Category: Bible Prophecy
Does GOD still have Laws?
Are laws important?
Do laws put us in bondage?
Have you ever lived in a place where there were no laws?
What would happen to the USA if there were no laws to govern the people?
Just think, no laws so you could just do what ever you want and no one would stop you. Except everyone else is doing the same thing as you, and there is no one stopping them either.
Do you see where a problem could come from?
What if I don’t like stopping for a red light, there are always a pain and turn red at the wrong times. So I am going to just drive straight through them from now on. I might not live long doing that but remember there are no laws telling me I can’t.
Laws are not made to keep us from something good! They are made to keep us happy and safe. So everyone knows what to expect from the other person.
Did God give us laws?
Were Gods Laws to be a burden or a joy to mankind?
What about Grace if we have Grace Do we still need Laws?
GRACE:
We don’t have to earn it. It is the most valuable gift of all. The Scripture says in Ephesians 2:8, 9: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” Salvation does not come from any human effort. It is a free gift without a penny and without price. It is the science of salvation that deserves our attention and our study.
In Revelation 5:9, the redeemed are pictured as standing before the throne of God, both those redeemed from the Old Testament times and from the New Testament times, singing glory to Jesus, the Lamb, “Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.” A great, fundamental truth is expressed here—the only way a sinner can be saved is through the blood of Jesus. Since the time of Adam, sinners have been saved only by believing in Jesus.
If men are saved through faith in Jesus Christ, where does the Ten Commandment law come in?
Throughout all the ages of controversy between Christ and Satan, the devil has sought to destroy the authority of God over man by casting the law aside and by preventing knowledge of the truth about the law.
The enemy of Christ brings this about by rejection of the law or a wrong concept of the dispensation of the law as opposed to the dispensation of the gospel.
Satan could bring in the principle of salvation through works, and prevent the functioning of the law according to God’s design.
The role that the law fulfills in relation to the gospel is two-fold. First, it is God’s standard of what is right and true. As a standard the law expresses the mind or will of God, for in Psalm 40:8 it says, “I delight to do thy will, 0 my God; yea, thy law is within my heart.” The law also declares man’s duty to God, for in Ecclesiastes 12:13 we read, “Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”
How often I have heard Christians boast that they don’t care about the law of God. They hide behind Romans 6:14, “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.”
They say that since they are saved by grace, through the atoning blood of Christ, they don’t have to keep God’s commandments at all. Have you ever heard that theory? Well, I am sure the Bible doesn’t teach that.
In Romans 6:15, the very next verse in the chapter, Paul says, “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.” The fourteenth verse has stated, “Sin shall not have dominion over us,” or “it shall not be our ruler.”
We are not under sin, or the condemnation of the law either, when we obey God. Why? Because we are saved by grace. But does that license us to sin? “God forbid.” Friends, when an individual is saved by grace, he is under greater obligation than ever before to keep the law of God.
As it says in Romans 3:31, “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law.” Are we licensed to break the law of God because we are saved by grace and saved by faith? God forbid. “Yea,” he says, “we establish the law.” The law is firmer than ever in our lives.
Who is under the law today in your city? Those who have broken it; they are under the law, and in jail. The man who keeps the law is the man who is free today. The law breaker is under the condemnation of the law.
Right here let us stop a moment and read the definition of sin in 1 John 3:4. “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” That is very clear. When a man sins he has transgressed the law.
Every sinner has broken the law. What is sin? “The transgression of the law” When a man sins, what does he do? He breaks the law of God. There must be a law, otherwise he couldn’t break it. We are not under the law unless we break it.
I would fear to be called a minister of the Lord today, telling people that it is OK to break Gods laws or to say it is OK to forget what God said to Remember
Matt: 5:19: Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
How does God feel about man making his own laws and rules and teaching people to live by them instead of his commandment Law’s.
Matt:15:9: But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Mark:7:7: Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Colossians: 2:22: Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?
