The Wedding Invitation is for us!
“The kingdom of heaven is like
a King, that made a marriage for his Son, and He sent his servants to
call them that were bidden to the wedding: but they would not come.”
Matt 22:2.
This parable, spoken by Christ in the last week of his life, is especially relevant for the end-time. Until now, most people in western societies have been too busy with their earthly kingdom and have not given much thought to the kingdom of heaven.
Money has met most of our needs and government promised to meet the rest—health care, education, welfare. Our money should say, "In This God We Trust."
Christians in America have been like the
church of Laodicea, “rich and increased with goods and in need of
nothing,” but God says we are lukewarm and will be spewed out if we
don't repent. It
happened to the ancient church. Laodicea was destroyed in an
earthquake. History has lessons that repeat.
Because America in general, and
some groups in particular, have not been interested in the wedding
invitation when they should be, the king “burned up their city.” Matt
22:7. Perhaps we can see in the destruction that is happening, a need to
refocus our attention on things that are eternal and cannot be taken
from us.
The Bible asks, “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one.” But with God, “all things are possible.” And it will be His truths that separate us into the wise who get into the marriage in Matthew 25:10, or the foolish who aren’t prepared.
If you
read this
message and look up any Bible texts for ideas that you didn't know, you
will be in a position to choose well and be part of the "midnight cry"
and can help others to be included. Matthew
25:6-12.
In Matthew 22:10 we find a man
who wasn’t wearing the wedding garment provided by the king, so that he
was thrown out. The Bible explains that our loins are to be girded with
truth, Ephesians 6:14. “Your word (Scripture) is truth,” John 17:17.
What we do should be supported by the Bible.
Our past doesn't matter with God if we are seeking to understand His way now. "The times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commands all men every where to repent because he has appointed a day, in which he will judge the world.” Acts 17:30,31.
We
are entering that time of judgment and must repent (change our minds and
ways of doing things) so that our lives are shaped by God’s laws which
are principles of self-government.
It is coming down to a choice
of big government that will tell everyone what to do, how and when to do
it (bondage), or freedom in God’s kingdom to live in harmony with His
laws that mean true equality and the worth of every person, as Moses
said--
“What nation is there so great, that has statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law?” Deuteronomy 4:8.
How surprised a heathen spy might have been if he could have crept into the Most Holy Place of Israel’s temple in the time of Solomon to discover the secret of Israel’s success and prosperity was not an idol studded with gems, but a law that has principles of fairness and wisdom for every situation in life!
In a world going crazy with lawlessness, here are principles that promote health, happiness and success in life.
The wedding invitation is a
call to be part of God’s kingdom.
“In the days of these kings the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom,”
Daniel 2:44. This kingdom
is at the end of the world, in the toes of time as Daniel sees a stone
cut out of a mountain. In Daniel, "mountain" represents God’s people,
see Dan 9:16,20.
Everyone believes they are
God’s people, but God is going to cut a stone out of these groups to be
His special kingdom. It will be composed of those who choose the
principles of His kingdom--the dominion of a King by His laws.
Based on our wise choices, “the Bridegroom comes” for us and we may marry Him in a covenant relationship as explained in the third column.
The times ahead will test us and our faithfulness to the covenant and we will learn more, but we also learn by sharing, even as light gets greater by sharing what we have.
The King “sent his servants to
call them that were bidden to
the wedding.” We become His servants by inviting others to consider the
invitation.
May God bless and guide us as we seek to conform our lives to His principles in these troublous times when the kingdoms of this world are falling apart and have nothing to offer us except empty promises, and a New World Order that will soon force everyone against God’s will as shown in Revelation 13:17.
Please share your thoughts about this on my blog at http://TheBridegroomComes.wordpress.com
Wedding Parables Compared
Each wedding parable supports
1. An invitation we must give
2. An unexpected calamity
3. High reward
Keywords: Wedding parables, Revelation, prophecy, end-times, earthquake
1. All three wedding parables support the need to invite others and for us to have light showing the way (explaining that we marry the Bridegroom by making a covenant as Israel did at Sinaia--God later said, "I am married to you," Jeremiah 3:14
A. The King who makes a marriage for His Son sends His servants to bid everyone ("bad and good," Matt 22:10) to the marriage.
B. The wise have light to show the way. The foolish do not and go looking for oil, Matt 25:9. (Many today lack oil from the Old Testament olive tree in Zechariah 4:3,14 because Christians tend to focus on the New Testament.
