THE BRIDE'S IDENTITY TEXT

Bob Anderson (3 Aug 2014)
"THE BRIDE'S IDENTITY TEXT"

IDENTITY OF THE BRIDE

After PastorBobʼs monumental series on

the theme of bridehood, I thought

Bullingerʼs comments on the Bride might

be appropriate. These are copied and

pasted from Bullingerʼs Revelation

commentary and are subject to all the

formating errors such a process entails.

The seemingly random numbers

occasionally occurring are footnotes,

most of which I have hopefully preserved

in the text body. (I canʼt ﬁgure out how to

make footnotes and super and sub scripts

in this particular word processor.)

Bulllinger uses Roman numerals to

identify references. “l” = 50. He also

intersperses exclamation points

frequently. I presume theyʼre for emphasis

exclusive of punctualtion.

As background, many Doves know that I

have not identiﬁed, do not, cannot and

1/31

probably forever will not identify the Bride

as the Church. Sorry, I just canʼt see it. My

life would probably be a lot easier if I

could. I see allegory and metaphor on the

subject, but I cannot see identity. I had

arrived at a few of Bullingerʼs Bible

references long before I knew there was a

Bullinger. Foremost among them is: Rev

19:7 “... his wife hath MADE herself

ready ...” Right from the gitgo my reaction

was and is: “How can this be?” My

comments are in blue. Bullingerʼs text is in

black and in red for emphasis.

Bullingerʼs theme is that the Church is the

BODY OF CHRIST. The Church is not

found in Revelation, and, indeed,

Revelation is an instruction book for Israel

in the last days.

Parenthetically, after one pass through

11,000 pages of Les Feldickʼs transcripts, I

ﬁnd much of Bullinger easier to

2/31

understand. What was before inscrutable

is now crystallizing into comprehension.

Here are two links some might ﬁnd

interesting and useful:

Appendices to Bullingerʼs Companion

Bible

http://levendwater.org/companion/

index_companion.html

Bullingerʼs companion Bible

http://www.companionbiblecondensed.com/

7

And yet in spite of this, the blessings spoken

of Judah and Jerusalem are taken away and

given to the Church, while the curses and

judgments are kindly left for "Judah and

Jerusalem!"

On this system of interpretation the Bible is

useless for the purposes of Divine revelation.

It is made a derision to its enemies, a ground

for the attacks of inﬁdels, while it becomes a

3/31

stumbling-block to its friends. And yet it is on

this same principle that the Apocalypse is

usually treated. Everywhere the Church is

thrust in : John (in ch. iv. 1) represents the

Church; the living creatures, or Cherubim (ch.

iv.) are the Church; the four and twenty elders

(ch. iv., v.) are the Church; the 144,000 (ch.

vii.) are the Church;1 the great multitude (ch.

vii.) is the Church; the "woman clothed with

the sun" (ch. xii.) is the Church; the man-child

(ch. xii.) is the Church; the bride (ch. xix.) is

the Church; the "New Jerusalem" (ch. xxi.) is

the Church; the "seven churches" are the

Church; COMMENT: The WIFE of Rev 19:7

is the Church and so they go on, until the

humble reader of the book is bewildered and

disheartened. No wonder the book is

neglected. The wonder would be if it were

not.

1 Notwithstanding they are expressly stated to be

"of all the tribes of the children of Israel." Had it

4/31

been for judgment that they were sealed, we

should never have heard of these being "the

Church."

366

a, xix. 6, 7. The Voice of the great Multitude

and the Fourth Utterance.

6, 7. And I heard as it were the voice of a

great multitude, and as it were the voice of

many waters, and as it were the voice of

many thunders, saying,!

"Hallelujah! For the Lord our 6 God, the

omnipotent, reigneth.!

Let us rejoice and be exceeding glad,!

And give the glory unto Him:!

For the marriage of the Lamb is come.!

And his wife hath made herself ready."]

We can never have a clear understanding

of this heavenly utterance if we introduce

the Church of the Pauline Epistles, i.e., the

Great Mystery, here.

5/31

One would have though it quite unnecessary

to make this statement, considering that

we have so many references to Israel, or

Israel's elect remnant, in the Old Testament.

