PROPHECY - SIGNS - NICE BIBLE STUDY!

[nChrist]

Prophecy - Signs
As It Was In The Days Of Lot
by A. Edwin Wilson

AS IT WAS IN THE DAYS OF LOT

"Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded,' but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed" (Luke 17:28-30).

Lot is representative of faithless Christians - those who are saved but live for self; consequently, they have no rewards or works that endure. He represents those who will be saved but have no crowns. His uncle, Abraham, is representative of Christians who, being faithful, have earned for themselves crowns and places of honor and glory in the service of the Lord during His thousand-year reign. Let us look at Lot as he moved away from Abraham and trace his downward movements as he drifted away from the Lord and became a full-fledged carnal Christian. Ultimately he was saved but all his works were destroyed.

This is very important because Jesus Himself said that in the days just before His return, the actions of Christians would parallel those of Lot, with the logical result being that few will share in Christ's rewards and in ruling with Him.

1. The first step in the life of Lot is found in Genesis 13:10, 11. There was strife between Abraham's and Lot's herdsmen, and Abraham magnanimously offered Lot his choice of the land so that the herds and herdsmen might be separated. This would bring about peace which Abraham wanted because they were brethren and there should be no strife between them. Lot knew nothing of walking by faith; so in this particular instance, he chose the well-watered plain of Jordan.

A Christian can become quickly involved in worldliness when he views things with the eyes of flesh rather than through faith in the living God. Too, often today there are Christians who judge things solely by appearance; without any regard to God's estimate of them.

2. Having established the pattern of his life to live according to the principles of the world (walking by sight and not by faith), we find in Genesis 13:12 that Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom. Now a citizen of the world with all his hopes and ambitions centered on worldly things, it was only logical that he should move closer to the city of Sodom, the center of the world he had chosen. He was not yet in Sodom, but he was on his way.

There are Christians today who deviate from the pattern of a walk pleasing to the Lord as they move toward the world with all its allures. Though they are not yet in it, their thoughts, plans and hopes - in fact, their whole life is beginning to be centered there.

3. It was not long after this until Lot moved into Sodom. He was not walking according to the Spirit but according to the course of this world. Living in Sodom were all of his associates and all of his children's companions. They were people who knew not God, having ambitions to soar to heights of worldly success, enjoyment and possessions. Such a life leaves little or no time for the Lord.

By way of contrast, Abraham was a pilgrim dwelling in tents. Instead of settling in Sodom, he looked for a city that had foundations whose builder and maker is God.

4. Lot then took office in Sodom (Genesis 19:1). The expression "sat in the gate of Sodom" is equal to our expression "held office and transacted business for the city." The men who sat in the gate collected taxes from those who came in. They noted the ones leaving with their cargo, and handled many other phases of the city's business.
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[nChrist]

Prophecy - Signs
As It Was In The Days Of Lot
by A. Edwin Wilson

This has its counterpart in contemporary Christians who seek office or try to place other Christians in office so that they may take over the rule of this present world. I Corinthians 4:5 tells us that this is not the day for Christians to rule the world. This is the day of the Lord's rejection by the world, and if we serve Him faithfully, it will reject us too. This is not the time for Christians to try to improve or reform the world. It is resting under the judgment of God and is moving on toward complete destruction. Dwight L. Moody expressed it in these words: "The world is a sinking ship. I am not called to save the ship. My mission is to save a few souls off the ship before it sinks." If Satan can keep churches, ministers and Christian laymen busy trying to run the world or clean it up, he is very successful in hindering the spreading of the gospel. In studying the life of the Lord you will find that He devoted all His time in calling out individuals to serve Him. He spent no time at all in reform movements.

5. Because of Lot's presence in Sodom, and because of his holding office and being a full-fledged citizen there, he lost his testimony for the Lord. In Genesis 19:14, we are told that his own sons-in-law looked upon him as one who was mentally incapacitated when he tried to tell them of the coming judgment on Sodom. We learn later in this chapter that Lot's daughters and sons-in-law perished in Sodom because they would not believe the things Lot told them.

No greater tragedy can come to a Christian than to live in such a manner that he has no testimony at all among his friends and loved ones.

6. Even though Lot had no witness or testimony and no works that survived the testing of fire, he was delivered from the city before its destruction. "Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither" (Genesis 19:22a).

In this, Lot is a blessed illustration, or type, of the rapture of the saved before the tribulation. All this is possible because salvation is by grace plus nothing. One of the most precious truths in the Word of God is the fact that Christians have not been appointed to wrath and will be delivered before a single judgment of the Great Tribulation comes upon the earth.
 
7. All of Lot's works were destroyed in the fire of Sodom. In Matthew 3:11, John the Baptist says, "I indeed baptize you in water. . . He (Jesus) shall baptize you in the Holy Ghost and in fire.'" "Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is" (I Corinthians 3:13). Here the baptism in fire is the trying of our works. Just as all of Lot's works were destroyed by fire, even so shall all of our works be destroyed which are not done for the glory of the Lord. It is clearly seen in I Corinthians 3:15 that a man's works can be of such a nature that they shall all be burned; or they can be done for the Lord and earn crowns and rewards. Many Christians today are so busy in church work that they have no time for the Lord. Remember that church work is not necessarily synonymous with service for the Lord.

8. Though all of Lot's works were destroyed in Sodom, he himself was saved. "If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire" (I Corinthians 3:15). There is nothing that a man can do to cause him to lose his salvation after he has been saved; but he can fail to live for the Lord to the extent that he will appear before the judgment seat of Christ without a single good work to his credit.

