Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
We know Jesus is The Bridegroom and the Church is His bride – the Church being true Believers in Jesus Christ as The Son of Almighty God and The Redeemer of our souls. And we know Jesus is returning, soon, to “fly away” His bride in what The Scriptures teach us is The Rapture. I would like to quickly, not exhaustively (you study as you are commanded by God to do so), highlight some glorious revelations God gives to us in His Word, IF we diligently seek after Him.
I Corinthians 15:46-47
46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from Heaven.
I Corinthians 15:46-47 provides us with a key from The Holy Spirit concerning how to understand The Scriptures. Every single verse in The Scriptures has both a natural and a Spiritual meaning. We would call this “denotation” and “connotation.” Denotation refers to the literal meaning. Connotation refers to the metaphorical meaning. In the case of The Scriptures, it is the “natural (denotation)” and the “Spiritual (connotation).”
God patterned everything of and about Israel after everything in Heaven. It is no accident Jesus was born in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth, lived in Capernaum during His ministry, and spent a lot of time in the Galilean region. It was prophesied in The Scriptures. God has Jesus in the Galilean region for a reason. You will soon see this as we talk about the natural weddings that took place in Jesus’ time in the region.
In the region of Galilee, weddings were done differently than anywhere else in Israel or the Middle East. I will not go through every step of the wedding tradition, but I will highlight those with the greatest Spiritual significance. The most significant difference in Galilean weddings is the betrothals. The groom begins the marriage tradition by leaving his father’s house and going to the home of his prospective bride. The father of the groom officiated the betrothal, set the terms, and paid the price for the bride. The terms of the marriage covenant were read publicly and agreed upon by the bride and groom. Gifts were exchanged with the most extravagant given to the bride. The groom’s dowry was a down payment securing the betrothal and caring for the bride. The groom is handed a pitcher of wine, by his father, which he pours into a ceremonial cup all “The Cup of Joy.” He drinks from it and then presents the cup to the bride. She now has the choice to accept or reject it (this is the most significance difference in Galilean weddings. Normally the marriage is arranged, and the bride has no say) which means she will or will not marry the groom. Once the bride drinks from The Cup of Joy, the marriage covenant becomes irrevocable. The groom says publicly “you are now consecrated to me by the law of Moses, and I will not drink this cup again with you until we drink it together in my father’s house.” This is very significant as I’ll explain later.
The betrothal is now complete. The groom goes back to his father’s house to begin the work of preparing for the wedding. This is usually about a year. In the meantime, the bride goes about preparing herself for the groom, keeping herself pure, and thinking only of the groom’s return while not knowing the exact day or hour. The groom gathers the materials and goods needed to add onto his father’s house. He builds an addition to his father’s house for he and his bride, and he fills it with furniture and other desires. The general sequence of events, the general timing, and the observation of the preparations would tell the bride the time was near. She would then begin sleeping every night in her wedding dress and with her bride’s maids. The groom, once he completed the preparations for his bride, would tell the father. It was now up to the father to determine “when,” the exact day and hour, at which he would tell the groom “to go and get his bride.” The groom would begin sleeping in his wedding garments with his groomsmen sleeping in his father’s house with him.
In Galilee, it was expected the groom would come in the middle of the night at an unknown time. When the father decided it was time, he would awake his son, the groom, and tell him to “go and get your bride.” It was always in the middle of the night. The groom would rise up with his father, groomsmen, and family and head to his bride’s house. From the time he starts from his home, he blows the Shofar (a trumpet) announcing the wedding and the wedding feast. All those that heard the Shofar would rise up and join the procession to the bride’s house. The groom would pick up the veiled bride to bring her back to his father’s house. Two men would carry the bride away lifting her up in the air on a seat with a pole on either side for men to carry her. Galileans referred to this as “flying the bride to the father’s house.” Once the groom and bride arrived at the father’s home, they were escorted to the bridal chamber, alone, where the marriage would be consummated. The wedding guests would remain in the outer chambers, and the wedding feast went on for seven days. As the groom and bride arrived at the father’s home, once all of the wedding procession was in the father’s house, the father locked the door. All of those who rejected the invitation or were not prepared, or ready, were not allowed into the wedding feast. At the conclusion of the seven days, the groom would bring the bride out of the bridal chamber, her veil would be removed, and all of the wedding guests could now see her.
As you’ve read through the previous description of the Galilean wedding tradition, I know you couldn’t help but see the parallels to The Scriptures and prophecy of Jesus’ return for the Church, His bride, in The Rapture. One of the first things we note in the Galilean wedding is the bride’s will is respected. The bride, the Believer, can either accept or reject The Groom, Jesus Christ, as their husband. As I mentioned earlier, this is unique to Galilean weddings in Israel and the Middle East. We, as mankind, have free will to accept or reject drinking from “The Cup of Joy.” Once we drink of it, we are betrothed to Jesus Christ forever, praise God!! Jesus tells us that once He drinks of the cup, He will not drink of it again until we, His bride, are with Him in His Father’s kingdom at the wedding feast.
