Don't Miss The Wedding Series

Several years ago, Dave Best and his fiancée planned more than a year in advance their wedding in Wales on July 6, 2008. They wanted to give their family and friends plenty of time to prepare, but they worried that even with all that lead time, some of them would not be able to attend. They didn't need to worry about their friend Dave Barclay, though. He was so excited about the wedding that he showed up a year early!

When Dave Best wrote Barclay about the July 6 wedding in Wales, Barclay assumed Best meant July 6, 2007. So Barclay bought a plane ticket from Toronto for $1,000. Once he arrived in Wales, he called Best to get a few details about the location of the venue for the ceremony. It was only then that Barclay discovered he was a bit ahead of schedule.

After a year, Barclay gave it another try. He said, “At least it assured me a mention in the wedding speech” (Reuters, “Wedding guest turns up a year early," www.uk.reuters.com, 7-11-07; www. PreachingToday.com).

Dave Barclay was well prepared for that wedding.

2,000 years ago, Jesus planned for His wedding with the church, the body of people who would trust Him with their lives. At the time, He didn’t have a specific date, but He paid the bridal price on a cross, rose from the dead, and returned to His Father’s house to prepare a place for you and me who believe in Him.

Before He left, He promised to return to get His bride and bring her to His Father’s house, where they would enjoy their wedding festivities. We’ve had plenty of time to prepare. The question is: Are you ready for the wedding? If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Matthew 25, Matthew 25, where Jesus tells us how to get ready for the wedding.

Matthew 25:1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom (ESV).

Jesus’ audience looked forward to a coming Kingdom, where Messiah would rule over the whole world from Jerusalem, bringing peace and prosperity for everyone in His Kingdom. Here, Jesus describes that Kingdom as a wedding.

So if you want to understand the coming Kingdom of Heaven, it helps to understand the wedding customs of His day.

When the groom’s father declared the groom was ready to get his bride, the groom returned to his bride’s home to bring her to their new home together in his father’s house. As he got close to the bride’s home, the bridal party would go out to meet him on the way. Then together, in a grand procession with torch lights, they would accompany the groom back to his father’s house. There, a rabbi performed the wedding ceremony, which allowed the bride and groom to consummate their marriage. Typically, in Jesus’ day, that ceremony was the start of a seven-day celebration ((D. A. Carson, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, Vol. 8, p. 513; C. S. Keener, C. S., 2014, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, Second Edition).

In the same way, Jesus will return for His bride, the church. All those in the bridal party will meet Him on the way and return with Him to His Father’s house, where they’ll celebrate for seven years (not seven days), while those on earth will go through great tribulation (Daniel 9:27; Revelation 11:2-3; 12:6; 13:5).

In Revelation 19, John describes that wedding celebration in heaven. He writes:

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:6-8).

That marriage supper happens in heaven while the earth is going through tribulation (as described in the previous chapters, Revelation 6-18). Then, Jesus will return with His bride to rule and reign on this earth for a thousand years (as described in the next chapter, Revelation 20).

Do you want to participate in that great wedding feast? Then...

BRING YOUR LAMP AND JOIN THE BRIDAL PARTY.

Connect with the church as you wait for the Bridegroom’s coming. Associate with Christ’s bride, the body of believers, as you wait for Jesus’ soon return.

In her book Traveling Mercies, Anne Lamott shares a story her pastor once told about the need for a church family.