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Christ
and His Bride & The Jewish Wedding Ceremony
Both the Old and the New Testaments describe how God through Christ, the
Bridegroom, is in the process of marrying His bride, the believers in Him,
who will ultimately live and dwell with Him forever.
God ordained and established marriage and its divine sanctity in Genesis,
when He brought Adam and Eve together to become one flesh. (Genesis
2:21-24) Adam is a type of Christ here. (Rom 5:14) God had a deep sleep
fall upon Adam. Sleep is synonymous with death. (Eph 5:14) The deep sleep
that God caused to fall upon Adam is a picture of the crucifixion and
death of Jesus. God brought a deep sleep upon Adam so He could take a rib
from the side of his flesh. This required the shedding of blood. This is a
picture of Christ who was pierced in the side of His flesh, shedding His
own blood when He hung on the tree. From the rib of Adam, God made Eve. By
the death of Jesus and our faith in Him we become wedded to Him, and thus
the Bride of Christ. By accepting, trusting, and believing in Jesus, we
become one with Him.
[Eph 5:31] For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and
shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. [Eph 5:32]
This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
[2 Cor 11:2] For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have
espoused you to one husband, which I may present you as a chaste virgin to
Christ.
The ancient Jewish wedding ceremony God gave to the Jewish people was to
teach us also about the wedding of the Messiah. This ceremony consisted of
12 steps.
Notice the complete similarities to this wedding ceremony and the Church,
or Bride of Christ today.
1. The selection of the bride.
The bride was usually chosen by the father of the bridegroom. The father
would send his trusted servant, known as the agent of the father, to
search out the bride. Read Gen 24. In this chapter, Abraham (a type of God
the Father) wishes to secure a bride for Isaac (a type of Messiah) and
send his servant Eliezer (a type of the Holy Spirit) to do this task. It
is the role of the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin and lead them
to God. (John 16:7-8) Just as the bride was usually chosen by the father
of the bridegroom, so the believers in the Messiah are chosen by God.
(John 15:16) The bridegroom chose the bride and lavished his love upon her
and she returned his love. This can be seen in Eph 5:25. Rebekah consented
to marry Isaac even before she ever met him. Today, the believers in the
Messiah consent to become the bride of Christ even though we have never
seen Him. (1Pet 1:8)
2. A bride price was established.
A price would have to be paid for the bride. Jesus, being our bridegroom
paid a very high price for His bride, the body of believers. The price He
paid was His life. (1Cor 6:20)
3. The bride and groom are betrothed to each other.
Betrothal is the first of two steps in the marriage process. Betrothal
legally binds the bride and the groom together in a marriage contract,
except they do not physically live together. Whenever you accept the Lord
into your heart and life, you become betrothed to Him while living on
earth.
4. A written document is drawn up.
This contract states the bride price, the promises of the groom, and the
rights of the bride. The groom promises to work for her, to honor,
support, and maintain her in truth, to provide food, clothing, and
necessities, and to live together with her as husband and wife. This
contract was the unalienable right of the bride. It must be executed and
signed prior to the wedding ceremony. The Bible is the believers contract.
All the promises that God provided for the believers in Christ are legally
ours. (2 Corinthians 1:20)
5. The bride must give her consent.
The personal application to those who desire the Lord to come into their
hearts and lives is to accept his invitation to do so by faith. As His
bride, we are saying 'I do".
6. Gifts were given to the bride and a cup called the cup of the covenant
was shared between the bride and the groom.
The rite of the betrothal is completed when the groom gives something of
value to the bride and she accepts it. Today, the gift that is given is
usually a ring. When the groom places the ring on the bride's finger, the
rite of betrothal is completed. This completed rite is known in Hebrew as
kiddushin, which means "sanctification." The gifts to the bride
are symbols of love, commitment, and loyalty. The gift God gives to those
who accept Jesus is the Holy Spirit. When Jesus ascended to Heaven, He
gave us gifts, including righteousness, eternal life, grace, faith, and
other spiritual gifts. In addition, at this time the cup of the covenant
was shared and sealed between the bride and the groom with the drinking of
wine. In doing so, the couple drinks from a common cup. The cup is first
given to the groom to sip, and then is given to the bride. This cup, known
as the cup of the covenant, is spoken of in Jer 31:31-33, and in Luke 20,
22.
7. The bride had a water immersion, which is a ritual of cleansing.
This indicates a separation from a former way to a new way of life. In the
case of marriage, it indicates leaving an old life for a new life with
your spouse. Jesus said, in John 3:1-7, that we must be born anew to enter
into the Kingdom of God. Believers are to be immersed in the name of
Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the immerser of God. (Luke3: 16, Acts 1:5,
11:15-16)
8. The bridegroom departed, going back to his father's house to prepare
the bridal chamber.