Matthew 26:29
But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.
Here is another awesome revelation of a natural, Galilean wedding tradition. Once the bride drinks of The Cup of Joy, the groom instructs her to “occupy till I come.” This is the groom’s instruction to the bride to begin and complete all the preparations for the wedding while at her father’s home awaiting his return. Where do we find Jesus saying this in The Scriptures? Yes, in Luke 19:13.
Luke 19:13
And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.
I love how God reveals these things to you when you diligently seek after Him and His Word. Now we understand why Jesus made it a point to say this in this parable. We, as the bride, are to begin and complete the preparations for Jesus’ return to take us to His Father’s house for the wedding and wedding feast. I can’t wait.
Notice Jesus, as the Groom, went to His Father’s house to prepare a place for us. How awesome!
John 14:2-3
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.
3 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.
Lastly, notice how once the groom completes the preparations of His father’s house, he instructs the father. It is then up to the father to determine what day and what hour the son will go to get his bride. And it will be in the middle of the night.
Matthew 24:36
36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of Heaven, but My Father only.
I Thessalonians 5:1-2
1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
2 For yourselves know perfectly that The Day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
Notice The Holy Spirit writes through Paul in I Thessalonians 5:1 that we don’t need to be reminded of the times and the seasons. Why? BECAUSE WE SHOULD KNOW THEM. To help you on your journey to learning the times and seasons, the first four of the seven annual feasts God commanded Israel to observe have been prophetically fulfilled through Jesus Christ (remember what I said above about I Corinthians 15:46-47, first the natural, then the Spiritual):
The four spring feasts focus on the first advent of Jesus Christ. These look at His death, burial, and resurrection, as well as the sending of the Holy Spirit:
Passover
Feast of Unleavened Bread
Firstfruits
Feast of Weeks
The three fall feasts focus on the second advent of Jesus Christ and point to what He will accomplish in the future.
Feast of Trumpets
Day of Atonement
Feast of Tabernacles
A last insight to the awesomeness of God’s Word is The Feast of Trumpets. The Feast of Trumpets begins on the new moon in the seventh month on the Jewish calendar (October). The new moon is when the first sliver of the new moon is seen by two or more. It is reported to the rabbi’s who verify and then blow the trumpets announcing the start of the feast. This is done in the middle of the night. Sound familiar to the Galilean wedding? According to Paul’s key given us in I Thessalonians 5:1-2, Jesus will return one fall at The Feast of Trumpets. There are verses to validate this.
I Corinthians 15:51-52
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
I Thessalonians 4:16-17
16 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:
17 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.
So, Sisters and Brothers in Christ, as you can see, our awesome and mighty Father God has given us natural and Spiritual revelation of things to come. Jesus confirms, through His Word, He is returning in The Rapture to take His bride, the Church, home. And it is close. Are you wearing your bridal gown every day? Are you prepared if Jesus comes tonight. Or will you be locked out of the wedding and wedding feast? How about your family? Sticking your head in the sand and depending on your or your family’s good works is spiritual suicide. You can’t pray your family out of hell once they leave this earth. NOW is the time to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them. If you’re scared of their rejection, then you are a PRIDEFUL person. It is not about “you.” It is about Salvation for all. God has made it clear His will is that no man or no woman perish and die an everlasting life in hell. But we have to put our PRIDE aside and boldly share The Gospel of Jesus Christ with all.
If you’ve been debating whether The Rapture will be Pre-Tribulation, Mid-Tribulation, or Post-Tribulation, look no further than the Galilean wedding to tell you. When does the father lock the door to the house? Once all the wedding procession and the groom and bride are inside. How long does the wedding feast last? Yes, seven days. Each day prophetically and Spiritually represents one year. So, seven years we, as the bride, will be with Jesus and our Father God enjoying the wedding and the wedding feast. How long is the Tribulation? Seven years. There is NO further debate. It is Pre-Tribulation. A loving Father would NEVER put His royal children through the horrors coming in The Tribulation. It is reserved for those on whom God’s wrath will be poured. Jesus took God’s wrath for us (Believer’s). We don’t have to suffer it, praise God.
I hope this has been a blessing to you. Every single Word of God has a purpose and a natural and Spiritual application. If you’re not a student of God’s Word, diligently seeking, then you are not going to be prepared when Christ returns in the clouds to catch us up to Him and take us to His Father and His Father’s house for the wedding and wedding feast. Get serious, make a quality decision Jesus and His Word are your everything and your only thing and put on your wedding gown in preparation for The Groom’s return.
In closing, The Scriptures tell us the generation that sees Israel rebirthed as a nation (1948) will not pass away until The Rapture occurs. To quickly help you understand this, it means a person born in 1948 and living a normal life span (a generation) will not see death but will see The Rapture. I will not address this further. It is for you to study and discern through The Holy Spirit. I’m excited at what has been revealed to me. I will be in my wedding gown and ready for The Groom, Jesus Christ, when He appears – and soon.
In Christ,
Larry