“While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.” Matthew 25:5-6.
This chapter begins with the word ‘Then’. We must ever remember that the Bible was written without chapter divisions. They were added and are very helpful in finding our way through it but sometimes they tend to divide that which should be seen and read and understood as a continuing discourse.
Chapter 24 and 25 of Matthew is just such a case.
Olivet discourse
Chapter 25 is a record of the Saviour continuing His ‘Olivet’ discourse in answer to the disciples’ questions: “And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto 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 (age)?” Matthew 24:3.
So, in Matthew 25:1, we are given the state of the ‘ kingdom of heaven’ here on earth, just before the Saviour returns. “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto . . .”
I. IN THE FIRST CENTURY, THE REDEEMED ARE SEEN TO BE WAITING TO GREET THE SAVIOUR ON HIS RETURN.
1. This is made clear in the epistles of Paul.
“And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body,” Romans 8:23.
Paul said of the believers in Corinth: “Ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,” 1 Corinthians 1:7.
“For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come,” 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10.
“And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ,” 2 Thessalonians 3:5.
2. This is not to be understood as the first generation Christians expecting the Saviour to return in their day.
I can say that because Paul corrects some who were mistaken about this matter.
“Now we beseech you, brethren, by (Greek – concerning) the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by (Greek – concerning) our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?” 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5.
John Gill
Dr John Gill says of these verses: ‘In this chapter the apostle guards against a notion, as if the second coming of Christ was at hand; declares that, previous to it, there must be a great apostasy, and a revelation of antichrist.’
So from the beginning, the church was taught that the day of Christ would not come “Except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.”
That truth remains today. There will be a seven year period or ‘week, seven times’ in which the Antichrist will dominate Israel and the old Roman Earth, which will then be divided into ten kingdoms. In the middle of that future ‘week’, he will break the agreement he made with the Jews and by which he, for a time, acted in a friendly manner toward them. But in the second half of ‘the week’ we are told by Daniel of the change that comes about.
“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate,” Daniel 9:27.
That will commence the three and half years of the “Great Tribulation”, as the Saviour warns.
“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be,” Matthew 24:15-21.
This world is but forty two months away from the return of Christ when that act by the Antichrist takes place and the “Great Tribulation” begins.
3. What does the ‘waiting’ of the apostolic church mean?
It refers to a state of an assured and patient expectancy, on the part of the believer, regarding the return of Christ.
“And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it,” Romans 8:23-25.
“For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look (same word) for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ,” Philippians 3:20.
“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look (same word) for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation,” Hebrews 9:28.
When Christ returns, what a glorious and blessed deliverance will take place.
“For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (go before) them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord,” 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17.
4. The changes that the Saviour’s return will bring are not limited to the redeemed!
“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body,” Romans 8:16-23.
The curse that Adam’s transgression brought upon mankind also fell upon the whole of the creation.
“And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return,” Genesis 3:17-19.
The Saviour’s return will initiate the Millennial Kingdom of Christ, so often revealed in the writings of the prophets.
“And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: and the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked (Antichrist). And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea,” Isaiah 11:1-9.
“But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed. And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD,” Isaiah 65:18-25.
Revelation 20:1-7 reveals the character of that blessed time also!
II. SADLY, THE SAVIOUR MAKES CLEAR THAT JUST PRIOR TO THE END OF THIS AGE, THE CHURCH WILL CEASE WATCHING AND FALL ASLEEP!
“While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept,” Matthew 25:5.
The professing Church of Christ has ever contained false and true believers, goats as well as sheep! The ‘wise and the foolish’ fell asleep.
Sleep is a state described as : ‘A state of reduced mental and physical activity in which consciousness is altered and certain sensory activity is inhibited. During sleep, there is a marked decrease in muscle activity and interactions with the surrounding environment.’
We have often spoken of someone who is asleep as them being ‘dead to the world’! There is no noticing of that which is going on around them! ‘Care-less-ness’ will characterise the general state of the Church.
Is that not how it has become in very recent years?
We have but to look at our own church. Not that long ago the activities of the ecumenists and modernists and their ‘Romeward trends’ would bring a swift protest gathering, strong denunciations from our pulpits and articles in our church magazine.
That is not so today in the majority of our congregations and pulpits!
Instead we have ministers and elders linked to a party that endorses sodomy and transgenderism, we have ‘St Thomas Aquinas’ quoted in a church magazine, we have a minster up dancing at a wedding!
This is a church asleep and largely ‘dead’ to the blasphemous attacks on the cause of Christ and what the enemy is doing all around it!
Eyes are closed, arms are folded and there is the taking of ease! The task that these ‘virgins’ should have been engaged in was to take their lamps and “go forth to meet the bridegroom,” verse 1.
The Saviour will return at the midnight of this world’s descent into darkness. Paul paints the picture of the darkness into which this world will sink in 2 Timothy 3:1-5.
It is the duty of his people to stand ready to meet Him, holding up the lamp referred to by the Psalmist. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path,” Psalm 119:105.
We are to hold up the lamp that will light the way for the Bridegroom. It is a constant lament by many who contact me that ‘we never hear the coming of the Lord preached’!
Indeed, there is almost a despising of that subject in some pulpits. If any mention is made of it, it is usually an attack upon what is taught in Holy Scripture and a false and erroneous view that is presented!
Yes, sleep and nightmares, that often accompany sleep, is the state of the church today!
III. BUT THERE IS HOPE THAT THE LORD WILL NOT ALLOW THIS TO CONTINUE!
“And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him,” Verse 6.
1. This is a very loud cry! It is a ‘clamour’, an ‘outcry’! It is one intended to awaken the host of sleepers!
I believe there will be an awakening of God’s people at the end of this age to the glorious truth of the Saviour’s return!
2. The cry will be conveyed by the mouth of God’s servants. The ‘cry of heaven’ has ever been by the mouth of God’s prophets.
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw,” Revelation 1:1-2.
“But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ,” Galatians 1:11-12.
“And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book,” Revelation 22:6-7.
These verses and many, many more in the Bible, trace the means by which the Lord communicates His Word to His people.
Evidence
There is evidence given us in the Bible of just such a witness at the end of this age.
“And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will,” Revelation 11:3-6.
The miraculous acts of these men remind us of the days of Elijah when the false prophets were slain, and of the Exodus, when the children of Israel were about to be delivered from under the thraldom of Pharaoh.
The message of the ‘two witnesses” is very simple: “BEHOLD, THE BRIDEGROOM COMETH”!
3. The sleeping saints will arise from their slumbers and return to their ‘first works’! At the first, before they sinfully fell asleep, they “went forth to meet the bridegroom.” No they ready themselves to return to that duty. They “trimmed their lamps” and were ready when the Bridegroom returned “and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.”
Evidence of the faithful witness that will yet be maintained is given us in the portion to which I have already referred, Revelation 20:4.
“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”
Here is the faithful witness, even unto death, that will take place in the final hours of this age. Here is first century courage and fidelity. Here is first century defiance of wicked man. Here is a putting of Christ and His honour and His Word before the evil demands of the ‘Wicked one’, the Antichrist.
Here too is the honour that will be bestowed upon them for such loyalty and bravery.
“They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”
For those who have been caused despair and anguish of heart at the sad betrayal of the gospel within our ranks of late, look upon these verses in Matthew 25 and take hope.
He Who raised up the witness of the dying thief on the cross, when all the apostles forsook Him, will NEVER be without a witness. This world will yet be lightened by the lamps of faithful believers bearing witness to the soon return of Christ amidst the darkness of antichristianity!
Rev Ivan Foster (Rtd)