Do you realize that our relationship with God starts while He remains hidden from us? From birth, God’s presence is not immediately available to anybody. In actual fact, it was the human family who first began to hide themselves from God, “Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God” (Gen 3:8). Mankind initiated this hidden relationship; therefore, God remains concealed until we individually decide to diligently seek Him out.

For over two hundred years after Adam’s fall his descendants preferred to remain hidden from God. Consequently, our own choices left us devoid of contact with our maker, “Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me” (Prov 1:28). So how then can we humans find our way back into intimacy with God?

We can begin by understanding that God Himself initiates the process of our reconciliation, “the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance” (Rom 2:4). Based upon that passage, God opens the door by leading us out of sin and into repentance. However, repentance is merely the initial step; it is delivery from the world of sin. In order to experience full intimacy with God after conversion, the Christian must seek Him wholeheartedly.

New Christians are like the ancient nation of Israel for whom God performed such mighty miracles and then delivered them out of Egypt. Even after liberation from Egypt they still needed to seek God with all of their hearts, “But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul!” (Deut 4:29). These specific words were spoken to the people on the day that the Ten Commandments were given, a full fifty days after they had left Egypt; at that moment God was still instructing them to “seek him with all thy heart.”

The point is that absolute intimacy with God is not simply attainable through natural means. Every born-again Christian needs to be filled with the deep desire to discover God; he must be determined in his pursuit of the Almighty! David clearly instructed his son Solomon in the area of diligently seeking after God, “Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God” (1 Chron 22:19).

Understand, “God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34); He always responds to anybody who diligently seeks after him, “if thou seek him, he will be found of thee” (1 Chron 28:9)! However, even after we become aware of Jesus, we must pursue a close intimate relationship with him, “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me!” (Prov 8:17). The Lord appreciates human perseverance.

We must be diligent in our quest for intimacy with God. Jesus taught about a persistent woman who sought Him out. Jesus wanted to rest apart from the press of the crowd consequently he traveled into gentile territory, “And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid” (Mark 7:24). Jesus even instructed His apostles that He was to remain inconspicuous! But there was a woman who broke through and expressed her need for a miracle! Jesus could not hide himself from that one persistent woman. Notice Jesus’ response, “But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. 28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs” (Mark 7:27-28). Determination on the part of the woman caused Jesus to respond to her need even before His blood was shed, “For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter!” (Mark 7:29). How much more will our persistent determination to gain intimacy cause Jesus to respond to us!

We must understand that our Christian experience is actually a form of courtship with Jesus. Paul wrote, “I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Cor 11:2)! You all may remember when you courted your mate that a pronounced diligence or attentiveness toward the other person was evident. Sadly, that same attentiveness has probably diminished since that magical period of courtship. There was an enchanting moment when the love-struck individual began to actually believe that a special someone might actually have a mutual affection! The whole concept was invigorating; this experience of growing affection became a thrilling experience. The whole world effortlessly and naturally responds to this “love” realm. The recording industry is almost entirely focused upon this enchanting experience!

Notice what Revelation says about the Bride of Christ, “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God” (Rev 19:7-9).

But why/how are Christians involved in courtship with Jesus? What does this courtship mean? What is the intended outcome of our courtship with the Lord? Can a mere human actually be involved in courtship/marriage with the divine? Is Jesus who was born a Jew really going to marry a gentile church?

To get answers to our questions we need to study six specific women of the Bible. Perhaps events from their lives can become subtle metaphors, which contain delicately concealed messages for us. There are secrets veiled behind six gentile brides of the Bible, which provide us with enlightenment about Jesus’ bride.

Our goal in this Bible Study is to identify specific prophetic characteristics based upon selected events in the lives of six gentile brides. From these six special women we will form a composite picture of the Bible’s ultimate seventh gentile bride, the bride of Christ. Let us begin by identifying the brides:

The Seven Gentile Brides!