Let us note the summation of Lot's experience: He is a perfect illustration of a man who is saved but has no crown; a man who is saved but has no reward; a man who is saved but has no place of rulership in our Lord's kingdom; a man who is saved but is a castaway as far as service in the kingdom is concerned.

Remember, beloved, salvation is by grace and rewards are according to works; and for the duration of the Millennium, there will be a difference between faithful and unfaithful Christians in the matter of rewards and service.

TO BE CONTINUED...
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[nChrist]

Prophecy - Signs
Remember Lot's Wife
by A. Edwin Wilson

REMEMBER LOT'S WIFE

As Jesus was talking to His disciples concerning His appearing and the catching up of the New Testament saints to meet Him in the air according to Luke 17:22-37, He said in verse 32: "Remember Lot's wife." Notice first of all and never forget that He was speaking to His disciples and to them only (verse 22). The Pharisees had demanded of the Lord (verse 20) when the Kingdom should come. His answer is given in verses 26ff:" And as it was in the days of Noah. . . Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot. . . Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed" (vv. 26a, 28a, 30). To correctly understand the analogy which our Lord draws between His day and the days of Lot, you should study. . . carefully Genesis 19. Several things are apparent to which your attention is called.

1. Sodom and Gomorrah had filled their cup of iniquity, and now judgment must come. Despite all the world's progress and advancement in so-called religious activities and organizations, the cup of iniquity of this sin-cursed world will soon be full.

2. God revealed the secret of judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah to His faithful servant, - Abraham. Knowing of this soon coming judgment, Abraham became an intercessor on the behalf of the saved in those two cities. The Lord reveals His plans to His faithful servants: "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7). This is in order that these servants may become intercessors on behalf of the saved, prior to the second coming of Christ.

3. The wickedness of Sodom reached a climax at the house of Lot; likewise, the wickedness of this present world will reach a climax at the house of many of the saved.

4. The angels of God smote the men of Sodom who were of the spirit of antichrist. So will the angels of the Lord smite the wicked in the day of the Lord.

5. Lot spoke to his sons-in-law of the approaching judgment, but he seemed to them as one who mocked. Today when one speaks of the coming judgments of the Lord and the establishment of His kingdom, he, too, is mocked. One says, "My Lord delays His coming." Another says, "I have to go to my farm." Another says, "I must go to my place of merchandise." And yet another says, "I have just married and you will have to excuse me."

6. Even Lot was slow about leaving the doomed cities, but the angels laid hold of him, his wife and his two virgin daughters, and forcibly removed them from the city. Even so today, how few Christians are really interested in the coming of the Lord, and at the time of the rapture they will be literally taken out by force against their will.

7. Judgment did not fall on Sodom and Gomorrah until after the righteous of those cities had been removed; likewise, the judgments of the great tribulation will not fall on this world until the saints are removed.

8. Lot's wife, though delivered from the city by the angels of God, had a heart and love for the things in Sodom. She had two daughters with their husbands there; her friends and associates were there; her interest was there more than it was in the Lord; and when she turned with a longing look to gaze once again upon the cities of the plain, she was turned to a pillar of salt. Notice also in this connection that neither Lot nor his two virgin daughters wanted to go up into the mountain of which the Lord had spoken. They begged to stay in a city, even if it be a little one. They were permitted to do so, and Scripture records the depths to which they sank.
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[nChrist]

Prophecy - Signs
Remember Lot's Wife
by A. Edwin Wilson

The deliverance of Lot, his wife and two daughters is typical of the saints who are raptured. After deliverance, or after the rapture, some will still forfeit many blessings which are only for the faithful. When Jesus told His disciples to remember Lot's wife, He was holding before them the possibility of being raptured, yet falling far short of the rewards and glories of the faithful during the Millennial reign of Christ.

Lot's wife is a monument, not of a wicked lost sinner, but of faint-hearted, unfaithful, disobedient Christians whose natural affections - whose soul life - keep them from going "all out " in a life of obedience and conformity to the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Similar cases in the Scripture are: the children of Israel who turned back from Kadesh-Barnea; Orpah, who went part of the way with Naomi but turned back; the guest without the wedding garment; the servant of the Lord with one pound; the servant of the Lord with one talent; the five foolish virgins; the ones who have all their works burned. In everyone of these instances, as in the case of Lot's wife, there is definite identification with the people of God, but their walk is that of unfaithfulness and disobedience, though all of them are saved as through fire.

Hear once again the admonition of the Lord given to HIS DISCIPLES: "Remember Lot's wife!"

Luke 17:32 When our Lord told His disciples to "remember Lot's wife," He was warning them against a spirit of unwatchfulness. From the number of times our Lord admonished His disciples to watch, we know that He placed a premium on our being ready any moment for His return. The terrible experience of Lot's wife is applied by Christ not to the world but to His own people. He commanded His earthly people, Israel, to flee and His heavenly people, Christians, to watch.

The danger which Lot's wife faced was in not keeping her eye on heaven. She lost the upward look. That she was saved, I think is evident in the fact that she was delivered from Sodom and Gomorrah along with Lot and their two virgin daughters. She was obedient up to a point. God said He would destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and she believed Him. God told her to flee and she fled. When God said stay not in the plain, she stayed not. She believed in the coming judgment and was anxious to escape. She had set her face toward heaven but disobeyed in one point in that she looked back. Luke 9:62: "And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

The incident of Lot's wife has to do with the kingdom of the heavens and not with salvation. Moses disobeyed the Lord in one point and was not permitted to enter the Promised Land, though he was saved forevermore. The Lord had warned of the impending judgment; He had given ways and means of deliverance; He had sent His angels to deliver her; she was completely and absolutely removed from Sodom before the judgments of God began. She broke one condition of her deliverance and was brought into judgment after her deliverance from Sodom and before she reached the appointed destination. She was not an apostate for she never went back to Sodom. She was not a type of the lost for she was taken out before the judgment began. She simply was not faithful unto the end. Martin Luther said, "For her disobedience she must suffer temporary punishment. Nonetheless, she had everlasting life."

