Will you please turn to the Gospel according to Matthew, Chapter 24? Matthew 24.
We will begin with Matthew 24:37.
But as were the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man.
For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark,
and they knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall be the coming of the Son of man.
Then shall two men be in the field; one is taken, and one is left:
two women shall be grinding at the mill; one is taken, and one is left.
Watch therefore: for ye know not on what day your Lord cometh.
But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken through.
Therefore be ye also ready; for in an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath set over his household, to give them their food in due season?
Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
Verily I say unto you, that he will set him over all that he hath.
But if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord tarrieth;
and shall begin to beat his fellow-servants, and shall eat and drink with the drunken;
the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he expecteth not, and in an hour when he knoweth not,
and shall cut him asunder, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be the weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Just one more verse: Matthew 25:1.
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
I believe we all sense in our hearts that the coming of our Lord is imminent. We do not know when. We cannot know the day or the hour. But we do sense in our spirit that His coming is very near.
God has His timetable, but His timetable is very different from ours. We will set up a time, a schedule, and fix a certain year, month, day, or hour. But God’s timetable is living and flexible. His timetable is made according to conditions. When the conditions are right, then His time comes.
That is the reason why you find in the Bible this term, “the fullness of the time.” Even at the first coming of our Lord Jesus, He came at the fullness of the time. Galatians says that, at the fullness of the time, He came, born of a woman, under the law, to deliver us from the curse of the law.
Now, the same thing will happen at His second coming. It is at the fullness of the time that He will come.
Even though we do not know the day or the hour—not only do we not know, even the angels do not know—so be comforted. The Father knows. And yet God does show us the general conditions connected with His coming. By noticing these general conditions, we are assured that His coming is very near.
Now, here in this passage that we have just read, the Lord said, “As the days of Noah, so also shall be the coming of the Son of man.” In other words, the conditions of the coming of the Son of man are similar to the conditions in the days of Noah.
If you go back to Genesis 6, you will find certain things mentioned as to the conditions in the days of Noah.
First, during those days, the people multiplied very quickly—in other words, a population explosion. And we find this very real with us today.
Second, you find during those days that the sons of God looked upon the daughters of men, and they married them. Now, of course, we know there are different interpretations—mainly two. One is that the sons of God are the descendants of Seth, while the daughters of men are the descendants of Cain.
There is another interpretation which says that the sons of God refer to the angels and the daughters of men refer to mankind. Now, I personally believe the second interpretation. Whether you take it or not is up to you. But anyway, you find that the angels are not supposed to marry or be given in marriage, and yet we find in the Scripture that some angels do not keep their proper place.
These angels began to have affairs with the daughters of men, and the result was the giants in the old days. But anyway, you find that in modern-day spiritualism these things are increasing.
Third, you find in the days of Noah that mankind was very wicked. Even the imagination of the thoughts of their hearts was evil continually. And how true this is today. We find that the mind of man is really corrupted—wicked imaginations and thoughts of the heart are evil continually.
Especially with the help of media such as television and so forth, the mind is filled with wicked imaginations.
Fourth, in the days of Noah you find the whole world was corrupt. As God looked upon the world, He saw that it was corrupt. And how corrupt this must be today in the eyes of God. Even in our eyes, we can see corruption everywhere. Now, in God’s eyes, certainly He sees much more than we do.
Fifth, violence was upon the face of the earth. How true it is in our day: violence, wars—all these things are with us today.
Now, of course, there are many more phenomena, but our Lord Jesus mentioned especially what was the characteristic of the days of Noah. He said that in the days of Noah, before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage.
Now, we know that eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, are all legitimate things. In other words, God ordained that we should eat, drink, marry, and be given in marriage, because this is to sustain our life and prolong the race. If there is no eating, drinking, marriage, and giving in marriage, then mankind will come to an end. These are legitimate things.
But why is it that our Lord Jesus mentions such things as the phenomenon of the days of Noah? Because eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, are necessities of life—but these are not the purpose of life.
We must eat; we must drink; we marry and are given in marriage. We have need of these things. But, dear brothers and sisters, these are not the purpose of life. If we make these the purposes of our life, something is basically, drastically wrong—very wrong.
The Lord Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone.” But if men live by bread alone—if they are occupied completely with, “What shall I eat? What shall I drink? What shall I be clothed with?”—if man is completely wrapped up with the anxieties of this life, if his mind is completely in material and physical things to the complete neglect of his spiritual need and the meaning of real life, then you know something is basically wrong.
