The religion of death is awake and active. If it could, it would even swallow up the Christian. But our God is more powerful and provides the remedy to such folly. Do not be ashamed of the Gospel of God concerning Jesus Christ. It is, was, and always will be the power of God unto salvation. It must be preached, proclaimed, and protected. God will give His Word success and bring those in the clutches of death and darkness to the glorious light of the Kingdom of His dear Son our Lord.

I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live: that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days.
Deuteronomy 30:19-20
The world, the devil, and all the powers of the flesh and darkness are joined together for this reason – to shed the innocent blood of children.
The recent leaking of Supreme Court draft documents has again brought to light the abomination of the world’s religion of death.  Couched in the euphemisms of “a woman’s right to choose,” “human rights,” “healthcare,” and other similar terms, the demonic practice of child murder is being promoted like never before by the Roman Catholic president of the United States, his vice president, and governors, senators, and countless groups across the country. This again begs the question, why? Why are there riots in the streets to promote murder? Why are the highest officials of the land promoting murder?
The answer lies in the spiritual realm.
Two Spiritual Conditions
Throughout the Bible the Lord presents just two spiritual conditions into which all people fall: Each person is either saved or unsaved; walking in light or walking in darkness; on the highway to hell or the pathway to life; lovers of life or lovers of death; haters of God or servants of God. Myriad descriptors present only two options for man, life or death.
Life
In order to live, God tells us we must choose life (Deut. 30:19). These two words have  been used as a rallying cry for the so called “Pro-Life” movement. In its Scriptural context, it has little to do with abortion and everything to do with faith in Jesus Christ. The life we are called to choose is the life of blessing, the narrow way through the narrow gate, the truth, the solid foundation. Life is not an idea or an action; the life of Deut. 30:19 is a person. “Therefore choose life… that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life.”
This is just what Jesus says in John 14:6: “I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me.”
As the LORD calls us to choose life He calls us to believe, have faith, and trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation so that we might have everlasting life through Him. The Jesus Christ we are called to trust is the God Man in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. He shed His own blood and died, so that His children might have life and live. Choose life means simply this – repent of your sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for salvation and you shall be saved.
The preacher of Proverbs sums it up this way, “For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD” (8:35). This is one spiritual state of man – the man that has found Christ and eternal life in Him. In this state, as a servant of the living and true God, this man sets himself to serve and glorify his King. The result is that [both he and his] descendants may live.
Death
There is the second condition – it is the condition of those who hate life, light, and truth. They are those who love death, darkness, and lies.
The preacher said, “All they that hate me love death” (Proverbs 8:36).
Many have foolishly believed that through reason, science, speeches, and laws, they can persuade the followers of death that life is good. What they fail to grasp is that those outside of Christ are not just prone to sin and evil, they love it. Those that hate Christ love death.
The apostle puts it this way, they not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them (Romans 1:32). The wicked glory in your flesh (Galatians 6:13). They love the shedding of innocent blood. They delight in sending their children and, if they could, your children to the slaughter. As the Christian delights in serving the living and true Lord with all his heart, soul, strength, and mind, so the wicked delights to serve sin and death with all his heart, soul, strength, and mind.
Why are the wicked rioting, threatening, enraged by a draft ruling from the Supreme Court that does not prohibit abortion but turns it over to the states to regulate murder? Because they perceive their religion and way of life is being somehow attacked.
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The power of God on display throughout all history, in all of creation, will be seen by all on that great day of judgment! Dear Christian, the power of God may not be known exhaustively but it is surely revealed by God sufficiently. When the door is shut no more may enter. The power of God draws men and women to the feast today. The power of God shuts the door at the end. The power of God keeps it shut. As you see the day of the Lord’s return drawing near, do not harden your heart and thereby store up God’s wrath, but prepare your souls to meet Him.  Christ is coming in power!

