John,
This
article was written by Greg Isaacson, he asked me to put it into html
and send to you.
Thanks.
__
Thanks, Gentlemen.
John
=================================================
"The
Ten Virgins Parable Does Not Stop in Matthew; The First Watch of the Night"
This
is the third in a series of articles on the Parable of the Ten Virgins.
It would be helpful to read the first two articles shown below.
The Ten Virgins the Parable Does not Stop in Matthew
http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/aug2005/johnj819.htm
RE: John Johnson, The Ten Virgins Parable Does Not Stop in Matthew
http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/aug2005/gregi830.htm
As
John Johnson pointed out, the parable of the 10 virgins continues in Luke
12:34-38:
34
"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
35 "Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning;
36 "and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when
he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they
may open to him immediately.
37 "Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find
watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them
sit down to eat, and will come and serve them.
38 "And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third
watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.
In
the above scriptures the Lord is revealing another important clue to the
parable of the 10 virgins. Jesus is returning from the wedding banquet
a second time for the foolish virgins who are ready and have their lamps
burning in the second or third watch of the night. The first watch is
not mentioned because that is when the Lord came for his wise virgins
in Matthew 25.
Night
is coming, when no one can work
Joel
2:1-2, Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let
all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It
is close at hand- 2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and
blackness.
John
9:4-5a, As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me.
Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world,
I am the light of the world."
In
John 9:4, the night when no man can work is referring to the time when
antichrist will try to blot out the spiritual light of Jesus that is being
revealed to the world through his saints who are working for the Him.
The antichrist will make war with the saints and overcome them during
the night of the tribulation, the day of the Lord.
Daniel
7:25 'He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints
of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and
in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and
half a time.
Rev
13:7 It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome
them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation
was given to him.
The
Feast of Trumpets, Judgment of the Church
The
night of the tribulation is also known as "the Feast of Trumpets,"
the time of "judgment for the house of God." 30 days before
the feast began in Israel a trumpet was blown every day warning the people
to repent of their sins so they would be protected from God's judgment
during the feast. The trumpet blasts I believe are prophetic for the birth
pangs. The earthquakes, wars, hurricanes and other disasters known as
birth pangs are trumpet blasts to warn Christians to repent from all sin
before judgment begins for the church. For the unsaved the birth pangs
are God's loving rod of discipline, warnings to flee from the eternal
wrath to come and receive Jesus as Lord.
In
the Feast of Trumpets (the tribulation) there are three different types
of people, the righteous (faithful saints), the average (unfaithful saints)
and the wicked. The righteous (faithful saints) are like the wise virgins
who are brightly burning lamps for Jesus, they have repented before the
feast of trumpets begins and will be protected from God's judgment during
the tribulation (the church of Philadelphia). The average (unfaithful
saints) are the foolish virgins who have not repented (the church at Laodicea)
they are disciplined in the tribulation and told to repent and buy oil
(be filled with the Spirit) so their lamps will burn brightly for the
Lord. The average also includes the unsaved who have not yet made a decision
for or against Christ, they are given one last chance in the tribulation
to receive Jesus as Lord or follow the antichrist to eternal hell. The
wicked are those who have chosen to reject God and refuse to repent.
Joel
3:14, Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of
the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
The
Watches of the Night
The
first, second and third watches of the night are the next clues to solving
this prophetic puzzle. In the Old Testament there are several stories
that use these phrases and they paint a picture of prophetic events that
will happen for the church and Israel during the 7 years of tribulation.
Israel
had the night divided into 3 separate watches, the first, second or middle
and the third or last watch. The three watches of the night are prophetic
pictures for the darkness of the tribulation. The first watch of the night
is a time when the darkness of the tribulation begins for the world. It
will also be a time when persecution will intensify for Christians.
As
the Watches of Night Begin, The First Watch of the Night
The
phrase "as the watches of the night begin" is found in Lamentations when
Israel is being taken captive by the Babylonians. The Lord hands Israel
over to their enemies to be judged and disciplined because of their sin
and rebellion, just as the lukewarm church will be handed over to their
enemies to be disciplined in the tribulation. Lamentations is a prophetic
picture of judgment and discipline for the unfaithful church in the "first
watch of the tribulation."
Below,
the New Testament scriptures are highlighted in blue and they are similar
to the scriptures in Lamentations highlighted in red. My comments are
highlighted in green.
