When dealing with the Father’s and Christ’s relationship with His Church, we find that the Bible pictures the same through several analogies. One of these analogies is the concept of a marriage agreement—we read that both in the Old and in the New Testament, the “congregation in the wilderness”—Old Testament Israel—and the Body of Christ—New Testament Israel or the Church of God—are pictured as entering a marriage agreement with the LORD or YHWH, who was none other than Jesus Christ. In other words, the old covenant and the new covenant are compared with marriage agreements. We read that Christ—the bridegroom—will marry His Church—the bride.

At the same time, we read that we are Christ’s brothers and sisters, and that God is our Father—as He is also the Father of Jesus Christ. When we receive God’s Holy Spirit, we are called begotten children of God, and we will become born-again children at the time of our change to immortal spirit beings in God’s Family. The new covenant also includes for us a promise of inheritance. We are called co-heirs with Christ. All these meaningful analogies contain very important spiritual principles and teachings for us.

In our free booklet, “And Lawlessness Will Abound,” we identify both the old and the new covenant as marriage agreements, while explaining the difference between betrothal and marriage:

“Let’s read… Hosea 2:16, 18–20… ‘And it shall be, in that day, Says the LORD, That you will call Me My Husband…In that day I will make a covenant for them With the beasts of the field, With the birds of the air, And with the creeping things of the ground. Bow and sword of battle I will shatter from the earth, To make them lie down safely. I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, In lovingkindness and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, And you shall know the LORD.’

“We are introduced here to the concept that this New Covenant, which includes physical blessings of peace and prosperity, is compared with betrothal and marriage… betrothal… can roughly be compared with a binding agreement of engagement that can only be annulled through a divorce. God compared His covenant with ancient Israel at Mount Sinai with a marriage agreement (compare Ezekiel 16:8; Isaiah 54:5; Jeremiah 31:32)—but this marriage ended in divorce, as Israel broke the agreement and sinned against God (Isaiah 50:1; Jeremiah 3:8)…

“The New Covenant is a marriage agreement. The consummation of our marriage with Jesus Christ—the bridegroom and the Lamb—is still in the future. This is where the biblical concept of betrothal becomes important. In biblical times, the parties went through a period of ‘betrothal’ before they actually consummated the marriage. Mary was already betrothed to Joseph when she was found to be with child (Matthew 1:18). Since they had not consummated the marriage, Joseph thought that Mary was guilty of fornication. But Mary and Joseph were already called, at the time of their betrothal, husband and wife (Matthew 1:19–20, 24; compare also Deuteronomy 28:30). Betrothal was a binding agreement or contract of marriage, and it could only be severed through a divorce. With this contract, the husband had promised his wife to consummate the marriage with her, after a certain period of time.

“In the same way, we, when we became baptized, entered into a covenant with God, and into a contract of betrothal with Jesus Christ. The consummation of our marriage will occur, once Jesus Christ returns to establish His Kingdom. At that time, we will be immortal Spirit beings—born-again members of the God Family.”

In our booklet, “Is That in the Bible? The Mysteries of the Book of Revelation,” we state the following about the bridegroom—Jesus Christ—and His bride—the Church of God, which is and will be composed of all past, present and future Christians:

“Jesus Christ is the bridegroom who will marry the bride upon His return… Jesus spoke of Himself as the ‘bridegroom’ (Luke 5:34–35). When Jesus was on this earth, He taught that He would be taken away and that no ‘marriage’ would be consummated at that time. Note, as well, that Jesus gave a parable indicating that He, as the bridegroom, would return (compare Matthew 25:1–13). In this story, Jesus began His teaching with these very important words: ‘The kingdom of heaven shall be LIKENED to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom’ (Matthew 25:1).

“Jesus presented this example of bridegroom and virgins (that is, the bride) as a means of instructing His Church to be ready for His return. Most importantly, the Church was to remain vigilant and not let God’s Holy Spirit (the ‘oil’ for their lamps) fade out of their lives! He would only marry those who were ready. John the Baptist also referred to Jesus as the bridegroom (compare John 3:29)…

“The fact remains that Jesus Christ will marry His Church! We find this specifically promised in Revelation 19. Verse 7 states: ‘Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.’ Understand that the wife spoken of here is comprised of ALL of the saints—ALL of those counted WORTHY for the first resurrection. Christians who live just before Christ’s return, also must be prepared—just as the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25 so clearly teaches.

