My Hope Stands Firm in Jesus Christ

In this post, I will share why my HOPE stands firm in Jesus Christ and the “catching up” of His true followers before the “Wrath of God” is revealed. The quickly approaching period many refer to as the 7-year Tribulation.

You may be wondering, how can I be sure and know beyond a doubt that my HOPE stands firm in Jesus?

It’s simple. Jesus Christ, Himself told us what to expect in the Word and also by using the Galilean Wedding as His template for demonstrating the taking of His bride to be with Him.

One of the things we tend to forget is the culture of Jesus’ day.  Unless you understand the times in which He lived you will miss out on understanding His references and meanings.

We understand that Jesus lived in Galilee for approximately thirty years, and His 12 disciples were Galileans. So first let’s take a brief look at Galilee.

Did you realize:

• 1Kings states the land was a gift from King Hiram to King Solomon
• Galilee is mentioned 67 times in the Bible
  • 9 times in the Old Testament
  • 64 times in the New Testament
• 2/3rds of the gospel took place around Galilee
• 19 of Jesus’ 32 parables were spoken in Galilee
• 25 of Jesus’ 33 miracles were also in Galilee
• The Sermon on the Mount and the Transfiguration occurred in Galilee
• Galilee was a region of great natural fertility
• The historian Josephus estimates the population at 3,000,000.

Galilee customs were a bit different than the “traditional” customs of the region. They had their own unique culture. Especially when came to marriages. Which we will look at shortly. But first, we need to set the record straight.

The “Rapture” Controversy

There is much controversy over the doctrine of  “the Rapture”. It seems this phrase can start a wildfire larger than any we have seen. And in our country, we have seen many devastating fires recently.

A recent CNN article titled “For some Christians, ‘rapture anxiety’ can take a lifetime to heal” is an example of the deception and blindness of those who have been led astray from the truth of Scripture.

I was saddened when I read the above article. Mankind’s teachings or lack thereof in the pulpit have caused great confusion and deception on many biblical topics, especially concerning eschatology which is the study of biblical end-time events.

Erroneous Teachings

Satan is overjoyed when we do his work for him. Erroneous teaching from the pulpit is one of the main reasons many have no hope today. Why open a book that you have been taught is just a myth?

Many have no idea of the wonderful life that awaits those that that have accepted the gift of eternal life in the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Therefore, they cling to this world and its pain and sorrow believing this is as good as it gets. Many believe when the body dies, that’s it.

Moreover, It amazes me that more people believe in aliens from outer space, ghosts, spiritualism, etc. but scoffs at anything that has to do with the Creator God.

My Hope Stands Firm in The Rapture

Many argue that the “Rapture” is a modern invention. However, my hope stands firm in Jesus Christ and what He has stated in my “instruction manual”, the bible. Jesus Christ Himself stated in John 14: 2-3:

^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.” (Emphasis added)

John 14:2-3

Therefore, Jesus himself introduced the “Rapture/Catching up” with the above statement. Sounds like a 2000+ year doctrine to me. Likewise, in 1 Thessalonians 4 we are told:

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.” (Emphasis added)

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

Most of the English translations use the phrase “catching up” instead of the Latin term “Rapture”. Did you catch that?

The term “Rapture” IS IN the LATIN bible translation. Therefore, let’s move on from that unfounded argument, that the term “Rapture”  is not in the bible.

For the remainder of today’s post, I want to compare the Wedding custom of the Galileans to the statements Jesus made to His disciples explaining how they can stand firm in the knowledge that those who put their trust in Him have nothing to fear from the wrath of God to come.

Jesus Christ is returning again to set up His kingdom. However, before His second coming, He will come to get His bride to take her out of the world before the wrath of God is poured out on a world that has turned its back on Him.

A 2000+ Year Doctrine

While scholars debate the timing of the Rapture, the world has lost why this event is prophesied to occur in the first place; knowledge that was once understood by those in the first century. Today, researchers in the Middle East have rediscovered ancient anthropological evidence from the time of Christ that reveals exactly how and why the Rapture must occur; unveiling new biblical insight that will reignite hope for believers and prepare the world for what’s coming.

Galilee Weddings

One of the most prominent Galilean customs used most consistently throughout Jesus’ ministry was the Galilean wedding which was uniquely different from the standard Jewish wedding at that time. 

The Galilean wedding model is the template that Jesus uses to describe the Rapture of the Church.

In biblical times city gates were the central location for activities such as announcements, court proceedings, and important business activities. There were always people milling about the city gates. Business transactions were usually done at the city gates because of the many witnesses. Therefore, The betrothal between the groom and his family and his intended bride along with her family took place at the city gates.

• Betrothals were big news and many in the town would go to witness the proceedings
  • Kiddushin is the Hebrew word commonly translated as betrothal
• In the presence of both families, a written proposal for the betrothal was read out loud by the father of the groom.
  • The written proposal for the betrothal is called the ketubah, a marriage contract.
• Gifts were exchanged.
  • Mattan was the Hebrew word for the gifts given by the groom to the bride.
• A price was paid by the groom’s father to the father of the bride.
  • The price paid was called mohar.
  • In Galilee, the payment was to be used as a type of insurance policy to care for the bride in case something happened to her husband.

Jesus paid the price for His bride on the cross with His precious blood.

¹⁴ “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

John 3:14-17

Acceptance or Rejection

The next step in the betrothal is also unique to the Galileans.