Sodom's destruction never touched her. She was not of the world; that doom was not for her. She had a judgment and punishment all of her own (the judgment seat of Christ). God has ways and knows how to punish His disobedient children without confounding them with the lost, Luke 12:47: "And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes."

The fact that she was turned to a pillar of salt should stimulate thoughtful study. Salt is good and unless it has lost its savor, symbolizes good throughout the Scripture. What I say unto you, I say unto all, "WATCH."
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[nChrist]

Prophecy - Signs
A Pillar Of Salt
by A. Edwin Wilson

A PILLAR OF SALT

Is there any significance in Lot's wife being changed to a pillar of salt? Every reference in the Bible I find pertaining to salt is good, except where the salt has lost its savor.

Since the beginning, salt has played an important part in the lives of people. It is a preservative, it makes food palatable, and man and beast instinctively seek it. Salt was a necessary ingredient in the Levitical sacrifices. Lev. 2:13: "And every oblation of thy meat-offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat-offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt." Among the Arabians the pledging of friendship and the confirming of compacts by eating food containing salt is still a custom.

The kingdom of Israel was covenanted to King David and his sons by a covenant of salt (II Chronicles 13:5). This was a pledge and an unconditional promise from God that the kingdom would forever remain with a descendant from David's line. Because salt is incorruptible, so were the promise and covenant. Salt symbolized an everlasting covenant, one that was enduring, incorruptible and perpetual. Salt is the opposite of leaven, which corrupts.

Lot's wife being changed to a pillar of salt would seem to teach that she lost her life but not her spirit. The pillar of salt seems to typify the covenant of grace as far as her spirit was concerned, but she would suffer temporary loss because of her sin. In Luke 17:33, "Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it," we have loss of life attributed to Lot's wife by the sudden judgment of being changed to a pillar of salt. She shrank back from what seemed to be an empty prospect that was suddenly set before her and Lot. As she turned back in heart to Sodom, though she knew the city was under the wrath of God, chastisement fell upon her.

The words of the Lord declare that if anyone seeks to preserve his life for himself, he shall lose it; but if anyone will lose his life in the Lord for His sake, he shall preserve it and receive rewards.

Lot's wife typifies Christians who try to make the most of both worlds and therefore suffer loss of all their works (I Corinthians 3:15) and gain no rewards in the coming kingdom of our Lord. For that reason Jesus said to His disciples, "Remember Lot's wife."
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[nChrist]

Prophecy - Signs
The CHURCH - BODY Or Bride
by A. Edwin Wilson

THE CHURCH - BODY OR BRIDE

In I Corinthians 10:11 we have the following statement relative to types: "Now all these things happened unto them for types: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come."

I think the significance of this revelation is that everything which happened in the Old Testament constitutes a picture or type of some great spiritual truth in the New Testament.

Many scholars decry the study of types as being an exercise for untutored minds. Many harsh things have been said about types by purported scholars throughout the ages. Such an attitude can be assumed only by those in ignorance of much of the Word of the Lord. Everything that God does is according to a fixed plan or pattern which was established before the foundation of the world. His plans and purposes are called eternal plans and purposes. All numbers, measurements, weights, colors, materials possess spiritual significance and are used by God with that purpose in mind.
 
See for instance Hebrews 8:5 and 9:23. The tabernacle built by Moses in the wilderness was an exact replica of the one in heaven, and God showed Moses a pattern or blueprint of the one in heaven that he might be able to construct the one here in the wilderness.

When God sets a pattern He makes it perfect in the beginning. He never changes it and it continues in existence all through the ages. These patterns are divine in origin and are as accurate as mathematics. When one says (as so many have) that he does not have a mind for the study of types, he is really saying he does not have a heart for types. Types, being divine in origin and spiritual in nature, are of necessity spiritually discerned. It is with the heart and not with the mind that a Christian understands and appreciates the types of Scripture.

Note for instance the typology in the following expressions: Jesus says, "I am the Door- I am the Bread." He is called the Lamb of God; He is also called our Passover. Deuteronomy 18:15-19 tells us that Moses is a type of Christ. Psalm 81:5 tells us that Joseph in Egypt was a testimony, that is, a type. The bride of Christ and the body of Christ are set forth in types, parables, illustrations throughout the whole of the Old Testament. An axiom of the study of types is that the first type used is the pattern after which all other instances are modeled. So to get an accurate beginning of the study of the bride and the body of Christ, we go to the first body and bride in the Bible, which is that of Eve as the body and bride of Adam.

God made Adam of the dust of the ground and breathed into him the breath of life. Eve was created in Adam and their name was called Adam. Because it was not good for man to be alone, God made for him an helpmate. The helpmate God had made was in man, so this helpmate must be taken out of man. God did that by putting Adam to sleep, opening up his side and taking out a rib. Out of this rib taken from the side of Adam, God made Eve to be his bride, that is, his wife.
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[nChrist]

Prophecy - Signs
The CHURCH - BODY Or Bride
by A. Edwin Wilson

The bride then was given to Adam and the two of them, Adam and Eve, through the union of their bodies became one flesh; but Adam now has TWO BODIES. He has his original body made out of the dust, minus his bride which was taken out of his body. In the very highest sense Eve is Adam's body as well as his bride, even though Adam still possesses all of his original body, less Eve, who is now his body selected out of his body.

