SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/26/2024 11:36 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-1 “The Bridegroom”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew
25:6-12
Message of the verses: ““But at midnight
there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 “Then
all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 “The foolish said to the
prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 “But the
prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go
instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 "And while they were going away to make
the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to
the wedding feast; and the door was shut. 11 “Later the other virgins also
came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ 12 “But he answered, ‘Truly I say
to you, I do not know you.’”
As I look at this first verse (6) I wonder why the
shout comes at midnight, as that seems kind of a funny time for the bridegroom to
come to make his announcement, as most people are sleeping soundly at that
time, which is what the bridesmaids were doing.
MacArthur writes “the bridegroom’s arrival at that time underscores
still again the unexpectedness of Christ’s return. The children of Israel began their journey
out of Egypt at midnight (Ex. 12:29), and the rabbinical tradition held that
the Messiah would come to earth at that hour.”
He
goes on to write: “All the bridesmaids
knew the groom would be coming soon and they were gathered at the bride’s house
waiting for him. They were well aware
that the engagement and betrothal periods were over and that the final
festivities were about to begin. But
they did not know precisely when he would arrive until they were awakened and
the shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come
out to meet him.’”
Now keep in mind once again that this is a parable,
and the Lord’s parables certainly have great meaning. Think about that in the last part of the
tribulation period people will have seen all the signs of His coming and will
know that His appearing is imminent. As
mentioned before many times, they will not know the exact time of His arrival
until they see Him, as Matthew 24:30 says “coming on the clouds of the sky.”
In an earlier SD which came from the 24th
chapter of Matthew, I mentioned that a long time ago, and as remember it was 46
years ago that my wife and I first went to Founder’s Week that is put on by the
Moody Bible Institute in early February.
The theme was the second coming of Christ and that is what the preachers
were preaching about. I bought a novel
about the Tribulation and in the novel there was a woman who was blind and she
had to be cared for throughout this very difficult time. Her husband and friends were hiding out
somewhere outside and all of a sudden this blind woman could see again, and this
surprised the group and when they looked around they could see that the Lord
had just returned. They knew His coming
was close because of all the signs, but once this woman received her sight they
realized that the Lord had returned.
Once the bridesmaids knew the Bridegroom was here they began to trim
their lamps but only the prudent ones could do this for the foolish ones had no
oil to do this. The foolish ones knew
they were in trouble and wanted to get oil from the prudent ones, but they
would not give them any or they too would have run out of oil. They would go to the oil store, but it was
too late as there was not enough time to do this and get back to the wedding.
I
will end this SD with another quote from John MacArthur: “When the Lord appears at the end of the
Tribulation, many professed Christians will frantically realize their lack of
spiritual life. They will not have
heeded Paul’s advice to the Corinthian church:
“Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine
yourselves! Or do you not recognize this
about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?”
(2 Cor. 13:5). They will be
self-deceived, perhaps believing that mere association with the things and the
people of Christ has made them a part of Christ’s true church. Some may think that being born into a
Christian family will make them a member of God’s family. We know with certainty that many will be
trusting in their good works, saying to Christ “on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did
we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your
name perform many miracles?” And they
[He] will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’”
(Matt. 7:22-23).”
I
want to begin with what the foolish said to the prudent in the next SD.
2/26/2024 12:15 PM
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