How today people make eating and drinking their very life: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” Or people make marrying and marriage the purpose of their life. You find people married four times, five times, six times, and more.
As the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man. Brothers and sisters, we are living in a day that is very materialistic—more than ever before. People make eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, the purpose of their life. They miss the true meaning and the true purpose of life.
And while they are doing that, suddenly the flood came and took them away. The same thing will happen in our day.
Now, here the Lord Jesus said, “As the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man.” The word coming here is parousia in Greek. The word parousia means presence. So the coming of the Lord really means the presence of the Lord.
The Lord said that when you see all these things, then you know the conditions are ripe for the presence of the Lord. Today the Lord is absent. Now, in one sense He is never absent; He is with us in the Spirit. But in another sense, He is absent. He is now in heaven, and we are on earth. We are not together.
But one day there will be His presence with us. We will be with Him, and He will be with us: the presence, the parousia, of the Lord.
Now, parousia in the Scripture is not one event. It is a series of events covering a certain period of time. It has a beginning and it has an end.
Sometimes, when we talk about the coming of the Lord, what we really mean is the appearing of His coming. In other words, when the Lord shall come down from heaven, from the air, and His feet shall touch the Mount of Olives—that is usually what we think of as the coming of the Lord.
But let us remember that this is only the end of His parousia. At the end of His parousia, there will be His appearing upon this earth. But parousia has a beginning. And when will this beginning happen?
“Until the day that Noah entered into the ark.”
Usually we think of Noah entering into the ark as a type of believers being kept on earth through the great tribulation. Why? Because Noah entered into the ark, and the ark floated on the water. It went through the flood. So sometimes interpreters think that Noah entering into the ark is a type of believers being kept on the earth through the great tribulation.
And Lot, who was delivered out of the city of Sodom when fire and brimstone fell down, is viewed as a type of Christians or believers being kept out of the great tribulation. Now, in typology, sometimes this is the way it is explained.
But if you read the context, you know this is not true. Why? Because when the Lord Jesus said, “As the days of Noah, so shall be the coming, the parousia, of the Son of man,” He said, “Until the day that Noah entered into the ark.” Then the flood came.
In other words, Noah entering into the ark is not a type of believers being kept through the great tribulation. On the contrary, it is the first rapture.
I think it is interesting to note that God commanded Noah to build an ark, and the word used is ark—a chest, not a boat. And you remember God commanding Moses to build an ark. Even though in size they are vastly different, yet it is an ark.
Why? Because the ark is symbolic of our Lord Jesus. He is the ark. He was the ark at the time of Noah. He was the ark in the days of Moses. He is the ark.
Now, where is the ark today? If you read Revelation 11:19:
And the temple of God that is in heaven was opened; and there was seen in His temple the ark of His covenant; and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail.
Here you find that the ark is today in heaven. Why? Because Christ is in heaven today. So Noah entering into the ark is a type of those who believe in the Lord being taken to the Lord in heaven. Now, that is rapture.
Of course, you do not find the word rapture in the Scripture. But the word rapture simply has the same meaning as the word you find in Scripture: receiving. When our Lord Jesus was on the Mount of Olives in Acts 1, you find that He was taken up. He was taken up from the Mount of Olives, and the word taken is receiving. He was received up. He was received back to heaven.
That is the word. So we do have the word receiving. In other words, one day we will be received into His presence, and that is rapture.
Then speaks of time. At that time, two shall be in the field; one is taken and one is left. Two women grinding at a mill; one is taken, one is left.
Dear brothers and sisters, how do we know that the parousia of the Lord has begun? People often ask this question: What Scripture, what prophecy, or what prophecies must be fulfilled before the Lord can come?
Some people say that you have to wait until the Antichrist appears, until the man of sin appears. Now, if that is the case, you are looking for the Antichrist and you are not looking for Christ.
Is there any prophecy or prophecies that must be fulfilled before the parousia of the Lord can begin? So far as I understand, there is none. The general conditions are right. Our Lord can have His presence begin at any time.
You do not need to wait for any further Scripture to be fulfilled. Now, it is true that there are a number of Scriptures that need to be fulfilled yet, but after the parousia has begun—in the days of the parousia, or even after the parousia—so far as Scripture to be fulfilled before the beginning of the presence of the Lord, I can find none.
