“Scripture clearly defines the people Jesus will return for at the End of the Age … We will be the equally yoked Bride of Christ who so long and yearn for our Bridegroom that we will not love our lives even unto death (Rev. 12:11).” (Issue #8)
Since the 2000s, God has been progressively revealing the mystery of the Bridal Paradigm to His Church. It was the very beginnings of the Holy Spirit awakening the End-Time Church to our bridal identity. Back then, it was just a whisper; today, it is no longer strange to refer to ourselves as the Bride and Jesus as our Bridegroom. As the people of God, we generally understand that this has nothing to do with a believer’s gender, but describes the intimacy with and access to Jesus that He is inviting each believer — whether male or female — to.
In this decade of Preparation for the Times, the Holy Spirit is especially emphasising the call to grow into becoming Jesus’ equally yoked Bride, so that we can begin to step forth into mature bridal partnership with Jesus at the place of spiritual warfare when this decade comes to a close.
Of course, the fullness of who we will be as the Bride of Christ will be at His Second Coming. We will be wholehearted in love, mature, without spot or blemish, and in deep partnership with Him (Rev. 19:7, Eph. 5:27). Yet, in this hour, the Holy Spirit is highlighting this need for heightened and intentional bridal preparation.
If becoming Jesus’ Bride is so important to God, then we must ask:
Why the equally yoked Bride of Christ?
What does she look like?
How would she prepare herself for partnership with her Bridegroom?
Our Glorious Destiny as the Equally Yoked Bride of Christ
The Bride of Christ is actually the most emphasised identity of the Church at Jesus’ Second Coming. Revelation 19:7 and 22:17 both talk about the global mature Bride who will be ready at the End of the Age. She will fully agree with, fully surrender and fully yearn for Jesus, and cry out with the Holy Spirit, “Come Lord Jesus!”
Indeed, the Bridal Paradigm can be found throughout Scripture (Hos. 2:16, Isa. 54:5, the Song of Songs, Jn. 3:29) and is what the Apostle Paul calls a “great mystery” (Eph. 5:32). In fact, Jesus’ final public parable on the Kingdom of God was about a wedding (Matt. 22:1–14) and in the Olivet Discourse, Jesus likened His End-Time move and return to that of a bridegroom coming for his bride (Matt. 25:1–13). Surely, He must have been emphasising something to us if these were some of His final publicly preached words!
Why is there such an emphasis?
It is because Jesus’ heart is that of a Bridegroom’s! And as a Bridegroom God, He is looking for an eternal companion for Himself!
While the qualities that earthly husbands look for in their wives may differ from husband to husband, our heavenly Bridegroom is very specific in what He is after. Revelation 19:1–10 gives us a picture of what Jesus is looking for! He does not leave us guessing. He deeply yearns for a Bride who will:
- fully agree with Him because we fully understand Him (v1,3);
- fully surrender, yield to, and obey Him because we fully trust Him (v6);
- fully long and yearn for Him (especially His return) because we fully love Him (v7).
Put another way, He is looking for His Bride to be “equally yoked” with Him!
What does this mean and what does this look like?
Because being “equally yoked” means being joined together with something or someone that is the same or of similar quality, this means that Jesus is looking for a Bride who is like Him. He is looking for a Bride who is His “match” in love, character, values, understanding, power, and authority. When we are His “match” in all these, agreeing with Him, surrendering to Him, and longing for Him will not be an issue!
1. Equally yoked in love
In the same way that Jesus loves us with His all, He wants in us a Bride who will fully love Him back with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. This is why the Holy Spirit is restoring the First Commandment to first place in the Church in this hour. He is committed to raising up the Bride with an undivided and lovesick heart for Jesus, men and women who will not even love our lives in the face of death (Rev. 12:11)!
2. Equally yoked in character and values
To be able to partner deeply with Him, our hearts need to be holy, righteous, humble, merciful, and pure like His. This will give us the strength to carry His power and authority that He wants to share with us as His Bride. We also need to love what He loves and hate what He hates so that we can pray and live in complete alignment with Him.
3. Equally yoked in understanding and agreement
Jesus our Bridegroom is also a Judge. As the End-Time Bride, this means we need to understand His heart that loves justice and agree with His righteous judgements that He will bring forth upon the earth at the End of the Age. Jesus is jealous for our agreement with Him especially in this, because He calls us to delight in His judgements (Jer. 9:24; 30:24) and is looking for oneness in our hearts and minds with Him.
4. Equally yoked in power and authority
Jesus is also a King. As His Bride, we can firstly have confidence in our Bridegroom who is fully in control over everything. Secondly, we also have the privilege of fighting alongside our Beloved at the place of spiritual warfare and being vessels that carry His power and authority. We will function as the Ekklesia from our identity as His Bride who has access to His heart.
Wow! If this is our glorious destiny, we want to make ourselves ready!
Keys to Bridal Preparation
Just like how earthly brides go to great lengths to prepare themselves to look their best for their wedding days, we too need to prepare ourselves for mature bridal partnership with Jesus at the End of the Age, and for our ultimate Wedding Day.
Our confidence is that the ultimate Friend of the Bridegroom (Jn. 3:29) — the Holy Spirit — is committed to preparing us as Jesus’ Bride. All we need to do is cooperate with Him! Certainly, He has been leading us and highlighting keys that will prepare us in this decade.
In this Revelation 3:20 Moment, one significant passage that is being emphasised by the Spirit is Revelation 2 and 3 (Issues #6, #18). These two chapters not only reveal the seven areas of spiritual maturity that Jesus is looking for in His mature Bride, but also specify the seven spiritual issues that the End-Time Church has to overcome. Jesus is so zealous for us to pay attention that He repeats Himself seven times — “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches…” (Rev. 2:7,11,17,29; 3:6,13,22).
Should we not then pay attention to our Beloved Bridegroom?
Additionally, these chapters also contain a key: Revelation 3:18–20. We are to repent zealously, open the doors of our hearts to Him constantly, and buy from Him diligently (Issue #18)! If we do so, He will adorn us with garments of white so that we will be spotless, without blemish and ready for His return!
It is Time to Forsake All Others
The reality is — many of us do not yearn and live as if we are Jesus’ lovesick Bride. Many of us do love Jesus, but also the things of the world, and our hearts have become dull and lukewarm towards our Bridegroom. In a very real sense, we are like the Church of Laodicea.
Nevertheless, Jesus has not given up on us! His deep and unwavering love and desire for us sustain His divine jealousy and zeal for a holy and wholehearted Bride. In this hour, He comes as One with eyes like flames of fire to impart His holy fire to us, so that our hearts will burn and be vibrant. All we have to do is keep responding to Him.
In this decade, it is time to forsake all others and run with our Bridegroom in preparation. It is time to throw off every sin and weight that entangles us and run this race. Our confidence is this — our Beloved who has begun a good work in us will see it to completion!
May we arise as the mature and equally yoked Bride who loves Him wholeheartedly, knows and understands Him perfectly, trusts and agrees with Him completely, and partners with Him fully!
“Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” (Rev. 19:7)
Preparation for the Times (Intro)
