The Foolish Virgins (1973)

TEXT: Matt. 25: 1-13

Introduction: 

Does the Bible teach everyone who professes to love the Lord will be in the Bride of Christ? If so, why does Matt. 25 teach at the end of the age there will be a group of converted, clean, virtuous people referred to as FOOLISH, who could be awakened by the cry of a messenger only to discover their inability to enter into the bride message seeing they had not filled their vessels with oil and without this oil or Holy Ghost it was utterly impossible to enter the Bride’s message. What happened to these people who, before being able to enter the bride’s message, must first go out and receive the very oil they had rejected before facing a new brand of oil merchants who have an entirely different purpose for the use of oil than did the old merchants. Furthermore, how could these people end up in the millennium seeing they had missed being a part of the bride of Christ and died in the tribulation?

According to Christ’s parable none of the virgins were awake at the hour of the messenger’s cry seeing verse 5 declared they ALL SLUMBERED AND SLEPT. Therefore establish it in your minds that no virgin at the end of the age was spiritually awake when the messenger arrived among them to cry out! Here in Matt. 25:1-13 is found a continuation of a message spoken by Christ as He sat on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem and the Temple informing His disciples of no less than seven outstanding things the period of time known as the grace age would pass through on into the tribulation period and the glorious return of Christ for His Bride people. In this particular message covering several chapters. Christ is at the moment speaking of his six “thens”, Matt. 24:9, 16, 21, 23, 30, and now 25:1. 

THE 6TH “THEN” 

The sixth “then” in His sermon begins like this—“Then shall (future tense at the end of the age) the kingdom of heaven he likened unto ten virgins which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom.” Note, out of all the verses referred to in Chap. 24, not one of them relates to the kingdom of heaven. This is the first time as Christ is showing the disciples of certain things which shall be before His return, that He makes any reference to the subject of the Kingdom of Heaven. All the other “thens” of which he formerly spoke referred to conditions and signs which would exist before His return. However note here as He begins this parable (being His 6th “then”) He tells what the kingdom of heaven will he like at the close of the age. Then the kingdom shall be likened unto ten virgins (five WISE, five FOOLISH) shows the scope of the kingdom of heaven covers a far larger period and has far more preeminence of attention than all the other things He referred to beginning with “then” carried. 

WHAT 10 VIRGINS IMPLY 

Reading verse 1; speaking of the kingdom of heaven being likened unto ten virgins does not imply merely ten literal people at the end of the age. The number 10 is a hypothetical number showing it incorporates and represents all spiritual, note, I said SPIRITUAL-NOT DEAD, christianity as a whole. Because when you reach the end of the age you have three classes of religious people, WISE AND FOOLISH, all who are virgins, meaning clean, also you have the greater percentage of religion which is referred to as the “TARES” who have no life in them whatsoever and through the ecumenical spirit shall gather all of them under one head to be later burned. (Matt. 13:40) Recall, this parable is by no means dealing with TARES. These ten are all virgins whose intentions are to meet the bridegroom. Each of these virgins believe the day will come for that glorious event and they all look forward to being a part of the Bride of Christ. Whereas a TARE who is an unbeliever, could care less about the subject of the coming of the Lord. 

Note, in verse 2 Christ separates His ten VIRGINS into two classes: Five WISE and Five FOOLISH; and verse 3 declares the reason part were FOOLISH, they took no oil with them, whereas the WISE took oil in their vessels with their lamps. Verse 5 declares while the Bridegroom tarried they (every Iast one) slumbered and slept. It should be interesting to note in the parable in verse 6 at the midnight hour a cry was made by one who was not in the sleeping virgin classification, seeing all virgins were asleep!! The messenger was the only one in verse 6 who was awake as he cried, “BEHOLD THE BRIDEGROOM COMETH, GO YE OUT TO MEET HIM!” All this has an endtime application affecting the religious people of this hour. No, this parable does not represent Protestantism in its early beginning, Lutheranism, Knoxism, Calvinism, nor Wesleyism—this parable, as we shall show, falls in the 7th and final church age called Laodicea, beginning with that great outpouring of the Holy Ghost message for endtime people which lasted some 50 years as all virgins were given the opportunity to fill their vessels with oil for the journey to meet the bridegroom. It should be noticed in verse 7 that it was the message delivered which affected all these 10 virgins wherein they all arose from spiritual sleep and trimmed their lamps where upon, verse 8 declares, the FOOLISH made a startling discovery, THEY HAD NO OIL! Although they lived in the period of time when the predominant message in all christianity had been to RECEIVE THE HOLY GHOST OR GET OIL IN YOUR VESSELS! They who believed up until that hour that Ihey had received everything in the word necessary and had within their lives all that was required to meet the bridegroom only now to discover the very thing they needed THEY NOW DID NOT HAVE, THEY HAD NO OIL IN THEIR VESSELS! THE FOOLISH inquire of the WISE who seem to have enough oil in their vessels to finish the journey, seeing we hear of hardly anything the WISE had to do after awakening from their sleep other than make some minor adjustments or changes such as trimming their wicks on their lamps and they are ready—GIVE US OF YOUR OIL CRIED THE FOOLISH FOR OUR LAMPS HAVE GONE OUT! 

KINGDOM ILLUSTRATED BY ANCIENT WEDDING

To illustrate all events leading up to the return of Christ for His WISE virgins or Bride people, that is, return for all those who have walked in all the revelation God requires of them to be in that chosen number making up His endtime Bride. Christ uses for illustration and similarity to the church an ancient eastern wedding which certainly is nothing in comparison to our modern day wedding. In ancient Eastern weddings a number of guests would be invited to a designated location where this wedding is to take place. It was never known by the guest just when the bridegroom would appear as he was never present when they arrived seeing they arrived a day or so in advance. Each guest was required to furnish their own provisions and brought enough to last from 2-5 days as the festivities surrounding the wedding usually lasted that length of time. Having traveled quite a distance, often they would fall asleep as they waited at this designated spot for the wedding to begin. 

WHAT OIL LAMP AND WICK SIGNIFIES

As the parable shows, the one who came with the bridegroom or just a few steps ahead of the bridegroom approached the invited guest with a cry which let them know the bridegroom was approaching, therefore all the sleeping guests would arise to greet him. Often times their lamps were left burning over a long period of time and all the oil would burn out; Thus the fire, after having consumed the oil would then begin to burn off the wick forming dark carbon deposits upon the wick before relighting the lamp they would be required to trim away the carbon(in the parable called, “trimming their lamps”) and then, refill the vessel, whereby the flame might give off a well rounded light. Then everyone would make ready or prepare for the wedding. That is what Christ was discussing with His disciples as He used such a familiar setting to their minds as to that of His endtime church program, where in all virgins would go out with their lamps to meet the bridegroom, only here five would be WISE and five FOOLISH. The FOOLISH would have taken no oil with them!

 In the parable after each had awakened, they trimmed their lamps, and five discovered a shocking thing–THEIR OIL HAD GONE OUT. For a moment let us examine an ancient lamp used in the setting, then we will examine the spiritual application. Had that lamp been one similar to our old conventional type lamps with which all of us are familiar, all one would be required to do in order to trim the lamp would actually be to trim the wick, that is with a pair of scissors trim off the accumulated carbon deposits on the top of the cotton wick in order that oil, which is in the lamp bowl, could be pulled up through the wick much more freely, thereby giving off a bright light as the oil is being consumed. Note, the flame does not consume the wick, it consumes the oil being carried up through the wick. 

However the Lamp used in our setting was not a conventional lamp, instead it was a clay bowl having its top covered, resembling something like a flattened out tea kettle with a little opening protruding out of the top where the flame burned, while the spout used served two purposes (1). For pouring in oil and (2). Looking down the opening you could see when the oil was low and needed replenishing. A fine mixture of dirt and sand was in the bottom of the bowl and upon this the oil was poured, which by the way is olive oil and not kerosene or petroleum. Remember olive oil alone in the clay bowl could not burn unless it had something to feed the oil up through. Here the wick served as a filtering process whereby enough oxygen can get around the little particles causing the fire to burn.

 In reference to the ancient lamps, trimming them indicated the lamp had not been refilled and had gone out. While the flame was burning low it burned that thin coating of sand mixed with dirt, setting up a crystallization on the top part of the little bowl and before the lamp could be used again because of that crystalized coating found on top, the crust would have to be broken up and removed, replenishing the olive oil, and as the parable language shows, they are trimming or shaping up the lamp, getting it ready whereby it can give off light again. Therefore trimming the lamp is when you trim or shape only that part or thing whereby the oil is fed through-you are only trimming that which stands between the oil and flame.

 What does this mean in the spiritual? How could virgins trim their lamps in the Laodicean Church Age? Note the vessel is the human body, holding the reservoir of oil which is the Holy Ghost. Our revelation or understanding serves as the wick by which the oil is drawn up through to give off spiritual light and heat. If our revelation (wick) becomes distorted or carbon has formed upon it, meaning it is burning now off something other than oil, some man made doctrine has attached itself to the revelation and we know what black carbon would do to a wick. That in itself can definitely hinder the flow of oil into our revelation hindering our revelated light from burning. Therefore by trimming the lamp, that is trim away all the accumulated excess cutting away all that carnality. We now can have a sturdy flow of oil coming through our revelation shedding forth even a brighter, clearer light of truth. 

The oil and the wick agree, working in complete harmony and compatibility. So does the Spirit and the Word! You who think it is all Spirit and no Word or visa versa, should look at this picture. What good would a lamp be with a large wick and no oil or what good would a lamp full of oil be and no wick seeing neither alone can give off a pure reflected light! Just as you need the oil and the wick to give off a natural flame, so do you need the Spirit and the Word to give off a spiritual revelated light, seeing that the oil (Spirit) feeds up through the wick of the Word to give off light.

