I had trouble sleeping last night. Numerous thoughts were flooding my mind. I was talking to Jesus as I lay on my bed. I asked Him what must I do to be ready for His coming. I said, "I don't want to leave this world without accomplishing what You created me to do Jesus. " Then I was thinking about this Covid-19 situation & the Circuit Breaker season; about how people are easily swayed by the things of this world like work, which is good but taken too far will separate us from God; like relaxation, which is needed but taken too far will make us slaves to the passions and cravings and things of this world and will make us forget God; like exercising and healthy dieting, which is important to keep healthy but taken too far will become an obsession and become an idol to us and separate us from God. I was wondering why most people are not worried about the lost souls who are on the verge of going to hell, let alone their own souls. Then I got up and went to the hall, took my Bible and asked the Holy Spirit to talk to me. I asked Father God to give me a Word! Then I opened the Bible. What are the odds 😲 of my eyes falling on Matthew Chp 25:1-12 The Parable of the Ten Virgins.
Each word in here spoke to me and here is my reflection on it. Here is the passage:-
Matthew 25:1-13 NIV
[1] "At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. [2] Five of them were foolish and five were wise. [3] The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. [4] The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. [5] The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. [6] "At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' [7] "Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. [8] The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.' [9] " 'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.' [10] "But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. [11] "Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!' [12] "But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.' [13] "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
[1] "At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom :- Here Jesus is referring to the Church/Ekklesia/ A body of faithful believers, who take their lamps and who go out to meet the bridegroom, as the kingdom of heaven. In the Our Father prayer, Jesus taught us to pray, "Your Kingdom come!" How will God's kingdom come to earth unless we the collective body of Christ, the Church, by our shining examples, live out our faith filled lives, win souls for Him and establish God's kingdom wherever we go? These 10 virgins must have been doing all those that I mentioned above. So take note, Jesus said these 10 virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom, resembled the kingdom of God.
All ten were Virgins:- 'Virgins' mean that they had not known anyone else. They were pure and set apart for the bridegroom. They had prepared themselves. As the bride of Christ the Ekklesia the Church is to be set apart pure and spotless so that they will be pleasing to Jesus our Bridegroom. So take note, all 10 were virgins, not just the 5 wise ones.
All 10 virgins came out:- Not just the wise ones but all the 10 virgins came out to meet the bridegroom.
Then I heard another voice from heaven say: "'Come out of her, my people,' so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; - Revelation 18:4
Paul explains about 'coming out' here clearly:-
"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? [15] What harmony is there between Christ and Belial ? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? [16] What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people." [17] "Therefore come out from them (from the world and it's lures) and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." [18] "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."-2 Corinthians 6:14-18
Jesus prayed to His Father and ours, for all believers in John 17:15-16
My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. [16] They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.
Yes all 10 virgins were in the world, but came out of it, meaning they did not let the worldly desires, sins, passions and allurement entangle them. They did not choose this world's power, wealth and pleasures. They did not step out of the 'protected zone' the place of obedience to God. They were kept safe by the prayers of Jesus. They lived perfect admirable lives.
All 10 brought along their brightly burning lamps:- That means they were a shining example for all to follow.
The only difference was...
The wise ones took oil with them in jars and the foolish ones did not:- What does, 'Oil in the jars' signify? The oil keeps the light burning in the lamps. Oil signifies the 'First Love', the unquenchable and unending passion for the Lord and zeal to do His bidding, that is to 'Tell the world the Good News about Jesus Christ' and to keep going through trials and persecutions. To warn and save those going to hell because of their sins. When our first love for Jesus diminishes we will slowly become cold to the things of the Spirit. Let's see what Jesus tells John at the island of Patmos in Revelation 2:4-5 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. [5] Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
What is the use of a lamp and a lampstand without oil? Therefore it would be removed. Therefore having oil ready in hand, was of utmost importance to the virgins to meet the bridegroom because they did not know when the bridegroom would arrive. Like them we do not know when Jesus would come again to receive us in mid air. He will come as a thief in the night. We do not know the day or the hour of His return. Therefore we must keep our first love rekindled and intact. In this parable Jesus did not mention that their lamps were taken from them but it is an understood and known fact for those who dig deep into God's Word.
All slept:- All 10 virgins had prepared themselves, had been ready and were waiting for the bridegroom to come. But He seemed to be tarrying. As they waited it was only natural that they felt drowsy. They fell asleep.