• The groom pours wine into a cup and passes it to his intended bride.
  • This is known as the “Cup of Joy”.
  • Everyone holds their breath as the decision is up to the bride to either accept or reject the offer. Unlike other cultures, she alone will make the final decision.
  • She will either drink from the cup accepting his offer of marriage, or she will refuse the cup and there will be no wedding.
• By drinking from the cup and accepting his offer of marriage, she then passes it back to the groom.
• The groom then also drinks from the cup and with the covenant sealed the groom would publicly pronounce these words to the surrounding witnesses:
  • “You are now consecrated to me by the laws of Moses and I will not drink of the cup again until I drink it anew with you in my father’s house.”

²⁷ “Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸ For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. ²⁹ But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” (Emphasis added)

Matthew 26:26-29

Jesus fulfilled this Galilean bridegroom practice at the last supper.

As Jesus poured wine for His disciples His words described the significance of the cup in representing the bride price for the marriage contract. When the disciples drank from the cup, they were accepting the contract.

Communion, the Bride Price

At Communion, as we drink the cup and eat the bread, we reflect on Christ’s sacrifice and look forward to His return.  We remember the price He paid for the forgiveness of our sins and the guarantee of our eternal life through Him.  The price He paid, giving His life for us, can also be seen as the bride price. 

The Preparations

The Groom

From this point, the couple is legally married. However, they will not come together as husband and wife for approximately a year due to the preparations the bride and groom need to complete.

• The groom will now go back to his father’s home and build an additional room for him and his bride.
  • He also provides all the necessities needed for their life together.
  • Plus, the groom is responsible for preparing the wedding feast.

The period of time as stated above would usually be a year before the father of the groom sent the son to get his bride. Only the father knew the exact timing.  Once the groom had completed the preparations the father would decide when the time was right for the son to go get his bride.

Consider the following words of Jesus.

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.” (Emphasis added)

John 14:2-3

^“36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. ³⁷ But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. ³⁸ For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” (Emphasis added)

Matthew 24:36-39

The Bride

Meanwhile, the bride and her maids are busy preparing her wedding dress which could take months.

The bride not knowing the exact time the groom would return had to be sure she was always ready at a moment’s notice.

She did not know the exact time he would return but she did know the season. Therefore, as she understood the time was drawing near, the bride and her maids would sleep in their wedding clothes.

They also had to be sure to have plenty of oil for their lamps in case the groom returned for her during the night, which was usually the case.

The Townsfolk

The townsfolk could also tell when the time was getting close by watching the preparations. If they wanted to be part of the wedding feast they also had to be prepared at a moment’s notice.

⁴² “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. ⁴⁴ Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Emphasis added)

Matthew 24:42-44

The Time Has Come

Once all the needed preparations were ready, the father would inspect everything to be sure it met with his approval. But this did not mean that the groom could now go and get his bride. He had to wait until his father told him it was time.

• When the father decided the time was right, he would start the feast by waking his son in the middle of the night saying, “Go get your bride.”
  • The now awake son grabs a shofar, and he goes out into the town to announce to everyone that the time has come!
• The townsfolk who were prepared came out and joined the procession to the bride’s home.
• The bride and her maids hearing the shofar would come out to meet her groom.
• In Galilee, the bride is carried to the wedding feast in a litter. The tradition of carrying the bride is referred to as “flying the bride home.” 

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.” (Emphasis added)

1 Thessalonians:16-17

The Unprepared

Once the procession reached the father’s house and those who were prepared for this moment entered the house, the door was closed. Once the door was shut no one else was allowed to enter the feast. Those that were not prepared were left outside, unable to be a part of the wedding feast.

The door to the wedding feast was closed for 7 days. The Bride will be with the Lord safe in heaven during the 7-year Tribulation.

Will you be prepared for the Rapture or will you be part of the unprepared masses who will be left behind? Consider the following parable that Jesus used from Matthew 25.

The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins

“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. ³ Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, ⁴ but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. ⁵ But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

⁶ “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ ⁷ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

¹¹ “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ ¹² But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

¹³ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”

Matthew 25 1-13

I hope that you are prepared for being “Caught up/Raptured” when the Lord appears in the clouds to take His bride home with Him. You can be sure by accepting the precious gift of eternal life and following Jesus Christ. My HOPE stands firm in the Rapture because of Jesus Christ. My Hope is not in any earthly man.

Satan hopes you will not be prepared. However, you can be prepared for the Rapture of the Bride of Christ.

We may for a time struggle with the wrath of man. However, there is not one reason why we need to remain on earth to endure the Wrath of God. God plainly states this in His Word.

“For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,” – 1 Thessalonians 5:9

Be prepared, you do not need to be caught unaware by Jesus as a thief in the night.

He is waiting for you to drink from His cup, accept His proposal, and become part of His bride.

Will you accept and drink from His “Cup of Joy”?

Do you have a relationship with Jesus Christ?

Resources Used

• Who were the “Galileans” in the Days of Jesus? – Travelujah
• Galilee – It’s History and Importance in the Bible & Life of Jesus – BibleStudyTools.com
• Galilee – BibleStudyTools.com
• 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 – 1/19/2020, Pre-Tribulation Rapture Proof – Sermon by Pastor J.D. Farag
• Is the Rapture Foretold in the Traditional Galilean Wedding Ceremony?
• Before the Wrath
• A Carpenter’s View
• Ancient Jewish Marriage