THE Church is the Bride of Christ according to Revelation 21, but in the passage now before us (Matt. 25:1-14), though the coming of Christ is likened to the coming of a bridegroom, yet Christendom is viewed as made up of individuals, some of whom are true believers, and others mere professors; hence these are spoken of as ten virgins, five of whom are wise, and five foolish. The Bride represents the Church in its entirety, and composed of nothing but true believers.
In this parable we get a brief but vivid picture of the whole history of the professing Church from start to finish.
1. The Attitude of the early Christians with reference to the Coming of Christ.
The early Christians all were expecting the return of the Lord Jesus. The coming of the Lord was no peculiar doctrine in those days; it was the universal expectation. “They all went out to meet the bridegroom.” A careful study of the New Testament will convince anybody of the truth of this. It would be impossible to enumerate all the passages which speak of it, but we would suggest to the Christian reader that he should read through the New Testament, and prayerfully note all the different allusions to this subject. We believe he will come to no other conclusion than this, that all the early Christians were waiting for Christ, and not only so, but that they were taught so to do by the Lord Himself and the apostles.
We shall briefly refer to one passage, and that perhaps the most easily understood. The two epistles to the Thessalonians are full of the subject, they allude to it in every chapter. Let us take the first epistle.
Converted to Wait. — The blessed gospel had reached these Thessalonians when sunk in all the darkness and degradation of heathenism. Some amongst them no doubt were Jews, but whether Jews or Gentiles, the same gospel met them both, and brought them into the enjoyment of the same blessings.
The gospel treats all men as being alike guilty and lost. It matters not whether Jew or Gentile, whether rich or poor, whether highborn or low-born, whether learned or ignorant, all are sinners in the sight of God, and all are lost. The gospel establishes the great principle that there is no difference, “for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23); this is the “no difference” of man’s utter ruin. But, thank God! there is also in that same gospel the “no difference” of God’s free and sovereign grace — “for there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:10-11).
This blessed truth Paul announced at Thessalonica (Acts 17), when he opened and alleged from the Scriptures “that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead.” Here was the secret of the apostle’s success. He appealed to the Scriptures; and allowed the Word of God to act upon the souls of his hearers. Oh for more of this kind of work to-day! It is easy to work upon the feelings by music and fine singing, but the application of the Word of God to the conscience is fast dying out of the preaching of the day. The preachers that emanate from theological colleges come forth primed and poisoned with the infidelity gendered by “higher criticism,” Evolution, and other oppositions of science falsely so-called.
Except with rare and bright exceptions, less and less soul-saving work is done by the ordained ministers of whatever denomination, whether of church or dissent. Whatever time is not taken up in the study, preparing sermons based upon the destructive criticism of these rationalistic days, is largely devoted to getting up worldly bazaars and organizing entertainments to keep worldly people together by worldly means.
It is supposed that the old gospel has lost its power. It has not; and wherever preached in the power of God’s Spirit the same blessed results follow as were seen at Thessalonica. They “turned to God from idols” (1 Thess. 1:9); this was true conversion, it was a complete change of life. For the first time their hearts, their consciences were brought into contact with the living and the true God. Mere religiousness was done with; the dead routine of rites and ceremonies and religious observances became a thing of the past; they were brought to God — to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him.
But more than this, they were converted “to wait for His Son from heaven.” The apostle Paul had brought this blessed hope so powerfully before them, that from the moment of their conversion, and until false teachers began their dismal work amongst them (2 Thess. 2), they were expecting Christ to come, and were waiting for Him, not knowing but what He might come during their very lifetime.
But the days and weeks, and months passed by, and yet the Lord did not return. In the ordinary course of human life in this world, some of their number sickened and died. Their brethren left alive now were stricken with an excessive sorrow on their behalf. Doubtless they feared that those who had fallen asleep would in some way be losers of the joy and glory they were expecting at the coming of the Lord. This was the occasion the Holy Ghost took to make the further and fuller revelation, not only for them but for us as well, of how and where the joyful meeting would take place between the returning Lord and His saints, whether sleeping or living.
Others which have no Hope. ― First the difference between the Christian and the man of the world with reference to death is clearly made known. There is nothing more terrible to the worldly man than death. When the grave closes over the body of one who has lived and died without Christ, all hope is at an end. The man or woman who dies unsaved can never be saved at all. The pearly gates will never open beyond the grave for those who depart this life without saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. “No hope” — awful words! This describes the dismal future of the one who dies unpardoned and unreconciled. But it is not so with the Christian, “Ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13).
