Marriage Made in Heaven

We have been working to the book of Revelation and improving our eschatology. We looked at a passage in Daniel, and the rapture. is so very relevant as is 2 Thes 4.

There are so many topics to cover from an eschatological standpoint and we only have so much time. Worth covering is the idea of the 144,000, the 24 elders, the Judgement seat of Christ (or the Bema), the Mark of the Beast, or the new Jerusalem.

Hard to choose, but today I want to speak to you on a topic that is so relevant today, so misused and mis understood, so abused by our society, it is near blasphemous. The Wedding Ceremony

Stop, i know what your thinking…really, are you going to go over our vows with us, make us all stand and repeat them. No, not even close.

But I do want to give you context on a very serious subject in scripture, and my hope is you will never look at a wedding ceremony the same again.

I bet you can name some famous wedding ceremonies

Jacqueline and John F Kennedy

Antony and Cleopatra

In 2011, billions of people watched Prince William and Kate Middleton as it became the wedding of the new millennium. The cost was noted to be about 34m.

The royal wedding cake was 80k, Kate’s gown was 434k, royal flowers were 800k.

All this didn’t compare to Princess Diana Spencer and Prince Charles. They spent somewhere in the neighborhood of 48m, worth an estimated 100m today.

The average american wedding comes in at 27k, an average American cake 540, and the average gown 1099.

What’s all this have to do with our topic today? Everything. God himself is the author of marriage. It is the first human institution he created when he paired Eve with Adam.

The bible mentions at least 20 weddings. Can you name a few?

Where did Jesus perform his first miracle? The bible continually mentions marriages to accentuate their importance in God’s plan. That plan we mentioned that isn’t complete yet. There is more to come. We are just a generation of many generations taking part in the plan. But remember, we are the church. We are a distinct people in the plan God has from beginning to end.

So, name the participants at a typical wedding ceremony today?

Bride and Groom

Minister (I hope)

The Bridesmaids (maid of honor)

The Groomsmen (best man)

Families (that special uncle or aunt, or both)

Guests

Ever pulled off a good practical joke at a wedding and got away with it?

Chris Michelle, bull ring, bottom of shoes, can goods in their house

Rice in the car and the gear shift wouldn’t work...

The bible mentions weddings, God ordains them, and any wedding we have mentioned prior to this pales in comparison to what is to come.

There is a heavenly wedding coming, cost is astronomical, and it is on God’s prophetic calendar! The events on our eschatological calendar that lead us to this day are these:

The Rapture

The Judgment Seat of Christ

The Marriage of the Lamb

As the church, you and I, will be caught up to the Father’s house, each believer will be rewarded, then, the bride will be presented to the bridegroom. All this happens prior to Christ returning to earth at His second coming.

God is the author of marriage relationships.

I want you to hear this. The Father, our Heavenly Father instituted the covenant of marriage. He takes it very seriously. He courted Abraham, made a covenant with him and together they established what is to come.

Do you remember the courting days? Do you remember how your heart skipped a beat at the sight? What true love felt like?

Back to

Angel spoke, write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the lamb...

You are invited. You will be a participant of this royal wedding. You, your name, written in the lamb’s book of life, gets an invitation.

But like any good wedding there are phases:

There is the pick out dress phase, the try on shoes phase, the get hair done phase…the bachelor party...no not really...

Here are the Royal Participants

The Father is the divine host of the wedding (get that! Our heavenly Father has arranged all this) He selected the bride for his Son, and He sends out invitations. Many will not attend...

Matthew 22:2–3 NKJV

“The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come.

Matthew

The invitation portion is still occuring

We evangelize and when people come to Christ, they get an invitation

Scriptural references:

On one occasion Jesus asked, do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom?

Luke 5:34 NKJV

And He said to them, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?

John 3:27–29 NKJV

John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.

John 3:

Our wedding has a groom, Jesus, we have a host, our heavenly Father, now the bride.

The Church

Ephesians 5:25–26 NKJV

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,

Ephesians

Now for the guests (back to Revelation)

Revelation 19:9 NKJV

Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”

They are Old Testament and Tribulation saints who will be resurrected at the second coming. Rapture-church goes, then the judgement seat where rewards handed out. Next, the second coming, OT rapture, judgement, then the wedding feast.

Turn to

The wedding ceremony will only involve the church, but the feast will include the OT and Tribulation saints.

Ancient Weddings

When I am asked to perform a wedding, one of the jobs I have is to finalize the order of the service. Generally, the bride has input, the brides mother has input and the groom, well he mostly remains silent.

We move things around, candles here, rings there, vows here and the exit!

Most of the evangelical weddings are similar with small variations. Foot washing is optional, prayer at the altar can occur. Unity candles, reading of scripture, favorite songs etc.

Ancient marriages, or wedding ceremonies had different steps than we are accustomed to:

The father picks the bride.

Ephesians 1:4 NKJV

just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,

The Father of the groom contacts the father of the bride. If the proposed marriage is acceptable, the two families enter into a binding contract that spells out the terms and the financial arrangements.

There is the solemn oral commitment in the presence of witnesses

The pledge of money and a written pledge or contract

and a written pledge or contract

This is a binding contractual agreement between the families and can only be broken by death - til death do us part, they are considered husband and wife from that time forward, even though the ceremony has not occured, and may take up to a year to consummate.

therefore...

Any violation of the contract, the relationship is considered adultery and is punishable by death.

Matthew 1:18 NKJV

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 1:18

Betrothed! Not yet married!

What was Joseph to do when he found Mary to be with child?

He heard from the angel, took her as his wife and and did not know her until she had brought forth her firstborn son, and she called his name Jesus.

Marriages are being torn to shreds in our world. We have lost the sacred fear of God’s wrath and missed His message and example of love.

This is a commitment made by the Father. Father, do you think we can live together before we commit to this covenant?

2 Corinthians 11:2–3 NKJV

For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Who was the prophet called to marry a prostitute? Hosea

Why was he called to this way of life?

Israel, committed adulterous sins constantly! Spiritual Adultery permeated the people!

Where is our culture today?

Last, gifts are given:

The Father pays a price for the bride.

Next the bride’s father gives the bride a gift: sometimes servants sometimes land.

Last, the bridegroom (we shorten to groom) He gives gifts to his bride, jewelry or cloths.

Our wedding ceremony is shortened but the covenant remains. Unfortunately we have taken the very sacred and cast it down and broken it for idols that cannot save.

Today, we are in the betrothal stage.

The Father selected you and me for His Son. The Father has paid a price for us. Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross.

1 Peter 1:18–19 NKJV

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

The dowry has also been given. The Father has given each of us a gift; the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 1:13–14 NKJV

In Him 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, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

In our manual, we adamantly advise those to be wed that they not enter into this covenant unadvisedly, but reverently, discreetly and in the fear of God.

Like Israel of old, we have closed our mind, ignored the prophets and shaken our fist at God…you can’t tell me what to do!

The consequences of broken homes, wrecked lives, children in despair continue to rise. Yet God’s wisdom is far from our ears.

Like Israel, we cannot bring ourselves to fall on our knees and repent of our nations sin.

So we wait, we wait for you...

While we wait, know this:

The divine bridegroom will never violate His betrothal to us and the Father will never take back his dowry.

We don’t know how long this betrothal will last, however, it is our responsibility not to defile this relationship.

Remain pure, holy and acceptable which is your reasonable service!

Ephesians 5:25–27 NKJV

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

Romans 12:1–2 NKJV

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.