The Song of Songs, Part 3

And both the sermonette and that particular song there tie very much into the sermon here. I'm going to be bringing here this afternoon, biting in God's love and following Jesus Christ. Last Sabbath, as you remember, I gave part two of my three-part series of sermons on the Song of Songs, which is labeled as the Song of Solomon, most of our Bibles. And I mentioned how the Jewish Old Testament commentary, San Sino, divides the Song of Songs into five segments. And I gave the theme of the first two segments last time. The first segment is from Song of Songs, I should say, 1-1-2-7, which spiritually touches on our calling and commitment. And of course, we're going through this from a spiritual aspect, looking at allegorically as it has spiritual lessons, it applies to us spiritually. The second segment is from Song of Songs 2, verse 8-3-5.

And spiritually, it focuses on anticipation and escape. On our anticipation of Christ's return and our escape from the Great Tribulation, which is to come upon the whole world for three and a half years prior to Christ's returns.

Now, segment 2 concludes, as we went through last time, with the Shulamite's first of two dreams, where the Shulamite persists in singing your beloved until she finally finds him.

And she keeps following as that song just said. She follows him. And then she finally finds him when she then says, in Song of Songs chapter 3, verse 4, When I found the one I love, I held him and would not let him go until I brought him to the house of my mother. In other words, implication is until I came to the time for our marriage, day for us to get married.

And I showed last time that seeking and finding Christ, our beloved, is much more than just knowing who Christ is and knowing what he taught. He has to go far deeper than that. To truly find Christ and to find, is to find and incorporate the very mind of Christ into our lives, so we begin becoming like Christ. That's to really find him, is to find his mind and then develop that mind in us and develop his very character in us, so become like him. And then never letting go of that, never letting go of our calling and commitment, no matter what, how difficult it is, what comes up, what happens in our life. And not letting anything ever come between us in our relationship with Jesus Christ and God the Father. As she said, when I found him, I held him and would not let him go until it was time for our marriage. Now today then, in part three, the last part in this series, I will conclude by first expounding more deeply on Song of Songs 6.13, which I touched on, when the Shulamite asked her beloved, would you see in the Shulamite, what would you see in the Shulamite? Would you see, as it were, the dance of two camps?

We'll go more deeply into that.

And I will also expand on the expound on the Shulamite's second dream, which is far more dramatic and far more troublesome than our first dream, but it does have a positive outcome, as I said. And I'll also briefly touch on the themes of the last three of the five segments of the Song of Songs. So my title is the Song of Songs Part 3, the Shulamite's Second Dream, which is the main thing we're going to look at and focus on today.

You have to stop and think, when you go through this, you think about it, and you look at it allegorically, as it could apply to Christ's relationship to the Church and the Church's relationship to Christ in a spiritual sense.

You have to look down and think, what is Jesus Christ? He's the head of the Church.

What does he see in God's Church today? What does he see? What does he see? Does he see, as it were, the dance of two camps instead of one large group of united people as one camp? Let's go there and read that again. Start there in Song of Songs, chapter 6, verse 13. But we have to realize this is actually in, this is in segment 5, the fifth segment of the Song of Songs, as it's divided by the Jews. So that has some meanings we'll see later. But it says, again, the beloved, the Shulamite, is return, return, O Shulamite, return, return, that we may look upon you.

And she replies the latter part of verse 13, what would you see in the Shulamite, as it were, the dance of two camps?

However, in the context in which this is actually placed here in segment 5, this actually takes on a very positive meaning, as we'll see at the end of the sermon.

But as you think about it, how would that apply to God's church today, to God's people, wherever they are?

Who might those two camps represent at this particular time in the history of God's church?

As we all know, God's church is a spiritual organism, it's a spiritual body, not a physical corporation or a physical body.

It consists of all those who have God's Holy Spirit, regardless of what corporate body or independent group they're with, intend with.

So when it comes to these two camps, then what possible two camps might this be referring to today? Well, one possibility, which I touched on last time, would be sheep and goats, which Christ will separate at his return, as Christ himself tells us in the parable of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25 verses 31 to 46, which I just touched on last time. So I guess a good question to ask is, what is the difference between a sheep and a goat?

Well, sheep follow the shepherd. They go where he leads them.

Now, Kasey and one will go astray, and the shepherd will have to go out there and forsake the ninety and nine, if I had to bring the one that went astray back in. But they generally don't launch out on their own. They generally follow the shepherd, which is why sheep are sometimes called dumb sheep, because they don't go contrary to the shepherd. They don't launch out on their own, independent of their shepherd normally. They have faith in their shepherd, and they usually go where he leads them.

Goats, in the other hand, are different. Goats are very smart. You know, you can lock a goat in a pan, have a nice lock on there, and then you find that the goat will figure out how to take that lock off, unlock it, and get out of the pan.

