dwells in us (2 Cor. 1:22, Eph. 1:14) to sanctify us, making us ready to enter our inheritance- by practicing and doing covenant behavior. So at the day of the first resurrection, we will be given new bodies, and invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb. We are a people to be set apart for Yah and by the authority of our High Priest, we can be cleansed and prepared like a husband would sanctify his wife (2 Cor. 5:1-10).
The ending point is this: the church/ Israel is not the scripturally defined bride of Messiah, New Jerusalem is. However, the church is a part of New Jerusalem. Our goal ought to be to keep the commandments of Yah and our faith in Yeshua so that we will be chosen to partake in the first resurrection, to reign as a kingdom priesthood, and have the right to the tree of life.
Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
Revelation 19:7 Let’s rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has prepared herself.
Revelation 22:14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, so that they will have the right to the tree of life, and may enter the city by the gates.
Matthew 22:1-14 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. “And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. “Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’ “But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. “But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. “Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. ‘Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’ “Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests. “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are called, but few are chosen.”