Posted on 08/27/2021 12:42:14 AM PDT by Cronos
25:1–13
1. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
2. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
4. But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
6. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
7. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
9. 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.
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.
11. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
12. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
13. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxxviii.) In the foregoing parable the Lord set forth the punishment of the man who beat, and was drunk, and wasted his Lord’s goods; in this He declares his punishment who profits not, and does not prepare for himself abundantly the things of which he has need; for the foolish virgins had oil, but not enough.
HILARY. Then, because all this discourse is concerning the great day of the Lord, concerning which He had been speaking before.
GREGORY. (Hom. in Ev. xii. 1.) By the kingdom of heaven is meant the present Church, as in that, The Son of Man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend. (Matt. 13:41.)
JEROME. This parable of the ten foolish and the ten wise virgins, some interpret literally of virgins, of whom there are according to the Apostle some who are virgins both in body and in thought, (1 Cor. 7.) others who have preserved indeed their bodies virgin, but have not the other deeds of virgins, or have only been preserved by the guardianship of parents, but have wedded in their hearts. But from what has gone before, I think the meaning to be different, and that the parable has reference not to virgins only, but to the whole human race.
GREGORY. (ubi sup.) For in each of the five senses of the body `there is a double instrument, and the number five doubled makes ten. And because the company of the faithful is gathered out of both sexes, the Holy Church is described as being like to ten virgins, where as bad are mixed with good, and reprobate with elect, it is like a mixture of wise and foolish virgins.
CHRYSOSTOM. And He employs the character virgins in this parable to shew, that though virginity be a great thing, yet if it be not accompanied by works of mercy, it shall be cast out with the adulterers.
ORIGEN. Or, The understandings of all who have received the word of God are virgins. For such is the word of God, that of its purity it imparts to all, who by its teaching have departed from the worship of idols, and have through Christ drawn near to the worship of God; Which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom and the bridea. They take their lamps, i. e. their natural faculties, and go forth out of the world and its errors, and go to meet the Saviour, who is ever ready to come to enter with them that are worthy to His blessed bride the Church.
HILARY. Or, The bridegroom and the bride represent our Lord God in the body, for the flesh is the bride of the spirit. The lamps are the light of bright souls which shine forth in the sacrament of baptismb.
AUGUSTINE. (Lib. 83 Quæst. q. 59.) Or, The lamps which they carry in their hands are their works, of which it was said above, Let your works shine before men. (Mat. 5:16.)
ORIGEN. They that believe rightly, and live righteously, are likened to the five wise; they that profess the faith of Jesus, but prepare themselves not by good works to salvation, are likened to the five foolish.
JEROME. For there are five senses which hasten towards heavenly things, and seek after things above. Of sight, hearing, and touch, it is specially said, That which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, and our hands have handled. (1 John 1:1.) Of taste, Taste and see that the Lord is good. (Ps. 34:8.) Of smell, Because of the savour of thy good ointments. (Sol. Song, 1:3.) There are also other five senses which gape after earthly husks.
AUGUSTINE. (ubi sup.) Or, by the five virgins, is denoted a five-fold continence from the allurements of the flesh; for our appetite must be held from gratification of the eyes, ears, smell, taste, and touch. And as this continence may be done before God, to please Him in inward joy of the conscience, or before men only to gain applause of men, five are called wise, and five foolish. Both are virgins, because both these men exercise continence, though from different motives.
ORIGEN. And because the virtues are so linked together, that he who has one has all, so all the senses so follow one another, that all must be wise, or all foolish.
HILARY. Or, The five wise and five foolish are an absolute distinction between believers and unbelievers.
GREGORY. (ubi sup.) It is to be observed, that all have lamps, but all have not oil.
HILARY. The oil is the fruit of good works, the vessels are the human bodies in whose inward parts the treasure of a good conscience is to be laid up.
JEROME. The virgins that have oil are they who, besides their faith, have the ornament of good works; they that have not oil, are they that seem to confess with like faith, but neglect the works of virtue.