See, rather than follow a shepherd, they tend to figure things out for themselves and figure out how to open a gate or get out of a pan.

As I mentioned this morning, our son Dan, he's... they've lived in two places there in Michigan, and they had goats in both places. They have goats now, and they had goats prior... prior to this, where they are now, and they had a barn where they were, and they kept the goats in the barn in their pan. And then occasionally he would take them out, and he'd stake them outside so they could graze, and then take them back in. But they're in this barn, and one end of the barn was open, and the barn's locked, but it's open on one end with just about a seven-foot-high fence. It's open to the outside. And my son Dan would go out there, and everyone would say, well, I see a goat on the outside that he hadn't let out. He'd say, how was that goat getting out of that pan? That's a seven-foot-high fence. He can't jump over that fence. One day he caught him.

What that goat did, he'd get a runny start, and he hit the side of the barn as busy as he could, propel himself with his feet off of that over the fence.

Goats figured it out. That's how smart they are. If they want to get out and go on their own, they do. So, goats are very smart. They think and act independently, doing what they want to do when they want to do it, rather than waiting for their shepherd or owner to lead them. Now, you can judge for yourselves how to apply that spiritually.

But what's another possibility as to who these two camps might represent?

Could it possibly apply to Christ's separate messages to the churches in Philadelphia and Laodicea? What does Christ's message to the church in Philadelphia have in common with the Shulamites' first dream? Because those are two very different dreams. The first dream, the second dream is very different from the first dream. It almost shows a totally different Shulamites, as we'll see. But let's look at the first dream first, and the message to the church in Philadelphia. What do those two have in common? In her first dream, she continued to seek her beloved until she finally found him. And then, once she found him, she wouldn't let go until she was ready for her marriage to him. So let's now look at Christ's message to the church in Philadelphia and see how that might relate to that first dream. Let's go to Revelation chapter 3, verse 7. Revelation 3, verse 7, the church, excuse me, after the angel of the church in Philadelphia, right, these things says, he who is holy, who is to, he's referring to Jesus Christ, says he who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of David, he who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens, not even a goat.

You know, I gave an entire sermon on that a couple years ago, showing the biblical interpretation of what that means, what the key of David really is, has actually given in Isaiah 22, because this verse here that we just read is actually a direct quote from Isaiah 22, verse 22. I'm not going to go through all that, but I'm just going to summarize the lesson. In Isaiah 22, you have this man by the name of Eliakim, who was labeled as a faithful servant to the king, and nobody can get to see the king unless they go through Eliakim. If Eliakim says, hey, the door is open, you can go see the king and have an audience with them, then they could go see the king. If he suspected something, and he said, no, you can't go see the king, and he wouldn't allow him to see him, then you couldn't get past Eliakim. You couldn't go see the king, the door would be closed. He was called a faithful servant. While Christ, Eliakim, is a type of Christ. Christ is the faithful servant of his father, and as a sesperate right here in Revelation 3.7, is Christ who holds the key of David today, which means only Christ will determine who will be in the kingdom of God and who won't. He calls the key to the door to the kingdom of God. If Christ shuts that door to someone, there's no way they can open it. But if he lets us someone says, yes, this person, I'm going to let them in, I'm opening the door for them, no one can close it. No one can keep you out.

You know, as Christ himself said, the Father has committed all judgment to the Son, John 5.22. And Christ also said, I am the door of the sheep. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved, John 10.7-9. And there's no other way, no other door you can go through but Jesus Christ. He is the only door. He's the only one that can open or shut entrance into the kingdom of God.

Now, for Christ to open that door for you and me, we, like a lycov in Isaiah 22, must become faithful servants. Let's continue here in Revelation 3. Revelation 3.8, I know your works. I have said before you an open door. He says, this group of people here with this attitude, with this approach, the door is open for you and no one can close it except yourselves.

I know your works. I said before you an open door and no one can shut it.

For you have just a little strength but you have kept my word. You've been faithful to my word and through all kinds of trials and problems and people trying to get between you but you've kept my word even though maybe you've lost your jobs. Had a lot of trials, it hurt you financially but you've kept my word. You remain faithful. You've not denied my name.

You've persevered. You've loved one another as I loved you. You haven't denied my name by trusting in yourselves or by going your own way. Verse 9, so indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews and are not but lie, I will make them come and worship before your feet and to know that I have loved you because you have kept my command to persevere. You persevered through all kinds of trials and difficulties and setbacks and health problems and facing death, maybe. And because you've kept my command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of trial which is to come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth.

