Behold! The Bridegroom Cometh: And They that Were Ready Went In to the Marriage

By Paul Bibbs

In Behold! The Bridegroom Cometh! Paul Bibbs takes everyday believers, as well as knowledgeable eschatology students, on a journey to discover the readiness associated with the members of the group identified as the bride of Christ in the Bible. In the book of Matthew, Jesus states those who were ready went with Him to the marriage. In the book

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Jun 9, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685564353

Paul Bibbs

As an experienced minister in the local jails of Dallas, Texas, since 1991, Paul is anointed and uniquely equipped with the special ministry of teaching believers about eschatology and end-time events.In his book, Paul explains how God symbolically uses the illustration of marriage to communicate the intimacy He desires to share with the human race. Whoever willingly responds to this invitation receives the royal privileges afforded only to the Savior's bride, including the rapture. Paul's hope is that this book will help many discover these privileges before it's too [e-mail]

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Behold! The Bridegroom Cometh!

by Paul Bibbs

Behold! The Bridegroom Cometh!

Trilogy Christian Publishers a Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trinity Broadcasting Network

2442 Michelle Drive Tustin, CA 92780

Copyright © 2022 by Paul Bibbs

All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version. Public domain.

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Trilogy Disclaimer: The views and content expressed in this book are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views and doctrine of Trilogy Christian Publishing or the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Manufactured in the United States of America

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN: 978-1-64773-271-4

E-ISBN: 978-1-64773-272-1

Introduction

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About Sources

There are some 5,300+ existing manuscripts used as source material for the New Testament scriptures. The manuscripts are handwritten copies of the original books, as the originals no longer exist. These manuscripts are divided into three sets of source documents: the Textus Receptus (or Received Text), the Majority Text, and the Minority Text (or Critical Text).

The set of manuscripts comprising the Received Text was predominantly assembled in the 1500s and was used to translate the King James Bible. The set comprising the Majority Text was assembled in the 1800s and utilizes some additional manuscripts discovered after the publishing of the original King James. The documents comprising the Minority Text were assembled in the late 1800s and are the oldest known manuscripts. They are very few in number, hence, the title Minority Text.

Textual criticism is a term referring to the systematic method for analyzing ancient handwritten documents. One aspect of this method considers the age of the documents in determining the accuracy of the text. Experience generally dictates the more times a document is copied by hand, the more likely it is to contain errors. Although the Minority Text is based on less than 5 percent of the available manuscripts, many scholars and translators believe it to be the most accurate source since the documents are older. Most modern versions of the Bible are translated from these documents.

Another aspect of textual criticism relies on the democratic procedure summed up by the saying majority rules. In other words, when there is a multitude of sources available for a document and some of the sources differ, the best method for determining accuracy is to side with the greatest number of copies in agreement.

This is the basis for the Received Text and the Majority Text since 95 percent of the manuscripts form the thrust for these two sources. There are a number of discrepancies between all three texts; however, the Received Text and the Majority Text are much more similar to each other than either one is to the Minority Text.

While most of the differences between all three sources are inconsequential, there are a few noteworthy discrepancies. As far as the Bible is concerned, I side with the democratic method of textual criticism and the historical significance of the publishing of the King James Bible; I’m also convinced the Received Text is God’s official and authoritative source for the Scriptures.

Therefore, I believe the content in it takes precedence over the other sources when any significant discrepancies are found. It’s also why I prefer to quote from the King James Bible in my writings. It’s not the translation itself that’s important but the significance of the source documents used. As I make references to the original Greek text, I want to make sure I’m quoting from the most accurate source.

All New Testament definitions are taken from Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words by W. E. Vine. Greek and Hebrew definitions are from Mickelson’s Enhanced Strong’s Dictionaries of the Greek and Hebrew Testaments (2015).

Preface

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Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready (Revelation 19:7).