 Therefore when those virgins at the end of the age arose and (rimmed their lamps they trimmed their wicks (only) or trimmed that which stood between the oil and the flame. Shocking as it may sound, this was when the FOOLISH discovered they had no oil. Once they trimmed the black carbon deposits (man-made ideas and opinions) off their revelated Word they soon discovered they had no oil! Even though the WISE too had been asleep. Their oil had not expired from within their vessels and all the WISE needed to do was slightly trim up their revelations thereby bringing them up to date seeing they had been spiritually asleep, though by no means do we see the WISE disturbed over the situation as were the FOOLISH. 

PART I 

WHAT IS A WISE VIRGIN? 

This is the only place within the kingdom of heaven we hear recorded WISE and FOOLISH virgins. What consists of a WISE virgin? How would you know if you were WISE or FOOLISH unless somewhere God has a pattern by which one can go to determine what is a WISE virgin. You could not know what a FOOLISH virgin is until you first knew what a WISE virgin would be. I believe if there is to be some WISE virgins at the end of the age it is only because somewhere there has been certain qualifications laid down by the Lord in His Word which declares what constitutes a WISE virgin. We don’t simply drift along 1900 years in christianity probing mostly in spiritual darkness, trying to be WISE and then suddenly at the end of the age a few out of the multitude somehow wind up in a wise class. NO, there are WISE virgins in this parable because somewhere there was a pattern and certain qualifications laid down sometime prior to their day whereby at the end of the age there would be certain virgins trying to measure up to those same qualifications as the WISE ones who had somewhere preceded them. Where could such a pattern be found? ONLY WITHIN THE FIRST CHURCH AGE! 

EARLY CHURCH WAS MODEL

 As the church was born on the day of Pentecost some 1900 years ago, she began with approximately 120 WISE souls who began their journey by introducing this great truth to 3000 others that same day. And as she progressed growing by leaps and bounds throughout that first gentile church age, I believe we can gather scriptures from the Book of Acts and the Pauline Epistles to show exactly what the qualifications of a wise virgin is seeing the first generation of the church consisted of nothing, but WISE virgins, as there was neither a FOOLISH virgin or TARE to be found within that first generation of believers pushing out from Pentecost on her journey out into the Roman world. Truly, one thing is for these virgins to have oil in their vessels, yet it is still quite another thing to know why and how they should trim their wicks (the Word) at the end, whereby the oil which they did have could flow freely, giving off not a distorted light but a much clearer spiritual light here at the end.

 Being WISE is simply having spiritual understanding or the necessary enlightenment to reach whatever goal or point you are moving toward or attempting to measure up to: knowing or understanding what is required of you and doing it (Matt. 7:24-29, Jas. 1:22-25) A man endeavoring to do something when he is totally unprepared is FOOLISH; whereas a WISE man would be one who had gone to every means to facilitate himself with whatever was necessary to be able to meet all that was required of him. Therefore I believe the first church age proves to us beyond any doubt only WISE virgins began this journey which would end some 1900 years later with both WISE and FOOLISH!

2ND AGE MENTIONS TARES 

NO SIR, the kingdom of heaven did not begin on the day of Pentecost with FOOLISH virgins nor did it begin with a single unbeliever or TARE in the group. That is why Acts 5:13 declares “no man joined himself unto them for fear.” Beloved, you and I have never known a time when the kingdom of God did not have TARES or unbelievers sitting among the congregation of the righteous. However, let me assure you that early church knew what it was to have an open congregational fellowship during that first generation of saints and all the unbelieving persons were kept on the outside. It lasted that way for quite a while until the 2nd generation within the first age began to take hold of the gospel reins of the church. Because the fellowship was so clean in the first generation seeing there were only WISE saints walking in the true unadulterated revelated gospel, embracing all that was expected of them by the Holy Spirit, Satan, through those false prophets, continually harassed that early gentile church in order to break down her resistance, whereby the devil through an anti-christ spirit could finally worm his way in and implant himself many unbelievers who would feed off his carnal revelation. Therefore, according to the parable of Matt. 13:24-30 which depicts the beginning of the 2nd Church Age, the parable shows satan to have already successfully planted his TARES among the wheat sometime back in the latter part of the 1st Church Age and when the TARES sprang up all over the place within the 2nd Age, verse 27 says the devout true servants of the householder came inquiring of him (the Lord) asking did he not sow all good wheat seed in the field? (I DID!) Then where did these TARES come from? The Lord declares, an enemy (the devil) did this. Now the servants who are ready to clean out the field are instructed to leave the TARES alone until the end of the harvest which comes at the end of the age and at the harvest God says I have a plan, whereby, I intend to get rid of the TARES. We will gather the TARES together and burn them however I will take my pure wheat into the barn! Recall, the unbelieving TARE is not a FOOLISH virgin. Yes, God is now going to allow the unbelieving TARES since they had already been planted by the enemy in with the true wheat in the latter part of the 1st church age and has now sprung forth into a recognizable appearance in the early years of the 2nd Age, to now grow together throughout all the other church ages until the end of the harvest where Ile will separate them. NO, by no means will the TARES be taken to glory! Instead they will all be taken back into the One World Church through the ecumenical spirit, there to await their burning. (Matt. 13:30-36-40) 

It is through these TARES Satan must work throughout the 2nd Church Age as he now seeks to build a religious system about the little church of the living God wherein he may eventually choke out all the spiritual light and life she had within her. Although remember before this, the church started out pure, everyone of them was a pure revelated wheat seed or pure WISE virgin: not one FOOLISH among them, not one TARE was in the congregation. Let it be remembered, the story in Matt. 25 of the ten virgins is by no means a story of unbelieving TARES because in the parable there is not a TARE mentioned! Just as the first age began with pure virgins so does the end of the age end with pure WISE, virgins, especially after the FOOLISH virgins have been separated from the class of the WISE. Therefore, in the age at the harvest time when the wheat is gathered into the barn that endtime wheat must be an exact likeness as that planted in the early rain or sowing season. Exact likeness spiritually. doctrinally, morally, principally and socially as the early apostolic clean revelated virgins. The endtime people end up that way because there was a model for them to see and that model was none other than the early church! 

The kingdom of heaven began with no FOOLISH virgins, yet at the end of the age one group of virgins are definitely classified as FOOLISH and they had quite a story to tell. Although they will be thrown out in the midst of TARES for quite some time after their separation from the WISE, as they go forth to seek oil it must never be believed any of these in any manner are ever considered tares or unbelievers. 

EARLY CHURCH WAS REVELATED 

How did the first age of virgins begin? They began realizing the Holy Ghost was their spiritual fuel or oil in their vessel which fed and stimulated their revelation of truth as it blazed across the Roman Empire telling others Jesus Christ was God manifested in flesh! It was the very heartbeat of that early church to share this kind of spiritual revelation with a pagan world guilty of worshipping many gods. That revelation coupled with the virgin birth of Christ — how Eternal God became man — was the message they carried to all pagans. No, Christ was no longer on earth in His fleshly body, that body had been taken to the right hand of God in glory. Nevertheless, He was that revelatory Spirit living in the hearts of those WISE virgins for they knew who He was— and don’t think they didn’t testify to this throughout the gentile pagan world, and all those who were converted from heathenism carried this same revelation. Sure they defended this doctrine!

 APOSTLES DEFEND REVELATION 

Listen to the Apostle John as he defends this revelation that Jesus Christ was none other than that Eternal God incarnated in flesh! II John 7-10 declares to the revelated church, if any come among you and bring not this doctrine receive him not into your house neither bid him godspeed for he that biddeth him godspeed is partaker of his evil deeds! In other words tell him to get on down the road with his wild doctrine and anti-christ teaching. Brother, if Jesus Christ came to suffer and die for the sins of the whole world, then He is none other than a true fleshly revelation of the Eternal God of heaven Himself walking on earth in human form, whereby He might give His life to become the very gateway for lost mankind to be reconciled back to that one great Eternal Spirit God. What revelation that early church carried! It was something that thrilled their soul. Coming out of the Bible period after the first church age we still find according to the writings of the Ante-Nicene fathers— men such as Polycarp, Ireneaus, etc., still defending that early church’s position! If some of these modern day evangelists had half the backbone these men had you would see them in pulpits contesting the doctrine of the trinity instead of going across the country simply for a place to preach saying I will baptise you any way you choose because it doesn’t matter anyway. It did with the early church: They would baptize you only one way, according to Acts 2:38, which is the revelation of the great commission laid down by Jesus in Matt. 28:19. Naturally, any man who didn’t have the Holy Ghost couldn’t possibly understand the revelation of what Jesus meant, therefore, Peter stood in the streets explaining what Christ meant in Matt. 28: 19, Luke 24:47 as well as Mark 16:15-16, as we hear him say, Repent everyone of you and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (which is the name of the Father, the name of the Son, and is the redemptive name of the the Holy Ghost) for it is God in the Son and it is the Son and Holy Ghost in you beloved, all in one Spirit. (Eph. 4:4-6)

True wherever the early church went, they preached Jesus Christ the saviour of the world but in preaching Him as saviour they also preached Him as the one manifested person of God (not some 2nd person of the Godhead). What a joy it is to know by spiritual revelation of the Father that Jesus Christ is the manifestation of that One Eternal God manifested in human flesh and therefore could no wise be some mysterious 2nd person of a trinity! He is Jehovah God Himself manifested in flesh! 

DOES IT MATTER!

