Dispensationalism vs. Christian Identity Theology - Part 4

Copied from the sermon notes of Pastor Don Elmore

April 2, 2023

Scripture Reading:  Romans 7:4

“Wherefore, My brethren, ye [Israelites] also are become dead to the law [of marriage] by the [dead] body of Christ; that ye [Israelites] should be married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead [Jesus, the Passover Lamb], that we [Israelites] should bring forth fruit unto God.”

Who was the Apostle Paul’s brethren?  Paul said in the Holy Scriptures that he was of the tribe of Benjamin of the kingdom of Judah/Israel (Philippians 3:6).  So, his brethren would be those of the tribes of Israel.  He also predicted that his brethren would become dead to the marriage law and would be remarried to the resurrected Christ. This cannot be applied to anyone else besides Israel, for they were the ones that were married to Him previously.  One can only be REmarried if they had been married once before.

Christianity is not a religion with no disagreements.  It is full of them, with many of the controversies presenting opposite and contradictory viewpoints.  Today, there are so many different churches, with so many divergent beliefs, that most of these organizations could be no longer accurately be called Christian.  In fact, there are very few churches that are Christian today.  Many of them fail to teach what the churches used to teach centuries ago and are completely ignorant of it.

For example, throughout the church’s history, there have been four various views regarding the book of Revelation: 

1) Idealist:  Teaches that Revelation describes in symbolic language the battle throughout the ages between God and Satan and good against evil.

2) Preterist:  Teaches that the events recorded in the book of Revelation were largely fulfilled in AD 70 with the fall of the Jerusalem Temple. 

3) Historicist:  Teaches that the book of Revelation is a symbolic presentation of church history beginning in the first century AD through the end of the age.  The Prophecies of Revelation are fulfilled in various historic events such as the fall of the Roman Empire, the Protestant Reformation, and the French Revolution. 

4) Futurist: Teaches that Revelation prophesizes events that will take place in the future.  These events include the Rapture of the church, seven years of tribulation upon the Jews, and a millennial (1000 year) rule of Christ upon the earth.  During the Tribulation will be the Marriage Supper of the Lamb with the church; during the Millennial will be the remarriage of the Jews with Almighty God.  This is the most popular of the four different views now in Christendom. 

Today’s sermon will be an investigation of who will be the bride(s) and who will be the groom(s) in the upcoming wedding or weddings.

DISPENSATIONALISM AND THE MARRIAGE SUPPERS

(1936-2019) Renald E. Showers was a world-renowned professor, theologian, and author, who was a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, who served with The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry for more than 30 years. He retired shortly before he died on April 4, 2019. 

“The Marriage and Marriage Supper of The Lamb Revelation 19:7–9

Introduction

Where will the Church be during the 70th week of Daniel 9 (the last seven years prior to the Second Coming of Christ, which has been popularly called the Tribulation period)? Several things presented in the [Book of] Revelation indicate that the Church will be in Heaven with Christ during that time period. One of those things is the marriage and marriage supper of the Lamb.”

[What church would that be that is Raptured in heaven with Christ?  Is it the Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, Pentecostal, Roman Catholic, Orthodox Catholic, Plymouth Brethren, Amish, Mennonite, Presbyterian, Episcopal, Anglican, Church of Christ, Crossroads,  Vineyard, Lakewood, Arminian, Integrated, Calvinistic, Dispensational, etc. or all of the above churches or a combination of just some of them?  Do you think the Fellowship of God’s Covenant People may be one of the churches that are raptured?  Maybe it is none of them.]

“The Old Testament teaches that God betrothed Israel [the Jews] (bound the nation [Jews] to Himself as His wife) through the Mosaic Covenant at Mount Sinai (Jer. 2:2; Ezek. 16:8), but Israel [the Jews] repeatedly broke the covenant through spiritual adultery (Jer. 3:1-3, 6-9, 20; Ezek. 16:32, 59; Hos. 1:2; 2:2; 3:1; 4:12, 18; 5:34; 6:7, 10; 7:4; 8:1; 9:1). God divorced Israel [the Jews], but not permanently (Isa. 50:1; 54:7–8; Jer. 3:12). He did not regard the divorce as a termination of His marriage with the nation [the Jews] (Jer. 3:14; cp. v. 8).”

