The Voice of the Bride

There are many voices in this present generation.  There is the voice of human reasoning, the voice of innocent blood, the voice of politicians and even the voice of the martyrs.  However, the one voice that has not yet been heard in its entirety is the voice of the Bride.  Revelations 18: 23 states,

The light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.

This passage clearly outlines a season of time in which the voice of the Bridegroom will be distinctly articulated through His Bride and a specific time for it to cease.  Throughout the earth there is a religious and political spirit that the Bible identifies as “Mystery Babylon.”  Nevertheless in the midst of this ungodly system the Holy Spirit will release great praise and worship, expressions of God’s creative ability, and the distinction of His true voice.

A Mighty Outpouring

While in a conference in Regina, Saskatchewan this past April, I was in prayer for the Sunday morning service.  I am not certain if I went into a spiritual vision or fell asleep, but I saw a man standing before me declaring, “there is about to be a mighty outpouring of the Spirit and it will be the voice of the Bride.”

Although the Church has experienced many expressions of spiritual outpourings, the Bride has not yet had her revival.  There is a “weighty” presence or Glory that the Lord intends to place upon His people during these last days as a testimony to the nations of His redemptive virtue.  We are not completely certain what this will look like but we know that it will transcend present understanding of God’s Word and the working of His Spirit.

This company will be the literal fulfillment of John 14:12, doing the works that the Lord did and even more of them.  Like the Lord Jesus, the Bride will be entrusted with the sevenfold Spirit of God operating in fullness to demonstrate the radiant nature of God and His great redemptive power.

This is the Time

All prophetic indications point to this spiritual season as the time when the voice of the Bride will be sounded with great clarity and discernment. Over the last one hundred years the Church has experienced many expressions of revival and spiritual outpouring; but no generation has yet witnessed the mature Bride who has such intimate fellowship with the Bridegroom that her words are a perfect expression of His heart.  The Bridegroom will speak in Heaven and the Bride will echo His voice in the earth.

Modern Church history records a progressive restoration of our apostolic heritage and the unfolding of a divine plan that prepares the Bride of Christ without spot or wrinkle.  During those seasons, various forerunners provided a prophetic model for the coming corporate body that will function in the full appropriation of God’s redemptive virtue.  They will not only have the intimate relationship of a bride but will also function in the earth as sons of the Kingdom.

These prophetic forerunners have primarily provided a “John the Baptist” type of ministry to prepare a body of people for divine visitation and restoration to God’s people of the desolate heritages.  John speaking about his role stated,

You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, “I am not the Christ,’ but, “I have been sent ahead of Him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full   — John 3:28-29

Friends of the Bridegroom

Many “friends” of the Bridegroom surfaced during the 20th century exemplifying lives of purity and power that will characterize the last day Bride of Christ.  They called attention to our current place in history and the mandate to come up higher to a place of revelatory insight and spiritual maturity.  One of the keys to unlocking this mystery is by honoring the work of God’s Spirit through these champions and imitating their faith. (Hebrews 13:7-8)

Many of God’s people are recognizing and honoring the pioneering work of men and women like A. A. Allen, Alexander Dowie, John G. Lake, Kathryn Kuhlman, William Branham and others.  In many ways they were spiritual prototypes of the relationship and power to be exemplified by the Bride.

Some of these have been the most dishonored individuals of the 20th century Church, yet used most notably in soul winning and the miraculous.  Our adversary has effectively attempted to neutralize the testimony of these individuals as forerunners by overly emphasizing their shortcomings and weaknesses.  Even so, the Lord is allowing a body of people to recognize the pioneering influence these individuals conveyed in order to position us to carry forward the unfinished commissions.

I Will Have My Harvest

Earlier this year I heard the Lord say, “I WILL have My harvest!” The books of Daniel and Revelations highlight a mysterious and wonderful book containing mysteries of God’s Kingdom and His divine plan for the end of time harvest. Revelations 5:9-10 records,

And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”

Only the Lord Jesus was worthy to take the book and break its seals to unfold God’s complete plan to redeem back to Himself men and women from every nation and culture. He will then empower them to function in a priestly role of ministry unto the Lord and delegate His authority as spiritual kings.   According to Revelations 10:11 John representing the Bride said,

I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. And they said to me, “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.”

God is presently using the spirit of this world and personal circumstances to forge for Himself a weapon for its work; that is to bring to ruin the destroyer.  (Isaiah 54:16) We will function as both priests and kings through the appropriation of His blood and prophecy to the nations to bring in His purchase of souls.
For the Bride of Christ to be identified with the Bridegroom she must also know something of the wilderness.  Song of Solomon portrays the bride coming forth from the desert leaning upon her Beloved.  This picture captures our present condition. The Holy Spirit has been alluring us into the wilderness so that He can speak tenderly to us and to the issues of our hearts.  From this place we emerge with God’s anointing and the power of His Spirit.