C. "Lights burning" is parallel imagery in Luke 12:35.
2. All three wedding parables have unexpected calamity.
A. In Matt 22:7, the "remnant" had their city burned for failing to appreciate the invitation. But this is more than 70 AD, because Christ blended the temple signs with “end of the world,” Matt 24:3.
B. Christ is the word (John 1:1,14) and He is also “the First and the Last,” Revelation 1:11. The first place that a word or phrase is found often has a meaning or context for the end-time. Using this rule, the midnight cry in Matt 25:6 is linked to cry at midnight when calamity fall at Passover in Egypt, Exodus 12:29,30.
C. We must be ready that when He comes and "knocks, [we] may open to Him immediately." Luke 12:36. What's His "knock"? With the Bible as it's own expositor, the only other place that Christ knocks is in Revelation 3:20, for the church of Laodicea. We think Jesus always knocks at our heart, wanting to be part of all that we do. We forget Christ wants us to repent of our materialism and lukewarm state.
Laodicea ended in an earthquake that destroyed the city; a sign for us? No one denies that the description of the church at Laodicea (rich with goods, materialistic America) fits us.
Sprecial Double Book Offer!
The Bridegroom Comes is a 2-in-1 ebook with the 2nd title, America in Prophecy, just $5 for both See the two book reviews.
5-Star Review: A dual
sided book that explores two sides to the apocalypse,
April 12, 2010 by Midwest Book Review, WI, USA
The end of all things is on the back of the mind of
many. "The Bridegroom Comes! and America in Prophecy" is a dual sided
book exploring two sides to the apocalypse, written by Dr Richard
Ruhling.
'The Bridegroom Comes' explores relationships and how poor choices can destroy one's life. 'America in Prophecy' investigates America's role in possible end of days scenarios, drawing from the book of Revelations.
"The Bridegroom Comes!
and Ameria in Prophecy" is intriguing reading for
Christian readers who think the end might be nearer than one would
believe.
4-Star Review by Debra Gaynor for ReviewYourBook.com,
1/10.
A look at the prophecies of end times…
Too often books concerning end time prophecies are difficult to read. In
The Bridegroom Comes, Richard Ruhling writes in an easy-to-read style.
He offers a unique interpretation to scripture. I was surprised at his
philosophy concerning the rapture. I also found his theory of the
antichrist interesting.
America in Prophecy is a look at the role of
the United States in the end times. Have we become too puffed up, to
proud of ourselves? I found a lot of truth in America in Prophecy. We
have become too proud of ourselves. Ruhling falls heavily on the book of
Daniel. My favorite part of this book is the time line. ( )
AmeliaPeabody | Feb 4, 2010 |
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Free Thank-You-for-Visiting Book!
Man Born to Be King
Jerusalem Compassed by Armies
the End of Militant Islam,
and
the Restoration of Israel
Contents
Man Born to Be King (text immediately below)
An Overview (click to read these)
Daniel & Revelation Simplified
Jerusalem’s Impending Destruction
The End of Militant Islam
(website: similar info)
Run Toward the Roar
(right column: similar info)
Context is Crucial
The Time is Fulfilled
The Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand
Repent
Believe the Gospel
I Stand at the Door and Knock
Daniel’s Double Application and a Guess at Timing
How to Have the Highest Destiny
Throw the Preachers Out!
“Left Behind” is Better
Appendix:
Prescription Drugs Kill More People
Identifying the Whore in Revelation 17
Man Born to Be King
Queen for a Day was a TV program about 60 years ago.
The program offered prizes like a new washing machine, diapers and
clothes for small children, help with expenses for food and a luxurious
vacation with expenses paid.
The winner was usually the woman who could get the most sympathy by
telling how bad life was for her--she was crowned “Queen for a Day”
The fantasy of Queen for a Day offers sweet relief from drudgery, maybe that’s why women read fiction. This book can be like that—taking your mind off problems and lifting you into a fantasy.
Read this as fiction and that’s all you may get—diversion from hum-drum or boring burdens.
But if we believe the Bible as God’s words on life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness, we can do better than Queen for a Day.
Better than any internet offer, “ruler over all that He has” is a
promise from the Creator given to those who are “so doing when He comes”
and if we understand what He wants, we can be doing it--we can be made
“ruler over all that He has,” Luke 12:43,44.
Even if you aren’t sure that the Bible is God’s word, as you see Bible prophecy fulfilled that are explained here, you will remember what you read and know where to look for more information.
