The parables of the ten virgins and the talents, found in Matthew 25, are presented as illustrations of Israel's readiness for Christ's second coming to establish His kingdom, not as representations of the church awaiting the rapture. The sermon argues that the "then" in "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins" refers to the time of the tribulation, as detailed in the Olivet Discourse. The foolish virgins, lacking oil (representing salvation), and the one-talent servant, who hid his talent (representing a lost individual), are excluded from the kingdom, highlighting the necessity of genuine faith and preparedness for Christ's return. The sermon concludes by emphasizing that while the church waits for the rapture, Israel is depicted as a servant watching for the Master's return to set up His kingdom, and all believers are called to be ready.
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I'd like to turn tonight to the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew and read two parables that go together and actually, as we'll see, teach the same thing. The parable of the ten virgins and the talents. Matthew twenty-five. 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 come, go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out. but the wise answered, saying, Not so, lest there be not enough for us and you. But go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. Afterwards came also the other virgin, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour, or in the Son of Man cometh.
For, the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his servants and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents to another two and to another one, to every man according to his several ability, and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received the two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth and hid the Lord's money. After a long time the Lord of those servants cometh and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received the five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, now deliverest unto me five talents.
Behold, I have gained besides them five talents more. His Lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things. I will make thee rule over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliverest unto me two talents. Behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His Lord said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things. I will make thee rule over many things. Enter thou into the joys of thy Lord. Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art in hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed.
And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent into earth. Lo, there thou hast, that is thine. His Lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant. Thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed. Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take, therefore, the talent from him, and give it unto him which has ten talents. for under everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance. But from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the uncrossable servant into outer darkness. There shall be white weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Anyone that reads these two parables, just even superficially, would conclude that they picture the return of the Lord, surely he is the one the bridegroom and the master, and that at his coming some people will be ready to meet him and some won't. And that's very obvious. The Bible makes it very clear that Jesus Christ will come back. Our Lord Himself promised this in John fourteen three. He said, I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare the place, I'll come again and receive you unto myself. Other portions of Scripture speak of some coming of the Lord.
When Jesus ascended from the Mount of Olives, those that stood by said, This same Jesus shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go. And so I say anyone that really believes the Bible would have to agree that Jesus Christ is coming back. But the question is, is there one coming of the Lord, one judgment, and then that's all of it? or are there two comings of the Lord or if you please two phases to the coming one the rapture for the church before the tribulation period starts and the other to set up his kingdom at the end of the tribulation are there two comings of Christ and of course you know that the theological world is divided today and has always been over this question there are many and you're acquainted with them I'm sure at least by word of mouth that believe that the Lord is coming back, there will be a general judgment, and then you either go into some kingdom on the earth or into eternity.
There are others that believe that there are two comings of the Lord, if you please, that the Lord is going to come in the air and catch the church to meet him in the air. He doesn't come to the earth, but we meet him in the air. And then we appear before the judgment seat of Christ and Then we go into the new Jerusalem and we are with the Lord forever. And that this coming of the Lord is before the tribulation period starts on this earth. John fourteen, I just mentioned, Let not your heart be troubled. Do you believe in God? Believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions. I go and prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place, I'll come again and receive you to myself.
That where I am, there you may be also. Now that doesn't picture any coming to the earth. It doesn't speak of a kingdom. It speaks of meeting the Lord in the air. The same is true in First Corinthians fifteen. Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep. We shall all be changed. Caught up, so on. And then, of course, the outstanding passage is First Thessalonians four, where it says, The Lord shall descend from heaven with a shout. The voice of the archangel, the trump of God. and the dead in Christ shall rise first, and then we that are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them, to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. That isn't any coming to the earth. That isn't to set up a kingdom.
