Heaven is like a Lady in Waiting.
Notes
Transcript
1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 “Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. 3 “For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. 5 “Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. 6 “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 “Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 “The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 “But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 “And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. 11 “Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ 12 “But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.
I. Introduction
I. Introduction
Parable communicates a Spiritual truth.
The Mystical interpretation & Rule of Faith.
Q: What is the only Hope in life and death?
II. Heaven is like a Lady in Waiting for a groom.
II. Heaven is like a Lady in Waiting for a groom.
Verse 1:
Verse 1:
1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Parable is about the Kingdom of Heaven.
But not the place but those who will dwell there. How does one get invited to enter?
Wife like Krispy Kremes.
Jesus establishes his parable with people and things:
Virgins- by this is meant one who is able to be married. She is of appropriate age and possesses the qualities that make her fit to be married. In the sense of the church, she is the one who had been washed by the water of the word and can be presented to the groom as ready and adorned with beauty because of the effectual washing of the Word of God. (Eph. 5:25-27)
This parable is about those in the church. The previous one is about saints and sinners. Jesus is drawing in and further defining the Kingdom of heaven for those who claim to be his bride. Only the true bride will enter into his chambers.
Symbolic numbers: 10
What of the 10 virgins?
10 often in the bible alludes to the 10 commandments which contains the full law. A sense of fullness/completeness. If you abide by the law or the 10 commands one can say they are living a full life that God intends. Therefore, 10 virgins would signify a full wedding party, nothing is lacking. This future wedding is capable of reaching its full potential.
Collectively then the 10 virgins represent the fullness of the church. We say that the Law is summarized in 10 commandments. The Church is summarized in 10 virgins. But of those 10 they are broken into groups of 5.
Lamp- The most obvious of the vestiges. Lamp represents the vessel (the life of a person) that gives off light which will come to represent works. Both virgins possess lamps (life) but only half of them are we told how they keep their lamp lit.
105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
We will come to understand the meaning of the lamp and its light later.
Verse 2:
Verse 2:
2 “Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent.
5 wise and 5 foolish.
Jerome suggests that the number 5 in relation to the division of the virgins concerns the 5 senses. He associates the 5 senses with a spiritual meaning given from the scriptures:
- Taste and see the Lord is Good.
- Let those who have ears, hear.
- What we have seen, hear, and touched with our own hands
1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life—
- Smell:
3 “Your oils have a pleasing fragrance, Your name is like purified oil; Therefore the maidens love you.
15 For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing;
Regardless, if there seem to mystical the point of the 5 senses in relation to the 5 wise virgins and the 5 foolish virgins is this: That what they were, they were with their whole being. The point that is being made with the distinguishing of the foolish and wise virgins is that the foolish were fully foolish in their living, and those who were wise were wise in their living. The Spiritual meaning is that the wise lived loving God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength- that is to say with their whole being. The foolish did not.
Verse 3 & 4
Verse 3 & 4
3 “For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps.
The foolish are distinguished by not having oil.
The wise are identified as having flasks of oil.
Oil- Oil has always been identified as the marking of the Spirit. Those in the OT were anointed with oil to symbolize the pouring of the Holy Spirit. Here the oil symbolizes “Works of piety”. It is the Spirit which empowers the believer to live according to the Word they have been washed by. What ignites the Word of God in our lives is the Spirit bring to life our deeds and helping us walk in accordance to the scriptures.
Oil is the work of the Spirit empowering the life of a believer to accomplish the will of God by which Jesus identifies you and invites you into his chambers.
These wise virgins carry around with them oil to keep their lamps lit. They are walking in the Spirit of God, which ignites the word of God that offers them the light to walk in the right path. The foolish aren’t being carried by the Spirit but walk living according to the flesh.
Verse 5
Verse 5
5 “Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep.
Sleepy time- Death.
What are we to make of the virgins sleep?
Both the foolish and the wise here fall asleep waiting for the groom.
Sleep in the bible is most often associated with death. Adam in making Eve, Abraham in the vision, Jacob and the latter.
Paul specifically references sleep with death and Christ return in 1 Thess. 4:15-17.
In the event of life or death the wise are well prepared.
Some think this is referencing the weakness of the flesh but in this parable, any negative reading of them falling asleep is read into the text. The text doesn’t chastise them for sleeping.
This is also a reference to the second coming taking a long time.
Verse 6
Verse 6
6 “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’
The Trump blast and the coming of the groom is the most clear point of the parable. The second coming of Christ.
Verse 7
Verse 7
7 “Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.
kosmos- to order or adorn.
the virgins prepare/adorn their lamps with what fuels the flame.
these are the Crown Jewels a bride would adorn herself with. These are the crowns we shall cast at Jesus feet.
the foolish and flesh ridden have a fading light and can offer nothing to fan their flame. The spirit-led life has more than enough. They have taken the grace given them, the all sufficient grace, and use it to fuel their lives radiating a consuming fire that burns into eternity.
They adorn themselves with light so that the groom can find them in the night.
Flares in the oil field.
Verse 8 & 9
Verse 8 & 9
8 “The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 “But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’
the things of this world pass away/fade away.
17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
9 The light of the righteous rejoices, But the lamp of the wicked goes out.
Asking the wise for oil. This reminds me of another parable that Jesus tells about the rich young ruler. Who asks Abraham for Lazarus to dip his finger in water quench his tongue. What is meant here, is that those who are saved cannot save those who are perishing. Those who are perishing will not be served by those who are saved. The book of Hebrews tells us (Hebrews 9:27 “27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,” ) There is no second chances. Everyone has been given the grace and mercy to receive Christ in their entire life time. But once that life is forfeit, there will not be any more grace expended to you. From your first breath to your last, salvation is offered to you freely in Christ Jesus. If you do not take hold of it, you will not be offered in anymore.
it’s appointed man to live and die then face judgement.
this oil cannot be shared.