Here is the inspired, infallible Word of God on how the bride of Adam was formed, which is also God Almighty's infallible pattern or type as to how the bride of Christ is to be formed. The bride of Christ is to be an election out of an election, or a selection out of a selection, or a resurrection from among the resurrected.

Christ received an earthly body from Mary and this earthly body is named Jesus, so that Jesus the Christ is the God-Man. The God-Man was put to sleep on Calvary, His side was opened, and from His riven side flowed blood and water. From and by the blood and water the bride of Christ is formed. The word church means "called out of." And contrary to popular opinion, the church is not called out of the world but out of the called (all of the saved). The church is a select group out of a selected group.

Matthew 22:14 states, "For many are called (the saved called out of the world), but few are called out (called out of the saved to constitute the bride of Christ)." As Eve is truly the second body of Adam, so is the church (that is, the bride) the second body of Christ. Adam had two bodies; Christ has two bodies.

II Corinthians 11:2,3; I Corinthians 7:4; I Peter 3:1-7 reveal unto us that in the relationship between the bride and groom the groom's body is not his own but his wife's, and the wife's body belongs to the husband. And in Ephesians 5:23-28 the Spirit of the Lord reveals to Paul the Apostle that the relationship between Adam and Eve as to origin and purpose constitutes the mystery of Christ and His church, that is, His bride. One cannot help but appreciate the fact that there cannot be a true bride unless her body belongs to the groom.

My thought and conviction is that Christ has two spiritual bodies. Body number one is made up of all of the Christians. Body number two is His bride, which - though taken out of His body - nonetheless is also His body. Eve as the body of Adam was a very small part of his whole body; so the church is a part of the body of Christ but a very small portion of His complete body.

The bride of Christ is selected out of the body of Christ on the basis of works emanating from faithfulness (Luke 19:11-27; I Corinthians 3:12-15). Those constituting the bride possess a double portion of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 25:1-13), and are not only hearers of the Word (saved), but are also doers (faithful workers).

Possibly the key to understanding the body and the bride of Christ is to be found in the fact that the body of Christ is composed of all of the Christians of the New Testament; whereas the bride of Christ is made up of the obedient, faithful, fruitful, sanctified Christians from among those who constitute the body. Therefore, in a real, literal, Scriptural sense, the church of Christ is both body and bride of Christ.
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[nChrist]

Prophecy - Signs
CHRIST And HIS Bride
by A. Edwin Wilson

CHRIST AND HIS BRIDE

Adam and Eve, a Type of Christ and His Bride - the Church The sweetest relationship existing between man and woman is that of husband and wife. The sweetest relationship existing between God and man is that of husband and wife. Israel is God's wife and the church is to become the wife of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are many wives in the Old Testament, who, in relationship to their husbands, typify, symbolize or illustrate some particular phase of the relationship between Christ and His bride. In this article we want to consider Eve as a type of the church - the bride of Christ.

Our conviction, born of prayer and the study of the Word, is that while the expressions bride and church can well be synonymous, they are different, though in one respect, analogous to the body. Eve as the bride of Adam typifies the church - the bride of Christ - in two respects:

First, as the bride in predestination. When God created Adam and Eve they were one person. Eve was in Adam. Their name, while two persons in one, was Adam (singular). For Adam to be socially complete, Eve had to be taken out of him and made a separate and distinct personality and then brought back to him that he might have fellowship with her. Ephesians 1:4 speaks of the church as being in Christ before the foundation of the world. In order for Jesus, then, to be socially complete, the church had to be taken out of Him and made a distinct personality and presented to Him for fellowship throughout eternity.

God caused a deep sleep to come upon Adam, and during this period of time opened his side and took a portion of his body, out of which He made Eve, his bride. She was the converse and counterpart of Adam - his other self. Likewise, when Christ became dead His side was opened, and there came out that part of His body which brought into existence His bride - the church. Just as Adam was incomplete without Eve, so Christ was incomplete without His bride, the church, His body the fullness of Him that fills all in all. Through Adam, Eve received all her dignity, position and blessing. Through Christ the church receives all her dignity, position and blessing. The existence of the church in the mind of God as the bride of  Christ was predestinated and fore-ordained from eternity. Eve being in Adam from the day of his creation beautifully typifies and illustrates the church in predestination.

The second fact typified by Adam and Eve is relative to the composition or constituency of the church. Everything that God does is according to pattern, by number, by weight and by measure. When He forms a plan or pattern He never changes it but goes right on through the ages working according to His own pattern which is perfect from the beginning. It has become axiomatic among students of types that the first time a type occurs, the pattern is set. But in the instances of Adam and Eve, we have far more than just a type or illustration. Here is a divine and perfect rule which is never changed. Here is infallible proof substantiated by many other Scriptures that the chosen company which will form the bride of Christ is but a small part of the body of Christ. The bride is taken out of the body and is in the highest sense the body of Christ, just as Eve is Adam's body BUT NOT ALL OF HIS BODY. Consider the proportionate relationship between one rib and the remainder of his body. When Eve was taken out of Adam's body she was called isha which means, "taken out of man," who was called ish. We have the same expression in English. She was called wo-man because she was "taken out of man."
 
First Corinthians 15:23 calls to our attention that there are several orders or companies of individuals on earth. All of the saved of the Old and New Testaments do not constitute one group. There are different groups of the saved in the Old Testament and there are several different groups of saved in the New Testament. All of the New Testament saints make up the body of Christ, but a certain group (by their own choice to suffer with Christ, to overcome the world, the flesh and the devil, to maintain faithful obedience to His commands, to win certain crowns proffered by God), constitute those who will be taken out of the great body of New Testament saints and make up the bride of Christ. This follows the pattern of Eve being taken out of the body of Adam and becoming his bride.