AUGUSTINE. (ubi sup.) Or, The oil denotes joy, according to that, God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness. (Ps. 45:7.) He then whose joy springs not from this that he is inwardly pleasing to God, has no oil with him; for they have no gladness in their continent lives, save in the praises of men. But the wise took oil with their lamps, that is, the gladness of good works, in their vessels, that is, they stored it in their heart and conscience, as the Apostle speaks, Let every man prove himself, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself, and not in another. (Gal. 6:4.)
CHRYSOSTOM. Or, The oil denotes charity, alms, and every aid rendered to the needy; the lamps denote the gifts of virginity; and He calls them foolish, because after having gone through the greater toil, they lost all for the sake of a less; for it is greater labour to overcome the desires of the flesh than of money.
ORIGEN. Or, The oil is the word of teaching, with which the vessels of souls are filled; for what gives so great content as moral discourse, which is called the oil of light. The wise took with them of this oil, as much as would suffice, though the Word should tarry long, and be slack to come to their consummation. The foolish took lamps, alight indeed at the first, but not supplied with so much oil as should suffice even to the end, being careless respecting the provision of doctrine which comforts faith, and enlightens the lamp of good deeds.
AUGUSTINE. (ubi sup.) For there die of both kinds of men in this interval of time before the resurrection of the dead, and the Lord’s coming shall be.
GREGORY. (ubi sup.) To sleep is to die, to slumber before sleep is to faint from salvation before death, because, by the burden of sickness we come to the sleep of death.
JEROME. Or, They slumbered, i. e. they were dead. And then follows, And slept, because they were to be afterwards wakened. While the bridegroom tarried, shews that no little time intervened between the Lord’s first and second coming.
ORIGEN. Or, Whilst the bridegroom tarried, and the Word comes not speedily to the consummation of this life, the senses suffer, slumbering and moving in the night of the world; and sleep, as energizing feebly, and with no quick sense. Yet did those wise virgins not quit their lamps, nor despair of hoarding their oil.
JEROME. The Jews have a tradition that Christ will come at midnight, in like manner as in that visitation of Egypt, when the Paschal feast is celebrated, and the destroyer comes, and the Lord passes over our dwellings, and the door posts of each man’s countenance are hallowed by the blood of the Lamb. Hence, I suppose, has continued among us that apostolic tradition, that on the vigil of Easterc the people should not be dismissed before midnight, in expectation of Christ’s coming; but when that hour has past over, they may celebrate the feast in security; whence also the Psalmist says, At midnight did I rise to praise thee. (Ps. 119:62.)
AUGUSTINE. (ubi sup.) Or, At midnight, that is, when none knew or looked for it.
JEROME. Suddenly thus, as on a stormy night, and when all think themselves secure, at the hour when sleep is the deepest, the coming of Christ shall be proclaimed by the shout of Angels, and the trumpets of the Powers that go before Him. This is meant when it says, Lo, the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him.
HILARY. At the trumpet signal they go forth to meet the bridegroom alone, for then shall the two be one, that is, the flesh and God, when the lowliness of the flesh shall be transformed into spiritual glory.
AUGUSTINE. (ubi sup.) Or, that the virgins go forth to meet the bridegroom alone, I think is to be understood that the virgins themselves constitute her who is called the bride; as we speak of the Christians flocking to the Church as children running to their mother, and yet this same mother consists only of the children who are gathered together. For now the Church is betrothed, and is to be led forth as a virgin to the marriage, which takes place then when all her mortal part having past away, she may be held in an eternal union.
ORIGEN. Or, At midnight, that is, at the time of their most abandoned carelessness, there was a great cry, of the Angels, I suppose, desiring to arouse all men, those ministering spirits crying within in the senses of all that sleep, Behold, the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him. All heard this summons, and arose, but all were not able to trim their lamps fitly. The lamps of the senses are trimmed by evangelical and right use of them; and they that use their senses amiss have their lamps untrimmed.
GREGORY. (ubi sup.) Or, All the virgins arose, that is, both elect and reprobate are roused from the sleep of death; they trimmed their lamps, that is, they reckon up to themselves their works for which they look to receive eternal blessedness.
AUGUSTINE. (ubi sup.) They trimmed their lamps, that is, prepared to give an account of their deeds.
HILARY. Or, the trimming their lamps is the return of their souls into their bodies, and their light is the consciousness of good works that shines forth, which is contained in the vessels of the body.