And these, quite irrespective of the Church of

God which is the subject of subsequent

revelation.

6 G.T.Tr. WHb. and RV. add (...) (hemon) our.

As to the relationship of God with Israel, it

is the resumptionof a former relationship.

The Old Testament Scriptures speak of the

marriage between the Lord and His People

again and again. As to the Church of God,

the New Testament Scriptures state, as

clearly as possible, that it was "hid in

God." Mark, it does not say, hid in the

Scriptures, but "hid in God," Himself. It is

impossible, therefore, that the Mystery, of

the Church of God, can be spoken of or

revealed in the Old Testament.

6/31

Did pious Jews think of the Church of God

when they read in Isa. liv. 5-8?!

"Thy Maker is thy husband;!

The Lord of hosts is his name,!

And thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel.!

The God of the whole earth shall he be

called.!

For the Lord hath called thee as a woman

forsaken and grieved in spirit,!

And a wife of youth, when thou was refused,

saith thy God.!

For a small moment have I forsaken thee:!

In a little wrath I hid my face from thee,!

But with everlasting kindness will I have

mercy on thee, saith the Lord, thy

Redeemer." (Isa.

liv. 5-8).

Did they understand the Church when they

read in Isa. lxii. 4, 5?!

"Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken,!

Neither shall thy land be any more termed

Desolate:!

7/31

But thou shalt be called Hephzibah (i.e, my

delight is in her),!

And thy land Beulah (i.e., married).!

For the Lord delighteth in thee,!

For as a young man marrieth a virgin,!

So shall thy sons possess 7 thee;!

And as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the

bride,!

So shall thy God rejoice over thee." (Isa. lxii.

4, 5).

What did they understand, as they read

Hosea ii. 16, and Jer. iii. 14?!

"It shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that

thou shalt call me Ishi (i.e., my husband.)!

And shalt no more call me Baali (i.e., my

lord)...!

And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; ...!

I will betroth thee unto me in faithfulness,!

And thou shalt know the Lord." (Hosea ii. 16,

19).

"Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord,!

For I am married unto you." (Jeremiah iii. 14).

8/31

7 POSSESS This is the meaning of the word.

"Marry" is only a secondary or derivative meaning,

as expressive of the fact.

This marriage is referred to in Isa. iv. 5. When

Jehovah shall have purged away the ﬁlth

of the daughters of Zion, it is added: "beyond

all this glory there shall be the Chuppah": i.e.,

the marriage or bridal canopy mentioned

elsewhere only in Ps. xix. 5, and Joel ii. 16;

and referring to Isa. lxii.(quoted above). The

chuppahis the bridal canopy beneath which

Jewish nuptial ceremonies are performed to

this day. Why are we to do away with all

these references by interpreting them in a

way in which the original readers could

never have understood them? Either they

must have been wrong in understanding

them of Israel, or we must be wrong in

interpreting them of the Church of God.

9/31

Both cannot be right. The "wife" is earthly

(xix.): the "Bride" is heavenly (xxi.).

The marriage of the one is on earth (though

rejoiced over in heaven beforehand), and

is consummated on earth for 1,000 years. All

earthly or mortal relationships must run out

by expiration along with the earth, before the

other, the heavenly relationships, are entered

upon. Thus, understanding Rev. xix.of Israel,

and xxi. of the Elect Remnant, there is neither

Polygamy on the one hand, nor Divorce on

the other. It is important to observe the

various callings.

(1) There is the "earthly calling," which all

Israel shares — the Wife, (...) (gune), Rev.

xix.("The sand," of Gen. xiii. 16);

(2) there is the "heavenly calling" of an

elect remnant of Israel — the Bride, (...)

(numphe),

Rev. xxi. 9("The stars," of Gen. xv. 5); and

10/31

(3) there is the distinct calling of the

Church of God — which is "The

Christ" (i.e., the Mystery).

These three distinct callings have their

separate standings; their different hopes,

different promises, and different destinies.

We must rightly divide these "callings," or we

shall get only confusion.

