Prophecy Is Like Light

I believe we all are aware that Bible prophecy is meant to be understood at a certain period of time in history. God has a plan and a purpose that He's working out, and He works that plan and that purpose out according to His schedule. Not according to ours. Sometimes we try to figure it out, but we don't always know exactly when things are going to happen. What I mean by that, just as an example, in Daniel 9th chapter, you find in Daniel 9, the exact year when the Messiah would begin His ministry, was foretold. There were a number of events that had to take place before that happened. So, if a person had understood Daniel 9th chapter, when the decree to rebuild Jerusalem had been given, one could have had a pretty good idea when the Messiah was going to appear. Israel left Egypt exactly 430 years to the day from the time that God made a covenant with Abraham and the promises that God had made. And so, you find that God does things on time and according to His schedule. Let's take a look at the book of Daniel chapter 12, and we will begin to read in verse 4. Daniel chapter 12 verse 4.

And I want you to notice what was revealed to Daniel. God had given to Daniel all kinds of prophecies, and Daniel was anxious to understand them, just like we do when we read through many of the prophecies of the Bible. But God told Daniel, but you, Daniel, shut up the words, seal the book until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. So, we find here that many of the prophecies that were given, especially in the book of Daniel, were not to be understood until the time of the end. And as it says here, shut them up, seal them. There's going to come a time when people run to and fro. Well, I believe we've entered into that time. We're running more to and fro today than people have ever run to and fro. And knowledge certainly has increased. There's been an explosion of knowledge that you see today. But let's notice in verse 9, He said, Go your way, Daniel, for the words are sealed up, or closed up, and sealed till the time of the end. So again, the end time. So God shows that these prophecies were not to be understood 2,000 years ago, 2,500 years ago, 1,000 years ago, because that wasn't the time of the end. The time of the end is the time when most of the monumental prophecies of the Bible take place, and Jesus Christ returns to this earth. The majority of the prophecies of the Bible were not to be revealed clearly until our day to day. One-third of the Bible is prophecy. And then you find 90% of those prophecies deal with the end time and deal with future events. The book of Amos adds a little light to this. Amos 3, verse 7. In Amos 3, verse 7, you find this. Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret to His servants, the prophets. So God says that He will not do anything. He will not bring these prophecies to pass. They will not occur until He reveals it to His servants, the prophets. So yes, they may be hidden for a period of time, but when it comes time for those prophecies to transpire, for them to be fulfilled, God will reveal them, and we will understand them. We as a church have not always understood all prophecies, but prophecy is supposed to become clear over a period of time. We've been wrong about prophecies, basically, generally about the timing of certain prophecies. But I want us today to take a look at prophecy and see how God reveals prophecies when He intended for them to be understood and how we are to understand them. You find we don't always understand everything all at once, and we grow and we mature as we move along. Let's go back to 2 Peter 1, and we'll start in 2 Peter 1 and verse 12. Let's notice what Peter wrote. Peter realized that his days were numbered. He did not have many more days to live, and he wanted to make sure that God's people were instructed and left with the information that they needed. So he said, for this reason, I will not be negligent to remind you always of those things, though you know and are established in the present truth. So he talks about the present truth, the fact that we're not set in stone as far as understanding is concerned. We should be able to grow. We should be able to mature. We grow in knowledge and understanding. Just as a child does, we start out as babes in Christ. And you put a child in school, they start out in kindergarten. They go to grade school. They move on to middle school. Go to high school. Go to college. And at each level, they're growing.

Somebody who graduates, we've got a young gentleman down in Rome who's studying to be a physics teacher. And he's doing calculus and physics and all of those kind of things. Well, he knows a lot more about that subject than a first grader would, because he's progressed and he's learned. But what you find that you build on the knowledge that you have, and you keep adding to it, and you come to a greater depth of knowledge. It's not always a matter of some new thing, but you have a greater depth of understanding. In chapter 3, you can hold your place here, but over in chapter 3, verse 18, is 2 Peter. You find that Peter exhorted the church. Grow, he says, in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen. So we are to grow, and we grow in grace. We grow in the ability to forgive, to be gracious, and to serve one another. So over the years, we have grown in knowledge and understanding. Many may think that we've always understood everything we understand today, but that's not true. I remember very well when the understanding about this spirit in man came. That wasn't something we understood. One time, we didn't fully understand when Pentecost should be observed. We didn't understand the complete depth of the two trees in Genesis, our divorce and remarriage, or 1975 in prophecy. I mean, you could go on and on and on, listing things that we have grown in. We've come to understand more completely. Let's back up again to 2 Peter, chapter 1, and we'll continue in verse 13. Verse 13, Peter says, yes, I think it's right, as long as I am in this tent, in other words, in this body, to stir you up by reminding you. So Peter had no compunction to be able to stir the brethren up to get them to focus on what they needed to focus on. Knowing that shortly, I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. So God had revealed to Peter. You might remember that Peter had been told that he would die. Well, he knew it was not too far off in the future.

