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A Pre -e nActment of t he mArriAge of the LAmb A Guide for Today’s Wedding

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Page 1: P -e · — 2 — Table of Con Ten Ts Act 1 Throne in Heaven 3 Act 2 Mid-Heaven 7 Act 3 The 30-Day War 10 Act 4 Jerusalem, City of Peace 12 Forgiveness 17 Our Master Yashua 19

APre-enActment

of the mArriAge of the LAmb

A Guide for Today’s Wedding

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Table of ConTenTs

Act 1 Throne in Heaven 3

Act 2 Mid-Heaven 7

Act 3 The 30-Day War 10

Act 4 Jerusalem, City of Peace 12

Forgiveness 17

Our Master Yashua 19

InTroduCTIonIn our communities, weddings are joyous occasions, not

only for celebrating the marriage of our friends, but also for remembering many of the promises made by God to His people. For each time a man and woman in our midst make a covenant1 to love and cherish and be true to one another, we cannot help thinking of the great love our Creator has for us and the Covenant He has made with us.

Even though all our weddings have much in common with one another, they are spontaneous affairs at which the Bridegroom and Bride and their friends express their joy and faith with great liberty. Often, we speak of things very familiar to us, but not so familiar to guests not part of the Community. What you are about to witness today is a pre-enactment of events which are soon to take place. This little pamphlet is meant to help you, our visitors, understand the rich and very significant details of these festive events. So please be comfortable and participate with us as this drama unfolds.

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a TI m e o f Wa I T I n g

It is a common (but not well understood) tradition for a bridegroom to stand waiting as his bride comes down the aisle to be presented to him. But for us, waiting is very significant. The wedding couple spend the week prior to their wedding day apart from one another, considering the commitment they are about to make and ea-gerly anticipating the day when they will be able to be together. This reminds us of many scrip-tures which speak not only of us waiting for our Master but also of Him waiting for us.

... that He may send Yahshua,2 the Messiah appointed for you, whom heaven must retain until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. Acts 3:20-21

He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, wait-ing from that time onward

until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet.

Hebrews 10:12-13

Th e Th ro n e I n h e av e n

The scene as the wedding begins depicts the throne room of heaven, where the Son of God is seated at the right hand of His Father, as the prophets have envisioned it.

Behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. Revelation 4:2-3

This is where our Master Yahshua (Jesus)2 experiences the last moments of His time of separation, together with his friends, the faithful men and women of old, the cloud of witnesses.

And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive

1See the section on vows, page 15. 2See page 19

aCT 1 — Throne In heaven

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what was promised, be-cause God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect. Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us... Hebrews 11:39-12:1

We have come out of the na-tions and we are part of a new nation that is forming, a whole, holy nation. It is a set-apart na-tion — set apart for God’s pur-pose — that is simply what holy means.

But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIEST-HOOD, A HOLY NA-TION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSES-SION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies

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of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD… 1 Peter 2:9-10

That is the nation of which we are a part. It is not born yet; it is in a gestation period. It is just forming now, with all of its features being fully developed.

Th e P r e Pa r aT I o n o f T h e br I d e

What everyone is waiting for is, of course, the Bride, which in the Scriptures repre-sents the Israel of God, a twelve tribe nation of people who be-long to Him.

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, com-ing down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband ... Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” …It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at

the gates twelve angels; and names were written on them, which are those of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. Revelation 21:2, 9, 12

It is only when the Bride is ready for the Bridegroom that He will come — only when she is perfectly suitable and com-patible with Him in every way, having done the good works that were prepared for her.

“Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righ-teous acts of the saints. Revelation 19:7-8

The Bridegroom desires to come and destroy all of His en-emies, but He cannot do it until His Bride has separated herself from the evil things which are the true “enemies of God.” If He did not wait, He would have to destroy her as well because His enemies would still be a part of her. She overcomes and puts them under her feet by receiving His grace. Then

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He is free to come and defeat them utterly, to trouble them for troubling her.

…therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you en-dure. This is a plain indi-cation of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suf-fering. For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give re-

lief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Sovereign Yahshua will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Sovereign Yahshua. These will pay the penalty of eternal de-struction, away from the presence of the Sovereign and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed – for

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our testimony to you was believed. 2 Thessalonians 1:4-10

But there will be a part of the bride who will not jump up to meet him in the heavens because they did not confess their sins and live according to the grace he made available to them. These will remain in the wilderness awaiting judgment after the war.