 People today who don’t understand this revelation tries to excuse themselves by saying it doesn’t matter as long as you believe in Him as being your saviour. Again I say, it didn’t begin that way! Beloved, were you to go to a Buick dealer to buy a new Buick and although there are many models from which to choose, from pictures and advertisements of which you have seen, you have a general idea in your mind what you want and furthermore what a Buick is supposed to look like. It must meet certain standards and specifications or it isn’t a Buick! Suppose that Buick dealer showed you a vehicle which outwardly resembled a Buick. It had a Buick body, Dodge motor, Ford wheels, some other kind of upholstery and some other contraptions of other makes and models hanging on to it. I know exactly what you would do–you would get away from there wondering what this crazy man was trying to pull because it is not a Buick, it is not an original! It is a conglomeration of everything else thrown together. Neighbor, the Bible draws us a picture of what the original church is like and that is all we should be interested in! NO, you probably could never take this contraption on the road as long as all this other stuff hung on to it. you couldn’t say look at my new Buick. Why, it doesn’t even resemble a Buick! Yet that is exactly how this age will wind up with a lot of people saying I am a christian. Maybe YOU HAD BETTER RAISE THE HOOD AND LOOK AT THE ENGINE! I didn’t say look at the hubcaps, they don’t belong to the car. Or the upholstery, it wasn’t made for a Buick. Yet you hear people say don’t think it matters as to what we believe just so we do believe, live upright and love the Lord. Neighbor that is not what this Bible says! When we get back to what this Bible teaches we have to come back to what the WISE taught, believed, and practiced throughout that first church age when they were all considered WISE. A man would be a fool to ignore certain things in this hour seeing God has already done something to enlighten people who are on their journey toward the coming of the Lord unprepared. That foolish man is going to wind up in the darkest hour of world’s history begging God to let him in only to hear the Lord say, I don’t know you. (Matt. 25:12. Matt. 7:21-23)

 During that early age in a pagan world guilty of worshipping many gods, each person converted to that true christian faith was converted to the revelation that Jesus Christ was none other than that One God of heaven (heavenly Father) Himself manifested in a fleshly body called Jesus the Lord and Christ. Furthermore, they knew when the Holy Ghost came on the day of Pentecost to indwell the wise believers. He was not some 3rd person who got pawned off on the church in later years but instead was that same Eternal Spirit of God who had walked in flesh now in an officework referred to as the Holy Ghost or the spirit of regeneration who is none other than the spirit of Christ, seeing that the corporal fleshly body of the man Jesus had been taken to glory making it impossible for the corporal fleshly body to be omnipresent. Therefore the Eternal Spirit who was in Christ, who was God is that same Holy Spirit who is now in us whereby we may testify with Paul Christ in us-our hope of glory! That Spirit of Christ radiating through each WISE apostolic believer could be everywhere and once that Spirit (of whom God is) comes into you in its regenerating work God will always radiate the life of His Son Jesus which is in you through the new birth. 

SPIRIT OF CHRIST IN CHURCH 

Therefore when the Holy Spirit came, whatever Christ lived and exemplified as a man here upon the earth in the expression of God’s divine nature in love, wisdom, etc., that same Spirit in Him now comes into you. the church His body upon earth, to radiate. to exemplify and to demonstrate that very same characteristic nature which was in Jesus Christ is now to be in you making Paul’s revelation in Colossians authentic when he said, the mystery of God is Christ in you-the hope of glory. (Beloved, had you asked one of those WISE virgins or one of those early Pentecostal believers in Jerusalem how many were in the Godhead, do you think they would have answered. OH, it really doesn’t matter! Those early christians were much concerned whether God was one, two, or three. Since all those wise virgins believed the same thing you had no cause for them going about everywhere preaching One God all the time. However, if you had a classroom full of students and only half of them believed two and two was four while the other half believed it might be five or six then it is no wonder that teacher must continually hammer away that two and two is four. The same is true with the fundamentals of the christian faith– God is a mystery they say and you can’t understand Him. As far as understanding Him in His vastness of presence in the universe, perhaps not. That disinterests me as to how far God can radiate Himself into space. that is His business; Nevertheless when He begins to radiate Himself toward me, I become concerned! I am concerned about what God has in store for man. God wants a people that through His Holy Spirit He can dwell within as well as walk and have fellowship with.

 The WISE virgins were those who started this journey in the first age (when no TARES nor FOOLISH virgins were in the midst) and their lamps or vessels in which the oil was stored was nothing more than their human body, while their wicks, which in that hour certainly did not need trimming seeing no Carbon had formed on the wicks, was none other than their pure righteous testimony of revelation through which the oil flowed representing every doctrine and ordinance the New Testament Church had been given! The Bible declares in Acts 2:41-43 all the 3000 souls stood steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship. And we might add, since they had not gone to sleep spiritually within that first generation of the first age there was certainly no need for them trimming their lamps. No WISE virgin in that hour believed God to be more than ONE. The idea of two and three started much later as Satan continually harassed the church with such ideas. That day the believer believed in ONE, today it doesn’t seem to matter as long as you love the Lord. What ignorance and slothfulness that some people have allowed to accumulate in their minds. Plant a field of corn and then tell me it doesn’t matter if it bears corn or not or whether it grows 3 ft. or 6 ft. If you know the nature of the corn you planted you better be interested in how tall it gets or what comes up! 

The WISE were definitely interested in the ordinances of the New Testament and its doctrines, whereas the ecumenical spirit today says to lay aside all doctrines seeing doctrine tends to divide fellowship! WISE virgins within that first age under the leadership and influence of the Holy Ghost had only one Spirit to guide them through those five offices of that early five-fold ministry, Eph. 4: 11- 14 which as you recall all that five-fold ministry was first in the personal ministry of Christ. However when the church began at Pentecost the Spirit took those five ministries and placed them within His own body here upon earth, the church, fulfilling the words of Christ when He said the Spirit will take the things of mine and give unto thee. This had no reference to the Spirit taking Christ’s garment, sandals etc.. NO, the things of Christ were none other than the gifts of God, the Spirit, etc., which were all first in Christ in full expressed measure, now He dumps them all into His body the church here on earth. Christ was all five preachers wrapped up in a one-apostle, prophet, pastor, teacher, and evangelist. The Lord through the Spirit in the beginning places His own personal ministry within the church, and through that ministry began to court His Bride-to-be.

 CHRIST IN SPIRIT COURTS CHURCH 

Beloved, when I became acquainted with my wife and began to court her and we decided to get married I didn’t become acquainted with her and not see her again until the day of the wedding! NO, I continually courted her for sometime before the wedding and Jesus also has been courting his church who is His Bride-to-be. Not in His corporal body of course, nonetheless, He has been here in Spirit form courting her. That is why I can’t believe in some 3rd person sent back to do His courting! Certainly not, the one doing the courting is the very person who is going to marry her! I certainly wouldn’t want someone else courting my wife to be for me! Shame on such a carnal gospel as being proclaimed today! Christ started out in the beginning through a revelatory spirit courting His Bride church Himself! To her he gave his ministry, his gifts and his Spirit by which Spirit from time to time He revealed Himself by revelation unto Her. Therefore those apostles and prophets stood for hours under the anointing of the Holy Ghost illuminating His Word to His WISE virgins. Actually what was it? It was Christ’s way of coming and taking another good look at his little sweetheart and spending hours with her, as those Holy Ghost filled disciples sat there drinking it all in. Christ did all this by a revelatory Spirit, in other words the church was on another date with her Lord! No, He couldn’t touch her hand or shoulder nevertheless He was present in Spirit form revealing Himself to her. How many ever had a date with your girlfriend or wife-to-be and sent someone else to do your courting? No one I know of, and neither does God! If this revelation is explained correctly, beloved, it closes every loophole and entrance salon wants to throw at it. 

There was nothing like that first age when Christ courted his WISE virgins during that first generation long before any FOOLISH virgins or TAKES entered into the picture and as He would move upon them by the Holy Ghost and they saw what was being done linked with the scriptures, the little church would sit there in amazement wondering just what her fiance would do next. Yes, He would court her until the hour of the wedding, until she would become His wife.

 EPHESUS EXEMPLIFIES 1ST AGE VIRGINS

 From a gentile standpoint no other church exemplifies the WISE virgins as did the church at Ephesus within that first generation. Not only reading the letters to the Ephesians in 64 A.D. when Paul wrote from Rome, but also John’s letter around 96 A.D. in Rev. 2:1-7 concerning that first generation, you cannot help but see how enlightened these people were under Paul’s ministry, although somewhere in the latter years of that local Ephesus church, years after Paul left its pastorate the devil showed up and began to court somebody himself because he wanted to start a program whereby he might lay the groundwork of the devil’s church to run contemporary  with the work going on at Ephesus and hinder the true church whereby in later years the true church might be so swamped and choked out until finally in the 2nd age the believers wouldn’t know whether it was the Lord or the devil courting her! However I repeat, it was not so in the beginning! What an ignorant religious generation of people we have today. People want to do just as they please. believe whatever they please and expect God is going to give him his very best. Neighbor there isn’t an insurance company in the world who would write you a policy on those terms. Many people would like the benefits of the insurance policy however every policy I ever read has certain conditions which you must meet. If you refuse to pay the premium, you don’t enjoy the benefits. I also have an insurance policy here, which also has some small print and you will need the Spirit in order to read between the lines. No other gentile church exemplifies these WISE virgins anymore than does Ephesus.

 WATER BAPTISM & HOLY GHOST IMPORTANT TO 1ST AGE 

 Look for a moment how these people were baptized—IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, Acts 19:5. Furthermore these people also believed in the baptism of the Holy Ghost according to verse 6. Concerning the Holy Ghost was the first question Paul asked the 12 disciples at Ephesus —Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? In other words have you any oil in your lamp? Paul was most technical on baptism, taking these 12 men and rebaptizing them in the name of the Lord Jesus just as all WISE virgins baptized in that name throughout Asia, Acts 19:10. Beloved do you have the Holy Ghost oil and have you been baptized according to scripture? It made a difference with Paul! 