There’s going to be a wedding. The question is: Who’s getting married? God’s Word states the Lamb is getting married. But who is the Lamb? In John 1:29, John the Baptist refers to Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. In 1 Peter 1:19, Apostle Peter states we’ve been redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

The title Lamb is just one of the many symbolic titles assigned to Jesus in the Bible. When a person or, in this case, an animal represents someone else, that occurrence is often referred to as a type, even though the word type isn’t used in the Bible to describe this form of symbolism. In addition, many of the events recorded in the Bible foretell, or prophesy, future events. The New Testament refers to this type of prophetic symbolism as a shadow.

In Colossians 2:17, Apostle Paul refers to the feasts and festivals celebrated by the Israelites in the Old Testament times as shadows of things to come. The writer of the book of Hebrews refers to those who serve in the office of a priest as an example and shadow of heavenly things. The laws governing the temple first constructed under the leadership of Moses are also referred to as a shadow of good things to come in Hebrews 8:5 and 10:1.

When light shines on an object, a shadow appears on the opposite side of the object. The shadow looks like the object and moves like the object but isn’t the object itself. The same is true of many individuals, laws, rituals, and events in the Bible. Symbolically speaking, this light shines from the future on the events that have occurred or have yet to occur, causing a shadow of the event to appear in the past.

For example, God used His instruction to Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, as a shadow of the sacrifice of Jesus. Abraham represented a type of God the Father, and Isaac represented a type of Jesus. In the Old Testament ritual of animal sacrifices, every animal also represented a type of Jesus, and the sacrifice of that animal represented the shadow of Jesus’s sacrifice for us. The most common animal used for these sacrifices was a lamb. This is why Jesus is referred to as the Lamb of God.

Now that we have identified the Lamb, we also need to identify His bride. In addition, we will explore how she will make herself ready for the wedding.

Section 1

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Shadow of the bride

Chapter 1

Finding a Bride

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Just as many of God’s spiritual principles and preplanned events are foreshadowed in the Old Testament, so is the marriage of the Lamb. However, the majority of the prophetic information found on the subject is devoted to the bride of the Lamb, or the bride of Christ, as Jesus is the Christ. We will begin by examining Genesis, chapter twenty-four. The entire chapter is devoted to this subject, as Abraham sends the eldest servant of his house on a journey to find a bride for his son, Isaac.

The prophetic parallels of this story begin with Abraham himself. Originally, his name was Abram. The Hebrew definition of the name Abram is exalted father. God changes his name to Abraham after promising to give him an heir. The definition of the name Abraham is father of many.

In keeping with the definitions of the names Abram and Abraham, he progressed from being an exalted father to a father of many, just as God progressed from being the exalted Father to being the Father of many after He began creating tconscious lifeforms.

Abraham symbolically represents a type of God the Father in this story. As Isaac is the son of Abraham, he symbolically represents the Son of God, Jesus. The definition of the place Isaac came from certainly carries prophetic implications. He lived in the land of Canaan. However, we learn in Genesis 24:62 that he had just returned from the way of the well Lahairoi when he met his bride for the first time.

The definition of the name Lahairoi is the living one, my seer. In John 6:57, Jesus states where He came from by saying, the living Father hath sent me. Jesus attributes the guidance for both His words and actions as coming from the Father numerous times in the book of John. In keeping with the definition of Lahairoi, we could say Jesus came from the living One, His seer.

The story begins in Genesis 24:2–4, with Abraham giving the eldest servant of his house specific instructions to find a wife for his son. This servant is identified as Eliezer in Genesis, chapter fifteen. The definition of the name Eliezer is godly helper. In John 14:16, Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as the Comforter. The definition of the Greek word for comforter is one who comes alongside to help. Since the Holy Spirit is divine, He accurately fits the description of a godly helper to those who accept Jesus as Savior.

Thus, Eliezer represents a type of the Holy Spirit. Just as Eliezer was to find a bride for Abraham’s son, the Holy Spirit is, I believe, searching out a bride for Jesus. In addition, Jesus refers to Himself as a Bridegroom in Matthew 9:15, 25:1, 6, 10, Mark 2:19, and Luke 5:34. John the Baptist also refers to Jesus as a Bridegroom in John 3:29.

