INTIMACY WITH CHRIST ... The modern Church performs many roles, but the most important role is often neglected: that of being Christ's espoused BRIDE. In biblical Judaism, being espoused or engaged was equivalent to being married. (See Matthew 1:18,19). So although we have not yet attended the wedding, it's as if we, the Church, are already married to Jesus; our engagement covenant is binding! When He returns for His spotless bride, the actual marriage supper will take place. But what does it mean to be the betrothed bride of Yeshua/Jesus? It means that He desires an intimate relationship with us, His beloved. Paula Gilbert endeavors to reveal what such intimacy implies. From the very beginning, God longed for fellowship with mankind. He also expressed His deep love for Israel, and indicated in the Tanakh that He was "married" to her. Today, it is no different. Yahweh aspires to walk and talk with us (His Church), as He did with Adam and Eve in the Garden. He's jealous for us with the jealousy of a passionate lover, and He's calling us close to His heart once more. In a mostly "Word based" era, it is time for the Church to restore the lost art of pursuing our beloved Lord with deep fervor, resulting in experiential knowledge of Him rather than mere intellectual knowledge or religious form, because the Letter without the Spirit is dead.