Is there danger in not keeping God Commandments?
Titus: 1:14: Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.
Let’s pretend there is a line drawn in the sand that said those who are on God side stand here and those who are not on God side stand over there.
What side would you want to stand on?
You might say; Lord I am saved by grace I was told I don’t need to need to keep those old laws.
Let’s look at it this way!
The governor of the state has life-and-death power. A man has been sentenced and condemned to die. He is under the sentence of death. Friends intervene. They present evidence to the governor, special factors involved in this case—contributing factors as to why this individual was caught in this particular crime.
As the governor investigates the evidence, he feels that this man deserves clemency; so he uses his official prerogative as the head of the commonwealth. He takes his pen and dips it in the ink and signs across those condemnation papers, “PARDONED,” and then signs his name.
That condemned man, my friend, has been saved by grace, not by his works or by his goodness.
He was doomed to die, and being ever so good in that death cell would never, never in this world save him. That is very obvious.
In other words, after an individual has broken the commandments of God, he cannot be good enough to save himself. The wages of sin is what? Death. We have all sinned, so are under the sentence of death. And there is only one way of salvation, through Jesus Christ.
Now the condemned man is pardoned. He can hardly believe his eyes as he sees the kindness, the stroke of generosity and love shown by that governor.
PARDONED, SAVED, FREE, You meet the freed man a little later and he says, “Wonderful what that governor did for me, and wonderful this new freedom of mine.
Now I can break the law all I like, for the governor set me free from the law and from the sentence of death. I was saved by grace.”
Did the governor pardon him so he could go out and become a greater law breaker? Shall we who are saved by grace continue law breaking? “God forbid.” We are under even greater obligation to keep the law because we are saved by grace
Matt:22: 36-40
36: Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37: Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38: This is the first and great commandment.
39: And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40: On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Is that Jesus we hear saying on these two commandments hang all the “WHAT” Law’s and Prophets.
Love the Lord thy God is the first four of the Ten Commandments;
Love thy neighbor is the last six of the Ten Commandments;
Do we find any evident of keeping the old Jewish Ten Commandment Law in the New Testament
Matt:19:17: And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
Mark:10:19: Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
Luke:18:20: Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother
Luke:1:6: And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
Over and over and over again we hear Jesus telling the people to keep his commandments.
.
If you really Love the lord, and want to show him that you Love him, then do what?
Show him you love him by doing what he tells you to do.
I have heard some say, “Those commandments were only for the Jews.” Then a Christian can lie and steal, and murder people, and do anything else that he pleases. Is that possible?
Jesus says in” John:14:15: If ye love me, keep my commandments. It was because these were broken that Jesus gave His life. If these were to be abolished, why not abolish them before Jesus came to die? Then His death would not have been necessary.
John:14:21: He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
John:15:10: If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
Somebody says, “Well, I can’t leave my church.” We’re not talking about churches today, friends.
We’re talking about following God.
Don’t look at the people. Look at the Light God is showing you.
We need to take one more quick glance here at what Jesus said. Matthew 7:21. “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
Now notice verse 22. This is an amazing statement by our Lord. “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?”
Oh yes, miracle workers in the name of Jesus.
Don’t you see? Notice Christ’s answer now in verse 23. “Then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
Oh, this is one of the most sobering passages in the Word of God, because we’re led face to face here with the understanding which we can’t escape—that it makes a difference to God what we believe and how we live.
It isn’t enough to say, “Yes, I believe. I’m a church member.”
It’s a matter of how we live and what we believe about our God that makes a difference.
Many will say, “Lord, we’ve cast out devils. We’ve done miracles. We’ve prophesied.” And yet, they’ll be lost.
It makes a difference what we believe. Anchor your faith firmly, my friends, to the rock of Scripture.
Christian can you say you know Jesus and not keep his Commandments
1John:2:3: And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
1John:2:4: He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
That’s not my saying brother and sister, for it is written in the book called the Bible, which is none other then God word.
