The Teaching Ministry of
Rev. Marjorie Kummrow
Bible Studies
This ministry has made a choice to be "Biblically correct" as opposed to "politically correct" therefore we have forfeited the non-profit status available to us. Please note that all donations to this ministry are not tax deductible. Thank you for your support.
His Wife Has
Made Herself
Ready
Part III
His Wife Hath Made Her Ready
We continue from Part II with the same text to answer the question, “How does His Wife make herself ready?”
Revelation 19:7-8
Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of saints.
The bride as we know her today is betrothed and waiting for her bridegroom to return for her. As she waits, she makes herself ready for her wedding day. She wears the ring of sanctification that was given to her during the betrothal ceremony. Little did she know when she accepted her engagement ring of sanctification that the rite of betrothal could possibly last her a lifetime.
He, who formed us in our mother’s womb, has also planned a special journey for each of us. We will not travel this journey alone it will be traveled with the One who created us. Each of us will be taking a different journey; however, our destination will be the same. We may take different roads that lead us through the same lands, at times our paths will cross and we might travel together, at other times alone. Some roads will take us to the lowest of valleys, while others roads will climb to the highest of mountain peaks. However, in the end, we will each of us, travel on a road that is less traveled and it will continue to narrow as we approach the height of our destination.
These roads every one of them will lead to the Royal Academy for Ruling and Reigning. Once we graduate we are then able to cross over to the Royal Court that is located in the land of our destination. In this life long journey to reach our destiny, we will be traveling through the training grounds that are located in the lands of Forgiveness, Purification, Prayer, Fasting, Righteous deeds, and that horrific land of isolated Suffering.
We will travel through these sanctifying lands before we reach the final land of our destiny. As we journey through these lands we will find that they are the Schoolmasters that dethrone us from our own selfish existence and propel and prepare us to exist on a much higher plain. These schoolmasters insist that we take the high road that leads to the Royal Court where there is only one law. It is the supreme law of the Universe. It is the law that has upheld every other law since the beginning of time. It is the only law that will remain throughout all of the eternity. It is the LAW OF LOVE. It is the law that created us and is perfecting us to be His bride. Is it not the same law that Jeremiah speaks of?
Jeremiah 31:31-33 is as follows:
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which My covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, saith the Lord, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My people.
The Rabbi’s say that all 613 commandments can be summed up in the Law of Love. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. Therefore the law that is written in our hearts is the Law of Love.
The Greeks have 6 different words for the English word love. They are:
1. Eros, or extreme sexual passion
2. Philia, or deep friendship
3. Ludus, or playful love
4. Pragma, or longstanding love
5. Philautia, or healthy love of self
6, Agape, unconditional love for everyone, spiritual and divine
This LAW OF LOVE is AGAPE LOVE and it is unfathomable to our finite minds. Only infinite wisdom can understand it. C. S. Lewis in his famous book on love calls agape the highest form of Christian love. It is the state of being transformed into selfless servants, willing to lay our lives down for the benefit of another. This is the state that we are destined to become, and to operate in, as we are joined to Messiah as His wife. We are destined to be conformed to the image of Messiah so that as His bride we are qualified to rule and reign with Him who is the essence and personification of AGAPE. His bride can be no less. Yeshua will not be unequally yoked!
Hebrew has several words for our English word love. They are:
1. Ahab which is a spontaneous impulsive love
2. Raham is a brotherly love moved by compassion
3. Chesed which is loving kindness
The Hebrew word that comes the closest to agape is the word chesed. Chesed is loving kindness that manifests in action rather than in words or feelings. This Hebrew word expresses God's faithfulness to His covenant and the blessings and mercy He shows His obedient covenant people as in the Exodus account.
Chesed is the word that LORD (YHVH) used when He cut a covenant with Moses.
Exodus 34:6-7:
And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness (Chesed) and truth, Keeping mercy (chesed) for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
All of life is the training ground for Chesed and Agape. Every relationship, every situation, and circumstance, every decision made, every prayer prayed, every deed done, every word spoken, and every pain felt, every tear shed, has been orchestrated by God for this one purpose, to teach us agape. J. R. Miller writes that “agape love has to be learned and that it is the great business of life. It is the great business of life because the law of love is the supreme law of eternity.” But, he says, “This love has to be learned within the confines of time and only upon this earth in an environment just like it affords. All the circumstances of this life are arranged for this one purpose: to enable one to learn agape love in order to be qualified to administer the law of love in eternity”.
This then answers the age old question that so many of us have, “why was I born”?
It is our willingness to submit our wills to our Lord and teacher that enrolls us into the Royal Academy for Ruling and Reigning. Once we are betrothed and have said that eternal yes to our bridegroom He begins the process of dethroning us from the center of our universe. We must come down from that self-centered throne and shed the robes of selfishness and self-will and begin the lifelong journey that will lead us to the land of Agape where Yeshua will present to Himself “The Bride” in all her glory. It is here where a new form of government will be upon His shoulders, a government of LOVE. It is here where the King and Queen will rule and reign with perfect love, that is agape. It is here where the supreme law of the Universe will be administered throughout all eternity. It is here where just one law will prevail, THE LAW OF LOVE!
