Quote:
Originally Posted by Biblestudent
That is why no one should make or teach a doctrine out of types.
Context determines meaning.
I have no problem with all the types anyone is trying to fit into any doctrine as long as they fit; but to make the "bride" of Revelation 19 and 21 the church is totally OUT OF CONTEXT.
Revelation 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Revelation 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
Revelation 21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
Revelation 21:12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
None of these sound C-H-U-R-C-H.
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I'm not going to refuse fellowship to a Bride Believer although they will have none with me, particularly in my belief the baptism of John is no longer relevant. I've already testified to my experience in one of these churches. I think Bride Belief is not the sign of an unsaved person. My belief is however that a saved man or woman is past Satan's grasp but he can still rob us of rewards, as Bride Believers are robbed of. This belief also perpetuates a false and Scriptural exclusivity and elitism. God looks at your heart, not your church letter. If Bride Belief is the "...way to hold the church together" , you're throwing your fists in empty air, GOD is what holds the Church together, not a doctrine born in the 1850s. I don't consider Bride Belief to be a cult, but it's interesting we get the Bible "revised" and then all these little false cults spring up in the 1800s claiming to have "restored" the "gospel", I call them in print Re$tored Go$pel$. (Mormon, JW, Church Of Christ, etc.,)
Friends, I was COC for the first 30 years of my life, ain't nobody gonna tell me what damage elitism can do.
As far as I am concerned I am a member of the Groom, not the Bride, as the last message points out, the Scriptures very plainly identify the Bride and it ain;t us. I ain't robbing Israel of what is rightfully theirs.
Grace and peace
Tony