The Spirit and the Bride - The Light of Torah Messianic Congregation

We will employ the following hermeneutical tools in this article:

The Rule of First mention
The Rule of Complete mention
Covenant language i.e. “keep my commandments”
His perfect will for creation
PaRDeS (THE RULES OF PARDES INTERPRETATION *
Ancient Hebrew pictograph
Simple gematria

The four levels of interpretation are called: Pashat, Remez, D’rash & Sud. The first letter of each word P-R-D-S is taken, and vowels are added for pronunciation, giving the word PARDES (meaning “garden” or “orchard”). Each layer is deeper and more intense than the last, like the layers of an onion. (http://www.yashanet.com)

PART ONE

Rev. 22:17: “And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.”
The Spirit of YaHaVah was introduced into the physical realm to perform a spiritual work.
Ge. 1:1 – 5: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘let there be light;’ and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.”
The Spirit of YaHaVah was introduced into the physical realm to separate spiritual darkness from spiritual light.
The Hebrew word for darkness is חֹשֶׁךְ, “choshek.” “Choshek” is defined as obscurity, darkness, a secret place, misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, or wickedness. This word is spelled with the letters Chet, Shin and Kaph sofit.
In its ancient form “choshek” would read: “Separation from the Divine Presence and His covering.” Spiritual darkness then, separates us from YaHaVah.
1 Sam. 2:9: “He will guard the feet of His saints, but the wicked shall be silent in darkness. For by strength no man shall prevail.”
Pro. 2:13: “From those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness.” **In Scripture, darkness is often associated with the evil one.
“Choshek” is the same word used with regard to the plague of darkness in Egypt.
Let’s take a minute and examine the progression of Ge. 1:1 – 4: The spiritual realm manifesting in the physical realm.
# 1. The Fathers’ perfect will is reflected in the first word of Scripture, Bereshit. This word tells us He will make a “cut covenant” with “fire” in the center, with mankind.
# 2. Darkness, “choshek,” is on the face of the deep. “Choshek” is introduced in order to thwart the covenant making process. Recall the “Choshek” separates.
# 3. Ruach, the “breath” of Yah is then sent to make it possible for mankind to choose His covenant invitation. Without His breath, which also separates, mankind would have only ever experienced spiritual darkness.
# 4. The Father then says, “Then God said, ‘let there be light;’ and there was light. And God saw the light (אֶת־הָאוֹר ), that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.” **His perfect will has been reinserted into each realm via the “strength of the covenant.”
Ez. 8:12: “Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols?’ For they say, ‘The LORD does not see us, the LORD has forsaken the land.’” **Israel was supposed to be a “light” to the nations, not performing abominations in darkness.
Acts 26:18: “…to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’
1 Pt. 2:9: “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
The chosen generation is the Bride. The Royal Priesthood is the Melchizedek Priesthood. The Holy Nation and Special People is spiritual Israel. Darkness is spiritual rebellion and light is obedience to the Rules of the Kingdom.
All of the above explanations relate back to the first word of Scripture, Bereshit, and The Fathers perfect will for His creation. His perfect will is to make a covenant with mankind, a covenant with fire in the center.
The “choshek” enters the physical realm bringing with it the way for mankind to be separated from YaHaVah. That way is rebellion against The Father and His perfect will. The darkness will gather unto its own, those who choose to walk in spiritual darkness.
Let’s think about the plague of darkness recorded in Ex. 10:21 – : “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness (חֹשֶׁךְ ) over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.’ So Moses stretched out his hand (אֶת־יָדוֹ ) toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. They did not see one another (אֶת־אָחִיו ); nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.”
After the eight previous judgments, Yah sends the plague of darkness. YaHaVah has spent a great deal of time judging Egypt, offering repentance. Egypt had many foreign gods, including the Sun and Moon. The plague of darkness, indicating spiritual rebellion, was meant to establish The Fathers preeminence over all the luminaries. According to the Ma’em Lo’ez, the Torah Anthology, 4/5 of the people of Israel perished in this plague. This is very telling, they too were in spiritual rebellion.
The first mention of “choshek” is found in Ge. 1:2 while the complete mention is recorded in Rev. 16:10 -11: “Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.”
This, of course, occurs during the tribulation period. These people are those that fully realize the time they are in but hold fast to the bitter root of unbelief, rebellion. The Greek word used for darkness, only once in this Scripture is “skotoō,” and means to darken or blind the mind.
There is a kindred Greek word used several times which means of ignorance respecting divine things and human duties, and the accompanying ungodliness and immorality, together with their consequent misery in hell. This Greek word is found in Mt. 4:16: “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.” This word is “skotos.”
If we didn’t have the introduction of the Spirit of God in Ge. 1:2, mankind would have remained in spiritual darkness. This is a battle that rages on today and will continue through the tribulation period.
