Yesterday, I had an opportunity to go and teach at a wedding. This, of course, brought the subject of marriage to mind, and so I was looking in the Bible and in a concordance and checking out a lot of verses about marriage. I thought that it would be good for us to look at this at this time.
As we know, marriage was designed by God as an institution that He originated back in the Garden of Eden. After creating Adam, God looked at him and said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” Then God made Eve. He took one of Adam’s ribs after causing him to go into a deep sleep. From the rib, God made woman. God then joined them together in marriage, and marriage has continued throughout the history of the world up until now and it will continue until May 21st.
So this is something that God began at the very beginning and mankind, all across the world in whatever religion they are involved in or if they are not involved in any religion at all, enters into a marriage relationship; and there is a big reason for this. The reason is that God likens marriage to His relationship with people.
If I asked you young children whether or not you are married, what would you say? If I asked you teenagers whether or not you are married, what would you say? You would say, “No; no, I am not married.” What if I asked you whether or not you are spiritually married? Are you a bride of God? This is one question I could ask. I could also ask whether or not you are a bride of the Law of God. Everyone is, spiritually, married. Every human being is married.
Let us go to Isaiah 54 and look at a couple of verses. Isaiah 54:1 says:
Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith JEHOVAH.
Then look at verse 4. We read in Isaiah 54:4-5:
Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more. For thy Maker is thine husband…
“Thy Maker,” the Creator, is the creature’s husband. This is an amazing thing for God to say. It is incredible that He enters into a marriage relationship with those whom He saves.
Here, though, it is important that we look at the end of verse 4. The end of Isaiah 54:4 says:
…for thou…shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.
God uses certain figures and types to typify believers. We are orphans, we are strangers, and we are widows; and each one of these titles has a definite meaning. We are a stranger because this is not our home. This is not our home because we are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the strangers are going home shortly. In just a few months, God will take His people home; but this is why He identifies His elect as strangers.
He also calls us widows. Why does He call us widows? What is a widow? When the spouse of a person dies, this makes them a widow. Can a widow marry again according to the Bible? Yes; this is an allowance that God gives. Someone whose spouse dies can remarry.
Can someone who is divorced from their husband remarry? No. The Bible does not permit this. God says, “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” The law of the land may allow this, and most countries do. This is permitted by society; but, however, in God’s sight, if someone is divorced and gets remarried, this is adultery. This is adultery because in God’s sight they are still married to the first person whom they were married to and will be until one of them dies; and it is interesting that God does allow for the breaking of a marriage on one condition. This condition is the death of a spouse. When a spouse dies, the remaining spouse is free to remarry.
The Bible refers to this in Romans 7. In Romans 7:1, it says:
Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?
Notice that God is speaking of the Law and the Bible is the Law Book. The Bible is full of laws and commandments, from the beginning through the end. This Law Book, the Word of God, has dominion over you and me. It has dominion over all people. We may rebel against this. We may transgress the Law and not listen to it, but this does not change the fact that the Law has dominion and that it should be obeyed and listened to.
Then we read in Romans 7:2-4:
For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ…
We are “dead to the law.” God was speaking of a husband and wife. If one is dead to the other, this frees the one who remains alive. Now God is bringing this subject back to the Law of God and its relationship to people.
We read in Romans 7:4 again:
Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another…
If you are “married to another,” what does this mean? This means that you had been married previously. Right? Or else, it would not say: “that ye should be married to another.”
God is indicating that there had been a previous marriage, and yet this marriage has been broken because Christ became dead to the Law. This marriage is between mankind and the Law of God, the Bible.
Christ took the sins of His people. One way of defining sin is that it is a transgression of the Law, which equates to spiritual adultery and spiritual fornication. This is why God speaks to the human race in the Epistle of James and says, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses,” and He is speaking to every one of us. Even if we have never been married and in a position to where we could commit adultery, He is talking to us because we are married to the Law of God.