"All things considered" is not just a great slogan for NPR. Not to consider the richest promise in the all-time best seller is ignorance--it's ignoring a credible opportunity at the highest destiny imaginable...
Click to Download Now!
The wedding parables include the richest promise in the Bible, that "He will make [us] ruler over all that He has," Lk 12:44.
It's taken me years to understand this, so please give it your patient consideration.
In addition, I want to share how a healthy lifestyle is especially important to us as our healthcare system is really drug-care and it's the leading cause of death!
If I can spare you illness or death like my former wife had from a prescription, you may be willing to consider some other information relevant to our time at http://AmericaInProphecy.me
Wanting to be your friend, I look forward to your response, thanks.
Click to email me, Richard Ruhling
My wife and I stopped on a walk to talk with a nice neighbor lady who was tearful that her house was being repossessed after losing her job. They lived there 13 years.
She seemed to understand a 1-minute summary of this information better than most church members. Is this what it will take for the wise virgins to wake up and light their lamps? Matthew 25:1-12:
Are We Ready
to Marry the Bridegroom?
A Fresh Look at the Wedding Parables
Article submitted: Ministry Magazine
Summary:
The wedding
parables focus in the end-time when wise and foolish believers will be
suddenly sorted by their readiness in a calamity (midnight cry as in
Egypt when God took His people to a covenant relationship (marriage)
that included the Promised (covenanted) Land that in the end-time is for
Christians as well as Jews, Gal 3:29. When the world can’t buy or sell
without the mark of false worship, God has pledged Himself to fulfill
His word. Readiness to seek a covenant in the face of calamity is key to
“open unto Him immediately” and the promise that “He will make [us]
ruler over all that He has.” This is a call to light our lamps--“the
Bridegroom comes!”
Christ’s parables of
the wedding garment and ten virgins in Matthew 22 and 25 are so
different. They don’t seem to fit together and many believers conclude
they are just a metaphor about readiness for Christ’s 2nd
coming when we expect to eat the marriage supper with Him in heaven.
But Christ’s words
suggest serious loss by the foolish virgins who lacked oil and could not
find their way to the wedding when the Bridegroom came. They were shut
out for a late arrival.[i]
The Bible explains
its meaning; the oil comes from two olive trees in Zechariah 4 that
represent the Old and New Testaments.
Christians focusing on the New Testament could lack an important source
of oil because Christ said, “Search the Scriptures,”[ii]
and the only Scriptures in existence then were the Old Testament.
The Old Testament
offers insight to an impending wedding. Speaking to Israel, God said,
“Turn, O backsliding children…for I am married unto you.”[iii]
They got married at Sinai when they made a covenant with God.[iv]
At the end of a
prophetic time, God attacked the gods of Egypt (the Nile, cattle and
frogs were subjects of the plagues) and He took His people from calamity
to Sinai where they covenanted to become His kingdom and His bride. The
apostle Paul refers to the Exodus and reminds us, “All these things
happened to them as examples [types
in the KJV margin]…for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the
ages have come.”[v]
In the end-time, the
bondage to Babylon will be more serious than in Egypt. No one will be
able to buy or sell without conformity to false worship.[vi]
In a time of judgment[vii]
[krisis is the Greek word],
God is going to afflict our gods and a call will be given to come out of
Babylon.[viii]
Babylon (confusion) will be worldwide, but in that crisis, God is not
taken by surprise. He says, “There is none like Me, declaring the end
from the beginning.”[ix]
In the book of
beginnings, God covenanted with Abraham to give him land for his seed.[x]
The promise is bigger than Jews. “If you are Christ’s, then you are
Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise”--that land is
our land,[xi]
and after an end-time calamity when Jerusalem will be taken, “then shall
the Lord go forth to fight against those nations.”[xii]
In the “latter day,”[xiii]
God says, I will bring them from the north country [Babylon[xiv]]
and gather them from the ends of the earth…the blind and the lame, the
woman with child…a great throng shall return there…He who scattered
Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd does his flock…Your
children shall come back to their own border.”[xv]
This is not optional
because it’s the context of the New Covenant Promise to put God’s law in
our hearts, a promise without which we cannot see God and live.[xvi]
Ezekiel has similar support. “I will take you from among the heathen and
gather you out of all countries and bring you into your own land. Then
[New Covenant Promise to write His law in our hearts] and “you shall
dwell in the land that I gave your fathers.”[xvii]
This is not just Jews. In the following chapter God tells Ezekiel to take two sticks, one stick for Judah and another stick for Israel “and they will become one stick in your hand.”[xviii] Who are they?
