Brides Of Christ

Brides of Christ is a study of professed nuns and life in the convents of colonial Mexico.

The early Christian writer Tertullian first applied the epithet "bride of Christ" to the uppity virgins of Carthage as a means of enforcing female obedience. Henceforth, the virgin as Christ's spouse was expected to manifest matronly modesty and due submission, hobbling virginity's ancient capacity to destabilize gender roles. In the early Middle Ages, the focus on virginity and the attendant anxiety over its possible loss reinforced the emphasis on claustration in female religious communities, while also profoundly disparaging the nonvirginal members of a given community. With the rising importance of intentionality in determining a person's spiritual profile in the high Middle Ages, the title of bride could be applied and appropriated to laywomen who were nonvirgins as well. Such instances of democratization coincided with the rise of bridal mysticism and a progressive somatization of female spirituality. These factors helped cultivate an increasingly literal and eroticized discourse: women began to undergo mystical enactments of their union with Christ, including ecstatic consummations and vivid phantom pregnancies. Female mystics also became increasingly intimate with their confessors and other clerical confidants, who were sometimes represented as stand-ins for the celestial bridegroom. The dramatic merging of the spiritual and physical in female expressions of religiosity made church authorities fearful, an anxiety that would coalesce around the figure of the witch and her carnal induction into the Sabbath.

Secrets of the Brides is a provocative study in typology which will introduce readers to the inner dimensions of Scripture. Typology was the predominant method of study in Jesus' day. Rabbis applied four levels of study to the Word of God. They are peshat (the simple meaning of the text), remez (allusion to something more), derush (inference and application) and sode (secrets). This book applies these principles to explore the accounts of seven biblical brides and their bridegrooms. Their lives were living allegories performed under the careful orchestration and gaze of the Holy Spirit and their stories are laced with prophetic codes for the Bride of Christ. From the first chapters the reader will be progressively led out of the shallows into deeper more complex revelations buried in the etymology of the Hebrew words, the Feasts of the Lord, the Millennial Week and the book of Revelation. The casual reading of the stories of these brides is like viewing the tip of an iceberg. It is beautiful on the surface of the water, but underneath that shining tip the enormity of its foundation sitting there in the deep stillness invokes a disquieting reverence. This book will introduce those who have not been exposed to the beauty of the types to another satisfying and exciting level of hermeneutics and interpretation. The investigative journey will not ask the student to subscribe to a certain eschatological scenario but will cause him to reconsider how he relates to the Word of God and how he worships its author. The author has been a student and teacher of Old Testament and Hebraic Studies for three decades. She waits for the midnight call in Texas with her husband of thirty - nine years, her two children, their spouses and six grandchildren. Maranatha!

Unveiling the Mystery of the Bride of Christ clears up the mystery of the bride by leading you on a journey through the scriptures, showing without a shadow of a doubt who the bride is and what her preparation is all about. The early church knew and understood that God, through his Holy Spirit, was preparing a people, a special group, who would embrace a coming revealed truth and be qualified to reign with Christ at his return when the kingdom of God would be set up on the earth. This special group is the bride of Christ, and understanding the mystery of the bride will captivate and motivate believers into achieving their destinies as ordained by Creator God. In this book, you will discover: The plan of God for mankind Why you were born for such a time as this What role the Bride will play What makes the Bride special What is covenant relationship Who are the jewels of God Why God must send Elijah in these last days What Torah is all about Why obedience is so important How the love of God is perfected in the believer The meaning of firstfruits What the key of David is all about The true meaning of the parable of the 10 virgins

Right from the very beginning in eternity past, God had planned history with His Son having a bride, a companion that would co-reign with Him and enjoy Him forever. That is the eternal purpose of God in creating a bride for His Son. If you read the Scripture from cover to cover, you would discover that God teaches us in a variety of different ways. Sometimes God uses powerful word pictures, sometimes He uses symbols, sometimes He uses examples of people both good and bad. Sometimes God uses a direct word, an authoritative word, sometimes He uses examples from nature, like a tree planted by the rivers of water that will not cease to bear fruit. This book highlights how God gave us an example of an ancient Jewish wedding ceremony that correlates with Christ, the Bridegroom, and His bride the church. From the father choosing a bride for his son, paying the bridal price, the bridegroom snatching his bride and bringing her to the bridal chamber, and then finally co-reigning with him in their household with him as the head. It is absolutely amazing the correlation between the two. What was a mystery to the Jews has been revealed. The mystery was that both Jew and Gentile called the church would be the bride of Christ. The bride of Christ is describing the kind of relationship we can have with Jesus. God is seeking willing lovers, who would voluntarily seek His heart, voluntarily surrender to Him, and voluntarily love Him with all their heart, soul and mind, and strength.

The History of mankind is very cyclical. How often has it been said, "history repeats itself." Since time immemorial a repetitive theme in the human drama is Gnosticism, a teaching that special hidden knowledge leads to spiritual enlightenment. Gnostic myths have also focused on the sexual union of gods or goddesses with humans. The recent furor over the fictional novel and movie, The Da Vinci Code, has once again challenged the authenticity of the Christian Gospel, and brought new focus on Gnostic myths. Readers and movie-goers are encouraged to accept the dubious writings of "lost gospels" and reject the canonical teachings of the Bible. In those 2nd and 3rd century sources, the real Jesus who interacted with leaders, cared for the weak and sick, even loving the dregs of society, is exchanged for a strange creature that only appears to be human and bears no likeness to the Jewish man who died on a cruel Roman Cross. Beyond Da Vinci presents the real Jesus through the rich nuptial imagery of the Old and New Testaments. The reader meets the true Bride of Christ and learns of the incredible consummation of Bride and Bridegroom that is yet to come. Are there false Brides? Was Jesus of Nazareth married? Was he just a man or was he divine? Come partake of this incredible journey through the greatest romance of history; a journey to the truth.

A guide for believers who want their wedding to portray the relationship of Christ with the church and to reflect the gospel to all in attendance.