A few posts ago I covered Mark 13. This same speech that Jesus gives in that chapter can also be found in Matthew 24 and Luke 21 (with slight variations in each passage). Matthew 24 has probably the most in-depth account of all three passages, and Matthew 25 is a continuation of the speech that contains three additional parables explaining the after effects of the tribulation. I say the after effects because Jesus is very clear that the first parable - the parable of the ten virgins - occurs "then", which is to say after the tribulation described in Matthew 24. The latter two parables describe the judgment that occurs after His return. As I said in a prior post, the parables given in Matthew 25 follow the same pattern of subject matter as Ezekiel 33 and 34. This post will deal with the first parable - the parable of the ten virgins - and some of the references from Old Testament prophecy.
Here is the parable of the ten virgins from Matthew 25:1-13:
"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, 'Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.' Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, 'Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.' 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.' 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. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, 'lord, lord, open to us.' But he answered and said, 'Verily I say unto you, I know you not.' Watch ye therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh."
There are a few different elements to this parable. First, there are the virgins; second, there are the lamps; third, there are the watchmen.
The Virgins
In Scripture, idolatry is equivalent to spiritual adultery. Worshipping other gods was equivalent to breaking the spiritual bond with God and marrying another. The most potent example of this that I can think of is Jeremiah chapter 3. So keeping yourself from idolatry is keeping yourself pure, keeping yourself a virgin. Paul also makes it clear in his second letter to the Corinthians, a letter in which he desperately appears to be attempting to preserve the purity of the church, when he says, "I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him (2 Corinthians 11:2-4)." This explains the position of the virgin in the parable. All of the virgins were waiting for the Lord to return... but the requirement that they needed was to know what to expect when He returned, similar to what Paul says. Paul's statement is that Christ's return and what to expect has been plainly stated in the Bible (Jesus had just explained it in Matthew 24 from our example), however, it is other peoples' ideas and doctrines that make it confusing. And Paul says that if you are going to follow them, you might as well admit that you are following them and hope that they can save you, because you are not following what Christ says... which is why He says to the foolish virgins, "I know you not." If you are following someone who does not teach anything about the end times, then that is similar to not having any oil in the lamp. (Further reading on what it means to be a spiritual virgin for Christ can be found in Psalm 45, The Song of Solomon, and Isaiah 50-59.)
The Lamps
The lamp is a source of light. It allows you to see what is going on, what you are doing, and where you are going. Oil is the fuel for the lamp. Oil is the truth. If you have the truth about the end times, you know what to do in a time when most people are in the dark. But what is the truth? Jesus says in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Jesus is the Word (see John chapter 1). So, the truth is the Word of God. The entire Bible is instruction in how to live your life, and a large part of it is devoted to the end times. To gain an understanding of the Bible is gathering the oil for a time of darkness. Even if you were to just follow what Jesus did during His ministering period of 3 1/2 years in the gospel, you would be doing what you need to do in the end times because those 3 1/2 years are a prophecy of the last 3 1/2 years of this age. That's what the Teacher of all teachers has taught you in the gospel. So, if you can do the same things that He did during that period (that is to say, to love those around you and to help them through thick and thin, as Christ would and has) then you are doing what is required for that time and will help many. And since we don't know when exactly those last 3 1/2 years are... it's best that we try to act as He did every day.
Just as Paul had said, "[if ye] receive another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might [as] well bear with him," the wise virgins say the same thing to the foolish virgins in this parable. They tell the foolish virgins to go back to the people that they had gotten their truth from in the first place, because their sources didn't give them enough truth to get through the whole of the end times. Does that mean you are doomed if you don't know everything about the end times? No. I don't think that at all; and luckily for anyone that reads this, I am not the authority over who is doomed and who is not. But the more truth you have now, the better prepared you are to do what you have to when the end times come. And my passion is to encourage you to get the truth straight from the Word - the simplicity of Christ.
The Watchmen
This is the most downplayed element of the parable, and yet one of the most important. The person who cries out that the bridegroom is coming is the watchman. This is where Ezekiel 33 comes into the picture. There are two different types of watchmen: there are those that the people set up for themselves, and there are those that God has chosen to be on the watch for the things that He has pronounced in the Bible.
God tells Ezekiel this, saying, "Son of man, speak unto the children of thy People, and say unto them, 'When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: if when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.'
So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at My mouth, and warn them from Me. When I say unto the wicked, 'O wicked man, thou shalt surely die;' if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul (Ezekiel 33:2-9)."
Note the "warning the wicked to turn from his way". This is repentance. This is calling to the people to get them to repent. As I said above about acting like Jesus, Who was the perfect example of how to live in the flesh, Jesus' first message (similar to John the Baptist's) when He went to preach was: "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 4:17)." This is where Jesus provided the example for the watchmen.
