The Wedding Supper of the Lamb

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Be blessed by the last of 3 blogs written by Ocean Board member Danell Czarnecki 

The Bride and Groom are at last ready to live together as husband and wife. The promise was made; the betrothal is sealed; the bride has been captured; the veil has been lifted; and the wedding feast is coming.  The wedding feast lasted for seven days, imagine the party!!

And the angel said to me, “write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” Rev. 19:9

As the final preparations have been made; the wedding celebration begins. The bride and groom enter the huppah together, a canopy built to receive the new bride, symbolic of the beginning of a new household. Huppah, in Hebrew means covering or protection.

At this final step of sealing their union, a cup of wine is shared by both the bride and groom, from the same glass, called the cup of Redemption. After sharing the cup, a “breaking of the new glass” took place, representing the breaking away of the old, entering into something new.

In pondering the “breaking of the glass” tradition, I can’t help but be reminded of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, and the breaking of Jesus on the cross, blending sorrow with hope, as the final act before the celebration. It also serves as a reminder that each of us, and the world, desperately need repair, even in times of great joy.

Jesus came as our Kinsman Redeemer to bring a new covenant, breaking away of the old and entering into something new. And we are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb upon His return.

Following the pattern of an ancient Jewish wedding, Jesus invites His disciples to a banquet in an upper room the night before he’s crucified. (Passover) He initiates a betrothal ceremony and takes a cup of wine and says, this is my blood, a new covenant.

There are 4 cups of wine at the Passover; the cup of Sanctification (I will bring you), the cup of Deliverance (I will free you), the cup of Redemption (I will redeem you) and the cup of Praise (I will take you).  It seems Jesus did not drink from the final cup at the Last Supper; but He raised the cup and said “..I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until the day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s Kingdom” (Mt. 26-29)

I think Jesus was alluding to the day when He returns and the last cup of wine is poured, the Cup of Praise, and we all partake at the wedding feast after the shofar has sounded and the bride has been captured.

John 14:1-3, Jesus says,

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I wold have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 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.”

Jesus is waiting to share the Cup of Praise until the time when He returns for His Bride and takes us to the marriage supper of the Lamb. What a glorious celebration that will be!

You have been chosen by the Father as worthy (1 Peter 2:9). The world’s love will fail you, hurt you and disappoint you; but the perfect love of your Heavenly Father and Jesus, your groom, will never fail; never disappoint and never leave you alone.

Your Mohar has been paid with the blood of Jesus Christ.

You have a Ketubah, the promises in His word are for you!

Jesus has offered you the Cup of Betrothal. 1 Cor. 11:24, “This is my body given for you..”

You’ve been given the gift of the Holy Spirit as Jesus returns to His Father’s house to prepare a place for you.

And Jesus has promised to return for you.

In anticipation of your Groom’s return; as you look forward to the Cup of Praise awaiting you in your everlasting Home; Jesus ask you, are your preparing yourself; are your garments ready? Is your lamp lit and your oil jars full? trust that I am coming for you…

Because no one know the time except the Father.  May He find us ready…

Unveiling the Bride

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Blog Written by Oceans board member Danell Czarnecki.

In an ancient Jewish wedding, the last step before the wedding feast is called the Nissuin, or Home-taking. Nissuin in Hebrew means “to lift or to carry.”

Prior to the Nissuin, the couple are betrothed, but living as husband and wife. The groom has gone to prepare a place in his father’s house. The bride, waits for her groom to return for her. While waiting she prepares her wedding garments and keeps her lamp lit and oil jar filled at all times for she knew not when her groom would return. She was to stay pure and faithful, and would not be seen in public without a covering over her face; separating her from others. Veiling was a form of modesty and keeping oneself holy. It also communicated that she had been betrothed to another.

It was probably easy at first. But when his return was delayed, the bride may even doubt and start to question his return.

In the same way, we are the consecrated, betrothed bride of Jesus, awaiting His return. We cannot fall into the enemy’s trap and allow doubt and fear to become our guide. We must be ready at all times for the return of our Bridegroom.

Jesus refers to the tradition, in Mark 13:32 when he tells his disciples of his return, “but of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”  

Then Jesus tells them parables to make sure they understand although He is going away it is important they live as a watchful bride; waiting for His return, living set apart for Him, and looking forward to the day when He comes again.

Once the groom’s father was satisfied that all was in order and prepared for the bride, friends of the bridegroom would sound the shofar and proclaim in the streets, “Behold the bridegroom cometh!” The bridegroom would then go with a procession to the bride’s house, usually at night, and “capture his bride.”

Once the bride and groom arrived at the father’s house, the final preparations for the wedding celebration would begin.

They would be separately immersed in the water called the Mikvah; symbolic of spiritual cleansing and to mark a new beginning. It was done as an important step in preparing the bride to receive her groom.

In Matthew 3:13-17, Jesus too was immersed (baptized) by John in the waters of the Mikvah at the Jordan River.