And that's even implied that by testing being tested by the tribulations that come upon the whole world and she's been tested and proven faithful, that's even implied in the Shulamites first dream where she says she goes into the city and into the streets and squares seeking your beloved. However, she goes right into she has to live in this world. She has to face all the temptations and things in this world that can try to get between you and your relationship with God. But she persevered and she endured that. We have to do the same thing. We have to persevere in keeping the truth in a world that's going the exact opposite direction of the way of God. And that's not easy. Verse 11 of Revelation 3, Behold, I am coming quickly. Hold fast what you have. Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. Or as the Shulamites portrayed in her first dream, when I found the one I love, I held him and I would not let him go. As it says here, hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. Going on in verse 12, he who overcomes I will make him a pillar of the temple of my God. He shall go out no more and I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God and I will write on him my new name. He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. So Christ's message to the church in Philadelphia in many ways ties in directly to the Shulamites' first dream. Now between the Shulamites' first dream and a second dream is segment 3 of the Song of Songs, which begins in Song of Songs chapter 3 verse 6 and goes through chapter 5 verse 1. And the underlying themes of segment 3 are rescue and safety, very much parallel to a large degree, segment 2. In fact, segment 3 directly links to and even overlaps segment 2, who seems our anticipation and escape. Of course, we first have to escape from the glory, riches, pleasures, and temptations of this world, as portrayed by Psalm and Psalmist's court in Song of Songs 3, 6 through 3, 11 at the very beginning of segment 3.

And once we escape and reject those temptations, escape from the temptations of the world and hold fast to God's truth, we develop instead the mind of Christ in us. Then it says in Revelation, we'll be given the wings of a great eagle to escape from the tribulation that is to come upon the whole world, as we covered last time. And I'm going to go to again just a moment here.

But let's notice what happens at that time, which ties into the theme of rescue in segment 3 of the Song of Songs. I'm talking about just before Revelation 12, just before God's church is going to be protected. It's called Revelation 12. Revelation 12, again read verse 14, which I just referred to. Revelation 12 and verse 14 says, the woman was given, the woman being symbolic of the church, was given two wings of a great eagle that she might fly into the wilderness to her place where she is nourished for a time and times and a half a time, or three and a half years, from the presence of the serpent. But what happens just before this? What happens before she gets to this place of safety, if you want to call it that, so she can be nourished for three and a half years from the presence of the serpent? Going on in verse 15, the serpent spewed out water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood.

But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood, which the dragon has spewed out of its mouth. So first, she must supernaturally be rescued from Satan, from the serpent here trying to take, swallow her up, which then becomes a major theme of segment three, which which disappears here in the Song of Songs.

But to be among those who are going to be rescued at this time, as given here in Revelation, it's when this tells us here, what must we do first? Well, a theme especially that comes to my mind is we must practice what is called pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father, which is this, to visit orphans and widows in their trouble and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. That's in James 1, verse 27. Keep oneself unspotted from the world.

And if we do that, I believe this is what Christ is going to say to us as recorded in Song of Songs. Let's go back to the Song of Songs, because as you'll see, this ties in directly to what we just read about, keep yourself unspotted from the world. We wrote it from James 1, 27.

Song of Songs, chapter 4, verse 1. I think those who keep themselves unspotted from the world and they persevere, Christ will look down and say, Behold, you are fair, my love. Behold, you are fair.

And then going to verse 7, You are all fair, my love. Why? Because there is no spot in you. You have kept yourselves unspotted from the world. You remain faithful to God's word, God's laws, God's principles, going contrary to the way the world is going.

Going down to verse 8, what will happen as a result of that? As a result of ourselves being kept, keeping ourselves unspotted from the world.

Then I think Christ will say, this is recorded in Song of Songs 4, verse 8. Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon. Look from the top of Amana, from the top of Senor, and for Herman. Come with me from the lion's dance, from the mountains of the leopards. Interesting. Come with me from, you keep yourself unspotted from the world, and if you do, then before that tribulation comes, come with me from the lion's dance, from those who would seek to devour you and destroy you and take away your crown. Now, I all remember what it says in 1 Peter 5a. The devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. That's the world we live in. So we all need to be rescued from the lion's dance. Now, notice verse 9, the Song of Songs 4. Again, this is the beloved, speaking to the Shulamite. You have ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse. You have ravished my heart.

Because of that, God will rescue us and protect us in a secret place from the great tribulation, as implied in verse 12. A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse. A spring shut up. A fountain sealed. What's going to happen next? Well, then next, a cold north wind, a wind of destruction, if you will, will begin to blow upon the world. But a pleasant, warm south wind will blow upon God's people in this enclosed garden. Read that in Song of Songs 4, verse 16. The Shulamites says, Awake, O North Wind! It's going to wake once this portion of God's people is in this secret garden. They're being protected. That's going to blow upon the world, and it's going to be a great tribulation, a very destructive, cold north wind. But then it says, And come, O South, come, O South, when it blow upon my garden, that his spices may flow out, and let my beloved come to his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits, to call Christ to come to his garden, to nourish God's people for three and a half years. Let my beloved come to his garden, and eat his fruits, and see the fruits that are being produced. And then you continue the last part of this segment, is in chapter 5, verse 1, last verse in segment 3. It's the beloved now responding. That's what we just read in verse 16.

