Chapter 17: Matthew 25:1-13
by K. Allen Orr on October 28, 2020
The Olivet Discourse continues now, into a new chapter. The first section of Matthew chapter 25 is still dealing with the Lord’s instruction regarding His PAROUSIA but the focus shifts a little to show a relationship to the kingdom of heaven with a parable featuring ten virgins.
Before reading the parable let’s take a moment to get our bearings. Chapter 24:45-51 dealt with the parable of a sensible, faithful slave compared to an evil slave. You should recall I claimed these slaves represented those in authority over the “organized” church–both the genuine and the imitation Christians. Jesus then provided another parable which starts in chapter 25 verse 1 and continues thru verse 13. Let’s read the entire parable before we have a look into what it could mean and the message it may convey.
Matthew 25
Vs. 1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Vs. 2 “And five of them were foolish, and five were prudent.
Vs. 3 “For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them,
Vs. 4 but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps.
Vs. 5 “Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep.
Vs. 6 “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’
Vs. 7 “Then all those virgins rose, and trimmed their lamps.
Vs. 8 “And the foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’
Vs. 9 “But the prudent answered, saying, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’
Vs. 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.
Vs. 11 “And later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’
Vs. 12 “But he answered and said, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you. “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour. NASB
I would like to issue a bit of caution before we continue. I issue this caution with utmost respect toward learned scholars, great Bible teachers and preachers, and exceptional students of the Word having far more wisdom and spiritual discernment and a much closer walk with God than I have. What does Matthew record Jesus as saying? The Lord said the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins. He did not say this parable was comparable to the Jewish custom of marriage. Can the Jewish custom of marriage give important insight for understanding this parable? I have no doubt it can. I only ask to retain primary focus on the main “thing”…and the main “thing” happens to be details involving ten virgins. Does this parable support a pre-tribulation rapture position? While I see no connection, others do and feel free to use this parable to promote their bias. I openly admit I have a bias too. That’s why it is key for ALL to plead for spiritual discernment when studying God’s Word.
Let’s start off taking a brief look at the word, “Then”. Sometimes this word is used to emphasize a relational sequence in transitioning from one event to another event. For example: “Today I got out of bed. Then I got dressed. Then I ate breakfast. Then I went to work.” Other times it is used to bond or unite separate thoughts or illustrations as relating to the same period of time. For example: “I am going to wait before drinking any more. At lunchtime, then I will have a cup of coffee.” In chapter 25 verse 1 the word “Then” helps us understand the parable of the ten virgins is to be understood as relating to the same period of time as the previous illustrations the Lord just presented.
Who are the main characters in this parable? We have five foolish virgins, five prudent virgins and of course, the bridegroom. Jesus starts out by saying all ten virgins went out with the intention of meeting the bridegroom, along with (though not specifically stated), an expectation of participating in the celebratory procession to the wedding feast.
What is the major point to this whole parable? It is plainly and clearly stated by Jesus Himself. The answer is, be alert, or, watch expectantly. “Be vigilant” is the definition I think best fits the application of the Greek word used in verse 13.
What is the reason the Lord provides for His followers, to motivate them to be vigilant? The answer is, we do not know the day or hour. What is He talking about? We don’t know the day or the hour of…what? The answer is, the PAROUSIA. This parable follows link after link after link. We could trace the links well back into chapter 24. Highlighted issues of the parable are the timing of the PAROUSIA and a person’s preparedness at the coming of the Lord. It is a contrast of individuals, illustrated by an example using ten virgins.
I am going to confess right now I lean toward believing these virgins are two groups representative of the people of Israel. One group represents Jews who embrace Jesus Christ as Messiah. The second group represents Jews who are still looking for Messiah to arrive and do not know who he is yet.
Jesus provided a description of the representatives of the two groups by stating five were foolish and five were prudent, then explained the distinctions between them. Why were five considered foolish? The answer is, they did not have enough oil to last through the length of time waiting for the bridegroom and engage in the processional march to the wedding celebration. Why were five considered prudent? The answer is, because they did have enough oil to last until the coming of the bridegroom and through the processional march.
