The Snatching of the Bride

The bride would not know when the groom would come to take her away.  He has not seen her since the covenant of marriage had been made a year ago.  Usually the groom would come at night to take her off with him.  He and his men, with lit torches, would lead a procession of his family and friends to the brides house.

The shomer (best man) would give a shout to the brides house warning her that her groom is coming. Quickly she would have to get ready for his arrival.  When the groom arrived she would be waiting adorned in robes and precious stones.  Her maidens would be standing at her side as the groom and his procession gathered around them.

The bridegroom's men would then lift up the bride and groom on a sedan chair and carry them back to the home of the groom.  The procession would be singing, shouting and dancing.  The brides family and friends would follow behind as if trying to catch up and bring back their kidnapped daughter.

When they arrive at the groom's home, the wedding guest have all assembled.  The wedding celebration would now start and continue for seven days.  Soon after arriving the bride and groom would go into the bridal chamber to be alone for the first time while the shomer would stand guard outside the chamber.

Soon our groom Jesus Christ will come to take us away.  1 Thessalonians 4:16 says that Jesus will descend from Heaven with a shout. He shall come down and take all Christians who follow him back to Heaven as his bride to live with him.

We do not know the day or hour of his coming.  We only know that he will come.  We must be ready to go to him.  There is nothing on this world worth missing out on compared to our groom coming to take us to the home he has prepared especially for us.  We need to gather eternal treasures to adorn ourselves. To learn more of exchanging temporary earthly treasures for eternal Heavenly treasures, click here.

To read other posts from this series:
Part one  "Purchasing the Bride."
Part two  "Preparing the Bride"
Part three "The Brides Future Home"
Part five "The Bridal Chamber"

Photo Credit: Jewish Hora Chair Dance at Nate & Bekah's Wedding by Zachary Long

The Brides' Future Home

Just as the bride prepares for when she will leave the house she was born into, the groom prepares a house for her to go to.  Her old life, in the house she grew up and lived until now, is past.  The bride no longer will be a part of that house and must have a new place to live.

The groom must prepare for the bride by making a new home built out of love for her.  It is especially built just for her.  He might find out that she has always wanted a shelf to put her most treasured possessions on, and he builds it because of his desire to make her happy.

Jesus said "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." John 14: 2-3  Jesus, our groom, has left and is preparing a place for us. He will come back and take us away to our new home so that we may be with him forever.

What is it like?  We have some descriptions of Heaven in the Bible and how beautiful and awesome it is, but no descriptions of our mansions which Christ is building.  We can only imagine how wonderful the homes Jesus is building for us really are.

It took God 6 days to create everything in the universe.  He has been working almost 2000 years so far on our new homes.  Go ahead and imagine the most wonderful creation of a home ever.  God is going to create a home for you that is far greater, more awesome and magnificent then anything your little mind can fathom.

Jesus' love compels him to do far beyond what we can hope for or imagine.  Our groom will bless us with a place that perfectly fits our desires and hopes.  We will dwell with Jesus forever in the Heavenlies perfectly blessed in all ways.

To read other posts from this series:
Part one  "Purchasing the Bride."
Part two  "Preparing the Bride"
Part four "The Snatching of the Bride"
Part five "The Bridal Chamber"

Photo by Vadim Sherbakov on Unsplash

Preparing the Bride

The groom has left the home of the bride.  They are both legally married, but there is a waiting period before they can live together.  The length of time was usually one year.  During that time the bride would still live at her home and get ready for her life as a married woman.

She will still sleep in her own bed,  do the chores she did before, and live the same life she had before this.  Her life is the same, but one thing has changed.  She is now The Bride.  She has a future set before her that she never had before.

 Everything in her life seems the same except for the future she must prepare for.  She must gather her trousseau of clothes, household linens and other belongings she will need as the wife of the groom. She may live in the home of her parents, but she does not belong to that home anymore.  She belongs to her groom.

The price has been paid for us by our groom and while he is away to prepare a place for us we must prepare for our new life with him.  We do not belong in this world anymore.  We belong to the house of God.  We are now part of his family.

While the bride prepared for her future life, the Shomer (best man) would act as the go between between the bride and groom.  Everything she needed to know the Shomer would inform her of and communicate to the groom everything that came from the bride.

The Holy Spirit is our go between with Christ and us.  When we have needs that our groom could help with, the Holy Spirit informs Christ who then comes to us with the answer.  He speaks as the voice of Christ to us.

The word shomer means 'guard'.  The Holy Spirit guards us for the future day when we shall meet our groom Christ Jesus.  He helps make us ready by guarding our purity and guides us to all things righteous.

Today we are the bride preparing for our eternal future with our awesome groom Jesus Christ.  We do not know when he will come for us.  He might come before your next breath.  Are you ready?

To read other post from this series:
Part one "Purchasing the Bride"
Part three "The Brides Future Home"
Part four "The Snatching of the Bride"
Part five "The Bridal Chamber"

Photo by STIL on Unsplash

Purchasing the Bride

Jesus told his disciples "In my father's house are many mansions...I go to prepare a place for you." John 14:2  In this verse Jesus is drawing the analogy of Him (the bridegroom) and us (the bride) to the wedding practices of his day.  Over the next five days lets examine the significance of the two. There is so much to this comparison that will surprise and delight you.