As the bride waits for her bridegroom to return for her, let’s walk with her as she makes herself ready. Her journey will take her through many lands. Her travels have taken her through the lands of Forgiveness, Purification, Prayer, Fasting, and Righteous Deeds. Each arena has its own lessons to learn about this Universal law of love. In the Land of Forgiveness, she learns to embrace a characteristic of her heavenly Father, and make it her own. In the Land of Purification, she learns to hate sin, and grieves over those that are yet to be set free from its grip. It is in the Land of Prayer where her faith grows and she learns to trust wholeheartedly. Each prayer brings her into intimacy and it is in this land that she learns how to partnership with God for the purpose of reigning. It is in the Land of Righteous deeds that she learns to be generous like her God and to put needs of others before her own. One by one the Bride travels through these lands that are designed for her growth, teaching her the lessons that only Agape can teach. Yet, it is the Land of Suffering where she learns the greatest lessons of all. It is in this dark grueling terrain where His image is imprinted upon her and she digs a grave to bury her self-will.
It is this Land of Suffering where Her tears are stored in a bottle. It is in this land where heaven has heard those silent screams in the night. She was in this land when Her parents divorced. It is where She met rejection when Her mother abandoned Her. This is the god-awful place where She was when news of the plane crash came. It was here in the land of Suffering where all those evil words came into Her heart like poisoned arrows. It is where She felt so lonely when they took her baby away. The Land of Suffering is that awful place of shame where Her father did those unspeakable things to Her, and Her uncle did the same. This is the place where the beatings would not stop. Her eyes watched as Her mother was murdered here. It was there where Her “sin” found her out as Her baby grew within. This is the place where She was fired from Her job and was without income for months on end. An evil child abductor snatched Her child and drove away in this place of wounding. It is where She lived with Her drunken abusive spouse. This is the location where they tortured Her because she believed in HIM.
It is where the abortion took place. So many sleepless nights were spent in this land of agony. The love of Her life was buried in this sorrowful spot. It is the same place where they labeled Her child disabled and where She learned that diseases are not healed there. In this land, She found herself homeless. The prison doors were locked behind Her in this land. This is the land where the miscarriage took place. It was in this dismal dark pit that She was ready to end her own life…that is until He appeared. She sent her son to war in this land, never to return. It was in this corner of the world where She was labeled single and childless. Death took family members there and grieving is no stranger to this place. It is where She learned that knowledge brings along sorrow because it was in this land that he told her that he was gay. This was also the dark place where the drive-by shooting took place and She planned her son’s funeral. This is the miserable place that brought division between Her children and separated Her from Her precious grandchildren. Even Her most trusted friend from Church betrayed Her here and stabbed Her in the back. Her war against cancer was fought on those grounds.
Pandora’s box was opened in this land of suffering; this evil box had been hiding the incest it contained. This is the hurtful ground where Her mother told Her that daddy would not be coming home again. Her business failed and Her dreams were destroyed there. Her son was introduced to cocaine in this place. The sword of betrayal pierced Her heart in this sorrowful land when Her spouse fell in love with another. The mental hospital where they locked the doors behind Her was located on those grounds. This place was so full of pain that even the morphine wouldn't stop the pain. Alcohol nearly destroyed Her daughter there in that land. The fear that terrorized her most of her life fled from her in this land. This is where She lost Her wealth, Her health, Her home, Her family, Her friends and Her reputation. A grave awaits her burial in this Land of Suffering because she is dying daily. Since her crucifixion happens so very gradually in this land she will be wondering around in this place until she is able to give up the ghost of her old and self-centered self.
At last, She will have been fashioned perfectly for Her Bridegroom. She has shared in His sufferings and it has changed Her into a vessel of honor. Her countenance now reflex’s His Glory.
Once again we ask the question, “How does His wife make herself ready”? The answer to that question lies in Yeshua the bridegroom and in Him alone because He is Agape, and He will do it all. He has called her, He has chosen her, He has washed her with water and the word, He has cleansed Her and made her holy, He has purified her heart, He has fashioned her, He has clothed her, He has provided for her, He has protected her, He has met her every need, He has sanctified her and taught her agape love along the way. He has loved her with an everlasting Love. He has been a Husband to her and He has been her teacher. He has been with Her every step of the way as She has journeyed through the lands of Her sanctification. He has done it all.
I believe that the mystery that Paul speaks of in Ephesians is this: When the bride of Messiah consented to marry Him and gave Him permission to enter her, they became one flesh. As one flesh He takes the position of husband over her and she takes the position of wife. As His wife, her only requirement is to love Him and to submit her will to His will. As one flesh, all that He is she is too. As she submits to who He is, she will be transformed into His image because she has learned the lessons in life that will produce the fruit of agape love. She will share in the sufferings of Messiah, she like Him will be crucified, and in so doing she will receive that “greater weight of glory” that Paul spoke about.
She is now qualified to take her regal position in the Royal Court and rule and reign with her Bridegroom. Together they will administer the Supreme Law of the Universe, the law that upholds all things now and forevermore. She now holds the scepter to rule and reign with The King of Kings “THE LAW OF LOVE.” HIS WIFE HAS MADE HERSELF READY.
Therefore, our sorrows and our suffering have been uniquely designed by our Creator to prepare us for our Royal Position in the Kingdom of our soon coming Messiah, Yeshua. Hallelujah and Maranatha!!!
Peter 4:12-13 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
Romans 8:15-18 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
2 Corinthians 1:5-6 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
In His Service,
Rev. Marjorie
marjorie@sweetmanna.org
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