Ancient Jewish Wedding tradition and how it pertains to the RAPTURE!

The Ancient Jewish Wedding tradition and how it pertains to Jesus marrying His Bride.(RAPTURE) Our Lord was Jewish so when you dig a little deeper into His culture you get to know Him just a little bit more!!!

The Wedding Contract (Betrothal):
When a young man desired to marry a young woman in ancient Israel, he would prepare a contract or covenant to present to the young woman and her father at the young woman's home. The contract showed his willingness to provide for the young woman and described the terms under which he would propose marriage.
When Jesus came to Earth and gave us the details of our inheritance, we had a choice to except the proposal or not.
This is when a person is saved by accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior. ~ 2 Corinthians 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

The Dowry or purchase price of the Bride:
In the ancient Jewish wedding tradition there was a dowry paid to the family for the bride and it was Always paid by the father of the groom. This has been fulfilled by God Almighty for the Bride of Christ and it can be summed up in 1 scripture. John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. The Father paid for her with His Son's Blood.

The Cup:
The the brides father agreed on the price, the groom would pour the bride a cup of wine and if she drank of the cup it proclaimed her acceptance of the proposal. At this point the betrothal was legally binding, just like a marriage. The only difference was that the marriage was not yet consummated. A typical betrothal period was 1-2 years. During this time the bride and bridegroom each would be preparing for the marriage and wouldn't see each other.
Jesus sealed our marriage contract in Matthew 26:28-29 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. The disciples drank of the cup, thus accepting the contract. (WE ACCEPT THIS CONTRACT TODAY BY DRINKING OF THE CUP IN REMEMBRANCE OF HIM)

Gifts for the Bride:
The groom would give special gifts to his bride for a couple of reasons, 1 was to show his appreciation of her acceptance and 2 was so she would remember him during their long betrothal. Jesus gave us gifts of the Holy Spirit for the same reasons. John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. The Holy Spirit is where all our spiritual gifts come from.

Preparing a place: 
The groom would go away to build onto his father's house to make room for his anticipated family, and depending on the elaboration and size of the addition, it could be a while before he returned to his bride. The bride had to wake up everyday in the betrothal period and get ready for her wedding...EVERYDAY she was preparing herself in great detail to be beautiful, Pure, and ready for his arrival because she did not know the day nor hour he would return. Matthew 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Does this sound familiar? Jesus said this is exacly what he was doing for us. John 14:1-3 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 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.

The Groom returns for his bride:
The Bridegroom would come for the bride in the middle of the night, with a shout and the sound of a shofar, so the Lord will come for us. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

Jesus please come soon, but in the meantime we praise you and thank you for the additional time we have to prepare for you!!! Please, in the name of Yeshua bless all who took the time to read this and open their eyes and ears to the truth of the ENTIRE Bible. AMEN

Year after year the people would celebrate these feasts that foretold the the death, resurrection, rapture, and 2nd coming of Jesus.

Do you know the incredible prophecies behind God's Holy Days in Leviticus 23? Year after year the people would celebrate these feasts that foretold the the death, resurrection, rapture, and 2nd coming of Jesus. They were dress rehearsals if you will. I will sum up in a very simple way of how Jesus fulfilled the first 4 feast and we are awaiting the last 3 to be fulfilled. This shows that our God is a God of order and he keeps things organized perfectly. Let's first start with scripture..JESUS WORDS..

Matthew 5:17-20

17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

I will make this simple for you to understand each fulfillment of each Holy Day:

FULFILLED:

1) Passover (Leviticus 23:5) – Pointed to the Messiah as our Passover lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7) whose blood would be shed for our sins. Jesus was crucified on the day of preparation for the Passover at the same hour that the lambs were being slaughtered for the Passover meal that evening (John 19:14).

2) Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:6) – Pointed to the Messiah's sinless life we all have sin which is pictured as leaven in the Bible. 1 Cor 5:6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Because he was perfect and sinless it made Him the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Jesus' body was in the grave during the first days of this feast, like a kernel of wheat planted and waiting to burst forth as the bread of life.

3) First Fruits (Leviticus 23:10) – Pointed to the Messiah's resurrection as the first fruits of the righteous. Jesus was resurrected on this very day, which is one of the reasons that Paul refers to him in 1 Corinthians 15:20 as the "first fruits from the dead."

4) Weeks or Pentecost (Leviticus 23:16) – Occurred fifty days after the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and pointed to the great harvest of souls and the gift of the Holy Spirit for both Jew and Gentile, who would be brought into the kingdom of God during the Church Age (see Acts 2). The Church was actually established on this day when God poured out His Holy Spirit and 3,000 Jews responded to Peter's great sermon and his first proclamation of the gospel.

UNFULFILLED:

5) Trumpets (Leviticus 23:24) – The first of the fall feasts. Many believe this day points to the Rapture of the Church when the Messiah Jesus will appear in the heavens as He comes for His bride, the Church. The Rapture is always associated in Scripture with the blowing of a loud trumpet (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:52).

6) Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:27) – Many believe this prophetically points to the day of the Second Coming of Jesus when He will return to earth. That will be the Day of Atonement for the Jewish remnant when they "look upon Him whom they have pierced," repent of their sins, and receive Him as their Messiah (Zechariah 12:10 and Romans 11:1-6, 25-36).

7) Tabernacles or Booths (Leviticus 23:34) – Many scholars believe that this feast day points to the Lord's promise that He will once again “tabernacle” with His people when He returns to reign over all the world (Micah 4:1-7).

Should Christians celebrate these Levitical feast days of Israel today? Whether or not a Christian celebrates the Jewish feast days (IN THE BIBLE THEY ARE CALLED GOD's HOLY DAYS NOT JEWISH FEASTS) would be a matter of conscience for the individual Christian. Colossians 2:16-17 tells us, “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” Christians are not bound to observe the Jewish feasts the way an Old Testament Jew was, but we should not criticize another believer who does or does not observe these special days and feasts (Romans 14:5).

This person made this very clear for me, I do not know their name but here is the web address, I want to thank them for such a clear understanding that helped me along with my studies and now I want to share this with you guys!

Be Blessed in the Lord Jesus Christ!

http://www.gotquestions.org/Jewish-feasts.html

10 Virgins/Matthew 25 commentary

10 Virgins/Matthew 25 commentary:
So they ALL get drowsy and fall asleep while waiting for the Bridegroom, right? Falling asleep meant different things for each group. For the wise virgins they were at peace and rest in Christ, but for the foolish virgins they were lazy.

Wise virgins:
We all understand this parable, that being prepared and filled with oil is how we are to be prepared with the word of God and filled with the Holy Spirit! With that, we have the peace that passes our own understanding, therefore giving us rest in Yeshua!

Foolish virgins:
These ladies were unprepared, why did they think going to sleep was ok for them? Laziness and entitlement is my opinion. They tell the wise virgins "give us some of your oil." If they were unprepared when they got there then DO NOT go to sleep! The Bridegroom tarried and gave them plenty of time to right their wrong of unpreparation, and they still missed him!

If you are sleeping right now and you are unprepared for the return of our Bridegroom, wake up, he is giving you time to fill your lamps with oil! No one can do it for you! Laziness and entitlement thinking, will not fill your lamps! Get moving because when the Bridegroom arrives the door will be shut very quickly, and the last thing you want to hear from our Lord and Savior is "truly I tell you, I don't know you."

Be blessed in the Lord Jesus Christ