#1) Eve obviously came out from Adam’s flesh, “the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Gen 2:21-24). Let’s notice:

1. The first bride actually came from the flesh of her husband;

2. While eve was being formed Adam was sleeping;

3. The formation of Eve, began with an implied piercing of Adam’s flesh; the bible says that the Lord, “closed up the flesh.” Whenever anything is closed there is first an implicit opening. The opening was the location, “she was taken out of Man;”

A second point that we must note concerning this original couple is that God first gave His instructions (Law) to the male, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Gen 2:17). Notice that the giving of this first Law transpired four verses before Eve was ever formed. Therefore it follows that it was Adam’s responsibility to convey the full intent of God’s Law to his wife. On the surface it does appear that Adam must have properly conveyed God’s Law. We can easily observe through the words that Eve chose in her response unto the serpent, “he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die” (Gen 3:1-3).

It was Adam’s responsibility to be the spiritual leader of his wife; however, we observe the exact opposite as the woman, “took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (Gen 3:6). At first glance it seems Adam may have been utterly negligent as he idly allowed his wife eat the forbidden fruit. However, it is much more likely that he was not properly tending to his wife; the scripture indicates that Adam was very likely absent when his wife first ate of the fruit. The reasoning behind this conclusion is, “And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression” (1 Tim 2:14). Since Adam was not deceived then he probably was not even present. This brings us to our fourth, fifth and sixth points:

4. Biblical indications are that there was a temporary period when Eve was in transgression and Adam was not, “Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression;”

5. Nevertheless, Adam chose to be in the same state of sin right along with his wife, “and he did eat;”

6. Since Adam chose to be in the state of sin along with his wife, it was almost certainly because of his love for her. Possibly Eve’s glorious appearance somehow departed when she sinned. We observe an appearance of glory on Moses’ face when he spoke face to face with God, “and the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.” It is very likely that Adam and Eve experienced an unknown and undesirable state of separation when the glory departed from Eve. This may likely have been the reason for Adam’s decision to eat the forbidden fruit;

#2) Next we come to Rebecca, the second of our gentile brides. Abraham had sent his servant Eliezer to get a wife for his son Isaac, “But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac” (Gen 24:4). Even Rebecca’s selection was supernatural. Going only on faith she journeyed with Eliezer and met her husband Isaac met at a well. In fact this is the first and most important aspect of which we must make note. Isaac and Rebecca initiate a Biblical motif that includes: Isaac and Rebecca; Jacob and Rachel; and Jesus and the Samaritan woman.  They all met at a source of living water, “And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahai-roi” (Gen 24:62). The name Lahai-roi means, “well of a living (One) my Seer.” Hagar first named the well when she was sent away from Sarah. We find Isaac coming from the well as he meets Rebecca, “And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. 64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. 65 For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself” (Gen 24:63-65).

The next and final time that we see the well Lahai-roi is when Isaac was blessed, “And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahai-roi” (Gen 25:11). The concepts on which we will focus concerning bride number two are:

7. Going only on faith Rebecca journeyed with Eliezer;

8. Rebecca came out of Babylon, Abraham’s country of origin;

9. Rebecca was supernaturally selected as a result of prayer;

10. Isaac and Rebecca met at a source of living water, the well Lahai-roi “well of a living (One) my Seer;

#3) Asenath is our third gentile bride. She was married to Joseph (whose name means, “add to”). Almost everyone agrees that Joseph is definitely a type of Jesus; therefore, his bride would naturally be a type of the Church or the bride of Christ. However, the scripture is rather quiet concerning Asenath. Nonetheless, we can glean good information from those minute details that the Bible does reveal. “Asenath” means “One who belongs or is consecrated to Neth;” and, Neth was the Egyptian name for “the mother-earth of the delta!” Her father was the high priest of On, who worshipped the sun god. This is the god from whom Pharaoh was supposed to have descended. Therefore Asenath knew absolutely nothing about Jehovah God; indeed, she was nurtured and educated in the house of an extremely high-ranking pagan official! Therefore she was steeped in the world’s foremost sun-god / mother-earth religion. Indeed her name means that she belonged to mother-earth of the Delta (the Nile River).

As a result of revealing Pharaoh’s famous dream, Joseph was given a wife and a new name, “And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath-paaneah some claim that name means (“Revealer of Secrets” others claim his name means, “the one who furnishes the nourishment of life," still others claim that the break down of his name – zaf "food," net "saviour," paaneh "life" would result in, "saviour of the world." The official Hebrew interpretation from (Josephus Ant. 2:6, Section 1) is that Joseph’s name means "revealer of secrets."); and he gave him to wife Asenath (meaning, “One who belongs to the mother earth of the delta”); the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt” (Gen 41:45). “And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt” (Gen 41:46).