All Heard:- All 10 heard the messenger's voice at midnight, " The bridegroom is here. Come out to meet Him!" That means even while sleeping they were alert to the sound of the voice of the messenger (archangel 1Thess 4:16). Why? Because they were eagerly waiting for the Bridegroom. They did not sleep on. Instead all 10 eagerly jumped up and began to trim their lamps.
All 10 trimmed their lamps :- Trimming the lamps is very important because only trimmed wicks will burn brightly. Likewise each believer in the Church which is the Bride of Christ Jesus needs to be alert and trim away all the advances of the world which continues to pursue our hearts, intellect and flesh relentlessly. If we don't continue to do it until we enter the bridegroom's chamber, we will become useless for Christ. We will not burn brightly. So all 10 trimmed their lamps.
Go buy some oil for yourselves:- It was while trimming the lamps the 5 foolish virgins realized that their oil was running out. They lost their first love, the zeal and passion with which they used to testify about Jesus to acknowledge Him before others. ( Why am I saying this? You will see later.)They turned to the 5 wise virgins and asked for some oil. This is similar to a believer who has diminished interest in glorifying God through his obedience, and who just wants to take glory in the passion, zeal and faith of another believer. How can passion, zeal and faith of one person be shared with another? How can the first love be shared? The one who lost it, must repent and seek God for it. But was there time for them to do so? Let's see. So the 5 foolish virgins turned back to buy some oil.
But then...The Rapture happened!
[10] "But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. :- This is the pre-tribulation rapture.
[11] "Later the others also came. 'Lord! Lord!' they said. 'Open the door for us!' [12] "But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.':- The other ten came back because they couldn't find any oil. Why do I say that? Here in this passage it only says, "Later the others also came." They could not get any oil, because the oil seller, the One Who pours oil into our hearts, the One Who restores the first love in our hearts, the Holy Spirit was removed from the earth. The Word of God says in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8
Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, [2] not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. [3] Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the departure (translated as 'rapture' in earlier versions) occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. [4] He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God. [5] Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? [6] And now you know what(the Holy Spirit) is holding him back, so that he(Antichrist) may be revealed at the proper time. [7] For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the One (Holy Spirit) Who now holds it back will continue to do so till the Restrainer (Holy Spirit) is taken out of the way. [8] And then the lawless one(Antichrist) will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming(this refers to Jesus' coming for the final judgement).
The Holy Spirit is now holding back God's wrath, which will be poured upon the world once the Bride of Christ(the Church), is taken up from this world. When the faithful believers are taken up, He too, will be removed from the world.Those believers who lost their first love and left behind will not be able to get back their lost love. So the 5 foolish virgins hurried back to get in line with the other 5. But by the time they arrived the bridegroom's chamber's door was shut tight.
They called Him, "Lord! Lord!" "Open the door for us!" :- In other words they were saying, "Let us in!" After all, they were virgins (they had no idols before them), they came out 'of the world' to meet the bridegroom, they had their brightly shining lamps(which were removed when they lost their oil, their first love), they were alert when they heard the call of the messenger and got up immediately to trim their lamps. They only did one mistake. They were foolish enough not to bring extra oil ( hearts overflowing with love for Christ) for their lamps. That's why they were called, foolish.
[12] "But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.':-The Lord told them, "Truly I tell you, I don't know you.":- Wow! Harsh words to hear after making so much preparation right? Why did the Lord say, " I don't know you?" Let us examine where else Jesus said about acknowledgement. In Luke 12:8-9 Jesus says, "Now I tell you, whoever acknowledges Me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge him before the angels of God. But the one who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God." So here it seems the 5 foolish virgins did not acknowledge Jesus before men. That is why He denied knowing them before the angels of God. You may be wondering where the angels were in the parable, because Jesus does not include angels. But in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 we read about the rapture,
"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we ( the Ekklesia) who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord."
Therefore the messenger who announced the coming of the bridegroom was an archangel. There surely were a whole army of angels there witnessing this marriage event.
The bridegroom without opening the door said, "I do not know you," before the angels. Is it not exactly what Jesus said He would say in Luke 12:8-9?
So here in this parable the 5 foolish virgins have had seeminly lost their first love, the passion and zeal to make Jesus known; to tell the people of the world, those lukewarm believers, those who back slided, those who did not truly know Jesus, that Jesus is the only Way, Truth and Life, the One and Only Way to Salvation. Why? Because they themselves lost their first love. Everything else was in place, except for one. Sad, is it not?
