Our Wedding Invitation!
Summary: The Bridegroom comes amid calamity, a judgment allowed
by God. It happened in Egypt when God took Israel from calamity to a
covenant relationship at Sinai and later He said, "I am married to you," Jer
3:14 "All those things happened... for examples [for] the ends of the
world," 1Cor 10:11.
The subject is complex so Christ used several wedding
parables. Here is a synthesis of His three wedding parables in an article
submitted to Christianity Today. .
Will We Be Late for our
Wedding?
Christ's wedding parables are so different, they seem
like just a metaphor for readiness to some Christians. We get a better
picture when we see what they have in common.
1. They are about a wedding that isn't
understood. In Matthew
22, the wedding invitation was scorned and ridiculed. In Luke's wedding
parable (12:32-48), Peter asks, "Is this parable for us or for all?" In
Matthew 25:5, Christ implies that even the wise are asleep with their
lights out.
2. There is a sudden
event
with a crucial need in each
parable.
In Matthew
22, the king finds a man unprepared--without a wedding garment and he is
thrown out. In Matthew 25, we find a cry at midnight and the need for oil
in the lamps. In Luke 12:36, there is a sudden knock to which we are to
"open unto Him immediately," Luke 12:36. Waiting for church committees or
leaders to tell us what to do will be too late. That's like foolish
virgins going "to them that sell" (ministers refine the Word into
oil)--but those who wait to be told what to do will arrive too late (Matt
25:9,10). We need to be watching to open immediately, Luke 12:36,37. This
is actually the key ingredient...
3. What are we watching
for?
Amos says God
won't do anything without revealing it, so what is it that He wants to
reveal? We get a clue in the next verse--Amos 3:7,8. "The lion has roared,
who will not fear?" The first two verses of Amos support the "roar" as
an
earthquake, as does
Joel 3:16--"the Lord shall roar...the heavens and earth shall shake."
This is the
Lion of Judah (Rev 5:5) roaring with an earthquake that introduces the
seven seals in Rev 6:1 where the lion's roar is the "thunder" from the
first creature (Rev 4:7) that John heard. The earthquake also initiates
the seven trumpets (Rev 8:5,6) and the seven thunders (lion's roar, Rev
10:3)
Earthquake
is also shown to initiate "the day of the Lord"--the Old Testament term
for end-times, as seen in Joel 2:10,11; Zephaniah 1:7-10; Zechariah
14:1-5, and it's the "sudden destruction" when they are saying 'Peace and
safety," 1Thess 5:3.
Earthquake
as the initiating event is supported by the "knock" in Luke 12:36--it's
the only other place where Christ "nders (knocks" is Revelation 3:20--for
a lukewarm church that ended in an earthquake circa 63 AD. Type and
antitype?
"Blessed are those servants whom the Lord, when He comes shall find
watching. Verily I say unto you, He shall gird Himself and make them sit
down to meat, and shall come forth and serve them." Luke 12:36,37. (Note
the Passover imagery.)
Zeph 1:8 suggests that "in the day of the Lord's sacrifice"
[Passover] God will "execute judgment" as He did in Egypt where there was
also a midnight cry and God took His people to a covenant (marriage)
relationship at Sinai and later said, "I am married to you," Exod 12:12;
Jer 3:14...Paul included the Exodus when he said, "All those things
happened...for our admonition...ends of the world." 1Cor 10:1,11. An
earthquake to initiate end-times is what we're watching for,
but...
4. What does "watching"
mean?
We tend to spiritualize watching, thinking it
means to be spiritually aware. But everyone thinks they are aware.
"Watching" is translated from the Greek
word, gregoreo, meaning
to be
awake.
We can't be awake every night, but there was only one night in the
year when Israel was to be awake--on the eve of Passover--and that's when
Christ asked his disciples, "Watch with Me..." Exodus 12:10; Matthew
26:38-40.
That night celebrates the greatest events of Old and New
Testaments--God's deliverance of His people from physical bondage, and His
deliverance from spiritual bondage of sin.
Passover was when Christ sweat blood and was whipped for us? We
don't need to kill lambs, but Christ clued us that we could be like the
goodman who will have his house broken by His coming as a thief because,
like the goodman, we don't know when to watch, Matt 24:43. "If you don't
watch, I will come on you as a thief." Revelation
3:3.
At a time when some are calling for fasting and prayer or all night
prayer vigils for lesser causes, let's not overlook the best information
on when to expect Christ's "knock" as each wedding parable has imagery of
judgment and Passover.
For #5, read
next column> |
New World Order:
Survival Means
Opt-Out!
Early Americans fled
the Old World and
generally
believed that the first beast (above)
in
Revelation 13 represented the papacy as it had
assimilated
all the characteristics of previous kingdoms in
Daniel
7.
The lion, bear, leopard and
dreadfulbeast with 10 horns were survived by the papacy
represented by an amalgamated beast
with a mouth like a lion and feet like a bear. It
looked
like a leopard and had the total of seven heads
and
ten horns from Daniel
7.
But the beast had a “deadly wound”
( the Protestant Reformation). John
saw
this deadly wound heal and “all the world
wondered
after the beast…” Rev 13:3. Every living US
presidentbowed before the casket of a
dead pope. The wound by the Protestant Reformation has healed and few protest
the papacy today.
America
is represented by the second beast in Revelation
13:11-15. It has two horns like a lamb, but no crowns as
the
previous beast had. This suggests a government
without
a king and a church without a
pope—Protestant America.
The US beast causes
fire to come down from
the
sky (Hiroshima) and it makes an image
(look-alike) of the previous (papal) Old World
Order. The US is making a New World
Order. That's the meaning of the Latin on our $1 bill-- Novus Ordo
Seclorum.
The Bible describes it as an image of the Old World
Order because it will come down to enforcing false worship when no one can
buy or sell without the mark or number of compliance, Rev 13:15-17
video
www.jeremiahproject.com/newworldorder/nworder05.html
The papacy is behind the push
for global government because it wants to regain the power it lost in the
Old World. The imagery of Revelation 17 depicts the church of Rome as a
harlot, riding and guiding the New World Order beast
.
The mandatory National ID Card is a preliminary step to forced
compliance and the loss of freedom. Those wanting medical care can submit
to it, but the truth is, medical care is not health care, and it's a
leading cause of death because drugs are chemicals that are toxic... http://LeadingCauseOfDeathPrescriptionDrugs.com
When asked about
the end of the world, Christ said to understand the book of
Daniel, (Matthew 24:15). Daniel and his friends opted out of the king's health
care plan--his meat and wine.
The wine could represent the wine of Babylon. We are
called out of Babylon, for "by her sorceries [Greek word is pharmekeia]
were all nations deceived." Rev 18:23. Wine (alcohol) is the oldest drug in
history, and represents Rx drugs.
Those
itching to control the world in a global government will soon have
control, but first there's a time of judgment signaled by a huge
earthquake. It's announced in Revelation 14:7-10: Fear God (more than man's
enforcement of wrong worship and honor Him.)
In spite of everything going
to hell around us, there's good news in the face of bad.
We just need to understand it, because as in Noah's time,
God provides a way of escape. In the
face of Executive Orders, we can be spared from FEMA camps.
Five Reasons this is Impending
1. "When they shall say, 'Peace and
safety,' sudden destruction comes on them," 1Thess 5:3. "Peace and safety"
is the music of those who push the UN agenda to grab guns. They want to
end US sovereignty.
2. "When you see [military force as the
early disciples saw when they fled Jerusalem in 66 AD] flee..." Matthew
24:15. Google or search YouTube, or BeforeItsNews.com for many eye witness
accounts of military...
3. "If you see a sword come on the land
and blow not the trumpet, they may die, but their blood I require at your
hand." Ezekiel 33:6.
An elderly couple camping off the road in AZ were told to
get back into town by a man who became irate when they said they were not
hurting anything. Before they could get packed up, a vehicle with a
machine gun on the hood pulled up and four men who didn't speak English
got out. (Sword on the land).
4. "If I whet my glittering sword and my
hand take hold on judgment, I will render vengeance to my enemies..." Deut
32:41.
