Yochanan very correctly knows that his time has come and now he must remove himself from the scene.
But, he tells his disciples very forcefully who Y‘shua is. He is no ordinary man like Yochanan, but He has
come from heaven, YHWH Incarnate.
(32) ―And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.
(33) He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.
(34) For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure
unto him.
(35) The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
(36) He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life;
but the wrath of God abideth on him‖. (John 3:32-36)
Yochanan also knows that a lot of people are not going to accept Y‘shua as Messiah, even though He
speaks the words of YHWH. This is such a profound statement and you can almost detect a note of sadness
in Yochanan‘s voice. Elohim has come to save His people and many will not listen. History is doomed to
repeat itself over and over again as this same thing happens continually.
4:25 And great multitudes followed Y‟shua―And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from
Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan‖.
The rapture of the church compared to the Jewish wedding tradition
What nationality was Y‘shua? In what national ritual will He marry His bride? Who is the bride? The answers
are clear - Y‘shua is a Jew and we know that the true children of YHWH will one day be the bride, but very
few leaders, teachers or scholars know that Y‘shua the Jew will marry His bride in a Jewish tradition. If we
understand ancient Jewish wedding practices, it makes the meaning of so many Scriptures clear.
Did not YHWH make an everlasting covenant with Abraham (Gen 17:2-10) and His descendants, the Jews?
(Exod 6:6-7). We know that YHWH, who cannot lie, will protect the Jews and their traditions. Now let‘s
examine for ourselves to see if the Bible‘s Rapture compares with the Jewish wedding tradition. If this is the
case, ―The Rapture‖, ―The Church in heaven‖ (during the 7 years of Tribulation on earth), and ―The Second
Coming‖ must all fit exactly into the three phases of the Jewish wedding tradition.
The three phases as laid out are, Phase 1 – The Engagement, Phase 2 – The Wedding and Phase 3 – The
Celebration. Now let‘s compare the Bible with these three phases.
PHASE 1: ENGAGEMENT (SHITRE ERUSIN IN HEBREW)
The Jewish man prepares a contract, called a ―ketubah‖ (Y‘shua provided a new covenant).
His Abba (Father) reads the contract to make sure all is in order. (YHWH agreed to give his only Son John
3:16).
He then goes to his future bride and proposes to her and her father (Y‘shua came to earth to propose to his
bride. Luke 22:20; Matt 1:21-25).
The most important thing is the bride‘s price (Y‘shua paid the full price - was crucified. Matt 27:45-50).
If the contract and price are acceptable to the father, the young man will pour a cup of wine and wait for her
to see if she will drink it. Y‘shua waits eagerly for you to accept His shed blood (2 Cor 11:2; John 6:54-56,
9:22). By our participating in Holy Communion after salvation (Matt 26:28-29), we publicly declare that
Y‘shua was nailed to the crucifixion stake for our sins (First Holy Sacrament 1 Cor 11:17-34).
He will then give her gifts as a token of his love (Holy Spirit comes to live in you after you have been saved
(9 gifts of the Holy Spirit. John 14:26, Acts 2:1-4, 1 Cor 12:1-11).
When the young man leaves, she will have a special public ceremonial cleansing bath called a ―mikveh‖.
(After salvation and receiving of the Holy Spirit you get purified through baptism – (Second Holy
Sacrament‘)). To confess publicly what happened at the grave and that you bury the old man and walk in a
new life with Messiah-Rom 6:1-6.) See information on baptism at the end of this section.
Only now, after the ―mikveh‖ are they legally married; but are not yet ready to live together (only after
baptism you belong to Y‘shua, but you are not yet with Y‘shua in heaven) Mark 16:16. It is interesting to note
that the year 2001 was the year of ̳Mikveh‘ for the Jews. They are getting ready for something!!!
Before he leaves, he must tell her that he is going to prepare a wedding chamber (honeymoon suite) or a
―chuppah‖ for her, and will come again to get her. (Y‘shua promised us that He was going to prepare a place
for us and He would come again to fetch us. John 14:3).