The confusion comes in when some have said that His coming will be sudden and without warning, quoting the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians, "For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the right" (I Thess. 5:2). Others contend that His return will be spectacular with unmistakable warnings in advance; we read of this account in Matt. 24:30-31, "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, ..."

When examining both views, "coming as a thief" and "angels coming with a great sound of a trumpet" both are correct, both hit the bulls eye. The first, "coming as a thief," is referring to Jesus Christ coming as a Bridegroom, and "the second will be His triumphant return" with His saints at His side for ALL the earth to witness. He is going to come this time as "King of kings and Lord of lords" to reign over the house of Jacob, thus fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulders, and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this" (Isa. 9:6-7).

Jesus Christ told His disciples in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 of special events to watch for that would precede His grand triumphant return. In last month's Prove All Things article "Fear, The Pit, and The Snare" there was a sentence from Isaiah 24:18 that reads "he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare." A snare has a subtle way of catching its victims unaware, unprepared, dozing off consciously and asleep. There are some in the Church of God today who fit that very description; they are being deceived and they just don't care. This type, of attitude will have to change if they wish to be in God's Kingdom. We are told, "Take ye heed watch and pray" for ye know not when the time is. For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left His house [the Church of God] and gave authority to His servants [called cut ones], and to every man his work, and commanded the porter [servant] to watch. Watch ye therefore, for ye know not when the master [Jesus Christ'] of the house cometh, at ever, or at midnight, or at the cock crowing, or in the morning, Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch" (Mark 13:33- 37).

God is stressing the absolute necessity to stay awake, to watch and be ready. Why? So His coming will not be a surprise to any of His followers, Spirit filled men and women who are watching and living in a spirit of alertness are not going to be caught off guard, Being watchful means to live daily in a spirit of expectancy, alertness, sharpness, readiness, and attentiveness in regard to events yet to come. Jesus Christ warns us in the book of Luke, "And take head to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting [excess and overindulgence] and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth, Watch [literally means to be sleepless] ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy [sinless, having a contrite heart] and to [have the strength to] escape all these things that shall come to pass [the period of tribulation that is just ahead] and to stand before the Son of man [Jesus Christ]" (Luke 21:34-36). We are told by Christ in Revelation 16:15, "Behold, [or see] I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watches, and keeps his garments [meaning to remain steadfast in faith and character and wholly devoted to God], lest he walk naked [characterless], and they [people in general] see his shame."

The first phrase is: "Behold I come as a thief." This denotes His coming will be with quietness. A related word to quietness is secret, which means something not openly disclosed. The implication in this definition is that it is God's prerogative to reveal His approach only to those who are to know His secrets, as witnessed by the Psalms, Proverbs and Amos. "The secret of the LORD is with them that fear Him; and He will shew them His covenant [His contract]" (Psa. 25:14). "For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but His secret is with the righteous (the faithful who work on being sinless]" (Pro. 3:32). "Surely the Lord will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7).

The second phrase: "Blessed is he that watches." Watchfulness implies being faithful, on guard, wide awake and alert. As God's elect we need to be motivated to have a continuous spirit of attentiveness and alertness! Christ asks in Matthew who are the faithful? He then speaks of the consequences of the unfaithful. "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom His Lord hath made ruler over His household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom His Lord when He cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That He shall make Him ruler over all His goods. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth His coming;" [In other words, they feel no urgency or reason to work on building Godly character; this is what the Apostle Paul called putting on the new man]. And begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; the Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for Him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites', there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matt. 24: 45-51). Isaiah was inspired to write, "His watchman [meaning those whose responsibility it is to warn others] are blind: they are all ignorant, [that is, ignorant of God's ways] they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; [in other words they lack the intelligence of a watchdog] sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, [their interests were only in themselves] and they are shepherds that cannot understand--- they all look to their own way [not God's way], every one for his gain, from his quarter" (Isa. 56:10-11). We can see this Laodicean attitude happening today in the Churches of God!!!

The third phrase of Rev. 16:15 reads, "and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame." That is talking about losing your garments that are produced by the fruits of God's Holy Spirit. It is our responsibility as individuals to act upon what we know! "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves" (James 1:22). Action speaks louder than words. Now, with this background and with this foundation placed in our mind, let's look at a very familiar parable, one I discussed in a sermon 3 years ago, in the ‘Parable of the 10 Virgins.' "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the Bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the Bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps, And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out [are going out]. But the wise answered, saying, Not so, lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the Bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with Him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But He answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh" (Matthew 25:1- 13).

The general assumption has been that only the five wise and the five foolish virgins are involved in this foreshadowing of the coming Bridegroom and the entrance into the marriage. Let's go back now and refresh our memory and analyze these verses. Starting with verse 1, "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the Bridegroom." Why at this time are they going out to meet the Bridegroom? One reason would be that they expected Christ's return! They felt at that time as we do now! The timing looked right and all the events they saw forewarned them to start making preparations!! Verses 2-4: "And five of them were wise, and five were foolish, They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them, But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps."

The lamps carried by the virgins represent the Word of God. The Psalms and Proverbs confirm this. Psalm 119:105, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Proverbs 6:22-23, "When thou goest, it shall lead thee, when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee, For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light, and reproofs of instruction are the way of life." God's word is clearly our instruction book for life.

