How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine,
and the fragrance of your perfume than any spice! …You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.
Song of Solomon 4: 10+12
The maidens saw her and called her blessed; the queens and concubines praised her. Who is this that appears like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, majestic as the stars in procession?
Song of Solomon 6:9-10
Dear brothers and sisters,
Last December I had a dream. I saw myself in Iran and someone handed me a baby. I took the baby in my arms, but it was so strong and heavy that I could hardly carry it. I was certain that the baby was the bride of Jesus in Iran. She is young in her faith and often also young in years. But she is strong and determined to undergo everything, even death. More about that later.
The Bride of Jesus: Who is Jesus’s Bride? What are her characteristics? How do we have to be and what do we have to do to belong to this Bride?
First of all, a bride is a woman who has made a covenant with her bridegroom. Both promise each other to go through thick and thin, to remain faithful to each other
“until death do us part”, as it is often said at weddings. Many people make a promise but few keep it, that’s why there are so many separations and divorces.
But what about Jesus’s Bride? Has the groom kept his promise? Yes, definitely. Jesus gave his blood, his life for us; Jesus brought all of our sins, illnesses, pain, worries, curses and so much more to the cross so that we can be free. He loves us, protects us, takes care of us.
And the Bride? At the very moment when someone puts his or her life into God’s hands, is converted and is baptised, he or she makes a covenant with God: no longer me, but You!
No longer my will but Your will! No longer do I live but from now You live through me! From the moment that you are converted, you give up all of your rights. You have made a covenant: Jesus, I will go with you whatever it costs, even if it costs my life! In many countries, a life with Jesus costs lives, and soon it will do so in the West, too.
What is the Bride like? She is a worshiper! She worships Jesus, not only in the happy and beautiful days, but especially in difficult, dark times. In the midst of darkness she lifts up His Name. When we talk about worship and praise, we don’t just mean singing a few songs. Worship is a way of life, and it has a lot to do with the heart and with life.
A bride loves, and is a lover. The bride sits at the bridegroom’s feet. She enjoys being alone with him. When people in today’s world speak about love, many of them mean sex. When a church speaks of love, many take it to mean feelings. That doesn’t mean to say that we don’t have any feelings, but love has a lot to do with obedience.
Jesus repeatedly told his disciples and listeners: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” I want you to understand that love and obedience belong together, you cannot separate them. If you say you love Jesus, but you live your own life, then you don’t love Jesus and you don’t belong to His Bride.
A brother recently visited us. He has left his wife and children and wants to marry another woman. He tried to justify himself by dismissing God’s Word as Jesus’s and Paul’s etc. “opinion”. If God’s Word is merely an opinion, then you can interpret it any way you want and do what you have already decided to do in your heart.
"If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” John 14:15
A few years ago I was in a house in the mountains with a sister to spend a few days fasting and praying. One evening, I prayed over this sister and asked the Lord to reveal her condition to me. I had a dream that night: She saw her wedding dress in the closet and it was all yellowed. That frightened her. Why was the wedding gown in the closet and yellowed? Because the sister lived for herself, for her little world. Naturally you do this and that but you enjoy your nice, quiet and oh so tranquil life.
You know, I have been in places where I couldn’t even sit down because there was so much trash lying around. But many women constantly have a cleaning rag in their hands because they don’t want to have any dust. Dear sisters, there are times when you are a Martha but there must also be times when we are Marias. If Jesus had come that night, this sister would not have been with him. She didn’t have her wedding gown on and it was even yellowed.
We see Ruth in the Bible: she sits at Boas’s feet. We see Esther: she purifies herself, she does everything Haggai tells her. She knows the king, and Haggai tells her what the king likes and dislikes. She wants to please the king. When it is necessary to fast, she fasts and goes to the throne room, having made up her mind that if she perishes, she will perish!
I want you to understand that this is a Bride’s attitude. She wants what the king wants, even if it costs her life! Last year, when I stated in a letter that we Christians should go to Arab countries as tourists to bring the Gospel to the people there, someone wrote me an angry letter which contained the question: “Do you want Christians to die?” Excuse me, but I thought we have already died!
Whoever has not already died does not belong to the Bride, not yet. We read in the Song of Solomon of the many concubines, virgins etc. but it says:
“but my dove, my perfect one, is unique.” You can be with thousands of people, all are singing, all are praying, all are listening to the same sermon, ... but one is my dove! The Lord knows His Bride. And do you know what? The Bride knows that she is the Bride!!!
Often when I come to a church, I experience that people make a wide berth around me, even though they don’t even know me. Why is that? The Lord often tells me: Let the (spiritually) dead bury their dead; you go and proclaim God’s kingdom. Follow me!
The Bride loves the bridegroom above all else and this is demonstrated in her way of life. She lives for God’s kingdom, she desires the eternal dwellings and she is only here to show people the way. I write these letters to help you reach the goal, otherwise I wouldn’t bother. Christ is my life and death is my gain.
Is the Bride perfect? No, she is still made of flesh and blood, but because she sits at the bridegroom’s feet, she quickly feels when the Spirit corrects her, she is quick to repent, she has keen spiritual discernment. Two brothers independently wrote to me that I have dreams and visions because I have read Kenneth Hagin’s books and so therefore I also have his demons. First of all, millions of Christians have read these books and yet they still do not have any visions; secondly, I saw Jesus and heard his voice before I ever heard anything about K. Hagin. I actually came to faith through a vision. Thirdly: the Bride doesn’t care about such attacks. She knows her bridegroom, and so why should that concern her?
Does the Bride only sit at Jesus’s feet? No, of course not! There is a great field of work and that’s where the Bride can be found. After sitting at Jesus’s feet, she stands up, puts on her apron and goes to work. Jesus’s Bride is not a lady, she’s a servant.
The Bride loves and out of this love she wants to do everything for her bridegroom. Love shows itself in deeds, not words. We preach about love, we talk about it, we sing about it, but we’re missing something basic: love! If you think you can’t go on the streets for Jesus, then do something else. Bring the Gospel to the hospitals, retirement homes, etc. Do something for the kids in your neighborhood. Invite them for a meal or look after them when their parents are at work; tell them about Jesus; whatever, live your faith. In Revelation 3:7 we see the Philadelphia church. She is the Bride. What are her attributes? She has little strength but despite this she keeps God’s Word, she does not deny Jesus’s name, we find no false doctrines or false prophets in her.
If I perish, I perish!
After I had the dream about Iran, I looked for a flight there the very next day. It was just around the time of the unrest in Teheran and what the media was writing was not particularly encouraging. I could have argued with the Lord: “Why should I go to Iran? That’s too dangerous. Do you want me to die?” But I didn’t even begin to do so, because I have learned that when the Lord says something, that’s it!
Would I have traveled to Iran without having had the dream? Yes, certainly, but probably not this year. When I went to Algeria, I did that without a dream. I finally wanted to overcome my fear of Islam and the Lord blessed me for it. After visiting four Islamic countries, many things have become clear to me.
John 4:18 says:
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. It became clear to me that for the most part, we Christians are not driven by the love for God but rather by fear. We’re afraid of all sorts of things. When I was in Damascus, I saw what we have been missing for decades. We have listened to the mass media and missions reports from organizations for persecuted Christians. I appreciate these news and organizations, and certainly Christians are being persecuted and some even killed. But these Christian organizations have missed giving us the courage to visit these countries as tourists. Unbelievable! Why? If you go as a tourist, you can spread seed here and there. There are countless small shops. The people ask where you are from and what you do there. You can calmly say that you pray for that country and its people. You can say that religions are not from God but from hell. In China I realized that the people in those countries are so afraid of their system that hardly anyone will betray you because they could be in trouble, too. As a tourist, they can at most deport you if you are denounced. If you are not careless and you don’t go into the desert, then there is no need to be afraid of being taken as a hostage. I want you to understand that many Islamic countries are very different from what you imagine they might be like.