These things aren’t said to unchristianize you, only to make your salvation experience measure up and come in line with the Bible. That is what the WISE virgins at the end of the age will be much concerned about once they awaken and begin to trim their lamps. And I say to the ecumenical move and everything else, you have now awakened to believe that speaking in tongues is scriptural even though you fought it tooth and toenail branding it as the devil for many years! . Therefore I encourage you to wake up to one more thing and that is Acts 2:38! See Paul was not unjustifying the 12 believers in Acts 19, his first converts of the Ephesus church, from the point to where they had been brought. NO SIR, he was only straightening up their revelation and understanding bringing their revelation up to date and in line with the scripture and according to the present hour of truth in which they now live. Then Paul not only assisted these 12 in pouring oil into their human vessels but assisted WISE virgins throughout all Asia, every candidate of heathen sinners from all over Asia who attended any of those schoolhouse meetings held for 3 years at Ephesus to hear the truth was converted to the truth. Therefore I sincerely believe everyone was baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and received the Holy Ghost or oil, and furthermore was taught there was only One God of heaven and earth who in the fullness of time was manifested in a fleshly body in the person of Jesus Christ and the Spirit (oil) they were now receiving was that Spirit which was first in Christ while on earth who was none other than the father God giving unto them eternal life as He exemplified and manifested Jesus Christ unto them causing them also to become another begotten son and daughter of God. HOW? Through the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ? 

Paul’s teaching in Athens, Greece before the philosophers at Mars Hill as he explains to them the unknown God illustrates how everywhere he went he taught only One God, Acts 17:22-24. True, those Asiatic people would leave Ephesus and Paul’s personal ministry rejoicing knowing the truth and determine never to be guilty of worshipping more than One God. However, you must have the Holy Ghost if you are to understand these things correctly and receiving the Spirit has to be more than a little sensation or blessing. That Spirit must enter into your life and enlighten, illuminate your soul, guiding you into a correct understanding. Therefore I ask you, how at the end of the age could the FOOLISH virgins possibly have a correct understanding of scriptural revelations other than maybe that small truth of which they had been converted into while in denominational religion before they drifted off into their spiritual sleep, when it takes this oil at the end of the age to guide us into all truths! The oil the FOOLISH virgins discovered they did not have shortly before the bridegroom arrived!

 I am trying to familiarize you with what a WISE virgin believes in order we may better understand what a FOOLISH virgin would be and furthermore why the WISE could in no way help the FOOLISH. The FOOLISH can’t help the WISE and the WISE can’t help the FOOLISH according to the parable! Therefore I say to you who feel you are a WISE virgin, why stand ye pitifully gazing out the window when you have a garment to don a wedding to get ready for and a few wrinkles to be ironed out of your garment! See it is much like a young girl who is engaged to be married when the hour comes for her wedding, although she may have a dozen close girl friends, nevertheless as that hour nears and she sees the time approaching for her wedding, her mind is now on wedding plans. Her interest in the plans of these girl friends who before have taken up much of her time now fade away. WHY? Because soon she is to meet her man at the wedding altar and so they will have to get along without her. Therefore in order to be a WISE virgin one must walk in all the light and knowledge required of them and to be FOOLISH is to walk in disobedience, doubt, carelessness, unpreparedness in regard to that which is required of you! 

EPHESUS LOSES OUT

 Therefore as long as Ephesus, which was the model church for all the gentiles spread her great revelated light of influence upon the first gentile church age, had the proper leadership of ministry during that first age, Ephesus was able to hold her true spiritual position before the Lord. Nevertheless once she lost that true ministry a power struggle set in among the elders which finally gave way to many other things, setting in the condition whereby the anti-christ could pervert the truth, removed that true five-fold ministry and set in a priesthood which Satan used to attack the revelation of the Godhead which eventually succeeded in changing the One God message, as taught by Paul, into a trinity. This alone shows me that as we wind up in the end of the age the wise virgins must fully return to that scriptural One God doctrine as well as all the other doctrines ever built around that One God because all these other doctrines such as Predestination, Eternal Security, Sanctification, Receiving the Holy Ghost, Water Baptism in His Name, simply unfolds His plan and brings forth His majestic wisdom revealing to us how God seeks to look upon us through His plan and furthermore how God seeks to reflect Himself in us. In other words, it is actually the Lord’s true way of courting people.

Finally the second age approaches called Smyrna and now through the TARES which Satan has successfully planted in the first age among the true wheat, the devil can now take over the fellowship and eventually destroy all traces of any true five-fold ministry who upheld the Word of God in the first church age. Finally by 500 A. D. Satan had successfully replaced the ministry with a pagan priesthood and already taken the church into captivity within the dark ages. Through all that long period Satan had been in the progress of building himself a church wherein for 1000 years he supremely ruled. Satan successfully introduced another Jesus, the 2nd person, II Cor. 11:4, as he successfully built himself a carnal church system, whereby he too might incarnate himself as a spirit though, yet still continue using the name of Jesus Christ as Saviour although he brought in Virgin Mary worship, he completely changed the oneness of God to a trinity to fit and please all the pagans whom he had now brought into his church (unbelieving TARES) who would dwell in that kind of revelation. Furthermore, he destroyed all the ordinances of the true church changing baptism from the oneness use of the proper name of Jesus unto a title repetition wherein once you have repeated those titles you still haven’t done or said anything as it has often been illustrated—you could write a check and sign it president, secretary, and treasurer, but it isn’t cashable unless the name of the person is signed to the check who is the president, secretary, and treasurer! Satan didn’t stop there, he replaced every scriptural revelated doctrine by bringing in through his own fleshly leaders his own idea of what he felt should be inserted in its place. Not only did he change the mode of water baptism he also changed the teaching of sanctification as well as the leaching of the baptism of the Holy Ghost for that of Confirmation. Little by little, Satan deceived the people in those early church ages as his influence continued to lay the groundwork of false teaching through a false spirit and people in general fell for it. Why, because long ago they had lost the true leadership of the Holy Ghost. Any time you toss the truth out the door you will always lose a certain potential acceptability to the Holy Ghost. No one can say I am following the Holy Ghost and spit at revelated truth because the Spirit and the revelated Word are inseparable. Once the Holy Ghost offers anyone access to truth and they reject that truth, by the same token when they reject the revelated truth they have also rejected a certain portion of the acceptability to the Holy Spirit. 

THYATIRA LIGHT 

Therefore by 500 A.D. as the church entered the Dark Ages it certainly appeared the kingdom of heaven or the true revelated light in general had all been shut off, because from 500-1500 A.D. you are in the period of the Dark Ages thus you no longer have the brilliant Ephesus Church Age light that was the first age. No, instead all you have now is a poor, pitiful, dim spiritual light which would be referred to as Thyatira Church Age light, Rev. 2:18-25, where every kind of doctrine imaginable has sprung up. Holy Communion is destroyed and Mass has taken its place as well as infant baptism being instituted. Every ordinance of the true New Testament church had now been twisted into something that could be used for a monetary gain. Bible doctrines were discarded, church creeds and ceremonies are instituted. Furthermore the true infallibility of the scriptures are substituted for that of the infallibility of the pope and all of these things became a fear tactic used by the priesthood to hold the people in line or under suppression for fear their very soul would be lost were they to rise up and speak out against this type of present leadership or the rituals and ceremony or any of the church doctrine!! 

What had happened spiritually? Like the natural Jew who had been taken into Babylon captivity, likewise do we have the true church or spiritual Jew taken from her spiritual Jerusalem setting and carried off into spiritual Babylon captivity wherein she remained captive for 1000 years, living in Babylonian superstition and ignorance as to the true word of God becoming almost destitute of the Spirit of God. Only here and there would appear a little drop of oil which would soon be squished by the power of Rome. No, these were not FOOLISH virgins throughout this long period. They were simply a lot of ignorant people who had been shot in the arm and put to sleep. However around 1517, God through His loving mercy began to slowly awaken her, for had it not been little by little she had been put to sleep.

 FOOLISH VIRGINS NOT REPRESENTED BY PROTESTANTISM

 History records the Protestant Reformation, beginning under Luther’s spiritual revolt around 1517 coming up through the Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicean Church Age, Rev. 3, was a period of time when God was moving by His Spirit bringing the people out of the long Dark Ages to restore certain segments of truth back to the church as she slowly returned to her original Word position. Reformation means to restore! Look at Israel over her past 25 years. Did God through the prophecy of Joel not promise to restore Israel as a nation of all she had been stripped, restore her to her former position in the Promised Land: Restore her especially to prosperity of her holy capitol city Jerusalem as well as Israel’s place of worship at the temple? If God will do all that restoring for a nation, will he not restore also the church to everything she was also stripped and robbed of. Certainly, and part of what she was stripped and robbed of or what she had lost was restored through such men as Luther, Knox, Wesley, and even through Pentecost. Although throughout the reformation period of 1517 into the middle of the 20th Century God was using that (400 year) period to restore certain Bible truths back to His church we see all His restored revelation wound up in its carnal denomination, never successfully leading the people out. We can truthfully say under Luther, Calvin, Knox, and Wesley who were truly great Reformation leaders none of their teaching individually led any one out of Babylon proper.

 SUBDIVISION BUILDERS IN SHINAR

 No, we can illustrate it like this, it is much like the freed Jew w who we shall say walked outside the gates of old ancient Babylon and instead of going back to Jerusalem, he stops outside the gate in the land of Shinar and builds himself a little house. Soon a few more of his relatives come out and a few more houses are built around him. All this building develops into a subdivision outside of Babylon. A few years later Babylon simply extends the city limits and incorporates their little subdivision. In reality that is what Luther’s movement did. Luther’s teaching didn’t take the people far enough away from the influence of spiritual Babylon, instead they only moved outside the original gates and was still a long way from spiritual Jerusalem. Spiritually speaking they were still in the plains of Shinar. Luther and his followers, after 1500 when he nailed his 95 theses on the church in Whittenburg, Germany had enough faith to get out of the gates of Babylon although going out only a short distance they established a sub-division, a little village all its own, called Lutheranism; But oh my, look at all that stuff they drug out of Babylon with them! See, they even built their little sub-division Lutheranism (demonomination) much on the same pattern as Babylon. Nevertheless it grew larger and larger until finally sometime later another man came out by the name of John Calvin who had a revelation on the Eternal Security of the believer. They moved out of Babylon and built another little separate sub-division up the road a little farther than Luther, yet they too were a long way from spiritual Jerusalem as they also settled on the plains of Shinar. Like many little communities always building up outside a large city only later to have that city move its city limits out and incorporate them all, that is exactly through the ecumenical spirit what the great metropolitan city of Babylon who is already stretched out all over creation is getting ready to do. How many can see that Luther’s sub-division and Calvin’s sub-division as well as Knox’s sub-division and the Wesley subdivision along with the Pentecostal is now waiting to be incorporated into Babylon. True, Babylon is now bickering through the ecumenical spirit and the World Council of Churches who already represent some 400 million members about moving the old Babylon city limits out far enough to incorporate them all. See, they never actually left Babylon proper.