In
the parable of the 10 virgins the Bridegroom came at midnight for the
wise virgins and not in the daytime. The Lord will come for the wise virgins
in a time of spiritual darkness.
Lamentations
1
1:1
How deserted lies the city, once so full of people! How like a widow is
she, who once was great among the nations! She who was queen among the
provinces has now become a slave.
1:5
Her foes have become her masters; her enemies are at ease. The LORD has
brought her grief because of her many sins. Her children have gone into
exile, captive before the foe.
1
Cor. 5:5 hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature
may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.
1
Cor 5:5 is a prophetic picture of an unrepentant Christian, a foolish
virgin who will be handed over to Satan to be disciplined so that he will
repent in the day of the Lord.
1:8
Jerusalem has sinned greatly and so has become unclean. All who honored
her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans
and turns away.
1:9
Her filthiness clung to her skirts; she did not consider her future. Her
fall was astounding; there was none to comfort her. "Look, O LORD, on
my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed."
Rev
3:1"To the angel of the church in Sardis write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God
and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being
alive, but you are dead. 2Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about
to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.
3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and
repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will
not know at what time I will come to you. 4Yet you have a few people
in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me,
dressed in white, for they are worthy.
The
majority of the Church of Sardis has soiled garments, garments
of Christ that have been stained by unrepentant sin. The foolish virgins
who have soiled garments will not be ready for the Bridegroom when he
comes like a thief. But a few wise virgins who have not soiled their white
garments will be found worthy (2 Thessalonians 1:3-5) to meet the Bridegroom.
Rev
19:7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of
the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.
8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear." (Fine linen
stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)
1:15
"The Lord has rejected all the warriors in my midst; he has summoned an
army against me to crush my young men. In his winepress the Lord has trampled
the Virgin Daughter of Judah.
1:18
"The LORD is righteous, yet I rebelled against his command. Listen, all
you peoples; look upon my suffering. My young men and maidens have gone
into exile.
1:20
"See, O LORD, how distressed I am! I am in torment within, and in my heart
I am disturbed, for I have been most rebellious. Outside, the sword bereaves;
inside, there is only death.
Lamentations
2
2:7
The Lord has rejected his altar and abandoned his sanctuary. He has handed
over to the enemy the walls of her palaces; they have raised a shout in
the house of the LORD as on the day of an appointed feast.
The
appointed feast is referring to the feast of trumpets.
2:14
The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose
your sin to ward off your captivity. The oracles they gave you were false
and misleading.
2:15
All who pass your way clap their hands at you; they scoff and shake their
heads at the Daughter of Jerusalem: "Is this the city that was called
the perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth?"
2:16
All your enemies open their mouths wide against you; they scoff and gnash
their teeth and say, "We have swallowed her up. This is the day we
have waited for; we have lived to see it."
In
Lamentations 2:16-18, "as the watches of the night begin" Israel's enemies
"gnash their teeth," they persecute Israel. As a result the people
of Israel cry out to the Lord, "weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Mat
25:28" 'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten
talents. 29For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an
abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from
him. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
2:17
The LORD has done what he planned; he has fulfilled his word, which he
decreed long ago. He has overthrown you without pity, he has let the enemy
gloat over you, he has exalted the horn of your foes.
2:18
The hearts of the people cry out to the Lord. O wall of the Daughter
of Zion, let your tears flow like a river day and night; give yourself
no relief, your eyes no rest.
2:19
Arise, cry out in the night, "as the watches of the night begin;" pour
out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands
to him for the lives of your children, who faint from hunger at the head
of every street.
In
Lamentations 2:18-19, The wall of the Daughter of Zion is the wise
virgin. The Strong's definition for wall is to join; a wall of
protection. In Lam 2:19, The wall of the Daughter of Zion prays and
cries out to the Lord for her unfaithful children, the foolish virgins
that need to repent and grow in the Lord.
In
the Song of Solomon 8:8-10, the wall or faithful saint is compared
to her younger sister, the unfaithful saint who is not ready for
her wedding day because her breasts are not yet grown.
Song
8:8 We have a young sister, and her breasts are not yet grown. What shall
we do for our sister for the day she is spoken for? 9 If she is a wall,
we will build towers of silver on her. If she is a door, we will enclose
her with panels of cedar.
Beloved
10 I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers. Thus I have become in
his eyes like one bringing contentment.
