Here Comes the Bride!

Within the Word of God is the pattern of the Bride of Christ being wed to Jesus the bridegroom. Paul tells us about this mystery of Christ and the called-out assembly of believers in Ephesians Chapter 5. I recently taught on this subject and found the prophetic pictures of the Jewish Wedding Traditions fascinating.

Matthew 22 gives us a parable related to the Kingdom of heaven and he relates it to this same picture of a wedding feast. In a nutshell, this parable describes how Israel was the desired bride, but they rejected God, killed His prophets and went their own way. It describes them as unworthy and that they would be punished and their city (Jerusalem) destroyed. It further goes on to tell how, as a result of this, the King went and sent His servants out to bid anyone who wanted to come to the wedding to come, but it also describes one who tried to enter into the wedding without the appropriate wedding attire. He did not have a pure white garment (a picture of the righteousness attained only through faith in Christ).

The words of Paul, Jesus and the Jewish Wedding Traditions are a remarkable witness to the mystery that is the Bride of Christ. Here are the steps taken in completing the Jewish wedding and their application to the wedding of the Bride of the Lamb:

The steps of the traditional Jewish wedding:

1 – Selection of the Bride

The son chooses the Bride, but the Father makes the arrangements. We see this picture in the story of Samson as he asked his Father to get him the bride he desired. We see a similar picture in the story of Isaac, however Isaac (the promised son) was out of the picture after the near-sacrifice incident on Mt. Moriah in Genesis 22 and we find the Father (Abraham) sending a servant (Eliezer) to select the bride. In either instance the bride was the chosen by the groom or His family.

Jesus said, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you . . .” (John 15:16)

2 – The Bride Price established

The father of the bride must be reimbursed for the loss of his daughter. According to Scripture, those who are not born again into the family of God are the children of "your father the devil" (John 8:44). "The Bride price was paid when Jesus died on the Cross at Passover nearly 2,000 years ago to satisfy the penalty for sin according to Romans 6:23

“For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.” - 1 Corinthians 6:20

3 – The Betrothal

The betrothal was more than a mere “engagement” like we might think of tdoay. The betrothal was a permanent arrangement. Recall the story of Joseph and Mary. For all intents and purposes the betrothal period was as good as being married, with the exception that the marriage had not been consumated yet. This betrothal period often lasted a year or more. Attachment to the Lord Jesus Christ is also permanent, and forever.

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand. (John 10:28)

4 – The Marriage Contract (Ketubah)

A written marriage document called a Ketubah was drafted and signed by two witnesses committing each party to the marriage and outlining the parameters of the relationship and responsibilities of the parties involved. We may liken it to something like a prenuptial agreement today. The entire Bible is our written agreement containing the promises of God.

5 – The Bride must consent

This is not entirely an arranged marriage; the bride must agree. Likewise, a relationship with Jesus is never forced. We must enter willingly into the covenant with Him. That means agreeing to the Marriage Contract (the Bible) and forsaking all others to follow Him.

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me. (John 14:23-24)

6 – The Bridal Gift and the Cup of the Covenant

Upon the signing of the Ketubah, a glass of wine is taken up by the groom and given to his bride-to-be. Each time we observe the Lord's Supper and break bread and drink of the fruit of the vine, we remember the “contract.”

“And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave [it] to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament (covenant), which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:27-28)

The Bride is given a gift by the groom. The gift is a deposit. Ownership rights remain with the groom, but the gift remains in the possession of the bride as a token of the wedding promise. The Holy Spirit is the gift given to us by Jesus.

"Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.“ (John 16:7)

In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory." (Ephesians 1:13-14)

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit as the wedding gift, the deposit (or earnest) of the promise. This, of course, occurred on the Day of Pentecost fifty days after the Resurrection of Jesus.

7 – The Ceremonial Purification of the Bride

After she is betrothed, the bride goes through a ceremonial cleansing. In Biblical times the Bride would use a Mikvah, or pool of water, in which she would immerse herself. By reading the book of Esther we can see that this period of preparation and purification was common in other cultures as well.