The Law says, “Thou shalt not steal.” If you have stolen, then you broke the Law and, in a sense, you have committed spiritual adultery. This is because you are bound and obligated to obey the Law.
God says that Sunday is the Sabbath. When people go to a sports stadium on that day or when they just spend the day working or having fun, they are breaking this Law. The Sunday Sabbath is God’s holy day and He tells us to “turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure.”
This is how the Bible is. All of the Law, the whole Bible, gives command after command after command. It governs our thoughts. It governs our eyes. It governs our words. It governs everything in our lives, and yet mankind consistently rebels and transgresses this Law, making us huge adulterers, spiritually speaking.
This is why it is wonderful when we read about the woman caught in adultery in John, or the Fourth Gospel, chapter 8. She is caught in the very act and brought before Christ. The Jewish leaders wanted to condemn her or have Christ condemn her, and yet Jesus says to them after stooping down and writing on the ground what was probably the Ten Commandments, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.”
Of course, seeing the Law written in front of them, God impressed this upon the conscience that He has placed within mankind. They could not deny that they were lawbreakers and that, in fact, they themselves were spiritual adulterers against the Law of God. This made it very hypocritical of them to point the finger at this woman who was caught in the very act of adultery when all men, likewise, are adulterers.
So at the end of this account and after all of her accusers left, Jesus asked the woman, “Hath no man condemned thee?” The woman said, “No man, Lord.” Then Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”
This was a picture of salvation in that all of the adulterous acts of a person against the Law of God can be forgiven. Romans 8:1 tells us, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” This is because this marriage relationship between God and people is constantly in view.
So this is for the children, because they are married. This is for people of all ages, because we are all married, spiritually, to the Word of God, to the Law of God; everyone is. But the problem is that we cannot be faithful in this relationship to the degree that we need to be faithful. We need 100% obedience. James 2:10 says, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”
Once you transgress the Law of God, you are a lawbreaker and an adulterer, and the penalty for adultery in the Bible is to be stoned to death, to be killed. This is because God is teaching about those who break His law and He tells us that “the wages of sin is death.”
So this individual was to be stoned to death, but God in His mercy has developed and devised another way. It is another marriage. First, you have to leave your original marriage to the Law of God, which you cannot do unless you become “dead to the law,” but this is only possible through Christ, through when Jesus took upon Himself from before the foundation of the world the sins of His elect. He paid for them, satisfying the Law’s demands, which is that you die. He died in payment. Then His elect became, through Him, “dead to the law.” They are now free. They are free and they are now qualified to be able to marry another.
Christ did this before the foundation of the world and He applies this to His people throughout every generation. He has done this throughout history and He is going to continue up until the last day. Up until the last day, the elect will become saved.
Since God has done this, the Law’s demands were already satisfied. The Law’s demands were already satisfied by the time we were born into this world. When God’s elect are born into this world, they are not married to the Law. If we are one of His elect, we are born with Christ already having died and, therefore, making us a widow, spiritually speaking.
If we go back to Isaiah 54 again, it says in Isaiah 54:5-8:
For thy Maker is thine husband; JEHOVAH of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. For JEHOVAH hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith JEHOVAH thy Redeemer.
He speaks of “a little wrath.” What is “a little wrath”? This is when we are born into the world and we are living just like the people of the world.
Who here, at one point in their life, has not been of the same mind as the world and going after the things of this world for a period of time? Was the wrath of God upon us then? Yes, the wrath of God was upon us, because it says in Ephesians 2 that we were “by nature the children of wrath, even as others,” but this was a different wrath. This is because the wrath of God that abides upon the unsaved, which He will pour out during His final destruction, is an eternal wrath. It is an eternal wrath because the unsaved are going to perish forever, but the wrath of God upon His elect is not an eternal wrath. It is “a little wrath.”
For example, it was a very little wrath for John the Baptist because he was saved in his mother’s womb. From the point that he began being knit together in his mother’s womb, for what might have been at least a couple of months, he was under this “little wrath”; but then God saved him.