“Carefully consider what is stated in Revelation 19:8: ‘And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is THE RIGHTEOUS ACTS of the saints.’ The focus for who will be in this wedding ceremony centers on those who are righteous—that is, those who obey God! Here we gain insight to the fact that Christ will marry those who live righteous lives—something only possible through having the help of God’s Holy Spirit!…

“In the Old Testament, God says that He is the Husband of Israel: ‘For your Maker is your husband, The LORD of hosts is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth’ (Isaiah 54:5). Even as Israel rejected God, He reminded them of Who He was: “Return, O backsliding children,” says the LORD; “for I am married to you…”’ (Jeremiah 3:14)…

“Speaking to Israel of a future time—a time when God will establish His Kingdom on the earth: ‘“And it shall be, IN THAT DAY,” Says the LORD, “That you will call Me ‘My Husband…’”’ (Hosea 2:16). Then, in verses 19–20, we find that God promises to join Israel to Himself in an unending marriage: ‘“I WILL BETROTH YOU TO ME FOREVER; Yes, I will betroth you to Me In righteousness and justice, In lovingkindness and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, And you shall know the LORD.”’ It is important to realize that God will ‘betroth’ Israel in the future—AFTER Christ’s return and the FIRST resurrection. This shows that the ‘bride’ cannot only include those in the first resurrection.

“The qualities the bride brings to this marriage are: righteousness, justice, lovingkindness, mercy and faithfulness. These are fruits of God’s Holy Spirit, fruits that Christians—the saints, the bride of Christ—are to possess (compare Galatians 5:22–23).

“…the Bible also speaks of a ‘bride’ in an even greater context… ‘Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God’ (Revelation 21:9–10). Earlier, in Revelation 21, verse 2, we find this overview: ‘Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.’

“Please note that the holy city, spoken of as the ‘bride,’ will descend to this earth after the first resurrection, the Millennium and the Great White Throne Judgment. At that time, the heavenly Jerusalem, placed on earth, is compared with the bride; that is, it will be comprised of ALL of God’s saints. Most commentaries understand this analogy. For example, Jamieson, Fausset and Brown say that the bride in Revelation 21:2 is ‘made up of the blessed citizens of the “holy city,”’ and the Ryrie Study Bible states that ‘the heavenly city [when here on earth] will be the abode of all the saints, the bride of Christ…’ Again, we see that the ‘bride’ includes more than just the saints of the first resurrection.

“The spiritual consummation of the marriage between Christ and His Church, as well as the spiritual ‘marriage supper’ celebration [compare Revelation 19:9], will be ongoing—as physical marriage supper celebrations in biblical times lasted for several days (compare Rienecker, Lexikon zur Bibel, under ‘Marriage’)…”

It is important to realize, in this context, that these are spiritual analogies. There will of course not be any physical consummation of the marriage agreement when Christ returns to marry His bride. Even though the Bible states that the spiritual “supper” celebration and the wedding feast will take place at the time of Christ’s return, indicating that its physical manifestation can be “observed” by physical people (compare our booklets, “Are You Predestined to Be Saved?” and “The Gospel of the Kingdom of God,” as well as our Q&A on the marriage supper), the main emphasis is on the spiritual “consummation”—an analogy drawn from the physical marriage concept.

We need to understand that there is nothing stated in Scripture that another physical manifestation of a marriage supper will take place at the end of the Millennium or at the end of the Great White Throne Judgment period. This would not be necessary, anyhow, if the primary purpose of the physical manifestation of the marriage supper and the wedding feast at the time of Christ’s return was to witness to and be observed by physical people who will not be in the Kingdom at the time of Christ’s Second Coming (cp. Matthew 22:11; Matthew 25:10-11; Luke 13:28-29), as there will be no more physical people alive at the end of the Millennium, and, following that, at the end of the Great White Throne Judgment. Those who did not qualify by that time will have died, to be resurrected and burned up in the third resurrection.

On the other hand, the spiritual consummation of the marriage will endure forever, and it will include all those who will later become part of the immortal bride. As the physical and spiritual betrothal period is not limited to one particular event, but it describes a process requiring some time, so the spiritual consummation of the marriage is by no means limited to the day of Christ’s return, but the “spiritual” marriage union between Christ and the bride will continue for all eternity.

It is therefore important that we do not carry the analogies too far. For instance, even though we might reflect on the fact that husbands and wives are to become “one,” thereby gaining further understanding of Christ’s statements that ALL of His disciples—His bride–are to become “one,” other analogies are likewise of equal importance and must be viewed as complementary principles. For instance, spiritual brothers and sisters of Christ must have, of course, the same unity as is depicted through the analogy of Christ—the Bridegroom—marrying His bride, and as is expressed by Christ when He prayed to the Father that the disciples are to become “one” as God and Christ are “one.”

