From Sheep to Bride: The Journey of Zion

Hebrew Vision News Exclusive

by Miykael Qorbanyahu aka The End Time Scribe

And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped Elohim who sat on the throne, saying, “Amĕn! HalleluYaH!” And a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our Elohim, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!” And I heard as the voice of a great crowd, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunders, saying, “Halleluyah, for יהוה Ěl Shaddai reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him praise, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife prepared herself.” And to her it was given to be dressed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the set-apart ones. And he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who have been called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true words of Elohim.”

Revelation 19.4-9

Marriage is serious business. It is a most rewarding endeavor that takes daily work and continuous personal development in order for a husband and wife to have a loving and enduring marriage. The most successful marriages are selfless and intimate unions between a man and woman who are both committed to serving one another with compassion, desire and humility. Marriage is an agreement that requires two mature adults, who have found suitable and compatible qualities in one another intent on fulfilling their shared vision and assisting each other grow into their fullest potentials. If one is immature, however, marriage is not a relationship that one should even consider entering.

While marriage between husband and wife is indeed a serious undertaking, the covenant relationship between יּהּוּהּ and Zion is truly the most significant bond that exists in all of existence. This is because this union creates a bridge between heaven and earth, thus bringing the reality of eternity into the realm of the temporal. With this marriage covenant between heaven and earth – which initially took place on Mt. Sinai when Moses, as minister, united the nation of Israel, as bride, with the Most High by presenting the bride with the vows of the Ten Commandments – the physical temple of humanity becomes the living house of the Spirit of the Everlasting One. In order to experience this eternal union, however, Zion must necessarily undergo a developmental process that involves the mastery of one’s basic and human nature. With this writing, we will examine the developmental process aforementioned by referencing five common character types in the Scripture: sheep, servants, friends, sons/daughters, and bride/bridegrooms.

SHEEP are gregarious creatures of collective comfort and habit. Known for their flocking tendencies and docile nature, this instinctual animal also possesses a fair amount of intelligence and has a keen sense of sight which contributes to their methods of survival. Largely social animals, sheep are conditioned from birth to follow the more seasoned members of the flock. This passive characteristic lends to their herding instinct when led by a shepherd of whom they grow accustomed to trust and follow. It is this quality that makes sheep one of the Scriptures most allegoric paradigms for the members of the household of faith. As one of the most prominent monikers given to the twelve tribes of Israel, the scattered sheep is suggestive of Israel’s dependence on and direction given by the Good Shepherd, Messiah Yahoshua, the Son of the Most High.

It is important to notate that the two most significant attributes that are present with sheep is that they possess great amounts of trust and have a superior vision. With these two traits, sheep are able to ensure their individual and collective safety, as well as enjoy the conditions that are created when they are secured within the fold. This is what we as believers must do in our earliest stages of development; trust in the Word of the Most High and follow the vision that is given from the trust we have in our Father and King. When we have come to be established in our trust and vision, it is then that we will have graduated to the character of a servant.

SERVANTS serve others by performing specified duties for one who is considered their superior or master. Being a servant requires a great amount of control of one’s will to the degree that the individual actually becomes selfless and learns to responsively intuit that which their superior/master is in need. Emotionally sound, a servant is completely guided by reason and purpose alone, relegating emotional dispositions and outbursts to a minimal, and if at all possible, to a null. Like a waiter at a restaurant who is servicing an irate customer, the servant must always remain composed with a demeanor that exudes humility and respectability. This does not, however, imply that the servant is open to being berated unnecessarily by those whom they serve. Nonetheless, their deference to their obligations take precedent over their personal sentiment and their responses must be measured carefully and diplomatically delivered.

Given this selfless approach to life, the main areas of focus in the life of a servant are discipline and attentiveness. With these two characteristics, a servant is able to affectively deliver the duties of which they have been tasked with fulfilling. For the children of Israel, the designation of the servant of the Most High is a common theme that is pronounced throughout the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Therefore, when the children of Israel have mastered themselves with discipline and attentiveness, they are then elevated to the next level of being esteemed as a friend.

Friends truly come with a one in a million likelihood. In fact, the Torah records two individuals as friends with the Most High. One being Moshe, as the scripture tells us that so יהוה spoke with Moshe face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. This delegation of title to Moshe was given in regards to the distinguished integrity and loyalty that he demonstrated towards יהוה. The other who identified as Elohim’s friend was Abraham. Defined as one who another holds in confidential esteem and high personal regards, friends are those individuals upon whom others can depend and rely. Exemplified by the character trait of selflessness, the role of a friend is motivated by a sense of love for another, unlike that of a servant who is motivated by obligation and duty. This is demonstrated in the Messianic writings when Mashiyach Rabbi Yahoshua ben Yoseph informs his disciples that this is My commandment, that you love one another just as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this: that he lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. I am no longer calling you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing. Now I have called you friends, because everything I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

Predicated upon platonic intimacy, friendship is a level of relating with others that requires loyalty and sincerity. Once demonstrated, a bond is formed that becomes inseparable by the outside world. Like a covalent bond, the two or more individuals in this relationship are able to create a stable balance between them which then allows for a mutual companionship to exist in their interactions. With security established in the relationship, the individuals so connected are joined in a lifelong journey empowered by each other’s presence. For Israel, once the friendship connection has been established and consistently demonstrated in the spirit of truth, then the household of faith will progress to the status of a son or daughter through the divine adoption into the heavenly family of יהוה.