Possibly no one misconception has resulted in such loose living or utter disregard for the commandments of the Lord than the teaching that every Christian, regardless of how he fives, is a member of the bride of Christ and will rule and reign with Him. Be instructed and know that while eternal life is a gift of the grace of God, rewards and rulership are based on fidelity to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
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[nChrist]

Prophecy - Signs
Adam And Eve - CHRIST And The CHURCH
by A. Edwin Wilson

ADAM AND EVE - CHRIST AND THE CHURCH

The New Testament refers to the church as the bride of Christ, and many passages of Scripture speak of the marriage of the Lamb and the wedding feast. It is also noted that the antichrist is an imitation of Christ, and his bride is the apostate church. The Lord has emphasized in the Scripture several brides and their relationships to their husbands, and we come to appreciate the fact that each of these brides typify some particular aspect of the relationship between Christ and His bride, the church. We are thinking of Eve, Rebekah, Rachel, Asenath, Zipporah, Ruth and Abigail.

For this particular study we want to consider Eve in her relationship to Adam as a type of the church, and the church's relationship to Christ. In Genesis 2:18-25 and 3:1-24, we notice the following:

1. God saw it was not good for man to be alone. Of all the creatures of earth none provided the fellowship which man, in God's image and likeness, desired. We note in this connection that God's desire for fellowship led Him to create man in His own image and likeness in order that He might have fellowship, if and when man chose to commune with Him. God's love for His Son led the Father to choose a bride for the Lord Jesus Christ. (See John 17; Ephesians 1:3-5.)

2. The helpmate which God gave to Adam was made out of Adam's own bone and flesh so that they too might be of the same nature and substance and thereby be capable of having fellowship one with the other. The bride of Christ must be made out of the same substance and nature of the Lord Jesus Christ, else He cannot enjoy communion with her. For that reason the church is called the ekklesia, which means "called out of." Just as Eve was taken out of the body of Adam, so the bride of Christ is taken out of the body of Christ. Many expositors go astray here. Their imagination leads them away from the Word and they teach that Eve was made out of the entire body of Adam and that he had no body for himself except Eve's body. The fact of the matter is, Eve was made out of a very small portion of Adam's body - namely, one rib, and the flesh adhering thereto. Since man normally has twelve pairs of ribs, taking one would leave twenty-three, still a part of Adam's body but not a part of Eve's. Then consider the rest of Adam's body which is not constituted a part of Eve's body; whereas, Eve is bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh, she is not all of his body.

Now when we come to the New Testament to study the church, the bride of Christ, we read that the church is His body (Ephesians 5:23, 30-32) - more specifically members of His body - so that it does not say that the church is the complete body of Christ but only a part of the body. The church is that part of the body of Christ which is called out and separated from the body and constitutes the body of Christ. Instead of the church being called out of the world, she is called out of the family of God. One common error in teaching is that every Christian from Pentecost to the rapture is a member of the church and constitutes the bride of Christ. The truth of the matter is, the church constitutes a very small portion of the saved between Pentecost and the rapture.

3. God put Adam to sleep before He opened his side from which came his bride, Eve. Likewise, Christ was put to sleep (died on the cross) before His side was opened, from whence came the blood which was the foundation of the church.(See Matthew 16:16-18.)

4. God told Adam to cleave unto his wife; therefore, when Eve sinned and alienated herself from God, Adam, obedient to the command of God, remained with her. In order to do so he had to take her sin upon himself. The typical teaching is that after Christ's bride, chosen before the foundation of the world, had sinned, Christ had to lay aside His glory in heaven, leave the fellowship of His Father, come to earth and take upon Himself the form of  His creature, take His bride's sin upon Himself and die for her that He might lead her back to God.As Adam and Eve continued to share fellowship, so Christ and His church will enjoy fellowship throughout the ages of eternity.
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[nChrist]

Prophecy - Signs
Isaac and Rebekah, a Type of CHRIST and HIS Bride - The CHURCH 
by A. Edwin Wilson

ISAAC AND REBEKAH, A TYPE OF CHRIST AND HIS BRIDE - THE CHURCH

Never forgetting I Corinthians 10:11, "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." We now look at Abraham, Sarah, Eliezer, Isaac and Rebekah for the typology of their experiences relative to securing a bride for Isaac. Abraham is a type of God the Father; Sarah, his wife, is a type of Israel; Isaac, his son, is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ; Eliezer, his servant, is a type of the Holy Spirit; Rebekah, the bride of Isaac, is a type of the church. Genesis 22, 23, 24 and 25 give a complete story of God, Israel, Jesus Christ and the church. The offering of Isaac pictures John 3:16. The return of Isaac from the mount after three days portrays the resurrection of Christ after three days. After Abraham and Isaac returned from the mount of sacrifice, Sarah died. This prefigures the setting aside of Israel after Christ's burial and resurrection. After Sarah's death Abraham sought a bride for Isaac; after Israel was set aside God then began to take out of the Gentiles a people for His Name to be joined to a remnant of election according to grace to constitute a bride for Christ. After Isaac and Rebekah were married Abraham married Keturah; after the rapture and the marriage of the Lamb, God will restore Israel to Himself as a wife and Israel will again become the head of the nations.

Now we want to devote a little space to the work of the Spirit in calling out the bride as typified in the experience of Eliezer seeking and finding Rebekah.