In addition to some of the principles, explained above, showing WHY the Bible uses the analogy of a marriage between Christ and the Church, we state further principles insofar in our free booklet, “The Keys to Happy Marriages and Families.” Discussing the role of the wife in a marriage, but applying it here to the role of the Church towards Jesus, we state:

“Notice 1 Corinthians 11:3, ‘But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.’ … As God the Father is the head of Christ, so the man or husband is the head of the woman or wife. God the Father and Jesus Christ are totally one—totally united in mindset, in goal, in purpose. And they love each other perfectly. God the Father said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’ (cp. Matthew 3:17). God LOVED the Son (John 3:35). And Christ LOVED the Father (John 14:31). He submitted to the Father, even to the point of death, knowing that His Father loved Him deeply, and that He would never ask Him to do anything that would be bad for Him. If a man wants to be the head of his wife and family, as he should be, he needs to act as God the Father acted toward Christ, and, in turn, his wife is to act toward her husband as Christ acted toward the Father…

“This willingness to share creates mutual trust… Christ LOVED the Father, and the Father LOVED the Son. Still, Christ knew that the Father was His Head, and He honored Him. He respected Him. He did what was pleasing to Him… Christ accepted the Father as His Head because He knew Him. He knew that His Father would never abuse His authority over Him…”

The marriage analogy expresses the thought that we must be OBEDIENT to our Husband—Jesus Christ. So we see that the marriage analogy complements the analogy of God being our Father and we being His children. God is not our physical Father, and we are not His physical children, but He is our spiritual Father, and we are His spiritual children. And as the spiritual bride or wife is to be subject to Christ in everything, so we, as spiritual children of God, are to be subject to the Father in everything. And as Christ loves His bride, so the Father loves His children. In fact, we read that the Father loves us with the same love with which He loves Christ, and that Christ loves His bride with the same love with which the Father loves Him (John 17:23; 15:9).

The marriage analogy is complemented with the analogy of inheritance.

In our free booklet, “And Lawlessness Will Abound,” we state the following in this regard:

“In addition, this marriage contract with Christ is also an agreement to inherit what had been promised, through covenants, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and to their descendants. It is not only a will, or a testament that can be changed by the testator at any time before his death, but it is a legally binding, enforceable agreement. In any event, the testator, Jesus Christ, who inherited the promises from Abraham and his offspring, did already die, so His will, as promised to us by a contract, cannot be changed anymore. A will or a testament, in biblical times, was more like a mutual contract of inheritance. In fact, the Greek word for ‘covenant’ and for ‘testament’ is exactly the same, i.e., ‘diatheke.’ Both parties had to agree to the terms of the covenant of inheritance. This contract could be based on certain conditions, and the agreement could only be carried out, and the inheritance obtained, if both parties fulfilled the conditions…

“We, as spiritual Israelites, must be married in order to obtain the inheritance. The New Covenant tells us to whom we have to be married—Jesus Christ. But a marriage can only occur and last if both parties are willing to marry each other, and to remain faithful to each other. Christ has already made a marriage agreement with us—a betrothal—and He will spiritually consummate His marriage with us at His return, if we remain faithful (Revelation 19:7–9; Matthew 22:2; 25:1)… if we become disobedient and rebellious and begin again to practice the wrong way of life, Christ has the right to divorce us…

“We can understand, then, what the New Covenant means for us today. It is a contract, which is based on God’s law. God called and chose us to become a party to His contract. By our obedience to God’s laws, we show Him that we want to become parties to His covenant (Acts 5:32). When we are baptized, we enter into a covenant relationship with the Father and Jesus Christ. This agreement contains conditions that we must fulfill. It promises us a certain inheritance in the future, including sonship in God’s Family, kingship over this earth and the universe, and priestly functions. This future inheritance is being preserved for us right now in heaven.

“This contract is also a marriage agreement. We are already betrothed to Jesus Christ and we are to consummate the marriage with Him, when He returns to establish His Kingdom. In addition, this contract includes a will or a testament from the testator, Jesus Christ, to share with us the promises that He inherited as the Seed of Abraham. Christ’s will shows us how we must live worthy of Him, and it requires of us to do so, so that He will consummate His marriage with us, and so that we can take possession of our promised inheritance….”

Christ will consummate the marriage with us and share His inheritance with us, if we stay faithful. Another analogy describes vividly what will happen to us if we don’t remain faithful. It is the analogy of us being children of God—begotten children at the time of the receipt of the Holy Spirit—and born again children at the time of our change to spirit beings. But if we—as begotten children—become unfaithful, the analogy of physical abortion pictures our ultimate spiritual fate, preventing us from ever being born into God’s Family.

In our booklet, “Are You Already Born Again?,” we state the following:

“In this physical life, one is not born immediately at the time of conception. There is a time interval between conception and birth. A human baby must be conceived. A human baby must grow in the womb (the period of gestation). A human baby gains life of its own through birth.

