FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:
July 15
THE SEALING, PRE-ADVBNT JUDGMENT, LAODIiCEA, & THE TEN VIRGINS (Part 2)
If you are actively “seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” here are “kingdom” language and thoughts you can ill afford to ignore.
Jesus used many parables to explain the nature and operations of the kingdom. He came to establish on the earth that was beyond comparison to any kingdom, empire, or government of man, past, present or future. He said:
“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.” Mart. 25: 1, 2, KJV. Clearly then among Christian “kingdom-seekers” and “virgins” who are preparing to “meet the Bridegroom,” in the evening of earth’s history, five are “wise,” and the rest are “foolish.”
One couldn’t tell the difference between the two, that isat the outset. But as this parable depicts, it is only a momentous, one-off “delay-crisis” that reveals who is what!
One class had enough “oil” in their “lamps” during the crisis, the other did not. And this is what determined who were “ready” and who weren’t “ready to “meet” the anticipated Bridegroom. How critical then that we clearly understand what the “oil” and the “lamps” represent as well as who the ten virgins represent in both parables and prophecies of the gospel!
Read verses 1-13 and remember this is one of the 40 recorded parables of Jesus. Without having the “keys” (Luke 11:52; Matt. 16:19) on hand and knowing how to properly use these “tools,” one will fail to “unlock” the precious “mysteries” of the kingdom (Matt. 13:11; Luke 8:10) contained in the treasure troves of the parables and prophecies.
“Spiritual things are spiritually discerned.” 2 Cor. 2: 13, 14, 10-12. The carnal mind is incapable of achieving this for it is “at enmity with the law,” which is spiritual, not of the “letter that killeth.” Rom. 8:4-8; 2 Cor. 3: 6. Now consider the following carefully (emphasis mine):
“The state [or spiritual condition] of the church represented by the FOOLISH VIRGINS, is also spoken of as the LAODICEAN STATE.” – E.G.W. Vol. 2, Review & Herald, p. 420.
Q. Who are the “foolish virgins” and why so? “The class represented by the foolish virgins are NOT HYPOCRITES. They have a regard for the truth, they have advocated the truth. They are attracted to those who believe the truth; BUT they have not yielded themselves to the Holy Spirit’s working.They have not fallen upon the Rock, Christ Jesus, and permitted their old natures to be broken up.” -Ibid, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 411.
Simply put, they were never really “born again” from within, only from “without.” They did not have a change of heart and thus did not receive a “new heart, new mind, and new spirit.” The “old man” never died which has to take place before the sinner becomes “a new creature or creation in Christ.”
Q. What happens to the foolish virgins? “When the foolish virgins reached the banqueting hall, an UNEXPECTED DENIAL was given them. They were left OUTSIDE in the blackness of the night. The door was SHUT.” -Ibid. Manuscript 92a, p.1, 1898.
Q. What does it mean to be a wise virgin? “The wise virgins are those who have faith and love and patience, whose experience DAY BY DAY is nourished by the Holy Spirit. THEY DO NOT CONFORM TO THE WORLD IN CARELESS INATTENTION. They do not put off [procrastinate] their DAILY preparation, but follow Jesus [the Lamb] wherever He leads the way [see Rev. 14:4].”- Ibid, Vol. 3, Signs of the Times, p. 138, 1894.
“The wise virgins represent those who have PERFECTED A CHRISTIAN CHARACTER, who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” -Ibid, MS 92a, pp. 4,5, 1898.
NOTE: To “wash one’s robe and make it white in the Lamb’s blood” means to perfect moral character by overcoming sins by the power of the grace of God in Christ dispensed through the Holy Spirit. Bless all, NMF