Page 41 - The Remnant Bride

that Yahshua has chosen a special remnant out from among His body to be the Bride.

As has been mentioned, the Bride is made up of those who have made themselves
ready. They are pure and radiant. They are holy and blameless before God. Those who have

soiled their garments are forbidden from being a part of the Bride.
In the design of the tabernacle, holiness has everything to do with access to the

different parts. The outer court is the least restrictive portion. Virtually all of the
congregation of Israel had access to the Outer Court. In the church, the Outer Court

represents those who come to Christ for the remission of sins.
The next level, the Holy Place, was more restrictive. Only priests from the tribe of Levi

were allowed into the Holy Place. This represented a significant decrease in access from the
Outer Court. The priests who served in the tabernacle had requirements placed upon them.

They had to be without defect or disease to perform service in the tabernacle. We see a
double refinement here. Only one tribe of Israel could enter and only those who were

without blemish or defect.
It was not God's original intent that only one tribe should have access here. God's

original desire was that the whole nation should be priests before Him (Exodus 19:5,6). It

was only after Israel refused to turn from the idolatry of Egypt that Levi was chosen. This
transfer of the priesthood from the entire nation to the tribe of Levi occurred after the
nation sinned when Aaron made the golden calf for them to worship. Levi alone proved

themselves willing to pay the cost of separation unto Yahweh after the nation sinned

(Exodus 32:25-27).
God's original purpose was that the firstborn male of every household should be holy
and dedicated unto Him as a priest. After Israel sinned in their idolatry, God substituted the

entire tribe of Levi for the firstborn of all Israel. God had every firstborn male of Israel

numbered by tribe. They were then ransomed and released from their dedication as a priest
before God by having a Levite male take their place. There were more firstborn males from

Israel than there were Levite males, so the remaining number had to be redeemed with
money (Numbers chapter 3).

The double refinement of the Holy Place was therefore a refinement that weeded out
those whose commitment to obedience was lacking and only allowed access to those who

were dedicated to God. Furthermore, these dedicated ones had to be without disease or
defect (Leviticus 21:17-23). This is reflective of the Bride of Christ who is to be "without spot