The Rapture of the Church and it's Similarities with the Traditional Hebrew Wedding
 
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Rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem


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It is a historical fact that Jesus lived, died and rose from the dead three days later.

•    The resurrection of Jesus Christ is perhaps the best documented event in all of human history.
•    Jesus said that a surely as He rose from the dead, He will also be returning to the earth to take back to heaven, all those who love him and are living for Him.

John 14:1-6
1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
2 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.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

According to the web site “Above Top Secret”,

“In the U.S. alone there are reports of over ten Million people that just vanish every year. Out of this figure 500,000 are never found.

Some of these people are victims of crimes but some are just gone with no explanation for their disappearance at all.

Sometimes it is not one person that disappears but often it is an entire group of people that disappear.

 A man and his wife were sleeping in a motel on a trip across the country in 1959. When she woke up, he was no longer by her side and had vanished, never to be seen again. Everything of his was still there, including his clothes, money, luggage, car, etc.

 Another couple was driving across country and was never seen again and this was in 1970. Their car vanished also.

It is interesting that one of the possible scenarios for the disappearance of all these people that is given on the Above Top Secret web site  is that of “The Rapture”

1 Thessalonians 4
13  But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
15  For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

Why did Paul tell the Church at Thessalonica that Jesus would be returning to the atmosphere of the earth to remove quickly, those who had died and those still alive?

•    The Church at Thessalonica was a healthy, active and vibrant church.
•    Paul started this church while there with Silas, Timothy and Luke.
•    Paul was only there for three consecutive Saturdays, but in that short period of time, He taught them that Jesus could come for all of us at any moment.

After Paul left Thessalonica and arrived in Corinth, a letter was sent to Him by the church in Thessalonica with some questions about some of the things that he had taught them when he was there those 3 weeks.

•    The letter that we call 1 Thessalonians, was Paul’s response to the questions given him in that letter.
•    Since the time that Paul had warned the Christians at the church in Thessalonica that Jesus could come for them at any moment, some in the church had died.
•    The believers wanted to know what would happen to their lost loved ones when the Rapture happened.
•    Paul wrote to encourage them that when the Rapture happened, those who died believing in Jesus would not miss anything, they would be the first to be taken up in new glorified bodies.
•    Then those believers in Jesus who were alive when Jesus came, would be transformed into eternal bodies and meet the Lord in the air.

Some people today think that the pastor should not spend too much time with the church teaching them about the Rapture and the coming of Jesus.

•    Apparently Paul did not feel this way, not did Jesus as He had obviously told Paul to teach the doctrine of the Rapture to the members of the church.

Why?

1.    To give us a sense of urgency that there is not too much time left before Jesus returns, so we should be about the business of telling everyone the importance of accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
2.    To give us a sense of our proper priorities; When Jesus comes for all of us, we are going to leave behind everything we have.  Therefore our current priorities should not be on what we have or do not have, but instead on growing in the spiritual aspects of our relationship with Jesus.
3.    Because Jesus could come for us at any moment, we should be seeking to get anything out of our life that is not really helpful to us or may be slowing us down.

1 John 3:2-3
2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when Jesus is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
3 And everyone who has this hope in (of Jesus soon return) Him purifies himself, just as He is pure

For me, I believe that the Bible is clear that one of our highest priorities is to continue to teach, study and learn as much as we can about the Rapture and the return of Jesus to the earth.

How many of you have ever been either in a wedding yourself or have seen a wedding?

•    Did you know that most of the weddings that are conducted throughout the earth have some amazing similarities between each other?
•    Did you know that when a Hebrew man and woman decided to marry each other, that there were some amazing similarities in their wedding ceremony to what will happen before, during and after the Rapture of the church?

Why did the Lord model His return to remove all of us from the earth, after a traditional Hebrew Wedding?

Proverbs 25:2
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

Matthew 11:25
At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.

You and I are the Lord’s “Babes”, his kids, and He has hidden the wisdom of His soon return from the wise and mighty that are on the earth, and has revealed them to you.

This morning, As I take you through the Ceremony for a Hebrew Marriage, you will want to pay special, and close attention to the details. 

You will see that Jesus must have intended that His coming for us, was exactly like the model of the Hebrew Marriage.