…so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then

there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left. Matthew 24:39-41

They will have to be pu-rified before they can be part of the bride. Our Bride today represents the one who is pure and ready. She does not fear the upcoming judgment.

aCT 2 — mId-heaven

Th e sh o u T

When the Bridegroom’s time of waiting is finally at an end, because His Bride is ready, He goes to claim her, leaving His throne in heaven. He goes into the “clouds” above earth. When He calls for her, she leaps from her “haven in the wilderness” on earth to meet Him in the sky.

For the Sovereign Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Messiah shall rise first. Then we

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who are alive and remain faithful shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet our Master in the air, and thus we shall always be with Him. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy; He will be quiet in His love; He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. Zephaniah 3:17

These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful. Revelation 17:14

The Bride is joyfully joined with her Bridegroom for the express purpose of joining him in the “battle of the ages.” The Bridegroom is eager to avenge His bride against the spiritual enemies that tried to destroy her. Together, they descend from the clouds and she follows Him into the battle. He dons a red cloak representing the blood of His enemies.

Who is this who comes from Edom, With garments of glowing colors from Bozrah, This One who is majestic in His apparel, Marching in the greatness of His strength? “It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.” Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press? “I have trod-den the wine trough alone, And from the peoples there was no man with Me. I also trod them in My anger And trampled them in My wrath; And their lifeblood is sprinkled on My gar-ments, And I stained all My raiment. For the day of vengeance was in My heart, And My year of redemption has come. I looked, and there was no one to help, And I was astonished and there was no one to uphold; So My own arm brought salvation to Me, And My wrath upheld Me. I trod down the peoples in My anger And made them drunk in My wrath, And I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.” Isaiah 63:1-6

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aCT 3 — The 30-day War

Th e Wa r r I o r s’ da n C e

The Bridegroom and his bride join their friends in a vigorous dance, expressing their convic-tion that the war is necessary and just. This event corresponds to the great war (called Armaged-don) which will break out when our Master returns…

And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many crowns; and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself. And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The

Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty ... And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him who sat upon the horse, and against His army. Rev. 19:11-15,19

An actual, literal war – a full month (30 days) of it – will be necessary for the Prince of Peace to claim His rightful rulership over the very earth that He cre-

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ated. The day of His return will bring to an end a time of unparalleled evil, during which all who love righteousness will be shunned, persecuted, and finally driven out of society.

For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, re-vilers, disobedient to par-ents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, with-out self-control, brutal, haters of good, treach-erous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; hold-ing to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power. Avoid such men as these. 2 Timothy 3:2-5

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunk-ards, nor revilers, nor ex-tortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wick-edness, covetousness, ma-liciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righ-teous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. Romans 1:28-32

This spirited dance repre-sents the wrath of our Master as He rids the earth of all such wicked ones, whose hearts are given fully to do evil. The ene-mies of God are depicted in the dance clearly distinguishing the things which militated against Him and His people throughout history.

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For after all it is only just for God to repay with af-fliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Sovereign Yahshua shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and

to those who do not obey the gospel of our Sovereign Yahshua. 2 Thessalonians 1:6-8

After the war dance, with the enemies thoroughly de-feated, there is a great rejoicing and a victory dance is begun to celebrate the end of evil on the earth.

aCT 4 — Jerusalem – CITy of PeaCe

The Throne of earTh

Once all ev i l has been purged from the planet, our celebration moves to the joy-ful scene of the new seat of government for earth, where justice will reign. Our Master will establish His throne in Jerusalem, and from there He will rule the whole earth for a thousand years.

There will be no end to the increase of His gov-

ernment or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to es-tablish it and to uphold it with justice and righ-teousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Sovereign of hosts will accomplish this. Isaiah 9:7

At t h i s t ime, Mess iah Yahshua will judge all who are His, and determine, based on

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their deeds, their fitness to rule with him, and what responsi-bility each shall bear in His Kingdom, just as the apostle Paul proclaimed.

We must all appear before the judgment seat of Mes-siah, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, wheth-er good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:10

Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God. 1 Corinthians 4:5

The whole br ide will be present at this judgment in the future but today we have only the bride who over-came. He will crown her with a crown of beauty because she was faithful to the end, overcoming all His enemies by His

grace. Overwhelmed by the praise she is receiving, she lays the precious crown at His feet. She knows that apart from Him, she is nothing and He deserves all the praise. Though He appre-ciates her heart in this act of humility, He restores the crown to her head because she is, in fact, His worthy counterpart. She took on His heart. She will take the throne and rule with her king.

