The Marriage Supper of the Lamb – Part One

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb –  Part One

Hebrews 9:28 tells us, “To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”

Acts 1:9 says, “And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up: and a cloud received Him out of their sight.”

John 14:3 says, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may also be.”

I Thessalonians 4:16-17 says, “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

II Peter 3:3-4 says, “Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the father fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.”

Revelation 19:6-9 says, “Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give Him glory, for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb is come, and His Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure” – For the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

The Old Testament dealt with separating the Children of Abraham, as a nation, from all the other nations of the world. The New Testament deals with separating a group of ‘called out ones’ (Ekklesia, Greek for called out of world to God). God is still dealing with Israel and will cause them to believe in Him as their Messiah during the Tribulation, thus fulfilling His promise to Abraham.

The group of called out ones, or the Church, started on the Day of Pentecost and will continue to the Rapture of the church. The church is made up of believers in Christ as their Lord and Savior from all nations, tribes and tongues. Paul says the church is the Bride of Christ.  II Corinthians 11:2, “For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband–Christ.”

While the unbelievers scoff and call Bible believing Christians names, those who love Christ as their Lord, and are looking for His return, are eagerly awaiting His soon coming. Believers know that Christ is the only hope for a sinful and depraved world full of violence, greed and lust; ruling the world as the Prince of Peace and King of kings!

hebrew wedding

 

 

 

 

There was a chain of events in the traditional Hebrew wedding that help us understand the mystery of the Rapture:

  1. The Bridegroom, or an agent of the bridegroom’s father, went out in search of the bride. The bride would often agree to the marriage without ever seeing her future groom. I Peter 1:8 says, “You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.”
  2. A price was established for the bride: 20 camels, jewelry, or whatever the groom had to offer. This price was called the Mohar. The bride and groom were then Betrothed and legally bound to each other; even though they did not, and could not, live together until the actual marriage ceremony. A scribe would draw up a Ketubah, or marriage contract, stating the bride price, the rights of the bride, and the promise of the groom to honor, support and live with the bride.
  3. The groom would present the bride with gifts. Today grooms give their brides a ring, but in ancient times the gift could be almost anything. If the bride accepted the groom’s gift, they shared a cup of wine, or the cup of covenant, and a betrothal was complete. Before leaving her home, the groom would tell her, “If I go, I will return again for you.”
  4. The groom prepares a place for his bride and then journeys back to her father’s house to bring her to her new home.
  5. The betrothal period could be a year or more; and during this time the groom is preparing her new home and she, as the bride, is preparing herself for her new husband.
  6. The groom built a chupah, or a wedding canopy, and the father of the groom was the one who decided when everything was in place and released his son to go and fetch his bride.The groom arrived at the bride’s house with a shout, and the blowing of a Trumpet, or shofar. This announced the groom’s arrival and he then presented the Marriage Contract to the bride’s father, claiming his wife and taking her back to his father’s house.
  7. The bride, in preparation for the groom’s return, set herself apart and consecrated herself with a cleansing bath called a mikvah. She purified herself for the coming wedding. She had to make herself ready and she had to stay ready, for she had no idea when her groom would return. She often kept a lamp burning in the window and an extra jar of oil on hand, lest the bridegroom come in the night and find her unprepared.
  8. There was no day set for the wedding. When the bridegroom was asked for the date of his wedding, he could only reply, “No man knows except my father.” The father had to approve of his son’s preparations to receive his new bride.
  9. When his son arrived back with his bride, the father would be waiting to receive the couple, and then he would take the hand of the bride and place it in the hand of his son. At that moment, she became his wife. This was called the Presentation.
  10. After the presentation, the groom would bring his bride into the bridal chamber he had gone to prepare. There he would introduce her to all the society of his friends who had heard the trumpet and had come to celebrate the marriage at the marriage feast.

To be continued…

 

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