Now, I find something interesting in verse 5. There is a bit of irony here as the point of the parable is to be vigilant, yet all ten of the virgins got drowsy and began to sleep. However, none of them got in trouble for falling asleep. The foolish were in trouble because they ran out of oil. And because the prudent were not able to loan or give them any, the foolish had to try and acquire some more–a tricky feat to accomplish at midnight two thousand years ago in Jewish culture. Meanwhile, the virgins that were ready left with the bridegroom and went with him to enjoy the wedding feast…and the door was shut!
Often when you get someone’s opinion on this parable or read a book or commentary discussing it, a popular claim will be made that the oil in the parable represents the Holy Spirit, and if you don’t have the Spirit you don’t get to enter the kingdom or go to heaven. My feeling about this is it is often an attempt to shore-up a weak theological position that needs all the help it can muster. And maybe it does represent the Holy Spirit. I don’t recall any verses that draw a direct analogy but in Old Testament times there is frequent mention of an oil used for “anointing” purposes and in the New Testament we see an anointing from the Holy One of God listed in 1 John 2, so…maybe. But let me suggest an alternative analogy. It’s speculative on my part but see if it has any merit in your eyes.
First of all, in order for me to understand the significance of the oil I needed to understand what the lamp referred to. I took a quick survey and found the scriptures reveal the word “lamp” is used symbolically to represent at least nine different subjects; I ask the liberty to offer yet a tenth. Since all ten virgins possessed a lamp it made sense to me the lamp must represent something that everyone possesses. I would merely guess there are several items we could make a case for, claiming what everyone possesses, but there is one thing that seemed to fit the context and that would be…a soul.
Genesis 1 tells us God made man in His image and according to His likeness. Without going into all the fascinating details of what this means, you probably realize the soul is a spiritual entity. It is immaterial, you can’t see it, touch it or perceive it with the physical senses. It is in the “shadow image” of God as the original Hebrew word portrays. God is a Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in (the realm of) the spirit and the truth. God gave rebuke to people who honored Him with their lips–but their heart was far from Him.
We were also created in the likeness of God. This means our soul has three properties (plus several other important facets) that relate to God as His unique creation.
First, the soul is “self conscious”. We are aware of our existence.
Second, we are “rational” beings. We have what I like to refer to as, the “powers of mind”. We think, we reason within our mind.
Third, we possess “volition”. That’s our free will, our “decider”. We choose among various options. Essential to remember, God holds us accountable for choices made.
These three properties help define what it means to be made according to the “likeness of God”…self consciousness, rationality and volition.
Goodness gracious, all that just to explain the symbolism of the lamp! Back in the really old days lamps were pretty simplistic. You’ve seen the pictures, usually something like a gravy boat with oil and a wick and a cover- a fairly simple apparatus. How could something so simple be symbolic of something so technical? It is the nature of some theologians to dismiss the simple and basic in favor of developing an elaborate and complex conclusion. (Remember the allegorical method of interpretation?) Apparently I suffer from that curse!
I hope you aren’t confused at this point. What I am sharing is the journey I took to build a case for the argument of what I discovered the oil to symbolize. Think for a moment. Everyone has a soul with the properties of rational thinking, utilizing the “powers of mind” and volition, free will, our “decider”. God holds us accountable for the volitional choices we make, all of which result in various consequences.
Every choice we make results in some type of consequence. There is a choice to be made regarding the Lord Jesus Christ. It is one we all must face. When we compare people who have come face to face with that critical choice, we will find some people will possess something that others won’t. What could that be? The answer is, faith. Faith in the soul gives the soul value. What good is an oil lamp if it doesn’t have any oil? It doesn’t matter how decorative it was made. If it’s midnight and totally dark you won’t be able to see it anyway. If you need light you would say, “That worthless lamp! It doesn’t have any oil. It’s of no value to me right now because it can’t produce light for me to see.”
What does the scriptures say about faith? “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.” What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul because he failed to acquire faith. All those magnificent promises God provided will go unclaimed…because there was no faith.
Oil in a lamp needs to be used. You don’t want oil just sitting in the lamp because over a period of time it will get stale. What’s the classic verse in the book of James regarding faith? “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” (James 2:17). Oil is put into a lamp for the purpose of burning so that it will reveal its light-giving properties. Likewise, a genuine faith will motivate a lifestyle of worship and service for the Savior, thus revealing the true Christ follower.
