People who know and follow Jesus are known as Believers, or Christians, and collectively are called 'The Church'. And The Church is also known as the 'Bride of Christ'. The People are The Church, (not the building they meet in). The customs and model of the historic Galilean (Jewish) wedding are very relevant to us here, informing the method and timing of God's plan for our escape. Let me explain this ancient Jewish wedding model. When a couple decided to marry, they made a firm commitment to one another. The groom paid an agreed price for the bride (like a dowry). The Groom would then return home, back to his parents' house, to build an extension for the new couple to live in. When it was ready, maybe a year later, his father would give the word… 'Go son, and get your bride. She is anxiously waiting - surprise her!' She needed to be prepared and ready at any time, and when he showed up out of the blue - often in the middle of the night - together they would go back to his father's house, followed by all the wedding party for the marriage supper and celebrations, which traditionally lasted for 7 days. This historic and traditional process comes to life when you see what Jesus said about coming back to reclaim, and rescue His Bride - The Church. Remember - He has already paid the price for Her - on the Cross! These are the wonderful words of Jesus that link the Jewish marriage to our being rescued, 'caught up', and taken by Jesus to Heaven.

Jesus' words are very clear, and would have been easily understood by his listeners in the local context of a wedding - described above. Scripture shows us that while the chaos reigns for 7 years on earth, in Heaven there will be a Wedding Party for 7 days (as is the Jewish Custom above). Remember Heaven is outside of our earthly time. We will attend that Heavenly Banquet, then we will return with Jesus to witness His great victory at the Battle of Armageddon. When Jesus came to earth as a baby in Bethlehem, he came as a lamb, who was sacrificed. Tragically God knew from the start, that this sacrifice would be needed, to atone for the sins of all people.

Will you pay the price for your rebellion & sin?

In a similar way the Jews had been atoning (compensating) for their sins through animal sacrifices for thousands of years, not realising that what they were doing was a foreshadow or a model of the main event to follow. This would be Jesus' sacrifice of Himself on the cross for the sins of the whole world - once and for all. But when He returns, it will be as a lion, a warrior, to wage a bloody battle. The book of Revelation gives us these details, in great contrast to the gentle, quiet Jesus, who 2000 years ago allowed his accusers to put Him to death, even on a terrible wooden cross. This 'once and for all' sacrifice was done on your and my behalf, so we would not have to account for our own sins. This may be hard to understand, so see if this illustration makes sense:

You stand accused - in Court

You have been found guilty in a Court of Law of a crime. The judge fines you $10 million, which you do not have, or you get to spend your life in prison. You are hopeless, helpless, distraught, you feel crushed. Then a man you do not know, from the back of the court, approaches the Judge with a cheque in his hand; a cheque for the amount. $10 million. The Judge looks at you, and says 'your fine, your debt, has been 'paid in full', you are free to go'. This is what Jesus did for each of us on the cross. This is what Christians call The Grace of God. Undeserved favour, where instead of you getting what you deserve, Jesus paid the penalty for you. So again, to accept Jesus' payment on your behalf, do as Paul said