GREGORY. (ubi sup.) The lamps of the foolish virgins go out, because the works which appeared outwardly to men to be bright, are dimmed within at the coming of the Judge. That they then beg oil of the wise virgins, what is it but that at the coming of the Judge, when they find themselves empty within, they seek for witness from without? As though deceived by their own self-confidence, they say to their neighbours, Whereas ye see us rejected as living without works, do ye witness to our works that ye have seen.
AUGUSTINE. (ubi sup.) From habit, the mind seeks that which uses to give it pleasure. And these now seek from men, who see not the heart, witness to God, who sees the heart. But their lamps go out, because those, whose good works rest upon the testimony of others, when that is withdrawn, sink into nothing.
JEROME. Or, These virgins who complain that their lamps are gone out, shew that they are partially alight, yet have they not an unfailing light, nor enduring works. Whoso then has a virgin soul, and is a lover of chastity, ought not to rest content with such virtues as quickly fade, and are withered away when the heat comes upon them, but should follow after perfect virtues, that he may have an enduring light.
CHRYSOSTOM. Or otherwise; These virgins were foolish, not only because they departed hence, lacking store of mercy, but because they deemed to receive it from those of whom they importunately begged it. For though nothing could be more merciful than those wise virgins, who for this very mercifulness were approved, yet would they not grant the prayer of the foolish virgins. But the wise answered, saying, Not so, lest there be not enough for us and you; hence we lean that none of us shall be able in that day to stand forth as patron1 of those who are betrayed by their own works, not because he will not, but because he cannot.
JEROME. For these wise virgins do not answer thus out of covetousness, but out of fear. Wherefore, each man shall receive the recompense of his own works, and the virtues of one cannot atone for the vices of another in the day of judgment. The wise admonish them not to go to meet the bridegroom without oil, Go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
HILARY. They that sell are the poor, who, needing the alms of the faithful, made them that recompense which they desire, selling in return for the relief afforded to their wants, a consciousness of good works. This is the abundant fuel of an undying light which may be bought and stored up for the fruits of mercy.
CHRYSOSTOM. You see then how great merchants the poor are to us; but the poor are not there, but here, and therefore we must store up oil here, that we may have it to use there when occasion shall require.
JEROME. And this oil is sold, and at a high cost, nor is it to be got without much toil; so that we understand it not of alms only, but of all virtues and counsels of the teachers.
ORIGEN. Otherwise; Notwithstanding they were foolish, they yet understood that they must have light to go and meet the bridegroom, that all the lights of their senses might be burning. This also they discerned, that because they had little of the spiritual oil, their lamps would burn dim as darkness drew on. But the wise send the foolish to those that sell, seeing that they had not stored up so much oil, that is, word of doctrine, as would suffice both for themselves to live by, and to teach others, Go ye rather to them that sell, i. e. to the doctors, and buy, i. e. take of them; the price is perseverance, the love of learning, industry, and toil of all who are willing to learn.
AUGUSTINE. (ubi sup.) Or we may suppose it not meant as advice what they should do, but as an indirect allusion to their fault. For flatterers sell oil, who by praising things false, and things unknown, lead souls astray, recommending to them, as foolish, empty joys, and receiving in return some temporal benefit. Go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves, i. e. Let us now see what they can profit you who have used to sell you their praise. Lest there be not enough for us and you, because no man is profited in God’s sight by the testimony of others, because God sees the heart, and each man is scarce able to give testimony concerning his own conscience.
JEROME. But because the season for buying was now past, and the day of judgment was coming on, so that there was no room for penitence, they must not now lay up new works, but give an account of the old.
HILARY. The marriage is the putting on of immortality, and the joining together corruption and incorruption in a new union,
CHRYSOSTOM. That, While they went to buy, shews that even, if we should become merciful after death, it will avail us nothing to escape punishment, as it was no profit to the rich man, that he became merciful and careful about those who belonged to him.
ORIGEN. Or, He says, While they went to buy, because there are men to be found who have neglected to learn any thing useful, till when, in the very end of their life, when they set themselves to learn, they are overtaken by death.
