Speaker 1: Most of us eat every day, some of us too much,
because yesterday's food is not enough to supply energy for
today's needs. Why then, do some of us expect yesterday's
portion of heavenly manna the word of God to keep
us through today's challenges. On this program, we are going
to change all of that. Let's experience God's words today
and receive the power we need to live healthy, vibrant lives.
Welcome to your Daily Portion with your host, author speaker
Elle David Harris.
Speaker 2: Good morning, good morning, Good morning. It is Sabbath, April twelve,
twenty twenty five. Hello, my name is El David Harris.
I am your host, and this is your Daily Portion
where we give you God's Word every single day, and
today is no exception. We are continuing in our lesson
study series how to study Bible Prophecy, and our caption
for today is Images from Marriage Images from Marriage. Before
we get into that, I'd like to first say thank
you and welcome to everyone joining us, especially those joining
us for the very first time. I know there are
a number of things you could be doing this early
on a Sabbath morning, but you are together with me
and all the thousands and thousands of people who are watching, listening,
and then of course those who will catch it on
the replay. So thank you for that. And yeah, I
want to give a great big shout out to my wife,
simone of almost twenty four years considering this subject, and
also to my brother and friend and of course my
sister and friend Faith so Quest and Faith Green of
the Greenhouse where they love, love, lifestyle and legacy. That's
core value for them. And of course that is in
the context of marriage. Okay, So thank God that he
has given us a way to connect with him in
relationship through the symbol of marriage, and of course we
get to experience the blessing of marriage with real life humans.
And I am just overwhelmed with thanksgiving in that regard.
Let's go ahead and pray and then we will get underway. Father,
we thank you for this Sabbath day. Please give us
your vision for marriage. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen
and a man again. And so we begin in the
Bible Book of Revelation. Of course we're looking at symbols
of things that have to do with prophecy and our
actual lives, etc. And so we begin in Revelation chapter
nineteen and verse nine. The Bible reads, Then he said
to me, right, blessed are those who are called to
the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said, these
are the true sayings of God. Before I get into
a lot of details, I'd like to read from the
book Christ's object Lessons, page three hundred and seven, and
it reads, it reads, the marriage represents in this particular context.
And I need you to be clear. I struggled over
this thing for two years back in the day. The
marriage represents the reception of Christ of his kingdom, reception
by Christ of his kingdom. The Holy City, the New Jerusalem,
which is the capital and representative of the kingdom, is
called the bride the Lamb's wife, said the Angel to John,
come hither, I will show thee the bride the Lamb's wife.
And he carried me away in the spirit, says the prophet,
and showed me that great holy city, Holy Jerusalem, descending
out of God from heaven. Sorry, my device is trying
to wake up here out of Heaven from God Revelation
twenty one, Versus nine and ten. Clearly, then the bride
represents the Holy City and the virgins that go out
to meet. The bridegroom are a symbol of God's church.
In Revelation, the people of God are said to be guests.
We're talking about Revelation nineteen guests at the marriage supper.
If guests, they cannot be represented also as the bride
and that. And let me just say there, because I
know somebody's going to read that and get confused, like
I was way back in the day. But that is
in the context of Revelation chapter nineteen, in that scene.
And so God's people are prepared through right relationship with him.
God's people are prepared through the judgment. Yes, God's people,
I said, the judgment. But remember there is no fear
in love because love casts out fear, for fear has
part of me torment. Those who are perfected in love
come to God boldly in the day of judgment. So
we're talking about the judgment seen in a good way,
in a way that does not condemn God's people who
are yielding to him. And so once God's people are
fully prepared, once God's people are transformed, God's people are
seen covered in Christ's righteousness, then one day, one day,
God's people will be adjoined with his kingdom and together
we will see a full image, a comprehensive image of
the bride. So of course God's people are as bride,
of course, but in this context we're seeing, we're seeing
the city, the Holy Jerusalem, ready to receive finally one
day the people of God, and they together in that
grand scene, become the image of the bride. I wish
I had the time, but that is not where we
are completely today, okay, And so I'm thankful. I'm thankful
that God gives us ways to apply these truths in
every key area of our lives. Hopefully you have our
companion guide to look at some of the ways that
we will. And so let me now just hurry up
and jump in to the Bible Book of Ephesians. Some
of you were expecting this. Ephesians, Chapter five and verse
twenty five. The Bible reads, husbands, love your wives, even
as Christ also loved the church. Yes, and of course
the Bible says that he gave himself. Christ gave himself
for her. And so we see marriage as a prophetic
symbol of divine love. I hope you're taking notes. Divine love.
It shows sacrificial love, it shows faithful commitment, it shows
intimate relationship and of course eternal covenant. Can I just
be candid with you, I just like you. I came
up in a situation growing up where the marriage was
not a great symbol in my household. It just really wasn't.
I'm not going to go drag up old terrible experiences,
but it wasn't a good symbol in my household. And
so I could be tempted to make up a new
model because it was a terrible symbol in my household.
And many of you you have tried. You have tried
to be married in the way that God says, and
then you decided you're going to do it some other way.
You stepped out on your spouse, or you created some
other new model of marriage because the way that God said,
at least in your mind, didn't work. But God is
saying no, no, no, no, no. You don't have to
make up a new model. You don't have to step
out on your spouse because it doesn't seem to work
in your household. No, you come to me, you and
your spouse. You both come to me and receive the
guidance and receive the fullness of My spirit. And I
will show you through divine love how Christ loved the
church and gave himself, and how the Church can be
faithful also to Christ. And that is the model for
your marriage. I wish I had the time. Number two
Then comes covenant relationship. In Hosea chapter two, in verse ninenineteen,
it says, I will betroth thee unto me forever. So
this is a covenant relationship. This is an enduring relationship.
It does not pause or stop for better or for worse,
in sickness and in health until death do us part.
That's what this represents. Covenantal relationship. It demonstrates God's faithfulness,
the permanent bond, the sacred commitment, and divine promise. Let's
keep going. Number three, as we come to a swift close.
In Isaiah chapter sixty two and verse five, the Bible reads,
for as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall
thy God rejoice over thee. Here is some prophetic imagery
of God's joy. God is rejoicing over you because He
loves you. Yes, the perfect union, complete restoration. Because let
me just say, quite frankly, most of us made extreme,
terrible mistakes with how we treated our body and mistreated
our sexual reality, our intimate spaces before we got married.
But we also have been restored by God. Aren't you
glad that God has restored you completely? And then comes
ultimate celebration And so here are a couple of key lessons.
Key lessons marriage teaches us about God's character, about his
divine love, about the redemption plan that he has to
make us holy, and then final restoration. I'm so glad
that He has given us, in his word, even in prophecy,
his image for marriage. Peace.
Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us listening. Friends. Always remember we cannot
live by bread alone, but by every word that comes
from the mouth of God. This has been your daily
portion with el David Harris. Make it a great day. Yeah,