How, for example, can it be said of the

Church that she "hath made herself

ready." As members of the Body of Christ we

are already "made meet" (Col. i. 12); God

Himself hath made us meet: and even now

we are "complete in Him" (Col. ii. 10); and are

"perfect in Christ Jesus" (Col. i. 28);

"accepted in the Beloved" (Eph. i. 6).

We can never be more "ready" than He

Himself hath made us. The language in

Rev. xix. 7 is wholly foreign to the perfect

standing of the church, which is in grace.

11/31

The next verse also shows this very clearly,

where we have

!

B, xix. 8, 9. The array and Blessedness of the

Wife.

8. And it was given to her that she should be

arrayed in ﬁne linen raiment, bright

and pure: for the ﬁne linen raiment is the

righteous awards of the saints.]!!!!! The word

rendered "righteousness" is not (...)

(dikaiosune), the state or quality or

condition of right- eousness; but it is (...)

(dikaioma); a righteous act.

374

C. xix. 14. His followers. The Armies of

Heaven.

14. And the armies which 11 are in heaven

followed him upon white horses, clothed

in ﬁne linen, white and pure]!!!!! "Behold, the

Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints

12/31

(or holy ones) to execute judgment upon

all" (Jude 14, 15). This was the primitive

subject of prophecy; and this is the spirit

of its testimony concerning Jesus. There

is no need to introduce the Church here. It

will be with Christ. For ever united to its

glorious Head, not separated from Him

into "Armies." These are angelic hosts who

are accustomed to "make war" (see chap. xii),

and ﬁght against Satan and his hosts.

All here is a grand reality. These armies are

no mere symbols. Horses and chariots of

ﬁre were seen by Elisha's servant at Dothan

when his eyes were "opened." Horses of ﬁre

took Elijah into heaven. These were real; and

what they accomplished was real also. It is

neither necessary nor wise to explain away

any portion of God's Word. Neither is it safe:

for there are many things in heaven and earth

which have never entered into man's

imagination; and it is childish and absurd to

measure and judge of everything by our own

13/31

limited experience. Things are not unreal,

unlikely, or impossible merely because we

have never seen them. It is both wiser and

safer to believe God. If any ask, "Do you then

believe that these are real armies and real

horses?" we answer, Most certainly! The

Word of God declares it in language

that does not admit of Figures of Speech.

xxi. 9. And there came7 one of the seven

angels which had the seven vials full of the

last seven plagues, and talked with me,

saying,!

"Come hither, I will show thee the Bride, the

Lamb's wife."]

Here we are told exactly what was going to

be shown to John. It was one of the Seven

angels who had already shown John "great

Babylon."

In order to see the harlot city (xvii. 1), John is

taken into the wilderness (xvii. 3). To see

14/31

the Holy City he is carried to a great

mountain. (xxi. 10).

It was the same with Ezekiel in chap. xl. 2.

We are not left to our own imagination as to

what this Holy City is. We are distinctly

told that it is i.e., represents or contains

"the Bride."

In chap. xix. we had the wife, (...) (gune).

Here we have the Bride, (...) (numphe). The

one was before the Millennium; the other,

the latter, is after it.

It does not say that the latter was then and

there formed, but only that, at that point of

the Vision, John saw it "coming down from

heaven," where it had been; but, for how long

we are not told. If the wife (chap. xix) was

Israel; then this Bride is not Israel, but "of

Israel." We must remember the three distinct

"callings" revealed in Scripture.

(1). We have the earthly calling of Israel,

called out from all nations, for blessing in the

15/31

Land. Israel was the "wife," and is so spoken

of all through the Old Testament; and the

marriage will be consummated when Rev. xix.

8 shall be fulﬁlled.

(2). We have "the heavenly calling,"

distinctly spoken of as such in Heb. iii. 1,

of which a certain class of believing

Israelites were "partakers." Among these

we may put all those whom we speak of as

"the Old Testament Saints."

In spite of the earthly promises to Israel, and

in the midst of all those who cherished

those earthly promises, there was an elect

"heavenly calling" of those whose hopes

were not earthly, but heavenly. They looked

for no earthly portion, but they looked forward

with a heavenly hope to a heavenly blessing.

