Page 35 - The Rapture Question by John F. Walvoord

The Rapture Question: Revised and Enlarged Edition
ing with water through the word, and to present her to himself
as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other
blemish, but holy and blameless” (Eph. 5:26-27). On the basis
of this revelation, it is declared, “In this same way, husbands
ought to love their wives as their own bodies” (Eph. 5:28). It
is declared to be a natural thing to obey this command as
illustrated in the love of Christ for the church, “for we are
members of his body” (Eph. 5:30). In the human marriage
relation this union results in man and wife becoming “one
flesh” (Eph. 5:31); and as illustrated in the church, it is
affirmed, “This is a profound mystery—but I am talking
about Christ and the church” (Eph. 5:32).
The obvious figure of the passage is to present the church
as a bride who in the future will be presented to Christ and
joined to Him in what is symbolized as the marriage relation­
ship. As the bride, the church is also “his body.” This re­
lationship of Christ to the church, however, is declared to bc.a,
mystery. This at once sets apart this truth as something dis­
tinctive in the present age.
The idea of God related to man under the figure of mar­
riage is, however, by no means new. In the Old Testament,
Israel is declared to be the wife of Jehovah, and the entire
Book of Hosea is devoted to a historical allegory of this re­
lationship. Israel is pictured as an untrue wife to be restored in
millennial days. By contrast, the church in figure is described
as a pure virgin (2 Cor. 11:2), being prepared for future mar­
riage. The resulting union between Christ and the church has
in view a body of believers composed of Gentile and Jewish
believers.
Such a union is never once contemplated in the Old Tes­
tament. While both Jews and Gentiles could be saved and
could anticipate millennial blessings on the basis of Old Tes­
tament prophecy, never are they regarded as being combined
in one body. The new relationship to Christ, contemplated in
the bride figure, is quite distinct from anything anticipated in
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