 ONE MESSAGE TAKES YOU FROM BABYLON 

There is only one message according to the Bible that will sound at the end of the age which will cause you to be able to leave Babylon proper and come all the way to spiritual Jerusalem and there rebuild on the same spiritual revelation foundational grounds of that of the WISE virgins or the early church. When Rev. 18:4 declared for God’s people to come out of Babylon it meant far more than just coming out of Catholicism. It meant coming out of all this great Babylonian mess of confusion, it means leaving the plains of Shinar and coming down into Canaan’s land into Jerusalem and thereby begin to build anew on the old ruins of the early church’s foundation going back to the old landmarks, getting back to the revelated chief cornerstone and there rebuild. Yet even then beloved with such a message coming at the end of the age there will still be some who will camp halfway between!

 Every once in a while through the period of 1500-1900 someone would discover a little gold nugget and venture a little farther out into truth whereby people would pack up and move out a little farther from Babylon yet never leaving the land of Shinar! Beloved had the church never gone that route through the Dark Ages, out through Protestantism and on to the end, there would never have been such a thing as a FOOLISH virgin at the end of the age. 

PART II

 PENTECOST WAS OIL MESSAGE

 By the Word of the Lord we want to show why some people will wind up at the end of the age as FOOLISH. NO, the FOOLISH virgins of Matt. 25 do not appear in the church age program until sometime after the 20th century when the message of the Pentecostals had gone forth-declaring to all come and receive oil or receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Only after that message of receiving oil slowly loses its pre-eminence within the age do we hear of the WISE and FOOLISH virgins. The Lutheran message, the Knox message, the Calvin, nor Wesleyan message did not teach people to come and receive the Holy Ghost or receive oil in their vessel, although it must be remembered as one studies about the revealed truth that each one of these reformation leaders brought forth within each revelation on the Word whether it be, “the just shall live by faith”, “predestination”, “eternal security”, or “sanctification”, each one of these great revelations brought forth within its truth a certain portion of potential of the Holy Ghost or the oil, yet not one of these messages had a great outpouring of the oil as did the PENTECOSTAL message which opened the Laodicean Church Age around 1903 and for some 50 years more or less the pre-eminent cry of those Pentecostals who had to leave their former denominations to accept this great oil truth cried out around the world–COME AND RECEIVE OIL or in other words their message was, YOU MUST HAVE THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY GHOST! This was far more than a revelation on the Just shall live by faith as delivered by Luther or any of these other Reformation leaders. It was only after 1903 on Azusa Street in Los Angeles, Calif., God opened up such an oil well of the Spirit that from there He flooded the earth for 50 years with the richest oil and people from far and near came to fill their vessels. Therefore we would say only after the message of receiving oil by the Pentecostals do we begin to see the period of time the WISE and FOOLISH virgins enter the picture at the end of the age. Again I repeat there wasn’t enough oil in these messages of Protestantism up until 1900 to say any of them was the oil message. 

TRUTH CARRIED POTENTIAL OIL

 Luther, for example, could only move out so far on their revelation of faith and with that truth was carried a small amount of oil. Likewise did Calvin’s revelation of Eternal Security of the believer; With that revelation, also came a small amount of the oil. Even to the Wesleyan which had more oil than did that of the others yet not even the Wesleyan message had oil compared to what the people discovered after 1909. The Protestant Reformation had been the restoring of certain fundamental truths within the framework of the faith—which was more or less classified as the mere basic plan of salvation in redemption. However, as the kingdom of heaven progressed on toward the climax, that is in the turn of the 20th Century. God within it is now compelled to set something in motion to get a great quantity or access of oil unto the people–a far greater measure of oil than he ever introduced through any of the revealed truth of his reformation leaders. Sure many people within the Reformation period before 1900 could testify (especially among the Wesley movements) to their little experience with oil (spirit) within their own revelation of truth, nevertheless, there was no teaching to receive the oil such as existed after 1900. Certainly they were at no time considered FOOLISH because none of them up to that hour had ever returned to the full revelation of God and begun to build on the old foundational ruins of spiritual Jerusalem which had been destroyed over 1800 years ago! Therefore they could not be considered FOOLISH as were these in Matt. 25:1-13. Actually during all that Reformation period it didn’t particularly interest the Lord whether a person remained in any certain denomination or not seeing He was still camped in Shinar and not back in Jerusalem. You see, God knew shortly before the end of the age, after His great oil (spirit) message had covered the earth through the Pentecostal message(for at least 50 years) He was going to send a messenger with a WAKE UP MESSAGE unto all the virgins by which he would call his true people out of all that confused Babylonian mess shortly before she extended her city limits! And it would be then and only then that the people would fall into these two categories in Matt. 25 as the WISE and FOOLISH. Therefore up until that hour God simply permitted each movement to drift on in its own particular way.

 PARABLE BEGINS WITH PENTECOSTAL MESSAGE 

 Time progresses through Protestantism until we reach the opening of the Laodicean Church Age around 1903 when God suddenly opens up this great avenue of the oil or the receiving of the Holy Ghost. To whom did He suddenly give this revelation? Not to the man of the world but unto those hungry hearted Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, yes, and even Catholic. In other words it was offered unto all denominations seeing at this hour no Pentecostal movement had been born from this revelation. The hour is now drawing closer that more is going to be required of man in order to reflect and give off more light. Hence God opens for man the accessibility to the oil whereby the revelation of truth may now begin to burn more brightly. Suddenly denominational people from all movements began to search and hunger after God. Note, God always places first a hunger in man, whereby he might draw man to the very thing he has for him. Suddenly around 1903-1906, especially these three years, people from everywhere began to receive this wonderful, glorious experience of being filled with the Holy Ghost, speaking in tongues etc.. Did you know the year of 1973 completes a 70 year cycle since God began pouring the oil out for the denominations to come and fill their vessels? From 1903-1906 was the peak of the great oil gusher of the Holy Ghost, nevertheless in a lesser capacity the great oil fire continued to burn until it had flowed around and around the world! That message was called the Pentecostal message and it was the church’s invitation to come and receive oil. Thus shall we say here was the invitation for all the denominational virgins who had any spiritual light (truth) whatsoever to come and fill their vessels with oil whereby the revelational fires might burn in their soul. Here was an invitation to the people who had heard the Lutheran message, the Calvin message, the Knox message, as well as the Wesleyan message; And it was somewhere in this Pentecostal period that many of these people who did receive oil will later become the WISE virgins of Matt. 25. Furthermore, it was also the hour wherein the FOOLISH virgins should have gotten oil, but they slept through the period, undoubtedly feeling the revelation they had been convened under and carried in their bosom was more than sufficient and carried within it all the oil necessary to meet the Bridegroom. 

DENOMINATIONS FOUGHT OIL MESSAGE

 Concerning these denominations from whence these hungry hearted people came out of to receive the oil message or get oil in their vessels, these poor people were fought unmercifully by all the denominations alike! They were belittled, ridiculed, had rotten eggs as well as tomatoes thrown at them. Many were even jailed from time to time, nevertheless from 1903 until 1956 if you dared mention anything concerning the Holy Ghost or tongues around any of these ranks of denomination, in no uncertain terms would they inform you to leave that tongue talking religion alone seeing they branded it with snake handling and everything else, declaring it was of the devil. Yes, while this great oil message of the Holy Ghost was offered to the people throughout that period, I assure you they wanted no part of it!

 PENTECOST NOT FINAL MESSAGE

 Understand I am only using 1901 to approx. 1956 only as an illustrative thing to gauge your frame of thinking also it was through those early 1900’s that many song writers who had received the baptism as they along with all others were forced to move out of these denominations seeing they received such harassment began to write songs under the inspiration feeling definitely impressed we are moving toward the coming of the Lord! Their songs definitely contained a message concerning the Bride of Christ and the coming of the Bridegroom as well. All this indicates where Jesus’s parable of Matthew 25 actually began to be applied where the ten virgins who went forth to meet the bridegroom got their oil. However I want you to know although Pentecost did carry the front line oil message, they did not by any means carry the last and final message which would awaken all the virgins whereas they began to trim their lamps and prepare for the Bridegrooms coming. Nevertheless many of the old time Pentecostal believers went to their graves fully persuaded the Pentecostal oil message was the final message which would completely restore the church back to the full apostolic original position, something far from truth. This message of receiving the oil had brought them closer to that original apostolic church than had any other message since 1517 when Luther stepped out teaching the just shall live by faith. 

As these early denominational people began to search the scriptures to see what this great Holy Ghost blessing or outpouring of the Spirit which had come upon them actually was (from a scriptural standpoint) they decided it was what was given to the disciples on the day of Pentecost because there at Pentecost and other places tongues and other signs had also accompanied this spiritual blessing as it was doing here with them. Therefore while searching and examining the scriptures certain men themselves reached a carnal conclusion to what they would call the initial evidence doctrine which they attached to this gift. They said once a person received the Holy Ghost baptism, speaking in tongues had to accompany the gift which was to say, if you spoke in tongues you had received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. If you did not speak with tongues, you had not received the Holy Ghost (they said).

