Behold, I tell you a mystery:
We shall not all sleep,
but we shall all be changed--
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trumpet.
For the trumpet will sound,
and the dead will be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed.
1 Corinthians 15:51-52, NKJV
There is one more facet to The Last Trump that I would like to share. It has to do with the Wedding of the Messiah, and to understand it we need to move again away from our Western mindset into the culture and traditions of the people who wrote the Book.
Today, boy meets girl. They go out a few times. They share mixes. They text and IM and Facebook. You know it's serious when they update their status on Facebook. Then comes the question, the ring, the wedding, the honeymoon. And hopefully happily ever after. There are minor variations on this theme depending on the couple, but that's generally how we do it these days.
Not so in Israel of two millennia past. Theirs was an ancient covenantal procedural that took time and effort and attention to detail. And therein lies a final trumpet mystery.
In Israel of 2000 years ago, boys were raised to be men--good, godly, hard-working, Bible believing men. They were raised by their fathers to be husbands and fathers, schooled in the Word, and brought up in community with like minded fellows. By the time they were five, they could already quote from Moses. By twelve, they were sons of the law, adults in the eyes of the community, and able to participate in the rituals of public worship. At that point they either became students of a master teacher to be trained in the finer points of their faith, or they were apprenticed to learn a trade. This continued until they were about eighteen, at which time they were expected to find a wife, have lots of sons, and raise them to be good, godly, hard-working, Bible believing men.
Girls were raised much the same way, taught by their mothers and aunts and grandmothers to love their husbands and children, to be diligent homemakers and housekeepers and business administrators. By the time they reached puberty, they were well prepared for being wives and mothers. All they had to wait for was the right boy to come along.
And one day he did.
The young man would have been watching her, from a safe and respectful distance of course, and once his eye found a girl that pleased him, he would go back to his father and the process would begin. The father would send a servant to inquire after the young lady, and once the servant and the father and the bridegroom approved, negotiations were in order.
First the prospective bridegroom would collect the price to be paid to the bride's family for their daughter in marriage. For the purpose of this story, let's say it's a milk cow. With a ring in his pocket and a bottle of wine in his hand, the young man would lead the cow to the bride's house and knock on the door. Of course, his visit is already expected, so when the father of the potential bride answered the door, he would already have an answer for the groom formulated in his mind. The young man asks permission to seek the daughter's hand in marriage, and if the father approves, he calls his daughter to the door.
When the blushing girl appears, the trembling boy stammers his words of proposal and offers her the lead rope looped around the cow's neck. If the girl's answer is yes, she takes the rope in hand; if her answer is no, she releases it. But for the purpose of our story, she keeps the rope, indicating her consent to be married to the young man. The men of both families sit down to negotiate the contract outlining the bridegroom's promises to the bride, and his expectations of her. He would promise to work for her, to honor, support, and maintain her in truth, to provide food, clothing, and necessities, and to live together in intimate relationship with her when they are husband wife. This contract was the inalienable right of the bride, guaranteeing what she was to receive from the marriage.
Once the contract was acceptable to everyone involved and the bride consented to the arrangements, the young man places a ring upon her finger. He uncorks the wine and offers her a drink, then drinks himself. This is the cup of covenant which seals the betrothal. Though they won't actually live together for several more months, from that moment on, they are legally bound as husband and wife and a divorce would be required to dissolve the relationship.
As they part, the groom makes this promise to the bride: "In my father's house are many rooms. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go, I promise I will also return to receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also." The bridegroom's father blows a trumpet--called the First Trump--to announce the betrothal to the community. Everyone is invited to the wedding feast and week long celebration, they just have to wait for the trumpet call that signals the blessed event.
For the next nine to twelve months, the young man will be building their bridal chamber under the supervision of his father. In the meantime, the young lady will go through a ritual baptism and begin her preparations for the wedding. Surrounding herself with ten young girls from among her family and friends, she lives everyday in anticipation of her groom's return to get her. While she waits, the friend of her groom serves as an intermediary, carrying messages back and forth between the two and keeping her apprised of the the groom's progress. Her bags are packed. Her dress is ready. Every night before she sleeps she prepares herself physically in case he comes that night. Every night she places a lamp in the window and leaves it burning bright to show him the way in the dark. Every night her bridesmaids lay down with their own lamps handy for when the bridegroom calls.
And then the day comes. The bridegroom's work is finished and father-approved. At midnight, the young man's father would put a trumpet to his lips and blow the long loud blast of The Last Trump, announcing to everyone that the day and hour of his son's marriage had arrived. The bridegroom would run toward the house of his betrothed, shouting her name. His friend runs ahead with the cry, "The bridegroom comes! The bridegroom comes!" Soon the entire neighborhood is awake, and friends of the couple go out with their lamps to light the way.
As soon as the bride and her attendants here the call, they leap from their beds and ready the bride. Once she is dressed and prepared, the girls run outside with their lamps burning bright to show him the way to her house. And then he comes, catching her up in his arms and carrying her away to the place he has prepared for her. Accompanied by their friends and loved ones, they are led by sacred procession to the wedding canopy where his father pronounces them husband and wife. The wedding feast ensues. The groom is welcomed into the house and treated like a king as he takes his bride into the wedding chamber, where they will remain for seven days while they consummate their marriage.
Do you see the parallels?
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost have chosen us to be their own--the Bride of Christ.
We have been bought with a price, not redeemed with corruptible things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ.
We have accepted Christ as savior, committing our lives to Him while we wait for His return.
We have our contract in His Word--His commandments, His expectations, and His promises.
We have consented and confessed Christ as savior.
We have received gifts from Him, especially the Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of greater gifts to come.
As often as we like, we drink the cup of covenant with Christ as a reminder of all that He has done and all that He has promised to do.
We have been immersed in water as a public profession of faith, an outward washing of the body to demonstrate the reality of inward cleansing.
Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us, and has promised He will return again and take us there.
While we wait, we keep ourselves ready for his return--for it could come at any moment.
And then one day...
At the Last Trump...
The trumpet will sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed!
"Blessed are those who are called
to the marriage supper of the Lamb!"
Revelation 19:9, NKJV
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