We recently saw the Royal wedding of Prince William and his sweetheart, Kate Middletown, the first commoner in over 300 years in the British realm to marry her prince. The ceremony was filled with British pomp and performance and the royal family pulled out all the stops. The day was planned to the minute on the specific instruction of the Queen. The day drew the 6th largest Internet audience ever. 

As we watched the images of the wedding, the excitement, the dress, the uniforms, the vows, the kiss, I started to think of another Royal wedding between a King and His pauper. It will be the wedding of the ages and the planning and preparation is all but complete! Get ready for this wedding will be unlike any other. It will be between Divinity and humanity, King of kings and simple commoner. Today, I invite you to a sneak peak, behind the scenes look at this amazing wedding. You'll be amazed at the amount of information we'll uncover in the Bible.

The wedding of the ages has several distinct phases and is modeled after a typical Jewish wedding in Bible times:

1. Arrangement

This is the first step in the marriage process. The Hebrew word for it is "Shiddukhin". It was common for the father of the bridegroom to select a bride for his son. (See Gen. 24:1-4). If the father cannot fulfill this duty he can appoint a matchmaker to find his son a good wife. Abraham sent his servant to finds suitable wife for Isaac. The servant was led to Rebecca.

God, the Father fulfilled His duty by selecting a bride for His Son. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believe in Him would not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16) "He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before Him." (Ephesians 1:4) You and I, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ have been chosen to be the bride of Christ! We do not have blue blood flowing through our veins. In fact, God loved us when we were not lovable material. He saw potential in us, because He placed it in us. When we were still sinners He loved us. Compared to Jesus we are as common as can be.

2. Covenant 

The second phase of a Biblical wedding was the covenant. The Hebrew word for it is the Ketubah and means "written". It was the marriage contract in which all the provisions and conditions of the marriage were stipulated. The groom would have to write how he would love, support  and care for his bride. The bride had to even declare her financial position and the extent of her dowry.

We have a written contract, a holy covenant from God in the Bible. In this amazing document we read God's inspired will for the Royal marriage. All the provisions and conditions are clearly spelled out. Jesus' declares His wonderful love, devotion and commitment to His bride, and the Bible includes all the instructions we need to be the perfect bride for the Perfect Groom.

During this covenant phase of the marriage, the groom also provided a bridal gift to the bride, through her family. This gift essentially loosed her from her old household. No longer would she look at her old family for provision, but the bridal gift releases her to be able to start a new life with her groom and together begin their own home and household. The Hebrew word for the bridal gift is the "mohar". It changed the bride's status in an amazing way. A biblical example of this is Gen. 24 where Abraham's servant provided the bridal gift to Rebecca and her father's house.

The gift that Jesus gave us, His future bride, is the highest price any groom would give. We were living in our old household of sin, lost to God and righteousness, when Jesus gave His life to change our life-status. He paid the bridal gift with His precious blood and in doing so released us from the clutches of our sinful nature. He secured a way for us to start a new life with Him! (See Ephesians 2:5-6 and 1 Peter 1:18-19)

4. Ritual Immersion

After the "Ketubah" both the groom and bride would go through a ritual immersion before the act of betrothal. This immersion in water would be symbolic of a spiritual cleansing.

Jesus, the Royal Groom, already went through this immersion. He came to John the Baptist to be baptized in the Jordan river. (Matthew 3:13-17) when John, the Baptist saw Jesus he exclaimed: "Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world." Jesus then wanted to be baptized. He said: "Permit it now to fulfill all righteousness." after John baptized Jesus, the heavens opened up and the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus like a dove. The Father said from heaven: "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." Jesus did His part to fulfill all righteousness. Tell me, have you done yours? Have you been baptized through immersion? Have testified through baptism about your spiritual cleansing? If Jesus was adamant to do His part, why are you hesitant to do yours "Isn't it enough that I was sprinkled as a baby?" you might ask. Well, that was your parents choice. Don't you want to make up your own mind to serve God? Wouldn't it be wonderful to stand up for yourself and make this public declaration of your faith and devotion to the Lord?

Do not procrastinate any longer. Follow in the footsteps of Jesus, even through the waters of baptism. (See Ephesians 5:26 and Matthew 28:19)

5. Betrothal

The next phase of a Bible-time marriage is the betrothal. It was a season of separation almost like today's engagement. It started with the groom and bride exchanging vows and rings under the wedding canopy. They would also share a cup of wine together to seal their wedding vows. They were considered to be married, but there would be not sexual contact between them until the actual wedding. (Remember Joseph was betrothed to Mary, who became the mother of Jesus.)

