HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

 

Okay. So, just a reminder that the word used for the snatching away of the people of God, His true Church is rapture RAPIO [Latin] or HARPAZO [Greek].

  • Jesus simply desires for us to return home to His Father’s house for the bridal house is ready  and so also is the banquet! Everything is ready and the bride needs to ready herself for her bridegroom as the wedding of the Lamb nears! This would explain harpazo as ‘the eagerly desiring to claim the object of ones love and affection for oneself and thus eagerly take it up and back to oneself!?’

    Do not let your hearts be troubled (distressed, agitated). You believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely on God; believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely also on Me. In My Father’s house there are many dwelling places (homes). If it were not so, I would have told you; for I am going away to prepare a place for you. And when (if) I go and make ready a place for you, I will come back again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also. John 14:1-3 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) This is the eagerly desiring to return and claim the object of ones love! Below I have added the generally accepted view of the Jewish wedding protocols in Bible times Jewish culture.

    Although various sources describing the practice of Jewish marriage at the time of Christ differ in the details, there is general agreement concerning its major elements. Unlike Western marriage practices, the Jewish marriage has a greater degree of formalism involving numerous steps:

    Jewish marriage included a number of steps: first, betrothal (which involved the prospective groom’s traveling from his father’s house to the home of the prospective bride, paying the purchase price, and thus establishing the marriage covenant); second, the groom’s returning to his father’s house (which meant remaining separate from his bride for 12 months, during which time he prepared the living accommodations for his wife in his father’s house); third, the groom’s coming for his bride at a time not known exactly to her; fourth, his return with her to the groom’s father’s house to consummate the marriage and to celebrate the wedding feast for the next seven days (during which the bride remained closeted in her bridal chamber). 

    So, First, the father of the groom made the arrangements for the marriage and paid the bride price. The timing of the arrangement varied. Sometimes it occurred when both children were small, and at other times it was a year before the marriage itself. Often the bride and groom did not even meet until their wedding day. The second step, which occurred a year or more after the first step, was the fetching of the bride. The bridegroom would go to the home of the bride in order to bring her to his home. In connection with this step, two other things should be noted. First, it was the father of the groom who determined the timing. [THUS NO ONE KNOWS THE DAY OR THE HOUR, NOT EVEN THE SON (THE BRIDEGROOM!) ONLY THE FATHER KNOWS THE DAY AND HOUR WHEN EVERYTHING IS READY! Second, prior to the groom’s leaving to fetch the bride, HE must already have a place prepared for her as their abode. This was followed by the third step, the wedding ceremony, to which a few would be invited. Prior to the wedding ceremony, the bride underwent a ritual immersion for ritual cleansing. The fourth step, the marriage feast, would follow and could last for as many as seven days. Many more people would be invited to the feast than were to the marriage ceremony. In the Marriage of the Lamb all four of these steps of the Jewish wedding ceremony are evident.

  • The major steps of the Jewish wedding analogy are summarized below with related Scriptures:

    Steps in a Jewish Wedding
    Step Description Scriptures
    Marriage Covenant The father pays for the bride and establishes the marriage covenant. Acts Acts 20:28; 1Cor. 1Cor. 6:19-20; 1Cor. 11:25 Eph. Eph. 5:25-27
    Bridal Chamber Prepared The son returns to his father’s house and prepares the bridal chamber. John John 6:62; John 14:2; Acts Acts 1:9-11
    Bride Fetched At a time determined by the father (Mtt. Mat. 24:36), the groom fetches the bride to bring her to his father’s house. “Although the bride was expecting her groom to come for her, she did not know the time of his coming. As a result, the groom’s arrival was preceded by a shout, which forewarned the bride to be prepared for his coming.”3 John John 14:3; 1Th. 1Th. 4:13-18
    Bride Cleansed The bride undergoes ritual cleansing prior to the wedding ceremony. 1Cor. 1Cor. 3:12-15; Rev. Rev. 19:7-8+
    Wedding Ceremony The private wedding ceremony. Rev. Rev. 19:7+
    Consummation In the privacy of the bridal chamber the bride and groom consummate the marriage. Rev. Rev. 19:7+
    Marriage Feast The celebratory marriage feast to which many are invited. Mtt. Mat. 22:1-14; Mat. 25:1-13; Luke Luke 12:36

    At the time of our writing, the first step in the wedding has already taken place. The marriage covenant was established at the First Coming of Christ. Whenever a person places their faith in Jesus Christ, they enter into this covenant (the New Covenant) and become part of His bride [Church or Body!] Since the ascension of Jesus following His resurrection, He has been at His Father’s house preparing the bridal chamber:

    Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions (μοναι [monai] , (dwelling places); 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 to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. (John John 14:1-3)

    More of this next time.

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