1Cor:7:19: Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.
1Cor:14:37: If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
1Thes:4:2: For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
1John:3:22: And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
People are always looking for bargains, for special discounts. Some churches advertise, “Come to us, we will give you a bargain, 10% off of the Ten Commandments.” But will that stand in the judgment?
Just because some great churches tell you that they will make it easy and only ask you to keep nine of the Ten Commandments, is that sufficient? Will you pass in the judgment day?
Has any church the right to discount the commandments of God? How do we dare to imagine that we are on the high road to heaven when we knowingly break any of God’s commandments?
Matt: 5:19: Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
1John:3:24: And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
1John:5:2: By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
1John:5:3: For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
2John:1:6: And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
So now we know that it is very importance to keep God’s commandment WHY?
If you love God then who are you enemy with?
That’s right the world.
For you can’t love God and the world!
What are we told will happen to God people because they love the Lord their God and claim to be his people. His people who keep his Laws and keep the testimony’s of his Son Jesus Christ.
Rv:12:17: And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Rv:14:12: Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Rv:22:14: Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Some time ago one of the items of interest in the newspaper was about a cave-in in a mine down in Pennsylvania somewhere—I think you might remember it. There were some miners trapped but there was reason to believe they were still alive under ground.
There was no way to dig down through the mine shaft that had caved in so they were hoping the miners were off to the side of the main shaft in a little room in a horizontal shaft.
So they brought in a great drilling rig and started drilling down through that virtually solid rock trying to get into that room where they felt they were probably entombed.
Hour after hour, day after day, while the world watched, virtually holding its breath, as the news media portrayed for us the picture of how they went down there 6 inches and then another foot and down finally to three feet.
The families camped at the mouth of the mine where the rescue operations were going on.
Finally the day came when that great boring rig bore through the ceiling of that room where the miners were trapped. Rapidly it was withdrawn and they lowered a microphone to a little speaker down that hole.
The man who was directing the rescue operation at the top spoke into his end of the microphone and said, “Are you alright? Are you alive? Are you there?”
And then a voice came back from the heart of the earth. “Yes, we’re here. We’re alright.”
A great shout went up from the rescue workers at the opening of that pit. Then the director said this into the microphone. “What do you want the most?” There was a pause and then a voice came back, “I want a cigar.”
Oh friends, heaven is involved in the greatest rescue operation the world has ever known.
The entire universe is watching. Day after day, week after week, year after year, for the last six-thousand horrible years,
God has been seeking to rescue those of us who have been entombed by the avalanche of sin.
What must it do to His heart by our procrastination, our idleness, our spiritual postponement of eternal things. We send back a message and say, “Oh, we’re satisfied with the trinkets, we’re satisfied with the things, but thanks just the same.”
How shall we escape if we neglect so great a Salvation?
The Needs of the many outweighed the needs of the one!
Story: During the American Civil War a young soldier lay wounded in a hospital far from home. As he grew worse each day, he felt that his only hope of recovery was to be with his family.
Hebrews 10:7: Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
One morning President Lincoln visited the hospital to comfort the wounded men. As the homesick soldier watched the president, he saw how kindly he treated every man, passing by none without some fatherly expression of interest. He decided that when the president approached his bed, he would ask him a favor.
Finally his turn came. President Lincoln asked the soldier, “Are you comfortable?”
He answered, “Not so comfortable as I would be, Mr. President, if I were back home.”
“What’s your name?” asked Lincoln.
“Samuel Stover, Company H, 2nd Maryland Volunteers,” he quickly replied, hope rising in his heart.
The president looked at the young man for a few moments, gave him a friendly nod, and continued through the ward, visiting every patient.
Private Stover kept a close watch on the president until he left the hospital ward. He was dismayed that, after seeing so many men, Lincoln hadn’t jotted down his name or taken a single note.
Sinking hopelessly back into his bed, Private Stover was certain that he would never see his family again.
