Pre Ten Virgins

(The kingdom of Heaven)
Post 221

Required reading: Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21
* * *

“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom” Matthew 25:1.

The word “then” has been a curiosity to me in this parable; Why start a parable with “Then”?
Clearly Jesus was structurally building from the foundation established in the conversation of the previous chapters and so to properly understand the parable we must understand the previous concept that results in the “then”.
The concept of the previous chapters (23-24), from beginning to end was the foundation of the question “When? How do we know when?” (Matthew 24:3).
What brought on these questions was what Jesus had said to them, but because we are shown the part about the destruction of the temple just before the questions, we wrongly assume this was the whole topic of the questions, but no. Their questions clearly show they understood the discussion to be regarding the period of “the end” (Matthew 24:3). Mark 13:3 gives us the clue that the discussion lasted longer than a casual passing of the temple buildings or a random comment about its destruction, and by the flow of the Matthew passage (excluding the chapter breaks later inserted) we see that there were 8 woes also proclaimed upon “this generation” (Matthew 23:36). All this was included in their questions.
* * *

When what?
“…Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end 4930 of the world 165?” Matthew 24:3.
“Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?” Mark 13:4
“And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things come to pass?” Luke 21:7

It is curious that Matthew (the Gospel to the Jews) is the only one that words it with “the end of the world”. The other tellings of the same questions ask specifically about the signs of the events he described as related to his second coming and not “the end of the planet” and we get the concept that they understood the events were the signs of something else. So what “The end” are we actually talking about?

To shortcut the confusion, let me say; I’m going to show that there are two meanings to this whole passage, both are completely fulfilled in their respective times. In otherwords by careful composition the passage completely means both meanings. The first is regarding the age of the Jews and the second is regarding the Gentile age, and the miracle is that the same words at that exact time in history can mean both concepts as Jesus walking on the earth had brought the seed of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 3:2) while at the same time the Romans had brought the final diverse (4th) beast (Daniel 7, Zechariah 1:19) of the times of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24, I Peter 4:3-4) which will only end upon Jesus' return and the establishment of his Kingdom of Heaven as the 9th GDE (Global Dominate Empire) (Daniel 2:44-45).
So lets explore both meanings of “The end” in order to understand the passage:

End 4930 sunteleia; from 4931; entire completion, i.e. consummation (of a dispensation).
World 165 aion; from the same as 104; properly an age; by extension perpetuity (also past); by implication the world; specifically (Jewish) a Messianic period (present or future).

We see by the original meaning of the Greek words used in Matthew 24, these words have potential to mean different things when used in this combination, so we must investigate further.
The original Greek word aion; (165) used here, was also used in Acts 3:21, Hebrews 6:5 and clearly is not the “known world” word (3625) of Acts 11:28, Hebrews 2:5, Revelation 16:14, nor the “created world” word (2889) used in Hebrews 10:5, Revelation 13:8,17:8, I John 4:14, 5:4 (in fact every use of the word “world” in I John). The disciples clearly had a different meaning in mind from these by the specific use of aion; we would call an “age”.

The word “world” as NOT used in this passage:
World 3625 oikoumene; feminine particle press. Passive of 3611 (as noun, by implication of 1093); land, i.e. the (terrene part of the) globe; specifically the Roman empire:- earth, world.
World 2889 kosmos; from the base of 2865; orderly arrangement, i.e. decoration; by implication the world (in a wide or narrow sense, including its inhabitants literal or figurative).

These unused options of the Greek language would make this passage mean what most assume that it means; “the end of the world”, but by using the specific word “aion”, both Jesus and the disciples were clearly discussing an age, though the disciples probably did not actually understand the fuller meaning Jesus meant. The Mark and Luke versions of the same discussion are now not seen as strangely missing reference to the end of the world as a planet because that is not what was discussed. It seems evident that the 1st layer meaning was that of the end of the Jewish age which ended in 70 AD at the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple within the generation Jesus was talking to;
“And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” Luke 21:24.

Since that seems to be a very specific landmark that will end the trodding down, we need to ask...
* * *

What are the times of the Gentiles?
Ephesians 2:11-12 gives us a clue;
“Wherefore remember, that ye being in times past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:”
and again;
“For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lust, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:” I Peter 4:3.

We see then that the times of the Gentiles is a period when the Godless mindframe of the ungodly, rules in opposition to the provided option of the promised covenants through Christ.
What are those promised covenants (not singular)? They are the covenants of fellowship with God through the law and again through grace and still later through the combination of the two (Jeremiah 31:31-34), all three provided in Christ through Israel (and America as her offspring) as a society different from that of the Gentile mind without God. This is a difficult bit of "data" to understand because it is a "concept" that needs to be ingested not just learned.
This is the concept of the kingdom of heaven which we are learning in this passage.

The Jewish age came to an end after the rise of Rome and the fall of Israel in 70AD not because they were driven out of their land, but because the scepter was removed and Israel was no longer a sovereign nation of God’s rule; That time was the rise of the 4th diverse beast in three distinct parts as I have shown previously. Indeed that Generation did not pass until the eight woes befell Israel fulfilling Matthew 23:36 in the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans and the end of Israeli sovereignty; The scepter had been removed (Genesis 49:10) and the Jewish age of God’s direct influence on the earth through them had ended. Now God influences the world through the Gentile Christian nation of America in the times of the Gentiles. But like Israel, America has failed in her Job, conforming to the I Peter 4:3 Gentile will and we are now heading into our own punishment before our own "scepter" by analogy if you will, is also removed. The result is a world free of godly influence and so the kingdom of Hell will be free to rule unopposed for a time. This is the great iron beast kingdom of unspeakable destruction.

This "Times of the Gentiles" is complex because obviously the world dominate Gentile kingdoms of Assyria and Egypt ruled before Babylon took the Jewish nation captive, before they were brought back to Israel, before Rome finally destroyed the nation and dispersed them into the world, so how can I say the times of the Gentiles did not begin until Rome? I didn't.
I said that the nation of Israel; God's kingdom on earth if you will, did not end even while in captivity in Babylon, until Rome removed her sovereignty. The point in time is very significant to scripture and to the Jews, and is what paused the 70 week clock of the Jewish nation (Daniel 9:24, [representational prophecy of John the Baptist, II Kings 14:25], Matthew 11:12-13, Matthew 12:39-41,16:4,21:25-26, Luke 7:28. The times of the Gentiles was already under way while the Jewish age was still ending. But at the destruction of the Jewish sovereignty the Times of the Gentiles was established as the sole spiritually ruling kingdom on the earth, undisputed by another spiritual kingdom.
"For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation." Luke 11:30. It is amazing to read the gospels (especially that of Matthew) to see that from the very beginning the concept of warning to "this generation" remains persistent. Jesus was talking very specifically to the last generation of the Jewish age as a first layer.
Although America has been indeed very influential over the whole earth after that transition, it is not a ruling kingdom but simply a Godly nation of Gentiles among the Pagan nations as a type of remnant of the Kingdom that was.

Without going into a lengthy rabbit trail, it is unfortunate the KJV translators chose the word “world” for this verse when in other places of scripture the same Greek word was translated “ages” to a more ready comprehension for us modern English speaking people (Ephesians 2:7, Colossians 1:26). But the fact that aion was used only in the Matthew telling of the three narrations is a clue to “What age?” The non- “Jewish age” gospels only asked about the events Jesus described and were not concerned about an “age” as the Jews are. Although I greatly value the KJV as perhaps the most reliable English translation available, it is only a translation of the original and we should be careful not to worship the translation but only the God that it reveals (“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” John 5:39).