In other words, He can come at any time. Dear brothers and sisters, is that not thrilling? And is that not terrible?
How do we know the parousia has begun? One day you will find two men in the field. They are working. One is taken, and one is left. Two women are grinding at a mill. One is taken, one is left. In Luke 17, you find two in bed. One is taken, one is left.
People work in the field in the daytime. Women grind at the mill in the morning. People sleep in bed at night. So here you find whether it is morning, daytime, or midnight—or morning, daytime, and midnight. Why? Because the earth is round.
So when this taking and leaving happens, it happens all over the world. It can happen in some places at midnight, in other places in the early morning, and in another place at noontime. It will happen all over the globe at the same time. Suddenly, you will find some people being taken. They are being received into the presence of the Lord.
Now, the two here do not refer to one believer and one unbeliever. No. The two here refer to believers. Why? Because we know that this section of Matthew 24 is really addressed to the disciples and is applied to believers.
Why two? Because two is a number of witnesses. “Where two or three are gathered together, there am I in the midst of them.” That is the church. “By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.” Two is a number of witnesses.
So here you find that the Lord uses two, but these two are exactly alike. They are both working in the field; they are doing the same work. They are both grinding at a mill; they are doing the same thing. And they are both in bed; they are resting.
Now, do not be afraid to go to bed. If the Lord shall come, even if you are sleeping, it is perfectly all right. If He will take you, He will take you.
But anyway, you find that these two are exactly alike. So far as their outward appearance is concerned, they are alike. But one is taken and one is left. Now, why?
Because the Lord said that when He shall come, He will come as a thief. Now, it is strange: it seems that a thief always comes at the time that you are not prepared—always at an unexpected time. He does not come blowing a trumpet and saying, “I am coming.” He comes quietly and secretly, suddenly; and before you know it, he is gone.
The Lord said that when He shall come, He will come like a thief. Now, when the thief comes to your house, what will he take with him? Certainly, he will take your treasure. He knows exactly where your treasure box is, and he will go right to it and take your jewelry and all the things that are very precious.
He will take the things that are precious, but he will leave all the garbage to you. Now, if a thief would come and steal my garbage, I hope he would come every night. But a thief does not do that. He comes and steals the best that you have and leaves what to him is worthless, what is not worth much.
Dear brothers and sisters, at the coming of the Lord, He will come as a thief. He will steal away that which to Him is precious. But if to Him it is not worth much, He will leave it behind.
Some believers are ready for Him; others are not. Outwardly, you find they are the same. They look the same. You cannot see the difference. As a matter of fact, we should not differentiate, because we cannot. Men look upon appearance, but God looks upon the heart. We never know what is going on within a person, so do not judge anybody.
It would be a great surprise on that day. People whom we think highly of may be left, and people whom we look down upon may be taken. You never know. Do not judge. But the Lord really knows. He knows who is waiting for Him, who is watching for His coming, and who is ready and prepared for Him.
The Lord knows, and He will take those who are ready and leave those behind who are not.
What is the lesson that the Lord wants us to learn? The lesson is: “Watch therefore.” Be ready. That is the lesson.
Dear brothers and sisters, when we talk about the coming of the Lord, it is essential that we be watchful and prepared. This is more important than trying to figure out exactly what day or what hour He will come.
Our minds are so twisted that, when we are interested in the coming of the Lord, our interest is more in what will happen—what will happen one after another. We try to figure out the future instead of preparing ourselves to meet the Lord.
You may have all the knowledge about the second coming of Christ, enough that you can lecture upon it, and yet never prepare yourself or watch for His return. What is the use of that? The lesson is that we be watchful and prepared. Brothers and sisters, are we watching?
How do we know that we are watching? Are you really expecting Him to come back at any time? What is your heart attitude toward His coming?
So the Lord begins to use a parable: the parable of a servant. Now remember, the parable of the faithful and prudent servant and the evil servant actually concerns the same person. The Lord is not talking about two persons. In this parable He is talking about one person, one servant. He can be a faithful servant, or he can be a wicked, evil servant. There is a choice there.
What makes that servant a faithful and wise servant? What makes him an evil servant? It is his heart attitude toward the coming of the Lord.
The faithful servant expects his master to come back at any time. He is watching, waiting, and ready. At any time when his master shall return, he is ready to meet him. That is the right attitude.
