July 27, 2025
Here is a link to the audio version:
Or, if you prefer Spotify:
In the fourth quarter of 1973, the U.S. and much of the world experienced an oil shortage when the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (“OPEC”) dramatically reduced production and increased prices ten-fold. OPEC was originally comprised of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and Venezuela but by 1973 had grown to include seven other nations. The Arab members in OPEC also voted to place an embargo on the U.S. and the Netherlands, the two main supporters of Israel during the Yom Kippur War. These actions caused severe oil and gasoline shortages in this country and throughout the world. We also learned that limiting the supply of energy in world markets caused runaway inflation and eventually recession.
The U.S. responded by increasing domestic production of energy, which came at an ideal time for yours truly, because I was set to graduate from college and take a job with a coal company that was revived by the electric utility industry, which was scrambling to switch from oil- and natural gas-fired power plants to coal fired plants. Our nation also instituted energy conservation measures to reduce the demand and help stabilize prices.
It might also interest you to know the Bible foretells another coming oil shortage, but before I explain that, let me tell you about the ancient wedding tradition followed in Galilee during Jesus’ time of ministry. As you will see, the supply of oil was important to the wedding feast.
Galilean Wedding Tradition
In Galilee, marriages were pre-arranged by the fathers of the bridegroom and bride, but the bride had to consent to the marriage. The fathers worked out the dowry, which was a financial arrangement in the event of a divorce or if the bride became a widow. Once that was all worked out, the couple would go through a spiritual cleansing process called a “mikvah.” They both entered a covered stone pool containing only pure rainwater and asked the Lord to cleanse them so they might enter a spiritual covenant to be married.
Once cleansed, the couple would enter into a Betrothal (engagement) agreement, which differs from our modern-day concept of engagement. In Jesus’ time, a Galilean Betrothal was a legally binding contract to be married at a future time. The Betrothal was its own event, and everyone in town would rush to celebrate, whether they were invited or not. At the Betrothal, the bride is presented with the covenant, or marriage proposal, and the bridegroom would give her a gift and a ring. Next, the bridegroom drinks from a cup of wine and presents the cup to his bride. If the bride accepts the cup and drinks the wine, she effectively agrees to accept the marriage proposal and the couple is officially betrothed, which means they have a spiritually binding agreement to marry, but the covenant is not yet consummated physically. The bridegroom responds by promising “I will not drink from the fruit of the vine again until I drink it with you in my father’s house.”
The bridegroom then leaves and returns to his father’s house to prepare a place for his bride. This process normally would take a year, as an addition may need to be built on the house, furniture obtained, etc. In addition, it served as a waiting period to ensure the bride was not pregnant. This is what caused Mary, Jesus’ mother, to be concerned when she was told she would become pregnant by the Holy Spirit while she was engaged to Joseph. Remember that God spoke to Joseph in a dream and told him not to fear taking Mary as his wife because the Son which was conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit, and he shall name him Jesus. (Matthew 1:20-21).
While the bridegroom was preparing a place in his father’s house, the bride and her bridesmaids would be busy purchasing material to make the wedding dress and bridesmaids’ dresses. Once the year timeframe was approaching, the bride and her bridesmaids had to be dressed and ready for the groom’s arrival. They would sleep in those dresses in case the groom came at night.
It is important to know that while the bride and bridegroom knew when the time was approaching, they did not know the day nor the hour the wedding would take place. Only the father of the groom knew that. Once the father decided that the wedding chamber was ready, and that the time was right, he would signal to his son to go get his bride. This normally happened in the middle of the night. The bridegroom would blow a shofar, which is similar to a trumpet, and this would awaken the town’s people who would meet him outside and form a wedding procession to the bride’s house.
Once the bridesmaids heard the shofar, they would make sure the bride was up and ready to go. They all needed enough oil for their lamps, so they could see as they walked to the bridegroom’s father’s house in the dark. When they arrived at the father’s house, the bridegroom would walk the bride to a chair that would be lifted by groomsmen to carry her to the wedding chamber. Once there, the bridegroom and bride would walk into the wedding bed chamber and consummate their marriage in privacy.
At this point, the outside door to the wedding would be shut, and latecomers to the wedding feast would be prevented from entering the celebration. When the marriage had been consummated, and the couple was able to show the blood to prove the bride’s virginity, the wedding celebration would commence as the guests would rejoice with the newlyweds.
For more on the Galilean wedding tradition see:
or
The Prophetic Symbolism of the Rapture
As you may have guessed, I told you all about the Galilean wedding tradition because it was part of the culture of the day when Jesus taught His disciples, who were Galileans. As you are about to see, Jesus used the wedding tradition throughout the scriptures as prophetic symbolism of the Rapture, when He will come back for His bride, the Church.
John 14 (Jesus speaking):
1 ¶ “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.
2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, [there] you may be also.
Jesus is promising to prepare a place for us in His Father’s house, and He promises to return to receive us to Himself so that we will be where He is, just as the bridegroom returns to receive His Bride, so they will be together forever.
At the Last Supper, Jesus also promises not to drink of the vine until He drinks it with us in His Father’s house.