[John 14:2] In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I
would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
At this point, the bridegroom leaves for his father's house to prepare the
bridal chamber for his bride. It was understood to be the man's duty to go
away to be with his father, build a house, and prepare for the eventual
wedding. Before he goes, though, he will make a statement to the bride,
"I go to prepare a place for you; if I go, I will return again unto
you."
9. The bride was consecrated and set apart for a period of time while the
bridegroom was away building the house.
[Rev 21:2] And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from
God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Before the bridegroom could go and get the bride, the groom's father had
to be satisfied that the son had made every preparation.
[Mat 24:36] But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of
heaven, but my Father only.
Only then could he give permission to the son to go and get the bride. In
other words, while the bridegroom was working on the bridal chamber, it
was the father who "okayed" the final bridal chamber.
10. The bridegroom did not know when his father would declare the bridal
chamber fit and send him to go get his bride. Note the parallels:
[Mark 13:32] "But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the
angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. [Mark 13:33] Take
heed, watch; for you do not know when the time will come. [Mark 13:34] It
is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his
servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be
on the watch. [Mark 13:35] Watch therefore--for you do not know when the
master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at
cockcrow, or in the morning-- [Mark 13:36] lest he come suddenly and find
you asleep. [Mark 13:37] And what I say to you I say to all: Watch."
Meanwhile, the bride was to wait eagerly for the return of the bridegroom.
In the mind of the bride, the bridegroom could come at any time, even in
the middle of the night or at midnight. Therefore, she had to be ready at
all times. Jesus referred to this in the same verses in Mark above, and in
Mat 25:1-13.
11. The bridegroom would return with a shout, "Behold, the bridegroom
comes" and the sound of the ram's horn would be blown.
The time of the return of the bridegroom was usually at midnight. When the
bridegroom did come, he came with a shout (Mat 25:6) and with the blowing
of a trumpet (1Thess 4:16-17; Rev 4:1). The marriage between the bride and
the groom would take place under a wedding canopy. Since Heaven is a type
of canopy, we can see that when Jesus gives a shout for His bride,
accompanied by the blowing of a trumpet, the marriage between Christ and
his bride will take place in Heaven. The marriage ceremony will have a
sacred procession. For this reason, the bridegroom (Jesus) will be led to
the canopy first. When the bridegroom approaches the canopy, the cantor
chants, "Blessed is he who comes." This expression means
"welcome." Jesus said that He would not return for His bride
until these words were said. The groom is greeted like a king under the
canopy. During this time Jesus, the bridegroom, will be crowned King under
the canopy, which is Heaven.
The bride and groom will go to the wedding chamber, where the marriage
will be consummated. They will stay in that wedding chamber for seven
days, or a week. At the end of the seven days, the bride and groom will
come out from the wedding chamber. This can be seen in Joel 2:16. The word
week in Hebrew is shavuah. It means a "seven". It can mean seven
days or seven years. An example of the Hebrew word shavuah for week
meaning seven years can be found in Dan 9:24,27. From this we can see that
the believers (bride) in the Messiah (bridegroom) will be with the Messiah
in Heaven for His wedding while the earth will be experiencing the
seven-year tribulation period. Also in the biblical wedding service that
God gave, after you are married, you have a honeymoon.
The honeymoon lasts a week, having the same meaning as the above....
Seven-days or seven-years. So this also can refer to Heaven where the
previously raptured believers have been enjoying a seven-year honeymoon
with the Lord while the earth is experiencing first a false peace and then
great tribulation.
12. Finally, there would be a marriage supper for all the guests invited
by the father of the bride.
The bride and the groom would be in the wedding chamber for seven days.
When the bride and the groom initially went into the wedding chamber, the
friend of the bridegroom stood outside the door. All the assembled guests
of the wedding gathered outside, waiting for the friend of the bridegroom
to announce the consummation of the marriage, which was relayed to him by
the groom. John referred to this in John 3:29. At this signal, great
rejoicing broke forth. The marriage was consummated on the first night.
The bloodstained linen from this night was preserved. It was proof of the
bride's virginity. (Deut 22:13-21) On the wedding day, the bridegroom is
seen as a king and the bride as a queen. During the consummation of the
marriage, the bridegroom (Jesus) will be crowned King over all the earth
and the bride (believers in Christ) will live with Him and rule with Him
forever.
Jesus will be returning with His bride and we will rule and reign with Him
physically during the Millennium (Rev 20:4)
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