Nissuin, His Coming!

Now we come to the Nissuin, which means to carry away!

As both the bride and groom neared the completion of their preparation period, their anticipation, no doubt, was climaxing! Since it was customary for the groom’s arrival to be a surprise, the bride and her bridesmaids stayed in a constant state of readiness, especially nearing the end of the preparation period. Hopefully, this is our posture as well:

…looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ… Titus 2:13

After careful inspection of the bridal chamber, the father of the bridegroom gave his approval and encouraged his son to go get his bride. The bridegroom, accompanied by several of his closest buddies, would make haste. It was customary for one in the groom’s party to go ahead of the bridegroom, leading the way to the bride's house shouting, “Behold, the bridegroom comes!” This was often followed by the sounding of trump or shofar, which was the bride’s cue to grab her wedding garments and get ready to go, for the bridegroom had come to Nissuin (carry away) his bride. We look forward to the Nissuin, the coming of The Lord, with His great host, to be raptured:

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 1 Thes 4:15-17

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. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 1 Cor 15:51-53

Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord is coming… Joel2:1

It is interesting to note that right after Jesus gave a thorough account of what to expect in the time before His Second Coming, the turbulent tribulation period, He immediately shares several cautionary parables as admonishments on how to respond to what He just said! One of those parables was about the ten virgins waiting for their bridegroom. 

Please hear the passionate heart of our Bridegroom and His full counsel to us:

Then the kingdom of Heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. Matt 25:1-13