The Parable of the Ten Virgins & Old Covenant “Types,” David, Nabal, and Abigail, Matthew 25:1-13 and 1 Samuel Chapter 25
Greetings.
I have yet much to share on the latter times.
It is not world events that determine the timing and unveiling of Christ and his millennial rule.
It seems, many examine the world for “signs” of the last days spoken in the prophecies of old and the book of Revelation.
But you will not find Jesus looking there.
Because Christ is forming himself in the “womb” of the church – in his sons and daughters around the globe.
If you’re looking for a sign, you may miss the time of preparation the Lord has allotted for the Church.
There’s an allotted time for each generation, in accord, and in proportion to the depth of grace and faith revealed in the body of Christ by the Spirit of God.
There’s by far a greater measure of “Christ” today, than 500 years ago at the start of the Reformation.
And there’s a greater measure than 60 years ago.
There’s a profound work Christ is doing in sons and daughters around the globe.
An outward, and a deep inner work of cleansing, healing, and restoration.
It’s the deep work of the Spirit, God promised in the latter days.
Our spiritual fathers and mothers yearned to see what we see, and experience what we’re experiencing.
Jesus is making himself available today on a scale and depth unlike anything we know in the recent past.
The depth of inner healing, prayer ministry, deliverance, and creative works, are as common today in the body of Christ as being born again, water baptized, and spirit-filled, just a short time ago.
Just as someone from Christ’s era would be shocked to see the world today, so would the apostle Paul be shocked at the depth and scale of the Church of Jesus Christ.
(Just as Moses and Elijah were likely filled with wonder at the appearance of the perfected Christ on the Mount, so to, the early Christian’s would be amazed to see the work of Christ in the church today.)
The Lord is taking the wise virgins and planting the seed of Christ in their womb.
God does not desire to take the Church back to the good ole days, but forward, advancing the Church deeper into the revelation of Christ.
He is here today preparing a bride.
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Why did the five foolish virgins fail to buy enough oil for their lamps?
Perhaps, maybe one reason, they were too focused on the appetites and desires of the world, and lost focus of Christ, and the call of the Scripture to go deep in him.
In contrast, the five wise virgins rightly discerned the Scriptures.
The writer of the book of Acts says of the Berean Jews, “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (NIV, Acts 17:11)
In Matthew 13, Jesus spoke of the different types of “hearers” and their response to the message of God.
Those “hearers” are our story.
Thankfully, Christ does not leave us as orphans – continually failing to hear the Word of God and unable to produce the peaceable fruit of righteousness.
No, he comes again and again, with opportunities for the Word of God to be planted in the soil of our heart. He will add good soil to the garden of your heart and mine.
Christ is here, now, to plant the seed of Christ in you.
The call to go deep in Christ is everywhere in Scripture. It is the heart of the Gospel – to put to death the deeds of the body, made alive by the Spirit of God, a new creation.
Why not be one who responds to God’s call to go deep in him – a merchant searching for precious pearls?
But maybe your heart is not ready to sell all like the merchant. Maybe you’re fearful of the cost, and what you “think” God may ask of you.
Maybe your Christian life is comfortable and full, the last thing you want is disruption, an adventure and journey into new territory.
I understand. We all bear the fruit of the fallen nature, its brokenness and wounds, hiding different areas – knowingly or unknowingly, from God.
Jesus understands.
He knows how you arrived at your present destination, and how, with your permission, to take you into the new things he wants to share with you.
And better yet, he knows how, in our weak and frail condition, to create godly appetites and desires, igniting and stirring your heart and mine for intimacy and union.
Seven Church Ages and Seven Parables
There is intense competition for the heart and mind of the sons and daughters of God, unlike anything Christians and non-Christians have experienced in the past.
And yet, we find in the sixth church age, (the Church in Philadelphia), which is prominent today, five wise virgins, and from a different view, a merchant searching for the pearl of great price.
In Matthew Chapter 13 there are seven parables that stand on their own as parables, and individually, in successive order, reveal patterns and similarities to the seven church ages.
(I hope you do not find this shocking. Many a student of Scriptures noted these similarities decades ago. Maybe someday I will share the similarities of Paul’s letters to the Churches, how from Romans to Thessalonians they depict the growth of the church, side by side characteristics with the church ages in Revelation, culminating with Thessalonians transitioning into the Tribulation.
God has seen fit to leave us with types and patterns, knitting the Word of God into a marvelous mosaic of his and our relationship and story.)
Fifth
We see in the fifth parable a man finding a treasure in a field and in his joy sells everything he has and buys the field.
This speaks of an individual coming to Christ, finding the treasure of Jesus Christ; embracing the story of God, the person of Christ, and the Spirit of God.