In Damascus I met people from all over the world. Even Americans who are studying in Egypt and spend vacations in Damascus. Many young Europeans travel to Syria, Egypt, Jordan, etc. to learn Arabic. They make friends with the people there and visit them again. A retired Dutch woman was staying next door to me and explained that she was learning Arabic and was in Damascus for a few months to practice what she had learned. Each year, many tourists or students of Arabic go to the Islamic world and what do we do? We live in fear of Islam, of the Moslems, and yet there are hardly any people on this earth who are friendlier or more hospitable. There are certainly also evil people there, they exist everywhere. A few months ago two evangelists were killed in Florida, USA because they told someone the Gospel. That happened in the United States, that can also happen here if we tell people the Gospel. But I have learned one thing: when we go, the Lord is with us. He protects us and if something happens, He’s in control.
When the plane landed in Teheran, all of the women put on a headscarf; you cannot go out on the streets without a headscarf. Otherwise, in Teheran it’s like everywhere else. More and more women are trying to wear something colorful. They often have a short coat or a long jacket on over their trousers, with the headscarf. Many wear the chador but not everyone. People are very sad, downbeat and most are very poor despite the oil. They must work from morning to night, and usually need 2-3 jobs to get by. Those are the government’s tactics, to keep the people oppressed. But things are cooking and will certainly explode again. Parents are unhappy because their daughters are unhappy with the clothing. Many want to emigrate. I have not met any people who are as friendly as the Iranians. They speak to you, try to practice their English and their first question is: What do you think of Iran and the people here? They are happy to hear something nice and they explain that the people are not the same thing as the government. Iranians are very educated; I had a lot to do with students. You feel safe in Teheran, but also in other places. There are not many tourists, because the people are afraid and are influenced by the mass media. Iran (Persia) has many interesting historical places and most tourists are there rather than in the capital. I wasn’t the only woman traveling alone. I could speak to many people. Contrary to other Muslim countries, I could finally talk to women also and tell them about Isa Masih. When you tell them that God loves you, they say: “God loves the West but not us!” I didn’t get that answer anywhere else. Not every Moslem has dreams about Jesus, by the way. I haven’t met any up to now, but more on that topic some other time.
I was able to visit an Evangelical church in the center of Teheran. There are a few others and they are open to everyone, but it appears that there are one or two government spies there. I visited the pastor of that church and had some conversations with him. There are mainly members of house churches in the prisons. Many Iranians have come to Jesus. I don’t believe that we can already speak of revival, but there will be an immense harvest. People are frustrated and I made it clear to them that their problem is not only political but also religious. Islam is their main problem. It was naturally dangerous for me to say that but the Lord protected me. It is a privilege for me that the Lord put his Bride in my arms in Iran to show how strong she is and will be. I met many men and women who will become Brides and are ready to pay the price.
Ahmadinejad is actually a tool of revival. That’s how the Lord uses evil to bring forth good. He can also tell Chameni that they are the tools of the Mahdi and that Mahdi and Jesus will return together to establish Islam on this earth. I of course explained to the people that Mahdi and Jesus will not come together and that Mahdi will most likely be the Antichrist. By the way, it was easier to talk to the Iranians about Israel than it is to do so with many Swiss and Germans. The Iranians say that the Israelis are people like any other and if the Palestinians have problems, they should solve them themselves, why should we have to pay for it?
My heart weeps for the people in Iran. Let’s pray for their great distress, and that Isa Masih, our Lord Jesus, becomes their hope, because hard times are coming for them and for Israel.
And the Spirit and the Bride say: Come! Come Lord Jesus, and make an end to the suffering!
Love in deeds, not words.
Catherine Hafner, a servant of Jesus Christ!