I have come to my garden, my sister, my spouse. I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey. I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends, drink. Yes, drink deeply, O beloved ones. Now, it's noteworthy to just analyze this a little bit, because spice honey and milk are milder products, which are more for the young, while myrrh, honeycomb, and wine are stronger products, which are for those who are older and more mature. Paul used that analogy in 1 Corinthians 3, verses 1 and 2, where he wrote, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food, because you were not able to receive it. But these people here are going to be able to receive solid food, the deep things of God, from Christ himself. Solid food like myrrh, honeycomb, and wine. This verse, then, chapter 5, verse 1, ends segment 3, and segment 4 begins in chapter 5, verse 2, with the Shulamites' second dream. So, segment 4 begins with the Shulamites' second dream. Now, we must all unconditionally prove our love for Jesus Christ, for God the Father. Everybody's going to have to prove that before they meet in God's kingdom. Psalm will have to prove that in the Tribulation.

But you start looking at this dream she has here, starting in verse 2 of chapter 5. It's a very dramatic and abrupt change that takes place in the story. The story shifts.

It's almost as if the Shulamites having this dream here is a different Shulamite than the one that had the first dream. It's almost like a two totally different Shulamites that would be inferred to here.

Like a different camp or a different category of God's people when you look at the second dream. Segment 4 begins here with a very realistic and a very frightening dream. You could almost say it's a nightmare. Now, section 3 ends with the beloved coming to the Shulamites so they can be together at last forever. But this section begins very differently from that. Suddenly, here in the Shulamites' second dream, she finds herself unexplainably separated from her beloved. So all of a sudden, she begins seeking Him as never before. She goes all out and seeking Him like she never has before. But as she does that, she encounters a great deal of difficulty, a tremendous amount of trials and difficulties, which brings to mind two scriptures, which I want to quote before going into her second dream. I'll just quote them. First one is on Isaiah 55 verse 6, which says, Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Why? Because as the second scripture I like to quote says, and this is from Christ Himself in John 9 verse 2, the night is coming when no one can work. The night is coming when it's going to be very difficult to seek Christ and seek the truth. Let's now begin to go through the Shulamite second dream as begins here in Psalm of Songs chapter 5 verse 2. She says, I sleep but my heart is awake. She's asleep, but it's like this dream is so real that she's awake and it's very realistic. It's like she's really living it. Her heart's awake and it's affecting her feelings very deeply. I sleep but my heart is awake. It's the voice of my beloved. She's hearing this in her dream. And He's knocking on the door. He knocks saying, open for me my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one. My head is covered with a dew, my locks with the drops of the night.

Now, I want to pause here for a moment because I want us all to notice how this directly ties in with Christ's message to the Church of the Laodiceans.

Put a marker here and let's turn to Revelation 3 verse 14. We'll begin there. Revelation 3 verse 14, and the angel of the Church of the Laodiceans write, these things says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God, again referring to Jesus Christ. He says, I know your works that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were either cold or hot, but because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I'm going to spew you out of my mouth. So a big question is, in what way were they lukewarm? What's this do I be talking about? Well, when you look at the context, and we'll even see it right here in a moment, but in the context, they were lukewarm in their conversion. They thought they were richly converted, but they spiritually blinded themselves to their real conversion. Going on in verse 17, because you say, I'm rich, spiritually, you're not talking about being physically rich here, it's talking about spiritual riches. Because you say, I'm rich and become wealthy, you're wealthy spiritually, you know everything, you're very spiritual in your own eyes, and you have really need of nothing. You do not know that, spiritually speaking, you're really wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. Now, how are we naked spiritually? What does it mean to be naked spiritually? What do we have to be clothed with? We have to be clothed with the righteousness of Christ. And if we're not clothed with the righteousness of Christ, we're spiritually naked before God. So he says, I call to you then, verse 18, to buy me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed, and anoint your eyes with eyesab that you may not may see.

Now, because they're only lukewarm in their conversion, they're going to have to be refined in the fire. They're going to have to go through further trials. They're going to have to go into a great tribulation to be further refined so they can really learn what true righteousness is. They can really be able to put on the righteousness of Jesus Christ. They have to do that through the tribulation, because right now Christ looks at you, they're only clothed with their own righteousness. And that's like being naked. We have to be clothed with the righteousness of Christ on our own righteousness. Verse 19, as many as I love are rebuke and chasten therefore be zealous and repent.