So he says, moreover, I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease. Okay, how's that possible? Well, you have it on your lap. I have it right here. I'm throwing my papers around. The Bible, the Scriptures, and Peter had two books that he wrote, or two letters.

1 Peter, 2 Peter. And so you'll find that he wanted to make sure that they were reminded of these things. In verse 16, he says, where we did not follow cunning devised fables, when we made known to you the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. They saw Christ after His resurrection. They saw Him glorified even beforehand in vision. For He received from God the Father, honoring glory, when such a voice came to Him from the excellent glory, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

And we heard this voice, which came from heaven when we were with Him in the holy mountain. So Peter was an eyewitness of Christ, His glory, His power, His majesty. He wasn't somebody who was just talking second-handed. He understood. He knew. He had been handpicked by God to go into the world.

Now, let's come to verse 19, and this is the scripture we want to focus on. It says, So we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your heart. Let me read this. I'm reading in the New King James Version.

Let me read this to you out of the King James Version. King James says, We also have a more sure word of prophecy. That prophecy is sure. It's certain. It says, Whereunto you do well that you take heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns, and the day star arises in your hearts. Now, the margin of the New King James Version says this. We also have the more sure prophetic word. Now, in the Greek, the word for sure means firm, fast, sure, or trustworthy.

Now, a lot of times people will say, Well, I don't know if you can trust prophecy. Well, if you believe what the Bible says and what Scripture says, we have the sure word of prophecy. Our problem isn't that the prophecy is wrong. Many times it's our understanding of the prophecy that gets in the way. And so we need to make sure that we do rightly divide the word of God. So, prophecy is sure. It is certain. It is trustworthy.

And if it's something that is clearly delineated in the Bible, and I'll just give an example, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, there's no question that the Bible talks about that. And so we know that there are certain prophecies that will take place.

Now, He says here, you need to take heed. See, prophecy is nothing more than history written in advance. God, knowing the flow of history and how He was going to work things out, He wrote it down in advance.

Now, if we refuse to heed or to listen or to respond to those prophecies, then we will pay the piper. We're the ones who pay the price. Prophecy is given to us not to argue, beat other people over the head, say, I've got better understanding than you do. Prophecy is given to us to clearly show us what's going to happen so we can reckon order our own lives.

We can begin to live according to God's way of life. And as we observe what's going on around us, we can see these things begin to take place. I think Revelation 2 and 3 are prime examples of this, because at the very end time, you find it describes the Laodiceans, the end time generation of those whom God works through as being what? Luke 1. Luke 1 doesn't mean that they don't know God's way, don't know God's law. His principles is just that they're Luke 1. And God says that he would rather be hot or cold, not Luke 1. Now, in verse 20 here, chapter 1, let's go on here.

It says, knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation. Obviously, in almost any major prophecy, there are hundreds of different ideas about different prophecies. You can pick books up, you can read from all over. Many times, we may have very strong opinions about what we think a prophecy means. Sitting in this audience, we could have dozens of ideas about certain prophecies. But yet, the Bible says that we've got to be very careful that we don't put our own private interpretation. It's very easy to read something and think, I think maybe that means such and such.

And yet, perhaps it doesn't mean that at all. In verse 21, he goes on to say here, For prophecy never came by the will of man, But holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. So God's Spirit moved them, inspired them.

Prophecies that are recorded here in the Bible came directly from God, the Holy Spirit of God moving them and inspiring them. So God is the one who inspired these prophecies, and we have preserved in the Bible what God wants us to know.

