If the Lord is to come at the midnight hour, we can believe that the world has been in its eleventh hour for a long time.

There is a circumstance that took place at the end of the First World War:
* World War I ended on the eleventh hour
* of the eleventh day
* of the eleventh month in 1918
* exactly eleven months after Jerusalem was liberated
*on the eleventh of December 1917

A coincidence or was God's clock striking eleven, bring the world to the attention that it had entered into the eleventh hour of its history and that the midnight hour would soon be at hand?

It was at midnight that the Lord took His people out of Egypt.




". . . . .About midnight will I go into the midst of Egypt: And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die. . . .And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt. . . ." Exodus 11:4-6

The Bridegroom's coming is at a late hour, midnight!

The midnight hour is considered the zero hour,
.......the darkest hour,
.......the hour when the sun is below the horizon.

.....................It is the hour people would least expect the Lord to come.

......Although He has warned that He might come then. "Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:"
Mark 13:35

"And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh: go ye out to meet him."
Matthew 25:6


It is said that it must be the watchful Bride that makes the cry.
[those who are watching and waiting for His return]

The Bride alone has heeded the warning of the Lord not to be caught sleeping.


She is the Bride!

There must be no time-setting for the rapture.

.............The Lord encouraged His Church not to be discouraged nor to allow their devotion to wane. They were to be ready, whether the Bridegroom should come at morning, noon or midnight.

.....................Mark 13:35-37

"Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch."

When people make such predictions, as date and time setting, and they fail to materialize, people become disallusioned and lose faith in Christ's Coming altogether.

.....................Paul warned:
"Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by 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." 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2

Even as early as Paul's day there were teachings that the rapture was at hand.

.............................................There is nothing wrong in preaching the imminent Coming of Christ and we are commanded to preach it. But not is such a way as to excite people into believing a date [day and time, that only the Father knows, not even Jesus] but we are to be aware of the signs of His coming.

....Imminent doesn't necessarily mean immediate.

While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

.....Apparently there was an unexpected delay.

[ click hand on picture to enlarge ]
............There have been times when a false cry has been made that the rapture of the Church was at hand.


........................Dates were even set.

............Peope went out on hilltops, haystacks and roof tops waiting for the Lord to return but only to be disappointed.

The wise virgins recognized the need of keeping oil in their vessels.

The foolish virgins realized the importance of the lamps, but they neglected the oil to their great sorrow and loss.

It's God's will that His Spirit flows through His people.

......................Our lights cannot continue to burn indefinitely without the continual infilling of the Spirit.

....Neglect causes them to run out.

.......This was the mistake of the foolish virgins.

The thing that marks the foolish virgins from the wise....The foolish didn't take oil with their lamps, the wise did.







Oil in the Bible is a type of the Holy Spirit.




...............The oil of the Holy Spirit is contained in vessels, our bodies, which are temple of the Holy Spirit.

..........The foolish virgins may have had oil in their vessels, at the beginning, since their lamps had burned for a while; but they failed to replenish their supply.

The ten virgins represent the true believers of the Church of Jesus Christ. They are saved people.



Lamps are a symbol of the Word of God. It is by the Word of God that the Church has been able to know and understand that Jesus is coming as a Bridegroom for His people.

By means of the light of God's Word the virgins are able to go forth to meet the Bridegroom.

The 'virgins' are those not defiled with the harlot daughters of Babylon.

................They have come out of Babylon.

Friendship and conformity with the world is considered spiritual adultery.

...........................James 4:4
" Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God."

Revelation 14:3-5

"...........the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.5 And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God."

The term 'virgins' is used in the Bible as to represent people who are separated from the world.

..............2 Corinthians 11:2
"For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ."

The term, 'kingdom of heaven' is almost but not quite the same as that of 'kingdom of God'.

.................Both terms are generally interchangeable, but 'kingdom of God' relates to God's kingdom as it is throughout the universe.

...........................'kingdom of heaven' is restricted to events on earth, which represents commonly called Christendom.

.................The kingdom of heaven [please read] in Matthew 13:47-48 is said to have both 'good fish' and 'bad fish' in it.

In the parable, the kingdom of heaven is likened unto ten virgins.

........................It doesn't mean heaven itself. This parable relates to events on earth.

...This phrase is used only in the book of Matthew.

Happy New Year 2012