But the attitude of the evil servant is that he says in his heart, “My lord delays his coming.” In other words, his attitude is, “Well, He will not come. He will not come.” Therefore, he does not watch. He does not expect the Lord to return.
Brothers and sisters, the first thing that we need to learn is this: What is our attitude toward His coming? Are we really expecting Him to come at any moment? Are we waiting for Him to come at any time? What is our heart attitude?
I remember Brother Watchman Nee mentioning once that, at the end of one year, he was praying together with Miss Margaret E. Barber. You all know that this sister helped our brother very much when he was young.
At the end of the year, our brother was praying with her, and while she was praying, she prayed in this way: “O Lord, does it mean that You will not come this year, and I have to wait for You for another year?”
Now, that kind of heart attitude is the attitude of a faithful servant.
Maybe unconsciously, we hope the Lord will not come very soon. Why? Because we are not ready for Him yet. Why? Because we still have many plans. We still have many things that we want to do.
Even though we may say, “Come, Lord Jesus,” yet you can hardly say, “Oh, do not come just yet.” Is that not true with many of us?
Are we so caught up with the Lord Himself? Are we so freed from the entanglements of this world? Then we are like wheat that is ripened: the root is so loosened and dry that a little touch will lift it out. Are we like that?
Are we really ready, prepared, waiting, expecting, and watching for His return? Such a heart attitude will decide our work and our manner of life upon the earth.
Because a wise servant is expecting the Lord to come at any time, you find that he gives food to the household in due season. In other words, when the Lord is absent, He appoints us to various services in His house.
What is His house? We all know that the household of God is the family of God. In other words, we who belong to the Lord are the household of God; we are in the family of God.
Now, in the family of God, we are not only children who enjoy everything that our heavenly Father and our elder Brother have prepared for us, but everyone is also given a portion of service to do.
Some may be given a greater service; others may be given a smaller service. Here, because the parable concerns one servant, it speaks as if he has the whole control of the household. But in actuality, because there are so many in the household of God, every one of us is given grace and a gift so that we may function in the household of God for the nourishment and growth of the body of Christ.
Now, here you find that this servant gives food to the household in due season. In the morning, you prepare breakfast; at noon, you prepare lunch; in the evening, you prepare supper. You prepare fresh food in season.
Because he is faithful in providing such food for the nourishment of the household, when the master returns, the master will give him charge over all his substance.
Dear brothers and sisters, if in our hearts we are really expecting the Lord to return, then we need to be faithful to whatever portion, ministry, or service the Lord has appointed to each one of us.
It is not right just to enjoy yourself in the household of God. Yes, there is much enjoyment, but at the same time you are expected to do your part.
Just as Ephesians 4 says, every member must work according to its part. Everyone has to contribute something as food, as nourishment, for the growth, increase, and maturity of the body of Christ. Are we doing it?
If we are not doing it, is it because our heart is not alert, watching for the Lord? We think, “Well, there will be tomorrow. There will be the day after tomorrow. There will be another year. There will be five more years.”
If our heart is really toward the Lord, waiting for His return, then, brothers and sisters, we must serve in season. As long as God gives us days, these are the days in which we have to do our part. Because when He returns, the time is gone; the opportunity is gone.
But are we thinking in our hearts that the master will not come, that He has delayed? If that is our heart attitude, what would happen to us? The same person may become that evil servant.
Because of his heart attitude, you find that he begins to beat his fellow-servants. Instead of supplying food to the household of God, he begins to beat his fellow bondmen. He begins to hurt, harm, oppress, and defraud his fellow believers.
Instead of building the house of God, he is destroying the house of God. He begins to eat and drink with the drunken. The drunken are the people of this world. You find that he is no different from worldly people. Even though he is a believer, he acts like the world. They are believers, but they behave as if they were of the world. They eat and drink with the world; they are having a good time with the world.
But suddenly the Lord comes, in a day when he does not expect it and in an hour that he does not know. Of course he does not know—he is not watching.
When the master comes, He shall cut him asunder and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Dear brothers and sisters, is that not terrible?
Cut asunder; appointed his portion with the hypocrites. Who are the hypocrites? The world. Because he is with the world, therefore his portion is with the hypocrites. There will be gnashing of teeth—regret.
In other words, at the coming of the Lord, in the parousia, there will be the judgment seat of Christ.
