Matt 25:1 "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6 And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' 9 But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' 12 But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.' 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
There is a point to the prophetic content in the Bible. One of the points to prophecy is for us to understand Who the Author of God’s Word is: The Holy Spirit. The Word of God is Holy, inerrant, and true. Prophetic content proves that. All of the prophetic content has proven true in the past, and only what remains for the future has yet to be proven true – and is proving true as we watch world events unfold before our very eyes.
There are two major themes contained in Biblical prophecy. The first is the coming of the Messiah into the world. ALL prophecies contained in the Old Testament pertaining to the birth and lifetime of Christ have been fulfilled. Jesus came just as He said He would, to the town He said He would be born of, to the lowly estate of His earthly parents, and He died and rose again – just as the Word declared. It is staggering to count how many people missed His coming in LIGHT of the fact they had God’s Word to guide them to the time and place of His birth, and told them of the events of His life. Some were watching and waiting, but not many.
The second major theme contained in Biblical prophecy concerns Jesus’ return to take His church out of the world, (The Rapture,) for a seven year period, and then to return with His church to the earth to rule and reign for a thousand-year period of time, (The Second Coming.)
Of the return of Christ for His church – we not only have the Word of God, we also here have the words of Christ Himself. Jesus tells the heartbreaking parable of ten virgins coming out to meet the Bridegroom when He comes for His bride. In this story, Jesus is the Bridegroom, and the ten virgins are those in the church. Unfortunately, even though all ten virgins were present physically in the church, only five of them were present Spiritually. They were not ready for Christ’s return for His church, even though they had His Word, (which He here amplifies,) and even though they had the opportunity to be ready – by being born again and filled with the Spirit. Are you ready for the return of Christ?
- Pastor Bill
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