- A comet like a sword hung over Jerusalem in 66 AD as an
omen.
- A comet with a split tail resembling two swords hung
over America in 1861 as the Civil War began.
- Two comets (two swords) make their appearance this
year--civil war again?
5. Economists are saying America is gone
forever. This also fits Scripture that rich men will weep and howl in the
last days, Jame 5:1-3. http://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2013/03/america-is-gone-its-never-coming-back-please-share-2607146.html
Visit http://RichardRuhling.com and if you can't afford
$2.99, send an email to Ruhliing7@juno.com and I'll gift you a copy of
Apocalypse 2013: to Survive the Fall of
America.
For a better understanding of Bible reasons for the
initiating event, an earthquake on May 25, please visit http://MayJudgmentDay.com
5. Didn't Christ say, You don't know the day
or hour?
The Greek
word for "know" is eido. It means to
be aware, consider, perceive, understand. Christ was telling His
disciples, You don't understand....
-
Each time
He said it, He gave an example that fit a provision in the law for
Passover a month later, "as in the days of Noah" when the Flood had
Passover timing, but in
the second spring
month. Noah entered the ark on the 10th day--the same day the sacrifice
was selected in Exodus 12:3. When people didn't heed Noah's last
appeal, they selected themselves for sacrifice. We might do the same by
not watching as requested by Christ. The law in Numbers 9:10,11
specifies Passover for contact with a dead person as Noah who buried his
grandfather, Methuselah, whose name meant,
"at his
death the sending forth of
waters." Gen 5:22,
margin. What a message in his name! Have we been in contact with a dead
church body?
-
After
foolish virgins missed the marriage, Christ again said, You don't
(understand... for the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a
far country, Matthew 25:13,14. Again it is an example of Numbers
9:10,11, a provision for Passover a month later if there's a long
journey. Christ would be taking a far journey (to heaven) and may be
expected to come as Bridegroom in conformity to His law specifying
second Passover--that law is in effect "till heaven and earth pass,"
Matthew 5:18.
Seeking
harmony with Christ's words to watch and pray, we should do so on Friday
night, May 24/25 because the thin crescent signaling the new month should
be seen two weeks earlier in the western sky 20-40 minutes after sunset on
Friday evening.
For #6, please see Column 3 >>>
The Seven
Seals are
a focus on topics the Bible emphasizes seven times as a mark of
end-time truth, just as the book of Revelation is a book of
sevens.
Not only are these "end-time truth" but they
are the basis of our covenant as we marry the Bride-groom. Bible covenants
were linked to sevens, like the seven ewe lambs that Abraham gave to
Abbimelech in making a covenant.
We give God the sevens as we pledge ourselves
faithful to Him for the end-time. If so, "He will make [us] ruler over all
that He has" and will share His throne with us, Rev 3:20,21; Luke
12:35-37,44.
To read the first
seal, please visit http://GodsName1stSeal.wordpress.com
|
The Law of God:
Problem
for Pastors and Churches, but Good News for
Individuals
From the beginning in
Genesis 3, the enemy of man has tried to make God's
rules appear impossible or unfair--and he has worked to twist and change
them.
God's law is a test
loyalty to God in a controvesy betweeen God and the devil (whom God would
have destroyed for his rebellion and attempted takeover of His government,
but then all the rest of God's creation would have served God from fear,
so God had to allow a demonstration of Satan's principles versus God's law
of love.
Eve wasn't hungry, but if
she had been, she could have eaten of any other tree. Being made in
God's image was not enough when she was tempted to eat the fruit to be
like God. She became disloyal, tempted Adam and a night of woe fell on mankind,
Genesis 3.
Preachers try to make
things easy for their congregation, or people might not be back or support
the church. Popular pulpits make it sound like Jesus will save anyone--all
you have to do is ask and don't worry about works to keep God's law.
Yes, it's true, God wants to save everyone, but
His salvation is based on our willingness to repent (change) when we understand His
ways are better than ours. He can forgive any sin on that basis, but
He will not excuse any sin so we can keep doing it our way.
