[The Friend of the
Bridegroom Ministry Today]
In light of all that God is revealing concerning
the "making ready" of the Bride, we can see the
importance of a "John the Baptist" ministry to act as
the "friend of the Bridegroom" and to hear HIS VOICE in
this day of preparation, and help bring about a
RESTORATION of that which has been lost. When
ancient Israel turned away from God, and was under
His hand of judgment, His word came through the prophet
Jeremiah as follows: "For thus says the Lord
of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will cause
to cease out of this place in your eyes, and in your
days, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the
VOICE of the BRIDEGROOM, and the VOICE of the BRIDE"
(see Jer. 7:34; 16:9; 25:10). Since the land became
desolate and the people carried captive into Babylon, we
can see how that it was literally fulfilled that the
voice of the Bridegroom and the voice of the Bride
CEASED out of the cities of Judah and Jerusalem.
However, to us there is a spiritual application.
Because of the SPIRITUAL DESOLATION that has come to the
church, the voice of the Bridegroom and the voice
of the Bride has not been heard in the land as God
intended. But NOW is the time for RESTORATION. The
Bridegroom (Christ) is beginning to SPEAK as never
before since the days of the early church apostles, for
He is raising up specially prepared ministries who
have heard His voice and are making known His
purposes for this time; and in turn a Bride is
being prepared who will yet speak with a Word of greater
power and authority.
The Lord speaks through Jeremiah of this
restoration in chap. 33:7-11. Although this passage had
an application to natural Israel (and still does), we
must see its application to spiritual Israel or
the Church. "And I will cause the captivity of Judah and
the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them,
as at the first. And I will cleanse them from all their
iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me. . . And
it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour
before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear
all the good that I do to them: there
shall be heard in this place. . . the voice of joy, and
the voice of gladness, the voice of the
bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the
voice of them that shall say, Praise the lord of hosts:
for the Lord is good; for his mercy endures for
ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of
praise into the house of the Lord. For I cause to
return the captivity, as at the first,
says the Lord." The Lord purposes to bring the
church completely out of the "Babylonish captivity" of
man's systems and ways to a FULL RESTORATION,
as at the beginning. And even power and glory
beyond that! And in this restoration, the "voice of the
bridegroom" (Christ), and the "voice of the bride"
(prepared and anointed saints) will come forth as never
before.
In Joel 2:15-16 we read these words, "Blow the
trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn
assembly: Gather the people, sanctify the
congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children,
and those that suck the breasts; let the bridegroom
go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her
closet." Here, we have the work of preparation being
done by those who are "lifting up their voices like a
trumpet" in Zion (the church).
Isa. 58:1. There is a coming together of
those who are hearing what the Spirit is saying in this
end time, both of the spiritually mature ones
(elders) and also children and babes (in Christ. We are
being sanctified (separated) to a fast (of
cleansing from the defilements of the world and the
religious systems of "Babylon" (Rev. 18:4). Now, because
of this preparatory work of the Lord, we can expect Joel
2:16 to be fulfilled by the Bridegroom coming forth in a
greater moving of His Spirit ("out of His
chamber"), and by the Bride company beginning to come
forth in a greater ministry ("out of her
closet"). In Mal. 4:2 we see where the Lord is
called "the Sun of righteousness" who shall "arise with
healing In his wings." Now compare this with Psalm
19:4-6 where we read, "In them (the heavens) has
he set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as A
BRIDEGROOM coming out of his chamber, and
rejoices as a strong man to run a race."
Yes, our Bridegroom (Jesus) is coming forth as a "strong
man" in greater spiritual power among those being
prepared. His "friends" (special messengers) are now
hearing and trumpeting His Word. The Bride company
is being "sealed" (Rev. 7:3) for a greater ministry In
further preparation and anticipation of the day of
manifestation which is coming. Although I have pointed
out the spiritual application of Joel 2:16 and
Psalm 19:5, this is preliminary to the time when the
Bridegroom will literally come "out of His
chamber" (heaven) and return for His Bride, who will
then come "out of her closet" of being "hid
with Christ in God" on this earth (Col. 3:3) and be
translated out of the earthly into the heavenly to
appear with Christ in glory (Col.
3:4).