Many people think that judgment is only for unbelievers. We who believe in the Lord Jesus will not be judged anymore. Yes, it is true that if we hear His voice and believe in Him, we have passed out of death into life and have passed over judgment.
We will not be judged, because our Lord Jesus was judged for us on the cross. He took our sins upon His own body, and He was judged in our stead. Therefore, if we believe in Him, judgment has passed over us. We will not be judged at the judgment of the great white throne.
One day, the old earth and old heaven will be burned, and all those who are dead will be raised from the dead. There they will be judged before the great white throne. They will be judged each according to their works. There will be books; there is a file on everyone. You will be judged according to what is written there.
Some people say, “How can God keep such a file on everyone? Everything that you do, everything that you think, everything that you say—your whole life is on file.” Not with the FBI, but with God.
One day, some brother said that he did not understand how God could keep such a file on everybody until he realized that the file actually is in you. D. L. Moody mentioned that, when he was a boy, he went out swimming and was drowning. As he was going down, suddenly his whole life appeared like a screen before him. There in the memory, God has kept His file.
Brothers and sisters, how we thank the Lord. That file is clean, washed by the blood. It is gone. There is nothing against us before God. God has not only forgiven, but He has forgotten. It is gone forever.
We who believe in the Lord Jesus will not be judged in the last days at the judgment of the great white throne. It is a judicial judgment—a judgment of eternal life or eternal death. Thank God, we will not be judged there, because Christ has already been judged for us.
But does it mean that because of that there will be no other judgment? Certainly, the Bible tells of the judgment seat of Christ.
In 1 Corinthians, you find Paul mentioning the judgment seat of Christ. It is not a throne; it is a seat. A throne is judicial in nature, but a seat is family in nature. A throne is to judge between eternal life and eternal death, but a seat is a judgment between reward and loss.
You know, the word seat is bema in Greek. With Oriental families, large families, you find that from time to time there will be a family gathering. The head of the family calls the whole family together into a large hall. On one side of the hall is a raised platform, which is called a bema.
On this raised platform, the head of the family sits, and all the members of the family gather in that hall. None but the members of the family can attend. If you are not a member of the family, you cannot come.
Then the head of the family gives his judgment. If any child in the family has done something that brings glory to the family, he will be commended and rewarded. If anyone has done something that brings disgrace to the family name, he will be disciplined.
Now, that is the judgment seat of Christ. It is true that we will not go through the great white throne judgment, but every believer one day will be judged before the judgment seat of Christ.
Paul said that we shall all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, and we will be judged according to the work that we do—whether it is gold, silver, and precious stones, or whether it is wood, hay, and stubble; whether it is of God, or whether it is of man, of ourselves.
It is true that at the judgment seat of Christ, if it is wood, hay, and stubble, it will be burned. But the person will still be saved, because the ground is Christ and it cannot be burned. But what grows on the ground—wood, hay, and stubble of the flesh—will all be burned. You will suffer loss.
But if it is gold, silver, and precious stones, you will be rewarded. Just like this faithful servant: at the coming, the parousia, of the Lord, the faithful servant is rewarded. He is rewarded with charge over all His substance.
This is what we find in Scripture. At the coming of the Lord, before the judgment seat of Christ, some will receive reward—five cities, ten cities—to rule over this earth with Christ for a thousand years. But some will suffer loss.
The loss of the evil servant is a tremendous loss. He is cut asunder, appointed a portion with the hypocrites, with weeping and gnashing of teeth. We do not know, and we do not dare to enter into this area too much, because the Scripture is silent about it. But it shows us that discipline will be administered there.
If we refuse to be disciplined today, we will be disciplined in the days to come. Why? Because God’s purpose has not changed. He wants to mature us to be sons of God. Thank God for that.
Maybe, as you are feeling a little more, we mentioned that parousia has a beginning. The beginning begins with one being taken and one being left.
You remember in Revelation 12 that the woman is about to give birth to a man-child, and immediately after the man-child is born, he is taken up. He is received to God and to His throne. That is the beginning of parousia.
Dear brothers and sisters, one day, suddenly, all over this world, some Christians will suddenly disappear—but not all believers.
I think more and more Christians are beginning to realize this. Formerly, people thought that all would be taken together. But if we are all to be taken together, why watch? Why be ready? You do not need to watch, because you will be taken anyhow. It makes no sense.
