Praise Jah for His Judgments! - The Lamb's Marriage Is at Hand!

 "You woman enemy of mine"!  That is  how Jerusalem, the location of Jehovah's temple of worship, addressed idolatrous  Babylon.  (Micah 7:8)  Likewise, "the holy city, New Jerusalem," made  up of the bride of 144,000 members, has had every reason to address Babylon the Great as her enemy.  (Revelation 21:2) But at last the great harlot has suffered adversity, calamity, and ruin.  Her spiritistic practices and astrologers have been unable to save her.   (Compare Isaiah 47:1, 11-13) A major victory, indeed for true worship!

With the disgusting harlot, Babylon the Great, gone forever, attention can now be focused on the virgin-pure bride of the Lamb!  Hence, the heavenly throngs sing exultantly in praise of Jehovah: "Let us rejoice and be overjoyed, and let us give him the glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has arrived and his wife has preopared herself.  Yes, it has been granted to her to be arrayed in bright, clean, fine line linen stands for the rightsous acts of the holy ones." - REVELATION 19:7, 8. 

Down through the centuries, Jesus has made loving preparation for this celestial marriage.  (MATTHEW  28:20; 2 CORINTHIANS  11:2)   He has been cleansing the 144,000 of spiritual Israel so that  "he might present the congregation to himself in its splendor, not having a spot or a wrinkle or any of such thigns, but that it should be holy and without blemish."  (Ephesians 5:25-27)  With a view  to attaining "the prize of the upward call of God," each  anointed Christian has had to strip  off the old personality with its practices, put on the new Christian personality, and perform righteous acts  "whole-souled as to Jehovah." - PHILIPPIANS 3:8, 13, 14; COLOSSIANS 3:9, 10, 23. 

From Pentecost 33 C.E. on, Satan used Babylon the Great as  his tool in trying to contaminate the prospective members of the Lamb's wife.  By the end of the first century, he had sown seesof Babylonish religion in the congregation.  (1 Corinthians 15:12; 2 Timothy 2:18; Revelation 2:6, 14, 20)  The apostle Paul describes those who were subverting the faith in these words: "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And  no wonder, for Satan himself keeps transforming himself into an angel of light." ( 2 Corinthians 11:13, 14)  In succeeding centuries, apostate Christendom, lkike the rest of Babylon the Great, dressed herself in the clothing of wealth and privilege, "Purple and scarlet, . . . gold and precious stone and pearls." (Revelation 17:4)  Her clergy and popes arrayed in  "the righteous acts of the holy ones." As a counterfeit bride, she was truly a masterpiece of satanic deception, at last, she is gone forever!

Next time: Praise Jah for His Judgments! - The Lamb's Wife Has Prepared Herself

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