They could have felt shy to tell others about Jesus. They may have been afraid of what others will say or think about them. They could have been worried that they will be called narrow minded people or bigots. They may have been afraid of being persecuted. Or they may have been too busy following their 'religious' practices and thinking of saving only themselves and were not bothered about other perishing souls. In this way they did not acknowledge Jesus the Bridegroom before others. Therefore now the Bridegroom, even without opening the door said, "Truly, I don't know you!"
Will they, the 5 foolish virgins who missed the marriage supper of the Church and Christ Jesus, be accepted into heaven later at the final judgement? It all depends on the way they conduct their lives from then till Christ comes as a judge. They still stand a chance. They were not condemned to hell as the ones Jesus will condemn when he comes as a judge after the tribulations.
Jesus warns us about this in Matthew 25:31-33,41-46 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. [32] All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. [33] He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. [41] "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. [42] For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, [43] I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' [44] "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' [45] "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' [46] "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. "
(I will delve deeper into this in another blog article of mine soon).
So these 5 foolish virgins still have a chance to become wise. But they must guard themselves e end more and be watchful for after the rapture they won't have the Holy Spirit to help them.
[13] "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.:- In other words Jesus is telling us, to be watchful always, for His coming to take us to the marriage supper of the lamb.
This deadly virus Covid-19 which has affected every single country of the world is just a final warning to everyone on earth. It simply shows vaguely, what will happen when both the Church and the Holy Spirit are removed from this world, before the wrath of God is poured upon the world. The suffering of those left behind will be million times intense. The book of Revelation in the Bible spells it all out clearly.
For Believers in Jesus Christ
If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, check yourself to see if you truly know Jesus. The marks of a true believer is this:-
*he will be willing to give up everything and everyone for Jesus.
*He will be overflowing with the love of Jesus that he will be telling everyone about Jesus. He will not be bothered if others call him a mad man or a bigot because his heart will be filled with compassion for the lost souls, those who are perishing without Jesus and those who are perishing in sin.
*he will know that he is not perfect therefore he will always walk humbly before God and man and repent as soon as he falls into sin and attach (abide in) himself firmly into 'the vine' (Jesus) and bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit ( love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control) in his character, and be a light of Christ unto the world.
*his humility and servant attitude will be a testimony to his ongoing relationship with Christ Jesus.
*he will not seek the things of the world which are power, wealth and pleasure. Instead he will seek after the things of heaven.
Dear believers in Jesus Christ, do read the Bible daily. The Secret to Eternal Life is in there. Read each word in the book of Revelation, especially the message of Jesus to the seven churches.
For Nonbelievers
If you are not a believer in Jesus Christ, may I ask you, what is stopping you from believing in Him and accepting Him as Your Lord and Saviour?
You may be a believer in various religions or you may be one who does not believe in the existence of God at all. You may think that I am a bigot. I am not at all affected by what you think of me. I love you and care for your soul which is going to live even after your body dies on earth. I am crying out to you because right now you are stuck in a burning house without your knowledge. The enemy has blinded you. You are not aware that you are going to perish. But I know. I care. I love you. That is why I want you to be saved. I cannot save you. I can only warn and scream. Only the fireman, Jesus, can save you. Believe in Him.
Your religion may teach that there are many births and that you will be born as an animal or another human. Your religion may teach you that all who die become gods. Your religion may teach you that to attain heaven you must do good works and that the more good works you do they will cover your bad works. Your religion may teach you that your end goal is to attain Nirvana or Nothingness. Let me tell you that, all that is not true.
You can challenge me on that and find out the Truth for yourself by reading the Bible from cover to cover. Yes, all you have to do is just speak to God our Creator in your heart and ask Him to remove the veil from your eyes and reveal Himself to you as you read the Bible.
Please do not look at the lives of those who call themselves Christians and yet behave in an unworthy manner and be discouraged. Not all who call themselves Christians are true Christians. Look only at Jesus and His finished work on the Cross for you and me. Jesus did not come to the world to save only the Jews. He had to be born in one place. That was in a Jewish town as a Jew. But He came to save the entire human race. He shed His blood to save us from our sins and the effects of them. Jesus is the only One Who gave Himself to be tortured and nailed to the Cross willingly and died a cruel death to save us all. No one one in history ever did it. Jesus said that He is The Way, The Truth and The Life. He said that no one can go to the Father in heaven except through Him. Come on my dear, dear friends and relatives, either Jesus is a madman, a liar or He is The Son of God and is telling the Truth.
