The Four Cups and the Wedding Covenant: Passover as Prophetic Marriage

This study was originally prepared as part of my research for the D&C 133-136 Come Follow Me lesson. I wasn’t able to publish it at the time, but the insights about the four cups, the wedding covenant, and the feast days were too rich to leave behind. They became a foundation for much of what you’ll find in the Passover Seder guide — and I wanted to make the full study available as a companion resource.

The Cry at Midnight

In the parable of the ten virgins, Jesus taught about a moment that would change everything: “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him” (Matthew 25:6).

In Doctrine and Covenants 133, we encounter the same invitation in unmistakable terms. The Lord declares: “Let this be the cry among all people: Awake and arise and go forth to meet the Bridegroom; behold and lo, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him” (D&C 133:10).

But here’s what we often miss: This is not a warning of doom. This is a wedding invitation.

Reframing the Second Coming

When Grace Freeman and David Butler of Don’t Miss This explored this passage, they offered a perspective that transforms how we view the Lord’s return:

“The bridegroom… means that verse 10 puts the whole context of the second coming as a wedding. It’s like you’re preparing for a wedding. You’re preparing for a party. You’re preparing for a celebration.”

Think about weddings. Gifts and cake and dancing. Everyone is happy. Everything feels right in the world. That is the emotional framework the Lord uses to describe His return.

The key insight lies in the action: we’re not sitting passively, waiting for Christ to knock on the front door. We’re so excited that we go out to meet him. We can’t stay inside. We have to hurry.

“Why would someone be so excited about Jesus coming that they wouldn’t even want to sit and wait?”

This question unlocks everything about D&C 133.

The Ancient Pattern: Israelite Wedding Customs

To fully appreciate this imagery, we must understand ancient Israelite wedding traditions. Lynda Cherry, in her work Redemption of the Bride, explains:

After a betrothal, the bridegroom would return to his father’s home to build a new dwelling for his bride. The wedding could not take place until:

1. The new home was complete
2. The father approved the construction
3. The father gave permission for the son to claim his bride

Does this sound familiar? On the Passover evening before His death, Jesus told His disciples:

“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself” (John 14:2-3).

Jesus was speaking in wedding language His disciples would have immediately understood. He was announcing: “I am going to prepare for our wedding.”

The Seven Feast Days: God’s Prophetic Wedding Timeline

Perhaps no pattern in scripture reveals God’s redemptive plan more clearly than the seven annual feast days given to Israel. These weren’t merely cultural celebrations — they were prophetic appointments pointing to specific events in the Bridegroom’s plan to redeem His Bride.

The Spring Feasts (Fulfilled at Christ’s First Coming)

PASSOVER (Pesach): The Marriage Covenant Enacted

Before leading Israel out of Egypt, the Lord revealed to Moses the terms of His covenant — a covenant that reads remarkably like a marriage proposal. Jehovah offers His hand to Israel, stating “I will be your God if you will be my people.” In Exodus 6:6-7, He declares four covenant promises, each beginning with the emphatic phrase “I will”:

“Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and

1. I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and
2. I will rid you out of their bondage, and
3. I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:
4. And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God” (Exodus 6:6-7).

These four divine promises form the foundation of the Passover celebration. During the Seder meal, four cups of wine are offered — each corresponding to one of these covenant declarations:

The Cup of Redemption and the Kinsman Redeemer

The third cup — the Cup of Redemption — holds particular significance. The Hebrew word for “redeem” here is ga’al (גָּאַל), from which we get the term goel (גֹּאֵל), meaning “kinsman redeemer.”

In ancient Israel, a goel was a close relative who had both the right and the responsibility to:

• Redeem property that had been sold due to poverty
• Redeem a family member who had been sold into slavery
• Avenge the blood of a murdered relative
• Marry the widow of a deceased kinsman (levirate marriage)

The story of Ruth and Boaz beautifully illustrates this role. Boaz, as Ruth’s kinsman redeemer, paid the price to restore her inheritance and took her as his bride.

Christ is our ultimate Goel. He is not a distant deity but our Kinsman — having taken upon Himself our flesh and blood (Hebrews 2:14). As our Kinsman Redeemer, He:

• Redeems us from the slavery of sin and death
• Pays the bride price (Hebrew: mohar) with His own blood
• Restores our lost inheritance (eternal life)
• Takes us as His Bride in eternal covenant

When Jesus lifted the third cup at the Last Supper, He declared: “This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:20). He was announcing: “I am paying the redemption price. I am your Goel.”

The wine — representing blood — symbolizes the bride price paid to free Israel from bondage. Just as the blood of the Passover lamb on the doorposts saved Israel from the destroying angel in Egypt, so Christ’s blood saves us from spiritual death.