I'm sure that there were dozens of other prophecies that were revealed to the prophets over the years that were not recorded in the Scriptures, were not written down. And yet, the ones that God wanted us to have, that He would have us focus on and understand, are clearly listed here in the Scriptures. So much so, as I said, that one-third of the Bible is prophecy.

Now, let's back up to verse 19 again. Now, let's notice the last part of this verse. Again, verse 19, so we have the prophetic word, confirm, or the sure word of prophecy, which you do well to take heed. And notice, it's like a light that shines in dark places until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your heart.

So prophecy is like a light. Now, what kind of a light? Look at the type of lights they had back during those days. Did they have flashlights? Did they have electricity? Did they have big, powerful searchlights, such as we have today? Today, we have big spotlights that you can actually illuminate airplanes flying over. And in the Second World War, you know, they did this all the time.

enemy bombers would come over and they would put these big lights on them, and they would try to shoot them out of the sky. That's not the type of lights they had. Normally, they had a little lamp, had some oil in it, and a little wick. They would light that, and it would illuminate, but wouldn't illuminate, a whole lot. It would be like you carrying a candle around.

We can all envision a candle and the light that's put out. It's not a very powerful light, but as you're walking along, you can see with it because it casts enough light for you to see. Well, it enabled you to know where you were going. Now, you don't have to turn here, but back in Psalm 119.105, Psalm 119.105 says God's Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light to our path.

God's Word is there to lead us, to guide us, and to direct us. And so you'll find that prophecy was like a light. Now, the reason why I mentioned the type of lights they had back at this time is because you didn't clearly see everything. You can come into a room with a candle or a little lamp, and it'll illuminate, but you don't see everything clearly with that. Now, what it also shows is how utterly dark the world is when it's cut off from the God.

As the Scriptures reveal, the world lies in darkness, darkness being symbolic of misunderstanding, a lack of understanding. Now, God gives us information about the future. That's what prophecy is. I think the majority of world leaders today don't grasp prophecy, what's occurring in the world, and the direction that the world is headed. If they did, I think they would take a much different approach.

It's like one former Secretary of State said when he was asked about how do you make decisions, he said, all we can do is guess based upon the present information. So you have world leaders, and the Russians are trying to figure out what the Americans are doing. Europeans are trying to figure out what the Chinese are up to. Chinese are trying to figure out what somebody else is doing. And so they're all guessing, they're all trying to come up with knowledge and information. What if President Obama understood what we do about a united Europe? What kind of action would he be taking? What type of an approach would he be taking?

What if world leaders knew for sure the future, that this nation was going to attack that nation, or that these nations were going to be allied together in alliances, or that there was going to be a war over here? Would their strategic planning take a different vent? You go in a different direction, and would they be thinking differently? What if you and I knew for sure what prophecy was going to say, or what prophecy does say?

You find that scriptures very clearly tell us where the decisions are being made. As time goes by, as we get closer to the end time, we found that scripture is going to be revealed, and it will become clearer and clearer. When the New Testament church first started, the apostles didn't understand the time sequence of prophecy.

Let's go back to Acts 1. Acts 1. Jesus Christ had been resurrected.

He had been on the earth after his resurrection for 40 days, and he was about to ascend into heaven to return to his Father.

I want you to notice what the disciples asked. This isn't the first time they asked this question.

Because in Acts 1, verse 6, they said, Therefore, when they had come together, they asked him, saying, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?

They knew that there was going to come a time that God would establish his kingdom on the earth and set it up.

He said to them, it's not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has put in his own authority.

But you shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and all Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

So Christ told them the time and the seasons they would not know.

Now, Christ had already explained this to them. Let's go back here to Luke 19.

Luke 19, verse 11.

Because there was on another occasion that he taught them.

Notice Luke 19, verse 11. Now, as they heard these things, he spoke another parable because he was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would immediately or appear immediately.

So he said, look, a certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.

And so they understood, or he understood, that he was going to have to go to heaven, receive a kingdom, and then he would return.

You'll find also that during the first century, apparently they thought the resurrection, many of them did, would occur in their lifetime. And yet, as we begin to get toward the end of the first century, you'll find people writing, such as Peter. And Peter realized the time of his death was approaching. So he wasn't saying, well, before I die, Christ will come back.

