At
the place where I am employed it is quite common for me and a certain brother
to often remark to one another about the coming of the Lord. When he passes me,
or likewise I pass him through his work department, he will often make the
suggestion that today might be the day when we are taken up into the clouds to
meet the Lord in the air; for sometime we have both been persistent in giving
each other this everlasting hope that today may be the day. For a very long
time faithful believers have been waiting for the glorious appearing of our
conspicuous God and illustrious Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, waiting for the
revelation of him, not as the lowly servant who took on the religious
establishment who tried to silence his wisdom, and stop his miraculous power
that healed the sick and cured those with disease and physical deformities, but
we are patiently waiting for the one who now sits at the right hand of אֵלשַׁדַּי ('el Shadday), who is Almighty God; his Father.
One day Jesus will be exalted by every soul in heaven, and every person on the
earth, even those who will be imprisoned to the place where darkness is the
only source of light, where anguish and regret will be a constant reminder to
them of their stubborn unbelief. We wait, and we pray, that today would be the
day that he would step briefly away from his honour seat, out of the majestic
environment of the heavenly temple where his throne is stationary, where the
glory of אֵלשַׁדַּי fills that place, where the seraphim fly covering their
faces and their feet, proclaiming to one another that the Lord Almighty is so
holy, we believe that he will come out of his heavenly surroundings and come
into the physical realm to give the order to his bride to come be with him.
This day will be soon, sooner than most people think, but until that moment
comes every believer must stand strong in the Lord, not shrink back into
unbelief, be confident in our God, encouraging one another daily—we must be
wise and not foolish.
What
is the kingdom of heaven, or if you prefer, the kingdom of God, like? Jesus
often referred to the kingdom when he was on the earth, warning the crowds who
came to witness his power, to turn away from their sins because his kingdom is
near. He taught that if your righteousness is equivalent to the righteousness
of the blind religious leaders, which were leading the people of Israel
Take
the time to read and study Matthew, chapter twenty five, verses one through
thirteen, as is describes how the ten virgins and their lamps are similar to
the kingdom of heaven; this passage of Holy Scripture is a prophetic
illustration that reveals to the church the importance of watching and being ready
for the rapture. You will notice once you begin to read that the text begins
with the word “then” (τότε) {tote}, this is because Jesus is not finished with
his teaching about the rapture of the church from the previous chapter, verses
thirty six through fifty one—if anyone has their doubts. He likens the church
to virgins (παρθένος) {parthenos}; παρθένος is the Greek term used to describe
the conduct of the Lords people in that they are suitable for marriage. Jesus
uses this analogy because it is his plan that the church is to be presented to
him as a pure virgin (2Cor.11:2), which means the church is not to prostitute
themselves to idols—animate or inanimate idols—neither to any spirit
(1Cor.10:21; 2Cor.6:14-18; Jam.4:4). God’s people are to submit to his Spirit
so that evil desire will hold no attraction for them (Gal.5:16); the believer
has the responsibility to behave like a child of God and to walk by the power of
his Spirit, and not after the sinful nature (Col.3:5-6).
The
church is being prepared by the Spirit of God, who dwells in the believer
(Rom.8:9), to be a bride to the Lord, consequently the use of the noun virgins,
(Jn.3:28-29; Rev.19:7-8; 21:9; 22:17), and accordingly the very reason for the
analogy the Apostle Paul used in describing why our relationship to the Law is
broken, so we can now be married to another, and that other is none other than
the Lord who was raised from the dead (Rom.7:4). This marriage that we are
being prepared for is not the kind of marriage that natural man has been given
here on this earth, which involves sexual intimacy with the physical joining of
one individual to another individual; for there is no marriage like that in heaven
(Matt.22:30). The marriage between the church and the Christ is a different
kind of joining together, it is a spiritual marriage that involves a spiritual
physical bond or alignment, nothing to do with sexual intimacy (1Cor.15:49;
Phil.3:21; 1Jn.3:2), which will occur when we receive our glorified spiritual
body (1Cor.15:51-53) at the rapture.
As
Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to the ten virgins, he said they took
their lamps and “went out to meet the bridegroom.” Is there anything literal
with the announcement of only ten virgins who go out to meet the Lord? Not
likely, he is only using the number ten to make a point in his prophetic
illustration. What do the lamps represent? The lamps symbolically represent the
virgins’ level of commitment to the Lord, with the express commitment to be
ready for him when he comes to receive them (Matt.24:42, 44; 25:13)—the lamps
are the physical instrument in this prophetic illustration that reveal the
passion, or the lack thereof, of each virgin in witnessing the physical reality
of the coming of the bridegroom.
Where
do I get this idea that the virgins’ lamps represent their level of commitment
to the coming of the bridegroom? It is important to survey the circumstances
that involve the Lord saying that the virgins were carrying lamps, as they went
out to meet the bridegroom. His illustration is all about the bridegroom who is
coming to receive those who are betrothed to him, and the lamps play a very
vital purpose. In verse six the text indicates that the bridegroom comes at the
midnight hour, and at midnight depending on what part of the world you reside
in it is dark; it is dark in the city of Jerusalem
The HNV is based off the World English Bible and is an update of the American Standard Version of 1901. Public Domain
