Friends of the Bride...

[Trouvere]

Brother Strange,
Could you explain this doctrine a bit more clearly?

[Steve Epley]

Originally Posted by Barb

Does anyone have anything further to add?! I mean, where do people come up with this view?! How popular was it in days gone by or is it a modern day invention?!

This a twin to the light doctrine or the light doctrine by another name. And yes many Pioneer Pentecostal preachers believed some form of this as Haywood, Opperman, McClain, Haney, and many others. However they were wrong I say that respectfully.

Originally Posted by Trouvere

Brother Strange,
Could you explain this doctrine a bit more clearly?

Well, just to give you a brief idea of what is thought of as "Friends of the Bride" doctrine, at once I walked with a very dear man that is deeply loved and respected among us all. In casual conversation, I remarked to him that I dearly loved to read after a certain prolific Trinitarian writer that I had come to love and admire so much whose named Vance Havner. I had come to love the man though I never knew the man and even though I knew that he was a Trinitarian. I also remarked to him that it grieves my soul so deeply imagining that the good man is lost and will never see the beauties of heaven that he once wrote so powerfully about in one of his papers.


The dear man with whom I was talking said, "Don't fret yourself over that. Though he will not be in the bride, he may very well be among the friends of the Bride." Of course, I knew what he was talking about but I was a bit surprised.

In short, Friends of the Bride are those from all ages that are not lost in the regions of the damned but are not members of the Bride of Christ either, being only attendants to the Bride of Crhist through eternity. They are too good to go to hell but unqualified to be among the Bride of Christ. In my opinion, if that doctrine was true, Heaven would have a glorified "Caste System." I do not believe it.

[Trouvere]

Originally Posted by Brother Strange

Well, just to give you a brief idea of what is thought of as "Friends of the Bride" doctrine, at once I walked with a very dear man that is deeply loved and respected among us all. In casual conversation, I remarked to him that I dearly loved to read after a certain prolific Trinitarian writer that I had come to love and admire so much whose named Vance Havner. I had come to love the man though I never knew the man and even though I knew that he was a Trinitarian. I also remarked to him that it grieves my soul so deeply imagining that the good man is lost and will never see the beauties of heaven that he once wrote so powerfully about in one of his papers.


The dear man with whom I was talking said, "Don't fret yourself over that. Though he will not be in the bride, he may very well be among the friends of the Bride." Of course, I knew what he was talking about but I was a bit surprised.

In short, Friends of the Bride are those from all ages that are not lost in the regions of the damned but are not members of the Bride of Christ either, being only attendants to the Bride of Crhist through eternity. They are too good to go to hell but unqualified to be among the Bride of Christ. In my opinion, if that doctrine was true, Heaven would have a glorified "Caste System." I do not believe it.

Okay now I see it more clearly.I have heard this before as well.That is more speculation than biblical with the bride and bridegroom scriptures being used
in an endtime view.

[Steve Epley]

Originally Posted by Brother Strange

Well, just to give you a brief idea of what is thought of as "Friends of the Bride" doctrine, at once I walked with a very dear man that is deeply loved and respected among us all. In casual conversation, I remarked to him that I dearly loved to read after a certain prolific Trinitarian writer that I had come to love and admire so much whose named Vance Havner. I had come to love the man though I never knew the man and even though I knew that he was a Trinitarian. I also remarked to him that it grieves my soul so deeply imagining that the good man is lost and will never see the beauties of heaven that he once wrote so powerfully about in one of his papers.


The dear man with whom I was talking said, "Don't fret yourself over that. Though he will not be in the bride, he may very well be among the friends of the Bride." Of course, I knew what he was talking about but I was a bit surprised.

In short, Friends of the Bride are those from all ages that are not lost in the regions of the damned but are not members of the Bride of Christ either, being only attendants to the Bride of Crhist through eternity. They are too good to go to hell but unqualified to be among the Bride of Christ. In my opinion, if that doctrine was true, Heaven would have a glorified "Caste System." I do not believe it.

That pretty well sums it up. It was built on emotion rather than scripture no doubt folks were sincere but sincerely wrong.

Originally Posted by Steve Epley

That pretty well sums it up. It was built on emotion rather than scripture no doubt folks were sincere but sincerely wrong.

Built more upon emotions rather than scripture is exactly right.