The other end of the spectrum is the thief on the cross. We have the example of someone being saved in the womb, and then we have the example of someone being saved after living his entire life in sin and under the wrath of God. God saved him at some point during his last couple of hours of life because he was one of God’s elect. Even though this man could have lived for 40, 50, or 60 years, it did not mater; it was still “a little wrath.”
This is because this life is all but “a small moment,” and yet God considers this period of time as our widowhood. This is the period of time when we are still like everyone else in the world. We are “by nature the children of wrath, even as others,” but then comes the marriage. God saves someone and they then become “married to another.” They become married to the Lord Jesus Christ.
How many verses can you think of where God speaks of the bride and the bridegroom, or where He gives an illustration of marriage, and He relates it to the Gospel? There are a lot of verses like this. Actually, if we have time, we will look later on to see how He relates marriage to the end of the world.
For now, let us go to a couple more verses in Isaiah. We read in Isaiah 61:10:
I will greatly rejoice in JEHOVAH, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
God is relating salvation to the clothing of the bride and groom.
Look at Isaiah 62:4-5:
Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for JEHOVAH delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.
Do you see this spiritual marriage between God and His people?
When the bride and groom come together at the wedding, there is this sense of relief. All of their plans have been made and all of their preparations for the marriage have finally been fulfilled. They have come to the point where they are now pronounced man and wife. The bridegroom can now rejoice over his bride and is very happy that they are finally married.
God says that this picture is like what He has already done in arranging it all. This needs completion, but this is what He will do with His people, with His bride, the bride of Christ.
When you decided to get married, did you decide to just marry anyone? Did you just decide to marry anyone, or did you make sure that you only married the one whom you desired to marry, the one that you loved and wanted to marry?
People say that God loves everyone, that He saved everyone by making payment for all sin; but this is not true. From before the foundation of the world, He chose His bride, His elect. Jesus says in John, the Fourth Gospel, 15:16, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.”
This is the same as a man when he selects his wife. On occasion, women are involved and they also pick and choose in our day, so this illustration does not carry completely over; but God is the bridegroom and He picks His bride. This is His privilege.
Another interesting thing about a wedding is that it is held when everyone who is invited already knows what date it will be. They are told when to come.
Can you imagine getting an invitation to a wedding that omits this information? What if you were only told, “We are so happy to announce the joyous affair of a wedding, so please join with us,” and yet they never told you the date? When? What date? When is the wedding? When is it going to be?
This is just an analogy; but, actually, May 21, 2011 will be the day of the consummation of the marriage between God and His people. He has let it be fully known that this is the day; and God uses different pictures to illustrate this marriage. In some cases, we are bidden to the marriage. When the Gospel goes out, we are all bidden to “the marriage supper of the Lamb.” God says to “come unto the marriage,” and God has also told us when.
So make sure when you come that you come prepared and ready. What happens when you come to the marriage and you are not ready? You could wind up like the man “which had not on a wedding garment.” The Bible does not tell us how he got in, but he went in without a wedding garment and was spotted immediately; then he was cast out; and so God speaks of marriage and He speaks of getting ready for this day.
Let us go to Revelation 19. It says in Revelation 19:6-7:
And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
“Omnipotent” means “all powerful.” He is mighty. It continues:
…the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
How do we make ourselves ready? We know that when it comes to salvation, we do not play any part in this. We have no role in this at all; and so what does God mean that the wife of the Lamb, the bride or the bridegroom, “hath made herself ready”?
It helps when we stop thinking about this in terms of individuals, because this is not talking about one man or one woman. This is referring to God and the whole company of the elect, the bride. Everyone who becomes saved becomes part of this bride.
Look at Revelation 21:1-2. It says:
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared…
“Prepared” is the same word as “ready” in Revelation 19:7. It continues in Revelation 21:2:
…prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Now she is ready. She has been prepared and she is coming down from Heaven. This is after the first earth and the first Heaven have passed away, and so this would be after October 21, 2011. This will be after God destroys this creation and then recreates a new one.
