In the Old Testament, the Lord refers to Israel as His Bride.
Jeremiah 2:32 KJV
Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
Jeremiah 3:14,20 KJV
Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord ; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: [20] Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the Lord.
Isaiah 54:5-6 KJV
For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. [6] For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.
The Lord will forgive Israel the Bride of her sins, restore her, remarry her and bring her back into her into the Promised Land.
Hosea 2:15-23 KJV
And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. [16] And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali. [17] For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name. [18] And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely. [19] And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. [20] I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the Lord. [21] And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; [22] And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel. [23] And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.
The Lord will forgive Israel of her sins. Notice how the Lord calls himself the husband of Israel.
Jeremiah 31:31-32 KJV
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: [32] Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord :
Israel is the Lord's nation in the earth (Exodus 19:5-6, Psalm 37:11, Isaiah 2:1-4, Matthew 5:5, Revelation 5:10).
The Lord will save Israel and marry her to the Promised Land, thus marrying Himself to that land as well.
Isaiah 62:1-5 KJV
For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. [2] And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. [3] Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. [4] Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and thy land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. [5] For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.
Now considering all of the prophecy about the Lord remarrying Israel in the future, I wonder who the Bride is in Revelation? The Lord Jesus will come save Israel and reign with her on this earth. The saints mentioned in the below passage are Jewish Tribulation saints.
Revelation 19:7-9 KJV
Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. [8] And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. [9] And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
The Lamb's wife is that great city, the holy Jerusalem that is currently in heaven that will come down to earth (Heb. 12:18-24). Abraham and the Old Testament saints anticipated a heavenly Jerusalem (Heb. 11:10,16,39,40).
Revelation 21:1-4,9-10 KJV
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. [2] And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. [3] And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. [4] And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. [9] And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. [10] And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
This all seems very clear, but it's very hard to accept because "the Church" being the Bride has been taught ever since the Roman Catholic Church started teaching it. The Protestants didn't protest that tradition. The Church does NOT replace Israel. The names of the twelve tribes of Israel are literally on the gates of New Jerusalem. The name is on the mailbox, but this truth will not be accepted because it doesn't match the tradition of men.
Revelation 21:12 KJV
And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