So more and more in our day, people are beginning to realize that only those who are watching and praying, only those who keep the word of His patience, only those who are ready—these will be taken. But the rest, who are not ready, have to be made ready before they will be taken.
In Acts 1, the Lord Jesus was on the Mount of Olives. He was ready to be received into heaven. Then you find that our Lord Jesus suddenly began to rise from the top of the mount and began to ascend. He was taken up.
The disciples all looked at Him, seeing Him going up, going up, and going up, until a cloud received Him. They could not see Him, but the cloud received Him and He was still going up. They were still looking up.
Then two men in white appeared. You may like to know who these two men were. I am not going to tell you.
The two men in white appeared and said, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye beheld Him going into heaven.”
In other words, the way the Lord was taken up was in two stages. His absence was in two stages. The first stage was from the Mount of Olives to the air—visible. The second stage was from the air, that is, from the cloud, to the throne—invisible.
Now we know that He reached the throne. How do we know? There is proof: on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down. The coming of the Holy Spirit is the evidence that the Lord is now seated at the right hand of the Father. God has anointed Him as Lord.
So we know that He is today on the throne, because the same anointing has fallen down from His head and come upon the whole body. But anyway, you find that His absence was in two stages: the first visible and the second invisible.
In like manner will be His return, His presence. But the order is reversed. The first stage will be invisible; the second stage will be visible. The first stage will be from the throne to the air. That is invisible.
When will it happen? It will happen after that one is taken to the throne. Then there will be war in the air, and Satan will be thrown down from the air to the earth. So the air is clear for the Lord to come back with His overcomers.
We know that when Satan is thrown down to the earth, what can you expect but the great tribulation?
But after the great tribulation, the sun has scorched the rest of the wheat. The rest of the field was not ripe as the firstfruits that were already taken. Then through the scorching of the great tribulation, one day the whole field will be ripe.
In Revelation 14, you find the Man with a golden crown and a golden sickle sitting on the cloud. A voice says, “Send forth thy sickle; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” So the sickle is sent forth, and the harvest is gathered. Where? To the air.
In 1 Thessalonians 4, the dead in Christ shall be raised, and those who remain alive shall be transformed. They will all be caught up to the air to meet the Lord in the air—not at the throne, but in the air. It is there that the judgment seat of Christ will begin.
While the judgment seat of Christ is continuing, you find upon the earth, as Revelation says, the seven bowls—the wrath of God—will be poured upon the earth. Toward the end, the Lord shall come on a white horse with His army, not only called but chosen. They will come with Him, and His feet will touch the Mount of Olives: the appearing of His parousia. That is the end of the parousia.
So, dear brothers and sisters, let us remember: it is true that there will be a harvest, that all will be reaped. But the firstfruits will be reaped first, and the firstfruits are always the best—always the best.
Finally, I would like to continue with a little more, and that is Matthew 25:1:
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
You know, the parable of the ten virgins has been greatly misunderstood. Basically, people think that the five wise virgins are believers and the five foolish virgins are unbelievers. But this cannot be so.
Why? First, you find it is at that time that the kingdom of heaven is like ten virgins. It is at the time of the parousia of the Lord. It has nothing to do with the world; it has something to do with His church.
Why ten? Because ten is a number of responsibility. The number of the church is either seven or twelve. You have the seven churches in Asia; you have the twelve apostles; you have the holy city with twelve foundations. So the number of the church is either seven or twelve.
But here, in Matthew 24, you find two: one is taken, one is left. Two—not six, two. And in this parable you find ten. When you put the ten and the two together, you have the number twelve, which is a perfect number. There is a reason for that; I will explain it.
But anyway, these ten are virgins. The Bible never calls any unbeliever a virgin. To God, an unbeliever is an adulterer or an adulteress. Only those who are cleansed by the precious blood are virgins. You remember Paul mentioned in 2 Corinthians 11 that, “I espoused you to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ.” Only believers are virgins.
Second, you find that they all have lamps. They all give out light. They all have oil in their lamps while they go out to meet the bridegroom. This shows that they all have the indwelling Holy Spirit. The indwelling Holy Spirit is the oil in the lamps. Because the Holy Spirit is there, you are able to give out light, to shine in darkness.
Third, they all go out to meet the bridegroom. Will an unbeliever go out to meet Christ? He does not believe in Christ. Only believers will go out to meet the bridegroom—to meet Christ.