It is not a difficult search to conclude the actual end of the planet earth was not implied or meant or possible by their question or the Lord’s response, so the only question that remains is; “what age?”
Yet still the “When what?” of this passage has been a rather difficult thing for scholars to accurately answer in agreement for a number of reasons that scholars such as RC Sproul in his 10 part “Crisis in Eschatology” *1 have done a great job expounding and I will not address here in my attempt to reach sooner the foundation from which is built the Parable of the Ten Virgins.
* * *

The Deeper "When?":
By divine purposes the disciples asked three somewhat different questions regarding Jesus comments, and Jesus gave them the answer to their questions, but it’s most probable they didn’t actually comprehend the 2nd layer that Jesus was talking about as he gave them the prophetic answer to what they didn’t know they had asked. It is clear that Matthew 24 is very, very deep with prophetic meaning regarding far more than a simple timeline of one generation and discussing far more than the destruction of the temple in 70 AD that began the long dispersion of the Jews. This is a pivotal prophecy.
So realizing that we will barely scratch the surface of its deeper meanings lets run through the simplistic prepwork focusing on our discussion of the parable that followed:

To the questions of “when?” and “how do we know when?” (signs), Jesus answered:
Bla bla bla…
“…but the end (5056) is not yet.” Matthew 24:6
bla bla bla…
“All these things are the beginning of sorrows. Then…” Matthew 24:8-9
bla bla bla…
“And then…” Matthew 24:10
bla bla bla…
“But he that shall endure unto the end (5056), the same shall be saved.” Matthew 24:13
bla bla bla…
“…and then shall the end (5056) come.” Matthew 24:14
(I mean no disrespect for the holy words of Jesus by inserting a representation; this is only to more clearly focus on the intended points for their's and our discussion of WHEN?)

Jesus said quite a lot here, and between what he said he gave us several recognizable locations (signs) on the timeline of approaching the “when” events.
Then that last verse pretty much seems to be a terminus and an answer to “what shall be the sign of… the end (4930) of the world? (age; or present continuance at the time)” Matthew 24:3.
Again we find here, that by verse 13 with 14 following it, the concept of “patient endurance” not “immediate rescue” seems to be the mindframe intended that modern Christians love to assume.
But note; Jesus’ answer does not end there but continues for some time more, so did he jump the gun by inserting verse 14 when he did? I don’t think so.
There seems to be two possible answers to why he put v.14 where he did:

1- Like the Genesis chapters 1 and 2 debate, we can either conclude that the thought was completed at this point and a new thought began (which supports the two creations theory) or
2- we can conclude that the general concept was completed at this point and then re-covered in different details showing an additional line of purpose for the same events.
This second approach fully conforms to all root scriptural concepts while the first conflicts with them and so we reject the first option as flawed.

I believe that in Matthew 24:1-14, we see the big picture of the coming of “the end” but
I believe that in Matthew 24:1-12, we see the detailed picture of “the coming” of the end,
or in otherwords; The pre-game warmup as the “…but the end is not yet” stuff (v.6), before Jesus drops “the arrival of the end” storm (not bomb) in verse 14 “…and then shall the end come” which begins a new period identified as “the end” and described in more detail by verses 15-28.
Starving to death or being shot dead are two ways to bring an end, one is sudden as a bomb and the other drags on for a long time as a storm. In the lengthy idea, this “end period” is further defined with its own multiple periods or stages of the events all identified as “the end”:
I believe that in Matthew 24:15-22 we see the description of the “before Christ’s second coming arrival” portion of “the end”, and from 23-51 we see the “as Christ arrives” portion of “the end”, separated by the cosmic events of verse 29 as a recognizable landmark of demarcation; a sign.
Simply put, I think the first 14 verses are written to the Christ-followers, and 15-31 is written to the Law abiding Jews with specific periods identified as signs of his coming, which is not the same thing as the signs of the end of the Jewish age that ended about 37 years after their discussion that day. Therefore we see this prophetic passage has two layers as many prophecies do; A soon fulfillment and a much delayed second meaning for the last days which ends the “times (age) of the Gentiles” by the arrival of the physical Kingdom of Heaven upon this earth.

I wrestled for some time with the apparent discrepancy of order by verse 14 until I realized it was verse 13 that was giving the problem. Without verse 13 the timeline flows easily, so what is verse 13 doing stuffed in there, messing up the simple flow?
The answer becomes obvious when we comprehend “the end” mentioned as still future, does not actually begin until verse 15; “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place…” (see Daniel 9:27, 11:31 specifically, and chapter 11 generally) declared to have officially begun the end period by the fulfilled restraint of the pre-game required event of verse 14; “and this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world (3625)…and then shall the end come.” Until v. 14 is actually fulfilled in proportion to the specific prophecy, v.15 as the end cannot come.
Now we have a tiny unknown verse hidden in Habakkuk 3 that prophecies although all the signs seem to be in place, the 2nd layer completion will not come to pass in the premature event of the 1948 nearness of summer as per Matthew 24:32. The tree will fail to produce long after expected not because the prophecy failed, but because its the wrong time; all the signs are not perfectly fulfilled.

"Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines... yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation" Habakkuk 3:17-18 (as related to Matthew 24:32 which we will discuss later).

I’m sorry this is getting a little thick as I am addressing both first and second layers at the same time as well as briefly. Before the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the Gospel was indeed preached to all the “world” as the specific word Jesus used there allows:

World 3625 oikoumene; feminine particle press. Passive of 3611 (as noun, by implication of 1093); land, i.e. the (terrene part of the) globe; specifically the Roman empire:- earth, world.

Acts 8:25 and others tell us this required fulfillment was met in the 1st layer only and so "the end" was proportionally related to the age of the Jews, and yet by the specific word used we see that it also allows for a 2nd layer meaning and fulfillment of the Gospel preached to the whole earth, which is today being completed by several bible translator organizations with this specific intent, that will allow for the global "the end" to come on the times of the Gentiles in the fuller fulfillment of v.14. So we see both layers of the prophecy as they are to be fulfilled have a traffic light regulation of travel between the pregame events up to v.13 and the end events beginning with v.15. Verse 14 is a significant sign of "when what?".
* * *

Bad Enough:
So if whatever comes in the pre-game warmup of Matthew 24:4-14 is not yet “the end”, it is still apparently quite bad to need the encouragement of verse 13; “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” In otherwords verse 13 tells us that the events of verses 4-12 will become almost unendurable especially just before the end begins as the worst labor pains come at the end before the actual birth process begins, using the growing birthpang analogy of v.8 (beginning of sorrows, Romans 8:22, Revelation 12:2) we understand these pre-game events will increase in intensity by cycle and it has proven to be so from then until now; Hard times, respite, hard times, respite, progressively getting worse in the general direction; Rise and fall, rise and fall, but always steadily climbing in the general trend of increase.

Now understanding “the end” is also a somewhat prolonged period described from 24:15-51 we understand verse 13 is not including any of the end; Just endure UNTIL the end gets here. In otherwords; “endure until verse 15”. Since by this verse there is no need to endure THROUGH the end to be saved, Who then will be saved as described in verse 13 vs. who is the rest of the chapter talking about that was not saved by said enduring to v.15?
Obviously since we can easily see that everything after verse 14 to 31 is talking specifically to the Jews regarding Jewish things and concepts, we can conclude that verse 13 is talking specifically to the Disciples of Jesus Christ; the Church age we call Christians. Verse 13 therefore alludes to the rapture which apparently comes when the pre-great tribulation signs arrive; i.e. the Abomination of Desolation.
Disciples of Jesus, endure until then and you will be saved seems to be the message. But clearly, by the focus on enduring until then (v.13), we can be sure to see a significant portion of lesser tribulation that will nonetheless cause many to fail in the attempt to wait until then. It’s all about the proper waiting perspective. I know many Marines while I was on Okinawa who got “Dear John” letters from wives who got weary of waiting. Selfish love cannot endure and these are the ones the waiting is designed to weed out.
What I find curious is that there are seem to be those who will fail to endure until the end as v.13 directs, but will then heed the warning of 16-20! How is this possible?
It is because the Jews have been blinded (Acts28:26-29) until they see the Christ coming in the clouds as they have long anticipated (II Corinthians 3:14-16, Matthew 23:39), and so rejected the Christ who first came as a Son of man (John 10:33).
* * *

Hard Ball:
Again, Notice the immediate post v.15 warning speaks of a specific place and therefore to a specific people; the Jews.

"Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:" the housetops and the flight on the Sabbath are Jewish related and specifically said to Judaea.

The Christian idea we see in the books and films produced about the rapture tend to promote the idea that the great tribulation is all about Gentile Americans who failed to get it right in the first try and so get a second try through the great tribulation.
While this idea may be perhaps possible on an extremely small scale, the whole context of the prophecy is that the Church age is passed and this end period is for the Jews. In relation to the extreme grace extended to the Church age Gentiles in general; the Jews have really been given a horrible load to carry through great suffering over a very long period. And while we Church age Gentiles may experience some significant suffering in these last days it cannot be compared to the suffering of God’s People because the cause is completely different and for a different reason. And the worst part of their suffering is yet to come even after our suffering is finished!
Does this sound unfair? You bet it does! But is it unjust of God who is the creator? No.
God has a completely different thing he is doing in the Jews for his own reasons that will magnify His greatness in the end just as will his utter and complete rejection of Esau or his extension of grace to the Gentiles.
Fair is man’s perspective of temporal events much as religion is man’s perspective of the spiritual. God is not about religion and he is not about fair (Genesis 37:4). He is about faith and justice (Romans 3:28, 4:5, 5:1, Galatians 2:16, 3:8, James 2:24-26) which are completely different things and cannot be properly applied to a mind and spirit of selfish acquisition. This is a concept that is foundational to the faith, which modern self-centered Christians simply have no understanding. Selfish love cannot endure and these are those whom the waiting is designed to weed out. Christ wants those who are madly in love with Him and not themselves! (Thus the parable of the 10 virgins).
The divorce rate within the church today is a sure sign of this self-love problem and is a mirror in which to see our love of Christ or lack thereof (I John 4:20).
Even though the passage transitions quite smoothly from part one to part two at verse 14, Jesus is speaking of two different people in the 2nd layer of the latter end times we are now approaching (Isaiah 41:22). Yes, many world Gentiles will be saved in the second part of this passage through the Jews, but the Church age is over and for us who failed to see Christ in our opportunity of Grace, the second opportunity will probably be but an illusion as unattainable as salvation through grace was for the Jews in our time of offering. From here on out the passage speaks to the 70th week of Daniel Jews and the world related to them.
* * *

False Christs… Oh, I almost forgot; And a great tribulation:
Now leaving behind the v.4-14 pre-game Church age events and the concluding rapture, we see that the Great Tribulation actually doesn’t begin until Matthew 24:21 following the abomination of desolation and it ends in Matthew 24:26 with the presentation of false Christs. (The short transition period of fleeing in verses 15-20 is not included in the great tribulation but is included in “the end” which just began by the abominable open declaration of war against God and his people. But notice the primary topic of this defined section as “the great tribulation” is almost exclusively a warning against following false Christs:

Matthew 24:21 barely refers to a horrific great tribulation, and verse 22 casually mentions it will be so bad that the days themselves must be shortened so that anybody might survive it at all, but it doesn’t go into details of the events that make it so bad (many other parts of scripture go into detail). Then verses 23-28 spend all their time talking about the coming of false Christs as opposed to the real Christ, and then suddenly the great tribulation is declared over by verse 29 even though we have many other passages that tell us the great cleansing of wickedness comes after v.29 making it clear that God’s wrath on wicked man is not the same event of Satan’s wrath on man that comes first in the great tribulation. Clearly the tribulation and the Great Tribulation are of Satan primarily aimed at the children of God though not really concerned about the wicked either, while the wrath of God that follows is specifically to the wicked that enacted the tribulation and God protects His own in the process.
This neglect of the horrible details of the great tribulation is because of the three questions they asked in v.3; they did not ask for details of what the end would be like, just when it would come and what would signify the various events including his coming. This whole chapter 24 is about timing and the details included are simply there to aid that end.
We see then that the beginning of the end overlaps the end of the pre-game events (v.13-14), and the coming of the Messiah overlaps the end of the Great tribulation (v.27-28) and the actual arrival of the Messiah comes somewhere at the end of his coming (v.31-34) but apparently not at the very end of his coming (Daniel 12:11-12).

THEN: we have one single verse in 24:29 describing some very amazing cosmic events that are not a part of the great tribulation but come right after it ends while Messiah has already begun his coming:
* * *

The Coming of Christ:

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:” Matthew 24:29 (Isaiah 13:9-7, Revelation 6:13= Isaiah 60:19, Acts 26:13) (Isaiah 30:26 seems to suggest a kind of supernova type burnout of our sun.)
Again, the event is described here because it importantly identifies the “when and signs” of the timing of events on either side.
This cosmic stuff would sure seem like a part of the great tribulation but it is declared NOT to be because they are not for the purpose of tribulation on the saints as the events that just ended were, but are rather perhaps the first signs of the Wrath of God.
Will they be fearful to witness for the saints of that day? Of course; “And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear” Matthew 14:26. These are very real and very horrible events to affect the earth after enduring such a struggle, and just looking at the fear of simple "Global Warming" that is so insignificant that the data had to be manipulated to get the people to fear, what will they do with real problems?! (Luke 21:26).
As a later deeper study of this boat trip will show; This whole Matthew 14 event of crossing is a prophetic representation of the last days our world has already set sail into and the seas have been progressively building since John the Baptist (Matthew 11:13, Luke 7:26), The cosmic events initiating the signs of Jesus coming are represented by what the boating disciples first thought they saw which made them afraid which turned out to be Jesus himself coming to them. In the same way the Jews of that day will tremble with the world at the apparent cosmic disaster coming upon them, but Jesus will call out to them "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid." Matthew 14:27, yet Peter representing the raptured Church is the only one who went to him as he came, while the others waited in the boat in the stormy sea. Very exciting stuff hidden in that boat trip.

Now as a shocking and sudden punch I will simply declare here that Jesus coming in the clouds over time as seen by the world to be something like a destroying comet, will be the coming of the New Jerusalem with Christ as the seat of the kingdom of heaven the 9th and final GDE (Revelation 3:12, 21:2-3, Daniel 2:44-45, Revelation 17:14, Luke 21:31). There is just simply no way to explain this event in any scientific understanding currently known but it will in fact happen in our known reality. This is why Jesus confirms that what he says will happen, will indeed actually happen even though it seems impossible (Matthew 24:35, Revelation 21:5), and here for the first time in this blog I must depart from reason of logic alone and appeal to the reason and proofs of all the scripture we have covered thus far. The scripture has proven itself utterly reliable.
* * *

Interrupting Parable:
It seems that Jesus spends a very significant period from Matthew 24:23-51 describing the signs of his coming as was part of their question, but for some reason he inserts an interrupting parable in v.32-35 seemingly in the middle of describing his signs of coming; “Now learn a parable of the fig tree;…” What is with that? By inquiry we see that what comes before the parable describes things related to recognizing false Christs before we see the Genuine Christ arriving, and then we see the final gathering of the Jews in v. 31.
If the section after the parable was related to the same topic of his coming doesn’t it seem to confuse the order? The parable should be at the end of the chapter. With this in mind we explore the pre-figtree-parable points:
* * *

Identifying the coming of Christ: Luke 21:29-36.
We see that Jesus did indeed answer the three questions asked by his disciples and the signs of his coming including “when” are the actual primary focus of the whole chapter;
The signs of his coming include:
1- the pre-game warmup of the Church age tribulation, (Matthew 24:3-14) and
2- the great tribulation of the Jews in the times of the Gentiles, (v.21-28) and
3- the great cosmic events that follow the great tribulation (v.29) and
4- the actual signs of his coming process (v.30) and
5- then we have the gathering of the Jews by the angels, as still another sign of his coming (v.31).
Before he tells the fig tree parable related to his arrival as the arrival of summer (v.32-33+).

