IHOP Atlanta

As I was walking and praying in the International House of Prayer in Kansas City last month I felt the Lord begin to impress to my heart the urgency of the days in which we live. I heard the phrase in my heart, “…the end of the days of slumber”. Immediately my mind referred to Matthew 25 and the parable of the 10 virgins. I quickly flipped my Bible open and read the parable. In a moment I began to see facets of these verses that I had never seen before. The more that I meditated on the truths in this parable the greater an urgency began to build in my heart. The Lord shared with me several important truths that I want to share with you. Let’s first take a look at the entire parable.

Matthew 25:1-13 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 “Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 “Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 “but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ 7 “Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 “And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 “And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. 11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 “But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

The End of the Age

The first thing that struck me about this parable is that it is a direct reference to the end of the age and the Second Coming of Jesus. It is specifically talking about the church adorned as a Bride and ready to meet the Bridegroom. Verse 13 makes it extremely clear that the parable is talking about the “hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” The only way to get a clear picture of what this parable is teaching is to put it against the backdrop of the end of the age.

At the end of the age there will be those who are wise and those who are foolish. This is not talking about the difference between believers and unbelievers this is talking about wise and foolish virgins. Virgins represent those who have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, Christians. Each group, the wise and the foolish, had gone out to meet the Bridegroom yet what differentiated them was the provisions that they brought. The wise had purchased oil and brought it with them. The foolish had not bought the costly oil; they had made no provision for a delay in the Bridegroom’s coming. Consequently, those who did not bring the oil did not have fire in their lamps when it was the most essential. Their fire had gone out when it was time to meet the Bridegroom and they, in turn, did not make it into the wedding feast.

The Falling Away

For years I considered this scripture to be speaking of the great revival at the end of the age. I thought of it as teaching that 5 out 10 people would get saved and make it to heaven. However, it is speaking of 5 out of 10 virgins who are not prepared and subsequently do not make it. This is speaking of those in the church being unprepared and not making it in. It becomes painfully clear that it is speaking of a falling away. Half of those considered to be virgins did not actually make it in to the wedding feast. This is not to say that there is not a great revival coming, there most certainly is. However, the day of the Lord is both “great and very terrible” (Joel 2:11) The end of the age will be a time unprecedented glory and unprecedented terror.

II Thessalonians 2:3 “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first…”

ITim 4:1 “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.”

Jesus explained in Matthew 24:12 that, “the love of many will grow cold.” It is clear that at the same time that there will be unparalleled revival that there will also be a great falling away.

The Oil of Intimacy

The oil is the central issue to whether or not the virgins make it to the wedding feast. Those who have the oil make it in and those who do not have it do not make it. I believe that the oil speaks of true intimacy with Jesus. Compare the language of Matthew 25:11-12 with Matthew 7:22-23.

Mat 25:11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 “But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

Matthew 7:22 “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

In each instance there are those who believe that they know the Lord and deserve to have entrance into His Kingdom yet in both instances He declares to them that He does not know them. Those who have intimacy with the Lord at the end of the age will have a sustaining fire in their heart that will guide them and see them through to the return of Jesus. Yet those who have not “paid” for the oil in costly love will burn out. When challenges and persecutions come to the church those who have given themselves intimately in an abandoned way will have strength in their inner man to sustain them. Those who have not bought the oil of intimacy will find themselves offended in the day of testing and trial. Perhaps that is why Paul prayed for the Philippian believers that they would be “sincere and without offense until the Day of Christ.”( Phil 1:10)

The Bridegroom Is Coming

Perhaps never before has there been such a consensus in the Body of Christ that we are in the season of the Lord’s return. Many will say that every generation in church history has stressed the soon return of the Lord. However, this is actually inaccurate. With the exception of the first century, the church throughout the ages has not had a majority agreement that it was in the generation of the Lord’s return. There have been small contingencies of believers throughout the centuries that believed the Lord was going to return in their lifetime, yet it was never the belief held by the majority. The generation in which we live is the first generation since the first century where there has been a consensus that those who are alive are living in the time of the Lord’s return. This fact is stunning especially when you consider it in light of Matthew 25. The parable is clear that there will be a cry heard at midnight, “Behold, the Bridegroom is coming.” Notice all of the virgins heard the cry; the foolish and the wise. Yet only one group was prepared. I believe that midnight speaks of the spiritual conditions of the generation the Lord returns. Here we are, living in perhaps the darkest spiritual generation the world has ever seen and a cry has gone out in the spirit to the church at large, BEHOLD THE BRIDEGROOM IS COMING. There is a strange awareness in our day that the days are short. The Cry is clear, He is coming and He is coming soon. This one phrase the Bridegroom is coming is a clear picture of what the church will look like at the end of the age. She will have an unmistakable revelation of her bridal identity. She will be a bride adorned in purity and passion for her Bridegroom. She will also be acutely aware of the nearness of His return. God is in this hour preparing the church to have a heart of intimacy with an awareness of His impending return.

The End of the Days of Slumber

While the Bridegroom was delayed all of the virgins slept. There has been a 2000 year delay in the coming of the Lord. If the nation of Israel had received Jesus as Messiah in mass numbers, it is possible that Jesus could have set up His earthly kingdom and begun to rule from Jerusalem in the 1st century. Yet because of the rejection of Messiah on the part of the Jews, there has been a delay until the time of the full number of gentiles get saved.(Rom 11:25) This is the delay. While the bridegroom was delayed all of the virgins slept. Yet they are awakened just prior to His coming. The word the Lord spoke clearly to my heart is that we are coming to the end of the days of slumber. If this is accurate then we are in a day of great consequence not only to our lives as Christians but also to this world. We must awaken to the urgency of this hour.

This is a day where we must ensure that our hearts are overflowing with the oil of intimacy so that when the time comes to arise and meet the Bridegroom our lamps are burning brightly and not burning out. Intimacy is the currency of the spirit in this day. It is the only sustainer of relationship with the Lord. If our hearts are energized in the knowledge of Him we will not be ashamed at His coming. We will be found faithful through every trial and all tribulation. It is in the knowledge of Jesus that we enter into the reward of the Gospel. If we know Him intimately we carry the reward of the Gospel inside of us. Our reward is not the western ideals of success, money, riches or fame. It is having a heart that is overflowing in love, alive in the spirit, completely confident before Him in intimacy. It is living lives truly strengthened with might in our inner man through the knowledge of His Love.

I want to encourage you to give yourself to Him in a fresh way in holy abandonment. Pursue the knowledge of the Lord. It is the knowledge of God that will lead you into the love of God. It is only in the revelation and experience of His love that your heart will be satisfied and confident in the days ahead. There is great blessing coming to the church and to the world, yet there is also great turmoil and trouble coming. Only a heart that is tenderized and equipped in love will be able to sustain the tension and challenges of the days to come.

It is essential that we recognize the days in which we live. I pray that we would be as the Sons of Issachar knowing the times and seasons. We are entering the End of the Days of Slumber. Beloved, It is time to heed Paul’s admonition in Romans 13:11… knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.