The wedding starts with the bridegroom making a trip to the home of the bride.  It doesn't matter how far she may be, he must make this trip.  The bride never makes the trip to the groom.

The groom arrives at the home of the young woman he desires to marry and meets with the father to negotiate the price he must pay to purchase the bride.  Once the price has been paid the marriage convanent is established and the man and woman are then regarded as man and wife.  The woman is now considered holy, separated, exclusive for the groom.

Two thousand years ago the groom (Christ) made that same trip to the home of the bride (us).  He entered into our world after traveling through time and space to reach us.  Jesus then paid the bride price to purchase us when he died on the cross.  His life was the cost to make us his bride.

Those who opened the door of their hearts to him, and accepted the price of his death on the cross to purchase them, are now holy and separate to Christ exclusively.  We no longer are of this house (the world) but rather of the house of God (in Heaven)

To read other post from this series:
Part two "Preparing the Bride:
Part Three "The Brides Future Home"
Part four "The Snatching of the Bride"
Part five "The Bridal Chamber"

Photo by cindy baffour on Unsplash

Landmarks to God

The Hebrew word Mitsvah means command or commandment.  The word 'command' implies a power of force such as a general commanding his troop.  Mitsvah is better understood as a directive given which leads to a goal.

The verb form of mitsvah is the word tsiyon, which means desert or landmark.  The ancient Hebrew people were nomads who traveled the deserts in search of grassy pastures where their flocks could feed.  They would use rivers, mountains, rock outcroppings and various other landmarks to give them direction.  Tsiyon was to direct a person on the journey

The mitsvahs in scriptures are directives which guide us.  They are the landmarks which show us the way we are to go.  Tsiyon can also be translated as Zion, the mountain of God.  Zion is the mountain on which Jerusalem sits and where the Temple was built.  Zion is where the throne of God stood inside the Holy of Holies at the temple.  The true Zion in Heaven is where the throne of God is which we are to keep our eyes on.  Tsiyon is the landmark to God.

God has set out landmarks for us within the commands found in scripture.  Landmarks for how we are to live according to God's will.  Landmarks to God and His will for our lives. Without following the landmarks of God we would be lost in a world of sin, pain, and death.  The commands of God guide us to life now and forever. 

Photo by Rob Bye on Unsplash

Where is God Today?

In the book of Exodus, the children of Israel built the tabernacle where God's presence resided.  A pillar of fire at night and a pillar of cloud by day showed that God dwelt with the Hebrews.

The Tabernacle was not much to look at.  It was basically a tent which could be picked up and moved as the Hebrews moved from one location to another.  It contained some priestly furniture including the Ark of the Covenant.  The Mercy Seat on top of the Ark represented the Throne of God.  Once a year the High Priest was allowed to go into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the blood of a sacrificed lamb onto the Mercy Seat.  That small tent was the holiest place on earth, because that is where God resided.

When Solomon became King, he built a temple for God.  That temple was eventually destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. A second temple was then built and it was destroyed by the Romans.  So where does God reside on the earth now?  Not in any gold encrusted building with rich interiors and art works.  Not in a church building, temple, or cathedral.

If you have Jesus as your savior, he has made you his tabernacle. In John 1:14 it says that Jesus came to dwell among us. The word dwell is actually 'tabernacle'.  His earthly body was a walking temple where God lived.

2 Corinthians 6:16  says that we are the temple of the living God.  If you are a believer in Christ and want to see where God lives now, you simply have to look in a mirror.  You are not God, but the Spirit of God now tabernacles within you.

The Hebrew tabernacle was not much to look at, yet God dwelt there.  Now God dwells in a house of flesh which He formed from the dust of the earth.  We are nothing but an earthen vessels containing the most valuable of all riches within.  We are the Tabernacles of God.

Photo Credit: By Ruk7 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 

Exchanging Earthly Currency for Heavenly

I have visited many countries in my life.  I served in the Navy and visited many ports in the Western Pacific.  For three years I traveled over Europe and a little bit in Africa working for the Government. Every time I went to a new country I had to exchange my dollars for that country's currency.

Someday I am going to be in Heaven and they do not accept United States currency there.  Visa, Discover, Master Card and even American Express are not accepted.  There is nothing from this world which can be used in Heaven.

The only way what I have here on earth will be valuable in Heaven is if I trade it for Heavenly currency.  Before I arrive in Heaven my earthly valuables must already have been exchanged.  My house, car, furniture, food, and all I possess must be given to God in exchange for things of Heavenly value.

We are all going on a journey soon.  We do not know the hour of departure, but it is imminent.  All of what we own in this life will be lost.  It must be exchanged before we leave this world.  What we hold onto will be gone forever, but what we give to God will be exchanged for eternal riches in Heaven.

We are to give all we have in this world to God.  God has called us to be stewards of what He gives to us in this life.  As stewards, all that is in our possession is to be used to promote Heavenly goals.  We are to reach out to others about Christ.  We are to comfort those who weep, and lift up the weak.

"He is no fool who gives what he can not keep to gain what he cannot lose."  Jim Elliot

  Photo by Niels Steeman on Unsplash