As it is written: "These all died in faith, not

having received the promises, but having

seen them afar off,

and were persuaded of them, and embraced

them, and confessed that they were strangers

16/31

and pilgrims (Gen. xxiii. 4. 1 Pet. ii. 11) on the

earth. For they that say such things

declare plainly that they seek a

COUNTRY... a better country , that is, an

HEAVENLY, wherefore God is not

ashamed to be called their God: for he

hath prepared for them a CITY" (Heb. xi.

13-16). And of Abraham it is said (verse

10): "He looked for THE CITY which hath

FOUNDATIONS, whose builder and maker

is God."

When the angel, therefore, says to John (Rev.

xxi. 9), "Come hither, I will show thee the

Bride, the Lamb's wife... and he showed me

that great CITY, the holy Jerusalem

descending out of HEAVEN from God," what

can we conclude but that here, we have

that "better country," and "the City" for

which the Old Testament saints belonging

to the "heavenly calling" looked?

It will also be noted that the names "on the

GATES" of the city are "the names of the

17/31

twelve TRIBES of the children of Israel" (Rev.

xxi. 12), while the names "in the FOUNDA-

TIONS" are "the names of the TWELVE

APOSTLES of the Lamb" (verse 14).

If this be not "the CITY" for which they and

the Elect Remnant looked, then we ask, for

what "City" did they look? Certainly not for an

earthly city; but for this, of which we now

see them, its blessed and happy inhabitants.

No other city has these foundations; no other

city has apostles and prophets to prophesy

concerning God as its builder. God builds one

City, His prophets and apostles are all

concerned for the building of the City of the

eternal ages. Their message concerning this

city came from its builder and maker. The

builder of it puts their names in the

foundations of its walls; and the adornment of

its foundations are the names of the twelve

apostles. No other city could have such

immortal, priceless foundations. Blessed

18/31

foundations. This was the city; for this alone

has foundations, all others will

have vanished in smoke; this abides. This,

then, is what Abraham, and his seed, by

faith, looked for. This is the Holy City.

(3). Then, we have the other "calling," of

which we read in Eph. i. 18, iv. 1. It is a "holy

calling" (2 Tim. i. 9). It is a Divine calling.

If we identify the calling of the Church of

God with the other callings we cannot but

have confusion.

Here, in Rev. xxi., we have the New Heaven

and the New Earth; we have the Twelve

Tribes of Israel; and Twelve Apostles of

the Lamb. We ask, What has all this to do

with the Church— Body of Christ? Has it

not to do only and solely with the Holy

City and with the Bride of the Lamb? The

promise of Christ to the Twelve Apostles in

Matt. xix. 28 (though

that doubtless has its special fulﬁlment in the

Millennium) has never been abrogated: but,

19/31

we ask, what are we to do with it, if the

Apostles form part of the Body of Christ?

The Church is part of Christ, the

Bridegroom; but the Apostles, here, form

part of the Bride. 8

In harmony also with this is the teaching of !

EPHESIANS V. 25-33.

Christians, in their selﬁshness, intrude

themselves into the place of others as the

Bride, and thus lose the blessed

enjoyment of their own place which is

theirs as part of the Bridegroom!

The Bride and the Bridegroom, though in a

sense one, are yet distinct. And it is clear

from all the scriptures relating to the

Mystery, that the members of Christ's

Body are part of the Bridegroom Himself.

Whereas the elect Old Testament saints

will form the Bride.

See Isaiah xii. 6: "Cry out and shout, thou

Inhabitress(marg.) of Zion: For great is the

Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee." In

20/31

Rev. xxii. 3, we read "The throne of God and

of the Lamb shall be in it." Of the glory of this

Holy City other scriptures speak. See Is. lx. 3,

14, 19, 20. Rev. xxi. 23, 24, 27. Is. liv. 11, 12.

True, the Apostle might address the saints

concerning his desire to present them "as

a chaste virgin to Christ" (2 Cor. xi. 2). But

this no more declares that the Church is

the Bride of Christ than that the Apostle

himself was their father (1 Cor. iv. 15); or

that he was their mother (Gal. iv. 19). In the

one case he spoke of the painful anxiety

of a mother; in another of the loving care

of a father; while, in 2 Cor. xi. 2, he spoke

of the jealousy of the friend of

a bridegroom. The "Mystery" was a totally

different thing.