In the future there is laid up for me the crown of

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righteousness, which the Sovereign, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing. 2 Timothy 4:8

Once the judgment is com-pleted, all those who are judged to have overcome as He over-came will rule with Him, just as the wedding couple presides together over the celebration.

And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book, and to break its seals; for You were slain, and pur-

chased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” Revelation 5:9-10

There is a great fanfare and the couple take the throne to rule and reign. It is a time of great rejoicing because there is no more evil on the earth and Yahshua is in His right-ful place. Finally He has what He deserves; His kingdom has

come! It is established on earth as it is in heaven.

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Th e m a r r I ag e su P P e r

And he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ ” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.” Revelation 19:9

From ancient time sharing a meal together has always been the highest form of fellowship. The feast which celebrates a wedding is the symbol chosen by God to represent the Messi-anic Kingdom. His reign will be the fulfillment of all the ancient prophecies of an age of peace and justice. It will bring an end to all corruption and death and restore mankind to fellowship with their Creator.

And the Sovereign of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on thi s m ount a in … And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, even the veil which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time, and the Sovereign God will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people

from all the earth; for the Sovereign has spoken. And it will be said in that day, “Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Sovereign for whom we have waited; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.” Isaiah 25:6-9

“The wolf and the lamb shall graze together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the Sovereign. Isaiah 65:25

Now all those who are part of the bride are able to come marry the Lamb. The vows are the personal vows of the couple being married but they represent our vows to our Master.

Th e voW s

M a r r i a ge i s a b lo o d covenant. It is an agreement so binding that only death releases the covenant makers from its terms. The high point of our wedding celebrations is the moment when the new

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husband and wife express all that is in their hearts to one another. Each couple’s vows are unique and personal, but all promise to be true to the standard for marriage that our Father has established in His Word. The husband vows to sacrifice his own life for his wife; the wife vows to submit entirely to her husband’s care.

As the church is subject to Messiah, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Messiah also loved the church and gave Himself up for her... Ephesians 5:24-25

It is this self-sacrificing love on the part of our Master that caused us to respond by submitting our lives to Him. Knowing that He actually died

for the sins of us all causes us to forsake our own lives and live only for Him.

For the love of Messiah cont ro l s u s , hav ing concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

We are grateful that each wedding reminds us of the security and love we experience in our Covenant with our Sovereign Yahshua. We are thankful that we can share such precious moments and joyful celebrations with our guests. It is our desire that everyone could share this everlasting life with us.p

And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.”

And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who is willing

receive the water of life as a gift.Revel at ion 22:17

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H ave you ever longed for a fresh, new start? Have

you ever felt the sting of your own selfishness, when you hurt someone really close? Even though you tried to make things right, the damage was too great — the friendship just wasn’t the same. Distance came in, and you gradually drifted apart. Forgiveness could have mended the wounds and drawn you closer together.

How many times have you tried to make a new beginning — chang-ing spouses, jobs, apartments, and f r i e nd s — on ly to f ind that you could change the outward circum-stances, but you couldn’t change what was inside yourself ? Like a broken re c ord , you found yourself g iv ing in to the same selfishness and reacting in the same ways that ruined your earlier relationships and made you feel so trapped and dirty inside. This hap-pened because you never dealt with the root problem — sin.

Because of our sinful natures, we all have the potential to be both the one inflicting the hurt and the one getting hurt. How do you respond when you get hurt? Do you get hard inside and burn to find a way to get even? Or do you withdraw to build a better wall around yourself so you won’t get hurt that way again? Whether you become aggressive,

not caring who you hurt along the way, or become quiet, distant, and cold, still the sin is the same — you failed to love.

There is a cure for sin. It is found in Yahshua, the Son of God. He ex-perienced all the emotions, desires, passions, and pain that we do, but He remained perfect in His love. His response to hurt was to bear the pain and forgive. People hurt Him even to the point of putting Him to a cruel death. His response was to cry

out to His Father in heaven, “Please, for-give them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Every time we ru-ined someone else’s life or used them for our own selfish pur-poses, we committed a sin that deserved eternal punishment. Our Master Yahshua

came and gave up His life to pay the penalty for our sin. He willingly died in our place. In the excruciating agony and loneliness of death, He took on the punishment that our sins deserved.

Our Creator gave us a conscience. With it, we make choices in our life. When we choose to listen to our con-science, our deeds bring life; when we don’t, they produce death. Our choices have eternal consequences. Everyone faces physical death, and beyond that, the prison of the soul where we are alone with our con-science, continually re-living every

Forgiveness

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wicked deed we ever committed, every ugly thought we ever enter-tained, every foul word we ever ut-tered, every selfish motive we ever held, over and over again until the day of judgment.

