| Story Views | |
| Now: | |
| Last Hour: | |
| Last 24 Hours: | |
| Total: | |
Signs For The End Of The Age II
Mike Taylor / Rapture Ready
Matthew 24:3As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things happen, and what {will be} the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" NASB.
In our last sermon about this subject, we discussed Jesus teaching what the signs for the end of the age would be and who would be the recipients of these signs. Jesus speaks of a great apostasy, or falling away from the true faith in the Living God, wars and rumors of wars, and the sign of the abomination of desolation. Then suddenly He turns His attention to one group of people that will be His focus to bring them to the recognition of their Messiah by persecution and being refined as silver is refined in the fire….namely the nation of Israel.
If you need a refresher course in what was established in Part I, then I invite you to read that sermon first here or on my website, as we are moving on to the next chapter of Matthew 25 that is directly connected to chapter 24 and further reveals signs that point to His coming in the clouds with power and great glory to rule and reign for 1000 years.
Parable of the Ten Virgins
25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
25:2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
Some erroneously take this passage as speaking of the church, not as a whole, but individuals. Notice they are waiting for the bridegroom. They are virgins, meaning they follow after no false god, or have allegiance to the “anti-christ” who will demand worship during the tribulation period, but notice what becomes of them?
25:3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
25:4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
25:5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
Oil in their lamps is a sign of the Holy Spirit. While enduring the period known as the tribulation, they became weary. What does the above passage mean? During the period known as “Jacob's troubles” or the Great Tribulation, many will fall by the wayside and loose out with God, as they do not keep the Spirit of God fresh in their lives. Unlike the Age of Grace when the church had been sealed with an irrevocable sign of redemption by the blood of Jesus Christ and a deposit of the Holy Spirit was given to their spirit to dwell in life as His children till their redemption, the Holy Spirit has been withdrawn to Pre-Pentecostal times as noted in 2nd Thessalonians:
2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth(God's Holy Spirit) will let, until he be taken out of the way.(drawn back)
2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
The fullness of God's Holy Spirit to hold back the rampage of evil from this earth that will overtake all who live, has been removed in it's power along with the Church. Satan will now have full sway to attempt to destroy all of mankind, but while he's at it, seek worship for himself from fallen and evil men.
Notice what happens while these virgins are waiting for the bridegroom?
25:6 And at midnight(end of the age, emphasis mine) there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
25:7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
25:8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
These foolish virgins had lost the Holy Spirit in their lives. They have let the troubles, the persecution, and the evil around them rob them of staying faithful to God. Will it be possible for a person who has accepted Jesus Christ during this time to loose out with Him? According to these verses, it will take all the faith and diligence to stay true to God's Word, and half of these virgins fail in that attempt. So during the tribulation, it will be possible to loose out with God. Back to what Jesus said in the previous chapter:
24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.(emphasis mine)
24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
As mentioned, some believe that this is part of the church. They are not. How do I know? Because of the verses that follow them frantically trying to find oil for their lamp.
25:10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
25:11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
25:12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
These virgins were guest. Five were included, five were denied access, as they were not recognized by the bridegroom for entrance to the feast. The church has already been redeemed approximately 7 years earlier and here Jesus, the bridegroom is presenting her to the world for a wedding feast. These virgin guests were not the bride. Revelation:
19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
Looking at the Amplified Bible explains better what is being said here in the KJV and it behooves us to compare the two. I know, some will say KJV only, but explanation is needed for the passage to become clear:
19:8 She has been permitted to dress in fine (radiant) linen, dazzling and white–for the fine linen is (signifies, represents) the righteousness (the upright, just, and godly living, deeds, and conduct, and right standing with God) of the saints (God's holy people).19:9 Then [the angel] said to me, Write this down: Blessed (happy, to be envied) are those who are summoned (invited, called) to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me [further], These are the true words (the genuine and exact declarations) of God.
I believe that there is definite break in Revelation 19:8 and the next verse 19 and sometimes missed in comparison to this passage. Those calledtribulation saints to the wedding feast which comes directly after the consummation of the marriage covenant between husband and wife are guest, not the bride. The marriage covenant between Jesus Christ and His church is one aspect completed in glory, but the wedding feast is upon the arrival of our Lord in chapter 19 with His bride riding on white horses and clothed with fine linen, clean and white which is a sign of the saints.
When you turn back your focus to the foolish virgins as they beat on the door asking entrance into God's presence and the wedding feast, Jesus as the bridegroom, says that He did not know them, as they are not invited as guest and have not a proper attire, the Holy Spirit's indwelling to be admitted.
The bride is already inside. The bridegroom does not invite His bride to the wedding. She is the FOCUS of the wedding. She receives no invitation except being covered in the blood of Jesus Christ as a requirement for being part of the Bride of Christ and that covenant has been completed in heaven's realm. So what this parable is talking about is Tribulation Saints who endure to the end of a most horrible time of persecution and possible martyrdom and will not give into denying their Lord, or being deceived by the spirit of anti-christ, but can loose what they had due to their lack of faith and perseverance to be faithful till the end of the age as represented by the five foolish virgins.
continue at Rapture Ready:
http://raptureready.com/soap/taylor71.html
The nation of Israel was wiped off the face of Earth by the Roman empire in 70 ce. They massacred every last man, women, child, suckling babe, slaughtered their livestock, burnt their homes and crops, and raised Jerusalem to the ground. Their end took place near two thousand years ago. the biblical Jesus charcter was Jewish not Christian, your ego tells you its about you.
On the contrary, the nation of Israel is scattered throughout the earth. After 70 CE, many of them fled into Negro Land, today known as Africa. Many of the Israelites settled on the west coasts of Africa and were eventually captured by the Hametic and Ishmaelitic tribes and were to the so-called “white man” biblical name, ESAU (Genesis 25:25). This was a fulfillment of Deuteronomy 28. So today, most of the Israelites live in the Americas, North, Central & South. Did I mention they are people of color?
And the so-called Jesus wasn’t “Jew-ish”. He was a Jew from the loins of Judah, son of Jacob. The term “Jewish” is a term invented by Esau to add more confusion in this twisted world. No one can convert into a nationality. That’s like a white man converting to a African man.