Now don’t get confused with semantics; his coming is shown to be a process; these are not just signs that his coming will start soon; there are also signs that his coming is in progress, and signs that his coming will conclude soon after the sounding of the gathering trumpet. In that v.31 later sign of his nearly-complete-coming we see him as an advancing general breaking off commanders into a fan formation with the purpose of gathering in his own from among the enemy before he goes to war upon his arrival (Revelation 6:12-17).

“And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Matthew 24:31

But clearly he has not yet completed his coming at this point in the narrative by the parable of the fig tree in the next verse.

Verse 31 is often confused with the rapture of the Church (alluded to back in v.13) and so the meaning and order of the whole chapter is confused and therefore the parable is too. This v.31 is indeed a gathering, but FROM “the four winds”. This is the final calling or gathering of the 4th scattering of the elect (Zechariah 1:18-21) back to Jerusalem after which they will never be scattered again (Zephaniah 3:15-20, Malachi 3:17-18). This return will finally be the fulfillment of the long awaited return that has not been fulfilled by the 1948 return of the faithless Jews who still fail to rejoice in the Lord (Habakkuk 3:17a, Jeremiah 33:7-9) and therefore ensures they will be scattered a 4th time so that he can call them at that trumpet.
With this in mind lets read Isaiah 27:13

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.”

Don’t make the mistake of supposing this passage has been fulfilled and so is now ignorable history. It is not finished. And now we can see Matthew 24:34 is a very commonly misused landmark parable because of the misapplication of verse 31 to mean what it does not mean.

“Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” Matthew 24:34.

What generation? What things? Just what is the parable of the fig tree talking about that would end in such a verse?
This is the question. But we will have to wait until the next post to answer it.

* * * * * * *
*1 Produced by the ministry of RC Sproul through his Ligonier organization; Renewing Your Mind podcasts are found on line at http//www.Ligonier.org

Intimacy

Post 220

In wrestling with the outcome of events Did I “walk on air” as originally intended in excited anticipation? I’m afraid I did not. Very much like Peter jumping from the boat and beginning in unwavering faith, I started out well but soon I too began to sink in confusion of “what is the right thing?” brought on by my circumstances of temporal reality as I know it; I felt compelled to respond as I did. Jesus rescued me and led me back to the boat and so in embarrassment of a grand idea failed I find myself again sitting among my boatmates of regular life.
Could I have done better if I had more faith? Sadly the answer has to be yes; “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” Matthew 14:31. I even knew better by the record of scripture! Shame on me!
Oh how I wanted, and expected to do better! And now that I sit here in the boat of life about to head off to my new job, I longingly wish I had not doubted because of all the personal intimacy I will now miss out on. But that opportunity is now gone and the scenario is over. We are in public now and with it comes responsibility of public conduct.
It is hard to explain in temporal terms where the difference can be identified; Peter was with the Lord on the sea, and still with the Lord in the boat afterwards, so what makes the difference? The personal intimacy with the Lord is somehow greatly diminished though not gone. How do I describe it?
As I begin my mornings in prayer as usual and then a much shorter study than before, I find it is there where I am still “with the Lord” in that same “walking on the water” intimacy, before I take up rowing in the daily grind of life with the others. In attempting to express in meaningful words what this is like, I more fully comprehend the big picture of “waiting” as described in the previous post. A FaceBook friend made a comment regarding her absent fiancé that I thought describes it perfectly;

“My day is now wonderful! :) I got to talk to my man! Funny how one person’s voice can make the world seem complete again!”

I find my mornings of prayer and brief study are this kind of short phone-call to my Lord who not long ago was with me all day locked away in privacy without another care in the world. This present separation is not due to problems in the relationship but simply a part of life, and in fact the yearning of love grows stronger because of the separation.

As I continue to study the kingdom of heaven as described in Matthew 24 just before beginning the parable of the 10 Virgins, I have a much greater appreciation for the concept of this period of longing separation from our Lord and our eager anticipation of the promised union coming soon.
I have much to post on this issue and hope to somehow squeeze in enough time each day to continue this topic, but sadly I can no longer devote all day every day to the work as temporal duty now calls.
Having experienced my Lord in a very intimate way I am already hating the separation now required and long for the day when we will be reunited in the kingdom of heaven.

And so again I leave you with the still unanswered question “What IS the kingdom of heaven?”

Ten Virgins

Line by Line - Matthew 25:1-13
Post 219

“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom” Matthew 25:1.

Pre- Ten Virgins:

Leaving the very first word of this verse for a later post, we note this entire parable is describing what the kingdom of heaven is like after the “then”. But before we can really apply what it is like we must ask the question: “what IS the kingdom of heaven in the first place?”

This is not as easy to answer as first thought. For some reason we all assume we know what the kingdom of heaven is without ever trying to define it. So go ahead, take a moment and discuss with yourself the question until you provide some expressible idea you feel reasonably happy with, or discover you don’t know.

I find asking; “what IS the kingdom of heaven?” is a lot like asking; “what is truth?” The mind is so sure it knows but doesn’t really want to exercise too much to get the actual answer. But again, the arrival at the answer is exposed in the first word of the verse; “Then”, which I intend to cover in a post called “Pre Ten Virgins”. It is not a quick answer but the study is actually a big part of getting past Revelation 17.

* * *

The kingdom of heaven is like:

So moving on with the understanding that this parable is describing what the kingdom of heaven is like, we must read everything in it with this foremost in mind. The virgins are not representing the kingdom of heaven, nor are the lamps, or the bridegroom, etc. All these are but elements that make up the representation of what the kingdom of heaven is like, so that we can begin to grasp the concept of the kingdom itself.

Since the story is about virgins and a bridegroom we are obligated to learn just a little about the Jewish wedding customs regarding such an occasion. Since Jesus was raised in a Jewish culture that was originally designed to imitate this kingdom, he used a Jewish concept that was readily understood and could be readily applied, whereas we in a modern western culture have little idea how to apply this as it has little ready meaning to our lifestyle understanding.

When I was a child I was under the (now questioned) understanding that “engagement” was a period of commitment promising a future marriage. It never crossed my mind that perhaps this happy couple would engage in acts reserved for marriage, especially a Christian couple, but today our Christian youths are unashamed to explore their sexuality long before even engaged. And I am sorry to say this is found also among the Paganized Jews today.

The Jewish custom of betrothal (from which the west originally got its custom of engagement) was not just some arbitrary idea of an old frustrated priest, but was directly given by the law of God. Not as an arbitrary rule to make young people suffer under their raging passions but because it had an eternal message; "The kingdom of heaven is like..." And while Leviticus chapters 18-21 are instructions regarding sexuality for health reasons; (mental, emotional, spiritual and physical) the righteous perspective of the Jewish marriage custom was a representation of how we are to perceive the kingdom of heaven. This is not some lesson you learn one year in Sunday school and move on, the marriage process takes place over and over again as each generation of young couples reach that wonderful phase in their lives after the long wait.

If you will permit it, the marriage ceremony is a phylactery we keep always instantly available in our minds as we wait for it, and observe the glorious event, remembering that it shows us the practical understanding of what the kingdom of heaven is like.

