The Wedding Party
Parables • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 7 viewsThis parable is specially written for us, who live in the last days.
Notes
Transcript
At Sunday school they were teaching how God created everything, including human beings. Little Johnny, a child in the kindergarten class, seemed especially intent when they told him how Eve was created out of one of Adam’s ribs. Later in the week his mother noticed him lying down as though he were ill, and said, “Johnny, what’s the matter?”
Johnny said, “I don’t feel well, I think I’m getting a wife.”
Today’s sermon
is about marriage ceremony.
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.
Traditional Marriage Ceremony in ANE
Unpack the symbolism.
Virgins
Virgins
For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
Virgin = someone engaged to Christ.
Virginity = purity.
Spiritual purity =
professed Christian.
Revelation 14:3–4 (ESV)
and they were singing a new song before the throne... No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
--
It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes...
144,000 called virgins
not all men.
Virginity = spiritual purity.
Professed virgin,
someone planning to be
part of 144,000.
This parable,
specifically for
last-day Christians.
Read key passage again:
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.
They had lamps.
Lamps
Lamps
Psalm 119:105 (ESV)
Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
Lamp = Word, Bible.
One more symbolic
word in first verse:
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.
Who are they meeting?
Bridegroom
Bridegroom
Jesus uses this word
symbolically elsewhere.
Mark 2:19 (ESV)
And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.
Who is Jesus referring to?
Himself!
Who is the bridegroom?
Jesus!!!
Wedding Ceremonies in ANE.
Bridegroom is gone.
Comes back
after making rooms.
John 14:1–3 (ESV)
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms.
--
If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
Proposed to His bride
Gave Dowry
(death on cross)
purchased his bride
Left to make rooms on fathers house.
Coming back
Wedding Ceremony
2nd Coming
Marriage Party
Revelation 19:7 (ESV)
Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
We are bridge.
Christ is groom.
Wedding ceremony begins
at 2nd coming.
Next scene
King on White horse.
coming to get us!
Truly is a
fairy tale ending.
Back to parable:
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.
Waiting Period
Waiting Period
Unlike American weddings
wait on bride.
Our wedding
invitations 1 hour ahead.
Wise and Foolish
Wise and Foolish
Continue parable:
Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.
10 virgins
waiting for groom.
Represents
Christians
waiting for 2nd coming.
Half wise.
Half foolish.
What differentiates them?
Wise have extra oil.
Remember
Lamps = Bible.
All the Christians
waiting for 2nd coming
have the bible.
Light
Light
Proverbs 6:23 (ESV)
For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,
and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
Light = teachings / truth
Notice
each virgin
both wise and foolish
the all had lamp.
That means,
this is not
referring to Babylon.
This is not Christians,
claiming to be followers but
living in darkness
(not having truth).
All of these virgins
they all have
Bible
Truth.
Also,
they all had some oil!
Oil
Oil
Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.
They all had
lamps
light
oil.
Bridegroom said
he was coming.
(2nd Coming).
They all went outside.
They are all Adventists!
Every lamp was burning.
They all has some oil
they had oil in lamp.
Wise virgins brought
extra oil
in separate container.
Only difference
between wise and foolish.
Wise brought
extra oil.
What is oil?
“You shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may regularly be set up to burn.
Oil powers lamp.
lamp gives light
but not without oil.
Lamp = Bible
Light = truth.
Did you know,
possible to have
bible study but not
be changed by truth?
What is oil?
Zechariah 4:1–3 (ESV)
And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. And he said to me,
--
“What do you see?” I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it.
--
And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”
Zechariah,
vision of lampstand
being powered by
oil flowing from olive trees.
Zechariah asks question:
Zechariah 4:4–5 (HCSB)
Then I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?”
--
“Don’t you know what they are?” replied the angel who was speaking with me.
I said, “No, my lord.”
What are these?
What are the 2 olive trees
feeding oil to lamp?
