The following is a manuscript of a radio broadcast of Arnold
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All scripture quotes are from the American Standard Version.
THE JEWISH WEDDING SYSTEM AND THE BRIDE OF CHRIST
This manuscript will look into the how the Jewish wedding
system corresponds to the program that God has between Christ as
the groom and the Church as the Bride of Christ. This subject
will be covered in six parts.
I. The Arrangement
The first step in the Jewish wedding system is the
arrangement. In the arrangement the father of the groom makes the
arrangement with the father of the bride and pays the father of
the bride the bride price.
This stage may occur when the bride and groom are children
and often they did not even meet each other until the wedding day.
In fact, that was true in the case of my own grandparents who
first met each other on the wedding day.
The application to the Bride of Christ is that God the
Father, the Father of the Groom, made the arrangement, and then
paid the bride price. The bride price was the blood of His Son.
Ephesians 5:25 states:
"Christ also loved the church, and gave himself up for it;"
John 3:16:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son,"
By giving up the Son and by shedding the blood of the Son the
bride price was paid and so the arrangement was sealed with blood.
II. The Preparation
The second step in the Jewish wedding system is known as the
preparation. That is the period of the betrothal. It lasts for
at least a year but could also last for many years especially if
the arrangement was made when the bride and groom were only
children. During the period of the preparation the bride is being
prepared and she prepares herself to be a fitting wife for her
mate. This is the period of time that the bride is being trained
and prepared to take on the role of a wife and she prepares
herself to be a fitting bride for her mate. This is the period of
time that she is observed for her purity. That is why the
betrothal always lasted for a minimum of one year, to allow at
least a full nine months to pass to make sure that at the time of
the betrothal the bride was a virgin. If she gives birth before
the year is up then it is known that she was in a state of
immorality.
Again, the period of preparation, the period of betrothal,
may be of a long or of a short duration. It might be as short as
a year, but it might be many many years because often the
arrangement that led to the betrothal would occur when the bride
and groom were children.
The application of the stage of the preparation to the Bride
of Christ, the Church, is that the Bride is even now in the
process of being perfected for the Groom. Two passages deal with
this stage. The first is II Corinthians 11:2:
"For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy; for I
espoused you to one husband, that I might present you as a pure
virgin to Christ."
Paul states that the Church has been espoused, or betrothed, to
one husband. The goal is that she might be presented a pure
virgin to Christ. She is now in the period of preparation where
the bride is being prepared to become a fitting wife for her
husband. When that day comes she will be presented as pure virgin
to Christ.
The second passage is Ephesians 5:26-27:
"that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing
of water with the word, that he might present the church to
himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such
thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."
Then verse 29 states:
"for no man ever hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and
cherisheth it, even as Christ also the church;"
According to verse 26 the Church is now undergoing a process of
sanctification. The word "sanctification" means to be set apart.
So the Church is now being set apart for Christ to eventually, in
accordance with II Corinthians 11:2, be presented a pure virgin to
Christ. Furthermore verse 26 points out that she is being
cleansed by this means of sanctification. The means of
sanctification is by the washing of the water with the Word. It
is not by water baptism, but by the water of the Word of God. As
the Church becomes more and more conformed to what the Word of God
teaches, she becomes more and more that virgin to be presented to
Him.
Then in Verse 27 gives the purpose for the process of
sanctification in verse 26. The purpose for this process of
sanctification is to present the Church a glorious Church. This
is just another way of saying what he said in II Corinthians 11:2,
that the intent is to present the Church as a pure virgin to
Christ. Here it is put in terms of being presented as a glorious
church.
He then gives the four characteristics of a glorified church.
First, it will have no spot, meaning that there will be no outward
defilement. Secondly, there will be no wrinkle, meaning that
there will be no evidence of age. Third, it will be holy, meaning
that it will eventually reach full sanctification. Fourth, there
will be no blemish, there will be no inward defilement. The time
that this is going to take place ultimately and finally is at the
Judgement Seat of Christ where the members of the Church in this
judgement will have the wood, hay, and stubble burned away and the
gold, silver, and precious stone purified by that fire of
judgement.