We're caught up to meet him in the air, and thus to forever be with the Lord. But then you read passages like Matthew, twenty-four, thirty, just across the page. Pardon me, a twenty-four thirty. Yes, it is twenty-four thirty. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn when they see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Now that's an entirely different thing, is it not? Nobody's caught up to meet the Lord in the air at that time. The Lord comes in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. and he comes back to set up a kingdom on the earth and then that tremendous passage in Revelation nineteen John saw heaven open and a rider on a white horse and a sharp two-edged sword coming out of his mouth and he slew every enemy and set up a kingdom that's the second coming of Christ and yet you hear sermons today and I don't want to be critical but I've heard sermons on the second coming of Christ, and you don't know whether the man's talking about the rapture or the second coming, or both, or neither one.
He's talking about the rapture, and lo and behold, he quotes the verse that has to do with the second coming. He's talking about the seven-foot kingdom, and he'll quote a verse having do with the rapture. And it's just utterly confusing. And I believe that one of the secrets of Bible study is to distinguish things that differ. And where the Lord makes a difference, we ought to make a difference. Now the reason I said all of that is the whole key to the parables that I just read, the ten virgins, the talent, men receiving the talents, does it picture Christians or those who profess to be Christians waiting for the rapture, or does it picture somebody in the tribulation period waiting for the second coming of Christ?
Is it the church waiting for the rapture? Are the ten virgins, the church, waiting for Christ to come back and catch us up to meeting in the air? Is that what the talents teach? Or I say, is it Israel, and I think it's a limit to Israel, is it Israel in the tribulation period waiting for Christ to come back and set up the kingdom? Well, I'm going to try to prove tonight that it is the latter. that it is indeed Israel in the tribulation period waiting for Jesus Christ to come back with the bride that's already been caught up to come back to the earth to set up a kingdom. And I want to do that in two ways or try to.
First of all, the whole context of the Olivet discourse, particularly the first word of chapter twenty-five, if you could all look at that, Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins. Then. Now I know I have to be careful what I say in this audience because the willies down here speak Greek, it's like you and I speak English, and they can check to see if I'm right. And you have to know what you're talking about when you talk in this audience, I can tell that. Well, I'm going to say, Mrs. Willie, Mr. Willie, that a hundred and fifty-nine times in the New Testament that Greek word appears.
And every time it means at that time. It's a time word. At that time. I don't know offends what the Greek word is, but I checked it out. It's a time word. All right, that's the whole key to the parallel then, isn't it? At that time. The kingdom of heaven will be like these things. At what time? Well, the only way to settle that is to go back to the first part of the Olivet Discourse. And that's what I wanted to do tonight. You know, Matthew twenty-four and five together comprise what we call the Olivet Discourse, one of the greatest prophetic sections of all Scripture.
It also, like the parable of the morning, delivered on the Tuesday before the Lord Jesus went to the cross. Named the Olivet Discourse, of course, because it was delivered from the Mount of Olives just across from Jerusalem. And I'd like to just go through that with you tonight. And then when we cut to chapter twenty-five, and it says, Then, of course, the time element will be obvious. And then I have a second line of proof that I'll present a little later that won't take as much time. But let's go back to the first of Matthew twenty-four. Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and his disciples came to him to show it in the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things.
Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. And as he said upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us when shall these things be, and what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world. Now the Jews were very proud of their temple, and as they pointed out its beautiful structure to the Lord Jesus, he said, in effect, you'd better take a good look at this, because the time is coming when there will not be one stone left upon another of this temple. Later on, when they were together, the disciples asked Jesus, when will these things be?
When will this temple be destroyed? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the world? Now, that first question, when will the temple be destroyed, is not answered in the Olivet Discourse. Matthew doesn't answer the question at all. If you want the answer to that question, you have to go to the twenty-first chapter of Luke, and Jesus answers that question. He says, when you see Jerusalem compassed with armies, know that the destruction is nigh. Then let him that is in the house flee, let him that is not flee out of his house and so on. Well, that was accomplished in AD seventy when the Roman armies destroyed the city under Titus, as you well know.