And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Matthew 25:10
Can you describe the power of the Almighty God? Scripture teaches that God is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His power. How can a human writer describe the infinite, eternal, and unchangeable attribute of God? We must confess we cannot do it exhaustively or comprehensively. Nevertheless, God has condescended to finite man to give us a sufficient description of His power in the Scripture.
God tells of His power in Psalm 147:5, “Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.”
God calls us to ascribe to Him all power to Him for He alone is powerful, “for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever Amen.”
God demonstrates His power to us throughout history.
Noah and his household were kept alive in the worldwide flood while all around Him perished. Abraham and Sarah had a child when Abraham was 100 years old. The cattle of the Egyptians died while the Israelites cattle was kept alive. With the Red Sea in front of them and the Egyptian army behind them, the children of Israel were protected from behind by God placing darkness between them and the Egyptians. In front, God divided the Red Sea that they might walk over on dry land. Moses responded by singing, “Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.”
Through the whole of Scripture, God’s power is revealed.
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At the great day of the Lord’s return all misunderstanding will be removed, the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. At that day the angels who cease not day and night to cry, “Holy Holy Holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory,” will continue signing as they shout his praise. The fulness of the prophecy will be revealed when the whole “earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.”

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory.
Matthew 25:31
Several years ago, my family was at the Rocky Mountain National Park. One clear night, we drove on a road that climbed to more than 10,000 feet above sea level. There we parked our car, turned off the lights, got out, and looked up. The words of Psalm 19:1 have rarely been so evident, “The Heavens declare the glory of God.” The sight was breathtaking. The stars were without number. The shooting stars were passing by every thirty seconds. The Milky Way was as recognizable as the moon. Why was it so magnificent to behold the heavens? Because they were declaring the glory of God.
While the heavens declare the glory of God, the heavens are not themselves the glory of God. Scripture testifies that God’s glory is above the Heavens (Psalm 57). The Creator’s glory is greater than the glory of the creation He made. The heavens declare God’s glory because they were made by the glorious God. God in His infinite mercy and wisdom did not stop with the declaration of His glory in His creation but He went further and revealed His glory in His Son Jesus Christ.
Christ, the eternal Son of God is far above all creation for He is the brightness of [God’s] glory, and the express image of His person (Heb. 1:3). In Christ Jesus all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily and in the person of Christ, God’s glory is exalted!
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You will not miss the day for no one can miss the day, not even the dead. The dead will be rising from the ground and from the depths of the sea. At that day dear friend, and at that moment, look up and see the salvation of our God! Jesus Christ Himself will be descending with all power and glory to judge the living and the dead for He has been given a dominion which is everlasting and a kingdom that shall never be destroyed!

And at midnight there was a cry made…Matthew 25:6
Few errors in the last 150 years have distracted the church and the world from the primacy of the Triune God and Salvation through Jesus Christ alone than the teaching of the secret rapture.
While not as widespread as it was 50 years ago, in some areas of the evangelical world, belief in the secret rapture seems to be the litmus test for a Christian profession. It is discussed as if when the Philippian jailor asked Paul and Silas what he must do to be saved in Acts 16:30 that Paul and Silas responded, “believe in the secret pre-tribulation rapture of the church and you shall be saved.”
Of course Paul and Silas said something quite different. Nevertheless in our day it is a very common, perhaps even a majority evangelical position, that ascension into heaven by God’s people will take place in secret. If you have read the “Left Behind” series or seen any number of movies based on those books, it is portrayed with planes falling out of the sky and cars crashing because their Christian pilots and drivers have been secretly raptured.
The cry described in Matthew 25 is not a cry that only the wise virgins hear or experience. It is a cry that goes out to all. It is a public cry. The public cry is the testimony not only of Matthew 25 but of the whole Scripture. In chapter 24, the Lord told us that like in the days of Noah when all men saw the flood coming and it was too late for it was upon them, so when the Lord returns all men will see His coming and it will be too late to obtain salvation.
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A great cry is coming. Will you be jolted from sleep with joy and gladness or surprised with fear, trembling, and judgment? Watch therefore for you know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man will suddenly come!

And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.Matthew 25:6
Last time we considered the sudden return of Christ. Today we will consider the surprising return of Christ. The end of the world will come with joy and expectation for the believer but will be a terrible surprise for the unbeliever.
At that great day of the Lord most will wish they had done something different before the Lord returned but it will be too late. The time will be at hand, the hour of salvation will be passed, and those who are not in Christ will desire for the mountains to cover them and the hills to fall on them (Hosea 10:8).
The Lord Jesus affirms the surprise with reference to the worldwide flood that came in the days of Noah (24:39). Noah warned men to repent. He told them of the pending flood. He spent 100 years preaching and building the ark to keep himself, his family, and many animals safe. But nobody outside his family listened. Nobody saw it coming until the flood was upon them, the ark door was shut, and the waters carried all away to their doom.
Jesus told us that same scenario will happen again. Most will not listen to his warnings. Most will not believe that His return is imminent. Most will mock and ridicule Christians for trying to remain unpolluted from the world. Most will not think of Jesus Christ until they see Him descending in power and glory at the last day. They will be surprised.
In one sense, there is no sin in being surprised by along-awaited event coming to pass. Who among us has ever experienced Christ’s coming? It will be surprising and sudden for the Christian in the sense of jolting and glorious. However, for the Christian, Christ’s return should not be surprising in any unexpected sense.