Now, I want you to know very carefully what the next verse says and how it directly ties in to Song of Songs 5.2 and the beginning of the Shulamites' second dream. Revelation 3, verse 20, verse 21, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him, and he with me. I stand at the door and knock.

Let's go back and read that verse again in Song of Songs 5.2, the beginning of the Shulamites' second dream. Song of Songs 5.2, I sleep and my heart is awake as the voice of my beloved. He knocks.

We just read, I stand at the door and knock. He knocks, saying, Open for me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one, for my head is covered with a dew, my locks are the drops of the night. He's knocking. In her dream, she hears his voice and he's knocking at the door.

He wants her to open up her life to him, open up her heart to him. How does she respond?

Does she immediately open the door or does she instead make excuses? Verse 3 of Song of Psalm 5. Oh, I've taken off my robe. How can I put it on again? I've already gone to bed.

I already put my clothes away. I've taken off my robe. I've already washed my feet. How can I defile them? I can go out and open the door now and get my feet dirty again.

So rather than open the door and letting him in, instead she makes excuses. Do I ever do that? Do any of us ever do that? Do any of us ever say, well, I don't have time to pray and study and meditate on God's Word. I'm too busy. I've got to get to work.

I can't overcome this problem because it's just too ingrained in me. I've had this problem since I was a little kid. It's too difficult. See, it's easy to make excuses or put things off, but how long can we do that before it's too late? Song of Songs 5, verse 4. My beloved put his hand by the latch of the door. She's now in her dream. She says, oh, he's right there.

He's got his hand on the door. He's trying to open the door, but it's locked. And my heart yearned for him. So finally, she says, I rose to open the door. From my beloved father, she just couldn't do anything. She got up to open the door. I rose to open the door from my beloved. My hand dripped with my finger with liquid myrrh on the handles of the lock. So finally, with great anxiety, she goes to open the door.

Why so much anxiety? Why so much yearning? Because the question now becomes, would he still be there? Would he still be there to receive her, or would it be too late? Verse 6. I opened for my beloved, but my beloved had turned away and was gone. My heart leaped when he spoke. I sawed him, but I could not find him. I called him, but he gave me no answer.

It was too late. She had put off letting Christ into her life and into her heart for too long. Notice this warning in the book of Proverbs, because now night was setting in, the tribulation was beginning. Let's go to Proverbs 1. Proverbs 1, beginning in verse 24. In verse 24. Because I have called you and you refused, because I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, because you disdained all my counsel and would have none of my rebuke, so I will also laugh at your calamity and I will mock when your terror comes, when your terror comes like a storm and your destruction comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.

Notice verse 28. Because then they will call on me and I will not answer. They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. Just as portrayed in the Shulamite's second dream, I opened for my beloved, but my beloved had turned away and was gone. I sought him, but I couldn't find him. I called him, but he gave me no answer. Now, going back to Revelation, after the earth helped the woman, as we saw in Revelation 12 verse 16, what happens next? Let's go back again to Revelation 12. Revelation 12 verse 17. And the dragon was enraged with the woman, with the church that was still left.

And he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Now, some have been rescued, but others have not been rescued, and Satan goes after them with a vengeance. He goes after those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Now, think about that. That's an extremely insightful verse. What does it tell us? It tells us there's much more to our calling than keeping the commandments of God and having the true testimony of Jesus Christ.

We've got to have that, but there's much more to it. It must go deeper than that. It has to penetrate into our hearts and minds, which means what? It means we have to have the right attitude to go along with it. When we say have a humble, repentant attitude in addition to keeping the commandments of God and having the testimony of Christ, that's not just a one-time thing you do before baptism.

We have to have a repentant attitude throughout our lives, and a humble attitude throughout our lives. Let's go back now to the Song of Songs. What happens next in the Shulamite second dream to bring about that proper attitude that Christ is looking for in His bride? Song, Song 5, verse 7. She says, the watchman who went about the city, they found Me. This is different. The other one, she went out into the city in the squares, and she had to fight and had to resist.

But here it says, the watchman who went about the city found Me. What happened when they found her? They struck Me. They wounded Me. It's like she's in a time of great tribulation now. The keepers of the walls took My veil away from Me. So she's no longer under God's veil of protection here. She's now in the middle of a great tribulation. You know, unfortunately, the time when we can really learn to appreciate something the most is sometimes after it's been taken away from us. Which happens here. Verse 8 of Song of Songs 5, she says, here again, I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you can find My beloved, let Him know that I'm lovesick.

Tell Him how much I really do love Him and how much I appreciate the calling He has given me. Let me know how much I love His truth. Notice what comes next. Next we have the daughters of Jerusalem, some of the people who are yet to be called, asking questions to this Shulamite. And she is now struggling in this huge, terrible time of tribulation. She is now repenting. She's trying to hold on to God's truth and follow God and obey God and show God how much she loves God.