But the Olivet Discourse answers the second question. What shall be the sign of thy coming and the end of the world? Now let me say two things about that expression, the end of the world. First of all, it should be the end of the age. It's definitely not the world, it's the cosmos, but it's the time period. They're thinking of a definite time period, the end of the age. You all know. But secondly, what age are they talking about? Was it the church age? They didn't know anything about the church. The church is a mystery that was revealed later. They're talking about the only age that they knew anything about, namely the Jewish age, their age.
Well, what was their age? To understand that, you have to go back to the ninth chapter of Daniel, the prophecy of the great seventy weeks. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people. Now, I don't have time to go into that, obviously, but I know you are acquainted with that. And so I'm just going to say this. That Jewish age that Daniel predicted that was to culminate at a certain time has been interrupted. And the church age intervenes. As you well know, that seventy weeks were determined upon Daniel's people. Well, sixty-nine of those weeks have already passed. And we're in an interval between the sixty-ninth and the seventieth, are we not? And the seventieth week of Daniel is the tribulation period out there, that seven-year period, which is the last seven years of the Jewish age.
And it culminates with the second coming of Christ to set up his kingdom. Well, naturally, when they said, what are the signs of your coming and the end of the age, they're talking about their age, and you'd have to look for it out there in that tribulation period, wouldn't you? And so I think it's a great mistake to put the Olivet discourse in the church age, any part of it. Now, some people do. Some put a little of it, some put all of it. I put none of it. And I want you to look at it this way. I think that in verses four to eight, you have the first half of the tribulation period. Look at those verses, if you will.
Jesus answered and said, Take heed that no man deceives you. Anytime you study prophecy, the first thing you have to do is don't be deceived because no place are people more liable to deception than in prophecy. And so he says, immediately, don't let anyone deceive you. For many will come in my name saying, I am Christ and deceive many. You shall hear wars and rumors of wars. Don't be troubled. The end isn't yet. Nations arise against nation. Kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes and famines and pestilence. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Now someone says, well, aren't those things being fulfilled now? I don't really think so.
True, we have wars. We have rumors of wars. We've always had. We've had earthquakes. We have pestilence, famine. We've always had. But particularly, they're going to come to pass in the first half of the future tribulation period. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars and all of these, the first half. And one reason I believe it is the first half of the tribulation, you know verse eight says, all these are the beginning of sorrows. This is the beginning of the tribulation period. And if you would study the book of Revelation, as I'm sure you have, the first chapters, the seals, it just corresponds exactly with this. The rider on the white horse is the Antichrist.
Jesus says, don't be deceived. The rider on the red horse is war. He says, you'll hear of wars. The rider on the black horse is famine. There'll be famine. And the rider on the pale horse is pestilence, death. He says that. And of course the seal judgments are in the first half of the tribulation. And so I take it that verse four to eight brings us right up to the middle of the tribulation. Now from verses nine to twenty-seven, nine to twenty-six is the last half of the tribulation. then you shall deliver up to kill you and you shall be hated of all nations for my namesake many shall be offended and shall betray one another and hate one another and many false prophets shall arise and deceive many and because the iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold that he that shall endure to the end the same shall be saved and this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations and then shall the end come something has happened We're in the last half of the tribulation period now, and it is a time of intense persecution.
And he says the Jewish people were delivered up to be persecuted and so on. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many will wax cold and so on. But you notice a twofold promise. In verse thirteen, he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved. Oh, how that verse has been taken out of its context. and those that don't believe in eternal security. You've got to endure to the end. Well, you know, the end all the way through here, what shall be thy sign of thy coming, the end of the age? The end is the second coming of Christ, isn't it? And he that shall endure can hold out to the end will be delivered.
That's what it means. He'll be delivered at the second coming of Christ. I was brought up in two different denominations that are strong against eternal security. And I remember going to a certain revival meeting one night and a woman made her way to the altar and professed Christ as her Savior and everybody was giving her the right hand of fellowship as they used to do. And somebody said, well, Mrs. Jones, how many times does this make that you've been saved? And she said, well, this is the thirty-fifth time. She's prayed for me that I can hold out faithful this time. Well, that makes a joke of salvation, doesn't it? You have it today and you lose it tomorrow and you get it back and this kind of hope against hope that you're saved when you die.