Israel is the 10 tribes that were scattered; many intermarried and became Christians. “If ye be Christ’s, then are you Abraham’s seed.”[xix] In the end-time, Christians who accept the torah,
a word translated as “law” over 200 times, will blend with Judah (Jews who accept the Messiah) and they will be united in one kingdom.
The signal for
Ezekiel 37 will be “a shaking” that fits the “midnight cry” imagery of
Matthew 25. The Rule of 1st Use offers insight. It states
that where a word or phrase is first found, it often has
a context or meaning for the
end-time because Christ is the Word… “the First and the Last.”[xx]
The first place we
find a midnight cry is when calamity fell on the Egyptians. This
supports a calamity as the source of the midnight cry. The apostle Paul
says, “The day of the Lord” comes with “sudden destruction.”[xxi]
The phrase, “the day of the Lord” is the Old Testament apocalyptic
period, often with an earthquake[xxii]
in the context as the “shaking” above.
The thought of sudden
destruction could startle us, but “surely the Lord God does nothing
unless He reveals His secret to His servants, the prophets.”[xxiii]
Yet few read the next phrase or understand it: “The lion has roared, who
will not fear?” Christ is the Lion of Judah[xxiv]
and His “roar” is an earthquake—“The Lord also will roar…the earth will
shake.”[xxv]
Different passages
use different imagery. A well-known text is, “I stand at the door and
knock.”[xxvi]
We understand that Christ wants to be part of all that we do, but it’s
also an apocalyptic message. We are lukewarm with materialism and He may
help us refocus as He did with the ancient church of Laodicea that ended
in an earthquake.
The only other place
where Christ “knocks” is Luke 12:36 where we must “open unto Him
immediately.” This is a wedding parable and “He will make [us] ruler
over all that He has” if we are “so doing when He comes”
[xxvii] which includes “watching” as
a protection…
Just as God spared
His people when they put blood on the doorpost, we may also be spared if
we will “watch and pray.” Christ said, “If the goodman had known…he
would have watched and would not have suffered his house to be broken.”[xxviii]
“If you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief”[xxix]
(and break your house?)
Some people think
watching means to be spiritually aware, but everyone thinks they are
aware. “Watch” is translated from the Greek word,
gregoreo, and it means to be
awake. We can’t be awake every night, but there was only one night in
the year that Israel was to watch—on the eve of Passover. “That same
night is a vigil to be kept for the Lord by all the Israelites
throughout their generations.”[xxx]
Christ altered the
observance of Passover by instituting unleavened bread and wine, but He
also enjoined watching and prayer that night,[xxxi]
but we gloss over it. Passover is a memorial to the greatest events in the Old
and New Testaments--deliverance physical and spiritual bondage, first
from Egypt, and then from sin.
Judgment was
executed[xxxii]
on the Egyptians and the Bible supports similar for us
—“In the day
of the Lord’s sacrifice [Passover] I will punish the princes and king’s
children…”[xxxiii]
The disciples were
probably thinking of Passover when Christ spoke of calamities and He may
have read their minds when He said, You don’t know the day or hour! He
said it three times, and each time He said it, He gave an example that
fit a provision in their law for Passover a month later,[xxxiv]
“as in the days of Noah,” when the Flood came with Passover timing, but
in the second spring month.
Again after five
virgins missed the wedding He said, “Watch…for the kingdom of heaven is
as a man traveling into a far country.”[xxxv]
Long journeys were often taken in the spring by people who kept Passover
a month later after returning. Christ was going on a long journey. His
clues suggest His return in judgment as the law prescribes, because
“till heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or tittle will by no means
pass from the law till all is fulfilled.”[xxxvi]
We forget that Paul
kept those annual feasts with early believers[xxxvii]
and said, “Follow me as I follow Christ.”[xxxviii]
He also said they were “a shadow of things to come”[xxxix]
which means they weren’t all fulfilled.
No doubt Paul was
familiar with Zephaniah’s “day
of the Lord’s sacrifice [when God] will punish…the king’s children
clothed in strange apparel.” The day of the Lord’s sacrifice is Passover
and those who are unprepared for a covenant relationship with the
Bridegroom may be those in “strange apparel.”[xl]
These passages suggest that pastors are at high risk because the True
Witness tells them as messengers [aggelos
is the Greek word] to the church of Laodicea that they are “naked.”
