Paul the Poke

When looking at the course of an Ancient Jewish wedding, Jesus is following cultural custom. A Jewish man has to make an offer to purchase or buy his bride to be. Jesus has met this obligation with Acts 28:20b …to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. Gifts are usually offered from the groom to the bride. In the case of the church, we receive the gift of eternal life from the groom. Romans 6:23b …but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The marriage involved the drawing up and the acceptance of a legal contract called a ketubah. During the betrothal or the promise of the coming marriage, it is the groom’s duty to prepare a home for his pending bride. John 14:2-3 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” According to Jewish custom, the Father of the groom decides when the house is ready. The Father sets the wedding date. He tells his son when it is time to go get his bride. A Jewish groom goes and gets his bride, an event of a Jewish wedding ceremony. The rapture of the church is when Jesus comes and takes His bride. Ephesians 5:22-33 Draws parallels between Christ (husband) and the church (bride/wife). Jesus’ relationship to the church is as a husband is to a wife. Specifically, Ephesians 5:32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.

There is more to the wedding in regards to bride’s response and the ceremony itself. The context and focus are how the rapture fits into the wedding. Jewish cultural information provided by The New Manners and Customs of Bible Times, God’s Final Jubilee by Dan Goodwin, Our Father Abraham Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith by Marvin R. Wilson, The Truth Behind Left Behind by Mark Hitchcock and Thomas Ice.

Jesus is speaking in Revelation 3:10 and states “Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown.” It is members of the church who receive crowns. We give them back to Jesus. The crowns are on the heads of the elders. They are wearing white, purified and cleansed robes in Heaven (not on Earth) in Revelation 4 before start of the tribulation. Later in Chapter 4 of Revelation, the crowns are thrown before the throne in Heaven, not on Earth. These events take place in Heaven before the Tribulation. How did the church get into Heaven before the Tribulation? Rapture. All hell breaks loose on Earth with the Tribulation starting in Revelation 6. The church is absent in the Revelation 6-18 text during all of the destruction on Earth.

Jesus is taking His bride out of harm’s way. The church is safe in Heaven’s bridal chamber preparing for a wedding. Isaiah 26:20-21 Come, my people, enter into your rooms and close your doors behind you; hide for a little while until indignation runs its course. For behold, the LORD is about to come out from His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; and the earth will reveal her bloodshed and will no longer cover her slain. The previous context of these verses in Isaiah is the resurrection of the dead…

Psalm 27:5 For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock.

This entry was posted on July 21, 2014 at 1:05 PM and is filed under Gospel, Isaiah, Prophecy, Rapture with tags Acts 28, Bride of Christ, church, Ephesians 5, Gospel, Heaven, Isaiah 26, Jesus Christ, Jewish wedding, John 14, Prophecy, Psalm 27, Rapture, Revelation, Romans 6, salvation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.