“‘Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.’ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God.” (Rev. 21:9-10)
The Book of Revelation ends with a description of the New Jerusalem. This is where we are headed. The Gospel is more than about heaven and hell. It is about God the Father preparing a Bride for His Son and sharing His love with all of creation. By making the message only about getting saved, we have hindered people from pursuing the fullness of what God has for them. If getting saved is the goal, then all we need to do is maintain what we have received, while we pursue other goals in this natural life. This is a man-centered gospel. Are we thankful enough for our salvation to seek to know the One who saved us? Is our destination heaven, or to be a part of the holy city where the Lord God and the Lamb are the temple (Rev. 21:22)?
Throughout the ages, God has given messages to His people. The Book of Revelation is one such message. There are other messages given to the Church that have not been included in Scripture. They do not have the same authority as scripture, but nonetheless are useful for edification. Today I want to share a little from the message Jesus gave to Dr. Dale Fife, which he recorded in The Secret Place.
In the vision, he walked along a road chronicling the history of the Church. The Lord said, “‘You cannot limit My church to the present time you are living in,’ He said, with a sparkle of eternity in His eye. ‘You must view it through the years and centuries since I began to build it.’” (p. 163). Throughout history, Christ has been building His Church. As we move forward in time, we should rediscover some of the victories the saints obtained, hold fast to what is good, and press in to discover more of what God has for us. We should also believe in hope for a final great outpouring which will help the church rise to full maturity. “‘This is why I have brought you here. You must tell My church that the time for the greatest harvest is at hand. It is now here! The whole earth is in the throes of judgment and deliverance. I am calling in the harvest. You must tell My laborers that now is the time!’. As He said this, He hurled a ball of fire upon the earth and said, ‘I am empowering My workers for the end-time harvest!’”. (p. 165)
Next along the road they encountered a series of grotesque billboards portraying every human body part imaginable. The scene was so disturbing that even Jesus began to weep. “This is what you have done to My church. You have defiled the purity of My bride. You have torn my beautiful bride into pieces and dismembered her. You have divided the parts of My body and put them on display. You have exalted some of the parts and scorned others. I have watched while you ridicule that which I call holy. My heart is broken. I can bear it no longer.” (p. 174). How many of these divisions have occurred in the name of righteousness? How we react to the evils we see in the church is not always the way Christ would have us do it. To move forward without repeating the mistakes of the past, we need a humble and pure heart.
As He spoke, an army of workers was seen approaching. “Behold, My great company of apostles and prophets. Some have already begun to work among the body parts to bring healing and restoration to the bride.” (p. 175). They will not abandon the church, but neither will they participate in maintaining the religious strongholds of the enemy. They will tear down what is man-made and rebuild according to the instructions of the Lord.
These end-time workers will have eyes to see the Bride as she is in the Spirit. “From this moment on, I want you to envision My bride as whole, for I am about to undo what men have done. No longer will I allow My body to be divided into pieces or separated into parts. The final restoration and knitting together of My church is coming. I will not allow anyone or anything to separate My people any longer!” (p. 180). We are all members of His body and individually precious to Him, but we also have a corporate identity. The Body is one. As we come into maturity, “to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13), it will be evident to the world that we belong to Him. “This is the time of times, and the season of seasons. This is the unfolding and fulfillment of My purpose from the foundation and beginning of creation. The earth will begin to see the unveiling of My true bride. That which has enshrouded her and kept her from coming forth will be removed. All that has hindered her will fall at the hands of My true end-time apostles and prophets. Their work of completion has begun!” (p. 181).
It is clear to me that the Church is the Bride of Christ, but I understand why some believe that the Bride is only those in the Church who overcome. The Bride must make herself ready for the marriage supper (Rev. 19:7), so it is true that only the overcomers are the Bride. My conviction is that not everyone who gets saved endures to the end. Once we are baptized into the Body of Christ, nothing can remove us except God Himself. Jesus indicated in His message to the church in Sardis that this is possible (Rev. 3:5). This is a difficult truth to accept this if we see the Gospel as a heaven or hell issue, but I believe there is more to salvation than that. Let God be the final Judge, but as for us, let us continue to walk in love by faith. Nothing can separate us from the love of God except our own choices. “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.” (Heb. 3:12-14).
Highway in the Wilderness 