If He were talking about US, He might have said:
“The republic of
America is likened unto ten immigrants who took their dreams and went out to
meet their destiny; to wed, the American dream.”
But, Jesus was talking about the Kingdom of Heaven, and there’s
much more to it than that.
Ten, represents completion. Wholeness.
Total.
Virgins, picture innocence. Some translations
use the word, “bridesmaids.” They are a picture of the bride of Christ.
Lamps, of course bring light. They’re
used to see and be seen. To bring clarity to darkness. As a Christian, our
lamp, is His Word.
“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105).
If we were to paint a storybook picture of that verse, it
might look like this:
Sunshine on beautiful brides (the church), without spot or
wrinkle, skipping along through a flower filled field, carrying their lamps (their
Bibles). On the edge of the field, is an old chapel with a cross on top and a
bell that’s ringing. The Groom, out front, all smiles, watching, waiting,
waving.
Alas, the story doesn’t end there. There's more. It's not as pretty. But it's more True.
2 Now five
of them were wise, and five were foolish.
They may have looked the same on the outside, but a closer
look reveals they were divided—right smack dab down the middle.
Even though this shouldn’t happen, we shouldn’t be surprised that
it did. Jesus warned in Matthew
ten that He didn’t come to bring peace but a sword.
3 Those
who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise
took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
The unwise were uncommitted. They brought just enough
to look the part on the outside, but inwardly they hadn’t given it much thought.
They showed up in a shiny new car but the gas tank was empty and they’d never
checked the oil. They didn’t care to prepare. The Bible was just an accessory to their
Sunday Best. They went along just enough to be socially accepted. Even, perhaps
to appease convictions of hell.
Jesus called folks like this, hypocrites,
white washed sepulchers, beautiful on the outside, but inside full of dead men’s
bones. These are those who spout
about America’s evil roots with woke righteous indignation.
The wise on the other hand, are in it for the long
haul. Making it to the wedding is top priority. They’ve thought it through, planned,
prepared and preprayered. They keep their vessels and lamps filled to
overflowing. They’re not scared by what’s on the news. It doesn’t matter to
them, what’s, in. They’re not moved by the PC crowd or socially elite. Their
focus is on an audience of One, their Groom.
Man
looks on outward appearance God looks on heart.
1 Sam. 16:7
5 But
while the Bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
Delays can be debilitating…but shouldn’t be.
Hope
deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life
(Proverbs 13:12)
We prayed for a miracle, but it didn’t happen…when we thought it should. Our deadline came and went; not once, not twice, but three times.
We’re not alone.
Abraham, I’ll make you a father of many nations; with descendants
as the sand of the sea or as the stars in number. But nothing happened. Not
even a craving for a pickle from Sarah. Nothing. Not in nine months, nine years
or even nineteen years. Nothing.
Moses, I’ll deliver My children out of Egypt and into a land
flowing with milk and honey. About 40 years later, Moses and all but two of the children
of Israel that were alive at that time, had died in the wilderness.
Jesus said, “This sickness is not unto death…” four days
later, Lazarus was starting to stink from being, four days, in the tomb.
Now
faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews
11:1)
Delay is not denial. It’s time to prepare. To build the
nursery. Plan the new home. Prepare for a family reunion.
They slumbered and slept can be
translated, “They got drowsy and slept.”
It’s easy to get drowsy when we’re bored, when we’re
disengaged. This whole story is about being, engaged. Not just engaged to be
married, but engaged in preparing and watching.
Delays are signs something else needs to be done. The wise
virgins could have engaged with the unwise and alerted them to their need to be
filled.
And
Christ will give you light.”
Behold, the Groom is coming.
6 “And at
midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the Bridegroom is coming; go out to meet Him!’
During the recent invisible enemy quarantines, you may have
noticed the following verse being posted on social media.
Come, My people, enter your chambers,
And
shut your doors behind you;
Hide
yourself, as it were, for a little moment,
Until
the indignation is past.
At first glance the connection to quarantine is clear.
However, it goes even deeper, regarding our present times and our current text. The very next verse states:
For
behold, the Lord comes out of His place
To
punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;
The
earth will also disclose her blood,
And
will no more cover her slain.
The Groom is coming, and with His coming is a great separating
and exposing. The earth will no longer hide the cries from the blood of 60
million babies. The midnight cry has awakened the Bride, she’s rising and shining.
And
the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
7 Then all
those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us
some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’
2020 gave US a well needed wake up call. Now that the real Bride
has been shaken out of her slumber, she’s trimming her lamp. The Light is
exposing those who have no oil. It is clearly defining the difference between awake
and woke.
Woke: the devil’s counterfeit to God’s awakening.
The woke are screaming, “Give. Give. Give… Give us what we want
or we’ll burn it all down!
It doesn’t matter if you planned, worked, prepared…you must
now give it all up, for the greater good.
If it was only monetary, material items, we might be willing
to make concessions. However, this goes beyond brick and mortar, lamps and oil,
it goes to the heart and soul of our being.
Give your allegiance wokeness. Bow your knee to BLM. You
better agree with LGBTQ and whatever other letter they may decide to add to it. And don’t even think about withholding a dime of
your taxes for funding abortion, not just here, but around the world.
Give us free healthcare, free school, freedom to say and do
whatever we want but don’t you dare say a word against us.
This request for oil is really a request for our soul. A demand to compromise our
conviction, or be cancelled. To dim our Light, so we can all walk together, through Joe's dark winter.
We must, just say NO.
9 But the
wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and
you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’
10 And
while they went to buy, the Bridegroom came, and those who were ready
went in with Him to the wedding; and the door was shut.
Those who weren’t prepared and ready were shut out. Just as in
the days of Noah, they went on ignoring the signs, mocking the warnings and before
they knew it the door was shut and no amount of knocking would ever get them in.
11 “Afterward
the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But He
answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
13 “Watch
therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is
coming.
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