Joseph and his wife Asenath had two sons, “And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On bare unto him. 51 And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house. 52 And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction” (Gen 41:50-52).

11. Joseph is probably the foremost type of Jesus; therefore, his bride would naturally be a critical type of the Church or the Bride of Christ;

12. Asenath knew absolutely nothing about the true God of heaven; yet her pagan past is blotted out of the book of remembrance;

13. Joseph, as “Revealer of Secrets” and "saviour of the world" sat in the lofty seat of high authority and honor with his wife at his side just as the church sits in heavenly paces with Jesus, “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:6).

#4) Our fourth gentile bride is: Zipporah (meaning little bird or “sparrow”) – The scripture is rather quiet concerning this woman; however, once again we can glean important information from those small details found in the Bible. First we know that she is considered by some to be an Ethopian, “And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman” (Num 12:1). Whether or not Zipporah was the "Cushite woman" of Num 12:1 is a much-debated question. Scholars can only produce mere speculation on the subject of the “Cushite woman.” Aaron and Miriam used the words, "Cushite woman" for Moses’ wife; this may have been merely a description of Zipporah which was intended to cast a dispersion upon her. Some claim that they may have been complaining about yet another woman whom Moses subsequently married; however, there is no proof of this suggestion. As we return to Zipporah, we know that she was from Midian, “Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. 17 And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. 18 And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day? 19 And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock. 20 And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread. 21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter. 22 And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land” (Ex 2:16-22).

Our final encounter with Zipporah is interesting as she “took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. 26 So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision” (Ex 4:25-26). Apparently, she was filled with unwillingness and anger regarding the circumcision. As a result, she circumcised her child herself exclaiming, "A bloody husband art thou to me because of the circumcision."

This strange incident at the inn seemingly induced Moses to send her back to her father. Some claim that she was unable to brave the trials of God's people. However, Jethro apparently returned her back to Moses in Rephidim during the first year's sojourn in the wilderness. We observe from the following passage that this theory may have some validity, “When Jethro (Reuel), the priest of Midian, Moses' father in law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, and that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt; 2 Then Jethro, Moses' father in law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back, 3 And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land: 4 And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh” (Ex 18:1-4).

14. Zipporah was scorned by her husband’s family;

15. Zipporah was sent back to her father and subsequently returned to Moses;

#5) Rahab is the fifth of the Gentile Brides. We should begin to recognize the growing amount of information concerning each bride as we progress toward the seventh bride. We have the entire second chapter of the book of Joshua to learn about Rahab (‘broad’ or spacious). Nonetheless, with the exception of one verse from the book of Hebrews, her story is limited to the second chapter of Joshua, “And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there. 2 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country. 3 And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country. 4 And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were: 5 And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. 6 But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof. 7 And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate. 8 And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof; 9 And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. 10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. 11 And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. 12 Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token: 13 And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death. 14 And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee. 15 Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall. 16 And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way. 17 And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear. 18 Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee. 19 And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him. 20 And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear. 21 And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window” (Josh 2:1-21).

16. By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not” (Heb 11:31);

17. Rahab said, “I know that the LORD hath given you the land” (Josh 2:10);

18. Rahab said, “for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath” (Josh 2:11);

#6) Our Sixth and Most Illustrative Gentile Bride is Ruth. There is a small four-chapter book named Ruth (which means friend); this book was written during the time of the Judges; the book is devoted to her story. By now we should notice that as we get closer to the seventh bride we have obtained more quantity and quality information regarding our prototype bride. We will not study the entire book of Ruth during this Bible Study. A Rivkah Ministries, Bible Study entitled, “The Book of Ruth” is devoted entirely to this book. (If you do not have a copy of that study, you can obtain it form the World Wide Web at: http://www.rivkah.org) Instead of the whole book, we will attempt to focus on the overall picture of Ruth through prophetic pictures and keywords as we examine each chapter of the book.