We are also asked to be immersed; setting ourselves apart and publicly declaring our devotion to Jesus.

“Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved…” (Mark 16:16)

Following the Mikvah, the bride was readied to be received by her groom, after dressing in her wedding garments, she was once again veiled, called the Badeken.

Remember the story of Jacob being tricked into marrying the veiled Leah when he thought he was marrying Rachel?

The groom would come to see the veiled bride before the celebration began, lifting the veil to confirm her identity. The bride and groom are typically alone at this point; imagine the intimacy as he lifts the veil, symbolic of two becoming one.

Let’s think about the veil the bride wears, it represents a separation of the bride from her beloved until they are joined and become one.

In the Old Testament the veil separated the Holy of Holies in the Temple, acting as a barrier between a Holy God and His people. When Jesus died on the cross the temple veil was torn from top to bottom. God had something new to say; you and I are no longer separated from Him, the veil has been lifted. We can enter into His presence without fear.

I believe we are called to be unveiled; a living parable of our life as the Bride of Christ. We are to remove our metaphoric veil and stop separating ourselves from our Beloved who loves us, and has goodness and kindness in mind for us, who call us to a new life with Him. Unlike the world, He will never hurt or disappoint.

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image…” (2 Cor. 3:18)

Let us take off the veil and live in perfect love with our bridegroom, and look forward to our Marriage Supper of the Lamb. (Rev. 6-9)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jesus and His Bride

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Blog written by Oceans’ Board Member Danell Czarnecki:

While in Fish Hoek last week, I had the privilege of visiting the church in Masi, it was a wonderful time of worship and testimony.

They invited me to share during their Sunday service and since it was Valentine’s weekend, I felt sharing about love, Jesus and the Bride would encourage them.

Ancient Jewish wedding traditions, and many of our current traditions, are rich with biblical history. There are three parts to a Jewish ceremony, each of which point to Jesus, and us, His bride.  The Shiddukhin, the Kiddushin, and the Nissuin.

The first part of the marriage process was the Shiddukhin or Arrangement. Jewish marriages were typically arranged, primarily by the groom’s father. The arrangement involved the Mohar, or bride-price, the Ketubah, or written promises of the groom for the bride, a cup of wine, called the Cup of Betrothal (or Sanctification), and a gift for the bride, from the groom, should she say yes.

Once the Shiddukhin, or arrangement part of the marriage was complete the couple entered into the next part called the Kiddushin, which translates to sanctification. This involved the groom offering the bride a cup of wine, the Cup of Betrothal, his way of saying “I will give my life for you, will you marry me?”

The consent of the bride-to-be was an important consideration. Rebecca, for example, was asked if she agreed to go back with Abraham’s servant to marry Abraham’s son Issac. (Genesis 24:57-59). Rebecca had a choice, she could have said no; but she veiled her face and went to meet Isaac as his betrothed.

The bride could refuse the offered cup or take and drink, her way of saying, “Yes, I will be yours and you will be mine.” (Song of Sol. 6:3) If she drank from the cup offered by the groom they would be considered officially married; but would need to complete the nest steps before living together as husband and wife.

The groom would then give his new bride a gift, a promise of his return, and leave to his father’s house. During the groom’s absence, which could be as long as a year or more, both the bride and groom had work to do. The groom returned to his father’s house to prepare a place for his bride and the bride would prepare her wedding garments and learn as much as she could about her groom.

When would he be back for her? No one knew but his father.  Jesus said, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”  Matthew 24:36

We also have a Shiddukhin and Kiddushin; God began an arrangement when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden.  He chose us; as the Father of Israel; and His Son; our bridegroom; to bring his bride (us) home to the Father’s house.

John 15:16 says, “you did not choose Me, but I chose you…”  and 1 Cor. 6:19-20 reminds us that we “are not your own…but were bought at a price”. 

The extravagant price, the Mohar, paid by our Heavenly Father, by sending His only Son to the cross.

We too have a “Ketubah”, the Bible, filled with the written promises of God.

Jesus offers the Cup of Betrothal through communion; we can refuse the cup or take and drink and become His.  Jesus offered the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.…” Luke 22:20

The gift Jesus left was the promise of the Holy Spirit, a guarantee of His return. And then He returned to His Father’s house 40 days after His resurrection to prepare a place for us.

John 4:12 “In my Father’s house there are many rooms, I go to prepare a place for you.”

When will Jesus, our bridegroom, return? No one knows but the Father. As we wait during our Kiddushin, our time of sanctification, are we preparing our wedding garments and learning as much as we can about our Bridegroom?

During this season of lent; let’s turn our eyes and attention to Jesus and ponder His sacrifice and promise to return for us.

 

 

 

Are You Glowing

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Is your wife glowing? I will never forget being at a men’s conference hearing a speaker say, “If you have been married for 7 years and your wife is not glowing chances are you are not loving your wife correctly?”  I have never forgotten that challenge and in fact have used it many times in pre-martial counseling.