He therefore, becomes Savior and Lord. They go together--we can't have one
without the other, but "His yoke is easy, His burden is light." Matt 11:28.
As we repent and turn from wrong,
He helps us in many ways that everyone who gives themselves to Him knows.
No, we can't earn our
salvation by our ability to keep His law--this is why Christ died, to pay
for our sins, but as a standard to live by--we must have His laws or our
societies become chaotic and rebellious as we see worldwide for man's
laws.
God overlooks our sins of ignorance but we must repent and go by the
best information we know, Acts 17:30,31.
An earthquake ended
the last lukewarm church of Laodicea in Revelation 3 as a type for our
end-time antitype when American Christianity, also lukewarm with
materialism, is ending. Churches will move either toward complaince with
New World Order (the "broad way that leads to destruction," Matt 5) or
toward the unknown Messiah of the narrow way who is largely
unknown--never called Jesus--there was no "J" letter or sound in Greek or
Hebrew!
The Bible suggests serious problems for pastors who
have kept Christ (Truth--He said, "I am the Truth") out. This is
the picture with Christ knocking at the closed door and the True
Witness says to the aggelos, messenger, that he is blind and
naked.
That's a bad combination--you can't even go to the
door to find out who's there. And this is the person who is thrown out of
the marriage for not having a wedding garment in Matthew 22:11.
And there's another overlooked problem. Pastors are afraid
to preach Bible truth because they could lose tax-exempt status for anything
that might be political, like speaking against redefining of
marriage, gay "rights," etc. If we compromise in one area, other areas are affected--all of this playing
a part of "Babylon is fallen," like Egypt before the Exodus.
Summary
God afflicted Egypt for
its bondage and idolatry, and He took Israel from a calamity with a
midnight cry (also in the wedding parable, Matt 25:6) to Sinai where they
covenanted to be God's people and He later said, "I am married unto you,"
Jeremiah 3:14.
America is like Egypt.
Both places were a haven for God's people, but things changed for Egypt
and they are changing for America.
That history is for us
because Paul included the Exodus when he wrote, "All those things happened
to them for [types]...written for our admonition...the ends of the world,"
1 Corinthians 10:1,11.
Just as God attacked the
gods of Egypt--the Nile River turned to blood and the cattle got disease,
so we might see parallels with our money god being afflicted.
The
good news is that our God isn't taken by surprise. Our duty is to be ready
like Israel was for big events and tough chewing--they ate unleavened
bread for seven days. We aren't used to tough chewing that the Bible
represents, but we are getting to the time when we will need to do so, and
the wise will have light to share. May God help us as we watch solemn
events unfold, and for more information on readiness, visit http://MayJudgmentDay.com
to read the 3rd column on
the right.
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6. Huge reward for compliance is contrasted
with serious loss for
failure.Since the
Bible is it's own expositor, the wise virgins in Matthew 25 are the
144,000 virgins in Revelation 14:4 who are privileged to follow Christ
wherever He goes in eternity.
If we are
"watching" (awake) when Christ "knocks" (because He has clued us with
Passover imagery and statements "as in the days of Noah" or "like a man
traveling to a far journey") we can be watching and open unto Him
immediately with a willingness for a covenant with Him. If so, "He will
make [us] ruler over all that He has." Luke
12:44.
In this case,
it's the New Covenant that includes His promise to write His laws in our
hearts--something we must
have before we are
ready to meet Him in the sky.
If He
should knock and we are not watching, Luke 12:36-48 suggests we will be
beaten with stripes. Like entering the ark in Noah's time, it wasn't hard
to do, but fear of being ridiculed caused stopped the antidiluvians and
even caused Peter to deny his Lord. Are we afraid of what others think;
what have we learned from these accounts?
Fellowship
with Christ in His sufferings on the night set to commemorate it should be
our priority. We have misunderstood some of Paul's writings as doing away
with the law. That's true as a method to earn our salvation, but not as a
standard to live by.
Paul said
those holy days were shadows of things to come, Col 2:17. This means they
weren't fulfilled except for animal sacrifices. If we aren't watching,
Christ promises He will come as a thief.
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