Prophetic Pictures from Ruth  Notice the overall type elements in the Book of Ruth:

• Ruth (the Church) who was a gentile was brought in as the result of the exile of Naomi (Israel); in like fashion the church (Ruth) only came to God when Israel was exiled;

• Ruth (Church) did not ever replace Naomi (Israel); instead, Ruth learned from and was coached by Naomi; in the same fashion the church should learn from Israel;

• Naomi (Israel) remained in exile until Ruth (Church) was ready to become the bride of Boaz (Jesus); this is a key prophetic sign as we see the nation of Israel being restored we should realize the bride of Christ is about ready to appear;

• Boaz (Jesus) and Naomi (Israel) never met, John 1:11 “He came unto his own, and his own received him not;”

Keyword Pictures from Ruth  Notice that there are primary keywords in each chapter of Ruth each of which relates to the major concept which can be found in the chapter.

Chapter 1 of Ruth – (Naomi and Ruth returned to the land of Israel):

The “keyword” (Shuv - “to return”) appears a total of twelve times in chapter 1.

Teshuvah = Is the Hebrew word meaning “repentance” and it can be separated into two parts: Teshuv followed by hay. Teshuv (shuv) means “return to” and the letter  (hay) is an abbreviation for God; therefore, the Hebrew word repentance literally means to return to God. This is reminiscent of our original question from page one, “So how then can we humans find our way back to intimacy with God?”

Chapter 2 of Ruth – (Ruth “happens” to glean in the fields of Boaz):

The “keyword” (Leket - “to glean”) is a keyword that appears 12 times in chapter 2 in the same way that the keyword Shuv appeared 12 times in the first chapter. According to the “Law of Gleaning” Hebrews could reap their fields only one time. Whatever remained in the field after the first pass was left for the widows and the fatherless; this became Israel’s (God’s) welfare system.

Chapter 3 of Ruth – (Ruth slept at Boaz’s feet; she asked him to spread his garment over her):

The “keyword” (Shakhov - it has two meanings in Tanak:

(1) to physically lie down and, (2) to sleep and to have sexual relations.

Corner of the Garments = Num 15:38 “Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue.” In the Hebrew culture, one’s garment showed their authority. Ruth came under the authority of Boaz, “And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet. 9 And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman” (Ruth 3:8-9).

Chapter 4 of Ruth – (Boaz redeems Ruth and together they generate offspring):

The “keyword” “Ga’al” pronounced (Go-el). It appears 21 times in book of Ruth . The word “Ga’al” means a Kinsman “Reedemer” Ruth found Grace in the eyes of Boaz who became her Kinsman Reedemer!

Let’s carefully note the five occurrences of our keyword redeemer in verse 4 alone! “4 And I thought to advertise thee, saying, Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt (1)redeem it, (2)redeem it: but (3)if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know: for there is none (4)to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee. And he said, I (5)will redeem it.”

The story of Ruth creates a portrait of the Grace (favor) that God now places on the church. Notice her reaction after Boaz (type of Jesus) spoke to her, “then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace (favor) in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger? . . . 13 Then she said, Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens” (Ruth 2:10-13).

19. Naomi and Ruth returned (Shuv) to the land of Israel;

20. Ruth “happens” to glean (Leket) in the fields of Boaz;

21. Ruth slept (Shakhov) at Boaz’s feet she asked him to spread his garment over her;

22. Boaz redeems (Ga’al)Ruth and together they generate offspring;

So Now, we come to the Seventh Gentile Bride…

However, before we meet that specific bride let’s first notice how David too is characteristic of the bride of Christ:

• David means "Beloved;” which is also a term for God's Bride (Song of Solomon 3:6);

• David desired to build the house of God (I Chronicles 28:2, 29:3); so too, the Bride of Christ set her affections on building the house of God (Colossians 3:1-2);

• David confessed that he was a stranger and sojourner on the earth doing the Will of God (I Chronicles 29:15); the bride of Christ confesses that she is a stranger and pilgrim (I Peter 2:11);

• David was the chosen of God (Psalm 89:3); so too the bride of Christ is the chosen of God (John 15:16);

• David loved Jerusalem, God's chosen city (I Kings 11:32); in like fashion heavenly Jerusalem is the city of God's bride (Hebrews 12:23, Revelation 21);

