Do you want to know what eventually is going to happen to the Christian Church? It is going to be a holy city without spot or wrinkle. It is going to come down from God out of Heaven. It will be prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Here is the Bride of the Lamb, the Body of Christ.

The Bride must be prepared. We have taught in previous essays that there will be a firstfruits of the Bride, as mentioned in the nineteenth chapter of Revelation. The firstfruits makes herself ready. She washes her robes in the blood of the Lamb. She purifies herself. She will be raised when the Lord appears and will rule with Him over the saved nations of the earth during the thousand-year Kingdom Age often referred to as the Millennium.

But the entire Church, including not only the warlike remnant but the whole complement of God's elect, God's Israel, will not come down to the earth until the end of the thousand-year Kingdom Age.

The Song of Solomon has some things to say about the firstfruits of the Church and then the entire Church.

My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her. Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners? (Song of Solomon 6:9,10)

Notice that the Lord is speaking here of a special group from the larger Church. She is "the choice one." Notice also that she is associated with war. So it is that the remnant God is calling out of the churches today is becoming conscious of God's war and God's army. Even their hymns and choruses are taking on a more militant character.

The story of Gideon, perhaps the clearest type of the coming of the Lord, portrays a remnant who win the battle on behalf of all Israel. David also won the battle for Israel.

Christ is a Man of war and so part of the Bride nearest His heart must be skilled in battle.

The following is especially revealing.

Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies. (Song of Solomon 6:13)

In order to be successful every battle involving the Kingdom of God must be fought by two armies, the army of judges and the army of angels. The judges announce the will of Christ. The angels fight in the spirit realm.

The army of judges is formed from the saints. Our business is to announce the will of Christ. We do the binding and loosing. We remit sin and retain sin. The keys have been given to us.

But, like the judge of any court, we do not perform the execution of sentence. The execution of sentence is carried out by those who bear the sword, so to speak.

To be continued.