And others notice that. The daughters of Jerusalem, they ask her, well, what is your beloved more than another beloved, O fairest among women? What is your beloved more than another beloved that you should so charge us to be able to find Him and find out where He is? Why is your calling so special to you now, all of a sudden? It didn't seem all that concerned before. That's kind of the implication here.

See, some are going to have to prove their unconditional love for God and to prove how precious God's calling is during the tribulation. Here is the Shulamites' response, and here's how we must all come to view Jesus Christ. Song of Songs 5, verse 10, she says, this is why I want you to find Him. I'll tell you, my beloved is white and ready. He's chief among ten thousand. There's no one like my beloved. There's no relationship I can have that could be as good as that.

I want my relationship with Jesus Christ and God the Father. He is chief among all other relationships. There's no relationship like that one. He is chief among ten thousand. His head is like the finest gold.

I want Christ to be my head. I don't want to leave myself anymore. I want Christ to leave me. I want to follow Him and trust Him wherever He leads me. I want to treasure Him as the finest gold.

It's reminiscent of what Christ said in Matthew 6, do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, for where your treasure is there your heart will be also. Matthew 6, verses 19 to 21. Then the daughters of Jerusalem asked her this in Psalm of Songs, chapter 6, verse 1. She says, Where is your beloved, Don? Where is He? O fairest among women. Where has your beloved turned? Decide. Where is He? That we may seek Him with you. So now they're here and they're seeing her determination to follow Christ, to follow God, to follow God's truth, even in the midst of tremendous tribulation where she might lose her life. And they say, wow, He must be something special to you. Where is He? That we can seek Him with you. Now they're starting to say, I want to know where He is. They're also going through tribulation. Of course, you've got the two witnesses, too, speaking God's truth. That's going to have a great effect. I'm in.

But in the tribulation, those who prove their love for Christ are going to be influencing others, who had never really known God up to this time, but they're going to want to know more.

And many of them will also begin to seek God, the true God in the tribulation.

As it says in Revelation 7 and 9, a great multitude will become clothed with white robes. And who those be? These are those, the ones who come out of great tribulation, Revelation 7 and 14. It's very interesting what it says in Zechariah. Let's just turn there quickly. Let's go to Zechariah in the minor prophets. Zechariah chapter 8 verse 20. It shows how other people are going to be seeking God in the tribulation when these things happen. When they see some of God's people there, all of a sudden being very fervent and wanting to follow God. Thus says the Lord of hosts, people shall yet come, in the heavens of many cities, and in the heavens of one city shall go to another city, saying, Let us go and pray before the Eternal. Let's find the true God. Let us seek the Lord of hosts, and I, myself, will go with you also. Yes, many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to pray before the Eternal. They're going to want to find Him. Verse 23 especially. Thus says the Lord of hosts, In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall graft the sleeve of a Jewish man, somebody who's converted, who's trying to follow God, and say, Let us go with you. For we have heard that God is with you now. He wants your God to be our God.

It's also interesting that the camp of the Shulamite and the Great Tribulation will know where the other camp is. Going back again to the Song of Songs, chapter 6, verse 2.

The Shulamite. My beloved has gone to his garden. I know where he is.

He's gone to the bed of spices to feed his flock in the gardens. And she says in verse 3, I am my beloved now.

And my beloved is mine.

So now, in this Tribulation, she's finding how much she really loves God, Jesus Christ, and she's taking Him as her own. And he is now loving her as well. This then ends segment 4 of the Song of Songs. Segment 5 begins in verse 4 and goes nearly to the end of the book. It has a very positive outcome. After the Shulamite's second dream, after the Great Tribulation, we'll finally have unification. Gosh, you're just finally going to find unification at last.

On the theme of segment 5, the theme of the concluding segment is unification. But how's that going to come about? What will it take? We all ask ourselves that question. Look at God's people today. They're scattered all over the place in all kinds of different groups. They're anything but unified. What is it going to take for God's Church to become unified? How will Christ and God the Father feel toward those in the Tribulation as they turn to God in repentance? Notice how segment 5 begins with the beloved speaking to the Shulamite. It begins in Song of Songs 6, verse 4. That's where segment 5 begins. The beloved speaking to the Shulamite. As she's repenting now, in this Great Tribulation, she's turning back to God with all of her heart. And he says, Oh, my love, you are as beautiful as Tizra, lovely as Jerusalem, awesome as an army with banners. Turn your eyes away from me, for they have overcome me. Christ here almost seems overcome with emotion, just to look upon her repentant attitude and know how much she's turned back to seeking God. He then compares her to both goats and sheep, as if they are beginning to merge into one. The latter part of verse 5. Your hair is like a flock of goats going down from Gilead. The goats are coming down off their high heel now, and they're coming down to lower ground. I see them, they're coming down. And your teeth are like a flock of sheep, which have come up from washing. That's interesting. So he's comparing goats and sheep, and he's given positive qualities here, like they're coming together in a positive way. But it's interesting, your teeth are like sheep that have been washed. Your teeth are like sheep's teeth that have been washed, I should say. Because sometimes with our words, they can be like teeth. We can hurt people. We can bite them with our words and devour them. And say things that are very critical, be critical. But it's like here, ah, your teeth are washed. You're not doing that anymore. You're saying positive things. You're bringing people up. You're helping them. You're trying to inspire them. You're not putting them down and being critical anymore. That's kind of the spiritual analogy I come up with here, from what it says.