At this point, the bride makes her appearance in the fullness of her beauty and splendor. This is because God is the One who has prepared her. God has clothed her and done everything that goes along with salvation. Now she is ready.
Is the bride ready today? No. Remember; do not think of this in terms of individuals. Think of this in terms of the whole company of the elect. Was the bride ready one hundred years ago? No. Is the bride ready today? No; because people are still being saved and added to this figure that God is using. He speaks of building up the Kingdom of God where those whom He saves are like “lively [or living] stones.” This house of God is being built up for an eternal habitation.
So this is one figure. In this figure, it is the bride, and we know how the bride wants to make certain that everything is perfect with her dress, with her makeup, with her shoes, with everything. She is preparing herself and beautifying herself in order to go forth to meet her husband.
On an earthly level, this is how it is; but, spiritually, “his wife hath made herself ready” because He gave the task to the true believers of carrying the Gospel to the world by which the elect would become saved and would then be added to the bride. When the last of the elect become saved through God working in and through God’s people to bring them this message, the bride is ready. The bride is ready and the believers played a role in the preparation of this marriage, because God uses them to bring the Gospel to the world.
Going back to Revelation 19, after He says that “his wife hath made herself ready,” we read in Revelation 19:8:
And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
His bride is “arrayed in fine linen, clean and white.” In some cases, this custom has changed in our day, but there are still a lot of brides who wear a traditional white gown. They try to find cloth that is as white as possible.
This comes right from the Bible. This comes right from what He is saying here:
And to her [His bride] was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white…
This is because white points to purity, to holiness, to the fact that all of someone’s sins are gone. Remember that this is not speaking of an individual. This is speaking of all of God’s people. All of their sins are gone. In God’s sight, they are now spotless.
God uses the analogy that they are “purer than snow”; and we have seen a lot of snow lately. As it falls, it is beautiful and white before people come along and step in it.
So God is speaking of a spiritual cleansing of people that will make them, spiritually speaking, “exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.” This is what God has in view.
What is this wedding dress? It says in Revelation 19:8:
…for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
That is, this is Christ’s “robe of righteousness,” which is also likened to the wedding dress.
Is anyone here naturally clean and pure and holy of themselves? We are defiled. We are dirty. The language of the Bible is that we are filthy. Our sins have polluted us. We are definitely not prepared to marry the Lamb if we are still in our sins; but God through His Word and the washing away of sin, that spiritual baptism by the Holy Spirit, cleanses all of this away.
David speaks of this in Psalm 51. We read in Psalm 51:5-7:
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
This is the salvation of God. This is the tremendous blessing of when God forgives sin and remembers it no more. He takes a person’s transgressions and He “cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” He removes them “as far as the east is from the west.” He uses all sorts of language to tell us that we are sinners but that He has taken our sin and removed it. No more is sin going to be a mark against us. It is all gone: past sins, presents sins, and sins that you commit now until May 21st.
If we are a child of God, they are all gone. They are all removed. There is no longer any penalty for our sins because God has already satisfied the Law’s demands. It is then that we can become His bride. It is then that we can be part of the bride of Christ. We are then ready because we have Christ’s righteousness, not our own.
It says in the Beatitudes in Matthew 6, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness,” not our own. This is the mistake that many people make. They think that they have to be a good person. They think that they have to keep the Law. You must remember that if you are striving to keep the Law, you are back in the first marriage and you are going to be condemned. If this is the case, the Law will throw stones at you to destroy you as an adulterer.
So we never want to go to God based on anything that we have ever done. We need to get this out of our minds as soon as we think of this. We go to Him based on what God did, on what Christ did, and never based on anything that we have done.
Look at Isaiah 64:6. It says:
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses…
This would be, for example, keeping Sunday as the Sabbath, or going out with tracts, or sending money to Family Radio, or whatever we might be doing for the Gospel’s sake. These are good things. These are good works. These are righteous acts, if they are in obedience to what God commands; and He does command us to get the Gospel out and to support a faithful ministry like Family Radio. Yes; but if we are trusting in these works in the slightest way, in any way, in anything that we do, this turns what is normally a good thing into something that is a filthy thing in God’s sight.
