Galilean Wedding Significance

In Matthew 21:11 we get confirmation that Jesus was from Nazareth in Galilee, and therefore was Galilean. Throughout Jesus's ministry he periodically uses terminology related to wedding practices. His first miracle is performed at a wedding — possibly hinting at the significance of wedding imagery to the purposes of His ministry. However, the first mention of this analogy is from John the Baptist found in John 3:28-29 where John associated the Messiah (Jesus) to a bridegroom and mentions that the bride belongs to Him. John also describes himself as the friend of the bridegroom who waits and listens for Him — alluding to Johns ministry to preach that the Messiah is coming. In Mark 2:19-20 Jesus refers to Himself as the bridegroom and his 12 disciples as wedding guests. The analogy being used is demonstrably prophetic in nature.

"You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ He who has the bride is the groom; but the friend of the groom, who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly because of the groom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full."

John 3:28-29

The Galilean Wedding Tradition

To understand what is being communicated with the various wedding references, we need to first establish what the Galilean Wedding traditions are. There is a great documentary currently available free on Tubi called "Before the Wrath" I recommend it as it covers a lot of what I have to say on this page. The following are the steps of the Galilean Wedding:

Betrothal

Covenant Agreement - An often written agreement between the groom and the bride's family.
Cup of Joy - The groom offers a cup of wine to the bride symbolic of the offering of the covenant. She drinks to accept.
Consecration - The groom confirms the covenant by declaring the bride consecrated to him.

Preparations

Groom's Preparations - The groom prepares a dwelling place often in his father's house to signify readiness to receive his bride.
Bride's Preparations - The bride prepares her wedding attire and awaits the groom's arrival with her bridal party.

The Wedding

Groom's Journey - The groom, accompanied by his friends, goes to the bride's house, often at a time unknown to her.
Brides Reception - The bride, often veiled, is raised up on a bridal carriage and escorted to the groom's father's house.
Consummation - The bride and groom enter the bridal chamber (hupah) to consummate the marriage, while the wedding party celebrates outside.
Announcement - The groom announces the consummation to the celebrating guests, who then begin the week-long (seven day) feast.

The Wedding Feast

Celebration - The wedding feast lasts for seven days and nights, with the bride and groom remaining secluded in the bridal chamber.
Closed Doors - During this time, the father of the groom closes the door to the house, symbolizing the exclusivity and finality of the union.
Unveiling - At the end of the feast, the groom brings the bride out, now unveiled, to be seen by all.

Betrothal - The Last Supper

It is in Jesus's final moments with His disciples that we find the Galilean wedding analogy's betrothal. In Matthew 26:26-29, Jesus tells His disciples to drink of the cup of wine and explains that it is symbolic of His blood of the covenant being poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. This is the same as the groom offering the cup of wine to the bride in order for her to accept or reject His offer of marital covenant. The "marriage" in this case is Jesus offering personal relationship to those who accept the covenant offer. Those who accept enter into eternal relationship with Him and have a future place in the Kingdom of Heaven — His Father's house. As is customary in the Galilean wedding, Jesus also tells them that He will not drink of the fruit of the vine again until He drinks it with those that accept it in His Father's kingdom.

Preparations - The Groom

In the Galilean wedding there are preparations carried out by both parties. The groom is charged with returning to His Father's house to prepare a place for the bride to live. In John 14:2-3 Jesus tells His disciples that He's going to prepare a place for His followers and will come again to take them where He is. This is the exact pattern that we see in the Galilean wedding — the betrothal occurs, the Groom leaves the bride to make preparations, and the Groom returns at a later time to fetch His bride back to His Father's house. The time in which the groom goes to fetch His bride is determined by His Father. The Father determines when the preparations have been made and the time is right to retrieve the bride. Often misused verses, Matthew 24:36,42 give this same level of anticipation for the church in which we're told that we should be on alert as because only the Father knows the day and the hour that the Lord (the groom) will return. I have more to say about these verses on the No One Knows The Day Page.

Preparations - The Bride

After the betrothal, the bride waits for the groom with anticipation. Her time of waiting is a period of spiritual cleansing and preparation where she focuses on purity and readiness for the groom. As the bride waits, she is to prepare the wedding attire with her bridesmaids the wedding attire and wait in her wedding attire with her lamp ready at a moment's notice without knowing the exact day and hour the groom will come. We learn in Revelation 19:7-8 that the bride prepares herself in the righteous acts of the saints. So, we are to seek to do good in preparation for the coming of our Lord. We find this concept underscored in verses throughout the New Testament where believers are called to strive toward — not requiring perfection as a means to earn salvation, but to present oneself to the groom at the appointed time as beautiful as possible. It is Jesus's atonement for our sins that establishes our purity (Rev 7:14) and the work of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:11, 1 Peter 1:2), to progressively sanctify believers. We even see this with the Old Testament priests in Leviticus 20:7-8 where God tells them to consecrate themselves and be holy but then states that the Lord is who sanctifies. So, we can gather from this that the call on the priests was to obey and the ultimate sanctification relied on God the only one who is truly Holy.

"Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, eager for good deeds."

Titus 2:13-14

The bride is also expected to have her lamp ready at a moment's notice as it's possible the groom might come in the night. This too is represented throughout scripture. The oil and the lamp are representative of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. In the old testament we see priests, prophets, and kings anointed with oil with the symbolism being that they be endowed with the blessing and guidance of the spirit of God to carry out their duties of office. In the cases of oil anointing there is often an account following the anointing that the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon that person afterward. So, we can surmise from this that the bride is to be in communion with the Holy Spirit in preparation for the Bridegroom. The lamp is also significant in the bride's preparation. We learn in Psalm 119:105 that the word is likened to a lamp that provides light and guides our path. So, the bride should ready herself in the truth of the word and to seek communion and help from the Holy Spirit to guide her sanctification and preparation for the coming of the Bridegroom.

The Wedding

"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words." 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

In the Galilean wedding customs, the Groom eventually comes blowing a trumpet to notify of His arrival to retrieve His bride. The bride rushes to meet Him and is elevated on a seated platform called a "litter" and carried to her new home. We see this same action typified in scripture in Thessalonians 4:16-18 (above) where the church is promised to be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air and afterwards always be with Him.

When the bridal party arrives at the Father's house, a wedding celebration week begins for the party guests while the bride and Groom go into the bridal chambers to consummate the marriage. Once the celebration is beginning, the Father closes the doors to anyone who was not prepared, who rejected the invitation, or who was not invited. During the seven day feast, the bride remains in the bridal chamber, and only at the end of the feast is the bride revealed once again to the bridal party. I believe this seven day celebration is a typology of the Seven Year Tribulation to be preceded by The Rapture of The Church to meet the Lord in the air and swept away into the Father's house for a seven year bridal week. Meanwhile, the inhabitants of Earth who rejected the invitation, or were not prepared to come to the wedding will be shut out until the end of the celebration when the bride is once again revealed at the time of the second coming of Jesus.

We're shown the preparation of the bridesmaids & wedding guests in the parable Jesus tells during the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 25:1-13 and another teaching inLuke 13:22-30 where we come to understand that some in the kingdom of heaven will not be prepared when the Groom returns and will find that the wedding feast door is shut to them. This is an admonishment to live ready for the imminent return. It is my belief that the time of the return of the Groom is very near and the time for preparation is ending. Now is the time to get as serious as you can about your relationship with God. Repent and believe, the Kingdom of God is at hand!

Other Corroborating Typologies

As far as the potential connection of the pre-tribulation rapture to the retrieval of the bride, it is worth mentioning that there exists various typologies throughout the Bible:

Genesis 5 - Enoch

Enoch, who was raptured, was 6th born from Adam. So, this looks to possibly foreshadow rapture in the 6th millennial day

Genesis 29 - Jacob, Leah, & Rachel

In Genesis 29 we find the account of Jacob working seven years for his desired bride just to learn that he has earned a different wife. He learns that his chosen bride is not available to him and is pressed to marry another bride first. Upon completing the unchosen bride's bridal week (Genesis 29:27-28) he then married his chosen bride and is pressed to work for another seven years.

This reflects how God's chosen people rejected the Messiah and ushered in the church age. The church becomes the bride of God during the seven year tribulation (presumably not what Rachel wanted either) and then the promises made to the chosen people are fulfilled.

Nation of Priests

1 Peter 2:5,9 establishes that believers are being built up into a royal priesthood. This is further confirmed in Revelation 1:5-6.
Leviticus 8 outlines the consecration process of priests with the process taking seven days (Leviticus 8:33). Verse 35 even says that this process is to protect them from death just as a pre-tribulation rapture would do for the church.
So, it appears that the church will be being consecrated during the seven year tribulation period and made ready by the time of His second coming (Revelation 19:7).

Revelation 19:7-10 mentions the marriage of the Lamb and it seems to be directly followed by the second coming of Christ, which is known to occur at the end of the tribulation period. So, this appears to potentially confirm the bride is in the Father's house for the seven year tribulation since the church doesn't really receive mention for the majority of Revelation (with some debate) until this point.