On that day, when the scales weigh the deeds of each one’s life, it will be evident who lived according to his conscience. Those who didn’t will inherit the second death, which is eternity in a Sea of Fire. It will be the just reward for those who suppressed the instinctive knowledge of the truth within them time and time again un-til their hearts became hard and cal-loused. There will be no resurrection from this second death.

fo r g I v e n e s s I s l I k e . . .

Many of us were headed for the second death. We had committed deeds that made us worthy of the Sea of Fire. But our Master Yahshua paid the penalty for our sins with His own life, even those that would have taken us to the second death. In response to this, we no longer live for ourselves but for Him, the One who died and rose again for us.

Every day, all day, we live for Him and for each other. We have given up all our own possessions. We

share with each other what we once owned as individuals — everything from our cars, furniture, and homes to our problems and sorrows. Fami-lies live together in households and several households make up a clan. Each clan dwells in a neighborhood where those who live around them can observe their lives. Our lives and homes are always open for anyone who wants to visit.

We are experiencing restoration in every aspect of our lives — espe-cially in our marriages and with our children. We are thankful that He led us to where His love could reach us, where His life is being lived out — an environment in which we can seek first His kingdom, and not be anxious about our own life.

Here, in the togetherness of our communities, we are learning how to forgive. When we are inconsiderate and hurt one another, we repent, hating our hurtful ways, and we are forgiven. Bitterness and resentment don’t have a home here. Instead of be-ing trapped in the cycle of hurt and revenge, we are being set free. The walls of mistrust and insecurity are being torn down. This is true liberty for men and women alike — the power to forgive.p

Forg iven e ss is like a load taken off you, a sentence fallen through, a stain washed away, another chance to live, a fresh new start,a new beginning, a new breath of life, with the power to forgive.

Forgiveness brings about gladness inheart, release in soul and freedom in spirit. It gives a clear conscience and it brightens the eyes.

It creates thank fulness, and causes you to love.Yahshua is the healer of our maladies. He put an end to all hostility.

He is the way for us to be in love. He is forgiveness, He is our gladness, and our life. Forgiveness is the reason that we are bound together,

in a covenant of love which is eternal.

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Yahshua is the Hebrew name of the Son of God. It is what His mother Miriam (Mary) called Him when He was born, as recorded in Matthew 1:21. The footnote for this verse in the NIV New Testament reads: Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua. In Hebrew, as in old English, there is no “J” sound, so the name is more accurately rendered Yahshua. It means “God is powerful to save,” since it is constructed from Yah, the name of the Father (as in Hallelujah, meaning “Praise Yah”, Psalm 68:4) and shua, which means “power and authority to save.”

In John 5:43 our Master said, “I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another

comes in his own name, you will receive him.”And in John 17:11-12, “I am no longer in the world;

and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. While I

was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one

of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.” We call Him Yahshua because that is truly His name, the

name given Him by His Father.

Yahshua

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* Yahshua is the Hebrew name of the Son of God. It is what His mother Miriam (Mary) called Him when He was born, as recorded in Matthew 1:21. The footnote for this verse in the NIV New Testament reads: "Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua." In Hebrew, as in old English, there is no "J" sound, so the name is more accurately rendered Yahshua. It means "I am powerful to save," since it is constructed from Yah, the name of the Father (as in Hallelujah, meaning "Praise Yah"), which means "I AM," and shua, which means "power and authority to save." We call Him Yahshua because that is truly His name.

There is a people who woke up this morning with one thing on their minds – to love their

Creator with all their heart, mind, and strength, and to love one another just as He loved them.

Being just ordinary human beings, we are far from perfect in our love, yet, in hope, we persevere. Our goal? That the kingdom of God would come on earth as it is in heaven, so that love and justice can rule on the earth.

Sound impossible? It would be, were it not that Yahshua* the Messiah, the Son of God, came to earth to

redeem mankind, to set us free from the curse of sin, and to enable us to love. Because we have come to see His worth and our own desperate need, we have surrendered everything in order to follow Him.

He has won our hearts and brought us together as a people to demonstrate His love and care in the midst of a collapsing social order. Our hearts and our homes are open night and day to any who are interested in our life or weary of their sin and want to know the purpose for which they were created.

You are welcome to visit us anytime:

1-888-TWELVE-T WWW.TWELVETribEs.org

You can also reach us at:

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