AUGUSTINE. (ubi sup.) Or otherwise; While they went to buy, that is, while they turned themselves to things without, and sought to find pleasure in things they had been accustomed to, because they knew not inward joys, came He that judges; and they that were ready, i. e. they whose conscience bore witness to them before God, went in with him to the wedding, i. e. to where the pure soul is united prolific to the pure and perfect word of God.
JEROME. After the day of judgment, there is no more opportunity for good works, or for righteousness, and therefore it follows, And the door was shut.
AUGUSTINE. (ubi sup.) When they have been taken in who have been changed into angelic being (1 Cor. 15:51), all entrance into the kingdom of heaven is closed; after the judgment, there is no more place for prayers or merit.
HILARY. Yet though the season of repentance is now past, the foolish virgins come and beg that entrance may be granted to them.
JEROME. Their worthy confession calling Him, Lord, Lord, is a mark of faith. But what avails it to confess with the mouth Him whom you deny with your works?
GLOSS. (ap. Anselm.) Grief at their exclusion extorts from them a repetition of this title of Lord; they call not Him Father, whose mercy they despised in their lifetime.
AUGUSTINE. (ubi sup.) It is not said that they bought any oil, and therefore we must suppose that all their delight in the praise of men being gone, they return in distress and affliction to implore God. But His severity, after judgment, is as great as His mercy was unspeakable before. But He answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not; by that rule, namely, that the art of God, that is, His wisdom, does not admit that those should enter into His joy who have sought to do in any thing according to His commandments, not as before God, but that they may please men.
JEROME. For the Lord knoweth them that are his, (2 Tim. 2:19.) and he that knoweth not shall not be known, and though they be virgins in purity of body, or in confession of the true faith, yet forasmuch as they have no oil, they are unknown by the bridegroom. When He adds, Watch therefore, because ye know not the day nor the hour, He means that all that has been said points to this, namely, that seeing we know not the day of judgment, we should be careful in providing the light of good works.
AUGUSTINE. (ubi sup.) For indeed we know the day and the hour neither of that future time when the Bridegroom will come, nor of our own falling asleep each of us; if then we be prepared for this latter, we shall also be prepared when that voice shall sound, which shall arouse us all.
AUGUSTINE. (Ep. 199. 45.) There have not been wanting those who would refer these ten virgins to that coming of Christ, which takes place now in the Church; but this is not to be hastily held out, lest any thing should occur contradictory of it.
Dumb question of the day:
“Since that verse is supposed to be the words of Jesus, then why, oh why, are there so many cotton-picking postings og folks who have sieved their brains for triangulations of ‘last days’, ‘end of days’, “tribulation comes’, and so on?
However, giving credit to the Futurist Christian eschatological view includes (according to some):
“the influence to a Jesuit priest, Manuel Lacunza (1731-1801), who was born in Chile but came to Italy in 1767 where he would spend the rest of his life. Posing as a converted Jew (under the pseudonym Juan Josafat Ben Ezra), he wrote, in Spanish, a large apocalyptic work entitled The Coming of the Messiah in Glory and Majesty. The book appeared first in 1811, 10 years after his death. http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac1005.asp
Another influence is said to be a Jesuit priest named Francisco Ribera (1537–1591) was a Spanish Jesuit theologian, identified with the Futurist Christian eschatological view.
“In the Dictionary of Premillennial Theology (1997) it is said that Ribera was an Augustinian amillennialist, who may have revived a “mild” form of futurism.[1] His interpretation was then followed by Robert Bellarmine and Thomas Malvenda.[2]
Thomas Brightman, in particular, writing in the early 17th century as an English Protestant, contested Ribera’s views. He argued that the Catholic use of the Vulgate had withheld commentary from the Book of Revelation, and then provided an interpretation avoiding the connection with the Papacy put forward in the historicist point of view.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lacunza
Ribera “in the days of the Reformation, first taught that all the events in the book of Revelation were to take place literally during the three and a half years reign of the antichrist way down at the end of the age.” http://www.theologue.org/Theory-JPEby.html (Protestant source, which gives the most lengthy explanation).