1. Eliezer is not to take a wife for Isaac from the Canaanites, but from Abraham's own kinsmen. This typifies the fact that the church, a "called out people," is not called out of the world, but out of the family of God.

2. Eliezer's journey is guided and prospered by the Lord. Likewise, the Holy Spirit in seeking out the bride of Christ does so according to the will of God.

3. Providential circumstances reveal God's choice of a bride for Isaac. Likewise, providential circumstances will make possible the choice of an individual by God to become a part of that group called the bride of Christ.

4. Eliezer wastes no time in talking about himself, but talks about his master and the riches that are his to bestow upon her who is chosen to be his bride. Likewise, the Holy Spirit takes no time to speak of Himself, but staying in the background, points only and always to the Lord Jesus Christ and to the glories, honors and rewards that shall be to the ones who can qualify as the bride of Christ.

5. Rebekah's family tries to detain her. Likewise, many of the family of God try to hinder and detain other Christians from a life of obedience and separation which results in one's being chosen as a member of the bride of Christ.

6. Rebekah has to decide whether or not she wants to be the bride of Isaac. Likewise, a Christian has to decide for himself whether or not he wants to be a member of the body called the bride of Christ. Such a decision entails suffering, hardship, privation until one is sorely tempted to be satisfied to be saved by the skin of the teeth, suffering loss of all his works and receiving no rewards at all. (See I Corinthians 3:11-15.)

7. Rebekah leaves home with Eliezer to go to meet the bridegroom. Likewise, the Spirit of God calls the church to leave the earth to go yonder to meet the Lord.

8. At about the same time, Isaac leaves his tent going out in the field toward the direction from which the bride is coming. In the same way the Lord descends from heaven with a shout.

9. As Rebekah and Isaac approach each other, Rebekah puts a veil over her face. I think this typifies the truth that the identity of the bride is not revealed until the marriage of the Lamb. As there were others in Rebekah's party, so there will be others raptured besides the bride.

10. Isaac and Rebekah meet between his home and her home and then proceed to his home. The Lord Jesus Christ and the saints meet in the air between heaven and earth and then proceed into the heavens.

11. The wedding is consummated, and Isaac and Rebekah are happy. So, too, the Lord and His bride, the church, are married and happiness is the portion of both. After this Abraham remarries; and after the marriage of the Lamb, Israel is restored.
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[nChrist]

Prophecy - Signs
Isaac and Rebekah - CHRIST and The CHURCH 
by A. Edwin Wilson

ISAAC AND REBEKAH - CHRIST AND THE CHURCH

We do well to keep in mind I Corinthians 10:11, "Now all these things happened unto them for ensampIes: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come."

So when we come to Genesis 24 we have something far more than a love story. We have here a picture in type of God choosing a bride for His Son, Jesus. Abraham typifies God the Father; Isaac, God the Son; Eliezer, the Holy Spirit; and Rebekah, the bride of Christ.

The detailed account of the choice and the going for and returning with the bride for Isaac can be followed in every detail if one has a heart for the study of types. I do not propose to give an exhaustive study of this passage but to point out some of the high lights that will enable the reader to launch a study of his own. Such a study will prove most profitable in considering the church as the bride of Christ.

1. Abraham was very old when he became interested in a bride for his son. This old age of Abraham typifies the old age of God, that is, the eternity of God. We know from many Scriptures that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are from eternity, and that the church was chosen in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world. So we might say the first point in this study of the type is that the bride of Christ was in the mind of God from eternity.

2. Eliezer, the eldest servant of Abraham, typifies the Holy Spirit, the eldest servant of God the Father. He has many ministering angels to tend to lesser affairs than those committed to the Holy Spirit.

3. Abraham entered into a covenant with Eliezer that he would not take a bride for Isaac from the Canaanites (the lost) but from his own kindred (Christians). Here we learn at the very beginning that the bride of Christ is to be chosen from the family of God, not from the world. God made a covenant with the Holy Spirit to that effect.

4. Abraham sent Eliezer into a far country to get a bride for Isaac and return with her. Likewise, God the Father has sent the Holy Spirit into the world to callout a bride for Christ, and at the appointed time the Holy Spirit will bring her to meet Christ in the air.

5. Abraham did not seek a bride for Isaac until after Isaac had been placed on the altar as a burnt offering and had returned. Neither did God the Father begin to call out the church for a bride of Christ until after Christ's death, burial, resurrection and ascension.

6. Eliezer journeyed unto the city of Nahor and was supernaturally brought in touch with the family of Abraham. Likewise, members of the bride of Christ are supernaturally chosen by God and sought out by the Holy Spirit and have the opportunity to choose whether or not they want to be part of the bride.

7. Eliezer met Rebekah by a well of water. And we learn in Isaiah 12:3 that wells of water typify salvation; also, the water typifies the Word (Isaiah 55:1, 2). This brings to our attention that members of the bride of Christ are saved people who through the study of the Word become interested in the deeper things of God which will lead them into a life that qualifies one to be a member of the bride of Christ. (Not all the family of God constitute the bride of Christ.)

8. Eliezer then went with Rebekah to Laban (fleshy man) and abode there for a while. This typifies the Holy Spirit's coming into the world of the flesh and abiding for a while. That is the dispensation in which we are now living.

