The Jewish wedding feast format....... and how it exactly describes what happens after we are "gathered" not raptured

Doves,

Last week I wrote a post to 5Doves about “the gathering” spoken of in Matthew and Mark and how this gathering is not the rapture of the church as most believe but an event that takes place prior to the rapture where the elect (including the Christian Church) are gathered by Jesus and the angels and then taken to the Father's new ark-like land mass which He will have just created when He moves His kingdom from heaven to earth as is described in Zechariah, Isaiah and Matthew.

Here is that post from last week for reference.......

http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/sep2019/johnb915-2.htm

This week I would like to reinforce what I proposed will happen during the 7 year end time period when we Christians as part of “the elect” are gathered and taken to the ark-like structure in the Middle East by describing the Jewish wedding feast format. I will show how this standard format for the Jewish wedding feast will agree and align perfectly with what I have proposed will happen near the mid point of the 7 years.

OK...here is the overview of the standard Jewish wedding as has taken place for centuries.

1. Betrothal – The groom negotiated a fair price (mohair) for his bride. In the case of believers, the price was paid by Jesus Christ’s precious sacrificial blood upon the cross for the sins of believers.

2. Separation – The engagement period was actually a time of separation usually lasting about 12 months. While the bride-to-be stayed home, the groom returned to his father’s house to make preparations for their future lives together. This gave the bride time to prepare her trousseau, and the groom to construct a place for the two of them to live happily ever after. Presently, Christ and the bride are separated. He is in heaven while she is on earth preparing her wedding garments, which according to Revelation 19:8 are her righteous acts.

3. Preparation – The groom utilized the separation period to return to his father’s house to construct the couple’s new home on the premises. John 14:1-4 informs that Christ is preparing mansions in heaven for believers.

4. Fetching – At the appropriate time after the construction was completed, the groom came to fetch his bride. Although the bride knew the time would come, she didn’t necessarily know precisely when. This is the case with believers today; they know Christ is coming but don’t know the day or hour. Also, the groom’s arrival was usually accompanied by the best man and several friends. When the party arrived to fetch the bride there was often a shout from the friends to announce the groom had arrived.

5. Consummation – Once fetched, the two returned to the groom’s fathers house where they were secluded in a bridal chamber (huppah). While inside the chamber they consummated their marriage by entering into physical union for the first time. They remained secluded in the chamber, usually for about seven days. And then a wedding feast was presented for all the guests by the Father.

6. Celebration – After the seven days had elapsed, the groom brought his bride out of the chamber where he would greet the wedding guests and partake of the celebration and then take his bride to the place that he had prepared for her.

Now that you have read the format for the Jewish wedding feast let me copy it again below and make comments in red below each of the 6 steps to show you how these 6 steps match perfectly with what I relayed in my post last week as to what will happen to the Christian Church after we are gathered by Jesus and the angels and taken to the Father's new ark-like enclosure in the Middle East near the mid-point of the 7 year period.

No extra explanation necessary.

The separation in this case is not 12 months but nearly 2000 years.

This preparation and location is also accurate as per scripture.

This fetching is clearly described in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 as “the gathering” where on a special day known only to the Father, Jesus and the angels will come to gather “the elect” (of which the church is a component) at the great sound of a trumpet. Gather or fetch these elect to the Father's house which as per scripture is no longer in heaven but now is in a new ark-like enclosure in the Middle East adjacent to Jerusalem and encompassing hundreds of square miles of real estate.

OK...these elect including the Christian church have been fetched / gathered by Jesus and the angels and brought to the Father's new house / ark-like enclosure which is now in the Middle East and not in heaven. The Christian church, as the bride, as per the Jewish format is secluded in a bridal chamber, a huppah or chuppah which denotes being covered by a protective canopy or covering which symbolizes a home. As per Isaiah 25 this whole new ark-like structure that the Father will have just created that spans hundreds of square miles has a roof, a covering......just like the huppah. A protective covering.

Now while inside this enclosure the church will as per custom consummate their marriage by entering into a physical union for the first time.

So how does the entire Christian Church, millions of them as per custom enter into a physical union with Jesus for the first time under this huppah or covering within the Father's new house / enclosure? They do so by being immersed in the new river that the Father will have just created (Zechariah 14:8) there which emanates from Jerusalem which contains “living waters” that being the blood and Spirit of Jesus which He deposited there on the ground 2000 years ago at His crucifixion. Jesus mandated twice in John 3 that we must be “born again”of the water and the Spirit or we cannot see or enter the kingdom of heaven. We will fulfill this mandate by being “born again” after our immersion in these waters which contain the blood and Spirit of Jesus. This immersion will constitute the first time “physical union” between we the church and Jesus. It appears from the custom format that it may take 7 days to get the millions of Christians immersed and born again which will constitute the physical union between Jesus and His bride..... the Christian Church.

6. Celebration – After the seven days had elapsed, the groom brought his bride out of the chamber to greet the wedding guests and partake of the celebration and then will take his bride to the place that he had prepared for her.

It is custom for the Father to throw a huge celebration for the wedding party after the 7 days have elapsed in this case after the Church's physical union with Jesus has taken place. This celebration is scripted in scripture as “the marriage supper of the Lamb”. A huge party that the God the Father will throw for the wedding party and the invited guests. In this case the wedding party will be the entire Christian Church now indwelled by the Spirit of Jesus Himself although He will not be personally at the marriage supper of the Lamb within the Father's enclosure. Only Jesus’ Spirit which will now be contained in all of these Christians. Remember Paul the apostle told us that when we accepted Jesus as our Savior that we received an “adoption quantity” of the Spirit. After being immersed in the river which contains Jesus’ literal Spirit we will be complete.

The “guests” at this celebration will be the Jewish remnant (part of the elect) and the two end time witnesses who will witness all of the proceedings during this great gala. Even the menu for this celebration is described in scripture in Isaiah 25:6.

Then after the celebrating is over as per Jewish custom the bride will be taken to the place that has been prepared for her. This “taking” of the bride from within the Father's house (His new enclosure) to a special place that has been specially prepared for her is...... the rapture of the church. Jesus now personally will arrive in the clouds above this enclosure and hearken to His bride to join Him in the clouds above where He will then take the bride to the special place that has been prepared for her for the remainder of the 7 years.......then the bride will return to earth to rule and reign with Jesus for the 1000 year millennium period.

I hope you can see that the end time scenario which I have proposed based directly from scripture as “the gathering” rather than... the rapture... exactly fits the format of the Jewish wedding feast. So what the Christian community refers to as “the rapture” will happen after we are gathered by Jesus and the angels to the Father's new ark-like enclosure in the Middle East where we will be born again in the living waters of the new river which flows there and will celebrate our wedding there before Jesus hearkens us from within this enclosure to meet Him in the clouds above. From scripture it appears this will happen near the mid-point of the 7 year period near or at the end of the ministry of the two end time witnesses.

All of this is described in scripture directly and also foreshadowed in other areas like the Book of Joshua.

Blessings Doves........John B