[Christian-Identity teaches that God didn’t divorce the Jews, for He was never married to them.  One can’t divorce someone who he was never married to.  The LORD God didn’t divorce the entire Israelite nation either; but He divorced the House of Israel and eventually much of the House of Judah.  There had to be at least a very small remnant of the kingdom of Judah that was not divorced, for Jesus to be not only born, but to eventually become the lawful king for the second time.]  

Mr. Showers continues:

“God has been judging the nation [the Jews] for its adultery (Ezek. 16:38). Through this judgment He will stop Israel’s [the Jew’s] unfaithfulness, calm His fury, and lose His jealousy and anger (Ezek. 16:41–42). When Israel [the Jew] repents in the future at the Second Coming of Christ (Hos. 3:5; 5:15–6:1; Zech. 12:10–14), God will cleanse the nation [Jewish nation] (Zech. 13:1), love it freely (Hos. 14:1–4), and betroth it to Himself forever (Hos. 2:19–20) through the establishment of an everlasting covenant (Isa. 55:3; 61:8; Jer. 32:40; 50:4–5; Ezek. 16:60–62; 37:21–28).”

[Christian-Identity believes that God has never loved and will not ever love the Jewish people. For the Bible says that “God hates Esau”, for Esau despised the covenant and married interracially. Esau’s mixed-race children were not a part of the everlasting covenant.]  

“Israel [the Jews] will be adorned like a bride (Isa. 61:10); God will delight in and rejoice over Jerusalem as a groom rejoices over his bride; and the land of Israel [the Jew] will be married to God (Isa. 62:1–5). Thus, at the Second Coming, God and Israel [the Jew] will go through betrothal and marriage a second time, and then their marriage supper will take place during the Millennium after the Second Coming.”

[So, Mr. Showers says that God will be remarried to the Jew in the Millennium after His Son’s Second Coming.  Will that be the Ashkenazi’s, or the Sephardic, the Mizrahi, the Hassidic, the Ethiopian, the reformed, the conservative, the orthodox, the Messianic or the other kinds of Jews or all of them collectively?] 

The late Renald E. Showers has equated Israel and Jews and quotes them as being synonyms of each other.  He referenced the prophet Hosea and misapplied what Hosea said about the “House of Israel” saying that it was instead the entire nation of Israel (the Jews). 

Christian-Identity believes that Hosea taught that it was the House of Israel that was divorced by God.  The House of Israel is 5/6 (83%) of the entire nation of Israel and was scattered for its unfaithfulness to God’s commandments.  But the House of Israel contained the birthright through Joseph and his sons.

Genesis 48:17-19:

17) “And when Joseph saw that his father [Jacob] laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head.

18) And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father; for this is the firstborn:  put thy right hand upon his head.

19) And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son.  I know it: he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed [Ephraim’s seed] shall become a multitude of nations.”

Did this occur?  If it did occur, when did Ephraim become a multitude of nations?  What nations were/are they?  One tribe of Israel was to become a multitude of nations—and the main-stream church doesn’t know the identification of these nations? 

The House of Israel plus the House of Judah equals the Kingdom of Israel or the Kingdom of God.  Israel and the Jews are not interchangeable but are two very different peoples.  They have been ardent enemies of each other, each with different name changes, for multi-millennia.  But this late world-renown professor said that the Jews and God will be the bride and groom who will be remarried after the wedding of the church [multi-racial] and Jesus Christ.  Is this true?

DISPENSATIONALISM AND JEW AND GENTILE

The three main religions of the world, Islam, Judaism and Christianity all go back to Abram or Abraham.  All three trace, at least a part of their ancestors to Abraham; but not all three are pure descendants of Abraham. 