Egypt, Babylon, and Spiritual Captivity

Throughout scripture, Egypt and Babylon represent spiritual bondage — the captivity of sin, worldliness, and separation from God. D&C 133 commands: “Go ye out from Babylon… go ye out from among the nations, even from Babylon, from the midst of wickedness” (D&C 133:5, 14).

This is Exodus language applied to the latter days. Just as Israel left physical Egypt, we are called to leave spiritual Babylon. And just as Israel was led by the blood of the lamb, we are led by Christ, the Lamb of God.

The Gospel as Marriage Covenant

Through sacred ordinances — baptism, confirmation, temple covenants — we enter into a covenant relationship with Christ that mirrors a marriage contract. Consider:

• We take upon ourselves His name (just as a bride takes her husband’s name)
• We promise fidelity to Him alone (no other gods)
• He promises to provide, protect, and redeem us
• The covenant is sealed by authorized priesthood power
• We receive sacred and symbolic garments signifying our covenant status

The Passover, therefore, is not merely a historical remembrance. It is prophetic enactment of Christ’s redemption of His Bride — foreshadowing His atoning sacrifice, His role as our Kinsman Redeemer, and the covenant that binds us to Him eternally.

UNLEAVENED BREAD (Matzah): Finding What Was Lost

The Hebrew word for unleavened bread is matzah (מַצָּה), derived from the root matza (מָצָא), meaning “to find.” This linguistic connection reveals layers of meaning that transform our understanding of this seven-day feast.

The Symbol of Sinlessness

Throughout scripture, leaven (yeast) represents sin — something that spreads, puffs up, and corrupts the whole. Paul taught: “Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened” (1 Corinthians 5:6-7).

During the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Israelite families would meticulously search their homes to remove every trace of leaven — a practice called bedikat chametz. This physical cleansing symbolized the spiritual cleansing required of the Bride: removing sin from our lives so we can dwell with a sinless Bridegroom.

Christ, the “bread of life” (John 6:35), was without sin — unleavened, pure, uncorrupted. His sinless body lay in the tomb during this very feast, fulfilling the prophetic type. The Bridegroom Himself became the Matzah — the bread without leaven, the Lamb without blemish.

The Symbol of Haste

The unleavened bread also commemorates the urgency of the Exodus. When Pharaoh finally released Israel, the people left in such haste that “the people took their dough before it was leavened” (Exodus 12:34). There was no time to wait for bread to rise.

This speaks to our own deliverance. When the Lord calls us out of spiritual bondage, we cannot linger. “Go ye out from Babylon… flee ye” (D&C 133:7, 15). The invitation to leave sin behind requires immediate response — not tomorrow, not when it’s convenient, but now.

The Broken Bread: Christ’s Body and His Family

Traditional matzah is striped (from baking) and pierced (with holes to prevent rising) — a striking image of the Messiah who was “wounded for our transgressions” and “with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

During the Passover Seder, three pieces of matzah are placed together in a special pouch. The middle piece is removed, broken, wrapped in linen, and hidden — to be found later by the children. This broken, hidden, and found bread is called the afikomen (from Greek, meaning “that which comes after” or “the coming one”).

The symbolism is breathtaking:

• Three matzot — The Godhead: Father, Son, Holy Ghost
• The middle one removed — The Son, sent from the Father’s presence
• Broken — Christ’s body broken for us
• Wrapped in linen — His burial cloths
• Hidden — His body placed in the tomb
• Found by the children — The resurrection discovered; the lost found

But there is yet another layer. The broken bread represents not only Christ’s physical body but also the body of Christ as His covenant family — the scattered tribes of Israel, broken and dispersed among the nations.

Matza: Finding What Was Lost

Remember: matza means “to find.” The Feast of Unleavened Bread is about finding:

• Finding Christ — The children search for and find the hidden afikomen
• Finding the lost sheep — “What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine… and go after that which is lost, until he find it?” (Luke 15:4)
• Finding the scattered tribes — Israel broken and dispersed, waiting to be gathered
• Finding our way home — The Bride returning to her Bridegroom

D&C 133 echoes this theme: “And they who are in the north countries shall come in remembrance before the Lord; and their prophets shall hear his voice… and the boundaries of the everlasting hills shall tremble at their presence” (D&C 133:26-31). The scattered tribes — the broken matzah — will be found and gathered.

When Jesus broke bread at the Last Supper and said “This is my body which is broken for you” (1 Corinthians 11:24), He was declaring Himself the afikomen — the hidden one who would be found. But He was also prophesying the gathering of His body, His family, His Bride from every nation.

The Sanctification of the Bride

The Feast of Unleavened Bread represents the sanctification of the Bride. Having been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb (Passover), she now must purge out the leaven — removing sin from her life to become worthy of her Bridegroom.

This is not merely about avoiding sin but about becoming holy — set apart, consecrated, pure. As Peter taught: “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation” (1 Peter 1:15).