Then in verse 29 he reveals one the way that the Church is
being made into a glorious church. The Church is being nourished,
meaning the Church is being built up and given strength.
Secondly, the church is being cherished, meaning tender care with
warmth and tenderness.
III. The Fetching of the Bride
In the Jewish wedding system on the wedding day the groom
would go to the home of the bride to fetch her to his home. This
would lead to a bridal procession and that is what is found in
Matthew 25:1-13, for example. The groom had left and he is now
coming back with the bride. The virgins do not represent the
Church. The virgins go out to meet the groom as he is returning
to his home with the bride.
The application to the Bride of Christ is the Rapture of the
Church. The fetching of the Bride of Christ will be by the
Rapture of the Church. The main scripture is I Thessalonians
4:13-18. In verse thirteen the question is asked, "What about
dead saints? Will they miss out on the benefits of the Rapture?
Will only living ones benefit?" In verses 14-15 Paul states that
they will not miss out on the benefits of the Rapture but they
will begin to receive the benefits even before the living
believers do. Then in verses 16-17 he spells out the seven steps
by which the Rapture will occur.
First, Christ will come from heaven into the earth's
atmosphere and in that sense will enter into the realm of the home
of the bride. Secondly, he will then give a shout. The Greek
word used is the word that means a military command. He will
issue the command as a military general does for the process to
begin. Third will be the voice of the archangel. The archangel
is Michael and here he is pictured as the sub-commander who will
repeats the order of the chief commander. Then the fourth stage
will come the trump of God. After the sub-commander issued his
orders the trumpeter would issue his calls so the soldiers could
know what to do: to attack, to retreat, to go forward or right or
reverse or whatever. So the trump of God will sound. Then fifth,
the dead in Christ will rise first. This is why the dead will not
miss out on the benefits of the Rapture because they will receive
it first by being raised first. Sixth, those who are alive will
be caught up or Raptured to meet Christ in the air. Seventh, the
believers will ever be with the Lord. From then on the believers
will be with Him because He is the believer's husband. So in
verse 18, that is a word of comfort for those of us who have
believing friends and relatives that have now passed away; they
will someday be resurrected. If we are alive then we will join
them in that Rapture.
It is after the fetching of the Bride into heaven that will
come the final point of cleansing and sanctification. In First
Corinthians 3:10-15 describes the Judgement Seat of Christ when
the wood, hay, and stubble will be burned away and the gold,
silver, and precious stone will be purified.
According to I first Corinthians 15:50-58 the Church will
indeed be glorified because at that point mortality will put on
immortality and corruption will put on incorruption.
IV. The Ceremony
The ceremony was conducted in the home of the groom. Only a
few, usually the immediate family and two witnesses, were invited
to come in and observe the wedding ceremony.
The application to this fourth step to the relationship of
the Church as the Bride of Christ is that there will be a ceremony
in heaven and the few that will be invited to this ceremony are
the few that will already be in heaven and not all the others.
Only those that have already been resurrected will be able to
participate in the wedding ceremony.
The main scripture for the wedding ceremony is Revelation
19:6-8:
"And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and
as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunders,
saying, Hallelujah: for the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigneth.
Let us rejoice and be exceeding glad, and let us give the glory
unto him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath
made herself ready. And it was given unto her that she should
array herself in fine linen, bright and pure: for the fine linen
is the righteous acts of the saints."
This scripture contains the fourth step, the ceremony. The
ceremony is in heaven and it is followed by the second coming of
Christ because he discusses the second coming in verses 11-16.
Just preceding the second coming to the earth will come the
marriage ceremony in heaven. As in the Jewish system only a few
will be invited, those already in heaven and not others.
In these verses there are three main things. First, the
marriage of the Lamb is come. Here he is dealing with the
marriage ceremony of the Lamb and it will occur in heaven just
before the second coming. Secondly the wife had made herself
ready. She is now glorified. There is no spot, no wrinkle, no
blemish nor any such thing. Third, she is arrayed in fine linen
bright and pure and he interprets the fine linen to represent the
righteous acts of the saints. The fine linen is the righteous
acts of the saints and it shows that by this time the Judgement
Seat of Christ is over with, the sanctification process is
complete, and she is indeed a pure virgin now being presented to
Christ at this wedding ceremony.