Angel answers:
So he answered me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength or by might, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of Hosts.
Question:
What are these olive trees?
Answer:
Not by might or power
But by my Spirit!
What are olive trees?
What is oil?
Holy Spirit!!!
You can have lamp.
(Bible).
But if you don’t have oil.
(Spirit).
You won’t experience light.
(truth).
Light pierces darkness.
darkness = selfish ignorance.
The Holy Spirit
allows truth to
reach they heart
transform heart of sin.
Jesus explained
role of Spirit
like this:
John 16:13 (HCSB)
When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth...
Main goal of Spirit,
explain truth to us.
Not just explain
help us apply it
and change our lives.
A woman rushed up to famed violinist Fritz Kreisler after a concert and cried:
“I’d give my life to play as beautifully as you do.”
Kreisler replied, “I did.”
(Source: Bits and Pieces - Submitted by the homiletics class of West Coast Baptist College)
So we have
10 Virgins.
All Christian.
They all have
Lamp = (Bible)
Some oil = (Spirit)
Light = (truth)
Waiting for Bridegroom = (Adventist)
Difference?
Wise virgins brought
extra oil.
= Double portion of Holy Spirit.
Continue Parable:
But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
Bridegroom’s coming delayed!
Delay
Delay
Bible speaks about
Christ’s coming having
apparent delay.
As Adventists,
we have been expecting
immanent return of Christ
for quite some time!
(Great Disappointment).
Not just Adventists,
but all Christians.
Paul said,
1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 (NKJV)
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.
--
And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Paul clearly said,
“we who are alive and remain...”
In other words,
he fully expected
he would have been
still alive at
Christ’s 2nd coming!
All great Christian
have expected
immanent return of Christ.
Unfortunately,
from our perspective,
there has been a delay.
Habakkuk 2:3 (NKJV)
For the vision is yet for an appointed time;
But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.
Though it tarries, wait for it;
Because it will surely come,
It will not tarry.
“Though it tarries...
“wait for it...”
“It will surely come,
“It will not tarry...”
Is there delay or not?
Well,
from our perspective...
YES.
From God’s,
NO...
Listening to Great Disappointment
Back to parable:
But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
The Bridegroom = Christ.
Delay = 2nd coming taking longer than expected.
What happens with
waiting virgins…???
They fall asleep.
How many?
All...
wise
foolish
They all sleep.
Sleep
Sleep
Groom taking too long!
They fall asleep.
Generally speaking,
Christianity has become
very diluted and
humdrum.
There is little
passion
zeal
excitement
missionary spirit.
Why?
We have fallen asleep.
Why?
We lost our urgency!
Christ repeatedly calls us
to wake up!
Ephesians 5:14 (NKJV)
Therefore He says:
“Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will give you light.”
Jesus said
Matt 24 about
2nd coming:
Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
Have you
Have we
been falling asleep?
Bible says,
all of us virgins,
have been sleeping.
Time to wake up.
Sleeping or Praying?
Sleeping or Praying?
Why does it seem
like Christ’s disciples
always sleep during
most important moments in time.
After last supper
Christ goes to
garden of Gethsemane.
Jesus frequently
went their to pray.
During their trips
to Jerusalem
Jesus basically lived there.
John 7:53–8:1 (NKJV)
And everyone went to his own house.
But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
Maybe he had
at tent setup.
But he wasn’t sleeping...
The Mount of Olives was the favorite resort of the Son of God for his devotions. Frequently after the multitude had left him for the retirement of the night,
--
he rested not, though weary with the labors of the day... All night, while his followers were sleeping, was their divine Teacher praying. - Gospel Workers p. 106
Disciples are used
Jesus going to Garden
(alone or together).
Jesus would pray,
they would sleep.
After supper,
Jesus asks them to
stay up and pray.
Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.”
Jesus is
being separated
from Father.
He is experiencing
soul agony.
Already
begining to die
of broken heart.
Comes back to discples
longing for spiritual
support at this moment...
Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour?
He wakes them up
tells them to pray.
More than any other time
they need to pray!
Comes back again...
And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.
This is the work of Satan.
He knows
if he can get us sleeping
when we should be praying
we will fail!
Now,
Just before 2nd coming
Adventist are sleeping...
Words of Jesus:
Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
During the late-Medieval period, London had a strange law on the books—each entry gate into the city had to keep a musician on duty. This could be a dangerous job—city gates were where attackers and other threatening outsiders first appeared. It’s like border patrol nowadays, but they gave the job to musicians.
As strange as it sounds, musicians took charge of many essential services back then. These hired municipal minstrels started showing up everywhere in Europe around the year 1370. They typically played wind instruments—including trumpets, trombones, fifes, bagpipes, and recorders—as well as percussion.
To the modern mind, musical skills and police responsibilities have little in common, but in an earlier age the two roles often overlapped. Musicians not only helped defend the city gate but might also be required to patrol streets at night. In Norwich in 1440 a tax was instituted to pay the waits for their watch—and these musicians were required to take an oath of office. In Germany, a minstrel was expected “to acquit himself well as a swordsman.”
Why musicians? The most obvious answer is that musicians were ideal first responders because they could sound the alarm in case of a major disturbance. Certainly, a loud horn or drum helps in that regard. This signaling capacity of musical instruments also explains their longstanding use in military operations.
God needs some
musicians today
that will wake up
our sleepy church.
Adventists
that will herald the alarm.
The Arrival
The Arrival
Continuing parable:
But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’
Suddenly,
while virgins caught sleeping
Bridegroom arrives!!!
As mentioned,
arrival = 2nd coming.
Rev 19 depicts
Jesus return like this:
Revelation 19:11–15 (ESV)
Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
--
His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.
--
And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations...
Christ is coming
great power
to rescue ransomed saints.
When He comes
world plunged into
moments of crisis.
Are we ready?
I fear most of us are not.
The Signs of the Times November 21, 1906: The Result of Forgetting God
Transgression has almost reached its limit. Confusion fills the world, and a great terror is soon to come upon human beings. The end is very near. God’s people should be preparing for what is soon to break upon the world as an overwhelming surprise.
Most of us,
will be caught
off guard by
final events
tribulation
2nd coming...
Burnout
Burnout
Continue:
Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’
Why they slept,
left lamps burning.
Now,
oil was all out
lamp burning out.
Burnout is common
word in our world.
With fast-paced world
such demand upon us
job
boss
family
kids
spouse
finances
health
personal dreams
pressures to “keep up”
Many Americans experiencing
Burnout.
Modern thought
thinks of it as
over-stressed
under-rested...
Maybe that is not
main reason for
cultural exhaustion...
Maybe there
is a deeper cause...
For many Christians,
even those who
have Bible
have truth
had some oil...
Experiencing
Spiritual Burnout.
Why?
we ran out of oil...
Oil = Spirit.
It is not enough
come to church
study lesson
memorize verses
13th Sabbath
take communion.
EGW says:
Christ’s Object Lessons (Chapter 29—“To Meet the Bridegroom”)
The Spirit works upon man’s heart, according to his desire and consent implanting in him a new nature;
--
but the class represented by the foolish virgins have been content with a superficial work. They do not know God. They have not studied His character;
--
they have not held communion with Him; therefore they do not know how to trust, how to look and live. Their service to God degenerates into a form.
Like Jews of old,
among foolish virgins,
spirituality is dead
becomes ceremonialism.
Holy Spirit
takes all those things
transforms our lives
with living power.
Those who have
ceased the continuation
of transformation
have run out of oil!!!
Character
Character
Jesus describes
another major roles
of Holy Spirit.
And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:
Holy Spirits goal
show us
sin
righteousness
judgement.
Said differently
Spirit’s work is our
character growth.
If we are experiencing
little to no
spiritual growth...
Big problem...