I sure understand those emotions too. I have come to love many wonderful Trinitarians over the many years, many of whom I never met such as Vance Havner. I've grieved over their loss to eternity in light of the wonderful preaching, praying, writing, and godly lives that many of them lived. Yet, I know that there is no other plan of salvation apart from the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Jn 3:5/Acts 2:38.

Recently, the loss of G.E. Patterson greatly grieved my soul. He is another that I come to love but never met him personally. I cried like a whipped baby when I got a phone call say that he had passed. Oooooooooo if someone....just someone could have reached him with the whole truth..... I know that many have tried but, Alas, alas...I have no hope of ever seeing him again. This tears me up more than most can imagine.

[Steve Epley]

Originally Posted by Brother Strange

Built more upon emotions rather than scripture is exactly right.

I sure understand those emotions too. I have come to love many wonderful Trinitarians over the many years, many of whom I never met such as Vance Havner. I've grieved over their loss to eternity in light of the wonderful preaching, praying, writing, and godly lives that many of them lived. Yet, I know that there is no other plan of salvation apart from the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Jn 3:5/Acts 2:38.

Recently, the loss of G.E. Patterson greatly grieved my soul. He is another that I come to love but never met him personally. I cried like a whipped baby when I got a phone call say that he had passed. Oooooooooo if someone....just someone could have reached him with the whole truth..... I know that many have tried but, Alas, alas...I have no hope of ever seeing him again. This tears me up more than most can imagine.

Timmy is going to ask you about his dear departed grandmother now. You are in big trouble.

If God will torture people for eternity simply because they were living their life to the best of their ability based on the knowledge that they had, then God is not just.

An illiterate peasant 600 years ago, who was was unaware of the "Apostolic doctrine", even if he trusted his local priest to tell him how to be saved is going to spend eternity in torture?

A tribesman in Africa who lived anytime during the last 2000 years and never even heard of Christianity, let alone Oneness Pentecostalism, will be tortured for eternity?

If either of these are true, then God is not just... and I say that with all certainty.

[MrsMcD]

Originally Posted by Brother Strange

Well, just to give you a brief idea of what is thought of as "Friends of the Bride" doctrine, at once I walked with a very dear man that is deeply loved and respected among us all. In casual conversation, I remarked to him that I dearly loved to read after a certain prolific Trinitarian writer that I had come to love and admire so much whose named Vance Havner. I had come to love the man though I never knew the man and even though I knew that he was a Trinitarian. I also remarked to him that it grieves my soul so deeply imagining that the good man is lost and will never see the beauties of heaven that he once wrote so powerfully about in one of his papers.


The dear man with whom I was talking said, "Don't fret yourself over that. Though he will not be in the bride, he may very well be among the friends of the Bride." Of course, I knew what he was talking about but I was a bit surprised.

In short, Friends of the Bride are those from all ages that are not lost in the regions of the damned but are not members of the Bride of Christ either, being only attendants to the Bride of Crhist through eternity. They are too good to go to hell but unqualified to be among the Bride of Christ. In my opinion, if that doctrine was true, Heaven would have a glorified "Caste System." I do not believe it.

I have never heard of this.

Originally Posted by Steve Epley

Timmy is going to ask you about his dear departed grandmother now. You are in big trouble.

Haha....

Actually, I learned my lesson about this once before...a very long time ago. I think I may have told the story here once but if you missed it...

I was a skinny teenager in discussion with a big ol' Baptist boy about the plan of salvation. He carried the tradition Baptist bag of scriptures to refute the ONLY plan of salvation which I clearly laid out before him, stating that without such obedience, Hell is a certain destiny...like it or not.

Needless to say, the discussion quickly grew intense and the boiling point came quickly. While we were nose to nose in very intense discussion while the veins of the neck almost popped from volume of voice, he asked, "Are you saying my ol' praying mama who never did it YOUR way is burning in Hell?"

Well, I am a great deal wiser today than I was when nose to nose with that big ol' boy. I quickly yelled, "She is not only in hell right now, but she split hell wide open."

When I came to myself, my skinny butt was on the ground and crimson red covered the front of my shirt. I am happy to report that he temporarily changed the shape of my nose and upper lip but he did not change my mind. She IS in hell and so are all who go into eternity who obey NOT the gospel. "If our gospel be HID, it is HID to them that are LOST."

Sorry Folks. That's bible.