SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/18/2024 8:11 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-1 “The Bridesmaids”
Bible Reading & Meditation
Reference: Matthew 25:1-5
Message of the verses: “1 "Then the
kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and
went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 "Five of them were foolish, and five
were prudent. 3 “For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with
them, 4 but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. 5 “Now while
the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep.”
In studying the Bible for the past 50 years I have
learned that the theme of the Bible is Jesus Christ, and smarter people than me
can see the Lord on every page of the Bible.
It is well known that the Lord was rejected the first time that He came
and the truth is that there are many prophecies that speak of His first coming,
but the people of that time refused to accept those prophecies, therefore they
rejected Him and put Him to death just as the prophecies said that they
would. The Old Testament also said that
He would have a forerunner who would be a voice crying in the wilderness, and
John the Baptist was that forerunner. It
also says that He would be born in Bethlehem, the son of a virgin, and in the
line of David. Jesus uniquely and
exclusively met those qualifications.
Jesus, it said, would minister in Galilee of the Gentiles and exhibit great
miraculous power, and He did those things. Nevertheless, when “He came to His
own…those who were His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11).
John MacArthur writes “Preparation for His second coming
will be more decisive and consequential than preparation for His first, because
those who rejected Him during His incarnation had continued opportunity to be
saved as long as they were alive. Doubtlessly
many of those who cried out for Jesus’ crucifixion in place of Barabbas or who
voted against Him in the Sanhedrin were later convicted to turn to Him as Lord
and Saviour. But there will be no such
continued opportunity when Jesus comes again.
When He appears then, the opportunity for salvation and citizenship in the
kingdom of heaven will be past.”
The
word “then” refers to the time of Christ’s unexpected appearing in power and
glory, about which He was speaking. It
will be at that time, He said, spiritual preparedness for entrance into the
kingdom of heaven will be comparable to the preparedness of a certain ten
virgins who served as bridesmaids at a wedding.
With
that I conclude this first SD on Matthew 25:1-5, but it would be very prudent
to look over the quote from John MacArthur a second time and think about what
he wrote about not having a second chance after the Lord returns from heaven
with His saints and angels as seen in the 19th chapter of
Revelation. Now remember once again that
this is not talking about the rapture of the church, but the second physical
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to planet earth at the end of the tribulation
period. There certainly will be chances
to receive the Lord as Savior during the Tribulation period as many will be
saved, but it is much better to receive Him before the rapture so that you will
not have to go through the horrors of the Tribulation period, for that will be
the worst time to live on planet earth. 2/18/2024
8:35 AM
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