We are Betrothed to Jesus, the Marriage takes place in heaven. This list may help....UNKNOWN AUTHOR this has been around 20 plus years on the net. Guy may have passed on.
The Wedding Pattern
The Lord gave Israel seven feasts in
Leviticus 23. The Lord refers to the feasts as appointed times (
mowed – Strong’s H4150).
Mowed means an
appointed time, a
specific time. Our Heavenly Father knows the End from the Beginning, and the seven
specific appointed times of the seven feasts give us an outline of His overall plan and I believe that some appointed times have been, and
all will be literally fulfilled.
Within the Word of God is the pattern of the Church as the Bride of Christ (hereafter noted as
Church) being wed to Jesus, and it is preserved to this day in the practice of the traditional Jewish wedding (hereafter noted as
Jewish Wedding). This is not to say that the Church has replaced Israel in the Lord’s plan; quite the opposite. Please see Romans 11:11-18 and Romans 11:25-26.
There are
two brides found in Scripture, and Rachel and Leah show us this.
When I first realized the connection between the feasts and the steps of the wedding, I was troubled by the Fall Feasts. Although "Trumpets" is a favorite feast for those of us listening for the trumpet of the Lord, I could not clearly in my mind make these feasts fit the Church. The Fall Feasts seem to point to the people Israel. Therefore, when I realized there were two different brides which would be dealt with in separate manners, the pieces seemed to fit together.
First, the Lord chose a people (Israel) that would be His bride, His wife. Several times in the Old Testament the Lord describes Israel as His wife. It all began when the Lord chose Abraham and promised him that his descendants would be a great and numerous people. But at Mount Sinai the chosen wife became spiritually adulterous and worshipped the Golden Calf. Time and again, through the prophets, the Lord called for Israel to return to Him.
Finally, the Lord told Israel,
The steps of the traditional Jewish wedding:
1 – Selection of the Bride
Jewish Wedding - The Son chooses the Bride – the Father makes the arrangements
Church -
John 15:16 – “You did not choose Me, but I chose you . . .”
2 – The Bride Price established
Jewish Wedding - The father of the bride must be reimbursed for the loss of his daughter.
Church -
I Corinthians 6:20 - “For you were bought with a price.” The Bride price was paid when Jesus died on the Cross.
We who are saved by Jesus were sought by the Lord. (
Isaiah 65:1) Jesus paid the price on
Passover. The
appointed times of
Firstfruits and
Unleavened Bread complete the picture of Jesus being resurrected and being sinless, the spotless Lamb of God.
The Spring Feasts have all been literally fulfilled.
Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks, was the fourth
appointed time given by the Lord in
Leviticus 23:15-22.
Just as the Lord deals with the
Church in a separate manner from His chosen, the Jews, I strongly suspect that Pentecost, which is separate from the Spring Feasts and the Fall Feasts, is specific to the
Church.
At the Feast of Pentecost
the Bride of Christ was given the Gift of the Holy Spirit and through this Jesus committed to complete the betrothal of the Church when He comes again.
The steps of the traditional Jewish wedding:
3 – The Betrothal
Jewish Wedding - More than mere “engagement”, it was a permanent arrangement. Recall the story of Joseph and Mary.
Church – The attachment of the Church to the Lord is also permanent, and forever. “This is the bread which came down from heaven--not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.” (
John 6:58) 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
Jewish Wedding – A written agreement committing each party to the marriage.
Church - The New Covenant (
Jeremiah 31:31-34) is our written agreement containing the promises of God. Jesus said, “If ye continue in my word, [then] are ye my disciples indeed;” (
John 8:31)
5 – The Bride must consent
Jewish Wedding – This is not entirely an arranged marriage; the bride must agree.
Church – “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;” (
Mark 16:16) “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (
Romans 10:9)
6 – The Bridal Gift and the Cup of the Covenant
Jewish Wedding – A glass of wine is taken upon the signing of the contract.
Church – Each time we gather around the Lord’s Table, 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)
Jewish Wedding – The Bride is given a gift by the groom.
Church - The Holy Spirit is given by Jesus –– “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (
Acts 2:38) This, of course, occurred on the Day of Pentecost.
7 – The Ceremonial Purification of the Bride
Jewish Wedding - The next step for the Bride after she is betrothed is a ceremonial cleansing. In Biblical times the Bride would use a
Mikvah, which was pool of water, in which she would
immerse herself.
Church -
Acts 2:41 – “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized (
immersed); and that day about three thousand souls were added [to them].”
The
Church is an insertion in the Lord's Plan. Israel was the original bride. I believe that the Lord Jesus will come for His bride, the
Church, in a separate event (the Rapture) from the Lord's return for His bride, Israel. From this point forward in the
Jewish Wedding process, following the purification of the bride, in my opinion the
Church will be dealt with separately in the time defined as the Church Age, or the Age of Grace. This period of time will extend from the Day of Pentecost described in Acts chapter two, to the day when the Lord Jesus calls us Home.
8 – The Groom would prepare a room for the Bride in his father’s house
Church -
John 14:3 – “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.”
The father of the groom determines when the room is ready. The groom does not determine the time of the wedding. “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
Church -
I Peter 2:9 – “But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people.”
10 – The Groom returns with a shout, “Behold, the bridegroom comes!”
Church -
I Thessalonians 4:16 – “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a
shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the
trumpet of God.”
Let me insert an additional hope at this point. When the Lord Jesus comes for His Bride, the
Church, we will not be totally surprised. Although the Jewish bride did not know the day or the hour, she was expectant. 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.” (
I Thessalonians 5:4-5) Today, many in the
Church are expectant and will not be totally surprised.
11 – The Bride and Groom go to the wedding chamber.
Church – This period when the Bride and Groom spend time together seems to show that the Bride of Jesus will be with Him in Heaven. This appears to indicate a
pre-Tribulation gathering of the Church, and is described in
Isaiah 26:20; “Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.” Praise the Lord!
12 – The Marriage Supper
Church – “‘Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.’ And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, ‘Write: Blessed [are] those who are called to the
marriage supper of the Lamb!’” (The
Revelation 19:7-9)
In my opinion,
the Feast of Pentecost is still being fulfilled and will be completed when the Lord Jesus comes for His bride.
I believe that in the remaining steps of the
Jewish Wedding process, the steps will be fulfilled for Israel in a separate manner.
The next
appointed time is the
Feast of Trumpets. The Feast of Trumpets is a mysterious time. Of all the feasts, or
appointed times, little is said of it and no scriptural reason for the feast is given. (see
Leviticus 23:23-25) A trumpet (the Shofar) is blown. Trumpets make announcements. I suspect that the Feast of Trumpets will be when the Lord in some manner announces the time has come for the fulfillment of His plan for Israel.
The steps of the traditional Jewish wedding:
Getting long, but it just shows how Israel will be dealt with in a different manner. They are the Fathers bride after all.