• The people of the religion of Islam or Muslims were not the descendants of Abram and Sarah, but Abram and Hagar.  They were not of the covenant seed.  Esau married into their line in one of his marriages.
• Israel/Christians are the pure descendants of Abram and Sarah.  They are the covenant seed of their fathers; Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
• The Jews are an adulterated seed of Abraham. They trace their lineage from Esau who racially intermarried into the line of the evil Canaanites in at least two of his marriages.  The son of Cain, then the Canaanites are the ancient ancestors of the evil seed line.

In morningview.org, Shawn Mathew said:

  “…That there will be a mass conversion of Israelites [Jews] in the last days…”

which agrees with what the Scofield Bible advocates.   Scofield’s notes first appeared, just 114 years ago, in 1909.   It has made a mockery of what the Bible teaches, as it consistently interchanges Israel and Jews, instead of keeping them separate and distinguished; for the Jews will never be converted at any time. 

Even at the end of the seven-year Tribulation period, there will be no glorious conversion of the Jewish people.  They are enemies of our God, who murdered His Son and rejected all His teachings.  The descendants of the offspring of the viper hated not only the Messiah of Israel, but His Apostles and all that follow Him. 

CLARENCE LARKIN

Clarence Larkin, another famous dispensationalist agrees with the other Jesuit followers.  For he says that the church is a mystery.

“From this we see that the Church was unknown to the Old Testament patriarchs and prophets.  That the Gentiles [non-Jews] were to be saved was no mystery.  Rom. 9:24-30.  The ‘Mystery’ was that God was going to form an entirely ‘New Thing,’ composed of Both Jew and Gentile, to be called—‘The Church.’”—(Blue Letter Bible, Clarence Larkin, chapter 11, II, 1, Eternal Purpose).

Larkin and Scofield also agree with Mr. Showers, the author that I quoted in the beginning of this sermon,

“…that there are ‘Two Brides’ mentioned in the Scriptures.  One in the Old Testament, and the other in the New Testament.  The one in the Old Testament is Israel [the Jews], the Bride of Jehovah; the one in the New Testament is the Church [Jews and Gentiles], the Bride of Christ.”

Two marriage suppers, two marriages, given at two different times, with two different brides, with two different grooms (well sort of, for a few of the Jews are the bride of Christ, while the rest of them are the bride of His Father).  The dispensationalists tell their listeners that it is the weddings of the Father (Jehovah) and the Son (Christ). 

But where is the House of Israel (5/6 of the nation of Israel) in all of this?  The dispensationalists omit almost all the people of Israel because they omit the House of Israel.  Which marriage partner do the dispensationalists say that the House of Israel will have, or do they say that they will be married at all? 

ACCORDING TO DISPENSATIONALISM:

Jew = Descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

Gentile = Everyone who is not a Jew    

House of Israel = Jew or Gentile or what?   

CHRISTIAN-IDENTITY THEOLOGY

Let’s look at this chart that shows a few of the first descendants of Abram/Abraham:

Jesus' death and resurrection provided for the reuniting of both Houses; it had nothing to do to with providing anything for the rest of the non-Adamites.  The House of Judah in Jerusalem was destroyed, and the former destroyed House of Israel was given the kingdom from the usurping Jews.

Remember, dispensationalism had its beginning with the writings of a Catholic Jesuit priest.  One of the Jesuit priests, Francisco Ribera, who like all the original members of that society, was Jewish and was an adversary of our God.   In 1585 AD, he published a commentary on Babylon and the antichrist that taught that Daniel’s 70th week was in the future.  Ribera’s purpose mirrored the one purpose of the Jesuits which was to counter the Protestant Reformation and to set aside the Protestant teaching that the papacy was the antichrist. 

He accomplished this by putting the first three chapters of the Book of Revelation in the first century.  The rest of the Book he put in the distant future.  So, it doesn’t matter to the dispensationalist’s churches what they believe about the end times, because they will be raptured before they happen.  It has been almost 500 years since he wrote his book which contains this strange futuristic doctrine. 

WHAT WAS THE KINGDOM LIKE WHEN JESUS WAS BORN?

When Jesus was born, as the future restored King of Israel, in what condition was His kingdom?  The House of Israel (had no hope, were not circumcised, were cut off from the covenant, were in a divorced state, etc.) along with many of the House of Judah who were taken captive along with them.  They both had long been gone from the Promised Land that was given them by Almighty God.