That's about what it amounts to. And they base it largely on this. He that shall endure to the end. Hold out. No, the end is the end they've been talking about, the end of the age. And if you happen to be living in the tribulation, which you won't if you're a Christian, if you can hold out to the end, you'll be delivered. And then another promise, this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come. This gospel of the kingdom. Many people today say we have to preach the gospel to the end of the earth so that Christ can come for the church. Do you believe that? No. First place, we're not preaching the gospel of the kingdom.
We're preaching the gospel of the grace of God. The gospel of the kingdom is the good news that the king is coming to set up a kingdom. They preached that message when Christ came the first time because the king was at hand. And so John the Baptist said, repent for the kingdom of heavens at hand. That's the gospel of the kingdom. But Christ was rejected. And we're preaching the gospel of the grace of God, aren't we? But in the tribulation period, the king will once again be at hand. And so they'll say, repent for the kingdom of heavens at hand. And this gospel will be preached, that gospel, to every nation, and then Christ will come. If we had to preach the gospel to every nation and tongue and so on before the rapture, I'm afraid it'd be a long way off because we're losing ground, don't we?
But I heard a missionary statesman speak some time ago, namely Cameron Townsend, who many of you know, founder of Wycliffe, And someone asked him, how many missionaries would you have to have to evangelize the world in one generation? And he said, twenty-five thousand. We could get the job done. Well, you know, in the future tribulation period, there's going to be a hundred and forty-four thousand Jews that are saved and sealed, and they're going to be missionaries to the end of the world. And you get a hundred and forty-four thousand converted Jews on the job, and you'll get the job done. We're not, but they will. But I say we're at the middle of the tribulation. Now what has marked the difference?
Verse fifteen. When you shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, then let him that reads understand. The book of Daniel says that in the middle of that future tribulation period, in the middle of it, the Antichrist will break his covenant. He will put an image of himself in the temple, profess that he is God, and he'll begin to persecute. the Jews. And so when you hear the word that that image has been placed in the temple, you know it's the beginning of the great tribulation, said Jesus, and you'd better flee for your life. If you happen to be in Judea, flee to the mountains.
Let him that's on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house. They had outside stairways. Don't come down and try to take anything. Woe to those that are with child in those days. Be hard for them to travel. Pray that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day. You know, a lot of people say they don't take a dispensational interpretation of Scripture. Every Scripture is for us. And I don't believe in dividing the Bible up and giving some to this and some to that. Well, I'd like to ask you, my friend, how many times have you prayed that prayer? Lord, don't let my flight be in the winter. What flight? flight home for Christmas.
Why don't we pray that prayer? Well, it just simply doesn't apply. It belongs to a different period. It belongs to those living in the tribulation. If a Jew saw that abomination, he could well pray, Lord, don't let it happen in the winter. Don't let it happen on the Sabbath day, because evidently some Sabbath rules will be in effect. For it says, verse twenty-one, there shall be great tribulations such as was not since the beginning of the world, to this time or ever shall be. And my friend, if you think of the time of trouble that the Jewish people have had, if that's greater than any, it must be terrible indeed. If it's worse than the Holocaust under the Nazis in the last World War, think what it must be.
A time of tribulations such as there never was or will be. And except the days were shortened, brought to a close, No flesh would be saved. But for the elect's sake, they'll be shortened. Someone says, well, that proves the church is going to be present. There's the elect. No, that doesn't prove that. God's people on the earth at any time are his elect. Abel was one of God's elect. He wasn't in the church. Abraham was one of God's elect. Those saved in the tribulation will be God's elect. They're not part of the church. And then he says in verse twenty-three, once again a warning. If any man will say to you, here is Christ or there, don't believe it.