The constant phrase "Next year in Jerusalem" for the long exiled Jews was just such a phylactery for the same reason.

As an instructional preservation, God wanted to make sure that even when the marriage concept was eventually corrupted by society, there would remain a pure message that could be found, and so he established the chapter of Leviticus 21 governing the marriage of priests.

“And he shall take a wife in her virginity. A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife”

Leviticus 21:13 (see also II Corinthians 6:14-17).

Today in ignorance of God’s wonderful design we read this and in ignorance of what Jesus was getting at we immediately use such passages to condemn these less qualified women and so miss the actual purpose of the rule: it is God’s pure example as a tool of comprehension to understand the parable showing us what the kingdom of heaven is like. Don’t be confused; the priest's marriage is not the example, just the tool needed to understand the example. The example is the singular committed waiting for "the one" while remaining uncompromised in the long delay.

Jewish marriage custom:

I am no expert on this custom but glean enough from the study of others, to better understand this parable, and so share it with you for the same ends.

Even more binding than our own “engagement”, the Jewish custom viewed “betrothal” as simply the first phase of marriage and in this way the couple was already regarded as “eventually married” though the marriage was not yet completed. The western culture has somewhat diminished the view but nonetheless retained the notion that with an engagement ring the girl was already “taken off the field” and committed to one particular man. “I’m going to be married to HIM” was her joyful proclamation and confidence, though consummation and the life of marriage was yet to be experienced.

Likewise the requirement of virginity: God had an eternal thing in mind when he established that a woman should be a virgin upon marriage. Yes, in our temporal minds we might comprehend a myriad of very solid reason why virginity at marriage is a good idea; avoiding diseases, lack of baggage (clinging history), uncomplicated future (pure unsoiled heart), avoiding fatherless children, and alimony and "bad Xs", etc., but all these are just examples of the spiritual concept showing even greater importance as these directly translate to our relationship with God and the ways we can damage the exclusive relationship even before it begins.

Originally, and even in America’s own recent past, the fallen woman was looked upon as undesirable regarding marriage because it was understood that our marriage is the image of our relationship with God and what we do should reflect that image as best as possible. The fallen woman is less able to represent that image in marriage.  Having no complex variety of past experience, the virgin can openly devote her undamaged heart to her husband without cause of reservation or division instilled by previous failed examples. This virginity is likewise how we can best respond to God, and so this is recommended in both life and faith.

So is it forbidden for a common man to marry such a woman? No. As Jesus our groom makes us spotless through forgiveness, so we too have that option (Ephesians 5:25-27) and might be so willing if her heart is repentant. Even God himself has often shown in scripture his willingness to forgive his whoring wife (the Jews) if she would only repent and return (Hosea), but we see the damage she has done to that relationship and so by understanding, this is the condition that men once desired to avoid by marrying a woman without baggage: a heart undamaged for him alone.

 Young women fall in love so easily and so hard because they have not experienced the consequences of bad choices yet. “Mature” women have, and so are far more self-protective and leery, resulting in a lack of trust that actually damages even a good marriage. God desired us to avoid all that as far as is possible by remaining pure until marriage.

This also carries over in our faith not as a byproduct but as the actual reason. If we are raised to commit to God before we run wild, we will have the advantage of avoiding lots of hurtful history that cannot then be easily overcome. The pain and resulting self-preservation through lack of trust by experience, is actually damaging to the relationship with God.

Continuing the Jewish marriage custom; it was common for a groom to betroth his wife while young, then leave her with her father, to prepare himself (grow up), and make his livelihood and home secure for them once they were married. In that time she prepared herself learning how to be a good wife and homemaker for him. Once he was ready he would return for her and they would be married.

* * *

Waiting:

So with this knowledge we read our parable. We find ten virgins having been betrothed, all prepared ready and waiting for their groom to arrive *1.

“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom” Matthew 25:1.

But look! These virgins went forth to meet him, why would they do that? Clearly the verse makes it important that they took lamps because of the darkness they would encounter. So where did they go and why go and not wait? I hate to keep coming back to it, but the answer is made available in the first word, so lets leave that alone for now and move on.

“And five of them were wise, and five were foolish” Matthew 25:2.

Hold on here! We have ten virgins, not fallen women, committed to the groom in betrothal. They all have their lamps, and they all go out together, and so far we see virtually no difference between them (Matthew 13:30?), so what makes five foolish; they all appear to be the same. Since we remember this is representing what the kingdom of heaven is like, are we to assume there is such a thing as foolish genuine Christians who are betrothed to Christ and have their hope in Christ’s coming for them? It sure appears plausible, let’s continue:

“They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps” Matthew 25:3-4.

Nice! We are clearly shown what distinguishes the foolish from the wise; It’s all about the quantity of oil. Note: that all ten are virgins, all ten virgins have lamps, all ten lamps have oil, and all ten lamps are lit, this is not the problem. You would think this would be commendable but instead five are called foolish. Why? Let’s continue:

“While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept” Matthew 25:5.

Isn’t it strange how this is not written as some unusual or unexpected delay (tarrying), and because the five are called foolish we are assured that all ten had been given warning that the bridegroom would in fact tarry (in fact the tarrying is built right into the betrothal/engagement concept). The five wise betrothed virgins had preplanned for the long wait by taking extra oil in a separate vessel while the five foolish betrothed virgins planned only for the short term. This appears to be the only difference between them as all ten slumbered and even slept while waiting.

Since we know the wise five were not rebuked for their slumbering it seems apparent that they had all completed their tasks of preparation and were now simply waiting patiently. The five foolish had simply done an insufficient job in preparing for the longer than expected wait.

“And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him” Matthew 25:6.

Since we remember that this is showing us what the kingdom of heaven is like; Christians quickly see that the cry made is representing the trumpet that calls the Christians to Christ in the rapture (I Corinthians 15:52) and I am not declaring them to be wrong, but there is far more here because of the context of the previous chapter and because this is describing what the kingdom of heaven is like. Is the rapture event the kingdom of heaven? No, but it is a part. But this whole parable is not about just a part, it is about the whole thing; “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto…” the wording is becoming more apparent as specifically important; “At this specific time after all the previous events that bring it to this state, the kingdom of heaven can be comparable to ten virgins...”

This is not a matter of “at the end of a string of events, the kingdom will be likened” but rather “after understanding all these events as a whole, the kingdom will be likened”.

So yes, the rapture is included here, but there is much more also included here in this parable. This is not a parable about the rapture as in; “Then shall the rapture unto the kingdom of heaven be likened…” NO. This is not the meaning of the parable, and so again I ask; “What IS the kingdom of heaven?”

* * *

In verse 1 we saw the virgins go forth to meet the groom, so why do we see them later commanded to go out to meet him? Go out from where after they already went out? Go where now?; Where did they slumber?

It is important that we don’t just blow off the parable as a general story to get a general idea across. God does not waste words. Understanding this parable is crucial if we are to be counted among the wise!

But perhaps it doesn’t really matter; a betrothed virgin is a betrothed virgin, all are eventually made safe in Christ through faith, right? Let’s keep reading to discover the truth:

“Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps” Matthew 25:7.

Here we see the event that proves their preparation; as all ten are awakened and in eager excitement to see the fulfillment of all their long awaited hopes, they trim their lamps together!

What does it mean to trim a lamp?

An old oil lamp was a bath that had a wick protruding from the oil. As the thirsty wick that bore the oil was consumed by the flame, it became burnt ash no longer able to bear much oil, and the flame was dampened down by the encumbrance to the fuel. To trim the lamp was to cut away the ashen part to reveal the oil rich wick, and pull a little more wick from the reservoir. Then the oil rich flame sprang to life to light the way. There is no need for a bright flame while you are slumbering as long as the flame is present all you need to do is trim the lamp to get a ready light.