If I were to take a survey that asked people what would be the purpose in lighting an oil lamp, what do you suppose the first and most popular answer would be? Most would probably answer, to enable people to see. What about the number two answer? It may not be quite as obvious but it is fairly close to the first answer, and the response would likely be, to enable objects/people to be seen. Have you ever expected someone to be coming to your home at night so you turned on special lights that let people know you were expecting and welcoming them, so they could see it was your home among all the other houses, even in the darkness?
How does this relate to the parable? In those days of long ago, if the bridegroom arrived at night there would be some big torches that would light the way for those leading the bridal procession, to wherever they would be going. Pure speculation on my part here, but since the big torches lit the way, the individual lamps would not only help one to see but to also be seen and recognized as an invited guest! That way it would be very difficult for an uninvited intruder to slip into the procession and crash the wedding feast.
Next, we read in the parable that the foolish virgins said to the prudent, “Give us some of your oil“. But the response of the prudent was a firm, “No. Get your own.” The analogy to basic principles of the doctrine of faith should be obvious. Everyone is responsible for possessing their own faith. You are not able to impute any of your faith into my soul. I have to make that decision on my own. Each soul is held accountable to God for making that volitional choice, that free will decision to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ” and therefore be saved. We are accountable and responsible for individually making a genuine profession of faith. This falls right in line with principles we covered earlier. Remember the line the serpent used to deceive the woman in Genesis 3? Remember I said his promise, “you will be like God” was flawed because we can’t control the consequences of our decisions? We can now add another item to that list. Not only can’t we control the consequences of decisions, we are all held accountable to the highest Authority for the decisions we do make; something that would not be true if indeed we were actually “like God” ourselves.
So off go the foolish virgins to purchase oil, and while they are attempting to make the purchase the bridegroom comes and those who were ready join the procession to the marriage feast with him. By and by the foolish virgins somehow find the celebration and though we are not told, it is assumed they now have oil for their lamps. So everything should be okay now, right? But it’s not! What’s the problem now? The answer is, “the door was shut“. Such ominous words. The foolish cry out “Lord, lord, open up for us.” “We’re invited guests! You gave us a personal invitation! We have OIL now!” And look at the bridegroom’s response. He doesn’t even check it out to see if it really is somebody he invited. The door was shut. The opportunity has come and gone. Its…too… late!
Look at what the bridegroom tells them. There’s an interesting point we need to examine further that is revealed in what he says to the foolish. “Truly I say to you, I do not know you.” The Greek word translated “know” is OIDA and its meaning has several shades of nuance associated with it. Primarily, according to Vine’s Dictionary, it signifies “to have seen or to have perceived”. I can try to teach you something and maybe you say to me, “Al, I don’t see what you mean.” Perhaps you don’t have an understanding of what I’m trying to explain because I’m not being clear enough, and therefore the explanation is not clear “in the sphere of your perception“. OIDA can also suggest a “relation to” or, we might include an “affinity to” or, an “association to (or) with”.
Let’s plug in this information to see how it fits into the parable. I’m guessing it’s already clicking into place for you. When we looked at verse 13 what was the major issue of the parable? The answer is, timing. When the command was given for everyone to come out to meet the bridegroom, all individual preparations should have already been completed. Can you think of the classic verse of scripture that emphasizes the need to deal with the issue of salvation without delay–don’t put it off any longer? I think of 2 Corinthians 6:2; “Behold, now is the acceptable time, behold, now is the day of salvation.” The application is we need to possess saving faith before Christ returns at His PAROUSIA. When the Day of the Lord begins at about the same time as the PAROUSIA, there won’t be many atheists to speak of, not many real unbelievers. There will be millions and millions of wicked and rebellious ungodly people, but no large group of atheists. Yet only those souls possessing saving faith will be taken up by the angels to meet Christ in the clouds and escape the terrible judgments to be poured out upon the earth during the Day of the Lord’s wrath. The five foolish virgins missed their opportunity. Their timing was pitifully off. They were negligent in taking personal responsibility for their own preparedness. They were nonchalant, thinking surely someone would take care of any needs that might arise. After all they were with the right crowd. They were associating with those who were going to follow the bridegroom to the wedding feast!
