TODAY'S TECHNOLOGY IN BIBLE PROPHECY
Lesson 37: A look at how the wake up connection between Christ's
parable of the ten virgins and Zechariah's space-age
prophecies define when the Sebat generation will wake up.
I Christ used the parable of the ten virgins, who were
suddenly awakened, to establish a prophetic connection
to Zechariah's space-age prophecies.
A Jesus followed the parable of the fig tree with a second
parable, the parable of the ten virgins.
B In this parable Christ compared His return in the latter
days to that of a bridegroom coming to his marriage
ceremony.
1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten
virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the
bridegroom.
2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil
with them:
4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and
slept (Mt. 25:1-5).
A The parable's use of the words "wise" and "foolish" refers
only to the conduct of the ten virgins in regard to the
"oil."
1 The "oil" represents God's abundant truth concerning
the gospel of Jesus Christ which is readily available
to men before Christ returns.
2 Five of the virgins were wise and accepted the gospel
of Christ and secured His oil of truth for themselves.
3 The other five were foolish and did not bother to
secure Christ's oil of truth, or make Him a part of
their lives.
B What was the common difficulty confronting all ten
virgins?
1 All ten knew the bridegroom was coming, but no one
knew when He would actually arrive.
2 This has been the case since Christ left His
disciples and returned to heaven over 1,900 years
ago.
3 Christians know Christ said He would return, but they do
not know when He will return.
C How has the typical Christian reacted to the fact that
Christ, "the bridegroom," has "tarried" longer than
expected?
1 Christians have grown weary of trying to sort out the
contradicting opinions concerning the timing of
Christ's return, quit watching, and fallen fast
asleep.
2 Now that modern technology has pulled the whole of
end-times Bible prophecy into focus, Christians need
to wake up and "watch" these prophesied events unfold
so that they will be more effective in reaching
unbelievers for Christ.
6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the
bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil;
for our lamps are gone out.
9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not
enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell,
and buy for yourselves.
10 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 (Mt. 25:6-10).
A Since the ten virgins knew the bridegroom was coming
before they went to sleep, why did they [and why will
the people in our time] suddenly wake up to one more oft
repeated cry, "Christ is coming," to the extent that
they will rise up with one accord and hastily set about
making last minute preparations for His arrival?
1 The command "go ye out to meet him" provides some
clues to the answer of the question.
a The virgins immediately arose, set about trimming
their lamps, and checked their supply of oil.
b This shows that no one challenged the authority
backing the command.
2 Note also that since not one word is said about who
delivered the cry, the authority driving the action
must be vested in the greater message of the cry.
a That greater message turns out to be the complete
body of prophetic evidence defining when Christ
will return.
b Moreover, according to the greater context of the
parable, the biblical evidence contained within
this late hour cry will speak with such force that
no one will seriously doubt that Christ's return
is even at the doors.
B Once it is understood that, "Behold, the bridegroom
cometh," serves only as a symbolic announcement of the
cry's much larger message, where would be a good place
to begin a search for the full text of the cry?
1 Since the parable's imagery centers around the theme
of people abruptly awakened to new prophetic truth
concerning when Christ will return, it follows that
the cry's full definition of the timing of Christ's
Second Coming will be found in some other prophecy
containing "wake up" imagery.
2 This same imagery is found in Zechariah's "wake up"
introduction (Zech. 4) to his space-age prophecies
foretelling the building of Christ's Church during
the closing days of the technological age.
3 The visible evidence of Zechariah's unfolding
prophecies bears testimony to the truth of the
prophetic cry: "Behold, the bridegroom cometh."
C How does the parable of the fig tree and the parable of
the ten virgins help answer the disciples question:
"Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be
the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"
(Mt. 24:3, NASB).
1 The parable of the fig tree uses the imagery of trees
beginning to bud to connect to Zechariah's definition
of the "Sebat generation" which will see Christ
return within their lifetime.
2 The parable of the ten virgins employs the imagery of
sleeping people, suddenly awakened, to define the
approximate time when the "Sebat generation" will
"wake up" to Zechariah's prophetic definition of who
they are and when Christ can be expected to return.
3 Note that the timing of the Sebat generations awaken-
ing, "in the middle of the night," implies that dawn,
and the light of a new age that Christ will establish,
is coming quickly.
4 Thus, Zechariah's full text of the cry "Behold the
bridegroom cometh," will awaken everyone in the Sebat
generation to God's message of the hour--not only the
King is coming, but "when" Christ will return!
5 For the first time, people will know that Christ will
physically return before the Sebat generation passes
from the scene.
D A review of Zechariah's text sharpens the prophetic
objectives of these two parables.
1 According to Zechariah 1, the first manned space
flight "round the Earth" is the first event to look
for in the prophetic fulfillment of these two
parables.
- Soviet cosmonaut, Yury A. Gagarin, fulfilled this
prophecy on April 12, 1961, when he successfully
circled the globe in the spaceship, Vostok 1.
2 The next event to look for, Israel's second
repossession of Jerusalem, also came to pass
according to Zechariah's prophetic time table.
- Six years after the Soviet's first manned space
flight, the Jews captured Jerusalem during the
1967 Arab-Israeli Six-Day War.
3 Abruptly, Zechariah dropped the subject of space
technology at the end of chapter 1.
4 Then, even as Zechariah covered several other
prophecies before he resumed his space-age "wake up"
narrative--"And the angel that talked with me came
again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of
his sleep" (Zech. 4:1)--so did everyone on planet
Earth continue sleeping for several more years until
Zechariah's space-age "wake up" message was finally
understood.
5 Zechariah's slumbering, unknowing state, parallels
the years the Sebat generation was unaware of the
prophetic significance of the first manned space
flight "round the earth."
6 Thus, at a very late hour the Sebat generation will
"wake up" to who they are and the prophesied fact
that Christ will return to rule the world in their
time.
E What is the meaning of the parable of the ten virgins'
closing warning: "And while they went to buy, the bride-
groom came; and they that were ready went in with him to
the marriage: and the door was shut" (Mt. 25:10, IGENT)?
1 It is a reference to the time of the rapture when
Christ removes the Church.
a There will be no time for preparation afterwards.
b No one else will be admitted into the marriage feast
in heaven.
2 Therefore, it is imperative that Christians wake up
and respond to the urgency of the hour.
3 Even as the virgins should have been awake and watch-
ing events unfold as the bridegroom approached, so
should today's Christians be alert to the signs of
the times.
11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord,
Lord, open to us.
12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know
you not (Mt. 25:11-12).
13 Watch ye therefore, because ye know not the day nor the
hour (Mt. 25:13, IGENT).
A What is the meaning of the parable of the ten virgins'
closing comment: "Watch ye therefore, because ye know
not the day nor the hour" (Mt. 25:13, IGENT)?
1 It means what it says; no one knows the actual day,
or the hour of the day, when Christ will rescue the
Christians in the event called the rapture.
2 It does not mean Christians will not have a very good
idea as to the general timing of Christ's Return.
3 The definition of the Sebat "shall not pass generation"
proves the point.
B Christ's closing comment, therefore, commands Christians to
strive to win unbelievers to Christ right up to the day and
hour of His Return.
C For He is "not willing that any should perish, but that
all should come to repentance" (II Pet. 3:9).
II Christ emphasized the Sebat generations responsibilities
further in the parable of the talents.
A Note that the parable of the talents follows immediately
after the parable of the ten virgins--(Mt. 25:14-30).
B The simple message of the parable is that Christ expects
every Christian member of the Sebat generation to use
their individual talents to win unbelievers to Christ
during the closing years of the age.
1 Keep in mind that everything Christ said following
His definition of the "shall not pass generation" in
the parable of the fig tree and all the trees, was
addressed explicitly to the Sebat generation.
2 Also keep in mind that the parable of the talents
applied to all Christians down through the centuries,
and was effectively acted upon by many.
C What conclusions can be drawn from the parable's closing
pronouncement about the unprofitable servant, who was
"cast into outer darkness" (Mt. 25:30)?
1 This individual never asked Christ into his life, and
accordingly never had any concern for those around
him who did not know Christ.
2 Predictably this individual was concerned with
hoarding his talents for his own personal welfare.
III What is the primary value of Zechariah's space-age
prophecies?
A Zechariah's high-tech space-age prophecies, written in
ancient times, bear witness to today's advanced civil-
izations that God knew what they would be doing twenty-
five hundred years ago.
B God also knew that it would take the Bible's indisput-
able prophetic oil of truth foretelling the end of the
space age, to wake the Sebat generation up and bring
them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
C In light of the space machines modern man has built
according to God's ancient blueprints:
9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new
things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you
of them (Isa. 42:9).
9 "Remember the former things long past, For I am God,
and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one
like Me, (Isa. 46:9, NASB).
10 I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient
times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will
stand, and I will do all that I please (Isa. 46:10, NIV).
6 "From now on I will tell you of new things, of hidden
things unknown to you.
7 They are created now, and not long ago; you have not
heard of them before today. So you cannot say, 'Yes, I
knew of them' (Isa. 48:6-7, NIV).
D Why would anyone doubt God's plan for saving man's
eternal soul?
18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD:
though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white
as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be
as wool (Isa. 1:18).
20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man
hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him,
and will sup with him, and he with me (Rev. 3:20).
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ our LORD (Romans 6:23).
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not
of yourselves: it is the gift of God.
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast (Eph. 2:8-9).
11 And this is the record, that God has given us eternal
life, and this life is in his son.
12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not
the Son of God hath not life (I John 5:11-12).
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is
none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we
must be saved (Acts 4:12).
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).