The Groom is Coming Soon

The Groom is Coming Soon, to Carry His Bride Home

I recently attended a traditional American church wedding.  A beautiful event and loaded with symbols familiar to most American adults (rings, vows, candles and processions).  May this young couple be greatly blessed!

It was not at all like the typical Galilean Jewish wedding in the First Century AD.  The New Testament contains several references to weddings, grooms, brides, guests and bridesmaids.  Banquets, wine and lamps.  It would be easy to skim over these as just interesting cultural details, but the Bible isn’t a history/sociology textbook.  It’s a comprehensive communications system containing messages from God and its content has purpose.

When asked by His disciples about the timing of the End of the Age events, Jesus explained (Mark 13:32-33 and Matthew 24:36-44) that only God the Father knows that day and hour and that His followers need to keep watch.

I recently watched an interesting video that helps put these instructions from Jesus and the many New Testament wedding references in context.  It’s titled Before the Wrath (2020, directed by Brent Miller Jr. and featuring Kevin Sorbo).  The video is well-done and understandable.  Pastors and scholars describe the wedding traditions of Galilean Jews during the First Century and explain how the teachings of Jesus regarding weddings, watchmen and the End Times are interconnected.  The groom (Jesus) will come soon (in the event called the Rapture), to sweep His bride (the church) to His Father’s home for a joyous wedding celebration and to shield her from the coming time of great wrath (the Tribulation). Amen!  Come soon, Lord Jesus!