What about the remainder of the House of Judah?  They were later (about a century-and-a-half) taken captive by the Babylonians.  Most of the pure-blooded people of Judah would never return to Jerusalem but followed in the footsteps of the ten northern tribes and migrated into other nations and into the wilderness of Europe.

But even after a remnant of the nation of Judah returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity, they practiced more miscegenation with the Canaanites (Ezra and Nehemiah). This race-mixing process continued more and more until, at the time of Christ, there remained only a very small remnant of the House of Judah with the pure blood of Judah, Benjamin and a small number of Levites.

Dispensationalism never mentions that the House of Israel would be restored, in fact, they very seldom even mention that the House of Israel even existed.  They fail to mention that they were divorced and that their divorce would not last forever. It would be one of the major reasons for the Passion of Christ, for that is how the LORD God had to release Israel from the marriage law.

And they also are oblivious about the remnant nation of Judah with its inhabitants of Jerusalem that they were condemned never to be a nation again.  The Houses of Israel and Judah that were taken in captivity centuries before would be restored and the very small remnant of the House of Judah, dwelling in Jerusalem, that was control by the Edomites with many of the mixed-race individuals who were living there, would be destroyed forever. But isn’t this what the dispensationalists say will be restored—what God said would be destroyed forever!

And the students of Ribera seldom, if ever, teach that the dominant ethnic population of Judaea in the time of Christ, were the Edomites or Idumeans, who had moved into the ancient lands of Judea several centuries before the birth of the kinsman Redeemer. The Edomite Jews from the time of Herod had gained control of the Kingdom of God.

Dispensationalism projects that since the Jews rejected their Messiah, they were set aside for a dispensation (#6; Grace).  In their place, Jesus the Anointed One, opened the gates for every one of every race to obtain the promises made in the Abrahamic covenant by being believers in Him by becoming spiritual Israelites.  This is what they call the parenthesis or the institution of the church.  This will end when the church is Raptured and God will return and deal with His physical fleshly covenant seed once again; that is, the Jews.

Christian-Identity stands alone against dispensationalism and the rest of the multi-racial church world.  Even some of the pure-blooded members of the House of Judah, i. e. Peter, cried out that he never knew the Messiah, were deceived into doing the wrong things either by “fear of the Jews” (John 7:13, 19:38, 20:19) or by ignorance.  But the pure-blooded ones, shortly, thereafter, repented of their dire actions.

There were not any members of the House of Israel and not many members of the House of Judah who were present during the crucifixion of Jesus in Jerusalem.  Shortly after the crucifixion and resurrection and the acceptance of the sin offering made on their behalf, the House of Israel was no longer divorced.  They were fully restored, and they were given the kingdom of God.

The kingdom was not taken from the Jews and given to the Gentiles (as dispensationalism teaches) but it was taken from the usurpers of the kingdom (chief priest and Pharisees; Jews) who had taken the kingdom from the House of Judah and it was given by God to the birthright kingdom—the House of Israel.

Matthew 21:19 “And when He [Jesus] saw a fig tree[the Edomite controlled kingdom of God] in the way, He came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee hence forward for ever.  And presently the fig tree withered away.”

Do the dispensationalists believe that the bad-fig-Kenite-Canaanite-Idumean Jews in Palestine today are a fulfillment of this Biblical prophecy? Additionally, our Savior placed an everlasting curse on that proselytized, racially mixed nation.  How can they say that this evil seed line, that never produced any fruit, is one of the two peoples of God?

Do the dispensationalists say that the words of Jesus, “Let no fruitgrow on thee [Idumeans] hence forward forever” are not true?  It seems that today’s false preachers do (like John Hagee and other dispensationalists).  They are incredible in their claims that they make about the Jewish nation.  Many of the bad figs Jews, along with the racially mixed Israelites were destroyed in the major battle of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

Matthew 21:43: “Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you[chief priests and Pharisees], and given to a nation [House of Israel] bringing forth the fruits thereof.”