Let’s consider another point. What about the door? What can we say in a very generalized way the door represents? One answer would be: a barrier. What I find interesting about the door, this barrier, is it prevents the bridegroom from “seeing” the foolish virgins. When they cry out to him through the closed door he responds by saying in effect, “I can’t see you. I don’t see any relationship between you and me. I don’t perceive any affinity with or association with you. I don’t recognize you as one having a relationship to me.” Here’s the application; when a person first expresses a belief in Christ and embraces Him as their personal Savior, that person’s faith acts as sort of a “white flag” signifying, “I surrender!” On His part, God “sees” that flag, that faith, and embraces that one as a child of God. When someone prays what the book of James refers to as a “prayer of faith”, God sees that faith, He recognizes that faith, He perceives an affinity to and an association with and a relationship to that faith and God responds to that faith. But the issue of timing may still come into play.
I knew a woman that had already conceived a child. She wanted a girl in the worst way! She never had any test to determine the sex of her baby but she pleaded with God with great fervency, praying, “You can do it Lord. Nobody has to even know about it. If this child is a boy You can change it to a girl!” But you see, it was too late. God had already determined before hand what the sex of that child would be. (Now, I don’t want to leave you hanging but I don’t really know which she ended up having. I only remember what she said in Sunday School class.) When the bridegroom came at midnight the darkness prevented him from seeing the five foolish virgins as they had no oil and their lamps were going out. Now it’s the door that prevents him from seeing them, even though they apparently have obtained oil.
In previous chapters I mentioned a reoccurring theme that appears in the scriptures. It is the testing and evaluation of professing believers to determine the genuine from the imitation. The testing process quite often involves persecution or trials of some sort (but not always). This is followed by the rescuing of the righteous and subsequent judgment and destruction of the wicked and ungodly. As we look back at the outcome of the evil slave in the previous parable we find he was cut to pieces and placed with the hypocrites where there would be weeping and the gnashing of teeth according to 24:51. Though we haven’t covered it yet, the next parable in chapter 25 will deal with a wicked slave who gets cast into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, according to verse 30. These verses express a judicial judgment, a judicial consequence issued against the condemned. The judgment itself seems to be damnation. Look at what’s conspicuous by it’s absence in the parable of the 10 virgins. As soon as Jesus quotes the bridegroom as saying, “Truly I say to you, I do not know [OIDA] you”, with all the nuance of the definition of that word, He concludes this parable by saying, “Be on the alert then (be vigilant), for you do not know the day nor the hour.” There is no judicial condemnation issued against the foolish virgins. The contrast seen in relation to the evil slave of the previous parable and the wicked slave of the next parable is that the foolish virgins experience the consequence of being foolish, which positions them on the outside longing to be on the inside participating in the celebration of the wedding feast. But no weeping, no wailing, no gnashing of teeth mentioned here! Why not?
Let’s take another look at these virgins. Who are they? Who do they represent in this parable? Often in the scriptures we see that a virgin represents that which is pure, untainted, unspoiled, untarnished, innocent of any wrongdoing. Unlike the previous lesson in Matthew 24:42-51 and the illustration in the next parable that follows in chapter 25, there is no chastisement for any wrongdoing. In their frailty, all ten virgins got drowsy and fell asleep. Nobody got scolded for that even though the Lord admonished in verse 13 to be vigilant, alert! The shortcoming of the five without oil was they were guilty of being stupid. It’s worse than being ignorant or innocently not knowing any better. In fact, the Greek word used here could be paraphrased as stating “just plain stupid” in that their actions reflected an attitude that went contrary to common sense. It’s the same word used in the parable of the man who built his house upon the sand. (How dumb can you get?) They knew the bridegroom was coming, but they weren’t prepared. Well, I’ve been in that position more times than I would like to admit, so I can relate to the lesson here.
