Ancient Jewish Wedding customs have some pretty awesome things to teach us about the Lord Jesus’ second coming, the Christian life, communion, baptism, spiritual gifts, and why holiness and purity are so very important. It all makes sense when you read this. This beautiful love story explains a cosmic mystery and if you’ve never heard this before, you’re in for a treat… enjoy!
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BIBLE VERSES
Matthew 9:15 And Jesus said unto them, “Can the children of the bride chamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them?”
John 3:28-30 John [the Baptist] answered… “I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before Him. He that has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom which standeth and heareth Him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.”
John 14:2-3 “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. 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. And 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.”
2 Corinthians 11:2 For I am jealous over you with Godly jealousy, for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
Matthew 25:5-6 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Revelation 19:7-9 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife has 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 said unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.
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THE ANCIENT JEWISH WEDDING
- The Ketubah or Betrothal. The bridegroom would leave his father’s house and travel to the bride’s home, where he would present a covenant to her outlining his willingness to love, protect, and provide for her.
- The purchase price or mohair he was willing to offer for her would be a costly gift to show how valuable she was to him. If the terms were acceptable, the mohair would be paid.
- The bride is now considered sanctified or set apart for him. They enter into a Ketubah or Jewish wedding covenant and are now formally pledged to each other in a legally binding contract of marriage which would require a formal divorce to break it. They seal the covenant by drinking a glass of wine together.
- The bridegroom departs and returns to his Father’s house to prepare their new home, typically an addition on his father’s house. Before the bridegroom left his bride, he would offer her gifts to remember him and reassure her of his love for her, as they would be separated and not see each other at all until the wedding, about a year or two later. During this time, they would both be busy preparing for their marriage and their new life together.
- The bride prepares for his imminent return. She prepares for their wedding day and their married life together, gathering her wedding garments and things that she would need for their new home, like linen, pots and pans, etc, as well as preparing to leave her family and everything that she has ever known behind her. She is now her beloved’s and is to keep herself pure for him. Her heart, her love, and her allegiance is now with her groom. She wears a veil when she goes out to show that she is set apart for him. As part of her preparations, she would go through a Mikveh or ritual cleansing bath.
- Go get her! Once the bridegroom’s preparations were complete, about a year later, and his father had approved of them, the great wedding day would arrive. Up until then, if someone had asked the bridegroom when the big day would be, he might respond, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Now with his father’s blessing, the groom would come for her, dressed as a king, travelling in a torchlight procession from his home to her home with his male attendants, singing songs of love and praise to God on the way. The first time he came to her, he was poor, and looked and dressed like everyone else. Now he is a king.
- Surprise return. The bride does not know when he will arrive, but she and her attendants continue to prepare for him. She is bathed and anointed with olive oil, perfumes and spices, adorned with costly jewels and dressed as a queen, her face veiled. Her house is lit up in radiance and expectation of his second coming. Her maidens keep watch for him, some outside with their lamps lit, waiting, then shouting out when they catch the first glimpse of him, “Behold, the bridegroom!” The bridegroom arrives, often around midnight, and waits outside as the maidens escort his bride out to him. The two of them are lifted up into a sedan chair and she is carried away from her father’s home in a great procession (scroll down). In torchlight, the whole party returns in joy to the house of the groom, singing songs along the way.
- The Huppah or wedding celebration lasts 7 days. The groom’s family and friends are waiting to welcome them, and his house is also lit up in celebration as the bridegroom escorts his bride. This is her home now. They are joined together under a wedding canopy or huppah. They share a glass of wine to celebrate their oneness. During the 7-day marriage celebration, they slip away to the bridegroom’s chamber and consummate the marriage where the two become one.
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HOW THAT RELATES TO US
One of the titles of the Lord Jesus in Scripture is ‘The Bridegroom’. He made a journey from His home 2000 years ago, to our home here on Earth. The covenant was established and sealed by a cup of wine. The costly gift He paid for us was exceedingly precious – His own life. After His resurrection, The Bridegroom returned to His Father’s house, but promised to return for us. ‘I will go to prepare a place for you in My Father’s house of many mansions. And then I will come again.’ And so now is the time of separation. When we trust Him as our Lord and Saviour – and YOU are invited! – we are set apart for Him, expectantly preparing and waiting for His imminent return at any moment. We are to love Him with ALL of our hearts, with ALL of our souls, with ALL of our might. It is the time now to prepare ourselves for our eternal home, becoming more and more beautiful, submitting to the sanctification and purification process. We are making our garments here, what we will wear there. When His Father says, ‘go’, the Lord Jesus will come again for us ‘as a thief in the night’, this time as The King of Kings. We will be lifted up and carried away to go to live with Him forever, into the new home He has prepared for us, one we have only longed for and dreamed about.
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- Watch
Dr Chuck Missler (6 minutes)
Chuck Missler (with more detail) John session 14
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Before the Wrath – movie trailer Newly rediscovered ancient anthropological evidence from the time of Christ finally reveals unprecedented findings that could prove the upcoming Rapture is not only real to a skeptical world, but sheds new light on how and why this event must take place. These findings resulted from 10-years of research in Israel by leading ancient anthropological scholars which rediscovered lost Middle-Eastern views regarding how and why the biblical “catching away” was prophesied to occur. While everyone has been debating “when” this event is to happen, we’ve forgotten to ask “why” it does, and the answer could be the greatest theological discovery of our time. (Note from PGFE: I have personally seen this powerful and beautiful documentary and highly recommend it.)
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- Read
The Wedding Model (Chuck Missler) All through the Gospels, Jesus relied on the ancient Jewish wedding pattern for many of His parables, climaxing in His promise in the Upper Room. Many of us miss the full import of these allusions if we aren’t familiar with the model of ancient Jewish wedding…
The Jewish Wedding and the Christian Walk (Nancy Missler) It will be the highest honor possible to be a part of the “wife of Christ”, but also an honor to be one of the King’s guests at the Marriage Feast. To help us understand the sequence of these future events a little more clearly, let’s describe the ancient Jewish marriage ceremony, as this is the model that Christ uses…
Ancient Jewish Wedding (vision) It is no coincidence that Yeshua uses the marriage relationship between men and women to describe His relationship to the church…
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DEUTERONOMY 6:5 ~ SCRIPTURE DOODLE ~ FREE PRINTABLE (A4)
Featuring Bible verse from Deuteronomy 6:5 ~ And you shall love the LORD your God with ALL your heart, and with ALL your soul, and with ALL your might; free printable
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RELATED LINKS
Rapture / Second Coming – FREE colouring pages, puzzles, crafts and creative ideas
The Parable of the Ten Virgins – FREE colouring pages, puzzles, crafts and creative ideas
More FREE Scripture Doodles: Psalms | Old Testament | Gospels | New Testament | Other languages | Part 6 – Memorise your Bible while you relax and colour
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Amen-Amein!! <3
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It’s beautiful isn’t it? An amazing promise and such a beautiful picture for us. Thanks for your visit today, Kristi Ann, and I love your graphic: No matter what you are facing in life, always remember these two things… 1. God is with you. 2. He is in control.
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