How surprised he was a few days later when an order came in Lincoln’s own handwriting to transfer Private Stover of Company H, 2nd Maryland Volunteers to the military hospital at Annapolis, his hometown!
Young Stover got better under his family’s care at the new hospital. Years later he said, “It has always been a mystery to me that a man with so much to think of should keep in mind the name, company and regiment of a private soldier and care about his need.”
Lincoln’s kindness to the soldier is a miniature illustration of the loving, deeply personal interest God has in every one of us.
He knows our cares and needs, including the needs we’re not even aware of.
He doesn’t have to take notes to remember our lives and burdens, because He says in the Scriptures that our names are written on the palms of His hands, and that we are set as a seal upon His heart, and as gems in His crown.
We may come to God with our prayers, and He will hear us, and send us merciful and loving answers far beyond our expectations.
Let us pray!
——————————————————————————–
Tell the Story: At Ground “Zero” Young Louis Scotland ………..
****** Two hemisphere of uranium 234 One day the screwdriver slipped
******You will do alright he said but I have not a chance.
*** There was another young man who said the same thing about 2000 years ago on a
Hill side we call Calvary
As we approach the cross of Calvary we hear the rulers and religious leaders marking him and saying…..
Mt:27:42: He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.
Mk:15:31: Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save.
Lk:23:35: And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God.
*** What was all this about, why did this man have to die***
He was dying for a falling world dying and for a Sin that he did not commit
Jesus did not have to come to this world, and he did not have to take the abuse of evil men and he did not have to give his life for us, but he did, because he who created us loved us.
Why did this happen, how could this happen
It all started in heaven many thousands of years ago, with the jealousy of a created being trying to be equal with his creator.
Isaiah 14
12: How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13: For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
God knew in his heart that someday this would come too passed, why did he permitted, because God did not want people who could not think, could not act, could not Love.
He knew the cost of giving Angles and giving People the freedom to think and act for themselves, none of this came as a surprised to God.
Timothy:3:5: Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Christ could not comedown off the Cross, because he could not save himself and us at the same time so he chose to save us instead.
Do we understand just what happened at the Cross, Do we fully know the price that Jesus paid?
Ezek:18:4: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. But this man did nothing, he did not sin
The world is a stage:……….
It was set that way to test Man if he would be obedience to the laws of God or would he rebel against God.
It was all about a simple test of who you believe ….
The Universe: ………………
Long before God started Creation he knew of the possibility that Sin would one day inter in. But yet it did not stop his Creation Love for what he was doing.
Try telling a Mother or Father that there wayward Children will someday hate them, will someday despise them, will someday want to kill them. Tell them that it would be best to just Kill your Son or Daughter right now before that happens.
What do you think that Mother or Father will tell you, even knowing that they could not kill their Children. God was no different even knowing that one day his children with rise up against Him He still loved then with a God love. Sin must work its way till the entire heavenly host can see what Sin really was, so that it will never rise up again.
God could have made robots who would have never sinned but then they could not have freedom of choice.
God could have make beings who could not think for themselves, but then how would love be expressed.
God could have made machines but then where would companionship be.
So with Love God created, knowing that someday it would cost him his life.
The plan of salvation was a plan lay down before the dawn creation.
It was a plan knowing that someday the two hemisphere of Sin would collide together over a place call Calvary.
There at ground “Zero” the Son of God would have to step in and with the same hands that created the heavens and the earth he would forever have to pull apart the deadly change reaction of Sin by giving his life.
Not only for mankind but for all the other unfailing worlds, they too must understand the cost of infantine love
John:15:13: Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
My friends, nothing in this universe is stronger than love.
Christ was God, and God is love.
It was love who fainted beneath the cross that day. It was love who prayed for His murderers, it was love who felt the thorny crown upon His brow.
Listen, those hands that were stretched out and pierced that day, were the same hands which had fashioned the universe.
