![]() In an earthly marriage ceremony, both the bride and from make a pledge of love and fidelity. The Church has already been betrothed (pledged) to Him and is His promised inheritance for which He died ( John 6:37) The Covenant Confirmed This should remind us that it is the Father who gives the Bride, the Church, to His Son, Jesus. In an earthly marriage ceremony, the minister asks, “who gives this woman in marriage?” The father of the bride responds affirmatively. So also in the Rapture, the Bride will be called up and out of the world, and the Groom will descend from his own place, and receives her unto Himself. She meets her groom at the transept–where the horizontal crosses the vertical. ![]() As she walks down the aisle, which is straight and narrow, and, in a traditional cross-shaped church building, we can see a “picture” of the bride coming from the foot of the cross and moving forward to the head of the cross. The bride enters from the outside world, through the doors, and down the aisle to meet her groom. Rev 19:8 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. Just as earthly brides are adorned in beauty, so also the Bride of Christ will be presented to Jesus as a chaste, pure virgin. White, of course, is the raiment of righteousness and purity. Here comes the bride-and she’s all dressed in white. When the time is right, Jesus will come to receive His Bride, the Church. Jesus will come on the clouds from His Heavenly place, a place that we on the earth have not yet seen and we don’t know where it is. This prefigures what we are told will happen at the Rapture. Usually, he enters from an undisclosed room in which he has been waiting until the time to come forward to receive his bride. No one really knows from where he has come. With the invited wedding guests gathered, seated, and looking forward, the groom traditionally enters from the right side of the church. In churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave forming a cruciform (“cross-shaped”). It’s now an event venue called “ The Transept.” That’s a great name for a wedding venue, eh?Īs defined by Wikipedia, a transept is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the edifice. My daughter’s wedding was held in a historically restored, 1814, German Gothic design church. Many churches are built in the form of a cross with the length of the building being crossed by what is called a transept. And it will be more lavish and extravagant than any earthly celebration! Here are my thoughts for your consideration. May the typology of an earthly wedding be a reminder that God’s perfect plan for our glorification, as the Bride of Christ, awaits us. But remember, no pattern, typology, or metaphors “fits” perfectly in how they teach us about heavenly and spiritual things. ![]() Many things in our world are typological of God’s design and His prophetic plan. ![]() Now, before I share my thoughts, let me remind you that this is simply symbolism and a pattern that points to a promise. Setting aside the amazing fact that his bride agreed to this unusual change of tradition, it caused me to wonder, “Does an earthly wedding ceremony prefigure the ultimate wedding, when Jesus comes for His Bride? Is there a ‘picture’ in the bride and groom coming together as one that points to the Church and Christ being united?” Therefore, the Bridegroom should come to receive his bride, prefiguring how Jesus will come for His bride, the Church. The groom was a Christian, seminary graduate, teacher/preacher, and he believed that the wedding ceremony prefigured the Rapture. Years ago I heard about a Christian wedding ceremony in which the Bride stood at the front of the church and the groom came down the aisle to meet her. ![]() That’s partially covered in Are We the Bride of Christ Now? Or is That Future? While there is a great deal of typology in ancient Israel’s marriage customs, this is about Christian marriage ceremonies that are held in the times in which we live. Before starting, understand that this is not about the Jewish marriage traditions. ![]()
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