“The same principles apply to our spiritual birth. Although we will be born again at the time of our resurrection or our change to immortality, something else must happen first so that we CAN become born again. The Bible describes this prior event as spiritual conception or ‘begettal.’ Simply put, before we can be born again, we must be begotten again—a spiritual begettal. This spiritual begettal takes place at the time of our baptism, after repentance, and after coming to an understanding of, and belief in, Christ’s sacrifice and the gospel of the Kingdom of God. At the time of baptism we then receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, through the laying on of hands, as a down payment—a guarantee—(Ephesians 1:14; 2 Corinthians 5:5) of our ultimate new birth at our resurrection to spirit.

“In applying the analogy of human birth to spiritual birth, the receipt of God’s Spirit at conversion is a type of spiritual begettal. With the receipt of God’s Spirit, we acquire God’s divine nature (2 Peter 1:4), but there is still another step in the process. Just as an embryo must grow and develop, we must also grow spiritually and develop the fruit of the Spirit—the actual character of God. God considers those who have received His Spirit as being His children (2 Corinthians 6:17–18). Finally, Spirit-begotten children become SEPARATE SPIRIT BEINGS upon being born again—at their resurrection and change to immortality…

“After we have received the gift of the Holy Spirit and have begun our journey to our final birth into the Kingdom of God, we can still become spiritually ‘aborted,’ so to speak… As there is the possibility of a physical miscarriage or abortion, so there is the possibility of a spiritual miscarriage or abortion… God, our Father, will never abort us, unless we force Him to do so, by refusing to grow and to obey Him… In applying human abortion to the spiritual realm, however, spiritual abortion, unlike human abortion, is self-inflicted. When God aborts a spiritual child, it is because His child has rejected Him. It is the child who commits spiritual suicide…  Those who want to commit spiritual suicide are free to do so (Matthew 22:13; 24:51; 25:30, 41, 46).”

Of course, there are further analogies in the Bible, especially referring to those who are being called to salvation in this day and age. The Bible calls them firstfruits—Jesus Christ being the first of the firstfruits—indicating that the rest of mankind will be called in the future, after the return of Jesus Christ, during the Millennium and the Great White Throne Judgment. Another analogy compares the body and the bride of Christ with a temple—a holy building in the Lord—being built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, with Christ being the chief cornerstone of the foundation of that temple.

Considering all of the above-described analogies, we should take great comfort, but also great care that we, as Christ’s bride and His brothers and sisters, as well as God the Father’s children, concentrate on becoming worthy to stand before the Son of Man at His return, to be born into the Kingdom and Family of God, “consummating” our marriage with Christ, and inheriting the promises.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

It is interesting to look at the definition of this phrase. One of many definitions that can be found on the Internet makes the point well:

”They say that if you put a frog into a pot of boiling water, it will leap out right away to escape the danger. But, if you put a frog in a kettle that is filled with water that is cool and pleasant, and then you gradually heat the kettle until it starts boiling, the frog will not become aware of the threat until it is too late.   The frog’s survival instincts are geared towards detecting sudden changes.

“This is a story that is used to illustrate how people might get themselves into terrible trouble.  This parable is often used to illustrate how humans have to be careful to watch slowly changing trends in the environment, not just the sudden changes. It’s a warning to keep us paying attention not just to obvious threats but to more slowly developing ones.”

Looking at all the evidence to see whether the story is true or not is not within the compass of this particular Q&A.   The analogy raises a very interesting way that society, under the sway of Satan (2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2), brings about the change it desires, even if the process is over the long term.   Examples of this will show how true the analogy can be. 

First of all, let us look at homosexuality which is roundly condemned in the Bible.  Genesis 18 and 19 show that this was one of a number of sins for which Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. Other passages on the subject include Leviticus 18:22; 20:13. In Scriptures such as Deuteronomy 23:17; 1 Kings 14:24; 1 Kings 15:12; and 2 Kings 23:7, the Hebrew term “qedeshim” is used for “perverted” persons, describing those practicing sodomy and prostitution in religious rituals. New Testament passages include Romans 1:25-27, 32 (condemning those who even approve of such acts); 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Timothy 1:9-10; and Revelation 21:8.  We are admonished to live by every Word of God (Matthew 4:4), and so these references must be taken seriously.

In England, Henry VIII introduced the first legislation under English criminal law against sodomy with the Buggery Act of 1533, making buggery (a British English term, which is very close in meaning to the term sodomy) punishable by hanging—a penalty not lifted in England and Wales until 1861.