Ten virgins - These virgins, doubtless, represent the church - a name given to it because it is pure and holy. See 2Co_11:2; Lam_1:15; Lam_2:13. Which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom - The “lamps” used on such occasions were rather “torches” or “flambeaux.” They were made by winding rags around pieces of iron or earthenware, sometimes hollowed so as to contain oil, and fastened to handles of wood. These torches were dipped in oil, and gave a large light. Marriage “ceremonies” in the East were conducted with great pomp and solemnity. The ceremony of marriage was performed commonly in the open air, on the banks of a stream. Both the bridegroom and bride were attended by friends. They were escorted in a palanquin. carried by four or more persons. After the ceremony of marriage succeeded a feast of seven days if the bride was a virgin, or three days if she was a widow. This feast was celebrated in her father’s house. At the end of that time the bridegroom conducted the bride with great pomp and splendor to his own home.
This was done in the evening, or at night, Jer_7:34; Jer_25:10; Jer_33:11. Many friends and relations attended them; and besides those who went with them from the house of the bride, there was another company that came out from the house of the bridegroom to meet them and welcome them. These were probably female friends and relatives of the bridegroom, who went out to welcome him and his new companion to their home. These are the virgins mentioned in this parable. Not knowing precisely the time when the procession would come, they probably went out early, and waited until they should see indications of its approach.
In the celebration of marriage in the East at the present day, many of the special customs of ancient times are observed. “At a Hindu marriage,” says a modern missionary, “the procession of which I saw some years ago, the bridegroom came from a distance, and the bride lived at Serampore, to which place the bridegroom was to come by water. After waiting two or three hours, at length, near midnight, it was announced, in the very words of Scripture, ‘Behold the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.’ All the persons employed now lighted their lamps, and ran with them in their hands to fill up their stations in the procession. Some of them had lost their lights and were unprepared, but it was then too late to seek them, and the cavalcade moved forward to the house of the bride, at which place the company entered a large and splendidly illuminated area before the house, covered with an awning, where a great multitude of friends, dressed in their best apparel, were seated upon mats. The bridegroom was carried in the arms of a friend, and placed in a superb seat in the midst of the company, where he sat a short time, and then went into the house, the door of which was immediately shut and guarded by sepoys. I and others expostulated with the doorkeepers, but in vain. Never was I so struck with our Lord’s beautiful parable as at this moment - ‘And the door was shut.’” - Albert Barnes' (1798-1870) Notes on the Bible
1. The Bridegroom is our Lord Jesus Christ; he is so represented in the 45th Psalm, Solomon's Song, and often in the New Testament. It bespeaks his singular and superlative love to, and his faithful and inviolable covenant with, his spouse the church. Believers are now betrothed to Christ (Hos_2:19); but the solemnizing of the marriage is reserved for the great day, when the bride, the Lamb's wife, will have made herself completely ready, Rev_19:7, Rev_19:9.
2. The virgins are the professors of religion, members of the church; but here represented as her companions (Psa_45:14), as elsewhere her children (Isa_54:1), her ornaments, Isa_49:18. They that follow the Lamb, are said to be virgins (Rev_14:4); this denotes their beauty and purity; they are to be presented as chaste virgins to Christ, 2Co_11:2. The bridegroom is a king; so these virgins are maids of honour, virgins without number (Son_6:8), yet here said to be ten.
3. The office of these virgins is to meet the bridegroom, which is as much their happiness as their duty. They come to wait upon the bridegroom when he appears, and in the mean time to wait for him. See here the nature of Christianity. As Christians, we profess ourselves to be,
(1.) Attendants upon Christ, to do him honour, as the glorious Bridegroom, to be to him for a name and a praise, especially then when he shall come to be glorified in his saints. We must follow him as honorary servants do their masters, Joh_12:26. Hold up the name, and hold forth the praise of the exalted Jesus; this is our business.
(2.) Expectants of Christ, and of his second coming. As Christians, we profess, not only to believe and look for, but to love and long for, the appearing of Christ, and to act in our whole conversation with a regard to it. The second coming of Christ is the centre in which all the lines of our religion meet, and to which the whole of the divine life hath a constant reference and tendency.
4. Their chief concern is to have lights in their hands, when they attend the bridegroom, thus to do him honour and do him service. Note, Christians are children of light. The gospel is light, and they who receive it must not only be enlightened by it themselves, but must shine as lights, must hold it forth, Php_2:15, Php_2:16. This in general. Now concerning these ten virgins, we may observe,
(1.) Their different character, with the proof and evidence of it.