“And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out”

Matthew 25:8.

Here we see the first consequence of their lack of proper preparation. Everything went smooth and all ten girls had exactly the same results of their mission of waiting… right up until the event they were all waiting for! Until then no one could have told them anything that would show them the consequence of their foolishness; they were virgins, they had prepared, they had lit lamps, and oil, and went out to meet the right groom, and patiently waited the delay. In every way, preparation for preparation, they lay down in confidence just as the others did. All was well with the world as they waited in excited expectation.

The parable does not even mention all the virgins left behind who did not go out to meet the groom, or all the girls who already gave their virtue elsewhere. No, the parable showing us what the kingdom of heaven is like (after understanding all that was described in the previous chapter), uses only these ten virgins to describe it... but it uses all ten, not just five. And we are to comprehend what makes them different, as this is the whole topic of the parable.

We must at least touch on the whole “spreading the wealth” socialist mentality of the foolish, which is another deep lesson found here, so let’s simply understand that the kingdoms of men are an image of the kingdom of heaven and we can see the parallel apply; The request of the foolish five is the cry of the Socialist Progressives, apparently the foolish five got their idea from hanging out with them.

“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” Matthew 25:9.

This is a hard saying in today’s confused socialist society of unending compassion regardless of cost. Compassion is a truly wonderful thing and commanded by God himself in many places such as the Good Samaritan of Luke 10:25-37, but compassion is to spring in wisdom, out of our abundance. Do you take the food from your children to give to the soup kitchen? No, you give of your pantry so that your children can also eat. There is so much wealth in America that few yet know what it’s like to have so little that they cannot come up with something to share with those less fortunate, and to their credit America has long been a nation of incredible benevolence. But what we see in this parable is a waiting that lasts so long that even the well prepared have only enough to sustain themselves, there is simply not enough to sustain others. I am confident that as the five departed to purchase more oil, the hearts of the five wise were broken for the foolish and their own inability to help them.

It is my silly belief that the wise virgins actually gave the foolish money by which to purchase the needed oil, because ministers share their knowledge of God to aid the foolish to purchase the needed faith. But the purchase is theirs to do.

Oh, didn’t I tell you? The lamp is your soul, the oil is your faith, and the flame is the Holy Spirit in your soul lighting the face of Jesus when he comes so that you can recognize him and be seen of him.

* * *

So let’s think about the wait:

After careful preparation, they eagerly went out to meet their groom when they got the sign it was time (Matthew 24:30). And the waiting began again on a new level. They were no longer at home and could not continue preparing if the need became apparent, they had nothing to do now but wait. They slept some, and they slumbered some, and still they waited, and the wait was long. Then finally there was a shout; the time had come, but no! They still needed even what oil was left to meet the groom as they were told to do by the shout. Just how long does it take to actually unite with the bridegroom anyway?! Clearly a significant period of waiting even after the waiting is over (Daniel 12:11-12). Half the girls simply did not have the oil needed to sustain the final wait.

“And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; (don’t it figure?) and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut” Matthew 25:10.

It almost seems as if God himself is trying hard to keep them out! But while the complaint is argued that he is just not fair for this, the “Battle of the Brides” (or whatever new reality TV show) proves the concept of competition to weed out all the candidates that don’t measure up, is alive and well among the population today. The Marine Corps slogan “The Few, The Proud” suggests the many who do not measure up, by the recognition of those who do in comparison: "The Few".

God has often and clearly used the term “remnant” also described as a very small percentage of the whole. Beginning with Noah (Genesis 7:23) and carrying through to the last verse of Zechariah (as the few families left after the great wars), the concept is repeated 231 times in the Old Testament and seems to only be missing from the “love books” of Ruth, Esther, Song of Solomon, Hosea, Jonah, Nahum, and Malachi expressing God’s compassion for his loved.

It greatly saddens me to know there are those ten that made it to the final selection process, but only five will make it. Who gets weeded? Those who were not prepared for the long delay in their hopes. In the sports world these that make it so far but fail in the clinch are said to have choked; they did not hold up under pressure. In this kingdom description parable it is not a matter of skill or talent or natural gifting. It is all about preparation for the delay.

But lets think about those five who went away but did not give up, they went to buy more oil so they could finish the job they started. But time for preparation had passed and they had failed to meet the challenge. After a long and diligent wait of happy preparedness, the groom came when they exhausted their oil and were no longer ready. How many times do we see this in our lives as "unlucky circumstance" and miss the lesson of extended perspective needed? It wasn't unlucky, it was planned! Jesus is not something you try in college with your circle of friends, to then grow out of as you mature, Faith is who you are, and the faith needed in your lamp only runs out when you're dead! This is not simply a choice of determination, the oil you collect is gathered as you deepen your prepared faith. If your faith is shallow it burns up as the tough times don’t seem to let up. The foolish virgins were in it for what they could get out of it in shallow faith whereas the wise, having a single eye on the groom, prepared to wait as long as it took, and by understanding, they knew it was going to take some time (Hebrews 11).

It heartbreaking to know there will be many whose faith is so shallow that this post will discourage them. They are barely holding it together now, what hope is there if it gets worse and lasts a long time? These are the foolish virgins who by all accounts appear to start off well but are actually missing the whole concept of the faith and the reason for the long wait (Hebrews 10:35-39). Quick, wake from your slumber, run, diligently purchase deep oil as if your life depended on it because you might actually get back in time to not be counted as one of the foolish five!

The wise five on the other hand were betrothed to the groom while they waited but the consummation of the marriage took place after he opened the door to them. Representationally Christians are saved now by the engagement ring of the Holy Spirit (II Corinthians 1:22,5:5-6), but the consummation does not take place until we join the Messiah in his father’s kingdom.

* * *

Latecomers:

“Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us” Matthew 25:11.

Oh how tragic to see them try and fail. These are those who have been taught the right way and know it’s the right way, but in failure of confused trying, can’t figure out how to choose it until it is too late. These are the Exodus people who failed to enter in, but later diligently went about what they refused to do at the right time (Deuteronomy 1:41-45). I will cover this in a later post as we explore the interpretation of this parable, but right now we’re just understanding the parable!

“But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not” Matthew 25:12.

There is not a single sentence in the world more tragic than this one from this person. Remember these are not strange girls who didn’t care anyway, these are those virgins committed to this relationship and went waiting on the bridegroom but came up short. They went away to buy more oil and are now returned, but the door is shut and the words come through “I know you not”.

What is to become of them now? It seems there is not a person on the planet in worse condition than they at this moment. This is not a matter of a one-time slip and the hammer comes down, it has nothing to do with that (I John 2:1-2). This is a matter of the depth of your faith for endurance. Is it real, or just a religion you practice? If it’s real, you don’t run out of oil (Exodus 16:18). If it isn’t real, it doesn’t matter how much oil you have it won’t be enough (Exodus 16:27).

Jesus wraps up the representing parable with the reason he presented it:

“Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh" Matthew 25:13.

The entire concept of this parable is about the waiting. This is the primary reason that we are directed to abstain from forbidden pre-marital activates while the hormones rage. The physical endurance of self-control directly strengthens our spiritual wait. Patient endurance is extremely important to understand, but in today’s age of open and permitted fornication we have utterly lost this important comprehension and guarantee this generation of Christians will not have the waiting oil needed to enter the kingdom of heaven because of frustration and impatience.

But though the parable ends here, it does not indicate what becomes of the foolish five virgins. They are indeed included in the “like unto the kingdom of heaven” so what becomes of them? Have you ever thought of how they went away in the dark since their lamps went out? Where did they buy their oil to make the return? How is it possible to have oil of faith and a flame of Holy Spirit but not be let in as now “unknown”? Why does the parable not tell us what became of them?