In the UK, the Sexual Offences Act 1967 was an Act of Parliament which decriminalized homosexual acts in private between two men, both of whom were 21 years of age or older.   Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 stated that a local authority “shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality” or “promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship.”   However, it was repealed on 21 June 2000 in Scotland as one of the first pieces of legislation enacted by the new Scottish Parliament, and on 18 November 2003 in the rest of Great Britain.

The politicians feel that homosexuals should have “equality” in law, and it is their reasoning for approving behaviour, which is an abomination in the sight of God.   It seems that anyone now citing biblical proof stating that this practice is wrong could be guilty of a “hate” crime showing how far we have come in such a degenerate society.

So we can very briefly see that in the UK, it was an offence punishable by hanging until that act was repealed, then it was still illegal until 1967, then promotion of homosexuality was banned in schools, then repealed, and many politicians apologised for this as they saw public opinion moving quite quickly in the direction of approval and then civil partnerships and now same-sex “marriages”.   All this took many decades, even hundreds of years to get from the death penalty to men “marrying” men and women “marrying” women, and all the time, public opinion was being manipulated and softened towards the acceptance of this ungodly practice.   For the biblical teaching on this subject, please see our Q&A #184 on 11th March 2005, entitled “The Biblical Teaching on Homosexuality”.

Next we may look at abortion.   Wikipedia states that “The Abortion Act 1967 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom legalising abortions by registered practitioners, and regulating the free provision of such medical practices through the National Health Service (NHS). Apparently this was introduced in order to reduce the amount of disease and death associated with illegal abortion.”

Abortions were made legal in the United States in a landmark and controversial 1973 Supreme Court judgement, often referred to as the Roe v Wade case.   On the “Women’s History website” it states that “While many celebrated the decision, others, especially in the Roman Catholic Church and in theologically conservative Christian groups, opposed the change.  ‘Pro-life’ and ‘pro-choice’ evolved as the most common self-chosen names of the two movements, one to outlaw most abortions and the other to eliminate most legislative restrictions on abortions.”

The BBC reported in 2009 that “The Church of England encourages people to think through the issue of abortion very carefully and recognises that each individual will have differing views on the subject.  However, the Church’s governing body, The General Synod, has passed resolutions on the matter which provide a coherent Church of England position.  The Church of England combines strong opposition to abortion with a recognition that there can be – strictly limited – conditions under which it may be morally preferable to any available alternative.  The Church of England shares the Roman Catholic view that abortion is ‘gravely contrary to the moral law’.”

Figures in a UK newspaper report on 25th May 2010 stated that there were 189,100 abortions in 2009 for women living in England and Wales.  A total of 48 women had had seven or more abortions.  Most of these were funded by the National Health Service (NHS) which paid for 94 per cent of all terminations.  The report said that the figures could reignite the debate into whether some women use abortion as a form of contraception, rather than a last resort to unplanned pregnancy.

Over the years attitudes have changed, little by little, regarding abortion, and it is now commonplace in many countries around the world.   What was once seen as a shocking thing is now considered part of everyday life in many countries.   Over time, with plenty of publicity and exposure, most have now accepted that this is the right thing to do in some or many circumstances.   The Bible tells us that it is always wrong (Please read our free booklet “Are You Already Born Again?” and view the StandingWatch programme, “Why Abortion Is Murder in God’s Eyes,” dated 13th November 2013).

Another area where the frog in boiling water analogy has been very effective is the concept of “living together or co-habiting”.   In our weekly Update #199, dated 24th June 2005, we quoted from “Psychology Today” as follows:  “Thirty or 40 years ago, cohabitation was relatively rare, mainly the province of artists and other questionable types, and still thought of as ‘living in sin.’  In 1970 only about 500,000 couples lived together in unwedded bliss.   Now, nearly 5 million opposite-sex couples in the United States live together outside of marriage; millions more have done it at some point… Some evidence indicates that women have less control over the progress of the cohabiting relationship.   She may assume they’re on the road to marriage, but he may think they’re just saving on rent and enjoying each other’s company… Cohabiting men may carry their uncertainty forward into marriage, with destructive consequences. A 2004 study… found that men who had lived with their spouse pre-maritally were on average less committed to their marriages than those who hadn’t…”

Since this report some nine years ago, co-habitation has continued to flourish and is now an unquestioned part of society.   Fifty years ago it would have been completely unacceptable, seen as “living in sin,” but over the years, opposition has gradually dwindled away and very few seem to question it any longer.   However, the Bible has much to say about fornication – for a full explanation, please see our Q&A #226, “Does the Bible Permit Adultery and Pre-Marital Sex?”

One other secular matter is a prime example of the frog in boiling water principle working effectively.   After Princess Diana died in 1998, much was made of Prince Charles’s extra marital affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles.   A plan was put in place to have her accepted, as there was much hostility towards her at that time.  