[1.] Their character was that five were wise, and five foolish (Mat_25:2); and wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness; so saith Solomon, a competent judge, Ecc_2:13. Note, Those of the same profession and denomination among men, may yet be of characters vastly different in the sight of God. Sincere Christians are the wise virgins, and hypocrites the foolish ones, as in another parable they are represented by wise and foolish builders. Note, Those are wise or foolish indeed, that are so in the affairs of their souls. True religion is true wisdom; sin is folly, but especially the sin of hypocrisy, for those are the greatest fools, that are wise in their own conceit, and those the worst of sinners, that feign themselves just men. Some observe from the equal number of the wise and foolish, what a charitable decorum (it is Archbishop Tillotson's expression) Christ observes, as if he would hope that the number of true believers was nearly equal to that of hypocrites, or, at least, would teach us to hope the best concerning those that profess religion, and to think of them with a bias to the charitable side. Though, in judging of ourselves, we ought to remember that the gate is strait, and few find it; yet, in judging of others, we ought to remember that the Captain of our salvation brings many sons to glory.
[2.] The evidence of this character was in the very thing which they were to attend to; by that they are judged of.
First, It was the folly of the foolish virgins, that they took their lamps, and took no oil with them, Mat_25:3. They had just the oil enough to make their lamps burn for the present, to make a show with, as if they intended to meet the bridegroom; but no cruse or bottle of oil with them for a recruit if the bridegroom tarried; thus hypocrites, 1. They have no principle within. They have a lamp of profession in their hands, but have not in their hearts that stock of sound knowledge, rooted dispositions, and settled resolutions, which is necessary to carry them through the services and trials of the present state. They act under the influence of external inducements, but are void of spiritual life; like a tradesman, that sets up without a stock, or the seed on the stony ground, that wanted root.
2. They have no prospect of, nor make provision for, what is to come. They took lamps for a present show, but not oil for after use. This incogitancy is the ruin of many professors; all their care is to recommend themselves to their neighbours, whom they now converse with, not to approve themselves to Christ, whom they must hereafter appear before; as if any thing will serve, provide it will but serve for the present. Tell them of things not seen as yet, and you are like Lot to his sons-in-law, as one that mocked. They do not provide for hereafter, as the ant does, nor lay up for the time to come, 1Ti_6:19.
More - Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible, Published in 1708-1714; public domain.
There are indeed few Catholics in the body of Christ, which is the only one true church, since it alone always only consists 100% of believers, whereas formal organic churches inevitably become ad mixture of tares and wheat. And since the RCC generally affirms properly baptized Prots as being part of the mystical body of Christ, then they must allow some to be part of the kingdom of God, which in essence is the ruling of God in the hearts of believers.
Excerpts from some RC sources on this: Here we see that The Kingdom of God resides in the heart of man....This current “mixed” state can be seen as the Church on earth which now grows in the field of the world with both weeds and wheat until the harvest when Christ says he will “tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned. But gather the wheat into my barn” (Matt 13:30). - https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/what-is-the-kingdom-of-god
CCC 544: The kingdom belongs to the poor and lowly, which means those who have accepted it with humble hearts. Jesus is sent to "preach good news to the poor";253 he declares them blessed, for "theirs is the kingdom of heaven."254 To them - the "little ones" the Father is pleased to reveal what remains hidden from the wise and the learned.
CCC 2816: In the New Testament, the word basileia can be translated by "kingship" (abstract noun), "kingdom" (concrete noun) or "reign" (action noun). The Kingdom of God lies ahead of us. It is brought near in the Word incarnate, it is proclaimed throughout the whole Gospel, and it has come in Christ's death and Resurrection....The kingdom will come in glory when Christ hands it over to his Father: It may even be . . . that the Kingdom of God means Christ himself, whom we daily desire to come, and whose coming we wish to be manifested quickly to us. For as he is our resurrection, since in him we rise, so he can also be understood as the Kingdom of God, for in him we shall reign.