9. Eliezer opened his storehouse of treasure and showed to Rebekah and her family all the gifts and the glories of Isaac. Likewise, the Holy Spirit takes of the things of God the Father and God the Son and reveals them unto the Christian. Eliezer spoke not of himself, neither drew attention to himself. The Holy Spirit does not call attention to Himself, but magnifies only the Lord Jesus Christ (John 16:14; I Corinthians 2:9, 10).
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[nChrist]

Prophecy - Signs
Isaac and Rebekah - CHRIST and The CHURCH 
by A. Edwin Wilson

10. After Eliezer had shown Rebekah all of the gifts and glories of Isaac,he invited her to go with him to be the bride of his master. There is no force, no coercion - just a simple invitation. Rebekah had to make the choice herself as to whether or not she wanted to be the bride of Isaac. Likewise, individual Christians are invited to so live and obey the Lord that they will become a part of the bride of Christ. The Holy Spirit does not force a Christian; but having been saved by grace the Christian then must decide whether he wants to rule and reign with Christ or just be content to be a I subject in the coming kingdom.

11. After Rebekah accepted the invitation to become the bride of Isaac, Eliezer then led her on the journey toward Isaac's home. So the Holy Spirit guides, leads and directs the Christian in the things he must do if he is to be a part of the bride of Christ. See John 16:13.

12. Rebekah's family did their best to delay Rebekah's departure for a while. Even so, the world, the flesh and the devil attempt to keep a Christian from living for the Lord in a way that will earn for him crowns necessary to ruling and reigning, and also to keep the Christian from overcoming and thereby qualifying as a sovereign or a member of the bride of Christ. See Revelation, chapters 2 and 3 for studies on overcoming.

13. Eliezer then took Rebekah from her home and they moved out toward the home of Isaac. This typifies the rapture of the saints as they leave the earth and go to meet the Lord in the air.

14. At about the same time, Isaac left his home and, wandering in the field, went in the direction from which Rebekah was coming to meet him.

15. Rebekah saw him coming. This is typified in Hebrews 9:28, "Unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation."

16. As Rebekah saw Isaac approaching, her caravan was stopped and she put on her veil. This typifies Christians putting on the wedding garment as they prepare to meet the Bridegroom. The wedding garment is made up of the righteous acts of the Christian. See Revelation 19:7,8. When Ruth, who is a type of the bride of Christ, went to meet Boaz, who is a type of Jesus Christ, she bathed herself (type of confession of sin); she anointed herself (type of extra filling of the Holy Spirit), and she put on her wedding raiment (type of the Christian's good works). See Ruth 3:3.

17. Rebekah and Isaac met somewhere between her home and his home in the eventide. This typifies Christ and the church meeting in the heavens at the close of this dispensation.

18. When Rebekah and Isaac met they went then to his home to dwell. When Christ meets His church in the air they will go to His home in the heavens, which is to be their abode.

19. The marriage of Rebekah and Isaac took place in Isaac's home, and you might say they' 'lived happily ever after." This typifies the marriage of the Lamb taking place in heaven and our Lord's joy being made complete. The point which I want to emphasize most of all in this study of types is that the bride of Isaac was taken out of the family of Abraham and not from among strangers or those who were not of his family. This has its fulfillment in the church, the bride of Christ, being called out of the family of God and in particular from those who constitute the body of Christ. I believe the Bible is at one in teaching that all Christians make up the body of Christ, but just a few are taken out of the body of Christ to form the bride. Matthew 22:14 says, "For many are called (saved), but few are called out" (to form the church, or the bride of Christ).

"Let him that hath an ear hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." And may God grant unto you to be in that number spoken of in Hebrews 6:3.
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[nChrist]

Prophecy - Signs
Jacob And Leah And Rachel, A Type Of CHRIST And His Bride - The CHURCH 
by A. Edwin Wilson

JACOB AND LEAH AND RACHEL, A TYPE OF CHRIST AND HIS BRIDE - THE CHURCH

Thus far in our study of types of the Church we have seen Eve, a type of the Church - the Bride of Christ - being formed out of a rib of Adam to be his helpmate and to share his dominion. So Christ fell asleep in death on the cross, and the Church, His Bride, comes from His pierced side as a result of His atonement. The Church comes from the body of Christ and is in a sense His body, BUT NOT ALL of His body.

We next saw in Rebekah how the Bride is sought and won by the Holy Spirit, and how she is guided and protected by Him throughout the journey across the desert until she is presented to Isaac. When Rebekah saw Isaac she took a veil and covered herself. Likewise, when the saints are caught up to meet the Lord in the air, the corruptible must put on incorruption and the mortal must put on immortality. Here again we see the Bride is chosen from the family of the Bridegroom.

Now we consider Rachel and Leah for whom Jacob became a bondslave and labored for many years before he could take them to his home. This typifies Christ, becoming in the form of a bondslave and as one who serveth, winning to Himself His Bride (Philippians 2:5-8 ). I want you to notice first of all that Leah and Rachel are of the same family as Jacob. They were related to him. The Church is called out of the family of God to be the Bride of Christ.

In Jacob's journeyings north he comes in contact with the daughters of Laban (who typify Israel) when the water supply is very scarce. When Jesus comes to His own He finds the presence of the Spirit and the power of the Word (both of which are symbolized by water) very scarce. As Jacob rolled away the stone from the well, so did Jesus Christ open up the wells of the Spirit and the Word that the water flowed freely.

Jacob became a shepherd of Laban's sheep. Jesus came only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Jacob wanted the younger daughter only but had to take the elder daughter first. Leah, who typifies the law, must come first while Rachel, who typifies the gospel, comes second. Leah, the law, was very fruitful but Rachel, the gospel, was unfruitful. After Israel was set aside and the law superseded, the gospel of Christ became very fruitful and was preached in all the world to every creature during the generation which lived when Christ was on the earth (Romans 10:18; Colossians 1:23).