Jesus gave His disciples a cup of wine during His final Passover on earth, just before He was crucified. He said: "take, drink, this cup is the new covenant in My blood, drink it to My remembrance." Every time we participate in holy communion, we affirm our commitment to Christ. We acknowledge His amazing bridal price of salvation, purchased through the shedding of His blood.

After the cup, the groom would give the bride a second gift. This was the betrothal gift that was given to her through her family. (It belonged essentially to her) this gift served two purposes. First, it would remind her that the groom thinks of her during the time of separation in the betrothal season. Secondly, it would also remind her that the groom would return after the betrothal to take her with him to start a life together.

Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit as a betrothal gift. In fact, the Holy Spirit always leads us in the Truth (John 16:13) and Jesus is the Truth! (John 14:6) He always glorifies Jesus and reveals all there is to know about Jesus. (John 16:14-16) We read in Ephesians 1:13 that "The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance"! It is through the gift of the Holy Spirit we are reminded of what Jesus has given us. We are no longer commoners but children of the living God! We are the bride of the King of kings and Lord of lords. Without the gift of the Holy Spirit it is easy to forget the promises of the Groom. It is easy not to be as excited about the upcoming Royal wedding. We might even forget what a wonderful Prince of peace Jesus really is. But when we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, He will remind us and stir in us that fervor and passion for our Savior. Have you received the gift of the Holy Spirit yet? Have you been baptized in the Holy Spirit and filled with Him? (Acts 1:8, 2:1-4, Acts 10, Ephesians 5:18-20, Matt.3:11)

After giving the betrothal gift to the bride, the groom would return to his father's house. Families lived under one roof and the groom would be tasked to build an addition to the family house for his bride, where they could live together and build a new life. The construction would be overseen by the father of the groom and he would inspect the work and make his own recommendations. According to Rabbis, the groom had to prepare a place that was better than what the bride had before.

It was also not up to the groom to determine when the betrothal season would end. That honor rested with his father. It was usually about a year, but the father alone would determine the actual date and moment the groom could return to his bride and bring her  into their new home.

The bride was tasked to prepare herself for the wedding. During the betrothal she would  sew her wedding garments and live her life at the ready. She would be in total anticipation and excitement. The tradition was that the coming of the groom had to be a surprise. Everyday she would look for and long for the coming of her groom.

Jesus said: "in My Father's house is many mansions, I am going to prepare a place for you. And I will return to take you with Me so you could be where I am also" (John 14:1-4) Our Groom is preparing a place for us in heaven. The Father will soon send His Son to come get us! Hallelujah. He will sweep us off our feet. Are you ready? Are you prepared for that glorious day. The Bible says: "the Spirit and the bride says come Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:17) Can you echo the call of the Holy Spirit?

6. Marriage Celebration

The Hebrew word for this final phase means to "carry away". When the groom has been given the go ahead from his father to go get his bride, he usually had a herald go before him. This messenger would shout: "The bridegroom is coming!" Behind the messenger there would be a trumpeter that would should the shofar. It would be a distinct announcement of the coming groom.

In 1 Thes. 4:16-18 we read that Jesus will return with the sound of the archangel and the trumpet of God will sound. We read in Matt. 24:34-36 that no one knows the time of His coming, except the Father Himself. Jesus, our Groom will come to sweep His church / bride off our feet and carry us away! Our excitement and readiness should be off the charts! The Bridegroom is coming soon.

The bride must be ready at all times. He may come as a thief in the night. That glorious day will culminate in the marriage supper of the Lamb. In Bible days the marriage supper would be a 7 day feast of food, music, dance and celebration. We read in Rev. 19:7-9 "Let us rejoice and exult and give him glory, because the wedding celebration of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. She was permitted to be dressed in bright, clean, fine linen" (for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints). Then the angel said to me, "Write the following: Blessed are those who are invited to the banquet at the wedding celebration of the Lamb!" He also said to me, "These are the true words of God."

All the phases of THE Royal wedding has been fulfilled and brought within our grasp, except the final marriage celebration! We are on the eve of the greatest event in human history and you are invited to participate!

Make sure you will be standing on that royal balcony with Jesus at your side! You do not have to be in the crowd far away with no royal access and privileges. Accept Jesus' proposal, do not stand Him up. Declare your love and devotion to Him like He loves you. Accept and welcome His awesome bridal gift of salvation that will place you in a status of your own. Receive His marvelous betrothal gift of the Holy Spirit to know more about Him and to remain focussed on Him. Stir your passion, expectancy and excitement for Jesus, and remember He is coming soon!