“There’ll be songs of greeting
When Jesus comes,
And a joyful meeting
When Jesus comes
To gather His loved ones home.”
The apostle now recalls their hearts to the gospel that had brought them peace and deliverance at the beginning. He had preached to them, and they had believed “that Jesus died and rose again”; they were waiting, too, for God’s Son from heaven. Just as certainly as He had died and risen, and was coming back, so with the same absolute certainty would God bring back with Him those that had fallen asleep.
An entirely fresh revelation follows. Mark the emphatic manner in which the apostle declares that what he is now communicating comes with all the authority of “the word of the Lord.”
It is not Paul’s opinion, it is the revealed and inspired word of the Lord. “We which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.” This word “prevent” is an old English word which means “go before,” or “get in front of.”
Notice, too, how Paul puts himself amongst the number of those who might be alive when the Lord did come back, for he says, “We which are alive and remain,” not “they.”
The living saints, then, will not get in front of the sleeping ones at the coming of the Lord. While it is ever our privilege to be looking for and expecting our Lord to come from day to day, yet if we are called away before He comes, we shall not be losers when He comes. So far from this the sleeping ones will be first thought of.
Caught up in the Clouds. — The apostle had said that the sleeping saints would come back with Jesus when He comes (vs. 14.). He was coming back to reign, for He was a King, and this the apostle had already declared to them (Acts 17:7). His kingdom will extend from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. The sleeping saints will not be absent from that glorious scene. But how can they possibly come back with Him when He comes to reign? The Lord is in heaven and they are in their graves, how can they come with Him? True, their spirits are with Him now; the moment the saint dies his spirit goes to be with Christ: this the Scripture most clearly declares (see Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:6, 8; Philippians 1:23). But nevertheless the body is in the grave, how then can they come with Him when He comes?
The answer is given in the following verse (1 Thess. 4:16). Those that are in their graves shall hear His voice, even so had the Lord Himself declared when here on earth (John 5:28, 29). The voice of the Son of God will be heard by all who are in their graves, both saved and unsaved, both believers and unbelievers. Not at the same time, for a thousand years will separate the resurrection of the saint from that of the wicked (Rev. 20:5).
But in the passage immediately before us there is something altogether special in the language used. “The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout.” How precious are these words, “The Lord Himself!” He will not depute to another the performance of this loving service. He will not merely send an archangel nor a host of heavenly messengers to fetch us home, but He will come Himself! He will descend from heaven “with a shout.”
There is something peculiar in this word “shout”; it is the shout of a general marshalling his troops; a shout heard in the ranks of the general’s own army, and not in those of the opposing force. This “shout” is to be heard by the saints and not by the world.
The courts of heaven will be all astir to welcome the saints to their eternal home in glory. The time of their pilgrimage had lengthened out, many had been gently put to sleep by Jesus, but now the long-expected moment arrives, when with a shout of command, the Lord Himself descends from heaven to assemble together the scattered units of His heavenly army. More quickly than it takes to write or read these lines will the archangel’s voice carry the great Captain’s orders along the ranks of the redeemed host, and the trump of God shall sound out loud and clear. The figure here used is the awakening and calling together of a camp at its general’s command.
The Dead in Christ shall rise First. — Our great Captain’s army, we may say, is divided into two regiments, the “dead” and the “living.” Each of these is noticed. The Thessalonians had feared on behalf of the dead that they might be forgotten, but no, they will be first thought of — “the dead in Christ shall rise first.” It is not here a question of the first resurrection, when, as we know, the saints will rise a thousand years before the wicked. In this passage the word “first” is used with reference to the dead and living saints.
The living saints will not “go before” the sleeping saints; both are to be caught up together from the earth. Hence the first thing that takes place is the resurrection of the sleeping saints. “Raised in glory” (1 Cor. 15:43) they will be, and standing side by side with the living who will be changed in a moment, together they will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. No more parting, no more weeping, but forever with the Lord.
Thus then the difficulty was solved. The Thessalonians need not sorrow as those that had no hope, for when Jesus returns in His glory, the sleeping saints, no less than the living, will God bring with Him (vs. 14). The Lord Himself will come for them, both dead and living, before they return with Him.