For there shall rise false Christ and false prophets and shall show great signs. If it were possible, they would deceive the very elect. That Antichrist and his helpers are going to be so convincing that it would be in danger of even the elect being deceived. But God prevents it. I'm going to, coming down to verse twenty-seven. For he says, as the lightning, he's going to come right on to the second coming now. As the lightning cometh out of the east and shines to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
The carcass speaks of the apostate nation of Israel, and the eagles speak of judgment. And that means that where the need for judgment is there, the judgment will be. But notice verse twenty-nine. immediately after the tribulation of those days. The sun will be darkened, the moon will not give her light, the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken, and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn and so on, and he will send his angels and gather his elect from one end to the other." Now there is the second coming of Christ. And you know, my friend, we have in our land today a great emphasis upon this thing of a post-tribulation rapture.
I'm sure you've heard of it. That the church will have to go through this terrible period of tribulation. And the way they do that, the way the post-tribulation people try to prove that is this. First of all, they assume that the rapture and the second coming are one and the same. They were caught up to meet the Lord and then we come immediately back with Him. They're one and the same. And then they go to a passage such as this that immediately after the tribulation of those days, the Lord will come and they say, here it is, a post-tribulation rapture. Well, if you will grant their premise that they're one and the same, they prove their point. But the answer is don't grant their premise.
They haven't proved that the rapture and the second coming are the same. They've just stated it. They haven't proven it. And I won't grant their premise. They're not the same. Certainly there's a coming of Christ after the tribulation. Nobody denies that. That's the second coming. But that doesn't mean there can't be a previous coming before the tribulation for the church, does it? Verses thirty-seven and thirty-eight speak of how fast these things are going to come to pass. Now learn a parable of the fig tree. When his branch is yet tender and he puts forth leaves, you know that summer is nigh. so likewise ye when you see all these things know that it is near even at the doors now many have said that the fig tree there is Israel and very wide teaching and that when you see Israel putting forth leaves you see activity of the Jewish nation like going back to Palestine that that's the fig tree putting forth leaves then you know that the coming of the Lord can't be far off personally I don't agree with that I don't think the fig tree in this illustration represents anything I think it's an illustration from nature that when you see a fig tree put forth leaves, then
you know that summer is just a little way off. So said Jesus, when you see these things begin to come to pass, the things that he's been talking about, then the second coming of Christ is just a little way off. You know, it's just going to be seven years. From the time the Antichrist makes that covenant and all of these judgments, it's just seven years until Christ comes. It's like the fig tree. When you see it begin to pass, then the end is just a little way off. And then the next, verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled. I think that simply means that the generation living when they begin will be living when they end. The generation living at the start of the tribulation period will be living when Christ comes.
Now, some have gone out on a limb on this particular passage. And they tried to say, well, a generation is about thirty or forty years, and so they try to find the beginning of that generation, and then they say, well, and within a generation Christ will come. Not long ago it was very popular to have nineteen fourteen as the beginning point, that that's when the generation began. Unique things did happen in nineteen fourteen. We had a tremendous world war, we had all of this, Well, if you add forty years to that, that would be nineteen fifty-four, or if you even add more, it evidently wasn't that. But in nineteen forty-eight, we have a perfect thing for some to grasp that, and they say, well, that's when the generation started.
In nineteen forty-eight, when Israel became a nation. Well, if that's true, then Christ would have to come some thirty or forty years after that. Personally, I don't go with any of that. I think that it simply means this. that when these things begin to come to pass, they're going to run their course very quickly, and the generation living when they begin will be living when they end. But now, the certainty of it. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words will not pass away. I think surely the word he's talking about is primarily what he's just been saying. These things are not going to fail.
Eaven and earth might, but the Lord's word won't. But he says of that day and hour knows no man, but only the Father. Now notice verse thirty-seven. What are conditions going to be like when Jesus comes back to set up his kingdom? At the end of the tribulation, what's it going to be like? Well, he says, it's going to be like it was in the day of Noah. So shall the coming of the Son of man be. as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark and knew not till the flood came and took them all away so shall the coming of the son of man be two will be in the field one taken the other left two women will be grinding at the mill one taken and the other left watch therefore now many people seeing this word, two will be in the field, one taken and the other left, jump to the conclusion this is the rapture.