It continues:
…and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
We have to get away from any type of thinking that relies on what we are doing. Someone might think, “From now until the end, I am going to obey God.” This would be wonderful and I hope that we all do this; but if you ever think that because you do this that God will be pleased with you, you are wrong. The Bible tells us that we are not justified “by works.” Our works do not justify us in any way.
One more verse that I wanted to look at in Isaiah 54 is Isaiah 54:17. It says:
No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn…
The Lord is speaking to true believers here. It continues:
…This is the heritage of the servants of JEHOVAH, and their righteousness is of me, saith JEHOVAH.
It is His righteousness, His faith. It is what He did. It is never what we do. This is how God can forgive. This is how He can bring people into Heaven, because we are covered with His robe, with that fine linen. This is “the righteousness of [the] saints,” because God gives us Christ’s righteousness.
Let us go to a couple of verses. We read in John, the Fourth Gospel, 3:27-28:
John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.
This is John the Baptist. Then he says in John, the Fourth Gospel, 3:29:
He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
John is referring to Jesus, the bridegroom. As God is moving him, John is putting his finger on the spiritual marriage that God has in view between Christ and His people.
Let us go to Matthew 25 where we read the parable of the ten virgins. This is how God, in one place, relates marriage to the end of the world. We read in Matthew 25:1:
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
The bridegroom is Christ. It continues in Matthew 25:2-4:
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.
It was not possible to tell the saved from the unsaved. It was not possible to identify one virgin as wise and the other as a fool. They were not able to be distinguished. They were all called “virgins” and they all had “lamps.” The only difference was that some had “oil” and some did not; but looking at them from an outward perspective, you would not be able to tell them apart.
This is just like the wheat and the tares. We all grew together for a time. While growing together, it was not God’s time to put in the sickle to gather the wheat or to get rid of the tares, because we were all together.
It is the same thing with the virgins. These virgins are representative of all those who profess to be Christians. The ones who profess this who are not truly Christians are the foolish. The ones who profess this who truly are Christians are the wise. This is how God is dividing them up, but they all have lamps.
What is the lamp pointing to? The lamp points to God’s Word. How do we know this?
Turn to Psalm 119:105. It says:
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
In Proverbs 6:23, we read:
For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light…
So the lamp indicates the Word of God, the Bible. In other words, the ten virgins are carrying their Bibles. This is a proper way of looking at this. They are carrying their Bibles, and so they are all identified as virgins. They are all doing the same thing. They all have lamps, as the Bible says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet.” The only difference is the oil. Some have the oil; others do not have this oil.
What do we need this oil for? We need this oil to light the lamp. If we do not have any oil, our lamp will not stay lit for very long; it will only burn the wick. If there is no oil, the lamp is not going to stay lit. Since the lamp is pointing to the Bible, what does the oil indicate? The oil indicates the Holy Spirit.
In the Old Testament when a prophet would anoint a king at God’s request, he would anoint him with oil. There are other passages in the Bible as well that indicate that the oil represents the Holy Spirit.
So most professed Christians have a Bible. In America, just about everybody does. If you have a Bible and you are reading it but you do not have oil, what is going to happen? It will be like someone trying to read something in the dark.
If you close your blinds, shut your door, turn the light off, and then take out your Bible and try to read it, what is going to happen? If you have young eyes, you might be able to make some things out, but this will surely make reading your Bible a lot more difficult. In all probability, you will not be able to read it. However, if you have a lamp with oil, you can light your lamp and it can begin to illuminate the Word of God as you are reading it. Now you can understand it.
This is why God says concerning this day that “none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” This is because they are in the dark. They have the same equipment. They have the same thing that we have, but they are lacking what is major, which is God, the Holy Spirit, to enlighten their minds. They hear about May 21st and it is foolishness to them. To them, this is ridiculous and crazy. This just cannot be a possibility; they need the oil.
