THE BRIDE VS BABYLON
Terry Bennett
March 16, 2013 | PRINTABLE PDF |
Revelations 19:1-9After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,
“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; 2 because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her.” 3 And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises up forever and ever.” 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” 5 And a voice came from the throne, saying,
“Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.” 6 Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying,
“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” 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.
9 Then he *said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he *said to me, “These are true words of God.”
“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; 2 because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her.” 3 And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises up forever and ever.” 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” 5 And a voice came from the throne, saying,
“Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.” 6 Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying,
“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” 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.
9 Then he *said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he *said to me, “These are true words of God.”
As we continue to look at the Bride and her making herself ready, I wish to bring Babylon into focus as well. Babylon is not only an economic and governmental system, it is also a system of religion. So the three systems are found in the one system of Babylon. Ancient Babylon centered around the tower of Babel which was a temple in the center of the city. This temple stood for man’s pride, self-will, arrogance and man’s desire to make a name for himself. The Babel structure demonstrated man’s refusal to come to God by way of divinely ordered sacrifice, singularly pointing to the Messiah. Instead, man would attempt to be like God through his own thoughts, purpose, and initiative. This is was direct defiance to Christ Himself. A refusal to believe in the coming One, the true way, truth, and life, that alone brings man into fellowship with God.
So Babylon represents the opposite of God’s eternal will and plan. Not simply in the thought and truth of salvation, but before that, back to God’s eternal plan and purpose to have a Bride, a family, and a living temple through which He might inwardly transform all His natural creation.
The former cherub, Lucifer, exhibited his self-will to exalt himself above God’s purpose, and it is the same demeanor that is exhibited in the Babylonian spirit. Lucifer left his appointed function here on this earth as well as in the heavens. His own desire to raise his throne above the stars of God and become like the Most High in governance brought God’s judgment upon him, and it will do the same to Babylon as well.
The former cherub, Lucifer, exhibited his self-will to exalt himself above God’s purpose, and it is the same demeanor that is exhibited in the Babylonian spirit. Lucifer left his appointed function here on this earth as well as in the heavens. His own desire to raise his throne above the stars of God and become like the Most High in governance brought God’s judgment upon him, and it will do the same to Babylon as well.
Isaiah 14:12-15
O star of the morning, son of the dawn!
You have been cut down to the earth,
You who have weakened the nations!
13 “But you said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God,
And I will sit on the mount of assembly
In the recesses of the north.
14 ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’
15 “Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol,
To the recesses of the pit.
Ezekiel 28:12-19
Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 “You were in Eden, the garden of God;
Every precious stone was your covering:
The ruby, the topaz and the diamond;
The beryl, the onyx and the jasper;
The lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald;
And the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets,
Was in you.
On the day that you were created
They were prepared.
14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers,
And I placed you there.
You were on the holy mountain of God;
You walked in the midst of the stones of fire.
15 “You were blameless in your ways
From the day you were created
Until unrighteousness was found in you.
16 “By the abundance of your trade
You were internally filled with violence,
And you sinned;
Therefore I have cast you as profane
From the mountain of God.
And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub,
From the midst of the stones of fire.
17 “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty;
You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground;
I put you before kings,
That they may see you.
18 “By the multitude of your iniquities,
In the unrighteousness of your trade
You profaned your sanctuaries.
Therefore I have brought fire from the midst of you;
It has consumed you,
And I have turned you to ashes on the earth
In the eyes of all who see you.
19 “All who know you among the peoples
Are appalled at you;
You have become terrified
And you will cease to be forever.”’”
This rejecting of God’s intention and purpose with a vessel, or a corporate vessel, always leads to God’s correction, judgment, and/or wrath. Lucifer become Satan because he desired to make this planet a throne for his own glory, kingdom, and purpose, thus rejecting his own call to be a part of covering God’s glorious purpose through the Lamb and His Bride that will govern all natural creation from this earth.
So the Bride is everything opposite of self-will, arrogance, or a desire to exalt herself. She is truly, inwardly forever the Lamb’s. His will is her will, His heart is her heart, His eternal purpose is her eternal purpose and His mind is her mind. The Lamb and His Bride are joined. They are One, and He alone is her joy and satisfaction. Thus she has entered into a love relationship far beyond that of redemption. Yes, as vast as God’s love is in salvation and its demonstration, there is a greater breadth, length, height, and depth of God’s great love that can be known and experienced by being the Bride.
Ephesians 3:17-21 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
This measure of the eternal heart or love of God is different from the love encountered in saving grace. How does it differ? It is the difference between a love that rescues a person or people and the love between intimate lovers. Intimate lovers are forever bound by a breadth, length, height and depth of love that is had only in the union of oneness. They are perfectly aligned in will, intention, desires, and purpose. They are truly One and she is truly His helpmate. Now this is true of the Bride in an eternal sense. She will forever be the help mate of God in His great heart purposes for His entire creation—that is to inwardly encounter and transform the creation within!
Thus we behold the beauty of God’s great eternal purpose in the bringing forth of the Bride in every way. It demands a choice beyond simply being rescued in redemption. It is a choice to go on and become completely united with Him in eternal purpose, thus becoming that which she was created, called, and chosen to become. May we all not stop short of His high calling, His choosing, His eternal purpose. Let us move beyond the purpose, calling, and love of redemption and into the deep waters, the heights of becoming His eternal Bride.
Thus we behold the beauty of God’s great eternal purpose in the bringing forth of the Bride in every way. It demands a choice beyond simply being rescued in redemption. It is a choice to go on and become completely united with Him in eternal purpose, thus becoming that which she was created, called, and chosen to become. May we all not stop short of His high calling, His choosing, His eternal purpose. Let us move beyond the purpose, calling, and love of redemption and into the deep waters, the heights of becoming His eternal Bride.