And you can see how people would do that. One taken, taken, caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and the other one left to go through the tribulation period. But does that fit the context? Isn't that really sort of out of the context? We started back in verse four with the tribulation period, didn't we? And then we moved on through the tribulation. We saw the abomination of desolation. We moved into the last half of the tribulation. We saw the second coming of Christ in power and glory. Well, this is obviously going to be what when he comes back to set up his kingdom, isn't it? It's going to be like it was in the days of Noah. Well, how was it then?
Well, they were just utterly unexpected. They just did not expect it. They were going about the normal pursuits of life. Now there's nothing wrong to eat and to drink. There's nothing wrong to marry and given in marriage. The thought is that they were just completely unprepared. They were going about the normal pursuits of life like they were going to live forever. And they didn't know what was happening until the very day that Noah entered into the ark and the flood came and took them away. Where did it take them? Took them to their death, didn't it? so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. Two will be in the field, one taken, taken in judgment, like the flood took them, and the other will be left to enter the millennial kingdom.
If you were living at the time of the rapture, which I hope we will be, we'd want to be the one taken, wouldn't we? But if you happen to be living in the tribulation period, which you won't be, you'd want to be the one left. Sometimes it's good to be taken, sometimes it's good to be left. And now we have four parables to emphasize the necessity of being ready. I read two of them. The other two are in the last part of the twenty-fourth chapter. Notice in verse forty-two. Watch therefore, for you know not what hour your Lord doth come.
But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and wouldn't have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be you also ready. Don't you see? It's a warning to those Jews that will be living in the tribulation period, that you don't know the hour of his coming. You better be ready. And then in verse forty, five, who is a faithful and wise servant when his Lord hath made him ruler over his household to give him meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom when his Lord cometh, findeth him so doing. He'll make him ruler over all his goods. But if that evil servant shall say, My Lord, delays he's coming, begin to smite his fellow servants to eat and drink with the drunkards, the Lord of that servant will 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 affords his portion with the hypocrites.
There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Watch. Watch. I think that you would find this to be true, that you take any passage of Scripture where it likens God's people to servants and admonishes them to watch for the coming of their master. It's always talking about Israel in the tribulation period. When it says to wait for his son from heaven, it's talking about the church. The bride doesn't watch for the bridegroom. She waits for him. You can't have a wedding without a bridegroom or a bride. The bride's not going to be left behind.
She doesn't watch. She waits. Isn't that right? But Israel is likened unto a servant, and they're told to watch. Now, you might have think I've taken too much time for that, but I planned it that way. I want to go to these parables now. and show that we can interpret them. You have to know the twenty-fourth chapter or you can't understand the twenty-fifth. And so let's look at the parable of the virgins. Verse chapter twenty-five. Then, at that time, what time? Well, the whole context is the second coming of Christ to set up His kingdom. Wouldn't it be strange to go back and talk about the rapture at this point?
I have the privilege of teaching hermeneutics at the Institute. Science of interpretation. And one of the chief rules of any interpretation is take the passage in its context. Is it not? You can take a passage out of its context and prove anything. Then, at the second coming of Christ, the kingdom of heaven, the situation will be likened to ten virgins that took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. Who are these people? Well, they're Jews in the tribulation period. who are professing to be looking for the Messiah. But five of them were wise. Five were foolish. The foolish took their lamps but no oil.
The wise took oil in their lamps. Now the oil might well represent the Holy Spirit, but surely it represents salvation. The five wise virgins were saved. The five foolish ones were lost. It's just that simple. And while they slumbered and slept, the bridegroom tarries The cry went forth, behold, the bridegroom's coming, obviously with the bride. And so they got up and began to trim their lamps. But the foolish didn't have any oil. They're lost. And so in frantic effort, they go to the wise and say, give it of your oil. You can't share salvation.
