Reasons Underlying the Lord’s 3-Fold End Time Project

Both in the natural and spiritual realms, there is hardly anything that is undertaken without some reasons behind it. So there are some reasons behind the Lord’s 3-fold end-time project. There are two principal reasons underlying the project, namely;

1. The time now in heaven (as was revealed earlier by the Lord)
2. The fact that these days have been declared “the day of the Lord”. We shall now consider these reasons in some details.

FIRST REASON – THE TIME NOW IN HEAVEN

As before intimated at the beginning of this discourse on the Lord’s 3-fold end-time project, what you are about to hear on this matter of “the time now in heaven” is still purely revelation-knowledge. Once more, revelation knowledge implies knowledge gotten not through good human judgment or learning, but knowledge expressly brought down into the heart of a child or man of God by the Holy Spirit (e.g. Matthew 16:15-17; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17).
The information on the time now in heaven is a very unique one in the sense that it is addressing a very hidden issue. This revelation was expressly given to the General Superintendent of the Watchman Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement on the 16th of April, 1999, in Padova-Italy, as he was about to address some Christian folks on entirely another issue on that fateful Sunday morning service. The express message that was dropped into his heart 3 minutes to the time of delivering the sermon he had prepared was that the time now in heaven is 5 minutes to 12.00 midnight. The text that was quoted immediately following this information was Matthew 25:1-12.

As he mounted the podium, the following message, other than the one he came to deliver flowed spontaneously by the Holy Spirit through this human vessel.

THE MESSAGE PROPER

Looking indepth into the text quoted by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 25:1-12), on which this revelation-information on the time now in heaven is based, we see a number of issues that must be considered carefully, from which we will realize and agree with the Holy Spirit that the time now in heaven is truly 5 minutes to 12.00 midnight. These issues are as follows: – (i) the ten virgins that waited for the bridegroom; (ii) the bridegroom himself; (iii) the foolish virgins that had no oil in their vessels; (iv) the wise virgins that had oil in their vessels; (v) the slumber of the virgins; (vi) the marriage proper; (vii) the midnight and the midnight call.

THE TEN VIRGINS THAT WAITED FOR THE BRIDEGROOM (Matt. 25:1-11)

As we know, the Bible often uses symbols to represent actual or real things. For example, in Jesus’ parable of a man that sowed good seed in his field (Matthew 13:24-30), the man that sowed the good seed represents Jesus; the field represents the world; the good seed represents the children of the kingdom, while the bad seed (the tares) represents the children of the devil, and so on.
Here in Matthew 25:1-12, the ten virgins (or the bride) represent the entire children of God, the church, or believers who have been born into the kingdom of God through repentance from dead works, and faith in Jesus, and the impartation of the Ernest of God’s Spirit. The apostle Paul called the Corinthian Christians virgins, whom he had betrothed to Christ Jesus, the bridegroom (2 Cor. 11:2). So in the parable of Matthew 25:1-12, the ten virgins spoken of represent all believers who profess to be waiting for the Lord Jesus.

THE BRIDEGROOM (Matt. 25:1,5-6,10-12)

Common knowledge shows that once there is the bride, there is the bridegroom also. In this parable, the bridegroom is the Lord Jesus himself. Both Jesus and John the baptist confirmed this. And Jesus said to them (in answer to John the baptist’s disciples’ question), “can the children of the bridechamber (Jesus’ disciples) mourn, as long as the bridegroom (Jesus) is with then? (Matt.9:15). Also John the baptist (in his testimony to Christ) said, “he (Jesus) that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice…” (Jon. 3:29). Obviously therefore, the Lord Jesus is the bridegroom to whom the bride has been betrothed and is waiting for.

THE FOOLISH VIRGINS THAT HAD NO OIL IN THEIR VESSELS (Matt 25:2-4,7-11).

The foolish virgins that had no oil in their lamps when the bridegroom came represent those believers so called, whose lives will lack righteousness, faith, love, humility, sobriety, evangelism, prayerfulness, zeal and all the other Christian virtues that will make believers rapturable. They are those whose hearts will be chocked up with the mundane things of this world, though they may have been born again originally and profess to know God (cons. Luk. 21:34-35).

THE WISE VIRGINS THAT HAD OIL IN THEIR LAMPS (Matt. 25:1-4, 6-9).

The wise virgins are the opposite of the foolish ones. They are those children of God, who know that without holiness, no man shall see the Lord (Heb. 12:14; Matt. 5:20; 2 Cor. 7:1; Eph. 4:24; 1 Pet. 1:15-16; 2 Pet. 3:11). They are those who use the mirror of the word of God they hear to discover their faults; who are continually built up with all these Christian virtues that are lacking in the foolish virgins (Col. 2:6-7; Jude 20). They are those who refuse to yield to temptations through diverse circumstances in order to be worthy of their Christian calling and of heaven at all times (Eph. 4:1-3; Col. 1:10; 1 Thess. 2:11-12).

THE VIRGINS’ SLUMBER AND SLEEP (Matt. 25:5)

Here it is stated that, “while the bridegroom tarried, all the virgins slumbered and slept”. Yes, as the virgins (the bride of Christ) engage in the various activities of this world, often oblivious of the imminence of the bridegroom’s return, they are sleeping (as it were). To bring out this point clearly, let us consider the pre-occupation of a young lady who is about to wed, who is waiting in the parent’s house to be picked to the church to meet her husband for the matrimonial ceremony. While this lady is waiting for all arrangements to be concluded, every bit of the thoughts of her heart is about the wedding that is about to take place. In contrast, the pre-occupation of the bride of Christ, now waiting as the bridegroom delays his coming is different. This lack of 100% pre-occupation with, plus the unmindfulness of the imminence of the bridegroom’s return by the bride is what is symbolized with slumbering and sleeping. But please note that in reality, the depth of the slumber or sleep of the foolish virgins and that of the wise virgins is not the same. While the former is in deep sleep, the later is half-asleep-half awake (as it were).

THE MARRIAGE PROPER BETWEEN THE BRIDE AND THE BRIDEGROOM (Matt. 25:6,10)

The marriage that is pictured here is the one between Christ, the bridegroom and the children of the kingdom (His church), the bride. This marriage was earlier spoken of by the Lord Jesus in His parable in Matthew 22:1-14.

At the rapture, that is, the catching away of the living saints immediately following the resurrection of the dead saints, revealed in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, all the saints (the bride of Christ), both the living and the dead will proceed to the marriage-proper with their bridegroom, their Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. This marriage ceremony will be held in the heavenly places while the great tribulation is holding on earth for the disobedient (Matt. 25:10; 1 Thess. 4:15-17; Rev. 19:7,9).

THE MIDNIGHT AND THE MIDNIGHT CALL (Matt. 25:6).

Here is the point that will bring us to the realization of what time it is now in heaven. We know that those who are asleep usually get into deep slumber at midnight and beyond. What then is the midnight symbolizing in this parable? Hear this:- the midnight SYMBOLIZES THE PEAK of the various activities and incidents that will influence the virgins (the bride of Christ or children of the kingdom), making them (if allowed) to lose all their righteousness, their faith, their patience, their sobriety, their prayerfulness, their evangelism, their interest in the things of God, their mindfulness of the bridegroom’s return, and so on, thereby rendering them unworthy for the marriage with him.

Among these distabilizing, distracting and demoralizing activities and/or phenomena are (i) the increase of knowledge and the running to and fro for it (Dan. 12:1-4); (ii) the end-time mad pursuit of the mundane, such as, marriage, money, eating and drinking (Luk. 17:26-30); (iii) the economic, political and social ills and problems of these last days (Matt. 24:3,6,7; 2 Tim. 3:1); (iv) the terrible increase of various kinds of vice (2 Tim.3:1-5); (v) the increase in false religious persuasion and in false teachers and doctrines (Matt 24:3-5,11; 2 Pet. 2:1-2; 1 Tim. 4:1-3); (vi) the prevalence of great compromise and outright backsliding by multitudes of Christians (2 Thess. 2:3), etc.

It is exactly AT THE PEAK of these things and its consequences on the bride (referred to symbolically as the midnight) that the sudden call to meet the bridegroom will be made (Matt. 25:6). This call is that referred to as the Lord’s shout; the voice of the archangel; the trump of God (1 Thess. 4:16).

CONCLUSION We have already seen what the midnight stands for, namely, THE PEAK of the various activities and/or phenomena in the world that will distract, distabilize, demoralize and pollute the bride of Christ and all men. We have also seen that it is at this PEAK that Christ will return.

Looking critically at the volume of today’s distracting, distabilizing, demoralizing and polluting situations all over the world, who is that real believer or minister who will not agree with the Holy Spirit that we are just about to hit the climax (THE PEAK) of these things, at which time the Bridegroom will return?

Look into the newspapers; listen to the electronic media outfits for news on current events; look around you in the villages, towns and cities of the entire world; all these destabilizing, distracting, demoralizing and polluting activities/phenomena are speedily building up every passing moment. And all indicators are showing that we about to hit THE PEAK (the midnight). So, we are indeed 5 minutes to 12.00 midnight.

WHAT A GREAT COGENT REASON THIS IS, NECESSITATING THIS PROJECT!

2ND REASON UNDERLYING THE PROJECT – IT IS THE DAY OF THE LORD

We shall treat this second reason underlying the Lord’s 3-fold end-time project by

• Defining and illustrating the term, “It is the day of the Lord”
• Showing that it is indeed the day of the Lord

(i)THE DAY OF THE LORD, DEFINED AND ILLUSTRATED

By the day of the Lord, we mean, a time or period when the Lord comes on board (as it were) to deal specially and decisively with ungodly situations in the world or in His Church, which the devils or human beings (in their ignorance or indifference to God’s sovereignty) authored, manipulated and prospered, which He has hitherto allowed and endured.

From this definition, it can be said that the time or period, during which such situations were allowed by the Lord to linger, are the days of men and the devils. There is always the day of the Lord following the day of His enemies.

The Scriptures, as well as history are replete with records of the day of the Lord, usually following the day of His enemies. A few examples here will suffice to prove the point.

After God’s creation of man, and adorning him with a substantial measure of His glory, and giving him dominion over all things (Genesis 1:26-28), the Devil moved-in to mar the relationship between the man and his God, thereby removing the glory and destroying the dominion (Genesis 3:1-19). The period of this temptation, yielding to it and the consequences could be regarded as the day of the enemy, the devil. But then, there followed the day of the Lord, representing the period of God’s intervention to undo what the devil had done (cons. Genesis 3:9-10 and Luke 2:21-22,25-33).

After the deluge of Noah’s time (which itself was the day of the Lord), there was another day of the Lord, when the Lord planned and executed the scattering of the entire people of the then world from their self-will and vain-glorious project of building the tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9).

There was yet another day of the Lord in the course of time. This was the period of planning and executing the activities that led to the final liberation of the nation, Israel from Egypt (see Exodus 1-14). That day of the Lord followed a 400 (plus) years’ day of the enemy, earlier predicted by the Lord (Genesis 15:12-16).

Let us now take one example from the New Testament during the early-Church period. There was this sorcerer, Simon, who had for so long bewitched the entire people of Samaria, whom they ignorantly regarded and revered as the embodiment of the great power of God (Acts 8:9-11). The period of this man’s devilish activities was the day of the devil. But then, at the appointed time in God’s overall programme, the day of the Lord came, as Philip preached Christ and the kingdom of God with the attendant demonstratiom of the Spirit and power of God, which made mockery of what the sorcerer had done. Following what happened during this day of the Lord, Simon lost out and his followers went their ways (Acts 8:12-25). So much on the definition and illustration of the day of the Lord.

(ii) NOW IS ANOTHER DAY OF THE LORD INDEED

Using apostle Paul’s language, we make bold to say, by the word of the Lord, that we are living at the threshold of another day of the Lord in the history of this world. The following preview of a few operations in this day of the Lord will suffice to clarify the point.

It is a period in the which the Lord has elected to build-in His glory into His human angels of His Church (see Revelation 1:20; 2:1,8,12,18; 3:1,7,14), to the point that their glory (God’s nature, power and the gospel message) will lighten His Church and the world at large, (comp. Revelation 18:1), so that the salvable could be saved. It is a period when multitudes will respond to the preaching of the cross of Christ, as these human-angels bring about a very strong witness and proof of God’s sovereignty and the infallibility of His word, as it was in the early Church (comp. Matthew 15:32; Luke 8:45; Acts 4:32; 5:14; 13:45). Hitherto, it would appear the devil has had a field-day, tying the multitudes down with all kinds of machinations. There has been relatively very poor response due to the lack of glory in God’s servants.

Beside the above, our present world, for a very long time now, has been terribly infested with all manner of satanic activities, ideologies, pursuit of the mundane, etc. From the North to the South, from the East to the West of all nations, millions of people mill around in the pursuit of the vanities of this world without any awareness of, or regard to the eternal well-being of their souls. But the day of the Lord is with us in which He will move into the midst of the people to cause such tremendous shaking with His diverse miracles that will draw multitudes to the Gospel, which will in turn set multitudes free from ignorance, sin and their consequences (cp Isaiah 40:10; 42:13-14).

Come to Christendom, over a very long period now, it would appear that Satan has been asking the Church, “where is the oneness that your Master prayed for;” “what can you do about the errors, lies and occultism that I have sneaked into your midst?” However, the day of the Lord is certainly with us, the day that will witness irresistible exposition of the truth of God’s word, and the exposition and destruction of lies, error and occultism, as it was during the early days of the Church (Acts 8:9-13; 16:16-18; 17:16-23). Besides, this day of the Lord will also witness that unity of the believers which all well-meaning ministers and members of the Church have been yearning for (Eph. 4:11-13).

Note this: All these items of operations that constitute the second aspect of the reasons behind the Lord’s 3-fold End-time Project are in agreement with some aspects of the project itself (see analysis of the project).

The question now is, who among His servants of the present day is willing to consecrate himself/ herself for the Lord’s use, having heard of the project, and such great cogent reasons behind it.?