Christ has already given you his oil. You cannot share yours. If these foolish ladies want to have his oil they have to go to the fountain that flows from our blessed saviors side.
Personal faith. You cannot get to the Kingdom of God through the merits of others. You must be saved and your salvation must be demonstrated of your own accord.
Verse 10
Verse 10
10 “And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut.
The door was shut.
Verse 11 & 12
Verse 11 & 12
11 “Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ 12 “But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’
I never knew you. (v.12)
Christ does not know those who walk according to the flesh, live foolishly contrary to the Word of God, and lack the Spirit.
Christ does not marry any bride that he has not saved and prepared for himself.
The chances of a groom marrying someone other than who he knows is zero. Love is not blind.
Those who cry Lord Lord but has not known the Lord through tending to the miserable and weak. Of them He claims no knowledge and as complete strangers to His kingdom.
A Callback to Jesus’ prior teaching Matthew 7:21-23
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
The Didache 16:1-2, “1 ‘Be vigilant’ over your life; ‘let your lamps’ not be extinguished, or your loins be ungirded, but be prepared, for you know not the hour in which our Lord will come. 2 Come together frequently, and seek what pertains to your souls: for the whole time of your faith will not profit you, unless in the last hour you shall be found perfect.”
“The kingdom of heaven is likened not to the virgins but to the story of what happens to them: when the sudden arrival of the Son of Man occurs, some are ready and some are not.”
III. Application.
III. Application.
Will you be shut in or shut out?
Will you be shut in or shut out?
Those who do not prepare are excluding themselves from the wedding.
They run the danger of the judgment of the groom not to receive them into the wedding.
They have shut themselves out by their carelessness and their lack of ceasing the opportunity.
There is only one wedding, there is only one opportunity to be a part of it. There will not be another.
Jews: I have heard it said by highly respectable Pastors that in the last days there will be another opportunity to be saved. I cannot support this theology as being biblical. Jesus would not have us know hear this parable and hope for some other way to be saved or another opportunity to be given in the end. When the end comes it will be final. There is no second invitation because the the first invitation was perfectly sufficient and extended to all and if you don’t respond to it, there is not another.
How do you know?
How do you know?
Uneasy? If you haven’t been making ready your life through serving others. You’re participation in the life of the church will ensure that you are being prepared. I don’t have to give at the checkout because I’m already giving to the church.
Live out what you believe.
Live for what you hope for.
Live as if your only hope in life and death is that you are not your own, but that you belong to Christ.
Walking by the Spirit.
Walking by the Spirit.
Participating in things the Spirit does: Accompanies God’s Word, accomplishing God’ will, and Lives among God’s people.
Quenching the Spirit is essentially denying the things the Spirit wants to do. These happen in little moments, when you know the right thing to do and do not do it, this is sin because you are choosing the flesh over the spirit. When you trust in your own ways, rather than trusting in the Spirit to bring you along.
What happens when your thoughts and actions quench the Spirit, the Spirit of God gives you to yourself. If your motivations come from your flesh and you act upon them, then the Spirit’s guidance in your life is stymied and He gives you over to your desires. However, if you deny your flesh and seek to be guided by the Spirit of God then He will lead you for as long as you are surrendered to Him. Our relationship with the Spirit is not one of control but of submission. Will you yield to the Spirit or will you drive things yourself? How you respond to that question will determine if you are quenching the spirit or living in Him.
This Parable is about the pursuit of Holiness.
This Parable is about the pursuit of Holiness.
The major teaching is that one ought to live their lives towards their hope, but not just any hope, a hope that either today, tomorrow, or years ahead Christ will return and that he is coming back for you.
How you live now anticipating that day will distinguish you from the world that will pass away. Living your life getting to know and making known Jesus Christ will fuel the flame that Christ will see when He he returns. Your lamp will beacon him towards you and he will take you by the hand and escort you into the wedding feast where you will enter his rest and reign. That light that stands out is a symbol of the life you have lived pursuing Christ and being set apart from the world is what Holiness is.
May your life be “fully” committed, all senses, to Jesus and knowing him so that your light will shine among all men and Christ can easily find you in the dark and bring you into his glorious kingdom. If you want to be wise, then there is the way, walk in it.
Those who give themselves to have an appearance of faith while others who give themselves to the practice of their faith.
Sleeping. Whether one takes this to mean death or the weakness of the flesh. Both speak to truths that need to be held. Whether in life or death we live to Christ. When we have succumbed to the flesh, when we become awake we must take the oil of the spirit to reignite our lives to live for Christ again.
It is midnight and His appearing can happen at any moment.
be vigilant- Fuel your life from the power of the Holy Spirit and allow Him ignite your life towards living for Jesus. This will make your lamp shine brightest when the hour is most dark.
Q: What is our only hope in life and death?
A: That we are not our own but belong to God. To know God and be known by Him.
- So live as if you belong to Jesus.
Like a Lady in waiting, we must direct our actions and daily adventures towards our hope of the Kingdom of Heaven. And live our lives in such a way as to let our light shine so that our King can easily find us in the dark and take us home to be with Him.
Like a Lady in waiting, we must direct our actions and daily adventures towards our hope of the Kingdom of Heaven. And live our lives in such a way as to let our light shine so that our King can easily find us in the dark and take us home to be with Him.