They say, no. Go rather than them itself. But it's too late. And they come and the door is shut. they're excluded and therefore in verse thirteen watch therefore once again that word watch for you don't know the day nor the hour or in the son of mankind now the parable of the talents oh how this parable is misinterpreted the parable of the talents teaches exactly the same thing as the parable of the ten virgins in fact if you'll notice verse fourteen The words kingdom of heaven are in italics, aren't they, in the King James Version.
They're in italics. That means they're not in the original language, of course. So this leaves them out. Four, as a man traveling in a far country, he's doing the same thing in a different symbolism. This isn't unusual. In the fifteenth chapter of Luke, we have three parables that teach the same thing. The lost son, the lost coin, the lost sheep. Here we have just two. Sometimes if a person doesn't grasp one, he might be other. If you don't understand one, the other will throw light upon it. It is as a man traveling into a far country. He called his servants and delivered unto them his goods. He gave one five talents to another two to another one.
And then when he came back, he reckoned with them. And the one that had the five and the two had used them wisely. And the one that had one did not. My friend, if you make these talents something, a gift that a Christian has in this dispensation, you have nothing but utter confusion. And yes, how often this is the case. I'll never forget a young people's retreat that I went on years ago, in which this is our theme, the parable of the talents. And the whole theme was that God has given you some ability. You can play the piano. You can sing. you have the gift for this and that. If you don't use that gift, God will take it from you.
You better keep up with those piano lessons. And it almost makes me wish I hadn't dropped mine when I did about fifty years ago. Or maybe I should have kept playing that trombone that I played for about three weeks. But anyway, a friend of mine was attending a service not long ago and I don't want to be overly critical I say that about every sermon but I don't mention names you see but anyway this man was preaching on this parable and he was making it this very thing that the Lord has given people talents and if you don't use them you'll the Lord will take them away and the man happened to believe in eternal security and so on and so A friend of mine from the Institute was there listening, and he nudged his wife, and he said, wait, watch and see what he does with the thirtieth verse.
And so after the service was over, he said, what did he do with it? His wife said, well, come to think of it, he left it out. Well, he said, sure he did, because he didn't know what to do with it. Look at the thirtieth verse. Cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Listen. The man that didn't use that talent is cast into hell, isn't he? You mean a Christian is going to do that if he doesn't use some talent that the Lord has given him? Doesn't make sense. What is a talent anyway? Well, it's a weight, isn't it? They used to parcel out money by weight. It's a certain sum of money. That's what it is. It's not the ability to do something.
The five-talent man and the two-talent man were saved, and the talent is their responsibility before God, and it involves to believe on the Messiah and to be ready. The five-talent man and the two-talent correspond to the five wise virgins, and the one-talent man to the foolish virgins. Did you ever notice what that man said when the Lord asked him why he didn't use his talents? He said in verse twenty-four, I knew that thou art a hard man, reaping where you didn't sow, and gathering where you haven't strawed. Well, that's dishonesty, isn't it? You're a hard man.
You're a dishonest man. Does that sound like a believer? This man is lost. He hasn't trusted the Messiah. He's unsaved. And so he's cast into outer darkness. He's lost. The five-talent man and the two-talent enter the millennial kingdom, just like the five virgins. Now, just to make this study complete, what does the rest of the twenty-fifth chapter teach? If the parable of the ten virgins and the talents is the judgment of living Jews at the second coming of Christ, living Jews, to get to see who enters the millennial kingdom, what are verses thirty-one to forty-six?
Well, it's very obvious. It's living Gentiles at the second coming of Christ. Living Gentiles. Four says, verse thirty-one, when the Son of Man will come in his glory with the holy angels with him, sits upon the throne of his glory, before him will be gathered all the nations. And anyone that knows Greek at all knows that the word nation and Gentile are one and the same. In fact, it's usually translated Gentiles. Before him will be gathered all the Gentiles, living Gentiles at the second coming of Christ. and there's going to be a judgment. He will separate them and put the sheep on the right and the goats on the left. And then he will say to those on the right, enter into the joy of thy Lord, enter the kingdom prepared for you.