1John:3:16: Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
On the Cross Jesus was paying for our sins, for the soul that sinneth, it shall die, that is the Law.
The needs of
the many out weighted the need of the one, so in order to restore heaven God gave the life of his Son in payment for mans Sin as our substitute.
John 3:
16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17: For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Nineteen Centuries ago the Son of the living God walked directly into Sins most concentrated radiation, allowed himself to be touched by its curse, and let it take His life.
The accumulated guilt of all the ages released its deadly contamination over Calvary.
And he who make the atom permitted Himself to be Nailed to the tower at ground Zero, allowed men to trigger the cruel device we call Calvary
But it was by his act that He broken the deathly chain reaction and broken the power of Sin.
Strangely true were the mocking words of the rulers who watched Him die.
He saved others Himself He cannot save.
Never were truer words spoken. For to interrupt the chain reaction of sin, to stop its deadly fallout, He must give His own life.
He could not save his Himself and others too. It is as if He spoke to every man, you will come through all right. But I haven’t the faintest chance Myself.
Could it be that the God of the universe, in a final attempt to help our limited, Restricted minds to grasp the true meaning of Calvary, had permitted our tampering with the cosmic forces to give us a vocabulary that might better explain it?
Calvary seems so far away, so disconnected from the restless age in which we live. But as Christians, we reverence it.
To most of us Calvary is a little more than a devotional exercise that we take off like a cloak. And even when we stop to think about it, do any of us really know what it means? Or why it had to happen?
We are too busy, too restless, too insecure, too frightened, and revolutionary.
Years of our history, years of surge and change, year’s heavy with anticipation and mystery.
Every seam and fabric of our thinking has been strained in the struggle even to understand what is happened.
How God could love us so much to allow himself to be touched by sinful man and to be killed all to save us.
Truth is that Jesus could not save this world and himself at the same time; it was a one or the other.
So he chose to save this world rather than save himself,
Why, Why, did the God of the universe choose to die in place of a guilty race of people who are no more worthy then a paper clip.
What a story of Love it tells to the unfailing worlds
That God cares for all the creatures that he has created, And that he would stop at nothing to seek out that which was lost.
Because the needs of the many out weighted the needs of the one
Don’t End Up In The Dark
Story: There was to be a 27 mile race through some very rough terrain. It would start at the end of town, go through swamp land, then through a forest, along a rocky road, and at last up a steep mountain terrain to the top, the first to get to the top would be the winner.
There were only two contestants and both were well skilled in this type of event, but Apple Jack was the favorite to win. He was bigger, faster, stronger, and had a winning record to show for it, so he partied on while waiting for the day of the big race to begin.
Tommy Tucker was small and thin guy and to look at him you could only wonder how he even got into this race. But day after day Tommy kept running, he kept working-out, no matter how hard or what the weather was he never stopped preparing for the race.
The day of the Race
Get on your mark, get set, Go!
Off they went, Apple Jack was way out in front, in fact so far ahead that he felt sure that Tommy would not catch up anytime soon, so he stopped in for a few laughs and drinks with the boys.
As he heard the crowd outside he looked and there was Tommy so he hurried out to catch up, but all of a sudden he could feel his legs getting weak, then his big arms were getting heavy then Apple Jack began having trouble breathing.
He tried to shake it off but he was just not in shape for the race, he procrastinated his time away in doing nothing to prepare himself for what was coming.
In the end Little Tommy won the big race, when he was asked how did you do it, he said it was all in the preparation!
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105
There is a story that Jesus tells in Matthew 25. It’s a warning to all Christians today; it’s a story about Ten Virgins. Now you might ask, “why should we be concerned about a story Jesus told 2000 years ago?”
Because the story is not about the people living in Jesus time, but about the people living in our time. We’re living in the ‘end times!’
In the book of Matthew, verse 25 and beginning at verse 1, here Jesus is saying:
1: Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins,
- First we need to know what Jesus is referring to by the word virgins.