The Hebrew word for Spirit is “Ruach,” רוּחַ. This word is defined as wind, breath or mind. The imagery then, is The Father, from His high and holy place, breathing onto His newly created earth His very own breath. It is His “breath” that will create a spiritual way for mankind to choose obedience rather than darkness. His “breath” is a witness to His eternal self because “breath” means life.
This word is spelled with the letters Resh, Vav and Chet. In its ancient form “Ruach” would read: “From the beginning, mankind could secure themselves to the division.” There is a separation to darkness as well as the separation to light. We are either separate unto darkness or separated unto light. There is no “grey” area!
In my research, I found the second mention to be intriguing. The second mention is found in Ge. 3:8: “And they heard the sound of the LORD God (אֶת־קוֹל ) walking in the garden in the cool (לְרוּחַ ) of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
Even though the word “cool” was not mentioned in the above definition, it gives us a beautiful picture. The day must have been hot, however the Spirit accompanied Yeshua, the Et Kol, in their afternoon encounter with Adam and Chava, bringing with it a comforting coolness.
FIY: The Hebrew word “Ruach” is a feminine noun. If Yah is a Spirit, and Scripture tells us He is, then He embodies the characteristics of both male and female. He is a picture of the union between Himself, represented by Yeshua, and His Bride, one in the Spirit! This is why Scripture tells us there is neither male nor female in the “kingdom.” (Gal. 3:28)
Is. 61:1 – 3: “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”
In order to preach the good tidings, His “breath” or His “mind” must rest upon us. If that is the case, then we would be teaching, speaking His truth.
“But there is a spirit within people, the breath of the Almighty within them, which makes them intelligent.” – Job 32:8
“For the Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” – Job 33:4
“If God were to take back his spirit and withdraw his breath, all life would cease, and humanity would turn again to dust.” – Job 34:14-15
“By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.”–Ps. 33:6
“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.” Dt. 30:19 **If we choose life, then we also choose His Spirit. His Spirit that will lead us into all truth and righteousness.
Acts 2:1 – 4: “When the Day of Pentecost ( Shavuot-the giving of the Torah) had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided (cloven) tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
The phrasing is very telling, “divided tongues as of fire.” The Greek word for divided is “diamerizō.” This word is defined as to cleave asunder, cut in pieces, to be divided into opposing parts, to be at variance or in dissension. Cutting in pieces is exactly what was done in the Abrahamic covenant.
Those what were in one accord, in the unity of His Kingdom, were once again separated from the world by entering His restored covenant.
Scripture tells us in Jn. 4:23 – 24: “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
His Spirit and truth go hand in glove. The Hebrew word for “truth” is אֶמֶת. “Emet” is comprised of the letters, Aleph, Mem and Tav. In its ancient form “Emet” would read: “There is power from the chaos when you are sealed.”
The word “emet” shows us that it too was designed to remove the power of chaos, spiritual darkness. Truth, “emet” also shows us that His “bride” will be clothed in the garments of righteousness.
His Truth can only relate to the Rules of His Kingdom.
אֱמֶ֑ת
…which is also the first letter, middle letter, and the last letter of the Hebrew aleph-bet. Essentially truth is the beginning and the end and everything in between. What becomes significantly interesting is that if you remove the first letter (an aleph) from the word emet, you are left with the Hebrew root word met (mem, tav)…(hebrewwordlessons.com)
מֵ֣ת
…and met means to die. The letter aleph in the pictographic aleph-bet was the symbol of an ox, indicating the strong one or the first one. It was also the first letter of God in Hebrew, Elohim… also indicating the First One or the Strong One. Removing the aleph out of truth is like removing God from it… leaving you with death. In other words there is no truth without God, only death. (hebrewwordlessons.com)
Ps. 15:1 – 2: “A Psalm of David: LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart.”
Ps. 25:4 – 10: “Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day. Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies and Your loving kindnesses, for they are from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; according to Your mercy remember me, for Your goodness’ sake, O LORD. Good and upright is the LORD; therefore He teaches sinners in the way. The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way. All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth, too such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.”
Ps. 145:18: “The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.”
Ps. 119:160: “The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.”
Zech. 8:3: “Thus says the LORD: ‘I will return to Zion, and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth, the Mountain of the LORD of hosts, the Holy Mountain.’”
Zech. 8:7 – 8: “Thus says the LORD: ‘I will return to Zion, and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth, the Mountain of the LORD of hosts, The Holy Mountain.’”
What does Yeshua mean when He said in Jn. 14:6: “Yeshua said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”
What is “the way?”
What is “the truth?”
What is “life?”

