Waiting for our Bridegroom
“In my Father’s house are many homes. If it weren’t so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also.” (John 14:2-3 WEB)
The passage above is Jesus speaking to the disciples. It sounds like the loving words of a bridegroom to his bride, because it is.
In Jewish custom, the bridegroom would prepare a honeymoon/nuptial room in his father’s house before fetching the bride there on a day that she doesn’t know. She only knows the approximate period where he will come, but not the exact day or hour.
Look at the sequence of events: 1) Jesus goes back to Heaven to prepare a place for the disciples, 2) He will come again to receive the disciples to Himself, 3) The disciples will finally be where He is in Heaven, in His Father’s house.
I believe that the disciples and all saints who are in Heaven at the moment, are not yet where Jesus is, in the temple of God in the highest part of Heaven.
There is a mountain of God there, the true Zion, where the true temple stands. Everything on earth in Jerusalem was built to reflect the heavenly truth. Even the location of the temple, the layout etc.
The mountain of God is off-limits to the spirits of the saints at the moment, but when Jesus comes again to receive His saints to Himself at the Rapture, we will be resurrected, receive our glorified bodies, and join Him in the highest part of Heaven to meet Abba God.
It’s not that we are not cleansed perfectly or not holy enough yet to approach God’s throne in Heaven. Our born-again spirits are already perfectly righteous and holy. But there is a right timing for the bride to meet the bridegroom.
We are waiting for Jesus to receive us to Himself, and we will join Him up there in our glorified bodies, not in spirit form.
The Jewish wedding customs give us clear sequence of the Biblical events to come.
About one week before the wedding, the bridegroom and bride don’t meet, to keep themselves ceremonially holy and to increase the anticipation for each other. This period represents our current time, where we are still eagerly waiting for Jesus’ return for His redeemed saints.
Even the spirits of saints in Heaven are also waiting for the Rapture so they can finally meet Jesus face to face.
Next in the heavenly wedding agenda is Jesus coming to catch us up to the air to meet with Him there, in the Rapture (harpazo).
Just picture a strong bridegroom lifting the bride off her feet, carrying her in his arms as she wraps her arms around his neck. That’s the romantic picture of the Rapture.
Then, in Jewish weddings, the bridegroom and bride will have a private wedding ceremony, followed by a honeymoon in the nuptial room prepared in the father’s house.
This honeymoon is the seven-years period of the Tribulation. While the world is going through the Tribulation, the Raptured saints will be safe in Heaven, enjoying closeness with Jesus.
After that, the bridegroom and bride will have a marriage supper to celebrate their new marital union with their family and friends. Many wedding guests are invited.
This is a picture of the marriage supper of the Lamb which will take place on earth, at the beginning of the Millennial Reign of Christ.
Jesus will come back to earth with us, to destroy the Antichrist and his wicked armies, and we will move into our marital home: Jerusalem. That’s where the Marriage Supper of the Lamb is going to be held, and also when we will stand before Jesus’ throne to receive our eternal rewards.
If you look at the Bible for what it really is, it is actually a love story. A story of a Father seeking a pure, beautiful and holy bride for His beloved Son who wants someone to lavish His love upon. If you miss this overarching theme of love, you have missed the entire point of the Bible.
Did you know that the Bible gives us some of the layout of Heaven and important geographical aspects of it? In the meantime, all saints are waiting for the Rapture in Paradise in the third heaven.
Knowing your eternal destination will give you a peace and confidence in your soul, enabling you to live life without the hovering cloud of uncertainty about what lies ahead.
Order and download my ebook “A Tour of Heaven and Eternity” to learn more about the third heaven and our final abode which is New Jerusalem: https://www.miltongoh.net/store/p15/a-tour-of-heaven-and-eternity-milton-goh.html