There are no other days we are waiting for or looking for before Christ’s return, we are in those days! Therefore, we must watch for Christ to descend and pray for Him to come. His coming will be sudden, swift, and surprising! Watch therefore, the Son of Man is coming at a time you do not expect!

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son.
Hebrews 1:1-2
“When are the last days?” Few questions have stoked more discussion, books, imaginations, and trouble than this question. Within the evangelical world there are those who imagine the last days to be well into the future, nearby in the future, or unknown. Some believe the last days are tied to the physical nation of Israel and the city Jerusalem. Some believe the last days will be the glory days of the church, others think they will be a time of greatest persecution for the church. Occasionally these discussions lead us closer to God and His Word, often they take us far from it. Because of the latter, some prefer not to be involved in these thoughts or discussions at all.
In matters of controversy, we must always go to the Scripture with our questions and glean answers from God who speaks to us in the Scripture. When are the last days?
The last days is not a phrase unique to the New Testament. The prophet Joel spoke of the last days in Joel 2:23-32. This was picked up again by Peter at Pentecost when he revealed to all in Jerusalem that what they were seeing was that which Joel prophesied, “in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy” (Acts 2:17). In the last days the Spirit of God will be poured out.
The Scripture goes further when Paul tells us that in times past God spoke to the fathers by the prophets but in these last days [God spoke] unto us by His Son. 
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Dear friends, are you prepared to meet the Lord of glory? Are you prepared to leave this life today and be in the presence of Christ? How can a man be reconciled to God? Repent, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be reconciled to God through Him and be saved!

And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him…Matthew 25:6
Shortly after I was married and before I had children, I came up with a brilliant idea to solve the logistical challenges of owning just one car and not being able to afford a second car: I would buy a motorcycle. For three months in 2009 my wife and I saved money on gas, insurance, car payments, etc. as I commuted to work, cruised around town, and all around enjoyed my ability to go from 0-60 as fast as I could twist a throttle.
One Saturday afternoon I was riding a distance behind a two cars. We were travelling about 65 mph on a country road. I was enjoying the speed and beauty of the day. I remember how peaceful and relaxing the Georgia farmland seemed, how great our God is for making such a beautiful creation. I remember thinking how fun it would be to have my wife ride the motorcycle with me and someday perhaps my children would even ride on the back.
Faster than I can remember my thoughts completely changed. The car two vehicles ahead of me abruptly slammed on its breaks and made a hard left turn. The vehicle immediately in front of me was squealing to a stop in order not to hit the first car. My motorcycle didn’t make any noise. My brakes locked as I squeezed them with everything I was worth. My last memory was that I was going to crash a motorcycle at 65 mph. No further thoughts came to my mind until I woke up looking up at the sky with a dozen people looking down on me telling me not to move.
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Let not your heart be troubled by that which the Lord has seen fit to hide from us. The day and the hour is kept secret that we might be given to much holy living and prayer, always ready and never ashamed at the coming of the Lord. Many examples of disaster can be given of individuals and families who have pursued the secret things reserved for God. Let us pursue the revealed will of God and resist all deceivers seeking to give us a secret message from God concerning that which He has reserved only for Himself.