On the feast of Trumpets in 2025 the shmita cycles and jubilee cycles will converge. If 2 Thessalonians is fulfilled by then, which is quite likely, the Trump shall blow literally. We cant know the day or hour but Jesus said nothing about knowing the week, month or year.
Come quickly and end this debacle Jesus...
End the suffering, the pain, the strife...
Mat 24:39-41 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
This a strong warning and should not be twisted into a strange, false comfort that believers will magically be flown off to a Neverland existence.
Further, if you consider Paul’s exhortation as rapturous (1 The 4-17). Consider that he is describing Jesus coming down to Earth as a king entering the city. Of course we would want to come out (or up in this case) to greet Him. But if you continue in the opposite direction of Jesus, you will be on the least preferable road indeed.
Paul is using a concept very familiar to his audience because subjects were required to come forth out of the city to greet and pay respect to the Emperor. Read Mat 21: 8-10 to put context to this idea - Jesus will be greeted at His second coming as He was at His first (with respect and admiration of His Kingship). A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
In 1 Thes 5:9, Paul says, “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ”; it is the main summary which has been take astray by some - because they force Daniel to here. But all that is being said is choose eternal (wrath vs salvation). This entire exhortation is about:
1) Not knowing or expecting the MOMENT or the TIMING of the end (not a measurement of time)
2) being prepared by our living
3) holding firm to the eternal hope lest we fall into the eternal wrath
4) resurrection and salvation
The Protestant Reformers (all of them) rightly said that the RCC was the Antichrist power. To deflect criticism, they came up with 2 alternate theories (both lies). Futurism is essentially the modern day rapture theory after being tweaked by Darby and his buddies.
Dumb question of the day:“Since that verse is supposed to be the words of Jesus, then why, oh why, are there so many cotton-picking postings og folks who have sieved their brains for triangulations of ‘last days’, ‘end of days’, “tribulation comes’, and so on?
"go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy..."
Midnight oil is not sold in stores.
"Keep the lamp of your learnin' burnin' bright." ~ The Seekers
The foolish are watching the clock.
The feasts and shenita are for Jews. The trumpets and booths are for Jews, not the Church. There are zero prophecies which preclude the gathering of the Body of Christ. For Christians the NEXT event we await is the Rapture, the PUBLIC removal of The Body of Christ so that the restrainer is moved out of the way of antiChrist.
“go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy...”
People also ignore..”and as they were returning” or “when they returned” which means per context of the parable that they had bought their needed oil but found themselves shut out as they were not in the right place when the groom came.
In the customs of the times of Jesus, it was the prospective BRIDE that made sure all was in readiness and that her guests and servants had all they needed. The foolish bridesmaids needed only ask of the bride or at least ask of her to buy some of her oil so that they too could be in readiness. After all, all needed to be in readiness and no one wanted to be caught outside and locked out of the feast when the groom appeared.
So we need to re-ask ourselves in light of the context of the wedding customs of Jesus day...what made the Bridesmaid so foolish? The parable says they were able to get their oil but they were too late in returning to the place of the wedding. Should they have not spoken to the bride about their lack of preparation? Would the bride have spurned them ? Perhaps she could have set the maidens at other tasks if oil was not available? What is it that Christians have today including the Holy Spirit that preps us and prepares us? Is it not the church...the Bride of Christ?
I wonder if some Christians see convergence with Jewish rituals because gentile Christians are of the lineage of Abraham by the spirit of adoption. I agree with you about your post otherwise. I’m not convinced about the Restrainer as being part and parcel of the Body of Christ(but rather a separate entity FROM the church) since the Restrainer must have been in operation before Christ established his Church upon the Earth, lest the Son of Perdition should have arisen before Christ came upon the Earth. Now both the restrainer and the Church will leave the scene before the Beast arises to full power; I have no quarrel with that.
An assumption is that they came back with the "needed oil". Confusion is thus served in coma-inducing portions.
Matthew 25
11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
If the context suggests anything, it's that the foolish were sucking the oxygen out of the room, so the wise ingeniously got them to run out to the 24-hour convenience store. Then the wise promptly changed the locks.
That's the simple understanding from the real world in the time of Jesus.
Folks shouldn't be surprised that he'd necessarily have one of those "Born to Wander" shirts in his wardrobe.