This brings us back to the "friend of the
Bridegroom." As the "marriage of the Lamb" approaches,
we can see the importance of this type of end-time
ministry to fulfill the pattern given in John 3:22-30.
The setting which occasioned John the Baptist's remarks
on this subject is seen in verse 26. Reports were
brought to John that Jesus and His disciples were
baptizing and "all men came to him" (Jesus).
In other words, "Jesus is getting a greater following
than you!" What an occasion for "ministerial jealousy"
to arise in the heart of John! But John knew his place,
and had been well prepared by the Spirit of God. John
answered and said, "A man can receive nothing, except it
be given him from heaven." (3:27). John knew that his
ministry was to prepare the Bride for the Bridegroom,
and for a trusted "friend of the
Bridegroom" to seek to usurp the place of the
Bridegroom and draw the affections and loyalty of the
people to himself was unthinkable. Would to God that all
ministries of today were as wise and as well prepared as
John! If we want the adulation and affection of people
directed toward us—if we want a following so that we can
boast about how far-reaching our ministry is, and what
great things we are doing—then we are in no
position to fulfill that sensitive and delicate
ministry of the "friend of the Bridegroom" in this day.
John said, "He that has the bride is the
Bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which
stands and hears him, rejolces
greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy
therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but
I must decrease." (John 3:29-30).
"He must increase, but I must decrease." How much
are these simple, straight-forward, self-effacing words
of John akin to that which is spoken of the 144,000 in
Rev. 14:5: "And in their mouth was found no
guile." In this they are following the Lamb's
example (Rev. 14:4) for the apostle Peter says, "For
even hereto were you called: because
Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that
you should follow his steps: who did no
sin, neither was guile found in his
mouth." (I Pet. 2:21-22). Likewise did Jesus speak of
Nathaniel when He said, "Behold an Israelite Indeed, in
whom is no guile!" "Nathaniel" means "gift of
God." It is only by the gift of God's grace through
Jesus Christ that we can be "Israelites indeed"
(in Spirit and Truth), as we read in Rom.
2:28-29; 9:6-8, and be "without guile" in that day when
the Bride company shall be "redeemed from (away
from) the earth" (Rev. 14:3) into the glories of
celestial realms of Christ. The word "Israel" means
"ruling with God," and thus the name can only refer, in
its true meaning and application, to those
spiritual overcomers who will be co-heirs and
co-rulers with Christ as "kings and priests" over the
earth (Rev. 5:10). Oh how we should long to be
Israelites indeed, circumcised completely
within (Rom. 2:29), totally pure in heart (Mt.
5:8), without reservation as to our dedication as
a "living sacrifice" to God (Rom. 12:1), without
compromise in our fidelity to Christ our
Bridegroom (Rev. 14:4, 17:14), and so absolutely sincere
and honest before God and man that there cannot possible
by any guiIe in our mouths. This is the path to
Sonship and Brideship!
[Manifest Sonship Still
Future]
Yes, the issue of the hour is sonship! For
regardless of the particular "role" (or "post" of
responsibility) we are chosen to fulfill in the coming
Kingdom of our Lord, the Lord's purpose is that
we all come (in due time) to manifest sonship. But the
issue is just as clearly that of Brideship! For the
first of the sons of God to be unveiled (manifested) in
celestial glory, will be that group or select "chaste
virgin" company which will be received of the Bridegroom
at the midnight hour, entering with Him into the
marriage, forever to be His heavenly Bride (Mt.
25:10),and to sit with Him on His throne of glory (Rev.
3:21), The ministry of the "friend of the Bridegroom "
(special messengers who help prepare the Bride) is
not over yet; in fact, such ministry has not yet come
into its fulness. Through the extended grace and
mercy of God we have yet a time of preparation
that we might be ready for the coming day of
manifestation. We are in the "dawning" of the era
of the manifested sons of God, but that day has not yet
arrived when some shall be changed and put on
immortality "in a moment, in the twinkling of an
eye, at the last (the 7th—Rev. 10:7)
trump" (I Cor. 15:52). There are presumptuous
souls in the land who claim they have already
arrived: they are already manifested sons of God; and
they have already come Into the realm of the "perfect"
as mentioned in I Cor. 13:10; and they are now beyond
the realm of the "gifts" and "ministries" given
to the church (I Cor. 12:7-10, Ephes. 4:11). But
such is not true! There are yet many changes that must
take place within each of us in this day of preparation,
even from spiritual "glory to glory" (II Cor. 3:
18), and we need the gift-ministries and gifts of the
Spirit to help bring us "to a perfect man,
to the measure of the stature of the fulness
of Christ (Ephes. 4:11-15).
The word "changed" in II Cor. 3:18 is a
translation of the Greek word metamorphoomai,
from which we get the English "metamorphosis" (a
word which indicates transformation, such as is
seen in the changes in a caterpillar until it emerges as
a beautiful butterfly). The same Greek word is
translated "transfigured" in Mt. 17:2 to
describe the change that took place in the body of Jesus
on the mountain. The same Greek word is translated
"transformed" in Rom. 12:2. Thus we can see that
we are now to be transformed within "from
glory to glory" until that day when we are ready to
"emerge" from the "cocoon" of our terrestrial body into
the transfigured glory and beauty of our celestial body
(see I Cor. 15:20, Phil. 3:21).
[Discipleship and the
Present Process of Regeneration]
Let's take a final look at Rev. 14:4 where the
144,000 are described as those who "follow the
Lamb wherever he goes." In Mt. 16:24 we
read: "Then said Jesus to his disciples, If
any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross, and follow me." Jesus was not
in this instance giving the formula for salvation
(which is a free gift—Rom. 6:23), but rather the
requirements for those who aspire to follow Him
to the summit of full sonship (co-heirship and
co-rulership) in His celestial Kingdom. Notice, He spoke
these words to His disciples. A "disciple" is one
who has taken on himself the "yoke" (wilI) of
Christ, and is being taught (disciplined, tutored)
by Him (Mt. 11:29). The path of discipleship is
to perfection (that which is complete, full,
mature) as we read in Luke 6:40: "The disciple is not
above his master (teacher), but every one
(disciple) shall be perfected as his master
(marginal reading)." See also Mt. 19:21.
Looking again at Mt. 16:24, the three
requirements given by Jesus for discipleship are
self-denial, taking up our cross (obedience and self
sacrifice), and following Him (in His example of
complete submission to the Father's will in every
aspect of life). To love any person or any thing
more than we love the Lord disqualifies us from being
His disciples (Mt. 10:37, Lk. 14:26). We must be willing
to forsake ALL (that would hinder us in any way from
"going on" with Him), Lk. 14:33. We must "hate" our own
self-life, being willing to "lose" our soulish
(self) life, that we might "find" the spiritual (Christ)
life (Mt. 10:39, 16:25). We must "count the cost" of
building a "tower" that leads to the heavenly kingdom
(Lk. 14:28-30), which is the "prize of the high (or
heavenly—Heb. 3:1) calling of God in Christ Jesus”
(Phil. 3:14). We must be willing to settle for
conditions of total surrender (peace) lest we find
ourselves "fighting" (resisting) God's calling and
purpose for us (Lk. 14:31-32).
In Mt. 19:27, Peter asks Jesus this question "Behold,
we have forsaken all, and followed you,
what shall we have therefore?" In quoting Jesus'
answer in verse 28, I am going to change the punctuation
provided by the translators (which I believe is
incorrect) by removing the comma after the word "me" and
placing it after the word "regeneration," to make it
read like this: "truly I say to you, that
you who have followed me in the
regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit in the
throne of his glory, you also shall sit on
twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of
Israel.” NOW (this age) is the time of regeneration (or
re-creation) in the inner man. As we FOLLOW Him, we are
being increasingly regenerated. This Is a MUST if we are
to share His throne and rule with Him. Now notice verse
29: "And every one that has forsaken houses, or
brethren or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or
children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive
an hundredfold." Here we have the "hundredfold"
("full corn in the ear"—Mk. 4:20,28) who shall be
"harvested" OUT of the lower (earthly) realm and
translated into the upper (heavenly) realm to rule with
Christ. The thirty and sixty fold (blade and ear) shall
remain on the earth. So take heed! If you want to
be WITH Christ in His ruling Kingdom, FOLLOW HIM IN THE
REGENERATION!!!
[Ed. Note – for further study of the preparatory
prophetic ministry to come ahead of the Lord’s return,
please consult brother’s Earl booklet Elijah
Comes First , which is listed in the
end section of the index.]