8 This effectually disposes of the ﬁgment of

"Apostolic Succession," which would never

have been seriously entertained had not the

truth connected with the Mystery been lost.

And we ought to note that while the Twelve

21/31

Apostles are thus separated off from the

Church, the Apostle Paul was specially raised

up to a different position altogether, and is

identiﬁed with the Mystery.

So, in Eph. vi. 28, 29, the argument is that

husbands "ought to love their wives as their

own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth

himself, for no man ever yet hated his own

ﬂesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even

as the Lord, the Church, for we are

members of His Body," i.e., AS Christ

loves HIS OWN BODY (Himself and the

Church); so ought husbands to love their

wives. Thus "the great secret" is employed

as an argument as to the reciprocal duties of

husbands and wives. In neither case is it

said that the Church IS the wife, or that

Christ IS the husband. But that AS Christ

loves His Body (Himself and the Church),

SO husbands ought to love their own

bodies (i.e., themselves and their wives).

The one thing that is clear, is that the

Church is the Body of Christ; and that the

22/31

members of that Body being "in Christ,"

are PART OF THE BRIDEGROOM. They

cannot possibly, therefore, be the Bride

herself as separate and distinct from the

Bridegroom. Another thing that is certain

is that the mystery of the Church was not

revealed in the Old Testament, but was

"hid in God" (Eph. iii. 9) and "kept

secret" (Rom. xvi. 25); "hid from

ages and from generations" (Col. i. 26).

It is one thing to see an illustration of the

Church in the Old Testament; but it is

quite another thing to say that this is there

revealed, which God distinctly declares

was not revealed!

!

GEN. xxiv.

has been, for example, widely taken as

typical of Christ and the Church. Isaac is

taken as the bridegroom, and Rebekah as the

Church or the bride. True, the chapter is

illustrative, but not of the Church. The

23/31

bridegroom and the bride were both "ready"

before either was called to the marriage. The

bride was found in the house of Abraham's

brother. Very special injunctions were given

that she was not to be of "the Canaanites."

"But," said Abraham to Eliezer, "thou shalt go

unto my country and to my kindred and take a

wife unto my son Isaac... thou shalt take a

wife for my son from thence." Great emphasis

is placed on this important condition in verses

3, 4, 7, 37, 38. Abraham and Nahor were

brothers, and by Isaac's marriage with

Rebekah, and Jacob's marriage with her

brother Laban's daughters (Leah and

Rachel), the whole house of Nahor was

absorbed into the family of Abraham! In

direct contrast with this, it is again and

again afﬁrmed that the Church is

composed of both Jews and Gentiles.

These together make up, with Christ the

Head, "one new man" (Eph. ii. 15). But

Gentiles were expressly shut when this

24/31

typical wife was chosen; and Isaac, on

receiving his bride, took her at once "into his

mother Sarah's tent," thus forming the ground

of the type as expounded in Gal. iv. 21-31.

Rebekah therefore represents, not the

Mystery of Christ and the Church, but that

great cloud of witnesses (the Old

Testament saints), who, in the old

dispensation, sacriﬁced, as she did, all

worldly advantages for the Lord's sake. It

is for these He is preparing that "city

which hath foundations," and of which He

Himself is the Divine Architect. And truly, it

is said of these, "if they had been mindful of

that country from whence they came out (as

Rebekah came), they might have had

opportunity to return. But now they desire a

better country, that is, an heavenly;

wherefore God is not ashamed to be

called their God: for He hath prepared for

them a city" (Heb. xi. 15, 16). It seems to us,

therefore, quite clear that neither the "wife" in

25/31

chap. xix. nor the Bride in chap. xxi. is the The

People of the New Earth Church of God. The

former is clearly referred to in the Parable of

the "Ten Virgins" (Matt. xxv.), and in the

prophecy of Psalm xlv. All these Scriptures

are clear if we will only leave out the Church;

but, all is confusion the moment we introduce

it. But, to return to this "Holy City," we repeat

that all in this chapter (as in this whole

Book) is intensely real. It is a real city. Yet

Barnes says, "no man can suppose that this

is literally true." No! We do not "suppose" it,

because we believe it to be true; and we

ﬁnd it easier to believe what God says,

than to understand man's interpretation of

it. It is strange that while materializing all

really spiritual truths, interpreters should

protest against the materialisation of those

who would understand this of a literal city.