Tell me, what are you going to lose by reading the Bible to find out Who Jesus really is? Do not read books which tell you about Him. Read the Bible for only the Bible will reveal the Truth to you. Only then you will truly Know Jesus and not just Know About Him.
It is your choice now. Let's just say what you believe is true, then OK. But, on the day of your death when you stand alone before Jesus the Son of God Who will be your judge, what are you going to do? When He asks you, "Why did you not listen to those who were crying out to save you? Why did you not make an attempt to know Me," what are you going to say? Whom are you going to blame?
Whatever has been foretold in the Bible has been happening on earth from the time of Creation till now. All the plagues, the tribulations and the final end of the world are all written in there. What God's Word the Bible says will happen, will happen.
Again my dear family and friends, I am writing this as a loving, caring daughter, sister and mother would. I am crying out to you, to save you from the fire of hell. I love you and care for your soul. After we die we are going to live forever and ever and ever and ever either in heaven or hell. It is up to you to choose one now.
I sincerely cry out to God day and night for you and am praying for each one of you who reads this article of mine to be saved from eternal damnation. Please choose well. I love you and want to be with all of you in heaven.
Finally one more plea to all my fellow believers in Christ Jesus.
Paul tells the Galatians in chapter 6 vs 9, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
Do not lose your first love. Beware of the enemy of your soul who has challenged God that he will fill hell with more people. Beware of the enemy of your soul who will try to lure you away from Jesus by giving you the power you long for, the wealth you seek and the pleasure you yearn for. These are not lasting. They are mirages to lead you straight into hell fire when you die. Hold on to Jesus. Digest the Word of God. Spend more time praying and seeking God and telling people about Jesus instead of spending your best waking moments on movies, social media and other forms of worldly pleasure. Work is important but don't work for money. Yes money is important to get by, but when you work to magnify Jesus, He will reward you by guarding your money from being wasted or stolen. You will have enough to live. Do not be greedy for more because greed will open up hell's doors and allow the evil one to operate in your life. Exercising and eating healthy diets are both important to keep healthy so that you can serve God and those He has put around you. But do not make that your obsession. That will become idols in your life and lead you away from Jesus.
Remember this 2019 & 2020, the Covid-19 which has caused the global pandemic situation, and the lockdown/circuit breaker...this is a merciful grace period given to us to warn us of God's wrath that is to come, inviting us to repent and change now.
Final Word to All
Thousands of years ago, God was going to destroy the entire world when the people were comitting unimaginable sins like homosexuality and the burning of their own infants in the fire, as a sacrifice to their pagan gods. But then He found Noah and his family, 8 of them in total, who were pleasing in His eyes. Therefore He told Noah to build a huge boat and said He will send a pair, male and female of each species of the creatures on earth and sky into the boat. Noah obeyed God. While building the boat people made fun of him. Because he was building the boat on a dry desert area where there was no nearby sea. There was no rain too until God sent rain to flood the earth. Until then dew from the heavens watered the plants on earth. No one had seen rain. Noah told them to repent and come into the boat. They refused and mocked him even more. Then when God could stand the atrocities of the people no more He opened the heavens and sent torrents of rain. The bible says "the fountains of the Great Deep burst apart and the floodgates of heaven broke open" and rain fell for forty days and forty nights until the highest mountains were covered 15 cubits, and all earth-based life perished except Noah and those with him in the ark.
Now this time the people of this world are committing worst sins than in those days. Babies are murdered in their mothers wombs. Homosexuality, Beastality and Pedophilia are becoming so common these days. Power, Wealth and Pleasure have become our mini gods where many sacrifice their loved ones to these.
Jesus is the boat.
Those who cry out to you, to enter into a relationship with Jesus to accept Him as your Lord and Saviour and walk with Him faithfully, are the Noah's of today.
Jesus said in John 10:9-11, "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. [10] The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. [11] "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
And...He did! Jesus laid down His life for you and me. Are you confused, weary, troubled, sad, lonely? Even if you are not now, at any given moment, you will be. Come to Jesus. He is inviting you with open arms. He invites you in Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." He is offering you Eternal Life for free! Eternal life for all young and old, rich and poor, sinner and saint, all alike. Come to Him while there is still time.
Please hear my cry and be saved. Choose well. Do not wait till the least moment cause then it will be too late.
But just know this my dear family and friends, whatever your choice may be, I will love you unconditionally and will pray for you unceasingly.
Watch, watch, watch and pray, pray, pray.
Jesus is coming soon! Let's all be prepared!
Mary Augustine
Friday 8th May 2020
