9-30-20 Midrash on the Jewish Wedding

Midrash on the Jewish Wedding :: By Jeff Van Hatten

Published on:  by RRadmin7 Category:General Articles
John 14:1-3 – “Yeshua said, ‘Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in Yahweh, and trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s house; I would not tell you this if it were not true. I am going there to prepare a place for you. After I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you may be where I am.’”
Yeshua gives his bride many clues as to the time frame when her Rapture will happen. Famines, pestilences, earthquakes in diverse places, wars, ethnic tensions, and the budding of the fig tree, just to name a few.
Putting It All in Context
The wedding ceremony is the best guideline to the timing of the Rapture. The bride is chosen, the bride-price is paid, and the bridegroom heads back to his father’s house to build a new home for himself and his bride.
Building a House is a Very Planned-Out Event
  • The location is measured.
  • The building supplies begin to arrive.
  • The foundation is laid and the walls go up.
  • The roof is put on and the guard rails installed.
  • The windows and doors are installed.
  • The furniture is built and placed inside.
Finally, the father gives his approval, saying that the building is complete, and then gives his son permission to go get his bride. The son then puts the actual wedding party in high gear:
  • The Chuppah is erected.
  • The transportation for the bride is arranged.
  • Most importantly, the food is prepared and set out for the week-long celebration.
The Process Begins
  1. The foundation of the new addition has been laid, and ready for the walls to be placed upon it. Neighbor Nancy, who lives just across the street, has both eyes glued to the building of the new addition to the Father’s house. At the laying of the foundation, Nancy heads to the watering well to inform her friends that the building of the groom’s addition to the Father’s house is now under way.
  2.  The walls are raised. Nancy now heads to the watering well to inform her friends that the walls are going up. Her friends, upon returning home, tell their husbands and families the news. For most of the townsfolk, the day of the wedding is still too far away to get overly excited.
  3.  The roof and guard rail are built. (Deuteronomy 22:8 – “When you build a new house, you must build a low wall around your roof; otherwise someone may fall from it, and you will be responsible for his death.”) Nancy again heads to the watering well to inform her friends that the walls are in place and the roof has been installed, along with the mandatory guard rails. Her friends, upon returning home, tell their husbands and families the news. The townsfolk take it all in stride. Still no need to get excited just yet.
  4.  The windows and door are hung. Nancy sets off to the watering well to inform her friends that windows and doors are now there. Her friends, upon returning home, tell their husbands and families the news. The townsfolk are starting to get excited as they see the signs of a forthcoming wedding. Time to buy gifts and clean the wedding outfits.
  5.  The Furniture is built or delivered. Nancy hastens to the watering well to inform her friends that the furniture has now arrived. Her friends, upon returning home, tell their husbands and families the news. The townsfolk are now really excited, and the husbands start to query the groom: “When are you going to get your bride?” He answers: “Don’t ask me; don’t ask mom or my siblings; y’all will have to ask pops – only he knows the day and hour!” The townsfolk now know the wedding day is not far off.
  6.  The Chuppah is erected, and transportation for the Bride is arraigned. Nancy runs to the watering well to inform her friends that the Chuppah has been erected, and the horses providing the Bride’s transportation has been arranged. Her friends rush home to tell their husbands and families the news. They now know time is short. The Wedding is imminent. Time to prepare to hear the shofar blow!
  7.  The food is prepared and set out. When the townsfolk saw the food arrive, they knew without any shadow of doubt that the Father had given the Groom permission to go get his bride, and that the Wedding would begin either that night or the following night. And the announcement, thanks to the next-door neighbor, went out. Nancy races as fast as she can to the watering well to inform her friends that the food has arrived. Did you hear? The food has arrived!!! Her friends rush home to tell their husbands and families the news. Panic has now fully set in for those who are awake and watching. The Wedding is ON. Stay alert, get ready, because the groom is ready, near, at the door!
The Day and Hour is at Hand
At the time of Yeshua, refrigeration did not exist. Food, especially up until just recently, spoiled quickly. So, when the neighbors and the bride’s family saw the food being prepared and ready to be served, they KNEW the wedding was now in motion. The bridegroom’s neighbors and bride’s family are now very, very alert.
The rest of the village’s residents still take little or no notice of these activities. They are the “they/them” who are totally surprised when the bridegroom’s friends go to the bride’s house, singing, blowing shofars, shouting, and carrying the bride back to the bridegroom’s house. Are you awake, are you paying attention, or are you still asleep?
The Rapture of the Bride
A Jewish Wedding Ceremony is full of significant rituals and is a perfect prophetic parallel of the coming of Yeshua to take his church to be his Bride, a dress rehearsal for The Rapture. As the addition to the Father’s home is being built, the townsfolk are paying attention to the many signs of how close the day of the Wedding approaches. That day was not a totally unknown event. Each new process completed gave a sign as to how much longer it would be. Every so often, one of the groom’s buddies would ask him about the actual day.
When the disciples asked Yeshua about his day of return to take them to be with him, he answered and told them to be alert to the signs, and with a wink and a smile, said: “Concerning that day and hour no one knows – neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son – only the Father” (Mark 13:32). Yeshua simply quoted the well-known Hebrew idiom that all grooms would quote when asked about their Wedding Day. In other words, Yeshua wasn’t telling them that the day was impossible to figure out, but that it could be accurately determined within just a day or two by being alert!
Conclusions
The Jewish Wedding Ceremony is, indeed, a dress rehearsal for The Rapture. Yeshua came down from Heaven, gave his life as a ransom for his bride and offered her eternal life. He returned to heaven to prepare a place for his bride and will return to take her home.
During the process of building the home, the next-door neighbors are watching every step. When the food arrives, they rush to tell everyone: The Wedding is ON – the groom is going to bring his bride home either tonight or tomorrow! The Jewish Wedding Pattern clearly shows that the rapture cannot happen at any ol’ time. The house must be fully built, furniture installed, and the food must be ordered and delivered before the groom goes to get his bride.

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