After Jacob left Haran and started toward Bethel his family was united and became one. After Christ left the earth and returned to heaven the middle wall of partition between Israel and the Gentiles was broken down and the twain became one in the Lord Jesus Christ.

(Neither one type nor a combination of all types can fully typify the Lord Jesus Christ in His person, work and ministry; therefore, the Lord uses many different individuals as facets of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.)
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[nChrist]

Prophecy - Signs
Jacob And And Rachel - CHRIST And The CHURCH 
by A. Edwin Wilson

JACOB AND RACHEL - CHRIST AND THE CHURCH

When Jacob left his home to go into a far country, his destination was the home of his mother's people. In Genesis 28:6 and 29:10 he was told to take a bride out from among his own brethren and not to choose one from among any others. Once again this calls our attention to the fact that the bride of Christ is to be called out from among the people of God and not from among those who have not been saved.

Jacob learned of Rachel from other herdsmen and fell in love with her before she ever heard of him or knew him. Likewise, Christ knew, loved and gave Himself for the church long before she ever heard of Him.

After Rachel met Jacob she ran and told her own family of the arrival of Jacob, which typifies the telling of the story of Christ unto the family of Christ before it was ever told to any outside of His own people. Christ came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel only. He sent the twelve to the lost sheep of the house of Israel only. Not until Peter preached the gospel in the household of Cornelius was it "also to the Greek." This experience calls to our attention that the gospel is to the Jew first.

This choosing a bride from His own people is described in Ephesians as the bride of Christ being bone of His bone, out of His body, and out of His flesh (Ephesians 5:30; Genesis 2:23).

Jacob agreed with Laban to become a servant and work for Rachel, his betrothed. Philippians 2:7, 8 shows that Christ became a servant and was obedient even unto death, and that upon the cross, in order to win His bride, the church. However, Jacob had to marry Leah first because of the custom of the Jews, and she typifies the earthly people of our Lord, and Christ's ministry of necessity was to the Jew first.

Rachel, typifying the heavenly people of God, came into relationship with Jacob after Israel's recognition by our Lord. Rachel bore two children to Jacob, Joseph and Benjamin. As Rachel was loved the most by Jacob, so were Joseph and Benjamin. Rachel, typifying the bride of Christ, brings forth the truth that Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it as well as those who are brought into a saved relationship with the Lord, as symbolized by Joseph and Benjamin.

After Jacob had completed his commitment to Laban for Rachel, then Rachel left her home and went with Jacob to his. This is a beautiful symbol of the rapture of the saints, going to meet the Lord and then back to His home in the heavens where the marriage of the Lamb takes place. In a sentence, Rachel typifies the bride of Christ being won after her Lover became a servant and worked for her.
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[nChrist]

Prophecy - Signs
Joseph and Asenath, a Type of CHRIST and His Bride - The CHURCH
by A. Edwin Wilson

JOSEPH AND ASENATH, A TYPE OF CHRIST AND HIS BRIDE - THE CHURCH
 
Asenath typifies the Bride of Christ sharing His exaltation to the right hand of the Father during the time of His rejection by His brethren in the  flesh, Israel. In developing the typology of Asenath we must first review some of the typical teachings in the life of Joseph leading up to his taking a bride from among the Gentiles. The following points of analogy between Joseph and Christ are evident:

1. Both Joseph and Jesus were shepherds.

2. They were both beloved of their Fathers.

3. They were both hated by their brethren.

4. Both knew of their future reign over their brethren.

5. They were both sent by their Fathers to see about their brethren.

6. The death of both was plotted by their brothers.

7. They were both stripped of their glory - Christ, as described in Philippians 2:5-8, and Joseph, being stripped of his coat of many colors.

8. Both were cast into a pit in which there was no water.

9. Both were sold for the price of a slave.

10. Both became servants.

11. Both were exalted to the right hand of the ruler - Christ seated at the right hand of God the Father, Joseph at the right hand of Pharaoh.

Rejected by their brethren and exalted to the right hand of the ruler, each takes unto himself a bride of Gentile lineage. "And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets: as it is written. After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things" (Acts 15:13-17). Here is fulfilled the mystery described in Ephesians, how that God is taking some from among the Gentiles and uniting them with redeemed Jews, making out of the twain one new man.

Joseph - rejected by his brethren but exalted by Pharaoh, answering only to Pharaoh and possessing all ruling power under Pharoah - is comparable to Christ as He describes His power and authority in Matthew 28:18: "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." While in this position of authority, Joseph marries a Gentile bride, Asenath. The main point of interest to note in the typology of Asenath is that she shares the glory, honor and prestige that belong to JosEphesians Though rejected by man, Joseph and his bride are exalted by the chief ruler. This typifies Christ's rejection today by the world and the subsequent rejection of the Church by the world, but the exaltation of both by the Lord God.

Another point of great interest, which needs to be emphasized today possibly as never before, is that during all of Joseph's dealings with his brothers, his wife is never present and does not enter into any of these experiences whatsoever. This is a type of supreme interest to Christians which, in connection with countless other types and Scriptures, makes us to know that the Church, the Bride of Christ, will not enter into nor have any relationship whatever with Christ's dealings with His brethren, the nation of Israel. As Asenath did not suffer with Joseph's brethren, neither will the church suffer with Israel. As Asenath was not punished with Joseph's brethren, neither will the church be punished with Israel. As Asenath was married and in a place of separation and safety from Joseph's brethren, so will the Church, the Bride of Christ, be married and in a place of safety, completely separated from Christ's brethren, Israel.

NO, THE CHURCH WILL NOT BE IN NOR HAVE ANY PART OF THE GREAT TRIBULATION.

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