[Here is the full text of the QUESTION from the reader:]
In your writings, you distinguish between Israel as the wife of Jehovah and the church as the bride of Christ. Does this mean there are two brides?
Here is Arnold's ANSWER:
Yes, there are two distinct brides, with Israel being the bride of God the Father and the church being the bride of God the Son. A simple observation shows that these two entities need to be distinguished. The wife of Jehovah is Israel, who, although already married to God, became an adulterous wife. God eventually divorced her, and she is suffering a period of punishment. Ultimately, however, she will return to the Lord and will be remarried to God the Father. The church is viewed in Scripture as the bride of the Messiah and His betrothed wife but still a virgin and not yet joined to her husband. So, one woman is an adulterous wife, and the other woman is a virgin who is not yet joined to her husband. Therefore, these two brides could not be one and the same, as is often taught in replacement theology.
For a more detailed explanation concerning the distinction between Israel and the church, please refer to my book The Footsteps of the Messiah: A Study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events and What the Bible Teaches About Israel: Past, Present, and Future.
