Matthew 25:1,13
25:1 "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
25:13 "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
Jesus' second coming in glory as King of kings or as Heavenly Bridegroom does not have relationship with any sin. Besides, none knows the time.
Matthew 24:36
24:36 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only."
The Church of God must be watchful to be ready in welcoming Jesus' second coming. What must be prepared is the burning lamp.
The requirements of keeping our lamp to burn continually are below:
The daily practice of being foolish virgins is not watchingso the lamp is quenched; being unable to welcome Jesus' second coming.
Why do they not watch?
25:1 "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
25:13 "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
Jesus' second coming in glory as King of kings or as Heavenly Bridegroom does not have relationship with any sin. Besides, none knows the time.
Matthew 24:36
24:36 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only."
The Church of God must be watchful to be ready in welcoming Jesus' second coming. What must be prepared is the burning lamp.
The requirements of keeping our lamp to burn continually are below:
- [Matthew 25:5-7] Receiving Bride Tidings or the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.
Matthew 25:6
25:6 "And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' - Having oil for supply or living in the anointing of Holy Spirit, being filled or overflowing in Holy Spirit.
Matthew 25:2-4
25:2 "Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
25:3 "Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them,
25:4 "but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
- Five wise virgins having the oil for supply so their lamps burn continually to welcome Jesus' second coming.
- Five foolish virgins having no oil for supply so their lamps are almost quenched even already quenched; being left when Jesus comes a second time and perished forever.
The daily practice of being foolish virgins is not watchingso the lamp is quenched; being unable to welcome Jesus' second coming.
Why do they not watch?
- It is because of feeling so wise or clever, even cleverer than Jesus.
- Scoffing at the promise or the Word of Jesus' second coming or scoffing the teaching Word.
2 Peter 3:3-6
3:3 knowing this first: that scofferswill come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts,
3:4 and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming?For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation."
3:5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water,
3:6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.
The stages of rejecting the teaching Word are below:- Hearing without doing It.
Matthew 7:26
7:26 "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: - Scoffing at the teaching Word.
- Rejecting It.
The true teaching Word shows our sins, rebukes and advises us. Scoffing at the Word and keeping sins always, one will not endure and he will reject the Word.
John 6:60-63
6:60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"
6:61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you?
6:62 "What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?
6:63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
The consequence of scoffing at the Word and rejecting It is below:- Murmuring.
Murmuring, one is withered spiritually and his lamp is almost quenched.
Afterward, the faith will be unstable or doubtfuluntil he does not hold fast to the true teaching Word. His faith falls and he departs from the true teaching.
John 6:66
6:66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.
2 Timothy 4:3-5
4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
4:4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
4:5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
Consequently, they are turned aside to fables or false teaching, or performance.
Departing from the true teaching, one will follow the world with all its influence and follow Satan and end in perdition forever.
Gentiles without the true teaching Word are only as dogs; living in uncleanness and great sorrow especially about marriage and children.
Matthew 15:21-22,25-27
15:21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
15:22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed."
15:25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!"
15:26 But He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."
15:27 And she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table."
The right attitude is saying that the Word is true and confessing all our conditions; practicing the Word.
In such condition, we are lifted up from dogs to become the sheep of God.
God will let barking dog away but He will always answer the prayer of sheep. - Not having two wings of a great eagle.
Hebrews 4:12-13
4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
4:13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
Receiving the true teaching Word, one will be sanctified to have greater wings until we are granted two wings of a great eagle.
Revelation 12:14
12:14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.
The two wings of a great eagle are useful as follows:- To flee us to wilderness, being far away from the eye of antichrist.
- To fly us to New Jerusalem, that is to say the perfect Bride of God entering into heavenly kingdom.
The more we are sanctified, the greater wings we have.
The foolish virgins reject the true teaching Word, reject the sanctification, so they do not have the wings of a great eagle but the wings of a stork.
Zechariah 5:5-11
5:5. Then the angel who talked with me came out and said to me, "Lift your eyes now, and see what this is that goes forth."
5:6 So I asked, "What is it?" And he said, "It is a basket that is going forth." He also said, "This is their resemblance throughout the earth:
5:7 "Here is a lead disc lifted up, and this is a woman sitting inside the basket";
5:8 then he said, "This is Wickedness!" And he thrust her down into the basket, and threw the lead cover over its mouth.
5:9 Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were two women, coming with the wind in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven.