We are running
out of oil!
What can be done
for our sleepy world
our sleepy selves?
Wake Up
Wake Up
There must be
a great awakening.
There must be
a great call.
Come out of
drowsy stupor!
We have to realize
our condition now.
There will be a time
when it is too late.
The arrival of Christ
and final tribulation
will show the
true character
of the virgins.
Christ’s Object Lessons (Chapter 29—“To Meet the Bridegroom”)
It is in a crisis that character is revealed. When the earnest voice proclaimed at midnight, “Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him,”
--
and the sleeping virgins were roused from their slumbers, it was seen who had made preparation for the event. Both parties were taken unawares; but one was prepared for the emergency, and the other was found without preparation.
Can’t wait
for tribulation
to get ready.
(Sunday Law)
Buying Oil
Buying Oil
Continuing story:
Matthew 25:7–10 (ESV)
Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’
--
But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.
They were out
of oil.
They were told
they could go
buy some oil.
As it turned out
they were not
able to buy any oil.
In the parable,
it is because
all the shops were closed.
Spiritually speaking,
you can’t buy oil
because oil represents
Holy Spirit
Work of transformation.
No other human,
can give you
Holy Spirit or
resulting revival.
Only God Himself
can offer
power of Spirit.
Yet even God
will eventually
close up shop.
We cannot wait,
until 2nd coming
or great tribulation
to realize we
are out of oil.
At that time,
it will be too late.
Shut Door
Shut Door
The concept of
the shut door
refers to the
close of probation.
This is the time
after which there
are no second chances.
When you can’t
get more Spirit
even from God...
Last chapter of bible
talks about 2nd coming:
“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.
Just before 2nd coming
immediately preceeding verse:
Let the unrighteous go on in unrighteousness; let the filthy go on being made filthy; let the righteous go on in righteousness; and let the holy go on being made holy.”
There is an appointed day,
when grace of God
is removed from wicked.
Nobody will feel
wooing love
creator God.
At that point,
shortly before 2nd coming
no more repentance
from the unrighteous.
It is too late.
Have no more oil
fire goes out
eternally...
At that point,
the door is shut!
The world will be
in utter chaos.
The seven last plagues
are falling on the wicked
time off trouble.
This is the moment
when the whole world
will stand before God
without an intercessor.
When he leaves the sanctuary, darkness covers the inhabitants of the earth. In that fearful time the righteous must live in the sight of a holy God without an intercessor. - Spirit of Prophecy Book 4 p. 432
Just before the death of actor W. C. Fields,
a friend visited Fields’ hospital room
and was surprised to find him
thumbing through a Bible.
Asked what he was doing with a Bible,
Fields replied,
“I’m looking for loopholes.”
(Source Unknown).
Finish Parable:
Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
The unsaved
will be knocking on
door of heavenly sanctuary.
But it is too late.
Jesus is done.
No more forgiveness.
Answer given:
“I don’t know you.”
Most sad words
ever uttered
to mortal souls.
Fear
Fear
Some may think
sermons like this
calculated to
make people scared
so they repent.
I hope not.
Fear is useless.
It does not
lead to repentance
by itself.
Fear is not
all bad.
Bible repeatedly talks
about fear as
spiritually good thing.
Guild is gift from God.
Help us see,
we are off the path.
One aspect of guilt
is fear.
Fear can be good.
Sorrow for sin can be good.
Those alone
don’t lead to
transformation.
To see
we are in
bad place spiritually...
To feel bad
about situation...
To know that
condemnation will come...
None of that
is enough.
Jesus finishes
parable with
these words
warning/invitation.
Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
It is warning.
Not just warning.
Invitation!
Wake up!!!
I’ll help you wake up!
Appeal
Appeal
Brothers and sister,
if you know
have fallen asleep
running out of oil
no spiritual growth.
God is offering today
spiritual resuscitation
defibrillation.
REVIVAL.
If you want that
stand up.
Some need more
come forward.