Parables *are* the simple meanings.
Five were wise and five were foolish, because not everyone can be a star. Maybe they had no Cash.
Inside, the music plays:
This a strong warning and should not be twisted into a strange, false comfort that believers will magically be flown off to a Neverland existence.
Oh, I know there will be suffering. I am not expecting there to be paradise immediately.
However, the quicker Jesus comes, the quicker get there.
Well stated! I believe the Holy Spirit is the ONLY force who can restrain satan’s agenda. Even the Archangel Michael did not try, stating ‘the Lord rebuke you’. Since the Holy Spirit is abiding in all in the Body of Christ Believers, it makes sense that He would remove those with the Holy Spirit in their spirit so that the restrainer is ‘out of the way’ for the man of sin’s Presence. The third tense of salvation is being protected from the presence of sin, as in the man of sin.
Well yours is a singular 21st century influenced interpretation. That the maids would not have returned empty handed unless they got their oil is a reasonable explanation as to why they were returning.
People concentrate on the oil and the prep. They were foolish because they were caught away at the time of the coming of the groom. Their pride made them unable to face their mistress who surely could have helped them. The Bride could have helped made them ready! A study of the marriage customs of the times of Jesus brings the parable into sharper focus. Jesus spoke to those who knew what wedding customs were at the time.
That is why Revelation 22:17 says “17 The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
Note the reference to the Bride!
Parables are the simple meanings. That's the point of the teaching: using simple-to-understand analogies to explain deeper concepts "in a nutshell", the opposite of trying to cause confusion.
Modern examples: the tortoise and the hare, the boy who cried wolf.
When the parables themselves are great mysteries engendering libraries full of explanations that don't go any higher up the ladder, that's a tell:
Matthew 13
10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto ***them*** in parables?
11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
13 Therefore speak I to ***them*** in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Why speakest thou unto them in parables? ...
... when they already know every little thing. At times the disciples asked for clarification (the explanations were simple), but that's because they wanted to learn, to wipe the fog off the lenses.
Say a politician acts like he's a big fan of baseball, but couldn't say what month is the World Series, or is unfamiliar with the term.
Why talk to him about baseball? Why indeed. It's instructive, and constructive in the sense of Haman building his own gallows.
Do you think that God designed the pearl to be used in a Parable?
I know that everything is instructional. Perhaps God made a pearl so people would receive the wisdom inherent in asking sincere questions. :)
The Seekers - Open up them Pearly Gates - Live, 1966 STEREO
This stuff never ends! I was reminded of:
Psalm 118
19. Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go into them, and I will praise the Lord:
20. This is the gate of the Lord, into which the righteous shall enter:
Figured I'd check *this* out while I was there, and would you just look at this..
... the word "zeh" [זה], "this". Its sum is 12 (cf. Rev 21:21), but spelled out the letters zayin + hei = 73 = wisdom (chokmah).
Chokmah is one of those words that is the subject of a lot of Jewish commentary, so its numeric value is often mentioned in those writings.
I've always suspected that there was something here in "super simple" ville, ala "Who's on 1st" (and for another reason entirely I already had this chapter open on the screen):
Exo 3
15. And God said moreover to Moses, Thus shall you say to the people of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you; this [zeh] is my name forever, and this [zeh] is my memorial to all generations:
Which would make sense of King David having his big dream of building a Temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel, which could also indicate God's reputation, character.
I love simplicity, even if it takes a long while to get there (makes it that much more valuable for the effort).. It really boils down to the one-word communication signifying not just agreement, but also, "Yeah, you really stated that well, take no more calls we have a winner":
*THIS*
:)
Fun adventure. It's always something rewarding, every minute.
"Zeh" is the first part of the word gold, zahav. = 14 = David. But there's a pattern, because the last/third letter is the bet, which is "house".
Hence gold is the "zeh" house, this house.
It all fits together in the weirdest ways from different directions. Happens all the time.
That was well worth the ride.
"Open up them Pearly Gates"
How early do they open? Sleep is a metaphor for death, death is a metaphor for sleep. The dead know not a thing, because they are fast asleep at the switch, well okay when they're not busy voting Demoncrat.
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