All other cities are shadows, if you like: for

they all pass away; consequently, if this city

26/31

be not real, then there never could have been

the idea in God, of a city. We should have a

word for which there would be no thought: a

shadow without a substance!

Yes, this city is real, and its eternal duration is

real also: for "there shall be no more

curse" (xxii. 3). This shows that it cannot refer

to Millennial times, for the curse is seen in all

its sin and wrath immediately on its close.

"Come and I will show thee the Bride," the

angel says. xxi. 10. "And he carried me away

by (the) spirit (or in spirit) to a mountain great

and high, and showed me the holy 9 city

Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from

God,(11) having the glory of God: her

radiance was like a stone most precious,

even as a jasper stone, clear as crystal;]!!!!!

Man says that "the idea of a city literally

descending from heaven .... is absurd." 10

But we ask, Why? True, it is contrary to our

experience. But, are we to think

27/31

everything absurd because we have heard

nothing like it before? We suppose it must

ever be so with man. It was for this reason

that travelling by railway was at ﬁrst thought

absurd! To get from London to New York in a

fortnight was once thought absurd! For

carriages to go without horses was an "idea"

once thought to be absurd! To telegraph

without wires was once thought absurd!

COMMENT: As an interesting

parenthetical, in another section and

subject, Bullinger not only foresees the

re-establishment of Israel as a nation but

also the entire world “seeing” the

resurrection of the two witnesses via

technology, at that time radio and

telegraph.

For many generations no swans were known

other than white ones; and our experience

would have lead us to conclude that all swans

were white. But now we know that in Australia

there are blackswans.

28/31

9 G.L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. omit "the great."

10 Barnes, in loco.

406

xxi. 12. And it had a wall great and high, and

twelve gates, and at the gates twelve

angels, and names written thereon, which

are(the names11) of the twelve tribes of the

sons of Israel:(13) On the east three gates;

and 12 on the north three gates; and 13 on

the south three gates; and 14 on the west

three gates.(14)And the wall of the city had

twelve

11 L.Trb. Ab. add "the names."

12 L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. add "and."

13 L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. add "and."

14 L.T.Tr.A. WH. and RV. add "and."

foundations, and on 15 them twelve 16 names

of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.]!!!!!

Twelve is the number that runs through all the

measurements of this city. For twelve is the

number of governmental perfection; 17 and

here, God's government is supreme. All is in

29/31

harmony, and the very numbers and

measurements are used in absolute

perfection. The order in the cardinal points is

E.N.S.W.; in Numbers it is E.S.W.N.; in Ezek.

xlii 16-19 it is the same as here; while in

Ezek. xlviii. 16, 30-34 it is N.E.S.W.

The woman in chap. xii. had the changeful

moon for her foundation. Great Babylon

had the Wild Beast. But this city has twelve

foundations. The names inscribed thereon

are the names of the Twelve Apostles of the

Lamb. COMMENT: I presume Mathias has

replaced Judas Iscariot in this inscription.

The 12th cannot be Paul for reasons both

previously and subsequently mentioned.

The Twelve who followed the Lord Jesus, the

Lamb of God, when on earth. These are

separated from the other apostles, given after

the Ascension of Christ, to the Church of God

(Eph. iv. 11-15).

All this shows that Israel is in question

here, and not the Church of God. The

30/31

Church is part of the Bridegroom, and will

then be "with Christ." This city is separate

from Christ, and occupies a distinct and

separate position as the Bride.

The Twelve Apostles are associated with

the Twelve Tribes, and not with the Church

of God. Paul's name is not here, nor are

the other subsequent apostles of the

Church. Abraham 29 "looked for a city which

hath foundations, whose builder and maker is

God" (Heb. xi. 10). Here is that city; and here

are the foundations. God is its maker and

builder.

31/31