And the door was shut!

Are you curious?

What door was shut? Why was it shut? When was it shut?

What does a closed door signify? It signifies that you cannot enter because the entrance is blocked by the closed door. Only those who have the necessary authority or permission are allowed to enter.

Matthew 25:10, “...the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.”

It is obviously a wedding scene. When the bridegroom arrives, those guests who were waiting and ready went in with him. Then the door was shut. Only invited guests have the authorisation to be at the wedding, and the wedding feast. Anyone else is not allowed to enter.

Let’s look at the verses in Matthew chapter 25 that refer to the above scene.

Matthew 25:1-13,

(1) “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

 (2) “Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 

(3) Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them

 (4) “but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 

(5) “But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

 (6) “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ 

(7) “Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 

(8) “And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’

 (9) “But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 

(10) “And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. 

(11) “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’

(12) But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 

(13) “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”

As this story unfolds we learn that five virgins were fully prepared for the wedding. They had brought additional oil for their lamps; just in case the oil in their lamps ran out. The other five were not prepared; they only had the oil that was in their lamps. The upshot was when the bridegroom arrived at midnight the foolish virgins had to leave the wedding scene to buy oil for their lamps.

They completely missed out on the wedding; and were locked out!

The oil used in the lamps was olive oil. Olive oil in the Scriptures is a type of the Holy Spirit. The wise virgins had an abundant supply of olive oil for their lamps and went into the wedding with the bridegroom.

The foolish virgins did not have enough olive oil and their lamps were going out. They had to leave to buy more oil. When they came back it was too late; they were locked out.

How does this wedding story apply to us?

Only those who have been saved by the Lord Jesus Christ and have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them will be in heaven at the marriage supper of the Lamb of God (the Lord Jesus Christ).

Will you be locked out of heaven?

Revelation 19:7-9, (7) “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” (8) And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. (9) Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”

Jon Peasey

Words of Life blog

[All Scriptures quoted are from the New King James version]

[You are welcome to comment on this blog post by clicking on the comment section at the end of the post.]

God delights in mercy

Who delights in mercy?

Micah 7:18, “who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy.”

In verse 19 we find these words, “...You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”

What do we learn from the above verses?

1.       God pardons iniquity and passes over transgressions.

2.       He does not retain His anger forever.

3.       The reason He can pardon iniquity and pass over transgressions is because “He delights in mercy.”

4.       You can only obtain pardon if you are guilty.

5.       An innocent person does not need a pardon.

Romans 3:23 states, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” 

 The word all includes you and me!

Ezekiel 18:32, “For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies” says the Lord “Therefore turn and live.”

Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

A guilty person justly deserves whatever sentence is passed on them. The Scriptures point out that all of us have sinned; therefore all of us have the sentence of death upon us.

Now if God delights in mercy and has no pleasure in the death of the wicked; there must be a means whereby He can show His mercy to us. The answer lies in the latter part of Romans 6:23, “...The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

God clearly and irrevocably showed His mercy at Calvary. God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ paid the penalty of our sins on a cross at Calvary. He died that you and I could have eternal life.

God wants all people, everywhere to turn from their sinful life and live. He wants us all to have eternal life. Yet many people don’t want to give up their ungodly lives, preferring to forget about God and His offer of mercy. They don’t want the Son of God to be their Saviour.

Revelation 20:11-15 these verses give us the final end for those who die in their sins. It is a solemn scene.

(11) “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away. And there was found no place for them.” 

(12) “And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.”

 (13) “The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.”

 (14) “Then death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” 

(15) “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Is your name in the Book of Life? That is the ultimate mercy.

Jon Peasey

Words of Life blog

[All Scriptures quoted are from the New King James version]

[You are welcome to comment on this blog post by clicking on the comment section at the end of the post.]

The Good Seed

Luke 8:5-8, “(5) A sower went out to sow his seed, and as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. (6) Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because of lack of moisture. (7) And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. (8) But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.”

The story in these verses is what is known as ‘The parable of the sower’. A parable in the Scriptures has two meanings. There is the initial meaning we get as the story unfolds; plus the hidden, divine meaning in the parable.

Let’s look at the four things that occur to the seed.

1.      Some of the seed fell by the wayside and the birds of the air ate it.

2.      Some of the seed fell on rocky ground and it started to grow; however due to the harsh conditions it withered and died.

3.      Some of the seed fell into the ground among thorns. It grew into plants, but the thorns overpowered the young plants and choked their growth and they also died.

4.      The rest of the seed fell in good ground, grew up and produced an abundant crop.

What do we learn from this? If we want a good crop it needs to be planted in good ground!

Now let’s look at the second, hidden meaning. This parable was spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ to a great multitude (Luke 8:4).

Luke 8:11, “Now the parable is this; the seed is the word of God.” 

In verses 12-15 the Lord Jesus explains the hidden meaning in this parable.

1.      The seed by the wayside represents people who hear the word of God, but the Devil comes along and takes away the word of God from their hearts; in case they believe it and are saved.

2.      The seed on the rocky ground represents people who hear the word of God with joy. However, the word of God is not able to root deeply in their hearts; and when trials and testings come along in their lives they find it too hard and give up.

3.      The seed that falls among the thorns represents people who start out well, but soon the “cares, riches and pleasures” of life choke the word of God in their hearts.

4.      The seed that falls on the good ground represents people “who having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.”

Where do you class yourself? Which category do you fit into? Be honest with yourself!

Romans 10:9, 10 state, “(9) That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (10) For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Jon Peasey

Words of Life blog

[All Scriptures quoted are from the New King James version]

[You are welcome to comment on this blog post by clicking on the comment section at the end of the post.]