As such, they don’t have the wedding garment required in Matthew 22:11.
Some would say this is taking “naked” in Revelation 3 out of context and
applying it to the wedding parable, but Luke’s wedding parable[xli]
has six similarities to the Laodicean message. This means Revelation
3:14-21 is a wedding invitation and those who don’t see an opportunity
for a covenant could be “naked,”—unable to answer the door when Christ
knocks.
Everyone today has a full plate. Calamity is not on our wish list, but
unless we see this imagery connected with “the day of the Lord” and the
wedding parables, we could miss our high destiny. Watching and prayer on
the eve of Passover would be a great help, but this need has been
obscured by customs and traditions, like Easter v Passover.
Our need of understanding is increased by two timelines that intersect
this spring.
May 19, 1780 was a historic “Dark Day” in New England. “The darkness was
so complete that
candles
were required
from noon on. It did not disperse until the middle of the next night.”
Many took the unexplained darkness as an apocalyptic sign.[xlii]
The anniversary 200
years later was another dark day on May 19, 1980 as ash from Mt. St.
Helens erupting May 18, spread over three northwestern states. Was this
just a coincidence, or was God marking May 19 and confirming His word of
what He foreknew? “The
day of the Lord [is]…a day of darkness and
gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness.”[xliii]
The second timeline is the late Passover discussed above. It was the focal point of Christ’s clues like “the days of Noah” when the Flood came with Passover timing, but in the 2nd month. Also, travel meant keep Passover in the 2nd month and Christ used that imagery in Matt 25:14--“as a man traveling to a far country.” This spring, 2nd Passover fell on May 19, and President Obama spoke on May 19 asking Israel to turn its borders back to pre-1967 when their borders were indefensible and they were attacked.
Every time this country has urged Israel to give
up land that God gave them in order to have peace, we have had a major
calamity within 24 hours. What is happening is setting the stage for
Zechariah 14:2 when "all [Arab] nations are gathered against Jerusalem"
and the city will be taken, the houses rifled and the women ravished,
but then the Lord will go forth to fight against those nations...
That time seems to be impending.
Stay tuned...
#
#
#
[i] Matthew 25:1-13, KJV unless otherwise stated
[ii] John 5:38
[iii] Jeremiah 3:14
[iv] Exodus 19:5,6
[v] 1 Corinthians 10:1,11, NKJV
[vi] Revelation 13:15-17
[vii] Revelation 14:7
[viii] Revelation 14:8; 18:2-4
[ix] Isaiah 46:10
[x] Genesis 15:18
[xi] Galatians 3:29
[xii] Zechariah 14:3
[xiii] Jeremiah 30:24
[xiv] Ezekiel 26:7
[xv] Jeremiah 31:1,8,10,17
[xvi] Matthew 5:8
[xvii] Ezekiel 36:24-28
[xviii] Ezekiel 37:15-17
[xix] Galatians 3:29
[xx] Revelation 1:11
[xxi] 1Thessalonians 5:2,3
[xxii] Joel 2:10,11; Zeph 1:7-10; Zech 14:1-5
[xxiii] Amos 3:7, NKJV
[xxiv] Revelation 5:5
[xxv] Joel 3:16, NKJV
[xxvi] Revelation 3:20
[xxvii] Luke 12:43,44
[xxviii] Matthew 24:43
[xxix] Revelation 3:3
[xxx] Exodus 12:42, NRSV
[xxxi] Matthew 26:38-41
[xxxii] Exodus 12:12
[xxxiii] Zephaniah 1:8
[xxxiv] Numbers 9:10,11
[xxxv] Matthew 25:13,14
[xxxvi] Matthew 5:18, NKJV
[xxxvii] Acts 20:6,16; 27:9; 1Corinthians 5:8
[xxxviii] 1Corinthians 11:1
[xxxix] Colossians 2:17
[xl] Matthew 22:11
[xli] Luke 12:35-44
[xlii] Wikipedia, Dark Day
[xliii] Zephaniah 1:14,15
[xliv] Luke 22:44
[xlv] Leviticus 23:14,21,31,41
[xlvi] Acts 1:6,7
[xlvii] 1Thessalonians 5:1-3
[xlviii] Matthew 22:2,3
[xlix] Luke 12:36
[l] Matthew 22:10-13
[li] Isaiah 28:10