• David was an Ephrathite meaning "double fruit" (I Samuel 17:12); the bride of Christ is prophesied to bear much fruit (John 15:8, Galations 5:22-23). Note also that Ruth married Elimelech, who happened to be an Ephrathite, (Ruth 1:2);

• God called David his firstborn (Psalm 89:27); so too, the bride of Christ is the firstborn of God (Hebrews 12:23);

• David was anointed by God to accomplish His Will (Psalm 89:20); likewise, the bride of Christ is anointed to accomplish the Will of God (Isaiah 61:1,3,6,10);

• David loved God's Law and kept His commandments (I Kings 11:32, 38); the Bride of Christ is supposed to love Jesus and keep His commandments (John 14:15).

Have you experienced the act of falling in love with the Almighty? There is a saying, “Love makes the world go around!” Love always makes the new bride giddy; Love makes the young man in pursuit of a maiden’s affections experience the wondrous excitement of life! We have to get a revelation of God’s love for us. The concept that God loves us must flow from our very spirit. Meditate on this fact; mutter to yourself all day long: “God loves me!” “God loves me!” “God loves me!” “God loves me!”

From the fourth chapter of the first letter of John God’s love for us is made clear:

• 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

• 16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

• 19 We love him, because he first loved us.

The seventh Gentile bride turns out to be the Church of Jesus Christ! Eve is a picture of the foundation of the church! She only had the capacity to act like a man because she came from a man! She was taken from the side of Adam and formed. Eve’s source was Adam while his source was God. Adam was supposed to act like God while Eve was supposed to act like Adam. The seventh Gentile Bride, came out of the bloody side of Jesus Christ therefore she must think and act like Jesus Christ because she came from Jesus. Let me give you more of an explanation of what I mean by one’s source.

Whenever God wants to create something He first establishes the source from which He wants the new creation to be formed. As long as the created thing stays in contact with its source, it lives. When the created thing disconnects from its source it dies! As long as it stays connected to its source it lives. A plant’s source is the earth, as long as it stays in contact with the earth it lives. A fish’s source is the water, as long as it stays in the water it lives. However as soon as it is taken out of the water it begins to die.

When God wanted to create man He used Himself as the source. As long as man stays in contact with God he lives! However when he looses contact with his God he dies! In the same fashion the church came from Jesus Christ we cannot not be a triumphant church if we disconnect from Jesus! Rather, we will begin to die.

What about Rebecca Isaac’s bride? She never saw Isaac; yet journeyed to marry him based upon Eliezer’s word! Out of faith she left her country to marry a man whom she had never seen, “without faith it is impossible to please him” (Heb 11:6). She obviously had faith! If you have faith, “ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove” (Matt 17:20). The bride of Christ must have faith in God!

Joseph was a type of Jesus therefore Joseph’s wife is a type of the Church! Joseph’s bride Asenith means “One who belongs to the mother-earth of the delta!” Her father was the high priest of On who worshipped the sun god. Therefore she knew nothing about God! She is a type of the church who knew nothing about Jesus!

Asenith became a portrait for the gentile Church of Jesus! Before coming to Jesus, the gentile church could be described as follows, “at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world” (Eph 2:12). We were pagans! And then one day Peter went into the house of Cornelius. Jesus (Our Heavenly Joseph) loved us and adopted us at the cross. He has made us joint heirs. He loved us and brought us into the heavenly realm! As in the blessing over Joseph’s two sons, the Father crossed His hands with a blessing over us! He has given us a people who were not a people the best of the blessings of Heaven; while His own son Jesus was crucified. The one not supposed to get the blessing got the blessing from God almighty!

As a result, it is the destiny of the church to sit in heavenly paces with Jesus just as Joseph’s brides sat at his side over Egypt! All of Aseniths pagan past has been blotted out from the book as a reminder to us that our past sins are also blotted out! You cannot find her pagan past in first five books of the Bible, the book of remembrance!

She was justified – Just-if-I’d never sinned! She was to produce children for Joseph and bring glory and honor to her husband. The Church is supposed to produce children and bring glory and honor to Jesus!