He did this, so that we would understand how, why and when He is coming for us:

1.    The Hebrew marriage really begins with the “Betrothal”.  In Hebrew, it is called the  “Ketubah”:

•    Betrothal Began when the Bridegroom has negotiated the price he must pay to purchase his Bride, called the “Mohair”.

In Genesis 29, when Jacob meets Rachel and desires to marry her, in order to do so he must pay the “Dowry”, or the “Bride Price”.

•    Before you could marry a young woman, you would have to pay a fee called a dowry, to her father that he would keep in savings for her.
•    A Dowry was “Alimony in advance” in case the young man mistreated or divorced his wife, she would have income to live on.
•    As Jacob wants to marry Rachel, her father Laban tells him that he must work for him for 7 years, this will be payment for his bride, the “Bride Price”

Genesis 29:21-22
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled…
22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast.

Since you and I are pictured here as Jesus Bride, What was the ”Bride Price”  that was paid for you and I?

1 Peter 1:18-19
18…knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,
19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

Jesus as the Bridegroom, betrothed Himself to all those who believe His sacrifice paid for their sins.  The “Mohair”, the purchase price for our salvation was Jesus own life.

2.    The marriage covenant is now established by betrothal, the Hebrew couple  are considered married, even though the actual marriage ceremony has not taken place.

2 Corinthians 11:2
… For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

The moment you first believed that Jesus died for you and you accepted Him, you became his Bride, precious, spotless. We are betrothed to Jesus, The Marriage ceremony will take place in heaven right after the Rapture.
Revelation 19:7-9
7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”
8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’

3.    After the Hebrew wife is Betrothed to her husband, from this point on, the Bride is considered “Set Apart”, or “Consecrated” to the Bridegroom exclusively.

1 Corinthians 6:11
…but now your sins have been washed away, and you have been set apart for God. You have been made right with God because of what the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God have done for you

4.    To symbolize that the Agreement has been made between the Bridegroom and the Bride, they seal the agreement by both drinking from a cup of wine.

Ephesians 1:13
In Jesus you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise

Isn’t it interesting that on the final night of Jesus life, as He knows that He is about to give His life for His Bride, He takes a cup of wine and drinks it, in a brand new agreement with all of us who believe.

Luke 22:20
Likewise Jesus also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.

1 Corinthians 11:25
In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

5.    The Bridegroom Then leaves the Bride and goes back to his fathers house where he would remain separated from his bride for an undetermined amount of time, usually about 12 months.

Amazingly, now as Jesus has Betrothed Himself to us, He has returned to His Fathers house to prepare a place for us…

John 14:2
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.

6.    In this 12 months before the Groom would return for hi bride, she was to use this time to prepare herself for the return of the bridegroom and for married life.

John 3:2-3
2 …but we know that when Jesus is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

In this time that we are waiting for Jesus, our Bridegroom to come for us, we should be preparing our self, by purifying our self of anything that would slow us down from following Jesus .

7.    During the time that the Groom is separated from his bride, he would be preparing a dwelling place in his fathers house where he would later bring his bride.

John 14:3
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also

Jesus has been preparing your house now for 2,000 years.  It only took 6 days to create the universe, imagine what your house looks like!

8.    At the end of the time of separation, between the Hebrew Bide and Groom, when the dwelling place was ready, the groom would return unannounced, usually at night for his bride where he would come and take her to live with him forever.

Jesus told us as His Bride to be ready for His return for us at any moment.  Jesus said that if He comes and finds us eagerly waiting for Him, that He will make us rulers over all His household.

Matthew 24:42-47
42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.
45 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.
47 Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.

9.    Although the bride knew that the Groom was coming for her at any moment, she did not know the exact hour of his coming. 

Mark 13:32
32 “But of that day and hour of my return no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.

10.    The way that the Bride knew that the Groom was coming, was a great “Shout” was given, that signaled the announcement to the Bride that her immanent departure to be gathered to Her groom, was upon her.

1 Thessalonians 4:16
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

11.    After the Groom received the bride, together with her female attendants, the wedding party returned from the Bride’s home to the Grooms fathers house, where all of the wedding guests had gathered.

After we meet Jesus in the air at the Rapture, we will return with Him to heaven where the “marriage Supper of the Lamb” has been prepared for us.  A sit down dinner for billions and Billions, with Jesus as the waiter!