The Bride makes herself ready by:

• Searching her heart for hidden sin (bedikat chametz)
• Responding with urgency to the call to leave Babylon
• Allowing herself to be broken and remade
• Participating in the gathering of the scattered family

For seven days — a complete cycle — Israel ate only unleavened bread. Complete sanctification. Complete purity. A Bride made ready for her King.

FIRSTFRUITS (Bikkurim): The Guarantee of the Harvest

The Hebrew word for firstfruits is bikkurim (בִּכּוּרִים), derived from the root bakar (בָּכַר), meaning “firstborn” or “to be early, to ripen first.” This feast, celebrated on the day after the Sabbath following Passover, was both an agricultural celebration and a profound prophetic statement about resurrection and belonging.

The Temple Offering

During Bikkurim, Israelites were commanded to bring the first and best of their harvest to the temple as an offering to the Lord:

“Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty” (Proverbs 3:9-10).

“The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God” (Exodus 23:19).

This was not merely an offering — it was an act of faith and consecration. By giving the first portion before knowing whether the rest of the harvest would succeed, the Israelite declared: “Everything I have belongs to You. I trust You with my increase.”

The firstfruits offering was a form of tithing — acknowledging that God is the source of all abundance. It was brought to the temple, waved before the Lord by the priest, and accepted as holy unto Him. Only after this offering could the rest of the harvest be used.

Christ: The Firstfruits of the Father

Paul explicitly connects this feast to Christ’s resurrection:

“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming” (1 Corinthians 15:20-23).

Just as the firstfruits offering was waved before the Lord in the temple, Christ presented Himself before the Father after His resurrection. When Mary Magdalene encountered the risen Lord, He told her: “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father” (John 20:17). He was, in essence, the wave offering — the firstfruits being presented in the heavenly temple.

Christ’s resurrection on this exact feast day was not coincidence. It was divine appointment. He is:

• The firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1:18)
• The firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:29)
• The firstfruits of the Father’s harvest

His resurrection guarantees ours, just as the firstfruits offering guaranteed the coming harvest. If the firstfruits are holy, the whole lump is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches (Romans 11:16).

The Firstfruits of His Kingdom

But there is another layer to this feast that speaks directly to the Second Coming and the Bride of Christ.

The Doctrine and Covenants teaches that at Christ’s return, a specific group will rise first:

“And the saints that are upon the earth, who are alive, shall be quickened and be caught up to meet him. And they who have slept in their graves shall come forth, for their graves shall be opened; and they also shall be caught up to meet him in the midst of the pillar of heaven — They are Christ’s, the first fruits, they who shall descend with him first” (D&C 88:96-98).

These are the firstfruits of His kingdom — those who are “Christ’s at his coming” (1 Corinthians 15:23). Just as the Israelite farmer offered the first ripened grain as representative of the whole harvest, these resurrected Saints represent the greater harvest to follow.

John the Revelator also saw this:

“These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb” (Revelation 14:4).

The Bride as Firstfruits

Consider the profound connection to the Bride imagery:

• The firstfruits were brought to the temple (the house of the Bridegroom)
• They were the first and best — consecrated, set apart
• They belonged entirely to the Lord
• They guaranteed the full harvest to come

The Bride of Christ — those who have entered into covenant with Him, been sanctified (Unleavened Bread), and remained faithful — are His firstfruits. They are:

• Consecrated to Him alone
• Presented before the Father
• The guarantee of the greater gathering
• The evidence that the harvest is sure

When Christ returns, His Bride will rise to meet Him — the firstfruits of a glorious resurrection that will eventually include all of God’s children.

The Wave Sheaf and the Gathering

On the morning of Firstfruits, the priest would take a sheaf (omer) of barley — the first grain to ripen in Israel — and wave it before the Lord in the temple. This single sheaf represented the entire harvest to come.

Christ, rising from the tomb on this very morning, was that wave sheaf. But He did not rise alone:

“And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many” (Matthew 27:52-53).

These resurrected Saints were part of the firstfruits offering — evidence that Christ’s resurrection was not a singular event but the beginning of a harvest. The scattered family was already beginning to be gathered. The broken matzah was being found.

PENTECOST (Shavuot)

These four spring feasts were fulfilled precisely on their appointed days during Christ’s mortal ministry. Passover lamb slain? Jesus crucified on Passover. Firstfruits celebrated? Jesus rose on Firstfruits. Pentecost arrived? The Spirit descended on Pentecost.

The Autumn Feasts (Awaiting Fulfillment at Christ’s Second Coming)

The autumn feasts point to events yet to come. And here is the stunning pattern: there is a gap of several months between the spring and autumn feasts, just as there is a gap of millennia between Christ’s first and second coming.

The Bridegroom has fulfilled His spring appointments. He is now “preparing a place” for His Bride. And when the Father gives the word, the trumpets will sound and the Bridegroom will come to claim His Bride for the ultimate celebration: the Feast of Tabernacles — the wedding feast of eternity.