The Bride
Part Two

In part one we discussed the following:

Darkness, “choshek” which brings separation

His Spirit, “Ruach” which also brings a separation

His Light, “the Aleph Tav Owr” which makes a way for mankind to enter into His covenant

Truth, “Emet” which goes hand and glove with His Spirit

Part Two of “The Spirit and the Bride” will ask the question, who is the bride of Rev. 22:17?

Another paradigm shift may be necessary in order to answer this question. If we view this question through the lens of Christianity, the obvious answer is “the Church.” If we view this question through a Hebrew lens, the answer is, of course, Israel.

There is a third option that is the native born Israelite and gentile believers of Messiah, joined together in Shabbat and festival observance.

The mandate of the Light of Torah has always been “Scripture only” answers to our questions. With that said, this is exactly how we will endeavor to answer our question.
Who does Scripture say His “bride” is?
Revelation 21:9-11 is the only Scripture that makes a specific statement regarding the “bride.” “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, ‘come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.’ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from YaHaVah, having the glory of YaHaVah. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.”
Scripture is telling us that “the bride, the Lamb’s wife, is the New Jerusalem! How is it possible for the “bride” to be a city and not human beings? We are going to take the Scriptural journey and harmonize several verses.
In our day and hour there is no “bride” as there has been no official marriage. There is however, a betrothal. In Ex. 19:1 and onward, YaHaVah proposed to a mixed multitude whom Scripture refers to as “The People.” These “people” are spiritual Israel as they were united in their acceptance of Yahs’ proposal.
Ex. 19:5 – 6: “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”
Three times “all the people” agreed to enter into a covenant relationship with The Father. With their agreement “The People” entered into a marriage covenant, a betrothal. This betrothal is referred to as the “erusin” stage of the marriage. This stage is ongoing today. This betrothal has never been finalized so we cannot call ourselves “the bride.” The betrothal was broken with the golden calf only to be repaired by our kinsman redeemer, Yeshua HaMashiach.
The Hebrew word for “bride” is “Calah,” כַּלָה. This word is comprised of the letters Kaph, Lamed and Hey. The numerical value of “Calah” is 55; 5 + 5 = 10. The numerical value tells us that the “bride” of Messiah will be observing the Ten Words, the Ten commandments, and she will only be a “remnant.”
In its ancient form “Calah” would read: “Cover yourself with the one who comes in His authority who is to be revealed.”
“Calah” comes from the verb “Calal,” כָּלַל, which means to be made perfect as well as to crown (a bridal ornament) the “bride.” The Hebrew word for assembly is similar. It is “kahal,” קָהָל , which means assembly, convocation or congregation. The 1610 KJV removed the intended word, “kahal” and inserted the word church. This was designed to separate Brit Chadasha believers from their Hebrew roots.
Israel is the betrothed “bride.” Rom. 11:13 – 21 shows us that the believing gentiles will join Israel via the grafting in process: “For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those (Hebrews) who are my flesh and save some of them. For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root (Yeshua) is holy, so are the branches (Native born). And if some of the branches (Native born) were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree (Gentiles), were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root (Yeshua) and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, ‘branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.’ Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.”
Israel, the green olive tree, receives first. Rom. 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Messiah for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Hebrew first and also for the Greek.”
The mystery is this: The remnant, spiritual Israel, will be comprised of the Native born Israelites and the grafted in Gentiles. This is a “spiritual” process and is ongoing. This process shows us how The Father made it possible for the nations to enter into His rest.
The kehilot of the first three centuries after Messiahs’ resurrection was the physical manifestation of the spiritual grafting in process. The Synagogues were filled with both the Native born and new Gentile converts, united. Keep in mind the “grafting in” process was not something new in the Brit Chadasha. The Torah gives instructions as well for the stranger and foreigners who have aligned themselves with the Father of creation.
Col. 1:18: “And He is the head of the body, the kehilot, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.”
