Scripture: Matthew 25:1-13
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.
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.
25:6 And at midnight 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.
25:9 But the wise answered, saying, [Not so]; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
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.
25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
This is one of the most studied and quoted parables by 7th day Adventists preachers, and for this reason many of us are already familiar with the meaning of the symbols used in the parable. Even before I wrote this sermon I was clear on what the meaning of the symbols were.
However it is not worth anything to me to simply know what the meaning of the symbols are, sad to say this is where most studies stop that I have heard done on this chapter. As a result, this study is set out not so much to find out what the symbols in the story mean, but what is the message behind this parable.
For the benefit of those that are not familiar with the symbolism of this parable I’m going to briefly review it so that I can get everybody to the same point.
I don’t want to leave anybody behind today, because the matter that we are going to speak about today is of utmost importance.
Lets us begin:-------first of all let us invite the holy spirit ------the spirit of truth into our midst so that the subject matter that we will be covering today will be clearly understood, since it is the Spirit that leadeth into all truth.
Let us pray
The parable begins by saying that the kingdom of heaven is likened unto.-
(who is it that comprises the kingdom). The individuals here being talked about are those which comprise the kingdom of God on Earth. Yes the church is a kingdom. The church is pure so those who profess to be a part of it must also be pure and thus the reason for the women being described in this story as virgins. 2cor 11:2
A virgin is the representation of a pure church or a people professing a pure faith and the symbol of a Harlot is the symbol of an impure church. (rev17:15&18)
(verse 1) Ten virgins – ten is a complete number (gen18:32; 24:10 &22; ex34:28, num 7)
(verse 1) which took their lamps (psalm 119:105)
lamp here means the word of God- the bible
(verse 1) and went forth to meet the bridegroom (2 cor 11:2)
the bridegroom represents Christ, but the fact that they went out to meet him means that this is the expectant church waiting to meet Christ their husband. In this sense only can we refer to these virgins as Adventists. Not to be confused with sda.
Verse 3 is going to be my focus
Since verse three is going to be my focal verse I will temporarily skip over it.
verse 3- took oil with them-key (ex25:6;
Oil in this parable is known as the Holy Spirit.
Oil is the source of light. (with lamps) Light reveals truth. The Holy Spirit is that which leads into truth. (john14:17)
Tarried-(verse 5)
This is not a coincidental mention of the word tarry, because we are familiar with the sanctuary service message, we know that the time that the high priest stayed longer in the most holy place on the day of Atonement, although his duty was done-was called the tarrying time. This places the event at the second coming of Christ rather than the first.
slumbered and slept (verse 5)
The church becomes intoxicated with bad doctrine, and so this state of intoxication is called sleep. Rev6:5
Midnight (verse6)
The darkest hour is just before dawn. This hour is referred to as the darkest hour. The brightest part of the day is mid-day, hence this is the reason that the darkest hour is called midnight.
all arose and trimmed their lamps (verse 7)
the problem wasn’t that they did not have a wick. Oil was the problem. After the lamp was burning for awhile the wicks needed to be trimmed, in order for a brighter light to be shown. It is alarming that they were only awakened at the call. “behold the bridegroom cometh (verse 6)
Believe it or not some people are waiting until the passing of the national Sunday law to get ready. But the pen of inspiration says that this will be too late to get ready. Because this would have been the closing of probabtion for the church.
This brings me to my topic of study today. How will I know if I am numbered among these foolish virgins or not?.
verse 3- took oil with them-key (ex25:6;
Oil is the source of light. (with lamps) Light reveals truth. The Holy Spirit is that which leads into truth.
On a another level the fact that they had oil, means they were partakers of the divine nature. What does this mean? Christianity is humanity taking on divinity. Eph3:19 (14-19) to better illustrate this. 2 peter 1:8
So the foolish virgins fully understood what was the love of Christ and it was temporarily active in their lives. But consistent denial, eventually grieved the Holy Spirit away, and they became antichrist 1 jn2:22… if you don’t deny self you will deny Christ. matth16:24)
How did they get to this point?
math 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
This point is so important I don’t want you to miss it. The foolish virgins not having oil is 1 Corinth 13:
They understood the mysteries of Scripture, they practiced a form of godliness. These did not reject God but they did not allow the Holy Spirit to work on them. They knew how to identify the mark of the beast and was sure not to get it, but by neglecting to do the greater thing (math23:23) they were not listed among the redeemed of the earth.
Here is the greatest deception that can affect the human mind; these persons believe that they are right, when they are wrong…………..They are found wanting when it is forever too late to have their wants supplied. 1T 417
Now is the time to entreat that souls shall not only hear the word of God, but without delay secure oil in their vessels with their lamps. That oil is the righteousness/love of Christ. It represents character, and character is not transferable. No man can secure it for another. Each must obtain for himself a character purified from every stain of sin.
This explains why it is important to pray before reading the bible. A lamp is no good without oil. Unless the Holy spirit fills the mind with life changing truth while you read the scriptures, reading or having the word is of no use to you.
I’m going to just highlight a few texts today, which will tell us what are some of the characteristics of a person who has been with Jesus.
Here are the characteristics that I have found so far that are signs if you are ready to meet God or not.
1) Faith
For without faith it is impossible to please Him because if you come to Him you must believe that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him Heb11:6
Faith is the evidence of things not yet seen, it is important to believe that you are doing all you can to form the necessary character. In this case the saying is true “belief kill and belief cure.
Faith come by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Rom10:17
You will never have faith if you are not reading his word.
2) Love-key
By this do we know that we have passed from death to life if we have love for the brethren. 1john3:14 Its either you represent Jesus or not-the character of Jesus must be seen and found in you, if you are to be numbered among the redeemed of the Earth.
3) Hope
You must have the blessed hope of Jesus returning to take you from this sin cursed world. Without this hope life is not worth the living.
4) Communication-relationship
If God is who He says he is and can do all that He says he can do, then you must prove Him. This proves communication between you and Him and that you have a relationship. Have you been speaking to a god of wood or stone all this time? Prove Him.
If I talk to you and you don’t respond am I really talking to you?
Who are you talking to? The god of the ceiling? If you are talking to the true and living God who is able to feel and respond to you, then you should know when was the last time He spoke to you.
(Q)How could God declare to people who have been casting out demons in His name I know you not?
(A) Because there is no relationship. There is power in the name of God so we can do things in his name. But Does God know you. (a person committing willful sin cannot claim to know the Lord. If I don’t keep the commandments, I have no relationship with Him)
5) Keep the commandments
Not to be confused with the ten. God has given many many commandments outside of the ten such as be fruitful and multiply, do not consume flesh with blood etc. To disobey these commandments will make the difference between life and death. If it is perfection that we seek then it is our responsibility to find out what other commandment there are and do them.
Conclusion
Jude20-21
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