Isaiah also spoke of watchmen that the people had set up for themselves, rather than those chosen by God; watchmen that did not protect the people, causing Isaiah to say, "All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest. His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. 'Come ye,' say they, 'I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant (Isaiah 56:9-12).'"
So it is important to know that our own people (the Christian nation) have set up watchmen and shepherds that do not protect the flock. They do not pay heed to the entire Word of God, whereby they would know when to instruct, when to warn, when to protect. Is this every pastor that is out there? No, but it is easy to know these people by the way they preach. Jesus said you would know the tree by it's fruit (Matthew 7:15-20). If you have a pastor that doesn't teach the Word of God - the whole Word of God - because they only want to teach "the easy parts", the parts that everyone can agree on, then you are dealing with one of these greedy dogs. They skip over the warnings that are given, not realizing that the warnings are given to strengthen the flock, so that they will know what to expect (Paul uses this exact method in 2 Thessalonians 2 when he says to take comfort in knowing what is to come). But that is fine. It leaves opportunity for you to discuss their teaching style with them. It leaves opportunity for you to share these passages with them. It leaves opportunity to continue to provide works of love in the church that you are in. It doesn't stop you from continuing to learn the Word of God, to keep gathering your oil, so that you can shine the light of God's Word in the dark hours of the night. So that you can find the way, and lead others, to the wedding when the time is right. God bless.
Showing posts with label Isaiah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Isaiah. Show all posts
Thursday, 13 October 2011
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
Day of Atonement
Before going into Jesus' three parables from Matthew 25, I will post a couple of elliptical posts concerning the feast days that are quickly approaching. These concern the Day of Atonement and the the Feast of Tabernacles.
From sundown on October 7 to sundown on October 8, 2011 is the Day of Atonement. This was described by God to Moses in Leviticus 23:27-32:
"Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath."
The Hebrew word for "day" is "yom" and the word for "atonement" in the passage is "kippur", which is where the term Yom Kippur on the Jewish calendar comes from. The word "kippur" comes from the root "kaphar", which has several different interpretations: to cover, to purge, to make atonement, to reconcile. Interestingly enough, it is translated as "pitch" in Genesis 6:14, when Noah was building the ark for the approaching flood. The pitch was the material that coated and protected the boards of the ark to ensure that the boat was water-tight. It kept the boards together; it repaired the breaches between the boards; it ensured that the boat did not sink. Similarly, we of the Church can be seen as the boards of the boat. Our actions towards one another show how we love each other, keep the boat together, and keep it from sinking. So the method of atonement that reconciles us with God, is also our method of treating one another and reconciles us to one another. We humble ourselves before God and before each other, by helping each other, and this is how we afflict our souls... and make atonement. (Not surprisingly, through excellent Spiritual timing, this post will tie together with the results that occur in the last parable of Matthew 25.)
There are a couple of caveats to this. First, observing this sabbath as a matter of ritual - for ritual's sake - is not recommended. As God said through His prophet, "For I desired mercy [i.e. love], and not sacrifice; and knowledge of God more than burnt offerings (Hosea 6:6)." Second, observing the sabbath to create a spectacle is heavily frowned upon. This message was given to us by two powerful witnesses: Isaiah (by word of God) and Jesus. First, Isaiah 58 is an awesome source on what is a pleasing day to afflict your soul for God.
"Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew My People their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of Me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. "Wherefore have we fasted," say they, "and Thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and Thou takest no knowledge?" Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, "Here I am." If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day: and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."
Jesus also spoke of an acceptable fast (day to afflict the soul) in the Sermon on the Mount, saying, "Moreover, when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father Which is in secret: and thy Father, Which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly (Matthew 6:16-18)." This echoes the same message as was given in Isaiah, and I believe was Jesus' reference when He spoke it.
The pleasing affliction to God is to humble ourselves to help one another, for each other's general good and not for show. This is how we are instructed to keep the boat together and is important in the time of the approaching flood. God bless.
From sundown on October 7 to sundown on October 8, 2011 is the Day of Atonement. This was described by God to Moses in Leviticus 23:27-32:
"Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath."
The Hebrew word for "day" is "yom" and the word for "atonement" in the passage is "kippur", which is where the term Yom Kippur on the Jewish calendar comes from. The word "kippur" comes from the root "kaphar", which has several different interpretations: to cover, to purge, to make atonement, to reconcile. Interestingly enough, it is translated as "pitch" in Genesis 6:14, when Noah was building the ark for the approaching flood. The pitch was the material that coated and protected the boards of the ark to ensure that the boat was water-tight. It kept the boards together; it repaired the breaches between the boards; it ensured that the boat did not sink. Similarly, we of the Church can be seen as the boards of the boat. Our actions towards one another show how we love each other, keep the boat together, and keep it from sinking. So the method of atonement that reconciles us with God, is also our method of treating one another and reconciles us to one another. We humble ourselves before God and before each other, by helping each other, and this is how we afflict our souls... and make atonement. (Not surprisingly, through excellent Spiritual timing, this post will tie together with the results that occur in the last parable of Matthew 25.)