5:10 So I said to the angel who talked with me, "Where are they carrying the basket?"
5:11 And he said to me, "To build a house for it in the land of Shinar; when it is ready, the basket will be set there on its base."
The wings of a stork are the wings of antichrist's abomination which encourage the foolish virgins to go to the land of Shinar, that is to say Babel with the peak of sin, i.e. sins concerning eating-drinking and marring and giving in marriage.
Genesis 11:2,9
11:2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there.
11:9 Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
Watching will determine our way, whether we go to New Jerusalem or to Babel.
Revelation 17:3-6
17:3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
17:4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.
17:5 And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
17:6 I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.
The woman was rich and blessed but there was no sword of sanctification. Consequently, there were many sins, abominations, and uncleanness, et cetera.
The power of Babel is money.
If the service of Christians always prioritizes on physical matters, they will be encouraged by the wings of a stork to be lead to Babel.
Do not serve as Martha being busy without the true teaching Word. She was full of worries as if being among thorns and lead to Babel.
Let us serve as Mary's service, a service in sanctification which is the best and eternal one.
Being in difficulties nowadays, God wants us to rely on Him, on the true teaching Word fully. - Never experience the ministry of High Priest.
Hebrews 4:12-13
4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
4:13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
Sword = the Word = Thummim [Hebrews 4:12].
Light means there is no hidden thing= Holy Spirit = Urim [Hebrews 4:13].
Urim and Thummim on the breastplate of High Priest are the Word sharper than any two edged-sword.
Rejecting it, one will never experience the ministry of High Priest.
Exodus 28:30
28:30 "And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron's heart when he goes in before the LORD. So Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart before the LORD continually.
Leviticus 16:12,14,16-17
16:12 "Then he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the LORD, with his hands full of sweet incense beaten fine, and bring it inside the veil.
16:14 "He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.
16:16 "So he shall make atonementfor the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, for all their sins; and so he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness.
16:17 "There shall be no man in the tabernacle of meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself, for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel.
In Old Testament, the ministry of reconciliation done by Aaron used the blood of animal and incense. The blood was sprinkled seven times doubly and then there was a glory.
Hebrews 9:11-12
9:11 But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.
9:12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own bloodHe entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
1 John 2:1-2
2:1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
2:2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
In New Testament, the Lord brings His own blood and incense.
He lifts up the prayer of supplication every moment in order to finish our sins. Such is called the ministry of reconciliation.
The ministry of reconciliation is for our private lives, our marriage, and for congregation.
A priest must be reconciled so the congregation can be reconciled also.
Sinning, we have to experience first the ministry of reconciliation to finish our sins and then the congregation may be reconciled also.
We have to realize our sins and confess them to God and other people when the Word of God shows our sins. Being forgiven, do not repeat them.
Keeping our sins, we are outside the hand of High Priest.
Receiving the Word to finish our sins, we are already in the hand of High Priest.
Thus, we can be sure of being in the hand of High Priest if we have finished our sins.
The results of being in the hand of High Priest are below:- The hand of High Priest finishes all problems even the impossible ones in time of need.
Hebrews 4:14-16
4:14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
4:15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. - The hand of High Priest lifts us up, there is a power of lifting up as follows:
- To lift up the Gentiles as priests and kings.
Luke 6:12-13
6:12 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
6:13 And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles:
Jesus prayed (incense sign) on the Mount Golgotha (blood sign).
Jesus as High Priest with blood sign and incense wants to lift up our lives as the priests and kings, as the apple of His eye or His valuable treasure.
The priests and kings are protected, preserved, and guaranteed by God. - To lift up the priests and kings from every decrease and doubt.
Matthew 14:23,29-30
14:23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.
14:29 So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
14:30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!"
Jesus appeared again with blood sign (He went up on the Mount Golgotha) and with incense (prayer).
The right attitude in facing wind and waves is trusting in God and hoping in full to Him and His hand will be stretched.
- To lift up the Gentiles as priests and kings.
- The hand of High Priest writes our name in Book of Life.
Exodus 32:30-33
32:30 Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses said to the people, "You have committed a great sin. So now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin."
32:31 Then Moses returned to the LORD and said, "Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold!
32:32 "Yet now, if You will forgive their sin -- but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written."
32:33 And the LORD said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.
Being reconciled from sins, our names are written in the Book of Life.
- The hand of High Priest finishes all problems even the impossible ones in time of need.
- Hearing without doing It.