This parable conveys the beginning of the journey, a sense of fullness at the beginning, but lacks intimacy, connection, and union.
It’s the early stages of the Christian life. Similar to the Sardis Church, the fifth church age – the Reformation.
(Note, the fourth church age, Thyatira, is what we call the dark ages, which is comparable to the fourth parable, a woman mixing yeast into dough.)
It’s the time of being under the auspices of the church and its resources, learning about Christ, the Word, testimonies of the saints, their journey, and the pursuit of Christ and the baptism of the Spirit.
Fast forward, it includes the various moves of God in the last hundred years – the time of Luther to recent past.
Generally, these have come in and through and as part of the experiences of the local church and body of Christ in some fashion or form.
To sum, the fifth church age (Sardis) and the fifth parable of Matthew 13 (treasure hidden in a field) speak prophetically of the Reformation through much of the twentieth century.
These are the experiences of the virgins. Some deeper than others and some more than others. Some wise and some foolish.
These experiences create a hunger and thirst for Christ, motivating and compelling you and me to buy more and more oil for our lamp.
How far and how deep we go in our virgin stage ultimately comes down to the hundreds of choices we make in our response to the hundreds of calls of God to receive care from him and prepare, and fill our lamp with oil.
Sixth
In Matthew Chapter 13:45-46, the sixth parable, we see the latter stages of a Christian’s journey.
Here we find a merchant, a Christian on the path to maturity, keeping their lamp filled with oil, searching for intimacy and connection with Christ.
Pearls speak of deep intimacy – refined and molded by God, an adventure and journey in Christ – hidden and secreted away in the confines of Christ – fed, fathered, and nurtured by him.
This is a wonderful revelation of the formation of Christ in the inner man, sealed and cradled in his protection and care.
This parable reflects the deep relationship Christians have with one another and the Lord Jesus Christ in the sixth church age, the Church of Philadelphia.
The merchant eventually possesses the most important thing, intimacy, connection, and union with Christ.
Everything else is secondary.
The sixth parable not only represents the Philadelphia church age but the bride of Christ.
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In the early stage – the Passover and Pentecostal stages, the virgin stage, the Sardis church age, the treasure in a field – it’s really more about us than it is about Jesus.
It’s more about what we can do, what we can accomplish, and what we have to offer others (in Christ), and what we think the Word says in that regard, than it is about what we can offer Jesus.
This is natural, because it’s a growing stage of our journey.
What separates the fifth (Sardis) and sixth (Philadelphia) church ages, the treasure hidden in a field from the merchant of the pearl of great price, and the virgins from the five wise on the path toward Christ?
I believe it is the Father’s discipline of you and me.
It is the discipline of the Lord that cleanses and heals our sins and wounds, and imparts the love of God deep in our inner man. (1 Peter 1:13; Revelation 3:9 and 3:19)
It is being taken deep by the Lord, something we would not in the natural choose. (Matthew 24:40; John 21:18; 1 Corinthians 4:5; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Peter 1:13; Psalm 16:5-11)
Our brokenness and sins thwart our ability to save ourselves.
There comes a time in our Christian journey where Jesus must come to us, to those who are looking and waiting.
In Hebrews 9:28, the author says, “so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” (NIV, italicize mine)
The word “waiting” has the sense of waiting for him fully, expectant, to be fully and completely his.
Christ’s expectation is to have all of us. Then he will come to you and me.
Knitted Together – Bridging the Gap
In the sixth parable the merchant, is “… looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” (NIV, Matthew 13:45-46, italicize mine)
The merchant is searching for the hidden and abundant life only found in Christ – intimacy, connection, and union.
The merchant having gone as far as they can in their Christian walk, making all the choices they can make and using all the resources they can use, finally comes to the place of desperation for Christ, and him alone.
As Paul cried out, “I want to know Christ…” (NIV, Philippians 3:10)
The mystery of the gospel creates the appetite and desire for God, wooing and enlarging the heart to “look until Christ is found,” willing to sell all for Jesus, “fully expecting,” his appearance.
The merchant finds the pearl – the mystery and heart of the gospel, the revelation of Christ in grace, is deep and intimate, far exceeding the “virgin marketplace of buying and selling.”
The merchant’s heart is a journey. From virgin to wise, to merchant, to seeking Christ’s intimate care – the only one who can save deeply – to finding Christ, the journey of being “taken” deep in Jesus – the discipline of the Father, restoration, intimacy, and rest. A bride in the making.
The deep transition of the heart to Christ.
Blessings, Drake
(NIV) Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.Zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblical, Inc.™
