Preparing Our Wedding Garments For The Bridegroom’s Return

There is a beautiful theme that delicately weaves throughout Scripture about a bride and her bridegroom, beginning in Genesis 2:22-23, when God forms a bride for man from the body of her bridegroom:

And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.  And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

Later Abraham (the father) sent his servant to find a bride for his son, Isaac, just as our Father has sent the Holy Spirit to find a bride for His son, Jesus Christ.

I have written about Jewish marriage customs and their significance in Scripture, but have been learning about other biblical marriage customs from a wonderful book by Henry John Van-Lennep, Bible Lands: Their Modern Customs and Manners Illustrative of Scripture, which can be downloaded for free from Google Books. 

Van-Lennep writes that once the family of the bridegroom meets the prospective bride, the women of the bridegroom’s family would meet her at a public bath.  This was to ensure that she had no physical defect.  Only then would a formal marriage proposal be made.

This led me to Ephesians 5:25-32, which speaks about the bride who will be taken from the body of the Church (the antitype to the type of Adam’s bride being taken out of his body) and how she must present herself:

25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 31 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. 32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Once a couple became engaged, a marriage contract was signed.  The wedding, however, did not occur until much later.  During this time, the bride and bridegroom were not permitted to see each other.  Jesus alludes to this in John 14:2-3:

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.

During this period of separation, the bride would usually send gifts to the bridegroom that she created with her hands, such as needlework.  Just as we should be focused on creating works for our bridegroom through faith in Him until that joyful day when He returns for us.

The bride’s wedding garment was also highly important, and often ornate or adorned with jewels, as described in several Scripture passages:

Isaiah 49:18:

Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.

Isaiah 61:10:

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

Jeremiah 2:32:

Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.

Marriage festivities often occurred a week before the wedding ceremony, both at the homes of the bride and bridegroom.  While waiting for the bridegroom, the maids and matrons might become drowsy and fall asleep on their divans, save for those few who kept a watchful eye for the approaching torches of the bridegroom’s procession.  When the cry was made “Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him” (Matthew 25:6), the girls and younger women would hastily light their lamps, candles, or lanterns and run out to meet the coming procession. 

Jesus describes this in His parable of the wise and foolish virgins (Matthew 25:1-13).  Van-Lennep writes that when the foolish virgins went out to buy their oil, the procession had already formed and had moved to the home of the bridegroom.  The reason the door was shut was to prevent the entrance of dangerous men or thieves who might rob jewelry, costly garments, or even the bride herself. 

Wealthy hosts often distributed garments to the wedding guests.  Usually this was just the outer garment (called the jibbeh) or a piece of cloth that was used to make one.  Jesus also speaks to this in His parable about the King and the wedding guest who is not properly clothed in Matthew 22:1-14.

11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

The wedding finally culminates in the Book of the Revelation:

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 hath 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 saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

Revelation 22:16-17:

I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.  And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely (emphasis mine).

Today the bride of Christ is busy preparing her garments, looking to the clouds, and waiting for the bridegroom's imminent return.  She often groans from the crushing weight of the sin in this world — and sometimes even her own.  

He promised her that He would come quickly, but some days, it does not feel quickly enough. 

Many Are Called but Few Are Chosen

¹¹And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:  ¹²And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
 ¹³Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
 ¹⁴For many are called, but few are chosen.  (Matthew 22:11-14)

These are puzzling Scripture verses.  In particular, the word “chosen” gives me pause.  Many commentators write that this parable refers to unbelievers.  But is Jesus calling upon many, but only choosing a few to believe in Him?

In reading the entire parable (Matthew 22:1-14), we know that Jesus first presented the offer of His kingdom to the Jews, but they refused (Matthew 22:3).  The king was angry, and sent his armies to destroy them and burn the city.  Here Jesus was prophesying about the city of Jerusalem, which was burned and destroyed by Titus in 70 A.D. (Smith). 

The king then his instructs the servants to go “into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.” (Matthew 22:10) 

In Jesus’ day, wedding garments were customarily offered to those who attended the wedding feast.  Interestingly, the man was not discovered to be without a wedding garment until the king himself came in to see the guests (Henry).  It also appears that the other guests were not aware that this guest was not properly clothed.  Once discovered, the man is speechless.  Does this mean that he also had no idea that he was not properly prepared?

We know from Matthew 21 that Jesus is addressing the chief priests and Pharisees in the temple in Jerusalem — who were unbelievers.  So it is probably safe to assume that he is still speaking to them.  But Revelation 19:8 tells us:

Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. 

Would an unbeliever be invited to this sacred wedding feast? 

The parable closes with the king calling upon his servants to “bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  If you read my earlier post about the outer darkness, you will see why this is not hell, as it is commonly assumed. Hell is reserved for unbelievers.  This is something different.

Matthew 24:14 only begins to makes sense to me when I associate “chosen” with the judgment seat of Christ, salvation of the soul, the bride of Christ, and the Millennial Kingdom.  

Because, once again, it does not fit that Jesus would call upon many, but only choose a few to believe in Him.  But it does make sense — and the types and parables in Scripture show us — that Christ Jesus will choose a few of the many who have been called out to rule and reign with Him in His Millennial Kingdom (Matthew 25:21;23, Romans 8:17, 1 Thessalonians 2:12, James 2:5, Revelation 20:4).