The Bible tells us that a Woman represents a Church:
The word woman in the book of Revelation
You will see that a pure woman represents Gods Church and an unpure woman represents a Church against Gods truth. – See Revelation 17:6
So a virgin must represent a Pure Church, God’s Church.
Matthew 25:1says, “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.”
So what is that story about?
It is about a wedding right, I’d like to see that wedding!
So we know who the Virgins are, but who is the Bridegroom?
“And Jesus said unto them, can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. Mark 2:19
Jesus is saying that He is the bridegroom!
Question: When does the bridegroom come?
Answer: At the end of time, Correct
So we know, without a doubt, we are talking about the end of times.
OK, so what is the problem?
2. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
What made the difference between 5 of them being wise and 5 of them being foolish? Let’s look, to see if we can find the answer.
3. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: Understand what is going on here
4. But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
Do any of you remember the Old days, before there were Electric Lights?
You know back when the only light is the house was that of a candle or an oil lamp ,
Story: I Remember Living With Only 1 Light in the House
Look at verse 5. While the bridegroom tarried, or while he delayed they all slumbered and slept.
Now I want us to look at one of many similarities in the Bible.
Revelation Chapter 3 is about 7 churches, representing 7 different time frames, and here we are at the last church
Revelation 3:13 says, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
14: And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
15: I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16: So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
The Church is in a slumbering time my friend, when it is a sleep and the people are not cold but they are not hot either. It is in a waiting time, waiting for Jesus to come, and while we are waiting some of the people are growing cold and becoming lukewarm.
STORY: Hot Sauna Baths
Matthew 25:6 says, And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
7: Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8: And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
In scripture the meaning of the oil is not a difficult matter to make clear. A quick word study through the Bible will suffice. The oil quite typically represents the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The scriptures tell of the oil of gladness and the oil of anointing of God’s Presence.
The Old Testament scriptures showcase the oil of anointing for priests and kings. Throughout the Bible we also see the oil for the lamps which brings the Light of God’s illumination. Poetically the Word and Light of God is there as “a lamp unto our feet” to help guide us along the pathway when the hours of darkness come.
9: But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
10: And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
So what was the difference then?
Those who were wise had looked around them and seen that the darkness was coming. They then made important preparations for the coming night.
They were not trusting and depending on the oil that was in the lamps of their own personal spirit. They knew that their own lamp would fail them somewhere down the line. So they had made it their priority to obtain a spiritual supply of oil outside of themselves.
They had that extra jar of oil. It was the ‘midnight oil‘. With that extra supply of oil the wise virgins were prepared. They were ready for the great drama that would unfold at the midnight hour.
When the hour of burnout came they were not left destitute in the darkness. They were prepared to recharge their lamps with a fresh supply of oil. The wise virgins then arose from their beds of ease and were ready to go out.
11: Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
12: But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
Matthew 25:31 says, When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34: Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37: Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38: When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39: Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40: And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41: Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44: Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45: Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46: And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
So how do we get this Extra Oil we need to keep us from the darkness, by doing what Jesus did helping others!
When Jesus shuts that door, my friend, I don’t want to be standing on the other side, I want to be ready to go in, because once he closes that door it will not open again.
Story: Noah Preached for 120 years
When the door of the ark closed those who were ready those who prepared went in to the safety of Gods protection.
People then had a choice just like we do today
There are two ways to look at this story.
1. The ten virgins may typify the whole Christian world at the time of Christ’s return given the fact that some (five) were ready for the Lord’s return and some (five) were not.
2. Christ is talking to his true church and saying prepare and be ready now so that your oil will not run out just before the bridegroom comments.
Preparation now will enable you to finish the race, so you don’t end up in the dark!
God Bless,
Tim
The Bible Millennium
There will be only four (4) groups when Jesus returns!
1. The righteous living
2. The righteous dead
3. The wicked living
4. The wicked dead
The coming of Jesus Christ will mark the beginning of the Bible millennium (1000 years).