When we have the Holy Spirit leading us and guiding us “into all truth,” as it says in John 16, then we will be able to see these things. If we do not, of course, then this is just not going to make any sense to us.
Going back to Matthew 25, we read in Matthew 25:5:
While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
Again, you could not tell them apart.
Then we read in Matthew 25:6-10:
And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
The bridegroom is mentioned four times in Matthew 25. The first occurrence is where they “went forth to meet the bridegroom” in Matthew 25:1:
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
The “bridegroom tarried” in Matthew 25:5:
While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
The “bridegroom cometh” in Matthew 25:6:
And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
In Matthew 25:10, “the bridegroom came,” which is past tense:
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
We are in the phase where “the bridegroom cometh.” He is not tarrying anymore like He did during the church age.
Do you remember the invitation to the wedding? We read about this in Matthew 25:6:
And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
Midnight was also the time of judgment in Egypt when God brought the plague of the death of the firstborn.
So the cry is made to all that He is coming, but He does not come right then. He does not come immediately, because there is going to be forewarning and advance information; and so God is saying here in this parable that a cry will be made, but we do not read that a cry was made and that He came right then. They even had time to discuss their oil and the fact that they did not have any and where they should go to buy some before He came.
This, again, fits in with everything else that we have learned, which is that God, of course, will give advance information. He will send this invitation to the whole world. The preaching will be fully known and all the nations will hear. The invitation to “the marriage supper of the Lamb” is being sent out.
How are you or I or anyone else responding to this? Do you have better things to do, like the parable in Matthew 22 where they made an excuse for not attending the wedding; or, by God’s grace, are you going to be ready?
It will only be the wise virgins who will be ready to go in. Matthew 25:10 says again:
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him…
There is a time coming shortly when the world that will be left behind will be able to say this. They will be able to say, “The bridegroom came,” which is past tense. At this time, God’s people will be in Heaven with Him and they will be able to say how faithful God is and how trustworthy His Word is, how He had promised to bring these things to pass throughout all of history and that He has done it.
Alleluia to the Lamb! This is what the great multitude says as they appear in Heaven. The Bible says that at this time they are “before the throne of God, and serve him day and night.” During the five months of time, God is letting us know what will be going on in Heaven. It will be the time of the consummation of the marriage, as His people and God Himself go into the chamber and shut the door. They will hide themselves, just as Elisabeth “hid herself five months.”
We read one last time in Matthew 25:10:
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
This is the same language that we read concerning the ark. After seven days, God shut the door.
Again, there is the wedding invitation. There is a forewarning to come to the wedding. Those who will be ready will be God’s elect. They are the wise who will understand. They are the ones whom He gave this information to when He opened up the Scriptures. They are ready. They are waiting, “Come, Lord Jesus.” “The Spirit and the bride say, Come,” in Revelation 22. The bride wants Him to come.
Are there any ladies here who have been a bride? Did you not want your bridegroom to come? If it is a good marriage, certainly both desire for the other to appear so that they can come together. They can then consummate the marriage, and there is no sin involved in this in any way.
I know that we are bringing the same message. It is the same message. May 21, 2011 will be Judgment Day. This is when the door will be shut. This is the message that God has for us. This is what He is giving us to share.
Let us go back to Isaiah 62 again. We read in Isaiah 62:5-6:
For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee. I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of JEHOVAH, keep not silence.
“Keep not silence” is our command from God as watchmen. Do not stop sharing this information. Continue to warn the people and to sound the trumpet.
A lot of people do not like this and they want us to stop. Maybe they are members of our family or maybe they are those in our neighborhood or maybe they are the people at work or maybe they are just the people on the street. They do not want to hear this, but God is the One whom we have to listen to and He is the One whom we need to obey. He is telling us to keep blowing. We are to keep sounding the trumpet and we are not to stop because of what man thinks or says.
We will stop here.