No, he said, look, I'll probably die here. And he understood that. Whole sections of the Bible, Peter and Paul and the other apostles did not have.

They didn't have a lot of the books of the Bible.

The apostles, James, John, many of these, who went out to various areas, you, Matthew, and all of them, didn't all have the writings of the apostle Paul.

These books had not all been codified by this time. The book of Revelation had not been written.

1 John, 2 John, 3 John, those books had not been written as yet when most of the apostles died.

They did not have the book of Revelation. And the book of Revelation is a key book.

The book of Daniel and the book of Revelation go together. And it's hard to understand one without the other. They fit together like you two peas in a pod are handed in a glove in order to understand them. The book of Revelation gives the skeleton for prophecy, gives the time sequence of prophecy. There are seven seals, seven trumpets, seven last plagues.

And you find, when you understand the meaning of those, that a lot of the prophecies that we have back in the book of Isaiah or Ezekiel or Jeremiah, you read them. You wonder, where do they fit?

Where do they occur? Well, when you have the skeleton, then you know where they occur. When you have the seven seals, trumpets, plagues, you can begin to read many of these scriptures and you can say, aha, that's the same thing that Isaiah said back here. And you can begin to know where many of these prophecies would be. The original apostles never saw the influence of religion on the world as we do today. They knew nothing about the rise of Islam, about the Eastern religions that have arisen. Catholic Church, many other organizations, they did not have any idea about the birthright nations today of the United States, Britain, the British Commonwealth, the nations.

They didn't know anything about the two witnesses. Great multitude, 144,000. Those prophecies had not been written down yet. And so they did not have those books as we do today. You see, we have an advantage today in that we have all of the Bible. We have the 66 books, we have the New Testament, and the Old Testament. And we can read all of these books together. Now back in 2 Peter 1 and verse 19, 2 Peter chapter 1 and verse 19 again, you'll notice here, it says, we are to take heed to prophecy as a light that shines in a dark place because prophecy illuminates.

Prophecy gives us the opportunity to see. Now until notice a certain time, until the day dawns, when is it dark? Well, it's dark at night. But when it starts getting light and it begins to dawn, then you can see. I can remember many times out sitting in a hunting blind, and you're out there an hour or so before daylight, and you're sitting there. You can't see a thing. I mean, you hear all kinds of sounds, and you don't know what they are. But as the day begins to dawn, you can't see anything, but as it gets brighter, first of all, you begin to see a little bit because the direct rays of the sun are not up. And you look around, and you can see a tree over here, and you can see a bush over there, and maybe you see a squirrel running around. But as it gets lighter and lighter, guess what? You see everything. And after a while, when the sun's up, well, you can see vast distances depending on where you're situated. There is coming a time when the day will dawn, when the light will shine and come back, and the morning star arises. It will be a time of change that will take place. A time coming in history when there will be a dawn and there will be no more darkness, when you find there will be understanding of light. Now, when the morning star, I don't know how many of you know what the morning star is, when the morning star is present, dawn is not too far behind. Morning star could be a couple of planets, could be the last star or two that you see before the sun comes up. And when it starts getting light like that, and you can only see maybe a planet being reflected up there or one or two stars, you know that daylight, the dawn, is not too far behind. Now, there will come a time when the world will be lit up, so to speak. And Malachi 4, beginning in verse 2, talks about a time, but to you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings, and you shall go out and grow fat like salt-fed calves. There is going to come a time when Jesus Christ will return to this earth, and the world will be illuminated. The world will have light. The world will have knowledge. The world will have understanding. But that time is not here yet. You know, parts of prophecy are not clear.

There will come a time when our understanding will be clear. We understand more today, I think, because we know where we are in time sequence. You and I have the opportunity, rare opportunity, that the apostles did not have of being able to look back over the last 2,000 years of history. You see, they didn't have the advantage that we do. We have the advantage of 2,000 years of history of looking back at events that have transpired, that have happened.

