"Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps." Matthew 25:1-4 What is the difference between these two groups of people? It has to be such a huge difference that later the Lord ends up saying to the foolish virgins: vs 12: “But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’” How terrible! He never knew them, he said, yet they had gone out to meet him. In other words, they knew ABOUT him, they were "religious," they knew enough to know that he would come at some point, yet they didn't "KNOW" him. The element on which this story stands is the oil that they did not take with them. In the Scriptures, oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. There are many - MANY - churches today who meet regularly on Sunday mornings and sing hymns and have a Scripture reading and do good works and love each other. This is all fine and good, but if they are lacking the most important thing, the Holy Spirit, then it's all worthless. And many, if not most, churches in this Laodicean day are in this category. They do religion. So how can you tell whether they are lacking the Spirit of God? Here's how - the Holy Spirit is all about testifying of Jesus. It's all about revelation. What revelation? Jesus. It's all about Jesus. When a church gets off into "service," good works, community outreach, building programs, books and videos, professional-sounding musicians, pot-luck dinners, and so much more, it's all fine and good except for many, the focus is not on JESUS. As time comes closer to the "last days," as the world is being set up for the one-world religion, as Satan's agenda is about to break forth and is doing so even now - it's no coincidence that Jesus is no longer the focus in the churches today. Those churches think they're ok, they see it too - the approaching Tribulation, and their response to it is to stock up with goods to get them through the hard times of the Tribulation. But there's no stocking up on ...OIL. They've missed the whole point. And when the Bridegroom comes, they will be left behind to consume the goods they've prepared with. Those who are stocking up and preparing to survive the Tribulation, are watching and preparing for the Antichrist. But those who have the oil are watching for Jesus Christ. One day I asked the Lord, "what is the difference between works of gold, silver and precious stone, versus works of wood, hay, and stubble (1st Corinthians 3:12)? He answered me with a question: "Look back upon your walk with me and tell me what is the difference between each time you were successful in bringing souls to me, versus the times you weren't." That took awhile, because I wanted to look deeply and "get" what he was saying. After reviewing the stories, I came to a startling conclusion. Every single one of those that succeeded was a story HE set up; they happened totally unexpectedly, and it was easy. The other stories in which I tried so hard to convince people unsuccessfully, failed. And now I "got it!" Now I understood! The difference was the Holy Spirit. HE created the stories, HE brought about the circumstances that led to the success, HE did the work when the time came, and HE accomplished what HE was doing. These works were the works of gold, silver, and precious stone. Any other effort on my part was wood, hay and stubble, and the proof was in the pudding. One succeeded, the other didn't, and the difference was the oil, the Holy Spirit. To "know" the Lord is not to know ABOUT him, it's to have a PERSONAL relationship with him. That starts when a person recognizes his terrible sinfulness, realizes he can do nothing about it, hears the Gospel and responds with surrendering his/her life unto the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ becomes the Savior and brings about the new birth. He becomes their Lord and they follow him intimately for the rest of their lives. All others, those who are perhaps religious, those who maybe grew up in a Christian home, go to church, do good works, but who have not been born again by the SPIRIT OF GOD - these do not KNOW him. Their lives are all about what they can do for God with their programs. The ones who have the oil, are those who know to walk intimately with him, trusting him to bring about whatever he so desires, how he desires, and when he desires. As for the former, they will hear in the end, "Assuredly, I say to you, I never knew you." Friends, we need to get serious with God ON HIS TERMS, not ours. Our good works and religious practices will not save us. In fact, the Scriptures say they are a stench in God's nostrils, because they are done from self, not from his Spirit. Especially if you are "religious," take some time to examine your heart to see whether your life is rooted in the Spirit of God, or in self. If you're not sure, if you don't have a strong assurance of your salvation, then go to the Lord and get this settled between him and you. You'll need to come to a deep honesty about yourself, and pride has to go. "God RESISTS the proud" (James 4:6). You will have to overcome your pride and stop justifying yourself before him. He will meet you there and you will come to know him in a way you'd never, ever, thought possible. It will change everything. Then when the Bridegroom comes, your lamp will be filled with oil and you will go with him. Don't miss this!
"...he who now restrains will restrain
until he is taken out of the way.
AND THEN the lawless one will be revealed..."
2nd Thessalonians 2:7-8
Who Is The Restrainer that is holding back the revealing of the Antichrist?
It is not the Holy Spirit.
We know that no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit (1st Corinthians 12:3), so the Holy Spirit has to remain when the church is removed. If the Holy Spirit were taken out of the way, no one would be saved from that point on. We know there will be multitudes of people saved during the Tribulation, so the Holy Spirit is on the earth then, which means the Holy Spirit is NOT the restrainer referred to in this passage because He has to be here to bring the Tribulation saints to Christ.
Then who is taken out of the way?
Who is hindering the mystery of iniquity?
Who IS the restrainer?
The one restraining evil is the Body of Christ on earth. The believers in Jesus, the Body of Christ, is restraining the evil on the earth.
The believers in Jesus Christ are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
The believers in Jesus Christ are to occupy until Jesus comes.
The believers in Jesus Christ are hindering the working of iniquity.
Yes, it is the Spirit of God within the believers who restrains, but when the believers are removed, the Holy Spirit still remains here so that others can be saved even during the Tribulation.