Revelation 19:7
Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”

Luke 12:37
Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them

12.    In The Hebrew Marriage, After their arrival at the fathers home, the Bride and Groom are escorted by the members of the wedding party to the bridal chamber, “The Huppah” in Hebrew.

Isaiah 26:20-21
20 Come, my people, enter your chambers (Huppah), And shut your doors behind you; Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, Until the indignation is past. 
21 For behold, the LORD comes out of His place To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;

This verse in Isaiah 26 speaks of the fact that When the Lord’s people are taken at the Rapture, it will be to a special place of shelter for them in heaven, while the “Indignation”, an Old Testament code word for “The Great Tribulation” is happening on the earth

Notice that Isaiah 26:21 speaks of the fact that this time of Indignation will be for the specific purpose of “Punishing the inhabitants of the earth for their sin.”

During this 7 years of Tribulation, the Book of Revelation describes the events of Jesus Wrath on the earth in which 2/3rds of the people on earth will died, by 21 different plagues.

13.    Before the Hebrew Bride would enter the bridal chamber, her face was veiled so that no one could see her face.

Right now, the world does not know today that we are  Jesus Bride, the world looks at us through a veil because they do not know who we really are…

1 John 3:1-2
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

14.    The groomsmen and the bridesmaids waited outside while the bride and groom entered the bridal chamber alone and there for the first time in privacy they entered into their physical union, consummating the marriage.
15.    The groom would then come out of the bridal chamber and announce that the marriage was now consummated, the wedding party would then return to the wedding guests and announce to them that the wedding had been consummated.
16.    After the wedding guests heard the news, they would remain in the fathers home for the next seven days, celebrating with a great wedding feast.

Isn’t it interesting that the 7 days that the Hebrew wedding feast continued for, is an exact picture of the 7 years that we will be enjoying a wedding feast with our Lord in Heaven, while the Tribulation is happening back on earth.

In the Book of Daniel, as Gabriel tells Daniel of the coming of the antichrist, that the beginning of his reign will be by way of a 7 year peace agreement between Israel and the Arab Nations.

Daniel 9:27
Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week (Code word for 7 years Gen 29) ; But in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.

At the beginning of this 7 year peace treaty, this world ruler will give Israel the right to rebuild their New Temple on the Temple mount, right next to the current Mosque of Omar, of the “Dome of the Rock”

While we are in Heaven with our new Bridegroom, back on earth there will be an outpouring of the wrath of God such as the world has never seen, nor will ever see again.

If Jesus is just about to return for all of us at the Rapture, then we would expect that some type of plan would be underway for the rebuilding of the New Temple in Jerusalem…amazingly these plans are underway, even as we study this morning.

August 5, 2009
Rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem

With the Middle East still in chaos and rumors of war in the air, the idea of rebuilding the Jerusalem Temple on a foundation occupied and administered by Islamic militants might seem fanciful – even preposterous.

But the author of a new book, "The Islamic Antichrist: The Shocking Truth About the Real Nature of the Beast," returned from Turkey recently with news that a prominent Islamic teacher and best-selling author and Jewish Sanhedrin rabbis are conspiring to do just that..

Adnan Oktar, who uses the pen name of Harun Yahya, is a controversial but highly influential Muslim intellectual and author with more than 65 million of his books in circulation worldwide. Oktar recently met with three representatives from the re-established Jewish Sanhedrin, a group of 71 Orthodox rabbis and scholars from Israel, to discuss how religious Muslims, Jews and Christians can work together on the project.

"The objectives of the alliance include waging a joint intellectual and spiritual battle against the worldwide growing tide of irreligiousness, unbelief and immorality," explains Richardson, who met in Turkey with Oktar. "But even more unusual is their agreement with regard to the need to rebuild the Jewish Temple, a structure that Mr. Oktar refers to as the 'Masjid (Mosque)' or the 'Palace of Solomon.'"

An official statement about the meeting has been published on the Sanhedrin's website. Concluding the statement is the following call:

"Out of a sense of collective responsibility for world peace and for all humanity we have found it timely to call to the World and exclaim that there is a way out for all peoples. It is etched in a call to all humanity: We are all the sons of one father, the descendants of Adam, and all humanity is but a single family. Peace among Nations will be achieved through building the House of G-d, where all peoples will serve as foreseen by King Solomon in his prayers at the dedication of the First Holy Temple.