Matthew 21:45 says that it was the chief priests and Pharisees who knew that Jesus was speaking of them.  After they heard these words, they sought to kill the Messiah. But they feared the multitude of the people so much that they waited for another time to murder Him.

Romans 7:4: “Wherefore, My brethren, ye[Israelites] also are become dead to the law [of marriage] by the [dead] body of Christ; that ye[Israelites] should be married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead[Jesus the Passover Lamb], that we[Israelites] should bring forth fruit unto God.”

So, what has the House of Israel done with what they were given?  They were the people who had more churches, more revivals, more keeping of more of God’s laws, were the keeper of the Bible, had the descendants of David as their kings and was the center of Christianity.  But after a long period of time they lost their holiness and separateness.

1Peter 2:9-10:

9) “But you[elect strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia] are a chosen generation[race], a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light:

10) Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God:  which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

Many years previous, Israel had rejected Almighty God as their king after about three centuries and asked for a man-king in His place.  And they got them.  But Oliver Cromwell beheaded one of the LORD’s anointed and took over the British government.  Soon, thereafter, the British administration had a Parliament that became the main ruler, with the Jewish monetary the power behind it, with the royalty mainly a very expensive puppet.

The United States said that they didn’t want a king—look at the mess that they are now in.  The process is repeating itself once again.  The Jews have progressively gained control of all the nations of Israel as they had in the House of Judah over 2000 years ago. 

What is going to happen next?  The only hope that we have is our Savior and Redeemer to return and take over the kingship of His kingdom and rule with His laws once again. 

Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

What does this mean?  From www.firmisrael.org we get that the dispensationalists explain it thus:

“…consider God’s eternal plans and purposes.  Remember that God chose Israel [the Jews] to receive His law first and His Son came to the Jewish people first.  The Creator planned for the Gospel to come out of Jerusalem.”

But Christian-Identity believers say that word “Jew” should be translated “the House of Judah” and “Greek” or “Gentile” should be translated “the House of Israel.”  “The Mystery” which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed by the Spirit; that the House of Israel would be the fellow heirs with the House of Judah (Ephesians 3:6).  This was after a more than a seven-century separation.

The gospel proclaimed by Jesus and His Apostles was “the gospel of the kingdom.”   Have you ever thought, “What kingdom?”  It certainly wasn’t the gospel of the kingdom of Babylon, or the gospel of the kingdom of China, or the gospel of the kingdom of Media-Persia.  It was the gospel of the kingdom of which Jesus used to be the literal, physical king.  It was the kingdom of Israel, but it was not an united kingdom at this time.

The Old Testament dead of the Israelite kingdom were not in hell, nor were they with God; they were in a place of a no-punishment “purgatory”, awaiting the atonement of a sinless kinsman who would be sacrificed for their sins.  All the House of Judah had was the sacrifice of animals—but that was only temporary.  The House of Israel was without this temporary gift for over ten centuries.

But those who believe the northern House of Israel either died out, or in some other way ceased to exist, must ignore the words that are given in Hosea.  The people of the House of Israel did not cease to exist, only their nation.  But the Apostle Paul says these two sentences in Ephesians, chapter two and even repeats the same words that Hosea said in the Old Testament:

Hosea 1:10: “Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass that, in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not My people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.” 

Then in the New Testament:

Romans 9:25-26:

25) “As He saith also in Hosea, I will call them My people, who were not My people; and her beloved, who was not beloved.

26) And it shall come to pass that, in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not My people, there shall they be called the sons of the living God.”

Therefore, the Apostle Paul could say the following at his trial with king Agrippa.

Acts 25:7: "Unto which promise our twelve tribes [not three], instantly serving God day and night, hope to come.  For which hope’s sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews [wicked-seed Judeans].”

CHRISTIAN-IDENTITY THEOLOGY

The House of Israel were cast off from the covenant because of their sins, especially the sin of adultery, i.e. Interracial marriages, but God in His truly infinite mercy had a plan to redeem these wicked people.  He loved them so much and wanted to make them clean again.

But there was a major problem.  How could it be done?  If God remarried the House of Israel, He would be breaking His own law, and He would be made a liar.  In Deuteronomy 24:1-4 God’s law says that if a woman is married and divorced and goes to be with another man, and her second husband divorces her or dies, she can NEVER go back to her first husband.