Verses 2-5 of Matthew 25: "And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them. But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept." In other words, they said, Christ delayed His arrival, and the virgins-- all of them -- grew drowsy and fell asleep. The 10 virgins represent members of God's church. They miscalculated their understanding of prophecy, which led them to go out prematurely to meet the Bridegroom. The fact that they all eventually went to sleep would indicate, One: A let down in faith of what at one time they believed, and discouragement as to what they had expected to happen. Two- Apathy toward all prophecy gradually developed and the timing in connection with prophecy began to be completely ignored, so they grew drowsy and fell asleep. However, they must not have slept for long, as we read in verse 6, "At midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him," [Side note -- notice the Bridegroom came at midnight when it was dark. Why? Because a major event was about to take place, Christ was coming to meet the bride!!].

What about the watchman? No thought has been given to who performed the task of awakening all 10 virgins from their slumber. We read it was at midnight when the warning cry was heard, but who sounded the alarm? The very wording of this parable tells us that someone -- apart from the 10 virgins -- sounded that alarm, and someone was maintaining watch during that midnight hour prior to Christ' return!

The Church of God has always taken the stand that it was the Church's job to be the watchman that we read of in Ezekiel 33. "Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman, If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning, his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. So thou, 0 son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me" (Ezekiel 33:1-7). We find that some will not believe the watchman's warning, his alarming report.

"Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the LORD. And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them, for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness [worldly pleasures]. And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not. And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them" (Ezekiel 33-30- 33). A watchman's job is not one that is in demand or popular; his demanding hours are usually during darkness, as in the case of the 10 virgins at midnight!

"Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil, for our lamps are going out" (Matt. 25:8). Once awakened, the first thing they began to do was to trim their lamps. That indicated an urgent need for more light. But they found their oil lamps had deposits of crust and carbon on their wicks which necessitated the cutting off of that part of the wick. It was clogged and the oil could not flow freely and brighten the lamp's flame, We need to ask, what is the analogy and meaning of trimming their lamps? To answer this question, it is important to determine the significance of the wick. Apostle John gives us the answer in John 14:16-17, "And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He [it] may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him [it] not, neither knoweth him [it], but ye know him [it]; for he [it] dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." The spirit of truth is called the comforter in John 14-26: "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost [Holy Spirit], whom the Father will send in My name, he [it] shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." The expression in this verse "teach you all things" is clear that the Holy Spirit works through the mind of the believer to increase his understanding, thus the wick of the lamp is comparable to the mind.

"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matt.5:14-16). The foolish virgins' lights were dimming and going out just when it was their time to be tested. They had made a promising start, to overcoming their old ways, but were not prepared to endure unto the end.

After the foolish virgins asked for more oil in Matthew 25 verse 8, "The wise answered,[in verse 9] saying Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you. But go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves." We know what the lamp's wick represented. But this brings up a question. What is signified by the oil which the foolish virgins lacked? lt is clear from the instructions that the foolish virgins were to go to them that sell and buy for themselves!! It has been generally believed that the oil the foolish virgins did not have was the oil of the Holy Spirit. But that can not be! The Holy Spirit can not be bought! This is clearly demonstrated in Acts 8 where we read that Peter and John were sent to Samaria to lay hands on those Philip had baptized, we pick up the story in verse 17 of Acts 8, "Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, Saying, give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Spirit. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money" (Acts 8:17- 20).

The question still is, What were the 5 foolish virgins to go and buy? We find that answer in Proverbs 23:23, "Buy the truth and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding." This is what the foolish virgins were to buy! They were to redeem the truth, wisdom, instruction and understanding! "Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth" (John 17:17). The greatest body of truth is the understanding of prophecy, coupled with timing! It seems that these foolish virgins lost their sense of prophetic timing! Their understanding in these areas became clouded. The oil of truth, wisdom, instruction and understanding is what the virgins were lacking. They had not done their homework. They had been misguided by false teachings and were slumbering while new truth was being taught. They did not, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (1Tim. 2:15). Proverbs says: "He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit" (Pro. 12:17). "Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.... The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the holy is understanding" (Pro 9:6,10).

Truth, wisdom, instruction and understanding are all related terms. "And while they went to buy [truth, wisdom, instruction and understanding], the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut" (Matt. 25:10). It says very clearly "And they that were ready went in with him [the Bridegroom, Christ] to the marriage...." It has been assumed that all five virgins were ready and went in to the marriage, but the account does not specify how many went in. It only states "they that were ready," and that would probably include the watchman! There is no mention of the watchman by name in this parable. It is interesting to note the parallel watchman in Ezekiel: "And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come), then shall they know a prophet hath been among them" (Ezekiel 33:33). The phrase, "then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them" is in the past tense. Those that were left behind realized now the truth they had been told. The full impact of the watchman's message was brought home to them.

"Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not" (Matt. 25:11- 12). There is a message of hope addressed to those foolish virgins in Luke 12 where the foolish virgins were told to have their "loins girded about and to have their lamps burning." It is clearly indicating that they were to prepare for a time of trouble as they waited for the Lord's return from the marriage. "Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning. And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord, when He will return from the wedding; that when He cometh and knocketh, they may open unto Him immediately" (Luke 12:35-36). At Christ's coming the remnant will be given a renewed invitation to the marriage supper! These are those we read of in Revelation 12 -- those who do not go to a place of safety or protection with those that were given two wings of a great eagle. "And the dragon was wroth with the woman [Church] and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" (Rev.12:17). Could these be "the two olive trees [witnesses], and the two candlesticks [Churches] standing before the God of the earth" (Rev.11:4)?

You and I need to be watching and striving for the higher calling, because it is a specially selected group of individuals who will qualify as overcomers and receive an invitation to what in the scriptures is called the marriage!! "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white---for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints."