Part Eight of Nine: The Warning and abduction

Shofar

When the father felt that the house was satisfactory, he would tell his son to go get his bride. The groom would then take his rams horn and head down the road after his bride. Although it was a romantic gesture to abduct the bride at night, it was not romantic to break into her house to do so. Therefore the bridegroom would use the shofar [1] to warn his bride that he was coming when he got within shouting distance from her house, which he did.

Parallels to the Church…

By custom, no one knew the day or the hour of the groom’s return but the father. Likewise no one knows the day  or the hour of Christ’s return.

v36 But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only.
v42 Watch therefore: for ye know not on what day your Lord cometh.
v43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken through.
v44 Therefore be ye also ready; for in an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh [Matthew 24:36, 42-44].

When Jesus comes for His bride, He will blow the shofar [2] and we will be taken up in a twinkling of an eye [3].

v6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him [Matthew 25:6].

These are the times that we should be listening for that trumpet sound from heaven. We want to be sure, however, that we are ready for His return. It would be a very dangerous thing for Christ to find us not prepared and without any oil for our lamps [4]. Oil always symbolizes the Holy Spirit.

We are living in the last chapter of Acts and we should be preparing ourselves, anticipating the sound of the shofar and the shout from above. This will signal the return of Jesus Christ, our betrothed when we (the entire body), will be whisked away to the huppah, there to be complete in marriage to Jesus Christ who is our Lord, master, savior, redeemer, and soon coming husband.

Abduction of the Bride

The bridegroom’s father was the only one who knew when the bridegroom would return for his bride. If the father left it up to the bridegroom he would hurry in his construction efforts in order to go get his bride.

As we’ve already learned, the groom would usually arrive in the middle of the night to abduct his bride. The bride considered this to be very romantic. Because of this romanticism, the bride would always be ready to go. She would always have her veil, her lamp, and plenty of oil placed by her bed in case her groom came to steal her away that night.

Parallels to the Church…

Neither will we nor Christ know the day or the hour of his return. Only the Father in heaven [5] knows when He will send Jesus to abduct His Bride. There should be great anticipation for His return, which is part of the Bride’s preparation. We have been in the “Last days” of preparation for 2000 years and will remain in that stage until the return of Jesus Christ for us, which will be the rapture of the church [6] and we will forever be with the Lord, as His Bride. His return should be our biggest and main focus. Are you prepared?

The word rapture is not in the Bible but the phrase, “…shall be caught up…” means the same thing. Come Lord Jesus, come [7].

v16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first;
v17 then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord [1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17 RSV].

v34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
v35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
v36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left [Luke 17:34-36].

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[1] Hollowed out rams horn
[2] The shofar was a ram’s horn and used for trumpeting.
[3] 1 Corinthians 15:22
[4] They had to replenish the oil in the lamps every fifteen minutes, so they had to be sure that there was plenty of oil for the trip to the groom’s house. Matthew 25:1-13
[5] Mark 13:32
[6] 1 Thessalonians 4:17
[7] Revelation 22:20