 No where could these early Pentecostal believers locate within the scriptures where any apostle ever taught you had to speak in tongues in order to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost. On the contrary, Paul taught just the opposite.(I Cor. 12:30 ) Nevertheless, noticing tongues (along with certain other manifestations) were mentioned in the scripture, they, for the first time in the church’s history, now decided if you have this blessing you definitely would have to speak in tongues, seeing the gift of tongues was more often referred to than any other gift which accompanied this Holy Ghost. Therefore in the early 1900’s was born the initial evidence doctrine that will later be used to lead these Pentecostal organizations into a trap and into the One World Church. This doctrine did not come from God, it came from man as he was seeking some means of an outward evidence to let people know when they had received the baptism of the Holy Ghost! It was e  simply their way of interpreting the scripture, however in just a few short years, around 1913, God will test their doctrine to see if it can hold water as he brings to the church (those of the Pentecostal followers who are carrying the frontline message telling the denominational people to receive oil) the revelation on the One God t and the baptism in water for the remission of sins in His redemptive name! 

REVELATORY SPIRIT 

 At this hour the religious world was totally engulfed in trinity and had been for better than 1500 years because there had been no revelation given to the restoring Reformation Period to challenge the trinity doctrine nor to even challenge the newly organized Pentecostal doctrine concerning all who speak in tongues as having received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Recall the Holy Ghost is a power gift spirit; I Cor. 12:1-31 explains that. Nevertheless, remember also, according to the gospel of John Chapters 14 and 16, the Holy Ghost is also the spirit of truth and is a revelatory spirit, along with these other characteristics of power gifts etc.. No, it is never a foolish spirit, nor one which makes mistakes when bringing something from the mind of the father unto you: it is always 100 percent accurate and never has to back up on anything it has revealed. Yet, how sad it is when we hear of people testifying to having the spirit, yet when the Holy Spirit brings a revelation from the mind of the father, they take one look at it and say—that is of the devil. I don’t believe it! This alone lets me know regardless whether they have spoken in tongues or not something is wrong with that spirit which that individual has.

 From 1903-1913 the people who have been forced out of denominationalism when they accepted this great oil message. somewhere out of that number would later conic the wise virgins. Time had arrived for God to test their spiritual minds. Those who had shouted WE HAVE THE OIL– true it was an hour God was giving the virgins oil, nevertheless, God saw also they needed another little portion of the Holy Ghost which he was about to make available. Had the Pentecostal trinity message been God’s final message as many died believing, then we must recognize two things would never have happened— (1). The oneness message would never have come on the scene, and (2). God would never have sent a prophet-messenger to the age with a WAKE UP message calling all virgins BACK TO THE WORD! Thus would the parable of Matt. 25 have ended in verse 1 with the Pentecostal oil message. True, the Pentecostal message was more to the original than anything up to that hour, nevertheless it lacked a few things also, such as some capping stones, and other spiritual material to be yet placed into the building. Therefore around 1913 God began to move upon these denominational people who had recently been put out of their own particular movement (over the oil) and they attached themselves to the new body of believers who had the Holy Ghost and spake with tongues and who continually gouged the denominations with this message —YOU NEED TO SPEAK IN TONGUES LIKE US TO HAVE THE HOLY GHOST!

 1913 SPLITS PENTECOST WITH REVELATION

  Shaken now with reality as to what such a revelation as this will cost them and where it will place them, these tongue speaking Pentecostals cautiously began to converse and question others as well as compare notes. What did this develop into— a split within Pentecost for soon it was those who accepted this revelation THAT GOD IS ONE and who took His name in water baptism, encouraging and teaching others to do the same, who found themselves being forced to break fellowship with the old Pentecostal crowd who still spoke with other tongues yet called this Holy Ghost revelation of the devil! To the outside this new group was forced to go however note as they left they carried with them the same old initial evidence doctrine that trinity Pentecost still held to as they voted to reject all these new One God people along with their new doctrine and retain their present position of the trinity. 

ONENESS, NOT FINAL MESSAGE 

To show the Oneness side of Pentecost could neither be the endtime wake up message, as they too had built on the land of Shinar, we see many of them turned this One God revelation and Baptism in His name into an erroneous Jesus Only teaching while others drifted into spiritual communion which was on the opposite side of the road to what Catholicism did. Still others yielded to advent teachings, Sabbath keeping, abstaining from meats, which Paul declared, if sanctified by prayer and the Word of God to be received with thanksgiving. (I Tim. 4:3-5) Others denied the literal return of Christ. God knew very shortly now, He was bringing a message on the scene which would incorporate the true revelation of the One God, along with the baptism in His name and clear the air of all error that had accumulated around the revelation, seeing the main purpose of all Pentecost was to testify to the world that this was the hour to receive oil in their vessels for the journey to go out to meet the Lord. 

KNOX & CALVIN’S REVELATION REJECTED

 Note, those trinity Pentecostal believers accepted Luther’s justification by faith message as well as Wesley’s sanctification message. However, note, they sneered at Knox’s Predestination message as well as Calvin’s Eternal Security of the Believer! These two revelatory truths they simply could not accept, nevertheless these truths also had their place within the framework of the true faith. Nonetheless Pentecostalism flatly refused to have anything to do with these two truths and fought them bitterly. You see, beloved, here was one reason Pentecostalism, though for over 50 years, carried the frontline message COME AND GET OIL, could by no means be the final message because the final message would embrace all these Reformation revelatory truths which had been restored to the church and this is something that had never been accepted throughout any part of Protestantism! 

FOOLISH VIRGINS ASLEEP IN DENOMINATIONAL SPIRIT

 Up until this hour all those old Protestant denominations, now 360-400 years old, plus these new Pentecostal believers were certainly not in the spiritual condition that the religious world is in today seeing several years after World War II, God sent his man into the earth at the midnight hour to bring the WAKE UP message which would call all believers out of all portions of Babylon teachings. 

Although the oil message was continually flowing everywhere, it never seemed to awaken the FOOLISH virgins unto a reality that they actually needed what the Pentecostals were teaching, that is, to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Nevertheless, they who are to make up the FOOLISH category had truly been converted. For example shall we say in the Lutheran Church, converted to the revelation the just shall live by faith—these converts simply didn’t think they needed anything other than their faith in God. Wesley’s followers were the same seeing they had their faith plus sanctification; Knox’s followers with faith plus predestination; while Calvin’s followers were believers and had along with faith the Eternal Security revelation. Therefore it must be understood as we discover why there are five FOOLISH as well as who the FOOLISH virgins are, that in the hour of the early 1900’s when Pentecost began to carry God’s frontline message to the denominations to receive oil, God had not rejected the denominations of that hour, seeing that during the hour we enter into the Laodicean church age those old denominations still housed God’s people! All of these groups practically were teaching that one should live a clean life; and love the Lord. Converted, you might say in (or off) the revelation which was still within these particular denominations and furthermore it was this very old denominational spirit which rocked a certain group off into a deep spiritual sleep, without any oil!

 Nevertheless, many of his hungry hearted people were coming out and receiving the oil—these who through this period came out will become the WISE virgins for the parable!

 During this hour all denominations were whacking at each other because they couldn’t understand the other group’s revelation; they didn’t realize the other group was built upon as much scripture as they were. God, watching his virgins, most of whom were already spiritually asleep knew about all they had accomplished (yes, including trinity Pentecost and the Oneness groups now as well) was to build their own private individual little subdivisions out in the land of Shinar where soon Babylon, through her new ecumenical spirit (promoting unity without doctrine) would simply move her city boundary line out and incorporate all of them into one city! Furthermore, God knew as yet he had not sent his messenger which would awaken all these virgins who were asleep to a reality that regardless to what they had accepted up until this hour, they were still in Babylon and they should come all the way back to Jerusalem. Don’t stop and build anymore subdivisions in Shinar! Come all the way back to Jerusalem and get on the scriptural apostolic grounds where the real landmark is and rebuild your house on the Word of God! we must not forget during these early hours of spiritual warfare before World War II exploded, it did not particularly matter with God how they fussed with each other because as yet God had not sent His awakening message by His Laodicean prophet messenger to the age—COME OUT OF HER MY PEOPLE! Yet in getting all the way out of these carnal movements, you must accept the revelatory truth which had been restored throughout ALL PROTESTANTISM!

 Recall, each of these subdivision groups had received a necessary part of the spiritual material which would go into rebuilding Jerusalem. However all this other junk, ideals and opinions of men which they carried out of Babylon should be left behind. Without going into any of the errors of doctrine I will only state that Pentecost, now with the new Pentecost, now with the new message of Oneness is split and fighting among themselves, yet regardless, it is a cry to come and receive oil, whether it comes from the Oneness, or the old trinity side of Pentecost, it nevertheless is God’s oil message for the religious world to come and receive oil! Therefore it is the Pentecostal message which would be used to produce a group of people called WISE virgins who later shall be awakened from spiritual sleep by the cry of a messenger crying out BEHOLD THE BRIDEGROOM COMETH, GO YE OUT TO MEET HIM! No, I did not say the Pentecostal denominations as a whole would hear this messenger. I only said the Pentecostal message to get oil was what God used to produce the WISE virgins who themselves are going to hear that messenger who cried at the midnight hour. 

PENTECOST COULD NOT WAKE FOOLISH VIRGINS

 Back there in those Baptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian denominations lay (FOOLISH) virgins spiritually asleep, which Pentecost had totally been unable to awake; to their need of oil, yet something is getting ready to happen which will awaken them to their need. Therefore in passing, allow me to say, it was nothing more than this very spirit of denominationalism which had caused these virgins of Matthew 25 ( who are to be declared as FOOLISH) to have drifted off into spiritual sleep without the oil because somehow the message in those Protestant denominations of which they had been converted keep them from awakening unto the reality they actually needed any oil. It simply means the FOOLISH didn’t reach the Pentecostal oil message whereupon the WISE did. However according to the parable even after that certain group had received oil, they too drift off to sleep (or into a slumber) spiritually while waiting for the coming of the Lord.