After several years of the marketing of Camilla, she and Prince Charles married in 2005.   At the time, one report stated that “The couple have had to make some controversial adjustments in the hope of gaining public acceptance for the marriage, most notably the pledge that if Charles becomes King, Camilla won’t be named Queen, instead she’ll carry the title of Her Royal Highness, the Princess Consort.”   Another report stated that “If you go back five years ago, the memory of Diana was still very fresh.  And it’s still reasonably fresh with a lot of people, seven and a half years after her death.  And it would’ve been wrong five years ago to go through it.”

Since then, the propaganda machine has been in continuous action, so that now, contrary to public opinion in 1998 and 2005, polls show that she is now accepted in her position as the Duchess of Cornwall. 

In a report in 2012 about the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations, these comments were made:   “Only 10 years ago she attended the Golden Jubilee Party at the palace and sat in the background behind the Royal Family trying not to ignite controversy over her relationship with the heir to the throne.  For years she was the ‘other woman’, but yesterday Camilla’s increased prominence demonstrated she has been truly accepted as part of the Windsors’ future in the Queen’s new slimmed-down version of the Royal Family.  Her Majesty’s decision to have Camilla sitting in the Landau’s seat in the absence of Prince Philip, who was suddenly taken ill, emphatically told the country her daughter in law is now an important part of ‘The Firm’.  This was reaffirmed by Camilla’s appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony with the Queen, Charles, William, Kate and Harry just a few moments later, as well as her seat just one along from the Queen in the royal box during Monday’s rock extravaganza.”

The spin doctors were given a task that, over the years, they have accomplished in getting her accepted by those who were initially opposed to her place in the Royal Family.

Please note this reference taken from page 5 of our free booklet “Should You Fight in War?”:  “Notice that NOT seeking peace and pursuing it is labeled as ‘evil.’  Refraining our tongues from evil means to refrain from speaking evil about our enemy.  Each war begins with words, with propaganda, with hateful comments about others, until a government’s decision to attack and fight against a foreign country – the enemy – seems to be justified in the eyes of the citizens. As a prime example, Adolph Hitler could never have convinced many Germans to approve of ‘total war,’ if his propaganda machine, under Joseph Goebbels, had not carefully prepared them, far in advance, for such a viewpoint.”

These examples show how public opinion can be manipulated, given time.  It probably goes a good way to explaining Isaiah 5:20: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”   It appears that almost anything can be addressed, changed or manipulated, given enough time, and with Satan in charge of our society at this time, we should not be surprised.

Unfortunately, man always seems to think that he knows best when God’s Word says differently.  The old saying that it is “a cinch by the inch but hard by the yard” is an excellent way of getting acceptance of an unpopular matter, usually over a protracted period of time.   Let us never forget that the frog in boiling water analogy can be very effective in getting this point across.  Also let us never forget that it is a tool that Satan uses very successfully, even in the Church, as we saw in the 1990’s, when destructive heresies were subtly introduced, and as we have seen subsequently, when many in the Church of God forsook most, if not all of the truth which they had once seemingly understood (For a full explanation of these horrible events, please read our free booklet, “Are You Already Born Again?” ).

We have to be very careful that we are not taken in, particularly in the Church, by “the frog in boiling water” analogy!

Lead Writer: Brian Gale (UK)

As will be explained herein, many have taken this statement to justify anti-Semitic sentiments, or to explain horrible incidents like the Holocaust when millions of Jews were killed in gas chambers. But is it possible that a “curse,” which is placed by parents on their children and future generations, can automatically bring about such terrible results? Some turn for an explanation to the “curse” which God placed on parents and children who “hate” Him. 

In a previous Q&A, we asked and answered the question what it means that God will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Him (compare Exodus 20:5), and explained that this does not contradict Scriptures such as Deuteronomy 24:16, stating that children are not to be put to death for their fathers, but that a person “shall be put to death for his own sin.”

We pointed out that the children will only be punished if they themselves are sinning, stating: “The Companion Bible comments to Ezekiel 18: 4, 20: ‘Descendants were not punished for the sins of their ancestors unless they persevered in their ancestors’ sins.’ The same thought is expressed in Exodus 20. Note that Exodus 20:5 speaks of those ‘who hate Me.’ Soncino points out that the phrase, ‘of those that hate Me,’ applies to the children, i.e. God will punish the children if they [the children] hate Him. Soncino comments, too, that the punishment will be brought upon the children, ‘when they retain the evil deeds of their fathers.’”

We also explained that “the conduct of the parents may have a lot to do with the fact whether their children or grandchildren love or hate God. The sins of the fathers do affect future generations — and so does the penalty for sin… When Adam and Eve sinned, the penalty imposed on them affected all mankind. Through their sin, they cut themselves – and man – off from God. Sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2), and since all have sinned, all have incurred the death penalty for sin (Romans 5:14). One might say that the sin of Adam and Eve affected, at the very least, the third and fourth generation, but since Cain sinned, his sin affected the next four generations, and so on. The effect of sin is cumulative. Finally, sin had become so all-encompassing that God decided to destroy the entire world in a flood.

“Christ, in showing the evil influence of their parents and their own culpability in their continued hate of God, pointed out in Matthew 23:31-36, how the principle of Exodus 20:6 was fulfilled in the persons of the scribes and Pharisees at Christ’s time.”

We also stressed that the “vicious cycle of sin, penalty, and death can be interrupted, however, when a person turns to God, repents, and obtains forgiveness.” Norbert Link’s recent sermon, “The Fate of Our Children,” explains this topic in much detail, showing that “God determined to call some in this day and age to have a special relationship with Him. This includes the children of called-out parents. Whether they may realize it or not, parents have a tremendous influence on their children and grandchildren—in good and bad ways.”

In light of this concept, let us return to Matthew 27:25. In the context of that passage, Pilate washed his hands and stated that he was “innocent of the blood of this just Person,” Jesus Christ.   In response, the crowd yelled, “His blood be on us and on our children,” demanding His death by crucifixion.

Many commentaries feel indeed that this saying had automatic consequences for their future generations.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary writes: “The Jews’ curse upon themselves has been awfully answered in the sufferings of their nation.”

The Pulpit Commentary says: “A mad and impious imprecation, the fulfillment of which quickly commenced, and has continued unto this day. The terrible events connected with the destruction of Jerusalem, the overthrow of the theocracy, and the eighteen centuries of exile and dispersion, bear witness to the reality of the vengeance thus wantonly invoked.”

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible writes: “… his blood was in the sense they wished it; and for the shedding of it, wrath came upon them to the uttermost, in the entire destruction of their nation, city, and temple, and very remarkable it is, that great numbers of them were put to death by crucifixion; and very likely some of those very persons, that were so clamorous for the crucifying of Christ; and if not, at least their children; five hundred of the Jews and more, were sometimes crucified in a day, whilst Titus was besieging the city; till at length there wanted ‘room for crosses’, ‘and crosses for bodies’, as Josephus (u) says, who was an eyewitness of it: and to this day, this dreadful wish of the blood of Christ upon them, is to be seen in their miserable, abject, and captive state; and will be, until such time that they look to him whom they have pierced, and mourn…”

Barnes’ Notes on the Bible says: “The Jews had no right to call down this vengeance on their children, but, in the righteous judgment of God, it has come upon them. In less than forty years their city and temple were overthrown and destroyed. More than a million of people [sic] perished in the siege. Thousands died by famine; thousands by disease; thousands by the sword; and their blood ran down the streets like water, so that, Josephus says, it extinguished things that were burning in the city. Thousands were crucified suffering the same punishment that they had inflicted on the Messiah… To this day, also, the curse has remained. They have been a nation scattered and peeled; persecuted almost everywhere, and a hissing and a byword among people. No single nation, probably, has suffered so much; and yet they have been preserved. All classes of people, all the governments of the earth, have conspired to overwhelm them with calamity, and yet they still live as monuments of the justice of God, and as proofs, going down from age to age, that the Christian religion is true – standing demonstrations of the crime of their fathers in putting the Messiah to death, and in calling down vengeance on their heads.”

Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible says: “If this man be innocent, and we put him to death as a guilty person, may the punishment due to such a crime be visited upon us, and upon our children after us! What a dreadful imprecation! and how literally fulfilled!… they fell victims to their own imprecation, being visited with a series of calamities unexampled in the history of the world. They were visited with the same kind of punishment; for the Romans crucified them in such numbers when Jerusalem was taken, that there was found a deficiency of crosses for the condemned, and of places for the crosses. Their children or descendants have had the same curse entailed upon them, and continue to this day a proof of the innocence of Christ, the truth of his religion, and of the justice of God.”

The People’s New Testament says: “His blood be on us. That is, let us have the responsibility and suffer the punishment. A fearful legacy, and awfully inherited. The history of the Jews from that day on has been the darkest recorded in human annals.”

Wesley’s Notes say: “His blood be on us and on our children – As this imprecation was dread, fully answered in the ruin so quickly brought on the Jewish nation, and the calamities which have ever since pursued that wretched people, so it was peculiarly fulfilled by Titus the Roman general, on the Jews whom he took during the siege of Jerusalem. So many, after having been scourged in a terrible manner, were crucified all round the city, that in a while there was not room near the wall for the crosses to stand by each other. Probably this befell some of those who now joined in this cry, as it certainly did many of their children: the very finger of God thus pointing out their crime in crucifying his Son.”