And we've seen the resurrections of the revivals of the Roman Empire. When Peter wrote, he did not know anything about the beast. He did not know anything about the beast having a deadly wound, about that wound being healed, about the revivals of that system, because that had not been written down yet in the book of Revelation. You and I have the advantage of not having those prophecies and looking ahead and wondering with many of them, how are they going to be fulfilled? We have the advantage of having them and looking back and seeing how they were fulfilled. And the encouraging thing is, the more you study prophecy, especially those that were prophesied, and then those prophecies hundreds of years, maybe thousands of years later, happen, it gives you the confidence to know that prophecy is sure, that those that have already been fulfilled have been just like clockwork, that God has fulfilled them. And those in the future will likewise be fulfilled.

So, you and I understand that there's coming a time when prophecy will be fulfilled.

Let's turn back to the book of Daniel again, Daniel chapter 12.

I referred to a couple of verses here, but let's go back and answer the question, when are the major part of these prophecies to be fulfilled? In verse 1, Daniel chapter 12, at that time, Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that time. And at that time, your people shall be delivered, everyone who was found written in the book. So, there's coming a time of trouble, unlike without parallel in the history of mankind that will occur at the end time. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, so a resurrection, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament.

So, you find that those who will be in the family of God, the kingdom of God, will shine like the stars, like the sun, brightness in the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever. But you, Daniel, he goes on to say, shut up the words, seal the books until the time of the end, and many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

Now, I want you to notice specifically what is said. Shut up the words.

You know, if you shut up a book, if I tell you all, shut your books up, you can't read them.

And if a book figuratively is shut up, then you're not able to understand that book.

Then it says, seal the book. So the book is sealed until the time of the end, as the Bible says.

And then in verse 4, then I, Daniel, looked, and there stood two others, one on this river bank and the other on that river bank.

And one said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, how long shall the fulfillment of these wonders be? So when is all of this going to happen? When will it all be fulfilled? Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand, his left hand to heaven, and swore by him, who lives forever, that it shall be for time, times, and half-time. So three and a half years, 1260 days or years prophetically. And when the power of the holy people have been completely shattered, and these things shall be finished. And although I heard, I did not understand. So he heard, but he did not comprehend. Then I said, My Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed. When? Until the time of the end. So the book of Daniel was not meant to be understood until the time of the end.

You need the book of Revelation to go along with the book of Daniel to be able to fully understand it. Now verse 10 tells us who will understand it. There's going to come a time when he says, When many shall be purified, made white, and refined. So it will be a time of testing and trial, coming upon the people of God. But the wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand. The wicked will continue in darkness, spiritual blindness, but the wise shall understand.

Now why would the wise understand? Well, good understanding have all they who keep his laws.

That's one thing. And you find that the Spirit of God gives us understanding, does it not?

1 Corinthians 2 verse 9, Eyes not seen, ears not heard, and neither is entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared. But God has revealed them to us by His Spirit. And it goes on to say, Yea, the Spirit of God searches the deep things of God and reveals to us knowledge, understanding, and comprehension. And so it depends on those who are wise.

Now, I think many Church of God groups in the past have not understood prophecy. Many still do not. And I'm not saying we understand it completely because we don't. Let's go back to Revelation chapter 3. You'll find in Revelation 3, remember Revelation chapter 2 and 3 are the letters to these seven churches. The seven churches were seven literal churches that existed in Asia Minor. Prophetically, they're a type of the history of the Church. Also, they show attitudes among the Church. Because these seven churches existed simultaneously in the first century. The attitudes that you find that each one of these personified, you find also among the peoples of God. And you find here in verse 1 to the angel of the Church in Sardis, right?

These things says, he who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your works, that you have a name, that you are alive, but you're dead. Be watchful and strengthen the things that remain that are ready to die. For I've not found your works perfect before God.

And verse 3, remember, therefore, how you have received and heard.

Hold and repent. Therefore, if you do not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. Now, how can Christ come back as a thief?

Unless somebody's asleep, somebody's not watching, somebody is unaware. If you knew that somebody was going to break into your house on a given night, you'd be very aware. You'd be up, maybe you contacted the police. You would be looking out for these individuals, any noises, anything that would happen. You would be ready for it. Well, you find that here's a church where they seem to be asleep. And when Christ comes back, it's, oh, wow! All at once, He's here, and they didn't expect it.

