TwinFlameVirgos: A Di'Vine Journey

Christ is a bridegroomIn the Gospel of John, John the Baptist speaks of Jesus Christ as the bridegroom and mentions the bride. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. ^{[John 3:29]}
This is the only place in the Gospels where the bride is mentioned, but because a bridegroom must have a bride all other mentions of the bridegroom imply the bride.
In the three ^{Synoptic Gospels, when Jesus is asked why his disciples do not fast while the followers of John and the Pharisees do, Jesus answers:}
And Jesus said unto them, Can the friends of the bridegroom fast, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.[^{Mark 2:19]}

In ^{Matthew 9:15, Mark 2:19 and Luke 5:34, the Apostles are referred to as the friends, guests, or children depending on the translation, of the Bridegroom commonly accepted to be Jesus Christ.}

The Bridegroom is also mentioned in the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins.[^{Mt 25:1-13]}
"Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten (10 or 5+5?) virgins (virgos?) who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom."











Mentions of the bride
The bride's appearance

The Book of Revelation in multiple instances shows the appearance of the Bride.
Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. [^{Revelation 19:7]}
And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ... And there came unto me one of the seven (7) angels which had the seven (7) vials full of the seven (7) last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, [^{Revelation 21:2,9-10]}
In the above quotes, ^{John, the author of the Book of Revelation, speaks of seeing the bride revealed and refers to her as the New Jerusalem, first mentioned in Revelation 3:12.}



The bride giving water of life

Towards the end of the Book of Revelation John describes the spirit and the bride giving access to the water of life
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. [^{Revelation 22:17]}


Comparing the church to a bride

^{Ephesians 5:22-33 compares the union of husband and wife to that of Christ and the church. [4] The central theme of the whole Ephesians letter is reconciliation of the alienated within the unity of the church.[4] Ephesians 5 begins by calling on Christians to imitate God and Christ, who gave himself up for them with love.[5:2] Ephesians 5:1-21 contains a rather strong warning against foolishness and letting down one's guard against evil. Rather, the author encourages the readers to constantly give thanks with song in their hearts because of what God has done for all in Christ. That prelude to the subject's text takes up again the theme of loving submission that began with the example of Christ in 5:2 where all are called upon to "Be submissive to one another out of reverence for Christ." 5:21 It implies, but is not specific, that the "Bride" is the body of believers that comprise the universal Christian Ekklēsia} (Church) ^{(lit. "called-out ones").}

The ekklēsia is never explicitly called "the bride of Christ" in the New Testament. That is approached in <sup>Ephesians 5:22-33. A major analogy is that of the body. Just as husband and wife are to be "one flesh,"[Eph. 5:31] this analogy for the writer describes the relationship of Christ and ekklēsia.[Eph. 5:32] Husbands were exhorted to love their wives "just as Christ loved the ekklēsia and gave himself for it.[Eph. 5:25] When Christ nourishes and cherishes the ekklēsia, he nourishes and cherishes his own flesh. Just as the husband, when he loves his wife is loving his own flesh.[Eph. 5:28] Members of the ekklēsia are "members of his own body" because it is written in Genesis 2:4 "and the two shall become one flesh". In [Eph. 5:29-30] Jesus quotes the Genesis passage as what has been called a "divine postscript".[5]



In writing to the Church of Corinth in 2 Corinthians 11 Paul writes to the Corinthians warning them of false teachers who would teach of another Christ and confessing his worry that they will believe someone who teaches a false christ; other than Christ Jesus of Nazareth whom they preached; and referred to the Church in Corinth as being espoused to Christ. "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him".[2 Cor. 11:2-4]

In the writing to the Church in Rome,Paul writes, "Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God" (emphasis added).[Romans 7] Here, Paul seems to suggest that the Church is to be married to Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom was raised from the dead.



Other Interpretations of the bride

While the most commonly accepted interpretation of the bride of Christ is the Church, other interpretations exist uncommonly. The World Mission Society Church of God believes the bride to be God the Mother. Also, the Jehovah's Witnesses, along with other ministries such as the Shepherd's Chapel, preach the Bride to be the 144,000 mentioned in Revelation 7 and 14.



God the Mother

The World Mission Society Church of God believes that the Bride of Christ is another God hidden in the parables of Jesus Christ, not to be revealed until the last day.[1] They point to the fact the Bride gives the water of life in Revelation 22:17 and that because John 4:10-14 explains that water of life is eternal life, only God can give eternal life. Also, in Jeremiah 2:13 and Revelation 21:6, it is written that God said that he is the source of living water.

They believe that Jesus is the father of all, so his wife must be the mother of all. They further believe that the Bride is the New Jerusalem, and point out that the apostle Paul, in his Epistle to the Galatians, stated that Jerusalem was their mother.
These things are being taken figuratively: The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.[Galatians 4:24-26]


144,000 anointed

The Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the 144,000 are the only ones who will enter the Kingdom of Heaven and as such believe the Bride is another term among many to refer to the 144,000 who will be allowed to enter.