Fourth, you find that they all go to sleep because the bridegroom delays. Not just the five foolish go to sleep; the five wise go to sleep too. They all go to sleep.
Now, sleep in Scripture can be explained in several ways. One is literal sleep at night. Another is spiritual sleep. Another is physical death. This cannot mean sleep at night, because that does not make any sense. It cannot mean spiritual sleep, because the wise sleep too. So the only explanation is that it is physical death.
Dear brothers and sisters, throughout the centuries, Christians have gone forth to meet the Bridegroom. Even in the first century, believers expected the Lord to return in their lifetime. They went out to meet the Bridegroom.
In the second century, the third century, and the fourth century, you find people who were the Lord’s waiting for Him to return, because He can return at any time. But because He has delayed, they have died.
So these ten virgins represent those who have died in Christ through the centuries, and the two represent those who are still living at His parousia.
Proportionally, it is almost like ten to two, but of course it just shows you the difference. The ten virgins actually represent the saints who have gone on because the Lord has delayed His return.
Of course, we know, as Peter said, it is not because He has delayed. He is eager to come. The reason He has not come is because of His long-suffering. He wants everybody to have a chance to repent and be saved.
But the same principles illustrated in the ten virgins must be applied to the two who are living. You find the same division: in the two, one is taken and one is left; in the ten virgins, five foolish and five wise. In other words, there is a division even among believers.
Now, in one sense, in our fellowship, we should never be divided. Brothers and sisters, remember this: our fellowship must be all-inclusive. We cannot divide our fellowship. We must fellowship with all the believers of God.
But in the actual condition before God, you do find Christians divided into two groups. One group is like the foolish ones; the other is like the wise ones.
What is the difference? You find that they all go to sleep, but at midnight they all hear a voice: “Behold, the bridegroom! Come ye forth to meet him.” They all hear the voice, and they all rise up. That is resurrection.
But the difference is that the wise virgins have extra oil in their vessels, so they can fill their lamps with the extra oil. But the foolish virgins do not have extra oil.
No doubt they have vessels, but probably they think these vessels should carry other things, such as gold, silver, and other things, thinking these are more important. But you cannot burn those things to give light. That is the difference.
So, brothers and sisters, why is one taken and one left? The reason is that, even though all have the Holy Spirit, some have emptied themselves and let the Holy Spirit fill their lives. Others fill their lives with other things, so that the Holy Spirit does not have room in their lives.
Dear brothers and sisters, how we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. To be filled with the Holy Spirit means to be ruled by the Holy Spirit. Is our life ruled by the Holy Spirit, or is our life governed by the things of this world other than the Holy Spirit? That makes the difference.
That shows who is ready and who is not ready. That shows who is watching and who is not watching. If you are watching, then the Holy Spirit, no doubt, will remind you of the things in you that need to be emptied so that He can fill you.
But if you are not watching, then you do not hear His voice. You think everything is all right, and your life goes on as usual. There is no emptying, and there is no filling of the Holy Spirit.
Oh, brothers and sisters, how do we wait for His presence? In view of His coming, how should we prepare ourselves? Not by storing food, not by buying guns, not by fleeing here and there, but by being filled with the Holy Spirit—to have your life ruled by the Holy Spirit.
This is how you prepare yourself for His return. Again, I will say: make your whole goal to abide in Christ. If you are ever present with Him, it is no surprise when He receives you into His presence.
But the foolish virgins cannot get into the house to attend the marriage feast of the Lamb. The marriage feast of the Lamb begins the millennial kingdom, and I believe that marriage feast is a feast for a thousand years.
But the foolish virgins are not able to partake—only the wise. Of course, after the thousand years are over, when God burns up the old heaven and old earth, prepares a new heaven and a new earth, and the New Jerusalem descends from heaven, then every believer will be there. That is eternal life.
You do not lose your eternal life. But you may lose the reward. Eternal life is a gift. God never repents. It is given to you; He will never take it back. Thank God for that.
The reward is different. You have to allow the grace of God to work in your life, as He works in you both to will and to work. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
So may the Lord help us. Shall we pray?
Our heavenly Father, how we praise and thank You that the parousia of our Lord is imminent. O our Father, teach us how to abide in Him and be in His presence every day, all our years, that it will not be strange when we are received into His presence, because we are always with Him and He is always with us. May it be true. In the name of our Lord Jesus, amen.