Now that you're in segment 5, the major theme, which is unification, we come again to chapter 6, verse 13. As I said, actually in this segment here, it takes on a more positive meaning. Let's go again to Song of Song 6, verse 13. The beloved saying, return, return, O Shulamite, return, return, that we may look upon you. I want to look upon you now. But you remember, she's now in a repentant attitude, turning back towards God.

And the Shulamite thinks, what would you see in the Shulamite, as it were the dance of two camps? It's like she's saying, do you still see the dance of two camps here? Do you see two separate people still, or do you now see one camp? You see that I'm going to become like one camp. Do you now see my unification into one camp?

That seems to be the intent of her question. But what would it take, as I said a moment ago, for all of God's people to become unified into one camp? The beloved's response as to what he now sees provides the answer. Song of Song 7, verse 1. Here's what the beloved sees now that she's repenting as she's turning back.

And she's going in the direction of the other Shulamite to become one camp. He says, chapter 7, verse 1, how beautiful are your feet in sandals, O Prince's daughter. See, what would it take for all of God's people to become unified? It'll take humility, which is a beautiful thing to God. It reminds me of Isaiah 66, too, where God says, but on this one will I look. On him who was poor and of a contrite spirit and who trembles at my word. How beautiful are your feet in sandals.

How beautiful it is when God's people are all walking with him in a humble way and walking together in a humble way. It's going to take a lot of humility for God's church to become unified into one camp. She can now become, when you have humility, you can become the work of the hands of our Master. She can now become the work of the hands of a skillful workman, as the latter part of verse 1 states there. God can't work with somebody who doesn't have a humble attitude. He can't form and shape you into his image. It takes humility. It takes like soft clay that's workable and pliable. The shoe of life then tells her beloved that she belongs only to him and that she realizes his desire is now for her to take her as her bride.

Song of Song 7-10. Why is that? She's also now ready to help others who are yet to be converted, as portrayed by the daughters of Jerusalem beginning in Song of Songs 8-3, who are now seeking the true God. Song of Songs 8-3. She says, His left hand is under my head, His right hand embraces me. So I charge you, verse 4.

Here we have this again. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases. This is now the third time this exact phrase is used in the Song of Songs. The first time was in Song of Songs 2-7, just before her first dream. The second time was Song of Songs 3-5, just after at the end of her second dream. And now here, as she now reaches out to help others, as she's repenting herself and letting God work with her, and now reaching out to help others as well who are seeking God, who are yet to be converted, you have this statement again for the third time.

So basically, she's telling them to make sure they've counted the cost, to make sure they are prepared to keep the commitment that they're going to make before they stir up and awaken their love for Christ and for the truth. Make sure they're committed. She learned that herself, going through the tribulation. She realized before she wasn't fully prepared. Now, I want to make one other statement here. We've got a lot of young people here and teens.

Because you can also, of course, look at this book physically, and a lot of it has physical application as well. But this verse here also has an extremely important physical application, especially in today's world for all young adults and teens. Do not stir up or awaken your love or infatuation for someone of the opposite sex, and two, are ready to make a lifetime commitment to that person.

Until you are ready, take on the responsibility of all that entails. Until you are ready, take on the responsibility of marriage and a permanent relationship. Don't stir it up before then. That's a very important lesson today. Until then, remain like a spring shut up or a fountain sealed, or a garden enclosed, as it says in chapter 4, verse 12. But the Shulamites, here in this story, is now ready for her marriage to her beloved, even as we must become ready for the married supper of the Lamb.

Song of Songs 8, verse 6, she says, Set me as a seal upon your heart, a seal upon your arm, for love is as strong as death, and jealousy as cruel as the grave. Its flames are flames of fire, emos, vehem, and flame. Verse 7, Many waters cannot quench love, nor can floods drown it.