World wide Valentine’s Day was celebrated over the weekend.  I saw lots of men running to the store on the 14th buying flowers and chocolate to demonstrate their love. But we all know love is so much more than gifts on Valentine’s Day. It involves tons of time and sacrifice to to give your heart to another.

We were blessed this past weekend to be in Masiphumelele Township and share this special weekend with dear brothers and sisters in Christ from the Gospel Outreach Church. Two of Oceans’ Board members Ken & Danell Czarnecki also took part in this joyful gathering. Danell had a powerful teaching about being the beautiful bride of Christ. She took us through several Scriptures describing the Jewish marriage process and how it correlated to the believers marriage to Christ.

It was masterfully done and the Holy Spirit used it to bless and encourage many who needed to hear what faithful love really looks like. So many have been hurt through broken vows and promises realizing the Hallmark view of love can’t come close to touching the deepest need in their heart.

One of the texts that Danell used was from 2 Cor. 3:18:

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

It was shared how when Christ died on the cross the veil in the temple was ripped from top to bottom as a sign that those married to Christ have full access to His unending love.  This visual correlates with the Jewish ceremony when the groom lifts the veil covering his bride’s face and has an intimate face to face encounter.

When we experience Christ’s love as shared in the Gospel story and encounter by faith His glorious face we will glow like a bride on her wedding day. There is an old song which said “they will know we are Christians by our love…” We could also add “they will know we are Christians by our glow.” An encounter with our Bridegroom Jesus will bring about a glorious transformation piercing our hearts with a perfect love which can’t be contained.

His Spirit causes us to glow with the radiance of the our Bridegroom’s glorious face, we are changed more and more into the image of His limitless love. We need to search our hearts and maybe our faces as well and ask ourselves, “Do I glow?” Have I encountered the love of Jesus my Bridegroom?  Have I gone into the bridal chamber and given my heart fully over to His forever love to trust Him completely to keep His wedding vows?

How a love starved world needs to see the glorious Bride of Christ arrayed in Heaven’s transforming love.  I have found as a husband, dad, grandfather, friend, etc. I can’t make anyone glow-but the Jesus I keep trying to look at surely can.

At the end of our time together a young boy in the service wanted to receive Christ. I’m not sure he understood all that was going on but I’m convinced He saw the glowing, loving face of Jesus reflected in His Beautiful Bride.

 

 

 

He Makes Me Brave

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Have you ever accidentally bumped your phone and suddenly a song from your playlist comes on?  Early Sunday morning I was hiking up Elise’s peak and I’d just taken a picture of the sun breaking through the clouds and as I was nearing the top of the mountain a worship song started to play.  I’d almost forgotten about the playlist as one of my kids put a few songs on it several years back.

The fascinating thing about it was as I climbed up the mountain I was thinking about the book of Joshua which I was reading through in my quiet time. In chapter 5 Joshua looks over Jericho, the first fortified city that stood in the way of Israel taking the promise land. I imagine Joshua being a bit overwhelmed at the prospect of what he and the children of Israel faced.

The story goes on and Joshua’s attention shifts from what seemed to be an impossible task to a man standing before him with a drawn sword. Suddenly Joshua found himself on his face worshiping the “Commander of the LORD’s army,” and told to take of his shoes for he was on holy ground (5:14-15). Most Biblical scholars believe this was an encounter with Jesus before His incarnation.

Pondering this story I rounded a corner and saw how the dense clouds could not hold back the brilliance of the sun, I thought of how Joshua’s whole vision shifted from Jericho to Jesus. Any fears and doubts about what was ahead were now consumed by the brilliant glory of “The Commander of the LORD’s army!”

I was deep in thought about some of my own “Jerichos” and the overwhelming challenges here in Africa and our world. When all of the sudden I was surprised by music.  At first I couldn’t figure it out and then it dawned on me what had happened.  The words to the bridge of the song kept repeating….

“You make me brave, You make me brave, No fear can hinder now the Love that made a way, You make me brave, You make me brave, You call me out beyond the shore into the waves, You make me brave, You make me brave, No fear can hinder now the promises You’ve made.” (You Make Me Brave, Amanda Cook).

It was a holy moment to say the least. It was as if the Spirit was asking, “Tim are you looking at Jericho or Jesus, the stronghold or the strong and mighty Sovereign King who now reigns over all and keeps His promises.  As I walked to my favorite prayer spot I recalled these words from Joshua 1:9

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” 

Joshua could bravely march around Jericho because He saw the One who marched ahead of Him into battle. How much more have we seen in Jesus Christ who not only defeated our enemy at the cross but was raised from the dead to reign forever as our conquering King. Be encouraged today as you may also face a Jericho  that Jesus, The Commander and Chief of the LORD’s army dwells in you with His courageous Spirit, and you can sing out:

“You make me brave …No fear can hinder now the Love that made a way…The promises You’ve made!”