



 |
Mystery of the Virgins
The king's daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought
gold. She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the
virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. With
gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king's
palace. Psalm 45:13-15
There are threescore queens, and
fourscore concubines, and virgins without number. My dove, my undefiled
is but one... Song of Solomon 6:8,9
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten
virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the
bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that
were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise
took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom
tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry
made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
Matthew 25:1-6
And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an
hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their
foreheads... These are they which were not defiled with women; for they
are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.
These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits unto God and to the
Lamb. Revelation 14:1-4
The topic of "virgins" and the end times makes for a very deep and
very interesting study of both Old and New Testaments. It is nearly impossible
to make any sense of the references without some grounding in good old Brethren-
style dispensational truth (a la C.I. Scofield, Harry Ironside,
Clarence Larkin, et al). Suffice it to say, the VIRGINS are not
the BRIDE, the virgins always being spoken of in the plural and the Bride always
referred to in the singular. Although it is popular to make the 10 virgins of
Matthew 25 church age Christians, the fact of the matter is that some of them
are saved and some of them are NOT. And NONE of them are waiting for the
Bridegroom to come and marry them. The Bridegroom is coming to marry the
Bride,
who is already inside and waiting when the MIDNIGHT CRY is made. The virgins,
however, are always in sight when the Bride is around. In fact, they are said to
"follow her" in Psalm 45:14, and they are also said to "follow
the Lamb" in Revelation 14:4. We have also shown that the Bride is the Body
of Christ, and that the Bride is flesh of His flesh and bone of His bone (Ephesians
5:30-32). If this is so, following the Bride and following the Lamb
(Christ) would put these virgins in the same place. The "daughters of Jerusalem"
(Song of Solomon) or
"virgins of Jerusalem" (Lamentations 2:10), then, are most likely Jewish believers
in the end-time. They are those who observed the Bride and her passion for her
Jewish Messiah. After the fullness of the Gentiles is
brought in (Romans 10:25), they also come to believe in Jesus as the
Messiah, making them part of the end-time mystery of the
restoration of Israel. During the soon coming period of history when the
Bride will walk in maturity with her Beloved, these virgins will be like a
little sister who "has no breasts" (Song of Solomon 8:8,9). But following the
catching up of the Bride to the Marriage of the Lamb prior to the Lord's
triumphant return to Israel, this little sister will have rapidly developed into an "elect lady" in her own right
(II John 1 with II John 13). What
shall we do for our sister? From now until the end desolations are in store for
God's chosen people Israel. When the Lord returns, all nations will be gathered
and judged on the basis of how they responded to the needs of the Jewish people
during the coming Holocaust. We must be fixed in our determination to pray for
Israel and to come to the aid of the Jewish people around the world when the
Holocaust begins. It might be said that the death camps of WWII were just a
practice round on the part of Satan in his attempt to eliminate the Jewish race
from the planet. There is currently an increase of anti-Semitic rhetoric in
Europe and the United Nations. And of course, the Middle East is ready to blow
at any time. But it will not be until the Man of Sin is revealed and stops the
"daily oblation" in the yet to be built temple in Jerusalem that the
world will see how incredibly devastating a Holocaust can be. It is the duty
of the Church to succor and aid the daughters of Jerusalem in any way we can.
When the Bride is taken up, the daughters of Jerusalem will realize who her
Beloved truly is, and they will also fall in love with Him (Song of Solomon
6:10-13). But it is an easy duty because of the inexplicable love for Israel
that flows naturally from the heart of every true believer. It is the Lord's own
love for Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37) that is planted in the heart of every
believer when they are born again and Christ Himself takes up residence in their
hearts. It is quite conceivable that before it is all over, it will be the love
of the Church for Israel that will result in much of the coming persecution and
martyrdom that the Spirit is preparing the Body of Christ to undergo. That,
coupled with the jealousy of the leaders of man-ordained, organized Christianity
spell real tribulation for the Body of Christ that does not fall into the
category of wrath and tribulation mentioned in Revelation 3:10 or I
Thessalonians 1:10 and 5:9, but rather under the category of I Peter 4:15-19,
among other places. The Coming
Kingdom The Bible actually has quite a bit to say about the Kingdom that
is coming. It is a kingdom of righteousness. Sickness and death do not exist and
people live to be a thousand years old! The devil is bound and there is no
temptation from the spiritual realm to sin against God. There is still the human
propensity to be enticed by the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the
pride of life. For those who succumb, punishment is immediate. They are simply
removed from the kingdom. There will be no major cities in the Kingdom as we
now know them. The glass, steel, asphalt and concrete will be rooted up and cast
into the sea (It's ok. The seas are going to be eliminated in the new creation
that follows the Kingdom, so we don't need to get all uptight about polluting
them.) Left-wing environmentalists would be tickled pink to see the changes that
will be made in the Kingdom. There will be no internal combustion engines, no
electrical power plants or power lines, no oil drilling, or any such thing.
There will also be no electricity, no CD players, no computers, or any other
such thing. It will be the world the way God created it, in pristine beauty. Man
will live the way God intended him to live -- rising with the sun and resting
when the sun goes down. Every man will have all he needs -- a field, a fig tree,
a wife and children. There will be no need to fly around the world, to run to
and fro. The term "Sabbath day's journey" will again become a
meaningful expression, as people will travel on foot, donkey, and (if they are
lucky) horse. There are some other things that will be not seen in the Kingdom.
Spandex bike shorts, tube tops, low cut jeans, bare midriffs, Nike and Reebok
sneakers, and other hallmarks of fashion in our day. All women will be dressed
modestly and they will learn again what "shamefacedness" means (or how
to blush -- Jeremiah 3:3, I Timothy 2:9). Children will show respect for their parents, and old men and women
will be held in high regard for their wisdom and experience. Men and women will
NOT be considered "equal" but will take the God created, God intended
roles in the family and society that both history and nature have always
honored. In short, the "turning of things upside down" we have
witnessed over the last generation will be reversed and we will be returned to
the old paths wherein is the good way (Jeremiah 6:16), and the world
will be peaceful
and at rest. There are two possible ways to get to see this wonderful new
world order. The first way is to defy the odds and be one who lives through the
entire Tribulation period without taking the mark of the Beast. Another way is
to be reconciled to God and His eternal purpose for His creation (including you)
today. Come before Him in spirit and acknowledge His sovereignty, asking Him to
forgive your sins for Jesus' sake. He will accept the Blood Jesus shed at
Calvary as payment in full for your sins and accept you as an adopted son or
daughter. The Holy Spirit will baptize you into the Body of Christ, making you a
member of the true Church. When the Lord Jesus returns to the earth to establish
His kingdom of righteousness, you will be with Him and will rule and reign with
Him (Revelation 20:4).
Return to top of page
|