The "Gospel of Jesus' Wife" is the name controversially given to the text on a papyrus fragment with writing in Egyptian Coptic that includes the words, "Jesus said to them, 'my wife...'".[1]HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-2"[note 1] The text on the fragment was alleged to be a fourth century translation of what is said to be "a gospel probably written in Greek in the second half of the second century."[2] Professor Karen L. King (who published the papyrus) and her colleague AnneMarie Luijendijk named the fragment the "Gospel of Jesus's Wife" for reference purposes.[3] King has insisted that the fragment, "Should not be taken as proof that Jesus, the historical person, was actually married".[4]


The Vatican's official newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, has claimed the gospel is a "very modern forgery".[5] A number of independent scholars have since provided evidence to support this view, suggesting the papyrus includes textual mistakes (a typographical error) identical to those made only in a particular on-line modern iteration of corresponding texts.[6]




The Gospel of Mary is an apocryphal book discovered in 1896 in a 5th-century papyrus codex. The codex Papyrus Berolinensis 8502 was purchased in Cairo by German scholar Karl Reinhardt.

Although the work is popularly known as the Gospel of Mary, it is not canonical nor is it technically classed as a gospel by scholastic consensus. For example, Andrew Bernhard notes in his text-critical edition of non-canonical gospels that "the term 'gospel' is used as a label for any written text that is primarily focused on recounting the teachings and/or activities of Jesus during his adult life".[1]


Papyrus Berolinensis 8502, also known as the Akhmim Codex, also contains the Apocryphon of John, the Sophia of Jesus Christ, and a summary of the Act of Peter. All four works contained in the manuscript are written in Sahidic in the Subakhmimic dialect.[2] Two other fragments of the Gospel of Mary have been discovered since, both written in Greek (Papyrus Oxyrhynchus L 3525 and Papyrus Rylands 463). P.Oxy. L 3525 "... was in fact found by Grenfell and Hunt some time between 1897 and 1906, but only published in 1983,"[3] by PJ Parsons.[4]


The two fragments were published respectively in 1938 and 1983, and the Coptic translation was published in 1955 by Walter Till.

Hollis Professor of Divinity Karen King at Harvard Divinity School suggests that the original gospel was written in Greek sometime during the time of Christ.[5]HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-Boer-6"[6] Most scholars disagree with her conclusion, instead dating it to the 2nd century.[7]




Koinonos (Greek: κοινωνός) is an Ancient Greek word, generally thought to mean companion; however it has been used extensively in ancient writing with a wide variety of meanings. It can mean married partner, business partner, friend or companion in faith. It is generally used with reference to "sharing".[1]HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-KellerKeller2006-2"[2] It has been used in the Gospel of Philip to note the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene.[1]




The Gospel of Philip is one of the Gnostic Gospels, a text of New Testament apocrypha, dating back to around the 3rd century but lost to modern researchers until an Egyptian peasant rediscovered it by accident, buried in a cave near Nag Hammadi, in 1945.[1]


The text is not related to the Canonical Gospels. Although this gospel may at first appear similar to the Gospel of Thomas, it is not a sayings gospel, but a collection of gnostic teachings and reflections, a "gnostic anthology", as Marvin Meyer and Esther A. De Boer have called it, considering it to be a Valentinian text.[2] Sacraments, in particular the sacrament of marriage, are a major theme. The text is perhaps most famous as a very early source for the popular theory that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene. It is explicitly stated in the Ancient Greek manuscript that Jesus was Mary's "koinonos", meaning "companion" and implying a possibly sexual, intimate relationship.[3]HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-PicknettPrince2008-4"[4] Although the original text is missing from the papyrus scriptures discovered, some translations 'fill in' the gap, suggesting; "Jesus loved Mary Magdalene more than all the disciples and used to kiss her often on the mouth."[5]


The text's title is modern; the only connection with Philip the Apostle is that he is the only apostle mentioned (at 73,8). The text makes no claim to be from Philip, though, similarly, the four New Testament gospels make no explicit claim to be written by Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. The Gospel of Philip was written between 150 AD and 300 AD, while Philip himself died 80 AD, making it extremely unlikely to be his writing. Most scholars hold a 3rd century date of composition.[6]




The Gospel According to Thomas, commonly shortened to the Gospel of Thomas, is a well preserved early Christian, non-canonical sayings-gospel which many scholars believe provides insight into the Christian Oral Tradition. It was discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945, in one of a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library. The Gospel of Thomas was found among a collection of fifty-two writings that included, in addition to an excerpt from Plato's Republic, gospels claiming to have been written by Jesus's disciple Philip. Scholars have speculated that the works were buried in response to a letter from Bishop Athanasius who for the first time declared a strict canon of Christian scripture. [1]


The Coptic language text, the second of seven contained in what modern-day scholars have designated as Codex II, is composed of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus.[2] Almost half of these sayings resemble those found in the Canonical Gospels, while it is speculated that the other sayings were added from Gnostic tradition.[3] Its place of origin may have been Syria, where Thomasine traditions were strong.[4]


The introduction states: "These are the hidden words that the living Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas Thomas wrote them down."[5] Didymus (Greek) and Thomas (Aramaic) both mean "twin". Some critical scholars suspect that this reference to the Apostle Thomas is false, and that therefore the true author is unknown.[6]</sup>






    And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invitedto the wedding feast of the Lamb." And he added, "These are true words that come from God."- Revelation 19:9