THE JEWISH WEDDING CEREMONY AND THE BRIDE OF CHRIST
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 ~ "So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and
while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs (Or took part of the
man's side) and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a
woman from the rib (Or part) he had taken out of the man, and he brought her
to the man. The man said, 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my
flesh; she shall be called woman, (The Hebrew for woman sounds like the
Hebrew for man) for she was taken out of man.' For this reason a man will
leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become
one flesh."
Adam is a type of Christ here. *Romans 5:14 ~ "Nevertheless, death
reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did
not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to
come."
*Ephesians ~ 5:31-32 ~ "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.
This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church."
*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."
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.
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. The chapter of Genesis 24 clearly shows this. 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 ~ "But I tell you the
truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the
Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he
comes, he will convict the world of guilt (Or will expose the guilt of the
world) in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment"
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 ~ "You did
not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit -
fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my
name."
The bridegroom chose the bride and lavished his love upon her and she
returned his love. This can be seen in *Ephesians 5:25 ~ "Husbands, love
your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her."
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. *1 Peter 1:8 ~ "Though you have not seen him,
you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and
are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy."
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. *1 Corinthians 6:20 ~ "You were bought at a
price. Therefore honor God with your body."
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.
A contract is developed ,it 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 ~ "For no matter how many promises God has made,
they are 'Yes' in Christ. And so through him the 'Amen' is spoken by us to
the glory of God."
The Bride must 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.'
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 *Jeremiah 31:31-33 ~ "'The time is coming,' declares the LORD,
'when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house
of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers
when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke
my covenant, though I was a husband to (and I turned away from) them,'
declares the LORD. 'This is the covenant I will make with the house of
Israel after that time,' declares the LORD. 'I will put my law in their
minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my
people.'"
Also in *Luke 22:20 ~ "In the same way, after the supper he took the cup,
saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for
you.'"
Also in *1 Corinthians 11:25 ~ "In the same way, after supper he took the
cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever
you drink it, in remembrance of me.'"
The bride then had a water immersion , which was a rite of cleaning.
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 to Nicodemus in John 3, 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. *Acts 11:15-16 ~ "As I
began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the
beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: `John baptized with
water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'"
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."
*John 14:2-3 ~ "In my Father's house are many rooms (Or mansions); if it
were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for
you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you
to be with me that you also may be where I am."
The bride was consecrated and set aside.
Before the bridegroom could go and get the bride, the groom's father
had to be satisfied that the son had made every preparation. *Matthew 24:36
~ "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor
the Son, but only the Father."
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.
*Rev 21:2 ~ "I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband."
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 13:32-37 ~ "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels
in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do
not know when that time will come. It's like a man going away: He leaves his
house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and
tells the one at the door to keep watch. 'Therefore keep watch because you
do not know when the owner of the house will come back-whether in the
evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes
suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to
everyone: '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.
The the Bridegroom would return for his bride with a shout "Behold the bridegroom cometh " Then a rams horn would be blown .
The time was determined by the grooms father .
The time of the return of the bridegroom was usually at midnight. When
the bridegroom did come, he came with a shout *Matthew 25:6 ~ "At midnight
the cry rang out: `Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'"
Also with the blowing of a trumpet *1 Thessalonians 4:16 ~ "For the
Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice
of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God"
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.
He would abduct his bride, usually in the middle of the night, to go to
the bridal chamber where the marriage would be consummated.
*1 Thessalonians 5:2 ~ "The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the
night."
This is the full marriage. 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. The word week in Hebrew is shavuah. It means a
'seven.' It can mean seven days or seven years. 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 the tribulation.
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 ~ "The bride belongs to the
bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him,
and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine,
and it is now complete."
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
. *Rev 20:4 ~ "I saw thrones on which
were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls
of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and
because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image
and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came
to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years." The essence of romance
is laid out in this wedding, reserved for those who take part in being the
Bride of Christ. Love is God and God is Love!
*Rev 22:20-21 ~ "He who testifies to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming
soon.' Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's
people. Amen."