“Then they that gladly received his word were baptized (immersed); and the same day were added unto them about three thousand souls.” (Acts 2:41 KJV)

8 – The Groom would prepare a room or addition for the Bride and future family in his father’s house

“I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself.” (John 14:3)

In Biblical times the groom would add a room or addition to his father’s house to accommodate His bride. At that time, many generations of a family lived together under one roof. The father of the groom decides when the addition is ready. The groom does not determine the time of the wedding, which explains the words of Jesus when He said, “But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” (Matthew 24:36)

9 – The Bride is consecrated and set apart

The Bride is spoken for and belongs to no one else. Again, refer to Mary and Joseph. (Matthew 1:18-19). At this time, she would put a veil over her face as a symbol that she was "taken". She would set herself apart from the "single crowd" and be diligently anticipating and preparing for her wedding day. As stated earlier, she does not know when the Groom will return for her. Matthew 25 – The Parable of the Ten Virgins shows how the groom would come for His bride and steal her away like a thief in the night.

10 – The Groom returns with a shout, “Behold, the bridegroom comes!”

This was often done around midnight to add an element of surprise. Matthew 25:6 (the Parable of the Ten Virgins) – “And at midnight a cry (shout) was [heard]: ‘Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him!’” You notice in this parable the reference to the virgins having oil lamps, obviously necessary to travel in the dark.

“For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God....” (1 Thessalonians 4:16)

This passage from 1 Thessalonians appear to be talking about the day when Jesus returns for His Bride, very possibly at midnight (Jerusalem time presumably), or proverbially at a very dark time for humanity, and very possibly on or very shortly after the Day of Trumpets (Yom Teruah) or Day of Shoutings, one of the high holy days of Israel proclaimed in the Leviticus 23 Feasts of the LORD. It's interesting to note that the Jewish calendar sabbath day that falls between the Day of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement is called Shabbat Shuvah or "sabbath of return". Could it be that the LORD will return on the sabbath following the announcement on the Day of Trumpets? Pure conjecture of course, as Shuvah also means repentance, but interesting to note the patterns.

While the timing of this event was sudden, it was certainly not unexpected. A watchful, hopeful bride would have been anticipating this day for a very long time, often up to a year or more.

The Apostle Paul in speaking of “that Day” said, “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day.” (1Thessalonians 5:4-5)

Watching believers will not be caught off guard at this event.

11 – The Bride and Groom go to the wedding chamber/The Marriage Supper

After the wedding ceremony, two events occurred. I list them together because there is some debate about which one comes first or do they happen simultaneously. To avoid that argument, which stems from pre-trib versus post-trib "rapture" debaters, I simply will address them together.

A wedding feast was given to honor and celebrate the newlyweds.

"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. 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. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb...." (Revelation 19:7-9 KJV)

This feast would last for SEVEN DAYS.

The bride and groom would enter the wedding chamber. Some traditions have this as a very brief period following the ceremony as a "ceremonial" consummation of the marriage, while other traditions tell of the Bride and Groom staying in the wedding chamber for SEVEN DAYS.

I believe that the key to unlocking this picture could be found in Genesis 29 with Jacob, Leah & Rachel. In this account we see that a feast was given by the father of the bride and the wedding consummated at the same time. It's possible that these seven day periods are one and the same when you simply look at Scripture without trying to approach it from your predetermined view on a perceived "rapture" event.

When you look at it from this angle, the Feast of Tabernacles is easily able to fulfill both pictures as it is a week-long feast of celebrating the ingathering of the harvest and also a week-long period of dwelling in tents, a possible picture of the traditional "chuppa" or wedding canopy.

Regardless, this period of time seems to show that the Bride and Groom will be together at this time, celebrating their long-awaited union.

CONCLUSION

The prophetic parallels between the Jewish Wedding Pattern and the Marriage of the Bride of the Lamb are really neat to study and may shed some light on good things to come for those who love the LORD and eagerly await His return.

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