There will be a resurrection at the beginning of the millennium and another resurrection after the millennium. You want to be in the first resurrection.
The Bible says it is at “His coming,” when “the trumpet sounds,” that “the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
1 Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Notice that only the righteous who are called, “the dead in Christ,” rises at the coming of Jesus Christ. So Jesus’ return and the resurrection of the righteous marks the beginning of the 1000 years.
The dead in Christ (Righteous dead) are resurrected, and then together with the righteous living they are all “caught up” from earth to meet Jesus in the air.
What happens to those (wicked) who are not “caught up”? Many teachers say that they will have a second chance during a supposedly seven years of tribulation!
What does the Bible say!
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. For when they shall say Peace and Safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them … and they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).
Paul says that those who are not “caught up” will experience “sudden destruction” and shall “not escape.”
Jesus says it will be as in the days of Noah and “Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” (See Luke 17:26-30)
At the coming of Jesus, Scriptures describe a total destruction of all human beings all over the world!
Matthew 24:13, 14 – After the gospel is preached to all, “then shall the end come.”
1 Corinthians 15:23 – “At his coming, then cometh the end …”
1 Thessalonians 4:17; 5:3 – Those not “caught up,” will experience “sudden destruction.”
2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 – When Jesus comes in flaming fire, the lost will be destroyed.
Revelation 16:17, 18 – During the seventh trumpet, cities crumble around the world.
Revelation 6:14; 16:20 – Every island sinks, and all the mountains disappear.
Jeremiah 4:23-26 – Planet Earth is totally devastated, with “no man” left alive.
Jeremiah 25:30-33 – Those slain by the Lord lie dead, unburied, all around the world.
Revelation 19:17, 18, 21 – The birds eat the flesh of every human being worldwide.
(Revelation 19 says that birds will be eating the flesh of all men!)
What will we see when we climb out of the grave?
It all depends if we are resurrected before OR after the 1000 years (millennium).
Speaking of the wicked Jeremiah says, “And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.” Jeremiah 25:33
“I beheld the earth, and lo, it was without form and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger” (Jeremiah 4:23-26).
The righteous will spend 1000 years in HEAVEN with God and the unsaved who are alive when Jesus comes will be killed.
Everyone who remains here on earth are DEAD! Satan and his evil angels are ‘chained by circumstances’ here on earth with no one to deceive. (Until the thousand years were up)
“But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” Revelation 20:5a
What happens after the 1000 years?
Revelation 20 says:
The “rest of the dead” are raised to life (vs. 5a).
Satan is loosed (verses 3, 7).
When the lost are resurrected, Satan has people once again to deceive – so he is “loosed” from his chains.
Satan “will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea” (vs. 8).
Who will Satan gather together?
All the lost, through history, from the days of Adam all the way down to the last person who experienced “sudden destruction” (1 Thess. 5:3) at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ!
During the 1000 years, all the lost remained in their graves, but at the end of the 1000 years they are all raised to life in what Jesus called “the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:29).
How many lost will there be?
John said their “number is as the sand of the sea!”
What are the lost doing after they are resurrected?
“And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.” Revelation 20:9
The New Jerusalem comes down from heaven (see Revelation 21:10).
The Holy city comes down at the end of the 1000 years with the saved in it. When the “rest of the dead” are raised and Satan is loosed, the city has just landed. Satan then commands the resurrected nations to surround the “camp of the saints and the beloved city” to try and take over God’s new Jerusalem.
At this time, ALL the lost and ALL the saved are together for the first time, alive on earth!
The saved are inside the city and all the lost are outside the city!
The resurrected lost will have a chance to see the reward of the righteous, while the saved will see the fate of the wicked!
The following explains why the saved are inside the city, and why the lost are outside the new Jerusalem. It’s a solemn thought!
“Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” Revelation 22:14
“For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.” Revelation 22:15
“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” John 5:28, 29.
D5 Creation
