2013 A.D.: Are there too many parallels in the Jewish wedding traditions to Jesus' second coming?
I have read about the distinct (and intriguing) steps of a traditional Jewish wedding contract and ceremony a few different times now, and I agree that they may be prophetic, as some people have long contended. To a Christian, it's just amazing how crazily pre-figurative they are to the facts of Jesus' life and to the expectation of and prophesied events of His second coming. Yet these traditions are said to be ancient, preceding even Jesus' time. And that may be true. We do know that in Samson's time some of these steps seem to have been in place. But outside of that there is not all that much mentioned in the Bible about Jewish wedding ceremonies.
We Christians are taught and believe that all who give themselves to, and then trust and believe in Jesus, all such people that He counts as being sincerely His, are His 'BRIDE'. Those He approves of as His accepted Christians, both the dead and the living, whoever they will be, collectively form His BRIDE. And He will come at an unexpected time to remove His bride one day it tells us in scripture, to remove her from harm's way before the wrath of God is exercised against the wicked and unbelieving remainder of people that reside upon the Earth.
Once you take that as a given supposition, then the events leading up to a traditional Jewish wedding are like the story of Christianity in a nutshell. It's simply amazing, really. There are websites where you can read about the traditional events of a Jewish wedding, as practiced even back in Jesus' time as I understand it, and how they relate, point by point to Christianity. It's not a long read, but it's an amazing one. And there are other sites that go into it in more detail if you wish, and a quick internet search will easily find them.
There's a short comparison for you to read here, but other sites are more authoritative and look at it in more detail. Maybe you should read those too.
Please share it with other Christians if you feel so led. It's yet another evidence that the Jews are God's chosen people, presently blinded to the truth of Christianity according to the words of Jesus Himself, and also evidence that Christianity was the true covenant provided by the Father, given to replace Mosaic law. That truth is built right into the ancient traditions of the Jewish wedding ceremony itself; it appears. I agree with those who say so anyway. See what you think.
The steps of a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony:
MAKING THE MATCH.
Jewish Wedding Tradition: The Father of the groom made the decision, the choice, giving consideration to the groom's wishes. The Father might use an agent if He chose. The Bride was not forced but would give her consent to the match that was offered, though she was to respect her parents.
Christianity: God the Father foresaw who would be His. He has a true Son, Jesus, Who was directly 'of' the Father by means unknown to man, who needs and deserves a suitable helper, or a 'bride' if you will. Christians were envisioned as that suitable bride. Men and women who would join to Christ as truly as a bride joins her husband.
PAYING THE BRIDE PRICE:
Jewish Wedding Tradition: The Father had to pay the Bride Price. It was reflective of the value of the particular bride. An excellent bride commanded an excellent price.
Christianity: God the Father allowed His only begotten Son to be jeered at, mocked, punched, beaten, whipped, called a liar and worse, publicly humiliated, branded a villain, and hung to die upon a cross by wretched humans. Through this high price paid by the Father, a way was made to obtain a bride for the Son. We could say, "Wasn't it actually Jesus that paid that price?" In a way He most certainly did, but if we think of Abraham taking Isaac up onto the mountain to sacrifice Him, isn't it true that Abraham was paying a terribly high price? Not only was he losing Isaac, who he valued so very much as his precious son, but also he was responsible for making his son's death happen. He was the means by which Isaac's death would happen. It was because of Abraham's authority that Isaac was submitting to the process of his own fleshly death...Isaac was doing it to please his father. Yes, Isaac had accepted the cost and agreed to endure the act required, but Abraham was in a terrible position, yet went to do it because of how much love was in his heart for God. Well, God caused Jesus to go through what He went through because of how much the Father loved mankind.....unworthy mankind. It is a total credit to Jesus' character that He readily endured it all for the sake of the Father and mankind, but if we ask, "Did God the Father pay a high price?", that answer has to be yes, doesn't it? Yes, in many ways.
LOVE GIFTS:
Jewish Wedding Tradition: These are gifts that the groom gives to the bride out of love. They are not necessary or demanded by tradition yet have so often been given by grooms to their brides that they have been given the name MATTAN. It can be up to 2 years, the literature that I've read says, between the time that the agreement is made and the time that the groom comes for his bride. So, love gifts could help the waiting be less painful and frustrating, I suppose.
Christianity: The wait for a Christian to be united to Jesus obviously varies. For one thing, our lives could be long or short. For another, will we dwell with Jesus immediately, or will we sleep until Judgment Day (assuming we are allowed to dwell in Heaven)? Some Christians believe the one thing, some Christians believe the other. Some believe other things. I believe we probably wait in the place described in the parable of Lazarus. In any case, the wait can seem long. But God may give us various blessings to soothe us, to cheer us, to encourage. He may give us 'a peace that surpasses all understanding'. Or a great family. Or deep faith, or special understandings. He can grant us any number of great things as we travel our path to ready ourselves for His family.
THE BRIDE'S DOWRY:
The Jewish Wedding Tradition: The father of the bride gives gifts to his daughter, the bride, so that her future is more secure, so she is more obviously honored in the sight of the people, and so that she is that more valuable and desirable of a bride. This is part of her inheritance, given to her as she moves to occupy her new position in the world.
Christianity: Gifts of the Holy Spirit come to those born again, born into companionship as new Christians. These gifts are from the new Christian's Father, the Father Almighty, given through the Holy Spirit of the Father, who we call 'the Holy Spirit'. The gifts vary from person to person, yet all are honorable and special, useful and influential to non-believers. They also give confidence to those who receive them. They are part of the Christian's inheritance.... a very exciting part. If a new Christian believes that they have not received them they must never fake them. That is a very high sin. Just examine yourself, remove and abandon all questionable practices, and keep praying and pressing in as you have faith in God's promise and show patience. God sees each person's heart and will know when you are ready. So, live as a Christian in all ways, and count it as a fact in faith that the gifts are on their way towards you already, be it one gift or two, a high gift or a less showy type. All are important and work together for God's glory, not our own.
THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT:
Jewish Wedding Tradition: There was an actual contract that stated the rights of the Bride, and which also enumerated the promises of the Groom to his bride. It was signed. Interestingly, there are certain points in the marriage process when there needs to be TWO WITNESSES provided by the groom, and they sign the marriage proposal, the marriage contract, and they would even follow the groom and bride to the bridal chamber and guard the door until the marriage could be consummated. Then, when proof of consummation and the bride's purity was provided (the bloody sheet) they would leave and there was celebration, but for 7 days the bride and groom remained together, mostly secluded.
The events in Revelation speak of TWO ENDTIMES WITNESSES that will speak and try to convince the world to accept Jesus as their Lord. It is often said that it will be Moses and Elijah, but ......?
This next thing I will mention isn't an example of how the Jewish wedding relates to Christianity, but just a description of something that I think is a beautiful part of Jewish weddings. They read these 7 blessings aloud when the contract has been signed:
1) You are blessed, Lord our God, the Sovereign of the world, Who created everything for His Glory.
2) Blessed are you, Lord our God, sovereign of the universe, fashioner of the man.
3) You are blessed, Lord our God, the Sovereign of the world, Who created man in His own image, in the pattern of His own likeness, and provided for the perpetuation of his kind. You are blessed Lord, the creator of man.
4) Let the barren city be jubilantly happy and joyful at her joyous reunion with her children. You are blessed, Lord, who makes Zion rejoice with her children.
5) Let the loving couple be very happy, just as You made your creation happy in the garden of Eden, so long ago. You are blessed Lord, who makes the bridegroom and the bride happy.
6) You are blessed, Lord our God, the sovereign of the world, who created joy and celebration, bridegroom and bride, rejoicing, jubilation, pleasure and delight, love and brotherhood, peace and friendship. May there soon be heard, Lord our God, in the cities of Judea and in the streets of Jerusalem, the sound of joy and the sound of celebration, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the happy shouting of bridegrooms from their weddings, and of young men from their feasts of song. You are blessed Lord, who makes the bridegroom and the bride rejoice together.
7) You are blessed, Lord our God, the sovereign of the world, for creating the fruit of the vine.
A wine glass is stomped upon. This is a remembrance of the destruction of the 2nd temple by Rome in 70 A.D. It is a remembrance of a sad thing in the midst of their joy.
Christianity: The Christian (the Church, the Bride) is entered into a new contract with Jesus the bridegroom, a covenant of Jesus' blood, and here is one instance of scripture speaking of it:
"But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days," says the Lord: "I will put My laws into their minds, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. And each person will not teach his fellow citizen, and each his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know Me, from the least to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their wrongdoing, and I will never again remember their sins."
We Christians have a side of the contract to uphold as well. We must tell others of the work that Jesus did for sinners like us, providing a way for the repentant sinner that chooses Jesus as their Lord a way to avoid the never-ending flames of hell, and in fact even become a citizen of Heaven. We are to 'Love God with all of our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength, and love our neighbor as ourselves.'
THE ACTUAL MARRIAGE OR BETROTHAL CEREMONY
Jewish Wedding Ceremony: They drink a cup of wine, accepting the union between themselves, making it official in public, so to speak.
Christianity: Jesus drank a cup of communion wine with His Apostles at the last supper, and broke bread with them. It was a celebration of their belonging to each other, and though the 'GROOM', Jesus, was about to go away, there was the promise that He would not forget them and would be back for them.
THE MARRIED COUPLE'S WEDDING NIGHT, THEIR FIRST NIGHT TOGETHER
Jewish Wedding Ceremony: The groom's father decides which day it shall be when the groom shall go and grab his bride. Traditionally, the groom has prepared a house or at least a room in his parents' house for he and his bride to live in, and when the father thinks it has been completed to a respectable standard, then after that he will give his son permission to go and 'abduct' his bride. She might have waited, preparing for married life, for up to two years. But when he comes for her ti is supposed to be a surprise. The groom comes with friends, he grabs his bride, symbolically abducting her, and takes her off to their new home where they will live. The two of them are crowned as if they were royalty. There is much celebration among their friends.
Christianity: Jesus will come at a time when no one is expecting it, he will snatch up His bride the church, and carry those people away to be with Him. This will also save them from whatever portion of the great tribulation has not yet occurred. There will be much joy, and there will be the 'supper of the lamb', that lamb being Jesus, and those invited to his supper will eat a joyful repast with Him. Christians will be crowned with actual crowns to whatever extent that they are deserving in Jesus' eyes. Jesus Himself will wear crowns, for He will now be King of His long-awaited Kingdom as the Father wishes Him to be. Christian's lives will be reviewed, they will be judged and rewarded according to their lives.
These are a few ways in which Jewish wedding traditions may seem to point to Christianity and the events of the Gospels and of the Book of Revelation. Some Jewish people are adamant that this is a misinterpretation, but it is an easy enough connection to make if you are Christian, I believe. Whether you believe it or not, it's worth knowing about, isn't it?
Hello,
I believe that knowing how many great deeds of God have actually occurred through out history will lead some people to be saved through joining their life to Christ. If you agree, then please, take the time to be a 'missionary', to love your neighbor enough to care about their soul. Please mention and recommend visiting the Deeds of God website on any social media sites that you belong to. Tell a favorite account to your friends or family, and tell them where you read it. To know God is to stand in awe of Him, but too few people know Him today. Accounts like these are yet another way to come to know Jesus and the Holy Father, and the Spirit of Truth that helps us understand. Thank you. Dan Curry