19
May '22
A Wedding Out of This World
19
May '22
Over the last thirty years, as a Pastor, it has been a great privilege to preside over numerous WEDDINGS. My wife Deanna and I were married in 1981. You do the math! Before the wedding, our Pastor only told us one thing…”Don’t go to bed MAD!” Honestly, we’ve had a few sleepless nights!!
But as husbands are to love their wives, we are in a LOVE RELATIONSHIP with our coming BRIDEGROOM, Jesus Christ (Eph 5:25). There is a beautiful parallel between a WEDDING on earth and a WEDDING in heaven after the RAPTURE of the Church. This is described in John 14:1-3 when Jesus is in the upper room with His Jewish disciples.
“1Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2In 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. 3And 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 be also.”
Bible scholars John Walvoord, Harry Ironside and others concur that the Jewish WEDDING consisted of several parts.
First, there was the betrothal period ( Deut 20:7), which would last a year before the actual wedding. This part was called the marriage contract or covenant and was paid by the parents or the groom.
By analogy, Jesus left heaven to come to earth. By giving His life without sin and dying a death in the place of sin, He sacrificially paid the price for His bride, the Church. With His own blood, He purchased her (Acts 20:28). Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, likens the Church to the bride of Christ (Eph 5:23-32). With this in mind, one can picture the bride and groom, after making the contract, departing from each other and going their separate ways until an appointed time.
On the one hand, the groom goes back to the Father’s house to prepare a place for his bride (exact words of Jesus as He ascended to go back to His Father’s house where He is right now -John 14:1-3). Meanwhile, the groom would prepare at the proper time – unannounced- to go back and get his bride. The bride would WATCH and WAIT for her bridegroom to return for her. She must be ready.
Then the Father would say to his son, “It’s time, son, go get your bride!” Starting with the wedding procession at the father’s house, the groom with his forerunners would march toward his bride’s home shouting, “BEHOLD the bride groom COMES”! Echoing all the way to the bride’s home, her bridesmaids would be alerted. Even though it may be at midnight, the bride must be ready and watching every moment with eager anticipation. What a beautiful picture of the Church waiting for her bridegroom.
By analogy and at an unannounced time, Jesus, the bridegroom of the Church will sent forth a procession. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God,” (1Thess 4:16). Jesus will return for His bride. “I will come again.” Upon the sound of the Bridegroom, the Jewish bride would make herself ready and go out to meet her groom. By analogy, the Church, the bride of Christ will go out to meet her Groom in the air. “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air,”(1Thess 4:17). After uniting, the Jewish bride and groom would go back to his father’s house for seven days in hiding to consummate the marriage. Later, the marriage supper would be celebrated.
In Conclusion, all of these Scriptural references, are what are yet to come in the future. Therefore, since the Church is the bride of Jesus Christ, we need to be WATCHING, WAITING, WORSHIPING, and WITNESSING until He comes!
Are you getting ready?
Love y’all,
Dr. Randy Reese