So what is the composite picture from the first six Gentile Brides? From their composite characteristics we can learn what the Bride of Christ will be like! The following is intended to express those characteristics that the Bride of Christ will surely display:

1. The first bride came from the flesh of her husband, “Now ye are the body of Christ” (1 Cor 12:27);

2. While Eve was being formed Adam was sleeping – In like fashion, after Jesus’ death (Prophetically, His physical body slept) while the church is being formed, “how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3);

3. The formation of Eve, began with an implied piercing of Adam’s flesh because it says that the Lord, “closed up the flesh.” In order for anything to be closed there is an implicit that it first was opened. This is how, “she was taken out of Man;” – in like fashion, Jesus’ flesh was pierced while on the cross, out of his blood the Church was formed, “having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself” (Col 1:20);

4. Biblical indications are that there was a temporary period when Eve was in transgression and Adam was not, “the woman being deceived was in the transgression;” – in like fashion, Jesus so loved his bride that he became sin and died for his bride while she was in transgression in order to return her to his glorious form, “he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor 5:21);

5. Nevertheless, Adam chose to be in the same state of sin right along with his wife, “and he did eat;” – in the same fashion Jesus choose to become sin for the church, “who for the joy (his joy was our redemption) that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb 12:2);

6. Since Adam chose to be in the state of sin along with his wife, it was almost certainly because of his love for her. Possibly Eve’s glorious appearance somehow departed when she sinned. We observe an appearance of glory on Moses’ face when he spoke face to face with God, “and the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.” It is very likely that Adam and Eve experienced an unknown and undesirable state of separation when the glory departed from Eve. This may likely have been the reason for Adam’s decision to eat the forbidden fruit, “his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:3); “That he might present it to himself a glorious church” (Eph 5:27);

7. Going only on faith, Rebecca journeyed with Eliezer, “And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will (note her marriage statement) go” (Gen 24:58); so too, the bride of Christ confesses Jesus without seeing him, “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God” (1 John 4:15);

8. Rebecca came out of Babylon; Abraham’s country of origin; in like fashion the bride of Christ is to come out of Babylon, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, . . . I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins” (Rev 18:2-4);

9. Rebecca was supernaturally selected as a result of prayer;

10. Isaac and Rebecca met at a source of living water, the well Lahai-roi “well of a living (One) my Seer;

11. Joseph is probably the foremost type of Jesus; therefore, his bride would naturally be a critical type of the Church or the Bride of Christ;

12. Asenath knew absolutely nothing about the true God of heaven; yet her pagan past is blotted out of the book of remembrance;

13. Joseph, as “Revealer of Secrets” and "saviour of the world" sat in the Lofty seat of high authority and honor with his wife at his side just as the destiny of the church is to sit in heavenly paces with Jesus;

14. Zipporah was scorned by her husband’s family;

15. Zipporah was sent back to her father and subsequently returned to Moses;

16. By faith the harlot (Septuagint uses word “porne” from which we get pornography) Rahab perished not with them that believed not” (Heb 11:31); yes she was a harlot. Harlotry was not counted "sin" among the pagan; still, it was not respectable. Even so, when she adopted a pure faith she lived a pure life; we know that she married Salmon claimed to have been one of the spies. She also birthed Boaz an Ephrathite. Rahab’s faith displayed corresponding actions, “Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?” (James 2:25).

17. Rahab said, “I know that the LORD hath given you the land” (Josh 2:10);

18. Rahab said, “for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath” (Josh 2:11);

19. Naomi and Ruth returned (Shuv) to the land of Israel;

20. Ruth “happens” to glean (Leket) in the fields of Boaz;

21. Ruth slept (Shakhov) at Boaz’s feet she asked him to spread his garment over her;

22. Boaz redeems (Ga’al)Ruth and together they generate offspring.

These magnificent women of faith all shared a quality beyond mere faith; they each demonstrated flashes of perseverance at some point or other in their lives. The beautiful writing of Solomon expresses the story of a maiden (yet another expression of the bride of Christ) who could not find her fairest one, “By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not” (Song 3:1). Through unrelenting diligence this maiden eventually discovered her lover. In like fashion, the Christian who wishes to locate that extraordinary intimate relationship with the Almighty must be diligent in his/her search. Through perseverance they will ultimately experience full intimacy with God. Still, when He is sought after wholeheartedly, He will be found, “thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul!” (Deut 4:29).