Birth Pangs?

Birth pang (noun)*

1. One of the regularly recurrent pains that are characteristic of childbirth – usually in plural.

2. Disorder and distress incident especially to a major social change.

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.  For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.  You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of birth pains. (Matthew 24: 3-8, NIV)

I opened my daily newspaper this morning and was greeted by this ominous photo of the Puyehue volcano in Chile, which has been silent for half a century.  

I was immediately reminded of the words of Jesus in Matthew 24, and could not help but think that with all of the earthquakes, floods, tornados, volcanic eruptions, wars, and rumors of wars that we have witnessed this year alone, that we may be experiencing the beginning of the birth pains that will lead up to the event that will mark the end of this present dispensation: the rapture.

Birth pains, or contractions as they are commonly known, come at regular intervals, and as time goes on, they get closer together. They also steadily increase in strength. It seems like there has been a disaster nearly every week in recent months, and tensions are rising in the Middle East as quickly as worldwide support for Israel appears to be waning.

As frightening as these events may be, there is also great hope for believers who are eagerly looking for the return of Christ Jesus. In their book, “Lost in Translation: Rediscovering the Hebrew Roots of our Faith,” John Klein and Adam Spears write that during the ancient Hebrew betrothal process, “the groom could come anytime between 6 PM and midnight, on the second through the fourth day of the week. When he did so he had to see his bride’s welcoming light in her window. If she let it burn out he would take that as a sign that she had either changed her mind or simply didn’t care anymore, and he would turn away and leave her in darkness.”

I think it is time for all preparing brides to light their lamps — and keep them burning brightly.

*Source: Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

The Bride of Christ

Christ’s second coming has much to do with marriage (the bride of Christ) and the establishment of His millennial kingdom.  In the coming months we will explore both.

 

To gain a deeper meaning of the bride of Christ, it helps to understand a little about ancient Hebrew marriage customs. 

In Genesis 24:2-4, Abraham tells his servant: But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.  During the time when Abraham was in Canaan, a father typically arranged a marriage on behalf of his son.¹   

Betrothal was the first step in the marriage process, which involved the giving of a gift (called the mohar) from the prospective bridegroom to the father of the future bride, usually in the presence of witnesses.^2,3   

In addition to the mohar, it is likely that the bridegroom presented several gifts to the bride’s father at the time of the engagement.³  In Genesis 34:12, Shechem tells Dinah’s fathers and brothers: Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I'll pay whatever you ask me.  Only give me the girl as my wife."  

• In Genesis 24:53, Abraham’s servant gives Rebeka jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment

• In Genesis 29:18, Jacob offers Laban the bride-price of seven years of servitude.

• In Joshua 15:16, Caleb’s bride-price for marriage to his daughter Acsah is the slaughter of Kirjathsepher.

• In 1 Samuel 18:25, Saul instructs his servants to tell David that the bride-price for his daughter Michal is one hundred foreskins of the Philistines.

These passages show us that the bride-price does not always have to be paid with a financial gift.  A deed or service may be acceptable as a substitute.⁴   

This raises a very important question: Was Jesus’ suffering for our sins on the cross at Calgary the greatest dowry ever paid? 

The Jewish betrothal process also included a written contract (called shetar erusin).^2,3  This document detailed the mutual obligations of the bride and bridegroom.  It also included points that both of their families would negotiate and agree upon, such as the date and place of the wedding and the financial gift, or dowry, to the bridegroom.⁴  Once all the details of the marriage were settled, the bride and bridegroom would drink a cup of wine.  Then the bridegroom would leave his future bride to prepare a home for her; sometimes building another room upon his father’s house.⁵ 

Only the father of the bridegroom could determine when it was time for the bridegroom to fetch his bride.⁶   In John 14:2-3, Jesus says:

 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.

While the bride and bridegroom did not live together during their time of preparation, they were legally married.  This is illustrated in Matthew 1:18-21, when Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph.  In verse 19 Joseph is referred to as Mary’s husband.  The length of time between the betrothal and the wedding ceremony was typically up to a year.  For Jacob and Rachel, however, it was as long as seven years.  During this time the bride was busy preparing herself for married life.⁴ 

We read in Revelation 19:7:  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

Where are you in your walk with Jesus at this moment?  Are you making yourself ready? 

References: 1.  Howard F. Vos.  New Illustrated Bible Manners & Customs (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999), 38-39; 137.  2.  Alfred Edersheim.  Sketches of Jewish Social Life.  (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.,1994), 137.  3.  Ronald L. Eisenberg.  The JPS Guide to Jewish Customs.  (Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society, 2004):33.  4.  Isaac Landman, ed.  The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia.  (New York, NY: Universal Jewish Encyclopedia Co. Inc., 1948),Vol. 7, 367, 369, 372.  5.  Alfred Edersheim.  The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. (New York, NY: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1912), Volume 1, 150, 502.  6.  Fruchtenbaum AG.  The Footsteps of the Messiah.  (San Antonio, TX: Ariel Press, 1982): 143-144.