Once Eliezer receives his instructions, he loads up ten camels with the goods of his master and sets off on his journey. When he arrives at his destination, he stops at a well outside the city limits. He prays to God and designates a sign to indicate the girl to whom he should offer the marriage proposal for Isaac. Eliezer tells God Isaac’s future bride should not only give him a drink when he asks but should also volunteer to water his camels.

A girl by the name of Rebekah shows up before he finishes his prayer. Eliezer asks for a drink, and she responds exactly how he prayed she would. As a result, Eliezer extends to Rebekah the offer to become Isaac’s bride later that day.

Just as Rebekah is chosen as Isaac’s bride because of her response to Eliezer, those who accept Jesus as Savior and respond appropriately to the Holy Spirit will be chosen as the bride of Christ. These people comprise a group referred to in the New Testament as the church. Paul symbolically compares the church to the human body. Each member represents one part of the body, with Christ representing the head.

Although Paul doesn’t use the words bride or bridegroom, he links the church and body of Christ together with Jesus in a matrimonial context in Ephesians 5:23–25. He compares the relationship between a man and a wife to that of Christ and the church. Paul states a husband should love his wife as he loves his own body. He continues by stating how a husband nourishes and cherishes his own body, just as Christ does the church, which is the same as His body.

In Genesis 24:15, we learn Rebekah is the daughter of Bethuel. The definition of the name Bethuel is destroyed by God. We could say Rebekah came from, or out of, that which is destroyed by God. In John 15:19, Jesus speaks to His disciples and states, I have chosen you out of the world. In 2 Peter 3:7, Peter also states God will destroy the world in its present condition at the second coming of Christ.

After Rebekah follows through with her response to give Eliezer a drink, she waters his camels also. When she finishes watering the camels, Eliezer gives her an earring and two bracelets from the goods he brought with him. After the marriage proposal is accepted, Rebekah’s family serves Eliezer and his men a meal, and they stay for the night. The next morning Rebekah accompanies Eliezer as they leave to return to Isaac in the land of Canaan. As they are arriving from their journey, Isaac goes out into the field to meditate at dusk and sees the entire company approaching.

Rebekah also sees Isaac in the distance and asks Eliezer who is approaching them. Eliezer tells her it is Isaac, his master. Just as Eliezer reveals Isaac’s identity to Rebekah, the Holy Spirit has, as one of His responsibilities, to reveal Jesus to the church. In John 15:26, Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit and states, He shall testify of me.

Summary

We learned the group referred to in the New Testament as both the church and the body of Christ is the same as the bride of Christ. However, this identity will be revealed in greater detail as we discover how the description of Rebekah coincides with other scriptures that refer to the bride of Christ.

Chapter 2

The True Identity of the Bride

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We discovered the Holy Spirit of God is seeking a bride for God’s Son, just as Eliezer did for Abraham’s. We also learned this bride is the same group referred to as the church and the body of Christ. Our next step is to reveal the true identity of this group. Luke mentions the church in Acts 2:47, saying, The Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. This statement lets us know the church is comprised of those who are saved. In Romans 10:9–10, Paul states salvation occurs when someone genuinely accepts Jesus as Savior and makes a corresponding confession of that acceptance.

These statements seem to imply all who genuinely accept Jesus as Savior are members of the bride of Christ since the bride is the same as the church. However, I believe it takes more than just an acceptance of Jesus as Savior to become a member of the bride. I make this statement based on how the bride is distinguished in Matthew, chapter twenty-five, where Jesus cites the parable of the ten virgins.

A parable is a fictitious story used to illustrate a spiritual principle or shadow of a future event. However, parables and shadow accounts fail to communicate all of the details associated with their respective truths and/or events. They are only intended to reveal the main principles and outcomes of those truths and events. The parable of