I have asked alot of questions in this post and the parable does not seem to provide the answer. This is because the first word is "Then".

What IS the kingdom of heaven that it can be explained by such a parable? We will explore that in the next post; “Pre Ten Virgins”, but because of my new circumstances I expect to be “off air” for a while. Drat those troublesome responsibilities that get in the way.

* * * * * * *

*1 This parable is not advocating ten wives for one man as the mind of lustful man might think, the scriptures are clear that God designed one man and one woman as the intent (Genesis 1:26-17, I Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:6, etc.) This is a parable of the kingdom of heaven and so we understand the groom represents Christ and the virgins as his believers in waiting.

Does polygamy represent this relationship? Yes it does. Is polygamy what God wanted for man? No. Polygamy, like socialism, is a perversion of scripture even if it works.

* -b

[November 19, 2013: For my reply to the first comment below, please see Post 306 "Two Replies" (http://when-did-reason-die.blogspot.com/2013/11/two-replies.html).]

“Change You Can Believe In”?

Post 218

On Friday I had a brilliant idea. I know how I can keep this boat floating for another month. Since I don’t have any renters, I called the fuel company and sold them back the heating oil in that tank. After the heavy charge for pump-out and even with the reduced buyback rate I still ended up with enough money to make another mortgage payment! Brilliant. Now I can keep doing what I want. The fuel company seemed so eager to buy it back at that arrangement they sent an empty fuel truck on Sunday to do the job. Since Monday was a holiday I intended to drive to town this morning (Tuesday) to collect the check and make the payment just in time. But it rained hard all weekend in a typical fall storm and this morning I woke up to Fall rockslide at 19 mile that crossed the road between me and town. Oh those troublesome waves in this storm!

And I hear you cry; “WHAT KIND OF AN IDIOT WILL NOT LIFT A FINGER TO CREATE INCOME, BUT INSTEAD THINKS IT’S A GREAT IDEA TO TAKE A LOSS IN SELLING WHAT HE HAS ALREADY BOUGHT? THIS IS NO SOLUTION! DOESN’T HE SEE THAT THIS ELIMINATES THE POTENTIAL OF RENTING THAT PLACE AND GAINING MUCH NEEDED INCOME THAT ACTUALLY MAINTAINS WHAT HE HAS?”

But my great idea has suddenly expanded my inventory of ideas and I am now seeing previously unconsidered things I can sell or trade to keep this up for even more months, so why do you say this is a bad idea? It may not be the solution you have been raised to think of, but look, it works; I’m safe for another month! This is change you can believe in! It’s a new brilliant way of thinking that has immediate positive results and allows me to continue my present desires.
* * *

If you do not ridicule me for this I have to question your own sanity. How short sighted can a person actually be? How many things can I sell off before there is nothing left to sell? Then what?

Oh, I could fill pages of the strange ways that “circumstances” are systematically bringing about my disaster, but as I have declared; It is the Lord directing me, so isn’t my pending disaster the actual work of God himself even though it is at least in part my own choices and actions that result in my worsening situation? How can I blame God for my own stupidity? But in fact I can and do, as a representation;

“Wherefore God…” Romans 1:24, “For this cause God…” Romans 1:26, “[so] God gave them over…” Romans 1:28.

Do not ignore the fact that God wants to make sure we understand that all the disasters we bring upon ourselves is also the will of God for our disobedience (*1).
Just as the victory is a “teamwork” between God and his people, so is the destruction;

“And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” II Thessalonians 2:11-12

What was the cause referred to?
This is what America is doing. This is what Christian America (not the faithful) is doing as well. While our national leaders, that the people themselves have placed in that role, make utterly foolish and shortsighted choices of obvious destruction in response to “circumstances” of destruction, their actions do keep the accustomed life going prettymuch unaltered for a bit longer. Many Americans applaud in happy approval.
And the Christian Americans cry “foul! These are not our choices, we don’t think this is smart”, but they are likewise driven by their circumstances being guided by unseen forces clearly driving the destruction around them. “Its not fair! Why do we have to pay for the wickedness of people we didn’t vote for?” They cry out to God. But don’t they believe the scriptures; that it is God himself that brings the destruction and that, not without cause?

“And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” Genesis 6:13

Who destroyed the earth? Whose fault was it? Do you suppose Noah had the only church on the planet who figured they were “good with God”?

“And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain…” Genesis 19:28-29

Again we see clearly that God took the credit for the destruction, but he used temporal means to get the job done. (While the reason and means and blame and implementer are the focus of this post, keep reading this passage for the prophetic salvation of God’s covenant people, but that is not the topic of this post.)

“He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed… And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless (says the LORD)” Exodus 22:20,24.

The offense to God is the clear cause but look, it is the sword of man that does the destroying even though God says it is himself that handled the sword for that very reason, not as a reprimand but a destruction.

“Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baalpeor: for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the LORD thy God hath destroyed them from among you.” Deuteronomy 4:3.

Here we see God separating out the wicked from the righteous, which shows that if there are righteous, God is Just to refrain from destroying them with the wicked. So as in the event of Noah, how many righteous were there on the planet in all those churches? (again read the next verse for the promise to the genuine faithful, but don’t miss the destruction here.)

“(For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth” Deuteronomy 6:15.

Do you suppose this passage of scripture was written to the Pagans? Or was it perhaps written to God’s people themselves who must have thought they were “safe” because they were God’s people? (keep reading the passage for the way to keep this from happening)
This next one is very significant so slap yourself and read it with an alert mind. If your mind somehow won’t focus on it, slap yourself again and re-read it!

“As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the LORD your God” Deuteronomy 8:20.

How were their enemies destroyed before them? It was by the hand of God’s people that their enemies were destroyed at the command of God who took the credit for the deed he commanded. Therefore this verse says the tables now turn; and now God’s people will be destroyed by the hand of their enemies at the command of their enemy’s god, but God doesn’t just allow it, he pre-arranges it and sends the warning to avoid it before it comes!
So how was their success originally accomplished against their enemies? One battle at a time; it was a rapid progressive consuming of the land until it was theirs. It was a sweeping change of powers:

“Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is he which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face: so shall thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the LORD hath said unto thee” Deuteronomy 9:3.

Note the combination of God going before (softening them up as it were), but them doing the work. This is the prophetic battle strategy which the Lord will bring back upon his own wayward people to destroy them for their disobedience.

“Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee” Deuteronomy 9:4.

THIS IS A CRITICAL CONCEPT:
The misconception is a very strong root cause of failure to understand WHY things work the way they do. With wrong thinking comes wrong responses. Today America is feeling very guilty for our founders “taking the land” from the Indians. Our Federal government for years has given lands and moneys to the displaced Indian’s descendants in a fruitless effort to make up for the “crime”.
We see in this passage the principle that God declares America was not given to his faithful pilgrims because of their righteousness: but because of the wickedness of those who possessed the land. I’m sorry if this offends your sensibilities but it is an important truth that is foundational to a right response! I live fifteen miles from the Indian village of Klukwan. I am friends with several who live there and have nothing but equal human respect for them as I do for any other American neighbor, to me they are just people. To see someone of Indian decent as deserving some special treatment is to become racist in thinking. What does my neighbor deserve that I don’t deserve because of something in the long ago past that has virtually nothing to do with him? How do I know that his ancestor didn’t scalp my ancestor and so it is HE that owes ME some special favor? No. The people that God sends to overtake America today do not succeed because of their own righteousness but because of our wickedness! And this is not a matter of who is more wicked, God uses whom he will for his purposes regarding HIS people. Wickedness and unrighteousness are not the same thing and not treated the same way by God to people in different categories; it is a matter of ownership, but that is another topic for another time (Amos 9:12 "...all the heathen, which are called by my name..."?).