If the believers weren’t here all wickedness would have free reign without any restraint whatsoever. We have seen, especially in the past recent years, the almost unbelievable advance of evil. People in previous generations would never have believed that the time would come when women were ENCOURAGED to murder their unborn babies, even full-term babies no less! People in previous generations would never have believed the day would come when lesbians married to lesbians would be pastors of churches. People in previous generations would never have believed children would be encouraged to change their gender, or that men who have done so would by law be allowed in women's bathrooms. It is born-again believers who push back against these evils, who cry out against this insanity, who do all they can to restrain the advance of evil.
. The restrainer restrains.
. Then the Rapture removes born-again believers.
. THEN the Antichrist is revealed.
“And now you know what is RESTRAINING,
that he (the Antichrist) may be revealed IN HIS OWN TIME.
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work,
only he who now restrains will restrain until he is taken out of the way.
AND THEN the lawless one will be revealed,
whom the Lord will consume with the breath of his mouth
and destroy with the brightness of his coming.”
2nd Thessalonians 2:6-8
It is the Church, the Body of Christ, who are crying out, who are resisting evil, who are is testifying to the lost, who are preaching the Gospel and calling to people to come to the Lord and be saved. And it is the Church who will be taken out of the way so that the Antichrist may arise.
"The lawless one," the Antichrist, will be revealed when there isn’t a single righteous person left on earth to restrain him. In fact, those who are left behind will welcome him:
“I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me;
if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.”
John 5:43
The Rapture is the next thing to take place in Bible prophecy, and the signs of the impending Tribulation are all before us, so we know the Rapture is near because it precedes it. If you haven't settled your eternity with Jesus Christ, do it now - while there is still time.
"...the night is coming when no one can work."
John 9:4
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The Rapture
"And as it was in the days of NOAH,
so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:
They ate, they drank, they married wives,
they were given in marriage,
until the day that Noah entered the ark,
and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Likewise as it was also in the days of LOT:
They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold,
they planted, they built;
but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom
it rained fire and brimstone from heaven
and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day
when the Son of Man is revealed."
Luke 17:26-30
Noah wasn't put into the ark halfway through the flood. He went into the ark a week before the first drop of rain fell.
"So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives,
went into the ark because of the waters of the flood...
And it came to pass after seven days
that the waters of the flood were on the earth."
Genesis 7:7-10
Furthermore, it wasn't during threatening times that he went into the ark. At the time, people were going about life as usual, buying, selling, marrying, giving in marriage. The flood came when they were just enjoying life. There was no warning except the words of Noah as he preached to that generation throughout the time it took him to build the ark.
"Noah, one of eight people, a PREACHER of righteousness..."
2nd Peter 2:5
He PREACHED and he was SCORNED for his warnings. And they all perished.
Just as today, as it is written, "knowing this first, that scoffers will come in the last days..." (2nd Peter 3:3). And as we bring the message, we are scorned. Scorners will suffer the same fate.
When God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah...
"When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry,
saying, 'Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here,
lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.'
And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand,
and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him,
and they brought him out and set him outside the city.
So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said,
'Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain.
Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.'''
Genesis 19:15-17
Lot wasn't moving fast enough so the angel prevailed on him to hurry, because he couldn't bring the judgment UNTIL LOT WAS OUT OF THERE:
"Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there."
Genesis 19:22
Jesus said of the time of the Tribulation of the last days, that this time it will be worse than anything mankind has ever seen upon the earth, including the flood of Noah's day and including the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
"For then there will be great tribulation,
such as has not been since the beginning
of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be."
Matthew 24:21
Many believe that the first half of the Tribulation will be relatively calm, and some are even stocking up in preparation for it. No, the entire seven-year period will be times of increasingly terrible judgments beginning from the opening of the first seal of judgments that will be poured upon the earth. We are not to prepare ourselves to outwit the Tribulation. We are not to be looking for the Antichrist intending to escape him, we are looking for Jesus Christ. Those who are looking for him, he will take from this earth before his wrath upon the earth begins.
Take a look at the very first judgments that fall. They are the seven seals, from the Book of Revelation chapter 6:
1. The Antichrist goes forth conquering, he takes control over the world
2. Great warfare breaks out
3. There is great famine
4. 1/4 of the earth's population is killed by famine, plague, and wild beasts
5. Martyrdom. The Antichrist beheads all who won't take his mark
6. Devastating earthquake, sun turns black, moon as blood, "the heavens recede as a scroll," possibly the result of nuclear war. Every mountain and island removed from its place. Survivors are so horrified that they cry out to the mountains and rocks to fall upon them.
7. An angel takes a censer fills it with fire from the altar, and hurls it on the earth;
and there comes peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake...”
These are only the SEALS, the very FIRST judgments. Who could survive it? Some of the judgments sound like nuclear war. I wouldn't want to survive that even if I could.
Next come the Trumpets, then the Vials, in increasing severity, if you can imagine that.
The entire seven years are called "the wrath of God almighty" (Revelation 19:15). There is no place in which the wrath begins other than in the Seals, at the very beginning.
The Rapture precedes all of the tribulation of the last seven years. Born-again believers who eagerly watch for him will be taken, those who aren't trying to prepare themselves to survive the Tribulation but who are watching for Jesus's coming in the Rapture:
"TO THOSE WHO EAGERLY WAIT FOR HIM
he will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation."
Hebrews 9:29
If you understand this, it will become clear that no part of the first judgments are mild enough that anyone could prepare for them. The 7-year period STARTS with unbearable suffering and death.
Those who understand this realize that there is no way anyone could "comfort one another with these words" if believers had to endure any part of the Tribulation, the wrath of God almighty. (1st Thessalonians 4:18)
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