So, all ten slept and in fact were asleep when the announcement came that the bridegroom had arrived. This demonstrates that a different principle than HUPOMENO’ing (bearing-up courageously under adverse conditions), or something of a physical nature or activity is the lesson of this parable. The better lesson is, are you prepared? Have you taken proper action in pursuing that which is necessary to obtain and possess in preparation for when Christ comes at His PAROUSIA? It calls to mind the principle of 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, of having enough faith or the type of faith that enables you to embrace the truth. The foolish virgins did not bother to concern themselves with the potential consequences of not being adequately prepared. They ignored the important details of having a living faith–a genuine relationship with Christ.
To their credit the five stupid virgins had not done anything to dis-qualify themselves. They were still virgins, they were still pure and untarnished. They had not committed spiritual fornication by cavorting around with a foreign god, but on the other hand they had not taken the necessary step to become qualified. Rejecting the lies of the Antichrist, False Prophet and Satan, refusing to take the mark of the Beast and worship him will not be enough. To be prepared you must have enough of the kind of faith that you see yourself as a sinner who needs the Savior and embrace the Lord Jesus Christ as the redeemer of your soul from the power of death and hell. It must be a strong faith; strong as in genuine. It must be genuine enough to endure great afflictions and trials, especially the ones associated with the Great Persecution/Tribulation period. But the principle applies to every generation.
In my opinion the foolish virgins represent primarily Jews who reject Satan’s scheme yet lack saving faith in Jesus Christ at the time of His PAROUSIA. They have no lamp oil. At the time Jesus told the disciples this parable everyone knew the importance of being prepared with plenty of lamp oil when waiting for the bridegroom to arrive and lead the wedding party away to the celebration. To stumble in this important detail was to overlook the obvious.
Here is an interesting observation. The bridegroom comes, the Lord Jesus comes, and the stupid virgins have no lamp oil…they lack saving faith. So they forfeit their place in the bridal procession. They are left behind at the rapture at the PAROUSIA, and now realizing the importance of the issue, they hurriedly undertake the task of procuring lamp oil, they genuinely believe Jesus Christ actually was the Messiah. But alas! The opportunity has passed them by. The door is shut and the bridegroom says to them “Truly I say to you, I do not know you. I do not have the relationship with you that you expected.”
There are more issues involved as to why we don’t read something like, “And cast out those foolish ones into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” I think more clues to answering my question can be found in the proper understanding of verse 13. What did we establish verse 13 provides as being the major issue and thrust of the parable? The answer is, the timing of the PAROUSIA and a person’s preparedness at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in power and great glory.
The reference point or “time frame” of the lesson of this parable is of course the PAROUSIA. If one misses that, then I think one could easily be confused by two other issues associated with this parable. The first is found in verse 1. It’s the kingdom of heaven. Some people believe Jesus was referring to the Millennial Kingdom when He used these words. I do not believe that is the case here. Recall the portion of the study that touched upon the subject of the kingdom of heaven near the beginning of the book. Remember, before Christ would establish the long awaited physical kingdom on earth, the Millennial kingdom, there were several spiritual issues that had to be dealt with. Most of the Jews back in the days of Christ were not interested in making the necessary spiritual adjustments to the justice of God. What they wanted was for Messiah to come and throw off the yoke of Roman domination and to place the Israelites in a position of world power and prestige. Therefore, they rejected Jesus Christ. And consequently, He rejected them. Additionally, God removed the stewardship responsibilities from the Jews and established a new agency in charge of carrying out God’s stewardship, known as the Church. And since that time Christ has been establishing His spiritual kingdom comprised of Jews and Gentiles from all over the world, believers whose citizenship is in heaven, .
Has God completely abandoned and forsaken His plans for the nation of Israel? Absolutely not. We won’t study the issue, but I will tell you scripture indicates the Jews will not only face the severe affliction of the Great Persecution/Tribulation but many, though not all, will then face the fiery refinement of the Day of the Lord’s Wrath. At the end of Daniel’s 70th week of years the few remaining survivors will migrate to the land of Palestine and join a procession led by the Lord Himself back to the land of Promise. These Jewish survivors are an example of those who did not have a timely faith in the Savior, thereby providing access to join the wedding party at the PAROUSIA and meet the Bridegroom in the air at His coming. In my opinion, however, they will still avoid the eternal judgment of the lake of fire and be allowed to participate as entrants in the Millennial Kingdom established during the 45 day restoration period following the Armageddon Campaign. There will be gentiles and Jews who won’t succumb to the wiles of the devil during Daniel’s 70th week of years, who will acknowledge Jesus Christ as the true Savior and Lord…after the PAROUSIA, who will physically survive the awful events of the Day of the Lord’s Wrath period. These will enter physically into the Millennial Kingdom under the authority of those who will reign with Christ a thousand years.