 PART III

 A MESSAGE AWAKES ALL VIRGINS 

According to Matthew 25:5-6 at the midnight hour a cry is made which awakened all these virgins. Please notice not even this WAKE UP message will disturb the TARES who lay dead spiritually among all these organized religions just waiting their hour when the ecumenical spirit will bind them together to be burned! This message however did awaken all the people who had any spiritual light in their bosom whatsoever—God says so! Because all virgins (wise or foolish) in the church world are represented in this parable! Now I ask you if the cry that awakened the sleeping virgins in the parable did not come from a sleeping virgin where then did it come from? The parable shows all the virgins were either soundly sleeping or in a light slumber when the cry was made therefore the one who sounded the message was not asleep-but AWAKE; And as the parable shows, the messenger came just a few steps ahead of the bridegroom. However in reality, all these various settings are involved with a space of time. Why does anyone announce the bridegroom? Recall in the Eastern wedding it was the proper thing to do. Furthermore in this sense it is royalty who is coming or being introduced. Recall, we published an article showing how royalty must always first be introduced, 

VOL. 2, NO. 3, April 1970

 No one doubted John the Baptist was the declared messenger with the spirit of Elijah upon him to introduce Christ’s first coming, yet who shall introduce his second coming before the sleeping gentile virgin church who at the midnight hour are all asleep. There is not a denominational theologian anywhere in this age who knew God would send a gentile prophet to this gentile church age shortly before His return for His bride. How could they!? According to the parable, if these theologians had any spiritual life in them whatsoever they were spiritually asleep, put to sleep by their own denominational ideas when the cry was made! 

I realize the man himself who makes the cry will live within the Laodicean Church Age, nevertheless the place in scripture he fulfilled wasn’t because he was some outstanding denominational leader within one of these sleeping groups. On the contrary, this man doesn’t represent them, he represents the bridegroom the Lord Jesus Christ and has been sent to awaken the virgins who are slumbering and sleeping ( verse 5). Therefore he is none other than God’s personal ambassador sent just a few steps in time) ahead of the bridegroom himself. His coming is at (briefly before) the midnight hour with his message. That is why the Bible declares in Rev. 10:7, Mal. 4:5-6: that God would send a prophet messenger to this sleeping gentile church age with a message to spiritually awaken and clean up those sleeping virgins from their ideas and opinions concerning the scripture and prepare them for His coming. 

Note again some of the virgins had gone to sleep with oil while others had gone to sleep without oil and It would he those who went to deep without oil who would be sleeping the soundest when the cry was made, seeing they had already slept through the hour God was declaring for all the denominations to get oil to go in their vessels. Therefore we shall say around 1956 (approaching the midnight hour) the first of the virgins began to show signs of awakening to the fact there was a message in the earth to clean them up from all Babylonian filth. 

The last of the subdivision builders (Pentecost) has now located on Shinar along with all the others outside the Babylon gate and have all gone to sleep. Both inside Pentecost, as well as fundamental denominations we find all the virgins sound asleep; some in a much deeper sleep than others (some slumbered) nevertheless the point is ALL ARE ASLEEP! No doubt by far the greater percentage of wise virgins have not even come through the revelation of the One God before they went to sleep, although they had accepted the oil message, for recall, it is having the oil which classifies them as WISE. Don’t forget, God has a message for the WISE once they do awaken, delivered by his prophet who would straighten out the WISE’S thinking on the subject of the One God, along with all those other Bible doctrines. Just think, had God not sent a prophet messenger shortly before that dark 12 o’clock hour struck (for the tribulation hour judgment) to this sleeping gentile Laodicean age, those virgins would still be sleeping and snoring and you, beloved, would be back in your chrisitian experience where you were 20 years ago! Again, I say, in the parable the one who makes the awakening cry is not one of the sleeping virgins, but one who is scripturally and officially authorized as well as one who knows the bridegroom is coming just a few steps behind him. Spiritually speaking, in reality he is a man God has raised up in the earth and placed within him his own revelation to fit his word and execute his purpose in announcing the coming of the bridegroom and to show these virgins once they fully awake how to trim their lamps and get ready for the bridegroom’s appearing. “Thy Word O God is a lamp unto our feet” (Psm. 119:105) 

On the brink of the midnight hour the messenger cried aloud to all the sleeping virgins.

PROPHET SENT TO EVANGELISTIC FIELD 

 Around 1947-48 or thereabouts God sent forth a little man into the evangelistic field within whom He had placed His revelation and this man well knew what he had been sent to do, according to what had previously been spoken to him by the angel of the Lord, especially at the Ohio River in 1933 as he was baptizing (even as was John the Baptist during that first coming when he also heard the voice of the Lord while in the water). His early religious association brought him in contact with the Baptist ranks, although due to his special ministry and calling as a prophet of God he was unable to accept their way. Furthermore realizing the Apostle Peter had the keys and did have the revelation of what Jesus spoke in his commission of Matt. 28:19, this prophet always baptized converts according to Acts 2:38. His own christian experience with God was totally rejected and denied by his Baptist officials who warned him to stay away from such things, visions etc.. Hence such things simply verified William Branham was strictly ordained of God and could never cater to any of these systems. His life, his nature and his message were all tuned strictly to the coming of the Lord. As God began pushing his prophet messenger out into the field, did he reach back and pick tip the old Lutheran denominational message, or the Knox, Calvin, or Wesley message—NO, which message then did he begin to declare—- the Pentecostal oil message because the Pentecostals, whether trinity or Oneness, already believed in divine healing, baptism of Holy Ghost, speaking in tongues and signs and wonders. Once this man was introduced to the evangelistic field his unusual gifts of healing ministry was to be used to spearhead a move of God over the next ten years such as this world had never witnessed. 

As we stated, this prophet picked up the Pentecostal oil message, yet get this, at the same time he reached back into that 400 years of world denominational Protestantism and pulled out every precious revelated truth God had sent through Protestantism and placed them within his message! What group do you think first latched on to him—not the denominational fundamentals, oh no, they were still snoring soundly. As God introduced him to the field of evangelism who then did first accept him—THE PENTECOSTAL PEOPLE– or shall we say THOSE WHO WERE CONNECTED WITH THE LAST MESSAGE OF OIL.

 Because of what Pentecost had previously believed, they were able to recognize God was using him although they had not awakened to the understanding of his ordained role. To them he was nothing more than an unusual anointed man with the most perfect gift ministry who had ever come among them praying for the sick. Note, as God introduced his One God prophet messenger to the evangelistic field, the Pentecostal religious world as well as the religious world in general was mainly trinity. Up until about 1956 it was mainly the Pentecostals who accepted his ministry, because from 1948-1956 his ministry had primarily sparked or spearheaded a fabulous move of God never before witnessed by this world which included salvation, healing, baptism of the Holy Ghost, signs, and wonders. These 10 years we might add was only upon a wider scale of that which Pentecost had been back in her original beginning. 

HOLY GHOST REVIVAL SUBSIDES

 Then around 1956 this great salvation, healing, Holy Ghost wave slowly began to subside as God begins changing the order of events. Having been known on the evangelistic field for that 10 years as a man with a most unusual perfect gift ministry and seeing time is drawing near for the arrival of the bridegroom, God now begins to press upon his prophet messenger to lift up his voice into that which would now become an awakening message unto all the sleeping virgins. Bro. Branham begins to exalt the name of the Lord Jesus Christ showing him, by scripture, to be none other than the one great God and that true water baptism was performed in his name and that all saints should be filled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost in order to live that holy, sanctified life as taught by John Wesley. Furthermore, he took that same revelated faith as taught by Luther, coupled with John Knox’s revelation on Predestination showing how it correctly fit within the framework of the scriptures equally as well as did Calvin’s revelation on Eternal Security. Get this, for this is what this man had been sent to do– his cry and message was to awaken the sleeping virgins! He, as a prophet. Look all these great revelatory truths delivered by the Reformation leaders within their particular hour and carefully placed them in their proper setting within the framework of the scriptural faith declaring to all the virgins who went now waking (understand this awakening also requires a process of time) THIS IS THE MESSAGE YOU ARE TO BELIEVE!! No, it wasn’t a new message—new to this age of course, but it was a message believed by the New Testament believers during the first age! Therefore to you I say get back to the Bible! Yes, the midnight hour was rapidly drawing close when all the religious world would be plunged into tribulation darkness, yet before that hour God sent this man to awaken all the virgins…God lifted this man up into that scriptural setting and calling whereby the sound of his message or cry shook the age in general as that message rang down the corridors of denominationalism to strike the heart of every sleeping virgin.

 Naturally those who had followed him for the fishes and loaves over the past ten years, especially in the realms of Pentecost, no longer could accept his doctrine as he hammered out that pure revelated Word of God and rebuked Pentecost for making their initial evidence doctrine showing where it had distorted the Word of God. Truly all this formed into a message crying out at the midnight hour. It was the cry of this prophet that rocked the very foundation of this religious age as he screamed under the anointing of God GET BACK TO THE WORD! WASH YOURSELF IN THE WORD! BECOME A WORD CHRISTIAN BECAUSE JESUS IS SOON COMING! And perhaps the final great act for this prophet came in 1963 under the special anointing of the Holy Spirit when he was privileged by the Spirit to break into the Revelation of the Seven Seals and perhaps not since 96 A.D. when John was on the Isle of Patmos has there ever been another such hour when new and fresh revelation was delivered to the Bride of Christ as was taken from these Seven Seals. 

Many other men who had stood shoulder to shoulder with him during the great deliverance hour of 1946-1956 while the Holy Ghost was making available the oil, healings, signs, and wonders now began to turn away not only from him but also from their strong scriptural stands and began more and more to compromise their own message or go to any length to merely please the mass of people! Why? Because after 1956 God was changing the order of events. Time had come to awaken the virgins. True, as this awakening message continued to strike the heart of those sleeping virgins and created within the corridors of this spiritual world such a vibration of waves that sleeping FOOLISH denominational virgins (who you recall are truly virgins and not TARES) began to awaken to their dire need of oil as well as the fact the bridegroom was soon to come. 

