at His Second Coming
Main reference: Mt 25 (Mt 22; Rv 19); Jer 31; Ez 39; Hos 2
What is the lamp and oil that one needs to prepare in order to receive the Lord when he returns?
In Matthew 25, Jesus said that those who do not prepare the lamp and oil cannot receive the bridegroom Jesus, and they will be left outside the wedding banquet. Is Jesus referring to a literal lamp and oil? Or are they metaphors? According to the Scriptures “I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old,” (Ps 78:2), Jesus “did not say anything to them without using a parable” (Mt 13:34-35).
What does the lamp and oil symbolise? Jesus told this parable using the ancient Israelite wedding banquet custom. In those days, the Israelites held their wedding banquets at night. Each bridesmaid would carry a lamp to receive the bridegroom and lead him into the house and into the room where the bride waits.
God said in Jeremiah 31, “… I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt... they broke my covenant though I was a husband to them.” He also spoke in Hosea 2:19-20, “I will betroth you to me forever.” In the same manner, Jesus has said that he will come in the position of a bridegroom. Like the Israelites that came out of Egypt, we too have become the brides. Why is Jesus expressed as the groom and we as the brides? Jesus is spirit and we are flesh, the house for the spirit. We become one with the Lord by embracing the Lord in our hearts. This is a spiritual marriage. In this sense, the metaphor of the bridegroom and brides is used. This can also be found in Apostle Paul’s letter when he stated, “I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him” (2 Cor 11:2).
In order to partake in this spiritual wedding banquet and to receive the Lord, one must prepare the lamp and the oil. In Moses and Aaron's case, Aaron used olive oil to light up the lamps in the tabernacle (Lv 24). In Zechariah 4, two olive trees and seven lamps appear. The seven lamps were the seven spirits before the throne (Rv 4). The two olive trees beside the lampstand, symbolises the pastors who served the Lord (Zec 4:14). In Revelation 11, the two witnesses who stand before the Lord are likened to two olive trees. Thus, spiritual 'oil’ symbolises the word of testimony that comes out through the mouths of the two witnesses. They have seen and heard the fulfilment of the prophecies of the entire Revelation and this is testified just as they were commanded. This very word of testimony is the oil of the Holy Spirit of the Lord.
What is the lamp? Just as Jesus is the light (Jn 12:46) and the Word (1 Jn 1:1), the spiritual lamp is Jesus’ word of promise, that is, the Bible. [Since the witnesses, likened onto olive trees, know the word (prophecies) of the Bible that was hidden through the parables and its physical fulfilments, the word of the Holy Spirit, which testifies about the physical realities that have been fulfilled is the oil, which lights up the Bible]. The main reference (Mt 25) mentions those who sell the oil, which refers to the olive trees i.e. the witnesses. Only those who receive the revealed word from these witnesses, the olive trees, and gain the understanding are able to receive the returning Lord.
At the time of the First Coming, the Jews failed to receive their God as their groom despite having the Old Testament (prophecies). This was due to their lack of understanding of the words of the promise. Likewise today, if one does not know the returning path of the Lord and the promised pastor, they will be unable to recognise God, the Holy City of New Jerusalem coming down from heaven, and Jesus when they come and only become persecutors. Without the proper teaching, the pastors of each denomination will be held responsible for their members’ ignorance. The Bible even promises after which events and to whom heaven, God and Jesus would come (Rv 3:12).
The word of the New Testament is the path, the lamp and the light the Lord uses to return. The oil of the Holy Spirit is the revealed word, which is the evidence of the fulfilment of Revelation. Being part of the fulfilment (the physical realities and entities) transpires as, being reborn in a new image as the new covenant is fulfilled in you. The eligibility of receiving the Lord at the wedding banquet is preparing the lamp and the oil, and acting in accordance to the prophecy and its physical fulfilment. The five qualifications include: being harvested, being sealed, becoming a part of the twelve tribes, not adding to and/or taking away from Revelation, and having your name recorded in the book of life. This is the new covenant that believers must keep. God made it known to us that we will be able to reign eternally as kings, as His Kingdom (heaven) and his priests, if we obtain the five qualifications. These are the marriage qualifications to receive the Lord, and serve as a sign that the lamp and oil has been prepared. If one’s lamp shines no light due to a lack of oil, this means their heart has turned dark from not knowing the Bible's prophecy and its physical fulfilment and signifies the deficiency of their faith. How can such person receive the Lord if their position is like that of a non-believer? Like the sun, moon, and stars of the sky have darkened and fallen to the ground, they have returned to being mere flesh, despite having begun their faith with the Holy Spirit. Although this is the reality, they do not realise that they are in this situation and therefore they are in the night.
In 1 Thessalonians 5 there are those who are asleep at night and urged them to awake. Those who do not have the light will get destroyed, but those who become like the light of the day will attain salvation.
Today, at the time of the Second Coming, anyone involved in the acts of persecution and cursing is a pastor of Satan. Such actions serve as the evidence that they are a part of Satan’s people. It is only those who believe and keep the word of promise whom will attain salvation. I pray for all to believe and be saved.
Amen!
Shinchonji: Healing All Nations
http://cafe.daum.net/scjschool/E3qZ/542
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