{"id":4792,"date":"2021-09-04T08:44:37","date_gmt":"2021-09-04T12:44:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/?p=4792"},"modified":"2023-01-07T08:16:47","modified_gmt":"2023-01-07T13:16:47","slug":"we-have-been-summoned-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/we-have-been-summoned-part-3\/","title":{"rendered":"WE HAVE BEEN SUMMONED Part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

As we look back at our previous blogs, our Father has<\/em> prepared and is<\/em> preparing an eternal Bride for His Son, Jesus Christ! He has taken meticulous care to ensure that she is everything He has dreamed of. He has invited her to His Kingdom. He also has cleansed her, and washed her with His Holy Spirit, and the precious blood of Jesus Christ. THE WORK IS FINISHED<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Earth, Our Dressing Room to Take Off and Put On<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the earth and in time, our Father is revealing to the Bride of Christ who she really is. His Spirit works in her and through her by His grace and power to remove all darkness from her soul so that she can see her “True Identity.”<\/em> She is Jesus\u2019s bride without, spot, blemish, or any sort of thing. With that in mind, the Bride of Christ has<\/em> allowed and is<\/em> allowing the Spirit of God<\/em> to work in her and through her to do whatever pleases Him<\/em>. She trusts in Him to use all things in her life to bring both glory and honor to Him.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Bible says, all the trials, sufferings, and challenges we encounter on the earth are for our good, for those who love God and are the called<\/strong> to His purposes<\/strong>. For those of us who allow our Lord to work in us<\/em> to transform us, our pains will culminate into eternal joy<\/strong> at the wonderful celebration of The Marriage Supper of the Lamb <\/strong>(literal or symbolic). <\/em>Before we look at this event let\u2019s examine the marriage customs during Biblical times.<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Marriage Customs in the Bible<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In his vision in Revelation 19:7\u201310, John saw and heard the heavenly multitudes praising God because the wedding feast of the Lamb, the \u201cmarriage supper\u201d\u2014was about to begin. The concept of the marriage supper is better understood considering the wedding customs in the time of Christ.

These wedding customs had three major parts.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

First, the Marriage Contract<\/strong> was signed by the parents of the bride and the\u00a0bridegroom, and the parents of the bridegroom or the bridegroom himself would pay a dowry to the bride or her parents. This began what was called the betrothal period\u2014what we would today call the engagement. This period was the one Joseph and Mary were in when she was found to be with child (Matthew 1:18; Luke 2:5).

The second step in the process usually occurred a Year Later<\/strong>, when the bridegroom, accompanied by his male friends, went to the house of the bride at midnight, creating a torchlight parade through the streets. The bride would know in advance this was going to take place, and so she would be ready with her maidens, and they would all join the parade and end up at the bridegroom\u2019s home. This custom is the basis of the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1\u201313.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The third phase was the Marriage Supper<\/strong> itself, which might go on for days, as illustrated by the wedding at Cana in John 2:1\u20132.

What John\u2019s vision in Revelation pictures is the wedding feast of the Lamb (Jesus Christ) and His bride (Faithful Believers in Christ)<\/em> in its third phase. The implication is that the first two phases have already taken place. The first phase was completed on earth when each individual believer placed his or her faith in Christ as Savior. The dowry paid to the bridegroom\u2019s parent (God the Father) would be the blood of Christ shed on the bride\u2019s behalf. The Church on earth today, then, is \u201cbetrothed\u201d to Christ, and, like the wise virgins in the parable<\/strong>, all believers should be watching and waiting for the appearance of the bridegroom. The second phase symbolizes the Second Coming of Christ, when Christ comes to claim His bride.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Marriage Supper then follows as the third and ultimate step.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.gotquestions.org\/marriage-supper-Lamb.html<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Attending the Marriage Supper of the Lamb<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

As with the marriage customs in the Bible, some scholars believe at The Marriage Supper of the Lamb <\/strong>there will be other invited guests and attendants who were part of the wedding party besides the Bride.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Guests<\/strong> \u2013 Old Testament saints who died in faith who didn\u2019t receive the fulfillment of what was promised to them\u2026the cloud of witnesses.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wedding Attendants<\/strong> \u2013 Perhaps, these are baby Believers in Christ. They are saved by the blood of the lamb but lived their lives walking after the flesh to please themselves, rather than Jesus Christ. Also, just speculating, perhaps, they are:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n