Sons and daughters are nothing less than gifts from above. Cherished by their parents and protected by their love so that they can develop into the full-fledged adult that they were created to become, a child is the continuance of their family line. As the direct offspring from the parents who birthed them, children share a unique and special link with their parents. Including genetic, biologic and habitual inheritances, children are like carbon copies of their parents, regularly reflecting their progenitors image, dispositions, temperaments and inclinations. As children develop, however, they begin to acquire their own unique expression and personality as individuals. By adolescence, a new character is emerges from all the makings that went into forming their being. It is at this stage that the characteristics of obedience and responsibility play the most significant role in the life of children. This is because the quality of life that the child will lead given their adherence to the instructions of the parents which will ultimately determine the path that they will eventually come to tread in their adult life.

As just mentioned, the distinguishing characteristics of children in relation to their parents are obedience and responsibility. Given these two vital traits, a child is able to earn the favor and trust of their parents without causing their parents to experience disappointment and grief. As obedient and responsible children, a parent can have no greater joy in knowing that their children honor them in the most respectable of ways. This principle corresponds to the children of Israel in light of their obedience to their heavenly Father. For when it is found that the children of Israel have fulfilled all of the commands and instructions of their heavenly Father, they then will be prepared and set-apart to enter into the sacred bond of matrimony with the spouse of their parents choosing. This represents the most fulfilling and purposeful graduation of a child’s life; for when they separate from their mother and father and cleave to the lover of their soul, then they will be able to carry forth with the ultimate goal of reproducing themselves in the unfolding of eternal life.

Bride’s are the ideal role that most women desire to fulfill in their life. As the object of affection of the groom who vows to serve, protect, provide and adore her, the bride is the most special and focused upon woman in her spouse’s life. The exclusive role of bride provides her with all the comforts and pleasures that are promised to her given her capacity of honoring, respecting, pleasing and selflessly loving her groom. Taken from the Hebrew word kalal, which means to complete or to perfect, the word bride in Hebrew provides the image of a woman crowned with a wreath implying her maturity and thus state of perfection she has attained for her most beloved groom.

For Israel, the crown jewel of their covenant relationship with יהוה‎ is to be identified as the bride of Zion. Given this special appellation that Israel has attained, it is predicated upon Israel’s fidelity to the covenant and devotion to יהוה‎. In this capacity Israel collectively manifests the prophetic fulfillment as the kingdom of priests and set-apart people that they have been called to become and thus reach the state of spiritual maturity and perfection that they have been tasked with doing. Herein lies the purpose of the nation of Israel, to become the bride of יהוה‎, the apple of Its eye and the treasured possession of heaven, reflecting the light of the Most High Elohim on Earth.

As we have just briefly detailed in the course of this writing, the journey of Zion is to go from the humble and lowly lamb to that of the bride. What this journey symbolizes is the progression of human nature from that of their basic animal instincts to that of their divine nature. This entails the overcoming of emotions and desires by humble submission to the will of the Most High Elohim. This feat is accomplished by presenting one’s self as a living sacrifice to the Creator of all flesh and undergoing a transformation by a continuous renewal of the mind. Once this matter has gone through the stages that we’ve identified in this writing, then an individual who has undergone this process will find themselves intimately joined in relationship with the Spirit of יהוה‎, empowered to fulfill all of the righteous requirements and expectations of the Bride of the Lamb.

For this process presents all of humanity with the monumental task of overcoming one’s basic nature and habitual behaviors that we’ve come to be accustomed. While it is perceived that most souls will not even come to be aware of such a huge undertaking in life, for those who have intuited that something far greater awaits awakening within, this journey presents them with the greatest challenge and afforded rewards that can be experienced in life. Therefore, given the character traits of trust and vision, discipline and focus, honesty and loyalty, obedience and responsibility and fidelity and devotion, each and every one of us is able to attain a state of consciousness that is greater than anything that we have previously experienced. As the measure of one’s character and true value, the spiritual awareness and dedication to fulfill their life’s purpose within the scope of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth determines the quality of life that one is able to live. For the Bride of the Lamb, there is no limitation to the amount of joy and pleasure that can and will be experienced in this most honorable and sacred lot. What is required to experience those joys and pleasures, however, is concomitant with the level of sacrifice that an individual is willing to make in their own personal life to reach a state of consciousness that will connect them with the Will of יהוה‎, the Father of Creation.

Selah…