This is subject to an intriguing study all its own, demanding at least one chapter devoted to thorough biblical scrutiny to develop proper interpretation and scriptural conclusions. However, I do not feel led to undertake such a study at this time.
There is one last issue I am compelled to address in a more precise mannor. It is the issue that begs the question…are YOU prepared? It is the issue derived from the final verse of the Lord’s parable.
“Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour” (Matt. 25:13).
Contained within the Lord’s admonition to be “spiritually watchful” for His PAROUSIA is the entreaty to be prepared. It does little good to be watchful and alert to the Lord’s coming if we are not prepared to meet Him, just like the virgins in the parable. I fear today that many people have a misplaced faith. I fear that many people are putting their faith in a self made image of a god of mercy, grace, compassion and lots of love…infinite love. A love so powerful that it compels this god to accept even the most unworthy, for the sole reason he is a god of love. That he will overlook all the “bad” things in our life because he just loves us so. Upon this image a case for hope is built that, if or when you ever come to God face to face, it will be okay; He will allow you to enter into His presence, in heaven, forever based on love alone. Alas, dear reader, this is a false and deceiving hope!
If these words sound strange to you, please, hear me out and let me explain. The scriptures do not teach that those who depend on God’s grace and mercy and love will receive eternal life and pardon. What the scriptures do teach is the exclusive necessity of a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. The scriptures teach it is he who has the SON that has eternal life, and he who does not have the SON shall not see life. Rather, the wrath of God abides on that person! The Bible teaches that the only way to God the Father is through God the Son.
So how do we obtain a relationship with the Son of God, the kind of relationship where He recognizes you and me as belonging to Him; the kind that assures us of eternal life with God; the kind that rescues us from eternal punishment?
1) I must admit that I am a lost sinner, because I have sinned against God and His righteous standards. I am totally dead in sin and unable to stand before God on any merit of my own. The grand total of any and all goodness I see in myself is absolutely worthless in the sight (and the PLAN) of God. Therefore, God has already condemned me. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
2) I need to realize that in spite of total helplessness, because God loves me, He sent His Son to redeem me from what would be, a hopeless situation. Romans 5:6 & 8 teaches that while we were still helpless, Christ died for the ungodly, in a demonstration of the Father’s love. While we were yet sinners He sent His own Son to die for us. He died on my behalf.
3) I need to believe (by faith) in the Lord Jesus in order to be saved. I need to embrace the truth and accept with my heart, soul and mind that Jesus Christ paid the penalty that I deserved to pay...for me. And there is nothing more needed that can possibly be done in order to be saved by God’s grace, mercy, compassion and love. Christ, and Christ alone, through all that was involved, by His life, death, resurrection and being accepted by God the Father, was and is, the only way to have a relationship with the Father and the Son.
4) It is appropriate to say a prayer to God, telling Him that you admit to being a sinner and needing to be saved; that you now embrace Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and you invite Him into your heart and soul to live in you and make any changes in your life He leads you to make. Ask Him to help you grow in faith and knowledge and in leading a new life. Ask God to help you surrender your life to Him.
Sure, there is much more that could be said and instruction given, but taking the above steps will get a person on the right road and secure a relationship with God that can grow from that point. If for the first time you have prayed along the lines of what was presented here, let me know and I will rejoice with you in your new relationship with the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!
This is the first step to becoming prepared for the PAROUSIA or for meeting God, spirit to Spirit, should you die prior to it. Next, find a good source for learning the Bible and fellowship with other Christians. May the Lord bless you on your journey!
This completes our study of Matthew 25:1-13. Are you ready to tackle the next study? Let us proceed onward in our journey!