The scriptures are full of many more examples making it clear that while God declares the destruction is of his own design and purpose, it nonetheless comes by our own hand as it were; We bring it upon ourselves by our own choices not so much for general wickedness but for disobedience to our God.

“And they transgressed against the God of their fathers, and went a whoring after the gods of the people of the land, whom God destroyed before them. And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away…” I Chronicles 5:26.

It is truly frightening to study the detail of God’s commands to his people in the original taking of the land from the wicked, when we consider its same way return upon his people for our later disobedience; Deuteronomy 8:20 (is posted three verses above. See also: Deuteronomy 12:2-3, Joshua 10:40 among others) (*2)

But this is not the only tool God uses in his anger against his own people. I Chronicles 21:15-16 is worth reading about God’s destroying angel. Or II Chronicles 15:3-6 regarding God sending a lack of peace and great vexation and trouble because of going a long time without the true God, and without (true) teaching ministers, and without (righteous) law itself.

“And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity” v.6

II Chronicles 35:21 is a very strong warning against sticking our military nose in where it does not belong while we are in confusion;

“But he (pharaoh Necho of Egypt) sent ambassadors to him (Josiah king of Judah), saying, What have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? I come not against thee this day, but against the house wherewith I have war (Assyria): for God commanded me to make haste: forbear thee from meddling with God, who is with me, that he destroy thee not” II Chronicles 35:21

What a study and intriguing story this is when considering the complexity of the confusion God’s people now face! The choices we make at the time seem logical to us, but end in our own destruction. Josiah was an actually godly king of Judah after a long line of real wicked kings. The nation was in trouble, but due to actually pretty good reasoning according to God, from his perspective, Josiah Stands between Egypt and Assyria. What a strange twist of events to have the Pagan Egyptian ruler declare to God’s pretty good king, that it was God who sent him! Apparently God didn’t let his own man in on the knowledge but Josiah didn’t take the warning from the Pagan ruler, and why would he? and so he stood against the Pharaoh of Egypt and was killed for it!

Being “God’s man” is not the place to stand in supposed confidence! This was the flaw in the religious leaders of Israel as they stood against Jesus and his followers.

“And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I way unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham” Matthew 3:9.

Standing confidently on the grounds of morality by heritage is some very soft sand. Standing there against the might of Islam because it is clearly evil is utterly meaningless in assuming our success because “we are less evil”.
On what Ground does American now stand against Islam? Are you kidding? America no longer even standing against Islam, Obama speech and in fact is heavily leaning in that direction by the lawless rule of our national leaders and its current repeated support of Islamic nations over our Israeli ally by sponsoring indefensible borders , Surrendering much of their tiny nation to Palestine, Dividing Jerusalem and other anti Israeli recommendations. Our quazi-president can’t stop falling all over himself to praise Islam Obama Islamic praise-fest reel While he publically disdains our nation to foreign countries and mocks our God.
But we covered all this when he was elected, I’m just reminding you that we don’t have much room to claim righteousness by heritage anymore as we have not removed this man from office for his offense to America and to God.

This is the “Change you can believe in” that we were promised, and it is the change your going to live with now whether you like it or not because we did not stop it.
When the Jews were taken captive into Babylon, Jeremiah the prophet told them not to resist; it was a punishment that would have an end. What end has America been promised? I suggest our nation has no promise other than destruction for our disobedience. If we had a clue what is actually coming we would resit it with our very lives, but because what comes is a judgment from God such a response would still be infective. National repentance is the only national salvation, but personal repentance is still in your hand. Use the time wisely.
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(*1) Personal Notes:
I have been significantly conflicted as to know if I am still in the boat or out of the boat. In the spirit I have long left the boat behind but in the flesh I am still sitting here (there aren’t any electrical outlets for my computer on the sea). The confusion of my struggle is my apparent attempt to keep the boat floating in the flesh but in the spirit I have already dropped it from consideration as no longer my concern.
How then to marry flesh and spirit in agreement? It fully comes at the physical sinking of the boat, which is not my job to do but the wind and waves. I have been busy walking even though it has not yet sunk (no fault of my own… but actually it has been my fault it hasn’t sunk yet I guess as I am finding ways to keep it floating even knowing it will eventually sink. In otherwords I am periodically dipping a bucket in the act of bailing the Titanic for a lack of something else to do. If its going down anyway, why not dip an expensive vase full before tossing it overboard?). But is that or is that not clinging to the boat? I cannot tell.

(*2) Recorded history has hidden much of the original conduct that returns as Just retribution in both directions! Psalm 137:9 appears obviously to be a godless heart of venom by David himself. “Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.” How could David verbalize such a thought?!
This verse is the end of a message: Read verses 7-8 and you find that Edom, Israel’s blood relative (the people of Esau: Jeremiah 49:7-18), just stood by as "observing neighbors" when Babylon came to destroy Jerusalem and they cried; “Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof” (v.7), This clue allows us to further study the scriptures for Edom’s conduct and we see that David’s cry was only returning the acts of Edom earlier (Isaiah 25:12, Joel 3:19 etc.). Just retribution, as verse 8 declares the principle; Eye for an Eye of the law.

(*3) A few days after writing this post, but before I could get it posted, out of the blue I get a phone call from an out of town company I worked for several years ago, asking if I wanted a project. Unlike other hopeful opportunities through this, there appears to be no hindrances to this direction and so I accept this as a completion of my strange adventure very much like Peter and the Lord returning to the boat (Matthew 14:32). I'm certainly not going to now refuse to get into the boat.
As I dwell on this sudden arrival back at the boat and what I have learned, it occurs to me that I left this boat several years ago when my job ended and began seeking the face of Jesus full time leaving everything behind to fend for itself.
There was the great struggle as I developed my faith and purified my soul and refined my walk as I made my way to him not for the first time, but in a deeper and significantly more powerful way. There the Lord met me as I struggled and I had three years of incredible blessing and provision and intimacy with God on a level I previously thought impossible while on earth, but then the waves seemed to again become a nuisance as I struggled with my footing of application in the unfamiliar situation, Jesus was teaching me how to walk beside him on the tumultuous sea.
And now suddenly, in a very quick turn of events, I am apparently back at the boat to continue a normal life with normal rules and the storm is suddenly calm. (Funny how yesterday I stressed over the need for firewood to survive the winter but today it means nothing, the job is out of town for the winter.) This adventure will make quite and entry in my personal book of remembrance but I confess I’m actually finding it hard to let go of this incredible period of intimacy with God to return to a regular life… but to be frank, I am really glad I did not have to experience a sinking though I was willing to go the distance if necessary, expecting some mission work in a distant land or who-knows-what-God-has-planned kind of thing. I should have known by the scriptural example that the boat was not going to sink and we would eventually end up back there.

What I glean from the three versions of Peter’s experience now with a lot more meaning to me personally, is that everybody else in the boat is not going to want to hear all about my great adventure once I get back in and rejoin them in rowing to shore. What happened to me out there is for my own edification and the few friends interested in hearing my story. I understand by the scripture that Jesus also met all the rest of the disciples that stayed in the boat, so most believers will not need to experience such an adventure and in the end it really doesn’t seem to add any advantage as they all arrived to shore together! This is a private thing.
Something that surprised me thought it shouldn't have, is that the wind does not stop blowing until you get back to the boat, even while you’re walking with Jesus through it. Jesus did not calm the seas for Peter, he just made it possible for him to walk it.
For the disobedient, this "change you can believe in" is a great leap in further separation from God as a government of wickedness takes power. For the believer this change is not unexpected and in fact right on schedule, and should be seen as a powerful tool of God to purify the dross from us in preparation of the kingdom of God.
“We now return to our regular broadcasting.”
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