In 1 Thessalonians 5, we're warned and admonished that you and I should not be this way, beginning in verse 1. 1 Thessalonians 5, and beginning in verse 1. But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. The day of the Lord is the time of God's intervention, the day of the Lord is mentioned over 30 prophecies in the Bible. It's the time of God's intervention at the end time when God Himself steps in, begins to punish the nations, and begins to fulfill the prophecies at the end time. For when they say, so there's going to come a time when leaders and people will say, peace and safety. So God says one of the things to look out for when the nations begin to say, now we have peace, some type of a peace accord or treaty is signed, then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape.

Now all of you women know exactly what this is talking about, don't you? My wife and I have had five children. I use that term loosely. We have had five children. She has borne five children.

I've had a part in it. But what you find, a woman can go six, seven, eight, you get towards that ninth month, and she's going along, and all at once, you get a pain. And then there's another one.

And by the time you begin to clock them, it may be too late because the baby is coming.

Well, you find this is exactly what God is saying here. It's about a woman who is pregnant, and suddenly her labor pains come upon her. God says that's exactly the way it will be at the end time, when sudden destruction will come upon the nations. But you, brethren, you see, we are not in darkness. We should not be in ignorance in darkness, lacking understanding, so that that day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light. And again, light being symbolic of understanding and knowledge. In sons of the day, we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. So one of the admonitions you find from one end of the Bible to the other. You go back to Luke 21.36. Watch and pray always.

We're told to watch here. You and I are to watch. We are to watch what? Well, we're to watch world news. We're to watch what's going on around us, so that we don't go to sleep. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober. See, if you're of the day, not of the night, then you can see. So we're of the day, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. So what you'll find, events at the end time, will come on the world as a thief in the night. A thief doesn't advertise when he's coming. He hopes you're not home, and he will try to rob you and break into your house. Well, God says this is the way it will be. So you and I are not to be asleep. We are to be awake. We are to watch. Now, Matthew 25 talks about those who have fallen asleep. And I want you to notice, actually, everybody does. Matthew chapter 25, beginning here in verse 1, Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom, the bridegroom being Christ. Bridegroom's getting married, so they get ready, and they're going to go out and meet the bridegroom. Now, five of them were wise, and five were foolish. And those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them. So you have your lamps, but the lamp will only hold a certain amount of oil. So you've got to have a pot of oil over here on the side that you keep refilling this. Any of you ever have a kerosene lamp? When I grew up, we didn't have electricity in the house, and that wasn't true everywhere, but a few places we lived.

And we had kerosene lamps, and so you had to refill those kerosene lamps every day.

And so he's talking about having a supply of oil. The wise took oil and their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, so I think down through every age, people have wondered, is Christ coming my day? Is He coming now? And you find He was delayed. They all slumbered and slept.

So not just part of them, but they all slumbered, and they all slept.

But at midnight, when He got close, at midnight, a cry was heard, Behold, the bridegroom is coming! Go out to meet Him! And all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.

So they're trimming the lamps. As you know, the wick needs to be trimmed so it burns correctly.

And the foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.

Now, oil is symbolic of God's Spirit. So here are those who are not filled with God's Spirit.

Their lamps, their light is about to go out. 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 yourself.

So if you want oil, you've got to do what's necessary to get the oil.

So how do we have more of God's Spirit? Well, that comes through staying close to God's Prayer on a daily basis. Bible study, fasting occasionally. You're where we stay close to God, and our lamps, our batteries are recharged so that we have a sufficient supply of oil.

Now, in verse 10, 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.

Afterwards, the other virgins came, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you. Watch, therefore, for you know not, you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

See, they had all known the exact hour that the bridegroom was going to show up.

See, what happens a lot of times is the same type of thing that happens, or has happened, in the early part of our country. Man and woman get married, they go off, maybe their honeymoon, and then the bridegroom comes back, and there's a big celebration thrown, you know, afterwards. Or they can get married, not everybody's invited, but then they come, and everybody meets them at their home, or wherever it might be. Well, you find that when the bridegroom showed up, they knew he was coming. They were not ready.

Revelation 19, I think it is, and verse 17. Revelation 19. I'm trying to quote this off the top of my head here. I don't think that's what I was referring to here. Yeah, verse 7 and 8. Revelation 19, verse 8, it says, Let us be glad and rejoice and give him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready. So when the marriage comes, Christ comes back, he's going to marry his bride. The bride has made herself ready. To her it was granted to be a raid and fine linen. Clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous act of the saints.