V. The Marriage Feast
In the Jewish wedding system the marriage feast has many more
people invited. Whereas a few are invited to the wedding
ceremony, many others are invited to the marriage feast to
celebrate the marriage of the son. Often the marriage feast
lasted for a total of seven days.
The application to the Church as the Bride of Christ is that
the marriage feast will take place on earth. As a matter of fact,
the Kingdom will begin with the marriage feast. Also, at the
marriage feast many are going to be invited. Many more will be in
the marriage feast than were at the marriage ceremony. For
example, the Old Testament saints are going to be at the wedding
feast because the Old Testament saints are resurrected after the
Tribulation (Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2). In John 3:28-30 John the
Baptist classed himself as being neither the groom nor part of the
bride but classed himself in a third category known as the friends
of the bridegroom. The friends of the bridegroom are the Old
Testament saints and they will be the many more invited to the
wedding feast.
A second group that will not be at the ceremony but will be
at the marriage feast will be the Tribulation saints. The
Tribulation saints will also be resurrected after the Second
Coming (Revelation 20:4-6). They will also be guests at the
wedding feast.
A third group will be Israel. The living Israel that
survives the Tribulation and enters into the Messianic Kingdom,
they too will be the invited guests of the wedding feast with
which the Kingdom begins.
The fact that the Kingdom begins with the wedding feast is
taught by Isaiah 25:6. In the context of the Kingdom he writes:
"And in this mountain will Jehovah of hosts make unto all
peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of
fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined."
So the Kingdom does begin with a feast, specifically with a
wedding feast and that is where these others are going to be
invited to participate.
Just before the Second Coming the invitation to the wedding
feast is sent out. Revelation 19:6-8, it was noted, talks about
the wedding ceremony. Then in verse nine he talks about the
wedding feast:
"And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they that are
bidden to the marriage supper of the Lamb."
The marriage supper of the Lamb is not served at this point. At
this point he simply sends out the invitation. The invitation
goes out just before the Second Coming. Then verses 11-16
describe the Second Coming and then after a 75 day interval the
Kingdom will established. The Kingdom will begin with the
marriage feast. Just as the wedding feast could last for seven
days, even so the wedding feast might last for seven days or
perhaps even for seven years. During that 75 day interval, there
will be a resurrection of the Old Testament saints and a
resurrection of the Tribulation saints who are the many more that
will partake in that wedding feast.
VI. The Home of the Bride
In the Jewish context, the groom is responsible to provide a
suitable home for the bride and he does this during the
preparation stage, the second stage.
When Jesus went back to heaven at the Ascension, one purpose
he went back to heaven was to prepare a place for the bride (John
14:1). The place He is preparing for the bride is elsewhere known
as the New Jerusalem. That is the application: that Jesus is
even now preparing a suitable home for the Church and the
believers will move into that home in the eternal state, in the
eternal order. The main scripture is Revelation 21:9-22:5 where
John is able to see the home of the Bride. Verses 9-10 state:
"And there came one of the seven angels who had the seven
bowls, who were laden with the seven last plagues; and he spake
with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the wife
of the Lamb. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain
great and high, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down
out of heaven from God,"
According to verse nine the bride is now also the wife of the Lamb
because by this time the wedding ceremony and the wedding feast
have taken place and they have been married for a thousand years.
After the thousand year Kingdom, John next sees the eternal home
of the bride (vs. 10) and the eternal abode of the bride is the
New Jerusalem.
Then beginning in 21:11-22:5 he spells out the details of the
New Jerusalem which will be the home of the bride.
That is the relationship between the Jewish wedding system
and the Church as the Bride of Christ. Some things have been
fulfilled, some things are in the process of being fulfilled, and
others are still in the future. There is a great future for those
who have believed in the Messiahship of Jesus.
Index of Preacher's Help and Notes
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