Come let us love and respect one another, and love and honor and hold our heavenly Father in awe. Let us establish a house of prayer in His name in order to worship and serve Him together, for the sake of His great compassion. He surely does not want the blood of His creations spilled, but prefers love and peace among all mankind.

We pray to the Almighty Creator, that you harken to our Call. Together – each according to his or her ability – we shall work towards the building of the House of Prayer for All Nations on the Temple Mount in peace and mutual understanding."

Oktar explained his vision for the rebuilding of Solomon's Temple to Richardson:

"The Palace of Solomon is a historically important palace and rebuilding it would be a very wonderful thing. It is something that any Jew, a Christian or a Muslim should welcome with enthusiasm. Every Muslim, every believer will want to return to those days, to experience those days again and, albeit partially, to bring the beauty of those days back to life."

"It could be done in a year at most. It could be built to the same perfection and beauty. The Torah says it was built in 13 years, if I remember correctly. It could be rebuilt in a year in its perfect form."

Richardson later met with Rabbi Abrahamson and Rabbi Hollander, two of the Sanhedrin representatives who conferred with Oktar. Regarding the rebuilding of the Temple, Rabbi Hollander explained, "The building of the Temple is one of the stages in the Messianic process." But another possibility that has been presented is that the Dome of the Rock that sits so prominently on the Temple Mount be used as "a place prayer for all nations."

Richardson sees such plans tying in to Barack Obama's calls for internationalizing the city of Jerusalem.

A recent poll showed nearly two-thirds of Israelis back the idea of rebuilding the Temple.

"Meanwhile, the work of the Temple Institute, a group that has openly dedicated itself for years to rebuilding the Jewish Temple goes on," writes Richardson.

It has already created many of the most significant priestly utensils and pieces of furniture necessary for the Temple once it is ready.

"The suggestion of rebuilding the Jewish Temple is deeply significant to Christians, particularly those who are students of Bible prophecy," explains Richardson. "According to the Bible, an impostor messiah known as the Antichrist will someday invade the land of Israel and 'set himself up' in the 'God’s Temple.'"

Richardson's book focuses on the striking parallels between the Bible's prophecies about the coming messiah and Islam's traditions regarding the one called "the Mahdi" – Islam’s primary messiah figure, who will one day invade the land of Israel and establish his seat of authority on the Temple Mount.

17. It is also interesting that in the traditional Hebrew wedding, that the Bride and Bridegroom remain hidden for a period of 7 days.

What an amazing parallel that the Rapture should happen just prior to the beginning of the 7 year Tribulation and that Jesus Bride, all of us, will remain hidden with Him in heaven for the entire 7 years that the Tribulation period is happening on the earth.

18.    After the seven days, the Hebrew Groom would escort his bride out of the place where she has been sheltered, to return to her friends with her veil removed so everyone could see her.

Revelation 19:11-14
11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.
12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.
13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.

At the end of your 7 year marriage feast to Jesus, as you have become His Bride, Jesus now rides out of heaven as The Word of God, along with a great army of people who are dressed in pure white linen.

The only people in heaven that can wear the pure white linen is Jesus Bride.  Pure White lines is given ONLY to those redeemed by the Blood of the lamb.

Here in Revelation chapter 19, you are seen as returning to the earth at the end of 7 year Tribulation with Jesus, as He is about to set up His 1,000 year reign on the earth.

When we return to the earth with Jesus, as Revelation chapter 19 describes this event, then all the world will finally see who we really are, we are Jesus Bride, perfect and spotless because of what Jesus has done for us.

This story of the traditional Hebrew wedding sounds very familiar doesn’t it? 

The Hebrew Rabbis have a saying that “Coincidence” is not a Kosher word!”  In other words, the Rabbis in Israel do not believe anything is a coincidence.

What we have just learned about the traditional Hebrew wedding being identical to the return of Jesus for us, is not an accident.  The Lord designed it this way so that we could see how and why the past 2,000 years of waiting for Him was necessary.

Jesus is coming soon, He is at the door, lift up your eyes, your redemption draws near!