In
Song 8:8-10 the difference between the younger sister and the older sister,
or the wall that brings contentment is the breasts that are fully grown
like towers. The spiritual meaning of the breasts are revealed in
1 Thessalonians 5:8.
Thessalonians
5:8, But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting
on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a
helmet.
A
wise virgin (faithful Christian) or wall that brings contentment to
Jesus has fully grown spiritual breasts of faith and love for her
Bridegroom.
2
Thessalonians 1:3-5, 3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers,
and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the
love every one of you has for each other is increasing. 4 Therefore,
among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all
the persecutions and trials you are enduring. 5 All this is evidence that
God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy
of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.
Rev
3:4, Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes.
They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.
While
the foolish virgin (unfaithful Christian), or the younger sister will
not be counted worthy and ready for the day she is spoken for because
her spiritual breasts are not fully grown in faith and love for Jesus.
2
Corinthians 11:1, I hope you will put up with a little of my foolishness;
but you are already doing that. 2 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy.
I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you
as a pure virgin to him. 3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived
by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from
your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
In
Lamentations 2:18-19, It appears the wall or wise virgins (faithful
saints) will go through part of the darkness of tribulation until
the Bridegroom comes for them.
In
Matthew 25:5-6, it says that the Bridegroom tarried and was a
long time in coming and the virgins fell asleep. Then at midnight,
in a time of darkness a cry rang out: Here's the Bridegroom! Come
out to meet him!
Many
Christians believe in the Pre-tribulation rapture and assume the Bridegroom
will come for them before the darkness of the tribulation begins.
But if the Bridegroom tarries and takes a longer time in coming then
what Pre-trib Christians (virgins) are expecting, then Jesus would come
in a time of spiritual darkness, the tribulation.
In
the traditional Jewish wedding the Bridegroom comes for his bride after
sunset in the darkness, at a surprise moment, like a thief in the night.
The
prophetic picture in the scriptures reveal the Bridegroom's return will
be a long time in coming, in a time of darkness, longer then what most
Christians (virgins) think.
Lamentations
3
3:1
I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.
2
He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light;
32
Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing
love.
33
For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of
men.
38
Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good
things come?
39
Why should any living man complain when punished for his sins?
40
Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD.
Lamentations
4
1
How the gold has lost its luster,
the fine gold become dull!
The sacred gems are scattered
at the head of every street.
2
How the precious sons of Zion,
once worth their weight in gold,
are now considered as pots of clay,
the work of a potter's hands!
Rev
3:18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so
you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your
shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.
7
Their princes were brighter than snow
and whiter than milk,
their bodies more ruddy than rubies,
their appearance like sapphires. [b]
8
But now they are blacker than soot;
they are not recognized in the streets.
Their skin has shriveled on their bones;
it has become as dry as a stick.
In
Lamentations "AS THE WATCHES OF THE NIGHT BEGIN" rebellious Israel is
handed over to their enemies to be judged so they will repent and turn
back to the Lord. The lukewarm church will also be judged in the "FIRST
WATCH OF THE TRIBULATION" so they will repent and return to their first
love. Many of the words and phrases in Lamentations are used in a similar
way in the New Testament scriptures revealing that Lamentations is a prophetic
picture of judgment for the church during the FIRST WATCH OF THE
TRIBULATION.
Ecclesiastes
1:9, What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
| LAMENTATIONS |
NEW
TESTAMENT |
| 1.
Filthy skirts, their princes were brighter than snow, but now
they are blacker than soot
|
Soiled
garments |
| 2.
He has handed over to the enemy, Her foes have become her masters |
Hand
this man over to Satan |
| 3.
Enemies scoff and gnash their teeth as Israel cries out to the
Lord |
"Weeping
and gnashing of teeth" |
| 4.
The fine gold has become dull
|
I
counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire |
| 5.
Outside, the sword bereaves; inside, there is only death
|
You
have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead
|
| 6.
He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than
light; |
And
throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness
|
| 7.
Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to
the LORD.
|
Remember,
therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent.
|
The
next article in this series about the parable of the 10 virgins is called
"The second watch of the night." The second watch is also called the "MIDDLE
WATCH" in the Old Testament. The middle watch is mentioned once in the
story of Gideon when Israel is handed over to their enemies for a period
of 7 years.
1
Thessalonians 5:2, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will
come like a thief in the night.
Rev
3:3, Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and
repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you
will not know at what time I will come to you.
Greg
Isaacson