Deuteronomy 24:4: Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance. 

When most people think of God, they probably never think about Him being divorced!  The covenant that God made with the Israel people at Mt. Sinai through Moses was not unlike a marriage covenant that a man makes with his wife.  The God of all the universe loved a group of people so much that He wanted to bind Himself to them in love, bless them, and keep them as a special treasure.

What would happen if a woman’s first husband died? Not the second but the first; the one who divorced her. Would she then be released from the law of her first marriage? Of course, because he would be dead.

So, how is the House of Israel to remarry their first husband if they have had other lovers and husbands?  They couldn’t remarry, unless their redeemer not only died for them, and they would be loosed from the law of marriage, but then be raised from the dead.  Israel’s second husband would be the “raised” or resurrected Jesus the Christ.  

Romans 7:4: “Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead, the we should bring forth fruit unto God.”

The children of Israel are the bride, and not the multi-racial church: for the LORD God of Israel only prophesied these things concerning Israel.  For example, in Revelation 21, it is stated that the city which descends from heaven is the “bride, the Lamb’s wife.” This city represents Israel, for each of the twelve gates of the city have on them the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Each gate has an angel guarding it so that only a member of the tribe of Israel written on that gate would be permitted to enter that gate.  The wall of the city had twelve foundations, each with the name of one of the Apostles of the Lamb.   The bride was Israel.

CONCLUSION

When God came to the earth as the Son of God, the House of Israel was in a state of divorcement.  It had been that way for over seven centuries.  The House of Judah wasn’t much better.  So, how could the dispensationalists say that salvation came to the House of Judah first and then the rest of world and have nothing to say about the House of Israel.  They were Israelites in the past, and are still Israelites, but they are not of the House of Judah.  The dispensationalists leave them totally out.

DISPENSATIONALISM:

Dispensationalists do not mention the House of Israel. Are they considered Israel or non-Israel? Are there any left? Are they still divorced? What is their salvation based on?

CHRISTIAN-IDENTITY THEOLOGY

The Jews, the descendants of the Kenites, Canaanites and Idumeans, have fought against Christianity for the last two millennia; against the people of God since the Garden.   For the first three hundred years, the Jews either persecuted the Christians or provoked the Romans to do it, from without the Christian nations.  Then the Jews brought in the Arabs and the Turks for about a thousand years to fight against Christendom.

This last age began when the power of the Roman Catholic Church ended over the kings of Europe.  The Jewish/Jesuits were formed to stop the influence of the emerging Protestant Reformation.  The toleration of Jews and their readmission to England was largely borne by the hope of converting them to Christianity.   This was closely followed by usury loans (with strings attached) made by the Jewish bankers to the kings and later to its citizens, followed by the creation of fiat currency.

Once they achieved the chopping off the head of one of David’s descendants on the throne of France, and captured the Pope, they gained their emancipation from Napoleon.  Since that time the Jews have fought against Christianity from within the Christian nations and the churches have all been compliant.

The emancipation gave the Jews the opportunity that had held them back for over one thousand years.  They now were on an equal footing with everyone else.  Slowly the same procedure was followed by all the other Israelite nations. The Israel nations became no longer separated, but integrated.  And the nations are paying a huge price for disobeying the commands of their LORD God.

The theme of the entire Bible is built around the marriage relationship of both houses of Israel and their LORD God; their disobedience of His commandments; their alienation from Him; and their reconciliation to Him in Christ.  Nothing else matters, for it says nothing about the non-Adamic races ever being the bride.

There are not two different weddings; there is just one.  The Jew and the Gentile church are NOT the brides of God the Father and God the Son respectively.  The answer to the “mystery” is that the formerly divorced House of Israel and the House of Judah will be remarried to their “risen” (resurrected) first Husband. 

What great love our Husband showed to us, His disobedient, unfaithful wife.  He kept the commitments that He made to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob with His substitutionary death, shedding His blood on our behalf. 

To be continued.

Blessed be the LORD God of Israel.