Matthew 26:
29 “But I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of this vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
The disciples would understand this promise of Jesus’ love for us, as it parallels the promise of the Galilean bridegroom would make to his bride.
In Mark 13, Jesus tells us only the Father in Heaven knows the day Jesus will come for us.
Mark 13:
32 “But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father [alone.]
33 “Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the [appointed] time is.
It is natural to anticipate the Rapture. In fact, we should eagerly anticipate the day our marriage contract is consummated with our Lord and Savior Jesus, when His blood proves our purity. While the scripture encourages us to recognize the season we are in, that His coming is near, we must remember only the Father knows the day and hour. Our Father in heaven will decide when the time is right for His Son to go get His Bride. But, in the meantime, we must make ourselves ready and keep on the alert for the Bridegroom.
Beware of an Oil Shortage
In Matthew 25, Jesus told His disciples a parable about the ten virgins and the need for oil in their lamps.
Matthew 25:
1 ¶ “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went out to meet the bridegroom.
2 “And five of them were foolish, and five were prudent.
3 “For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them,
4 but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps.
5 “Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and [began] to sleep.
6 “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet [him.’]
7 “Then all those virgins rose, and trimmed their lamps.
8 “And the foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’
9 “But the prudent answered, saying, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you [too;] go instead to the dealers and buy [some] for yourselves.’
10 “And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut.
11 “And later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’
12 “But he answered and said, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’
13 “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.
Oil is symbolism that points to the Holy Spirit and His anointing. The oil of the Holy Spirit guides us with light. The oil heals us; it anoints us with knowledge and wisdom and all the other gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit. These are the impartations we will need to hear the trumpet sound at the Rapture.
In this parable of the ten virgins, Jesus is telling us if we want to know when He, the Bridegroom, is coming for us, we must seek the Holy Spirit, so we have enough of His oil to see our way to the wedding feast. If we are not in spiritual relationship with the Holy Spirit, we will be late to the party, and the door will be shut. In verses 8 and 9, the parable teaches us we cannot borrow the oil from others around us. Our parents, our pastors, our spiritual mentors cannot give us their oil because they will not have enough for themselves. We must have our own oil, our own relationship with the Holy Spirit. In verse 12, Jesus says, without the oil of the Holy Spirit, He will not know us, and the door will remain shut. Therefore, verse 13 reminds us again to be on the alert for the coming of the Bridegroom, for the coming of Jesus at the Rapture.
Everybody Loves a Wedding
I love that the town’s people were overjoyed to hear the shofar at the Galilean weddings. Weddings bring great joy, and the awesome promise of the Rapture is we get to attend our wedding feast with Jesus in Heaven once He comes to lift us to our wedding chamber. Revelation 19 promises a great multitude will attend and make their voices heard.
Revelation 19:
6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude and as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.
7 “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.”
8 And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright [and] clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
9 And he *said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he *said to me, “These are true words of God.”
We should be eager for the day of the Rapture. It will be our best day ever, no exceptions! As a Church we should be in the Holy Spirit, saying “Come.” And we should listen to Him saying: “Yes, I am coming quickly.”
Revelation 22:
17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.
18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God shall add to him the plagues which are written in this book;
19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.
20 ¶ He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.
(NASB)
Come Lord Jesus!
How to Acquire Oil
The Bible teaches how to acquire the oil of the Holy Spirit, so we will be ready when our Bridegroom comes.
Psalms 100:
4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving, [And] His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name.
Maintain a thankful attitude toward God in all things. Be thankful to be living in these days, the days of our marriage feast. We enter His gates with thanksgiving, and we enter His inner courts with praise and worship. In His inner courts, He anoints us, He quickens us with wisdom, knowledge, and discernment. He imparts all His gifts and fruit. He will make our final days here fruitful and productive, full of eternal value.
1st Thessalonians 5:
16 ¶ Rejoice always;
17 pray without ceasing;
18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
19 Do not quench the Spirit;
20 do not despise prophetic utterances.
21 But examine everything [carefully]; hold fast to that which is good;
22 abstain from every form of evil.
23 ¶ Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.
So, Paul is encouraging us to rejoice always, pray always, and in everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for us. Do not quench the Holy Spirit, nor despise prophetic utterances, so we will not experience another oil shortage.
Faithful is He who calls us, and He will also bring it to pass. Praise Jesus!
Closing Worship Song
In closing, let us praise and worship Jesus, so that we may be drawn into the oil of the Holy Spirit, that we might soak in Him and be on the alert to hear the trumpet call in the Spirit.
The following song was inspired by the Holy Spirit and composed and sung by my daughter Laura Balash, who also played the musical accompaniment. Listen to the song in the audio version of this and allow it to minister to you as the Holy Spirit draws you into praise and worship. And allow the Spirit of God to guide you until the day the bridegroom comes for us all, just as the oil in the lamp guides the bride to the wedding feast.
Here are the lyrics:
Come, Lord, Come
Come, Lord, Come
Praise Him in all things
Jesus holds who I am
Give Him glory, praise Him for all things
Jesus knows who I am
Come, Lord, Come
House of Hope Online 
Leave a comment