The Bridal Cloth

March 2021

“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He may give it to you.” John 15:16 ESV

As I was in my prayer time with the Lord asking what was on His heart, He showed me something that deeply impacted my life and that I feel is vital for this hour. It is both a message and a warning for all believers—a call to be one in Him, one with each other, and to not be deceived. There is no more time to dilly-dally or beat around the bush. Now is the time to abide in the Vine and cluster together in unity with one goal: be the Bride He has called us to be.

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:4-5 ESV

I was swept up in an encounter and found myself standing with Jesus in a room while several designers placed long rectangle strips of cloth in my arms. I felt in my spirit that what the designers were doing wasn’t right. I looked behind my shoulder to see Jesus with His hands folded in front of Him–saddened and frustrated, yet quiet all the while. I was deeply troubled as I felt His heart and knew instantly what this all meant. This was about the Bride of Christ.

As the Bride of Christ, we are to be fashioned the way He sees fit. We are to look and be the way He wants us to be. The Bride’s dress is to be cut from one cloth—His. These designers that were handing me strips of cloth were giving me materials based on what they thought she should look like. Some materials that were brought to me were bright and vibrant, others royal and sleek. However, while these cloths were beautiful, they did not care to ask the Master Designer what He wanted His Bride to look like. As they piled the pieces of cloth in my arms, they ignored Him as if He wasn’t in the room.

As I stood there holding the cloths, Jesus began to talk to me about what was taking place. He began to tell me in detail that there will be and currently are those who have different ideas and opinions on what His Bride should look like. However, no matter how glorious or glamorous the ideas may look, without asking Jesus, Himself, for the correct pattern for the Bride, they will be wrong. He has an opinion on how His Bride should look and His opinion is the only one that matters.

“The liar is using our culture to warp our belief system about 'the bridal gown,' which in turn has clouded our vision of God’s truth. Culture has trained us to believe that it is 'bad luck' for the groom to see the bride's dress before the wedding ceremony. In most traditions the bride chooses her own dress with a group of girl friends and/or family members instead of allowing the groom to be a part of the process. The Groom, Jesus, wants to choose our bridal gown and to be included in every detail of the process––for He is the only One the Bride should want to impress.” –Bethany Huff

Don’t grieve His heart by not asking Him for the blueprint for His Bride. She means everything to Him. Man’s design for the dress will have spots and wrinkles, but His design will not. It is flawless and it is right. All ideas other than His, despite intentions, are wrong and false. There is only one right way His Bride’s dress will be designed—His way. The Bride will be the way She is designed and called to be.

“So that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”

Ephesians 5:27 ESV

It is no longer permissible to go by our own selfish ideas, desires, wants and dreams for what we think the Bride should look like. We must consult Jesus on how He wants His Bride to look. He is warning all of us not to create our own mold for the Bride to fit in or choose our own fabric for Her to wear, but ask His will for Her and listen. Those who may have been given a mold, pattern, or “fabric” to fit into by one’s own incorrect ideas or by other’s false belief systems, it’s time to let go. Seek Jesus and only what He says about the Bride. What He says is true and eternal. We are to be cut from one cloth–His.

“So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of His own accord, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.’” John 5:19 ESV

Ideas that are false, even if it is a little false, are cloths that are not His. Jesus described that even ideas or opinions that are scripturally based, but not what He said to them personally, will also be wrong. Just because it is Biblically sound does not mean it is permissible in this season. Scripture is important, yes, but it is vital that we hear how He wants His Bride to look and do only what we hear Him say. He is the Word and therefore the personal “now” word will always be backed by scripture. We need both the Word and the Spirit to navigate these times.

“Who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” 2 Corinthians 3:6 ESV

I feel we need to see His vision for the Bride and implement His pattern into the earth. We must consult Him. We must hear from Him directly and not just what others say. We must seek His face as much as we read His Word. This is not a time to be bottle fed by others and hear from Him ourselves. The Word and others can bring confirmation, but if we do not hear from Him, we will miss what He wants to share to us personally. It is important to see how He sees His Bride and be all that He has called us to be. Who He says the Bride is and how She should look is the only correct cloth and no other cloth will do.

“You have said, ‘Seek My face.’ My heart says to You, ‘Your face, Lord, do I seek.’”

Psalm 27:8 ESV

After He had finished saying all these things, I allowed the heavy pile of fabric that was stacked to my chin to fall from my arms to His feet and said, “All of these are great, but I want to see Your cloth.” He smiled a big, cheesy smile and said, “Okay, follow Me.” He brought me to a door and opened it to reveal a light so bright that I had to squint until my eyes adjusted. It was at this moment that I realized how dull it was in the other room where the designers were. He stood in front of me, smiling in anticipation. Next to Him, at His feet was a whitish-cream colored cloth with threads of gold. I looked to see that this cloth was massive and draped down from something high against a wall on my right. This cloth was so long and wide that I could not see the ceiling of the room that contained it. I was in awe of the sheer beauty of this cloth that radiated with light. It was stunning. “It’s beautiful!” I said in amazement. I began to look at the gold threads that formed all sorts of designs when He said with a big smile, “You can look closer.” As I held the soft cloth in my hands, the gold thread designs seemed to expand. The closer I looked, the more intricate designs I could see. At one point, I even held it up to my eyes and the designs still didn’t end. It was as far as the eye could see.

I was in complete awe of how magnificent, perfect, and pure His design for His Bride was. His design for the Bride made the pieces of cloth I held earlier look dull and simple. As I looked again at the massive cloth that trailed all the way from the far wall, I realized that His dress for the Bride was made from one cloth. She is to be fashioned from one cloth, not many different ones. His Bride will be one as She was destined and created to be.

“‘You shall keep My statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material.’” Leviticus 19:19 ESV

“Eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Ephesians 4:3-6 ESV

I encourage you to seek Jesus in this hour. See how He sees His Bride. It is vital to not settle for the dull cloths of man’s false ideas and hear what He says She should look like. It is dangerous to go any longer blind to the truth of who He says His Bride is. It is time to be cut from one cloth–His. I encourage you to throw out everything that is not of Him and run after what He says. It is time for the Bride of Christ to step into who He has destined and created Her to be.

“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn”

Isaiah 51:1 NIV

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27 ESV

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV