Matthew 24:6-51, Matthew 25

When are the Comings of Jesus Christ?

Brothers and sisters be blessed in our Lord Jesus Christ. In my introduction, I promised to explain to you the possibility that Jesus will come next year to bring the Church to Heaven. In Matthew 24:43 and 44, Jesus says:

But know this, that if the householder had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Verse 12 And because wickedness is multiplied, most men's love will grow cold.

This is a order to watch and be ready. So how can we be ready? I begin in Matthew 24: 6-9

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of the birth-pangs. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and put you to death; and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake.

The whole world is in turmoil. In Latin America the demonstrations are against corrupt governments, in Spain the ETA is stirring again. The famines and earthquakes are increasing in intensity and frequency. In many countries, Christians are persecuted, and fanatical Muslims commit attacks and kill. It can be said that all this happened in the past, but there is a big difference NOW, it is almost all over the world and more powerful and frequent. In many countries, governments no longer respect God's Word and adopt laws that go directly against God's Word and Christians are thrown into prison for their preaching and defense and put out of their parental power.

Verse 14 talks about the preaching of the Kingdom (not Jesus proclamation of forgiveness of sin) will be preached in the WHOLE WORLD by the 144,000 witnesses in Revelation? When this is complete, the end will have come. That is, the end of the Great Tribulation, which is described in the following verses 15 to 29, and in great details in Daniel and Revelation. Daniel speaks about twice 31/2 years, Revelation talks about days with a total of 7 years. Jesus concludes in verses 30 and 31 that He will come to the end of the Great Tribulation and all tribes on earth will see Him. How is it possible that all on earth will see Him. Jesus is God, not bound by time. In the fourth dimension there is no time, so no distance. And Jesus is God, ONNI-PRESENTED, so can be present in all places at the same time. Jesus says in verses 32 and 33 that we must heed, because we know that time is near. But now comes the important verses 34 to 36:

Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

This generation refers to the Jewish generation which proclaimed the state of Israel in 1948 and with that the counting of this generation starts. Before all this happens. This "ALL" refers to the previous verses 8 to 29, or the 7 years of Great Tribulation. So how many years does a generation have in the Bible? For that we have to go to Psalm 90 verse 10:

The years of our life are 70 years, or even by reason of strength 80 years.

The years of our life is a generation. Let's count. 1948 + 70 years = 2018 minus 7 years of Great Tribulation 2011, Jesus did not return. But we can say that the Israeli people are a strong people, so that the eighty years applies. Calculated 1948 + 80 = 2028 that could possibly be the year of the end of the Great Tribulation in which this ALL took place. But Jesus says that He knows neither the day nor the hour for man, but commands that he should heed the events so that we may know the year? Jesus continues in verses 40 to 42:

40 Then two men will be in the field; one is taken and one is left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left. 42 Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your LORD is coming

This event Jesus tells after He has spoken about the Great Tribulation. So this is an OTHER GROUP, namely the believers. Why? Verse 42 speaks about the day that YOUR LORD comes. Who is the Lord for? Especially for the believers who have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and LORD. Matthew 25 is in fact one whole with chapter 24, a continuation. Chapter 25 further explains verses 40 and 41, who is taken and who is left. But let us stay by the lesson. When are the verses 40 and 41 possible? What do these verses mean? This is the Rapture of the Church, or the FIRST Coming of Christ (the second Coming of Christ is verse 30), then Jesus will come into the clouds and the believers, those are the wise virgins in Matthew 25 who live under the control of the Holy Spirit, they will be taken and go with Jesus Christ to Heaven. The foolish virgins are left and pass through the Great Tribulation. So when is the Rapture of the Church possible? The second Coming of Christ is possible at the end of the Great Tribulation in 2028. We count 2028 minus 7 years of Great tribulation is 2021, so possibly next year we can expect the Rapture of the Church and is it IMPORTANT TO BE TAKEN.

The shocking fact for me is that these verses talk about one and the other. That is 50%. Chapter 25 speaks of 10 virgins, five wise and five foolish. That is 50%, or half. If we take this literally, only half of all believing Christians are taken to Heaven at this first Coming, and what some preachers say is that the believer goes through the Great Tribulation. They are the foolish virgins who do not live under the control of the Holy Spirit, but live their own life in the world. They are left and pass through the Great Tribulation with all the horrors described in Revelation.

What is the significance of the wise and foolish virgins?

Verse 1: The kingdom of heaven. Note the word HEAVEN. So it is not the Kingdom of God, but the Kingdom in Heaven, where God the Father lives, and Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father. It is in HEAVEN. The virgins, they go to meet the bridegroom, are the believer who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. The foolish virgins did not take oil for their lamps. The oil points to the Holy Spirit. They begin with the assumption of Jesus as Savior, but then they return to a life in the world, but all her enticements. They quench the Holy Spirit, the insufficient oil. The bridegroom did not come, to this day Jesus has not yet come to take up the Church in Heaven. It is the believer's job to live under the control of the Holy Spirit during his or her life and to live to the honor and glory of God. That is a conscious choice of the individual believer. That can be difficult, it means persecution and/or torture, but the reward is great, being accepted and living in Heaven. Now is not a time of sleepiness, but of active Christian life. The bridegroom comes in the middle of the night when people no longer expect him. It is a matter of active vigilance, as described in Matthew 24: 45-50.
The foolish virgins no longer have any oil for lamps when the bridegroom comes. The bridegroom is the Lord Jesus Christ and the bride is the Church. The foolish virgins lack the oil, that is, the Holy Spirit is no longer active in their lives.
The foolish virgins should go to the sellers. Note, it is midnight, the shops of the sellers are closed, it will take a lot of effort to buy oil, the shopkeepers may have to wake up, if they are already prepared to stand up and sell. They are the believers who are left, they will have to prove their faith in the Great Tribulation and refuse the mark 666. They will taken a lot of effort, as these foolish virgins must make an effort to buy oil.
The wise virgins go with the bridegroom to the marriage feast, that is, the taken believers go with Jesus to Heaven, the marriage feast.
The foolish virgins knock at the closed door of the marriage feast. They were left at the Rapture of the Church. Their access to the Heaven is permanently closed.
HO, HO, Wilfred they are believers according to you! They are lost? Well, they get another chance in the Great Tribulation to refuse the 666 mark. But that is very difficult. You cannot buy without the 666 mark. People are already working hard on this. No more payments with money, only with debit or credit card. Confirmation with SMS message, that is locating where the person is. When they refuse the sign 666, it means torture and possibly death. But better to refuse and live in the 1000-year Kingdom of Jesus, than to live forever in the lake of fire.
Take the warning in verse 13 seriously: Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. The choice is yours!