The Bride Prepared Through Trial

D&C 135: The Price of the Bride

In ancient Israel, a bridegroom paid a bride price (Hebrew: mohar) to demonstrate the value of his bride. Jesus paid that price at Calvary. But there’s another layer here.

John Taylor’s testimony in D&C 135 declares of Joseph Smith: “He has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood.”

The martyrdom at Carthage was not the end of the story — it was part of the bride price. Joseph and Hyrum “sealed their testimony with their blood” (D&C 135:5), becoming witnesses that the covenant had been restored.

The Bride was being purchased at great cost. And those who gave their lives understood they were participants in something cosmic — the restoration of the marriage covenant between God and His people.

D&C 136: The Journey to Meet the Bridegroom

If D&C 133 is the invitation (“go ye out to meet him”), then D&C 136 is the how.

Given at Winter Quarters on January 14, 1847, this revelation organized the Saints for their westward journey. But look at the deeper symbolism:

• “Let each company bear an equal proportion” (v. 8) — The wedding party prepares together
• “Keep yourselves from evil” (v. 21) — The bride makes herself ready
• “Praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing” (v. 28) — Wedding celebration language!
• “I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left” (v. 22) — The Bridegroom accompanies His Bride

The trek west was not merely a migration. It was the Bride going out to meet her Bridegroom — leaving Babylon (the corrupt world that had rejected them) and traveling toward Zion.

The Voice of the Bridegroom and the Bride

Jeremiah prophesied of the latter-day gathering:

“The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the Lord of hosts: for the Lord is good; for his mercy endureth forever” (Jeremiah 33:11).

This phrase — “his mercy endureth forever” — was sung in the ancient temple during feast day celebrations. The scattered Saints, trudging through Iowa winters and Nebraska plains, may have seemed far from celebrating. But they were becoming the fulfillment of ancient prophecy.

The voice of the Bridegroom (the restored gospel) and the voice of the Bride (the gathered Saints) would once again be heard in the earth.

The Wedding Garments

One of the most poignant details in the parable of the ten virgins is often overlooked. The foolish virgins arrive late and knock, saying “Lord, Lord, open to us.” But the Joseph Smith Translation adjusts the Lord’s response from “I know you not” to “Ye know me not.”

The issue wasn’t that Christ had forgotten them. The issue was that they had not developed a relationship where their voice was recognized.

In ancient wedding customs, guests knocking at the door did not give their name — their voice had to be recognized. If there hadn’t been enough genuine interaction, the voice was unfamiliar.

This is why the command “Awake, and put on thy beautiful garments” echoes throughout scripture (Isaiah, Moroni, D&C). The Bridegroom wants His Bride to be ready — clothed in covenant garments, voice familiar through years of prayer and communion, oil of the Spirit filling her lamp.

Reflection Questions

For Personal Study

1. The Wedding Mindset: When you think about the Second Coming, do you feel dread or anticipation? What would help shift your perspective to see it as a wedding invitation?

2. The Feast Day Pattern: Which feast day speaks most powerfully to you right now? Are you living in a “spring feast” season (experiencing redemption and sanctification) or preparing for an “autumn feast” season (anticipating reunion)?

3. The Pioneer Connection: How does understanding the westward trek as “going out to meet the Bridegroom” change how you view your pioneer ancestors (literal or spiritual)?

4. Voice Recognition: If you knocked on the door of heaven today, would your voice be recognized? What does daily “genuine interaction” with the Lord look like for you?

For Family Discussion

1. What would you do if you knew someone very special was coming to visit in exactly one week?

2. The pioneers sang songs and danced even during their hardest days (D&C 136:28). Why do you think the Lord asked them to do that?

3. What does it mean that families can be “sealed” together forever? How is that like a wedding?

The Invitation Stands

D&C 133 opens with the same words as D&C 1: “Hearken, O ye people of my church.” The preface and the appendix bookend the Doctrine and Covenants with the same urgent invitation.

But what’s the invitation?

It’s not primarily a warning about judgment (though that’s mentioned). It’s not a checklist of doom (though challenges are prophesied).

It’s a wedding invitation.

The Bridegroom has prepared a place. The Father is watching the preparations. The trumpets are being readied. And the cry will go forth:

“Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.”

The question isn’t whether He will come. The question is: Will you be ready? Will you go out to meet Him?

The invitation is in your hands. RSVP required.

“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.” — Revelation 19:7

Sources and Further Reading

• Lynda Cherry, Redemption of the Bride
• Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom
• Don’t Miss This: D&C 133-134 Episode
• Church History Matters: “Our Warning Before the Second Coming”
• Dr. Andrew Skinner, “Judgement at the End of Times”
• Scripture Central: Come Follow Me Insights D&C 133-134