If a man will give for love all the wealth of his house, it will be utterly despised. However, she's proven now that her love for God and God's truth is more important than any other love she could possibly have in her life. She's now proven that nothing, not even death, can come between her and her commitment to God and Jesus Christ. Nothing. All the wealth in the world will be utterly despised to give up the calling and commitment that God has given her. That's the way we must feel as well.

So she now has made herself ready. And this basically ends segment 5, but there is still an epilogue which begins in Song of Songs 8, verse 8. What next? What will our job be when God begins calling thousands of people at the beginning of the millennium? Song of Songs 8, verse 8. We have a little sister.

We have others who have not yet been called. They're not mature yet. They're still very immature spiritually. They haven't grown up yet. They haven't matured.

What should we do for our sister the day when she has spoken for her, the day God calls her?

And then it says in verse 8, If she has a wall, we will build upon her a battlement of silver. We find out that she's getting strong. If she can resist her own nature to go the wrong way. If she can resist anything in the world, it's going to take her the wrong way. Take her away from God and away from her calling. If she has a wall and she's resisting that, we're going to strengthen that wall. We're going to build up her resistance so nothing can ever cause her to go the wrong way. But if she has a door, if she's open to things that might take her in the wrong direction away from God and influence her in the wrong way, including her own nature, if she has a door, we're going to enclose her with boards of cedar. We're going to board her up. We're going to board up those doors so she's not going to have that influence. We're going to make her stronger to be able to resist going the wrong way. That's what the implication is there.

So she can become like the Shulamite who made herself ready by being a wall and by becoming fully mature spiritually. Song, Song 8, verse 10, says, I am a wall. I'm a wall. I've become spiritually mature because I'm a wall. And then I became in his eyes as one who found peace, interestingly. When we follow God wholeheartedly and close out all wrong influences and grow to false filter maturity, when we get there in that place, that's when we'll find true peace. Because then it doesn't matter. When anybody does to us, it doesn't matter what happens to us, we'll have peace with God and Jesus Christ, because we know we've done everything we can to remain faithful and be true to God.

And then we'll also be able to share in great prosperity that God will bring upon the whole world, as implied by verse 11, like the prosperity of Solomon had. Verse 13, here in chapter 8, is the final call to the Shulamite from her beloved, from Christ to those who begin to help others in the millennium, where he says, verse 13, you who dwell in the gardens, the companions listen to your voice. Hey, the people are starting to listen to you now. Let me hear it.

Now, I thought about that a long time, seems kind of confusing, but this is why I take it. Basically saying, don't just talk about the tooth among yourselves. Let me hear it. Let me hear how much you appreciate, all that I've done for you. You say, boy, how am I looking what God has done for that person, what has done for me? You talk about that among yourselves, and I want to hear it, God says. Let me hear it. Let me hear how much you appreciate all I've done for you. In other words, begin building a strong, personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God the Father. Don't just talk about it among yourselves.

That is what Christ needs to be saying to them here, and this is what it says. In the final response in verse 14, Make haste, my beloved, be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices. In other words, they will come to say, we want to hastily build a relationship with Jesus Christ. We want to hastily come into our lives so we can learn God's ways. That can lead to the beauty of the real mountain of spices, which is the kingdom of God. That's what we want to achieve. This ends the Song of Songs. We could say it's the greatest love story ever written. It reveals Christ's unfathomable love for His Church and for all of us. What's interesting when you read this story is that the love of the beloved for the Shulamite is never in doubt. It's never in question throughout the entire story. It's always solved as a rock. It's only the Shulamite's love for her beloved that is being tested in this story. In other words, can anything ever come between her and her love for her beloved? Can anything ever come between us and our love for Jesus Christ and God the Father and the Word of God?

Can we come to a place where many waters cannot quench our love, nor can floods drown it? It doesn't matter what floods come along, try to sweep us away, no matter what kind of problems we face. Nothing is going to remove our love for the truth and our love for Jesus Christ and God the Father.

Not even all the wealth in the world. Even all the wealth in the world would be utterly despised in comparison to our love for Jesus Christ and God the Father and His truth in the colon that He's given us. Is that how strong our love is for Christ and God the Father and the Word of God? As He says, do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases, until you're ready to make a lifetime commitment, a lifetime unconditional life or death commitment, until you are sure your love for Christ and your love for the truth is by far the strongest of all of your loves. So that no other love will ever be able to come between you and the colon that God has given you. And if we can do that, if we can hold fast, remain faithful, improve our love for God, improve our love for Jesus Christ, who is our beloved, then we will make ourselves ready. Christ will then take us to be His bride at His return. And that is the message of the Song of Songs, spiritually speaking. It is indeed the greatest love story ever told or ever written. It's the love of Christ for His Church and the love we must have toward Christ and the Word of God. So make the Song of Songs your love story. And you will reign with Christ in the Kingdom of God when He returns.