This will suffice. Even though the human mind might hastily conclude that the sufferings of the Jews are the direct result of a curse uttered by parents for them and future generations, such interpretation is not biblical. However, the consequences of this kind of interpretation have indeed been terrible. Adolf Hitler used this Scripture and the concept that the “Jews killed Christ” to exterminate millions of them during the Holocaust. Others, prior to him, had used the same “justification” for their horrible and ungodly deeds towards the Jews. But what is forgotten is the fact that the Jews were persecuted long before the death of Christ—we may recall that in the book of Esther, all the Jews would have been killed if it had not been for Esther’s intervention. Clearly, Satan was behind that attempt to exterminate the Jewish people to make prophecy “fail,” by trying to prevent the birth of Jesus Christ—knowing that He would be a descendant of the house of Judah.

The Nelson Study Bible comments that “The destruction of Jerusalem was one of the results of this sin [the curse uttered by the parents].” For proof, the commentary points at Matthew 23:32-39. However, that passage describes the results of the sins of those who were involved—it does not inflict a curse on innocent children who do not participate in the evil life style of their parents. In addition, we should realize that this was not a curse uttered by God, but a curse uttered by ignorant people. God is not bound by such a curse. To the contrary, we read that no one can curse or effectuate a curse on someone whom God does not curse (Numbers 23:8).

Recognizing the injustice of categorically condemning all future generations to a terrible curse uttered by some of their ancestors, some commentaries take a more differentiated point of view. The New Bible Commentary: Revised states that the “saying has been wrongly used in later generations to persecute the Jews.” The Broadman Bible Commentary agrees, saying: “Verse 25 has unfortunately been used in anti-Semitism, and such use is to be deplored. Jesus was crucified by Romans at Jewish initiative, but not all Jews then supported the crime, and Jews today are no more guilty than any other people. Jesus died on account of the sins of the world, not of the Jews alone.”

This is indeed true. Christ came to die for all men—Jews and Gentiles—and all of us are guilty of His death, because all of us have sinned, and the wages of sin is death. In addition, our sins—not unfriendly words uttered by ignorant men—bring about curses in our lives. Christ came to free us from sin and the death penalty through the shedding of His precious blood, and to remove from us the curse of eternal death (For more information, please read our free booklet, “Jesus Christ—a Great Mystery.”). It is also a fact that this is Satan’s world, and that Satan is anxious to destroy all of mankind. Millions of people have died in wars, famines, disease epidemics and “natural” catastrophes, and millions of Christians were murdered during the times of the Inquisition. As explained in this Q&A, we suffer the consequences of our own misconduct, and we are only responsible for the misconduct of our parents if we adopt their life style and make it our own.  To say that Jews were singled out by God and persecuted and killed throughout history because of a curse uttered by some Jews at the time of Christ’s death is equally as wrong as to hold the current generation of Germans responsible for the crimes of some of their fathers and grandfathers against the Jews and others during Nazi Germany.

We should also focus on another possibility as to how to understand Matthew 27:25. Even though the Jews who uttered these terrible words were misled and meant them as a rejection of Christ to be applied to them and their children—apparently not realizing what they were saying—God might have inspired the recording of these statements to point out quite a different concept. For instance, we read that the high priest recommended the death of Jesus Christ, as “it is expedient to us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish” (John 11:49-50). He meant that Jesus should die so that the Romans would not come in to destroy Judah, but God inspired this saying for quite a different reason. As John 11:51-52 explains: “Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.”

In that sense, some commentaries understand the saying in Matthew 27:25 in a similar way. The One Volume Bible Commentary by J.R. Dummelow refers to the Jews’ saying also as “a blessing upon believers, on whom the blood of Jesus came for sanctification, and the remission of sin, compare John 11:50.” Indeed, when the blood of Jesus covers our sins, this will have a positive influence on our children. When a parent is becoming converted and accepts the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the remission of his sins, his children become “holy” or “sanctified” (1 Corinthians 7:14); that is, they are being set aside for the holy purpose of realizing their potential of entering into a relationship with God. In that sense, the “curse” of the parents in Matthew 27:25 could perhaps be understood, in God’s eyes, as the (unrealized) cry for a blessing for them and their children.

God will answer that cry. He will soon send Jesus Christ to this earth to offer all of mankind—Jews and Gentiles alike—the gift of eternal life and freedom from sin and the curse of eternal death. That is why we are to pray daily for the coming of God’s Kingdom (Matthew 6:10).

Lead Writer: Norbert Link