Only
one flaw in this theory, Kay ~ and that is ALL the virgins HAD oil
& their lamps burning at one time!!
Matt 25:8 And the foolish
said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going
out.’ [Lamps cannot GO
OUT if they were not burning at some point!!]
I wonder ~ does v. 1 not show that they were
ALL *watching* for Him? ten virgins
who took their lamps and went out
to meet the bridegroom.
Reva, I don't know how you can say that
Israel NEVER had the Spirit of God, or that Israel never watched or
waited for their Moschiah.
The
OT is full of this. As I see it, it was the doctrines of men
(the teaching of the oral laws/Pharisees) that made them not know the
time
of their visitation. If it hadn't been for this, where would
we be now? But, God blinded them in part so the gospel could
be given
to
the Gentiles. If God's Holy Spirit was not on His prophets
then we should just throw that whole book out! And what about the
growing
body
of Messianic Jews today, and those thousands who were believers in the
first century and since? Doesn't God's Word tell us that
Israel
was the original Olive Tree? And that because of their
unbelief, we, being the wild olive branch were then grafted in?We are also told not
to boast against the natural branches, or we too could be cut from the
tree.
The
parable is about the Kingdom of God,
and encompasses many, many generations of Jews and Christians, so I
think you are
discounting
many, many holy people of God to assume Israel never had any oil,(or
that they never looked for their Messiah.) they WERE
the
natural olive branches! And if you'll notice, the very next parable
Jesus gives is this:
Mat 25:14¶For
[the kingdom of heaven is]
as a man travelling into a far country, [who] called his own servants,
and delivered unto them his goods. 15And
unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to
every man according to his several ability; and straightway
took his journey.
Exd
27:20 And
thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure
oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to
burn always. 21 In
the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which [is] before
the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to
morning before the LORD: [it shall be] a statute for ever
unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.
Job
27:2[As] God
liveth, [who] hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, [who] hath
vexed my soul; 3All
the while my breath [is] in me, and the spirit of God
[is] in my nostrils;
Job
33:4 The
Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath
of the Almighty hath given me life.
Eze
11:24 Afterwards the spirit
took me up, and brought me in a vision by the Spirit
of God into Chaldea, to them
of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me.
2Ch
24:20 And the Spirit
of God came upon Zechariah the
son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto
them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD,
that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also
forsaken you.
1Sa
10:1¶Then Samuel
took a vial of oil, and poured [it] upon his head, and kissed him, and
said, [Is it] not because the LORD hath anointed thee
[to be] captain over his inheritance?
Rom
3:1¶What
advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit [is there] of circumcision?
2Much
every way: chiefly, because that unto them were
committed the oracles of God.
Rom 11:24 For if
thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert
graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall
these, which be the natural [branches], be graffed into their own olive
tree? 25 For
I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest
ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in
part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come
in. 26 And
so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There
shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness
from Jacob: 27 For
this [is] my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. 28 As
concerning the gospel, [they are] enemies for your sakes: but as
touching the election, [they are] beloved for the fathers' sakes. 29 For
the gifts and calling of God [are] without repentance. 30 For
as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy
through their unbelief:
And
since the supposition is that the Bridegroom hasn't yet come, then
accordingly there is still time for the Lord to restore Israel. Isn't
there?
JMHO,
of course. Fortunately, it's God who decided all this from the
foundation of the world, and it's ALL up to Him, not me! Whew!
Agape,
Kay