The Story of Adam and His Bride

I have been reading Peter Hiett's new book, "God and His Sexy Body" It's a sermonic look at Genesis chapter two which is the second book in a three book series on Genesis 1-3.  HIs first book was "The History of Time and the Genesis of You."  In this new book which is a fresh look at Genesis 2, Hiett wants people to see Jesus as the great bridegroom and the church as God's beautiful bride which is immersed in mutual surrendered love.

This book has some great anedotes throughout like "Don't be afraid to be empty because you'll always be filled."  "The missing link is not the survival of the fittest but the sacrifice of the fittest."  Here is one of my favorites: 

When one person forgives, it looks like the cross.
When two people forgive, it looks like marriage.
When everyone forgives, it looks like the body of Christ (the church)

The Mirror

I looked in the mirror and what did I see
The Bridegroom of Christ coming for me
He birthed this love that fills my cup
He purchased love by His cross and calls us Beloved.

Where is love I asked in the darkness
    Darkness is where the Bridegroom is away 
          and light is when the Bridegroom stays.

I looked in the mirror and what did I see
The Bridegroom of Christ looking at me
His love dispelled indifference
and filled my soul with sweet incense

The darkness was eclipsed by heaven
as forgiveness was poured out seventy times seven
Love so deep soared on high
All darkness fled as evil died

My chains were broken as I was released from captivity
All heaven applauded at this great festivity
     Love destroyed all that I may embrace the call
            while the mirror of the Word showed my great fall
But Jesus death has torn down the wall
      And now God and I are close after all

The Unveiling of the Bridegroom

"Jesus the lover sends a sevenfold love letter to his sevenfold Asian Bride" -  Peter Leithart

The bridal imagery of rapturous love between the bridegroom and the bride is not just in the Song of Solomon.  One can find glimpses of this extravagant love relationship throughout the Bible.  Biblical scholars have seen connections with the prophecy of Daniel with the book of Revelation and even some of Mark's Gospel structure of exile and symbolic numerology.  But one often misses the magnificent unveiling of Christ as the church's bridegroom in the first chapter of the book of Revelation.

One sees the great bride descending from heaven in Revelation 21:9-10 as John stands on a mountain watching this visionary cosmic event.  And John gives this striking revelation of Christ that starts with the head of Christ and moves across his body and finally ends at his lips.  This whole rhythmic movement and description of the victorious Christ follows the same pattern as the Song of Solomon in the description of the Bridegroom with His Bride.

This whole unveiling of Jesus shows Him as the Divine lover who wants to have an eternal marriage supper with His exiled Bride.  The seven letters to the churches are love letters filled with passionate love and strong pleas to repent and return to Him.  These seven churches receive in essence love letters from the victorious Bridegroom who is in crazy love with His church.