Messiah Yeshua is the “head” and we are His “body.” Since Yeshua is the firstborn from the dead, that means He has His glorified body. If He has a glorified body then it only makes sense that His body, the “kahal” would also have their glorified body. His “kahal” has not yet received their glorified body so this Scripture is speaking another mystery. The mystery is that His glorified body will be united with His “kehilot” also in their glorified at a future time.
1 Cor. 10:16 – 17: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Messiah? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Messiah? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.” **This is why there are so many Scriptures regarding the defilement of our body because once we are aligned with Messiah Yeshua, our body becomes His body.
The first mention of “bride” is recorded in Is. 49:18: “Lift up your eyes, look around and see; all these gather together and come to you. As I live, says the LORD, ‘you shall surely clothe yourselves with them all as an ornament, and bind them on you as a bride does.” **When we see the word “ornament,” think about the precious stones as described in the New Jerusalem narrative.
The bridal ornaments can be many things. Her bridal ornaments are her witness. The Hebrew word for ornaments is “adi,” עֲדִי. In its ancient form, “adi” would read: “Watch for the pathway of the Messiah, the thrower of His seed.”
Those of us who believe in the completed work of Messiah Yeshua are not yet His bride. Technically speaking, we are His betrothed. We do not become His bride until Rev. 19:7 – 9: “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.
And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, ‘Write: blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ And he said to me, ‘These are the true sayings of God.’”
The betrothed = the saints. The Greek word for “saint” is hagios. Hagios is defined as a holy one. The root word is a word you are already familiar with, it is the word “hag,” חָג. “Hag” is defined as festival, feast, festival-gathering or a pilgrim-feast. What the Brit Chadasha word for “saint” is telling us, is that the restored covenant believer should observe The Father’s festivals.
Recall the numerical value of “hag” is 11; eleven is a number that relates to Yeshua. Yeshua then, is found in all of Yahs’ festivals.
Rev. 21:12 – 14: “Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel; three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
The twelve gates, named with the twelve tribes of Israel, clearly show us that we can only gain entrance into this city, which is the “bride,” via one of the sons of Jacob. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants represent the Tanakh. Notice also that the apostles of Yeshua, His twelve, are also present in “the city.” They represent the restored covenant.
Rev. 21:15 – 18: “And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.”
The dimensions are self explanatory. Note that its wall is 144 cubits. Is it possible this is a reference to the 144,000 thousand?
In my opinion, the pure gold is a reference to the “good gold” of the River Pishon, one of the four rivers running out of Gan Eden. The “good” or “pure” gold are those who have been refined by His fire. The appearance of pure gold can be likened to believers who have donned their glorified bodies.
Rev. 21:19 – 23: “The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysotile, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.”
The foundations are adorned; can it be possible that these are the wedding adornments? After all, the marriage has taken place by this point in Scripture, in fact, the entire picture of the New Jerusalem speaks to the joining of the “bridegroom” and His “bride.” The description is about people!
Rev. 21:24 – 27: “And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”
The question, “Who does Scripture say His bride is? The answer, in my opinion is, this: The New Jerusalem, though it is physical, is the spiritual culmination of the completed marriage between Yeshua and Israel. Yeshua and His wife are seen in their glorified bodies much like how He was seen on mount transfiguration. They have now entered the “nesuin” (completed) stage of the betrothal process (the erusin) that lasted for centuries.
In conclusion, darkness was on the face of the deep to bring division. His Spirit, “Ruach,” also brought about separation. His Light, “the Aleph Tav Owr,” made a way for mankind to enter into His covenant. Truth, “Emet” which goes hand and glove with His Spirit, leads us to righteousness.
The “bride” of Rev. 21 is spiritual Israel in their glorified bodies. A completion of the grafting in process causing them to become the body of Messiah Yeshua.
The Spirit and the Bride issue an invitation to “come.” An invitation to those remaining souls on earth to become part of and join “the bride.”