Then he said to me, Right, blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me, These are the true sayings of God. So what you find, brethren, we've been invited to the marriage supper. We have to be ready. We have to have the proper garments on. You remember what happened when somebody came into the marriage supper and did not have the proper garments? He was kicked out. Proper garments are doing what's right, having God's Spirit and serving God. So, brethren, in order to see, you and I have to have oil, the Holy Spirit. Now, let's notice in 1 Peter chapter 1. Let's go over here to 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 9.

1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 9. Notice concerning prophecy and what happened to the angels of God and the servants of God before. He was talking about the plan of salvation.

In verse 9, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

So the fact that we believe and as we know without faith it's impossible to please God, we will have the salvation of your souls. Of this salvation, the prophets have inquired and searched carefully who prophesied of the grace that would come to you.

Searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when he testified beforehand the suffering of Christ and the glory that would follow. What you find is that the prophets prophesied of the plan of salvation of Christ's coming or the grace that was going to come, but they didn't fully understand. They didn't fully understand the timing of the prophecies that they gave. They didn't fully understand the entire plan of salvation. And verse 11 or verse 12 says, "...to them it was revealed that not to themselves but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things which angels desire to look into." See, even the angels don't fully comprehend what God is doing. Can you imagine the angels looking down on this earth when God recreated it? And God took dirt, made a man, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, took a rib and flesh out of the man, and made a woman. And God said, look, I'm going to create a family, and this is the beginning, and this is how it's going to happen. And they stand back, and they've got to be amazed at what God is doing, and they shake their heads. They don't fully comprehend how God is working out his plan. Well, brethren, there's going to come a time in the future when Jesus Christ returns, and the world is going to fully understand. Let's notice in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. 1 Corinthians 13, verse 8.

We sang this song earlier about the gift of charity.

Verse 8 says, Love never fails, but whether there are prophecies, they will fail.

Where there are tongues, they will cease. And where there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

For we know in part, this is talking and describing us today, we know in part, and we prophesy in part. See, we don't fully understand all the prophecies. We prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect, or complete, has come, then that which is in part shall be done away. So there's going to come a time when knowing in part disappears. We will know fully. He says, When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I felt as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things. But now we see in a mirror, dimly. Now we look at dimly, or in a mirror, and we see dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. So you and I only see in part today.

We prophesy in part. We don't see clearly. But as we get closer to the end time, brethren, God has promised that He will give us clearer understanding.

So what we find simply is this. That prophecy is like a light. It illuminates the way.

It points the direction. It tells us what's going to happen in advance. As we get closer to the second coming of Jesus Christ, we will understand more clearly.

We are in the time of the morning star before the dawn. The dawn isn't here yet. We don't see clearly yet. When the sun arises, we will have perfect understanding. We'll see clearly, just as I described when the sun comes up. You can see. We're in the time of the morning star before the dawn. In the millennium, the world will be lit with God's truth, His way of life.

Prophetically, people will understand more clearly because they will be able to look back, and they will have seen all these things that have happened. Just think about that first generation who's lived through everything that the Bible prophesies is going to happen.

There's going to come a time when ignorance, superstition, and misunderstanding will be eliminated. In Revelation 21, we find this time described, Revelation chapter 21, beginning in verse 1. It says, Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and also there will be no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down as out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them. And they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them, and be their God. And then we find at that time that God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There should be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Now, in verse 22, in the new Jerusalem, new earth at that time, I want you to notice. He says, I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple. And the city has no need of the sun or the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it, and the Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory and their honor into it. And so in the time of the new heavens and the new earth, God will be the light. The whole earth will be illuminated by his brilliance and by his power. There'll be no darkness.

Now, this is talking literally about what will happen, but it is also talking figuratively.

Meaning that there will be no more spiritual darkness or ignorance. All human beings will have had an opportunity to understand God's way to respond to it. And those who have responded in a positive manner will be in the family of God and will live forever. So, brethren, let's realize that there is coming a day when the darkness will be eliminated. That will begin in the millennium, will continue right through the Y-thrown judgment, and for all eternity.

So, you and I are looking forward and do look forward to the time when Jesus Christ will return, and we shall fully understand at that time.