And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
Matthew 25:6
In the very first chapter of the very first book of the Bible, the Lord tells us that He created the Heaven and the Earth. He proceeds to give us a day by day, morning and evening account of what He created each of six days before resting on the seventh. He brings these great days of creation back to us on several occasions most explicitly in the 4th commandment, for in six days the Lord made Heaven and Earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day… (Exodus 20:11). Nevertheless, many well educated Christians approach the first chapter of Scripture and tell us that it doesn’t mean day in the ordinary sense of the word. They tell us it means, or could mean, something entirely different.
Perhaps it surprises us when that which seems to be written so clearly in Scripture is so confused by Christians. It troubles us that the perspicuity of Scripture seems to be ignored and a complex and difficult interpretation is presented in the place of the clear and plain. Such teaching seems to weaken the Christian witness to the world and brings reproach upon the Word of God as novel interpretations are given to what is so simple and elementary. Those who posit strange theories are rightly asked: “If the first chapter takes such elaborate interpretation, how will we ever understand the balance? If we cannot know whether or not God created in six literal 24 hour days how can we actually know whether or not Christ rose bodily from the dead?”
As Jesus left the temple in Matthew 24 he told His disciples that the temple would be torn down. The disciples asked him “When shall these things be?” Jesus then began his discourse both on the end of the Jewish world and Jerusalem as well as the end of the whole world and his return from Heaven. After warnings and instruction Jesus spoke of the end of the world in 24:36 with these words, “but of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven…” 
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The oil signifies the regenerative work of the Spirit that makes the dead sinner to live, that saves this poor man and brings him to embrace Jesus Christ through faith, as He is freely offered to us in the gospel. We can go as far as to say this oil is the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ that always abides with His people. Some may prefer to limit the oil to representing the saving faith in the wise virgin and I don’t see the two views as significantly different. The oil is a comparison, a picture, of all these great spiritual truths. Those with saving faith are also born again. 

They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
Matthew 25:3-4
One of the great joys in studying the Scripture is to find an element of a particular text that seems initially obscure and mysterious but when the balance of the Scripture is searched the mysterious becomes known all for the glory of God and increase of our faith. One such example is the oil of this parable. The foolish virgins had lamps but no oil while the wise took oil in their lamps. What should we make of this oil?
When we have a question about a portion of Scripture, we should always ask ourselves: where else does God speak of these things in His Word? Does God speak about lamps and oil anywhere else in Scripture? We find He makes explicit reference to a lamp and oil in His instructions to Moses concerning the tabernacle. And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always (Exodus 27:20). The tabernacle in the Old Testament had a lamp that was never allowed go out. It demonstrated God’s presence, the Light of the world, was always with them. Keeping the lamp filled with oil was an essential job in the tabernacle. A young man named Samuel was given the task in service to the Lord – to keep the lamp filled with oil that it might not go out (I Samuel 3:3).
A lamp without oil is like a car without gasoline. It may look nice on the outside but it cannot do what it is made for. All the virgins had lamps but not all the virgins had oil for their lamps. The oil reminds us of the lamps. The lamps remind us that they need oil in order to shine. Last time we considered the meaning of the lamps and said they represented the confession of Christ by our mouths. Those in the Kingdom of Heaven all confess with their mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord. One cannot be in the Kingdom of Heaven without such a confession. Confession is essential to entrance into the Kingdom. But we see in this parable what is true throughout Scripture – confession with the mouth alone does not mean a person is a Christian. Christianity goes beyond this – A Christian is one who confesses with their mouth that which they believe in their heart.
Remember that tremendous text from Romans we considered last time when we saw the requirement for the Christian to do two things: 1) confess with the mouth and 2) believe in the heart.
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The lamps then can be taken as the Christian’s confession or profession of faith. This is how one enters the kingdom of Heaven—they must confess with their mouth that Jesus is both Lord and Christ.

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.Matthew 25:1
All things in Scripture are not of equal clarity. Nevertheless, that which is to be believed and embraced in order to be saved is so clear in Scripture that the young and the old, the wise and the unwise can understand and embrace it. This paraphrase of the Westminster Confession of Faith 1:7 is helpful as we come to the elements in the parable of the lamp and the oil. In comparison to the rich instruction around the kingdom, the virgins, and the bridegroom, the lamps are less clear. Nevertheless, there are many good and necessary consequences we can draw from Scripture in understanding the lamp within the parable and than applying it to our Christian life.
In John’s gospel, Jesus is introduced immediately as the Word made flesh, the Life, and the Light. Should there be any doubt regarding these statements from John 1, the balance of the gospel heightens and reaffirms these truths. “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).
Jesus is the light. Those that are Christ’s then must shine forth the light of Christ which is in them. To be in Christ means by definition to have the light of Christ. This is a major concern of not only Matthew’s gospel but of all gospels—that people would deceive themselves by thinking they had Christ while hiding His light. Jesus said, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid…let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14,16). So bright did the glory and light of God reflect in Moses that his face literally shone brightly (Exodus 34:29-35). It follows then that those that claim Christ as their own must shine forth His glorious light in all that they do.
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