There are a couple of caveats to this. First, observing this sabbath as a matter of ritual - for ritual's sake - is not recommended. As God said through His prophet, "For I desired mercy [i.e. love], and not sacrifice; and knowledge of God more than burnt offerings (Hosea 6:6)." Second, observing the sabbath to create a spectacle is heavily frowned upon. This message was given to us by two powerful witnesses: Isaiah (by word of God) and Jesus. First, Isaiah 58 is an awesome source on what is a pleasing day to afflict your soul for God.
"Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew My People their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of Me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. "Wherefore have we fasted," say they, "and Thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and Thou takest no knowledge?" Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, "Here I am." If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day: and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."
Jesus also spoke of an acceptable fast (day to afflict the soul) in the Sermon on the Mount, saying, "Moreover, when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father Which is in secret: and thy Father, Which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly (Matthew 6:16-18)." This echoes the same message as was given in Isaiah, and I believe was Jesus' reference when He spoke it.
The pleasing affliction to God is to humble ourselves to help one another, for each other's general good and not for show. This is how we are instructed to keep the boat together and is important in the time of the approaching flood. God bless.
Saturday, 10 September 2011
Declaring the End from the Beginning...
This is a follow up to my prior rapture post. It is one of those numerous numerous scriptures that I was refering to that contradicts rapture theory. The message is short and sweet and straightforward. In Isaiah 46:9-10, God says, "I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.'" (This reminds me of when Jesus says in Matthew 24, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.") But what did God just say there? I read it as, "I gave you the pattern for the end times from the beginning, in the first story about man, and what happened there will happen again." So what happened there?
The first story of man is the story of Adam. This is how I read the story of Adam: Adam was put in charge of God's creation, he was the prince of the Garden of Eden (the first Adam represents Satan who was "the prince of this world", who failed the test - see John 12:31 - and the last Adam is Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace and King of Righteousness, who passed the test). Eve represents the bride of the prince in the old Garden, and the bride of Christ in the repetition - so Eve represents the Church in the story (where the original bride failed, the new bride will overcome... for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear). And here are the order of events that went down in the Garden - you can read of it in Genesis chapter 3:
Garden of Eden Final Days of the Earth
1. God gave instruction to man Jesus gave instruction to man before ascending to heaven
2. God goes off out of the Garden Jesus ascends into heaven
3. Time passes Time passes
4. The serpent shows up to tempt man Antichrist shows up to tempt man
5. Adam and Eve believe serpent & sin Many will believe antichrist and sin; some will not
6. God shows up to find man has sinned Jesus returns to find man has sinned
7. Man is given death sentence Man is thrown in lake of fire; the pure go to heaven
That's it. That's the pattern. There is no premature return to find out what man was doing - no wisking him off before the serpent comes. God told Adam what to do if the serpent came. God gave Adam the warning about the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He also gave Adam authority over it. He did the same for us - if we will listen to Him.
A short and sweet message about how God declared the end from the beginning. It was His first lesson for us. God bless.
The first story of man is the story of Adam. This is how I read the story of Adam: Adam was put in charge of God's creation, he was the prince of the Garden of Eden (the first Adam represents Satan who was "the prince of this world", who failed the test - see John 12:31 - and the last Adam is Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace and King of Righteousness, who passed the test). Eve represents the bride of the prince in the old Garden, and the bride of Christ in the repetition - so Eve represents the Church in the story (where the original bride failed, the new bride will overcome... for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear). And here are the order of events that went down in the Garden - you can read of it in Genesis chapter 3:
Garden of Eden Final Days of the Earth
1. God gave instruction to man Jesus gave instruction to man before ascending to heaven
2. God goes off out of the Garden Jesus ascends into heaven
3. Time passes Time passes
4. The serpent shows up to tempt man Antichrist shows up to tempt man
5. Adam and Eve believe serpent & sin Many will believe antichrist and sin; some will not
6. God shows up to find man has sinned Jesus returns to find man has sinned
7. Man is given death sentence Man is thrown in lake of fire; the pure go to heaven
That's it. That's the pattern. There is no premature return to find out what man was doing - no wisking him off before the serpent comes. God told Adam what to do if the serpent came. God gave Adam the warning about the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He also gave Adam authority over it. He did the same for us - if we will listen to Him.
A short and sweet message about how God declared the end from the beginning. It was His first lesson for us. God bless.
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