The basis of the judgment is how they treated a group of people called my brethren. And obviously the brethren are the Jewish people that will be living during the tribulation period. And the way these Gentiles treat those Jews reveals their heart. and therefore God can judge them on that basis. He says to those on the right, I was hungry and you fed me, naked and you clothed me, in prison you visited me. When did we do this, Lord? For when you did it unto one or the least of these, my brethren, and those are Jews, because Christ was a Jew, you did it unto me. Depart from me.
You didn't visit me. You didn't do this. Lord, when did we not? when you did it not to one of the least of these, my brethren. You say that's a salvation by works. No, it isn't. You can judge a person's heart by certain attitudes that he has, can't you? And if Jesus Christ is the judge and knows all things, he can judge accurately. A person that would befriend the Jews in that time of trouble would be a believer. And so the sheep go into the everlasting life, into the kingdom. and the unsaved are cast into outer darkness. You know, I said there's one other proof that I should offer, and I almost forgot that, but I will offer it in the two or three minutes I have left.
In those days, the way they conducted a wedding was quite different, I understand, than the way we do. But it fits this perfectly with this. The married couple who were going to be married, I understand, would go to a certain house over here where they would have what we would call the married ceremony. They would exchange vows and so on. Only a few close friends would be there. And then there would be a number of guests that would wait in the streets to accompany this married couple into the wedding feast. And so while the bride and groom carried in this house, the guests would wait in the streets.
And naturally they would fall asleep, just like the virgins. And at midnight they would go up to cry, Behold, the bridegroom comes, obviously with the bride. He's going to go from the marriage ceremony to the marriage supper. And of course, if the people were ready, they would go in with him. If you can picture this, that the rapture has occurred, and you and I are part of the bride, We will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. And the book of Revelation says to be presented to Christ in marriage. And then the Jewish people will be waiting on the earth for us to come back with Christ, to go to the marriage feast, which in my opinion is the millennial kingdom.
And the cry will go up at midnight. Behold, the bridegroom comes with the bride. And those that are ready will go in with him. And the door will be shut. I'm sure many of you heard that old song, there's a great day coming, there's a great day coming. It's a great day coming by and by. When the saints and the sinners will be parted right and left, are you ready for that day to come? Well, I've learned long ago, never base your theology on a songbook. Because some of these songwriters are going to be saved so as by fire. If you are a Christian tonight, there will never be a judgment in which you or I will be separated from unsaved people.
The only judgment that the church will ever face is the judgment seat of Christ to get our rewards. The wicked dead will stand before the great white throne judgment. They're all lost. The only judgment where saved people will be separated from unsaved is at the second coming of Christ when he separates living people. The Jews will be separated, the parable of the virgins and the talents. The Gentiles will be separated, the sheep and the goats. And obviously if you believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, we won't be involved. We won't be involved in. And we should praise the Lord for it, shouldn't we? The thing to do, of course, and the lesson we can learn, of course, is to be ready.
If Israel should be ready for the second coming, obviously we should be ready for the rapture, shouldn't we? We don't want to be ashamed that he's coming. We want to be where he would want us to be, and what he would want us to be. Our Father, we thank you for the revelation of the Scriptures that tell us these things. Not our Father to satisfy our curiosity, but to supply that which we need to know. And remember the words of our, as I have words, Lord, to Abraham. Shall I hide from Abraham my friend? That's which I intend to do. And the answer, of course, was no.
You told him. And Jesus said, I haven't called you servants but friends. For the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth. O Father, what an honor to be called thy friend and be taken in on these secrets. We believe our Father that we can know the general outline that lies in the future, as far as we need to know. that we might live in the light of the Lord's coming for us, to catch us up, to be with himself, and then to come back with him and see him mount the throne of David and reign on this old earth, and then see that kingdom merge into eternity. Thank you, Father, for such a blessed prospect in his blessed name.