ILLUSTRATION OF SLEEPING SOLDIERS

 In the awakening of these virgins the scripture declares some slept (sound) and others only slumbered. Allow me to use an illustration of a barracks of soldiers who are sleeping. From somewhere outside, one who is not within the sleeping group will sound reveille (an awakening call). Many will be sound asleep when that sound is made while others will only be napping or slumbering at the time and will hear the sound. Some of these soldiers will never hear the initial sound. OH, NO! instead they will be awakened only by the continuous commotion going on among those who did hear the initial sound and are awake! likewise, all the virgins did not awaken at the initial sound either; instead it was the commotion which was set in which eventually awakened all the FOOLISH– showing this awakening also had to come about over a period of time. As that cry or message was heralded into the age to awaken the virgins (not TARES) to Christ’s coming. The WISE virgins who had received the oil or the Holy Ghost somewhere within the Pentecostal hour of that message were the first to be able to recognize God had sent a messenger to the age. Some are naturally going to be more responsive and respond to this cry quicker seeing they aren’t spiritually sleeping as soundly as others. Nevertheless the FOOLISH denominational virgins have also begun to awaken because of all the commotion going on among the WISE and finally the FOOLISH are all awakened to their need. Yes, I can see denominational people awakening who are FOOLISH virgins. They ask the WISE what has been going on, having reference to the great sweeping Holy Ghost deliverance revival, mainly over those years from 1946-1956, a revival through which they have slept. Poor FOOLISH sleeping virgins had all slept through it, nevertheless it has been the commotion or the after affects which has finally awakened those FOOLISH! And they discover while trimming their lamps they don’t have any oil! Although they can still read magazines and hear much talk concerning – what marvelous things took place over that period. Through it all it somehow has awakened them to  the fact Jesus is soon coming and of what God is doing when suddenly they realize—I NEED THE HOLY GHOST! Let’s clear the air on one thing now–the FOOLISH virgins are not part of the virgins who entered this bride message and later fell back to become the FOOLISH virgins! NO SIR. The FOOLISH can’t get into this bride because they have no light or revelational oil! Furthermore the FOOLISH virgins are out trying to get oil. Who do you know in this bride message out seeking oil as were these FOOLISH VIRGINS! 

TRIMMING THE LAMPS

 The fact from the parable where Jesus shows the two groups of virgins and the FOOLISH saying to the WISE, give us of your oil and the WISE answering NOT SO should definitely show you there has been a reaction among the people within this bride message once they began to awaken and started trimming their lamps. Trimming the lamps as we have already stated is getting the wick clipped off or getting one’s revelation straightened out by discarding all the burnt carbon collected to the revelation over a period of time, whereby the oil may now flow freely through the wick on to the Holy Ghost flame causing a brilliant spiritual light to show forth for the believer. 

Recall some had gone to sleep with oil in trinity Pentecost; nevertheless when they awoke to the fact God had sent a messenger to the age and once God sparked that as truth to their heart they came quickly awake and began to search the scriptures and with the light they already had burning in their soul which feeds the revelation of God, they soon discovered God was not three persons but One. See, they are trimming away their old carnal ideals because now fully awakened they want their revelation and spiritual understanding to be perfectly in line with that of their true Holy Ghost experience because they know the Spirit and the Word agree! Fully aware that Jesus is coming soon, as the message goes forth they diligently search the scriptures to make sure their experience is in full accordance with the Word of God. Am I supposed to cut my Hair? How should I wear my clothes? Am I supposed to believe in women preachers? Should I be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ? Having heard the messenger declare what they should do, they search the scripture and in searching the scriptures for the true revelation on the Word they are trimming their lamps. Recall, the wick is the only thing you trim! Until this message arrived they had not fully known the truth concerning these women preachers and women evangelists they had followed. Beloved, I do not say this in a derogatory manner as I speak only in the defense of this book—I care not if they make water run up the hill backward that won’t change the Word of God when Paul declared for women to learn in silence with all subjection—But I suffer not a woman to teach nor usurp authority over a man but to be in silence..) Tim. 2:11-12! The WISE virgins have (only) recently gone to sleep, according to the scripture, somewhere within that Pentecostal revival to the age, nevertheless the minute they hear that cry and awaken they notice how some carbon particles had formed on their wick. They realize old trinity teaching must go along with the triune baptism: their old initial evidence doctrine (no, they don’t deny their Holy Ghost experiences it merely changes their idea to the truth which makes every revelation now link up with the revelated Word. As they see their idea of women preachers must go they shout PRAISE GOD as they continue to clip the carbon from their wicks and my what a light it produces as the Holy Ghost oil within the vessel begins to now flow unhampered through the revelation wick of the Word of God. Now that they are fully awake they are more than willing to allow God to illuminate their souls as they begin looking for people of like faith. However note, the FOOLISH virgins never even got started good in trimming their lamps before they discovered they had no oil. They could never get a light going in the Word for they must concentrate on getting the oil. 

BRIDE MESSAGE BECOMES PREEMINENT

 When I stated a moment ago the great Holy Ghost revival had subsided around 1956 as God was changing the order of events in this program for the cry now is to awaken all the sleeping virgins. I did not by any means imply you could not be saved or filled with the Holy Ghost! Sure this is all still available, only now the main frontline message is not receiving oil but preparing a bride to meet the bridegroom! Let no one tell you the genuine Holy Ghost is not still available to all however, God now directs his frontline message to affect those who have the oil in getting a people completely out of Babylonian ideas and fully back into the Word of God before Christ comes. We note since part of these virgins are Wise, having the oil, it is no problem for them to enter into the revelation of the Word seeing you first must have the Holy Ghost in order to walk in the revealed truth of the Word. No wonder the poor FOOLISH virgins couldn’t get any further than where they were when they went to sleep–how could they possibly jump the Pentecostal oil message and come over into this revelation seeing you must first have the Holy Ghost to lead you into this revelation! Therefore we see why the FOOLISH would ask the WISE to give them of their oil. They would never be able to finish trimming their lamps and know where they stood in the revealed Word as they had no Holy Ghost (oil) to light their way! What would be the point in trimming the lamps if they had no oil? We note the poor denominational FOOLISH virgins who never went forward to embrace the Pentecostal experience of oil while it flowed so freely but instead simply went to sleep in the denominational spirit believing their revelation of faith in God or their sanctification message or eternal security revelation or predestination revelation (which we have stated before carries a certain potential of oil though nowhere near enough for the journey) were of the impression it was all they needed to make the journey.

 However when those poor FOOLISH denominational virgins awakened and heard what God had been doing especially over those last ten years while they were spiritually asleep, it shook them mightily and where else could they turn to see if they were right, but to the Bible! So, to the Book they go because they are a firm believer that Jesus is soon coming and naturally the first thing they discover as they begin to clip away some of the old carbon which had formed on their wick is–THEY HAVE NOT RECEIVED THE HOLY GHOST.

 Give us of your oil, cried the FOOLISH to the WISE; for our lamps have gone out. True, the revelation truth under which these FOOLISH virgins had been converted did not carry sufficient oil for the message in this hour. It was substantial for a certain period of time, though definitely not enough for this hour seeing an oil message had already been offered. In other words, what they were facing now, even though they were awake, they recognized they would need far more oil than what they had to enter into this. It is a late hour to discover you have no oil. 

BRIDE MUST ENTER HER MESSAGE

 It should be interesting to note in verse 9 what the WISE answered the FOOLISH. Although you may feel their answer to be unchristian or unchristlike, an answer which showed no love. You must bear in mind at this hour after the messenger came and awakened all of them there was absolutely nothing the WISE virgins could do for the FOOLISH! When the FOOLISH discovered they had no oil and turned to the WISE for help. It should be noted the WISE did not say, come here I will pray for you that you get the oil and necessary understanding or I will take you to church with me. No, none of these things were said! The WISE offered absolutely no help to the FOOLISH as now the WISE have a different message they must enter into while the poor FOOLISH, now unable to go any further with the WISE try to find oil.

PART IV

3 FOLD PURPOSE OF CHARISMATIC REVIVAL 

Note what the WISE told the FOOLISH to do first–go back out and buy some oil. in other words go to those still in business selling oil) AND BUY FOR YOURSELVES. Verse 10 says while they went off to buy the oil from the merchants who were selling in that hour, the bridegroom came and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage and the door was shut.

 Where then are the FOOLISH at this hour– THEY ARE SHUT ON THE OUTSIDE; while the WISE who were ready went into the marriage. While FOOLISH virgins had gone to buy oil, which again shows another process of time lapsing, the bridegroom comes in the fullness of his revelation to the WISE virgins or those who have the oil and who have trimmed their lamps who shall now make up the bride of Christ. The FOOLISH virgins have gone in search of oil when the bridegroom comes and they which are ready go in with him. This shows the WISE and the foolish have definitely now been separated. For a time all virgins had walked together. However now the bride has a separated message she must enter into while the FOOLISH are out searching for oil.

Later we shall show going in with him at this point is not the literal translation of saints, but instead seeing the two groups are now separated it is for the WISE virgins to be shut up in the revelation that they may thoroughly prepare themselves for the coming of Christ.

SLEPT THRU OIL MESSAGE

Recall, somewhere from 1903 to around 1956 while they were sleeping this oil message had been the front line message which flowed from God Himself unto His church. However, the FOOLISH denominational believers had ignored this oil message and although they were still virgins who were being awakened by the commotion of this message (awake enough to begin searching the scriptures) still they they can’t enter into the bride or WAKE UP message–without the oil! I am sorry to say at this point as the parable indicates, seeing the FOOLISH have no oil, there is no possible way the WISE can assist the FOOLISH therefore WISE virgins must now concentrate, not upon some religious commotion going on within the religious world, they must strictly concentrate upon entering into the full revelation of Christ seeing now they have already become a separate people from the FOOLISH virgins as well as the TARES. Had the FOOLISH had the oil Christ would not have considered them FOOLISH and secondly they too could have entered into the evening time light (Christ’s full revelation to his bride). Therefore, Bride stop looking out the window at what the religious world is doing. OH, but they are getting so many saved and filled with the Holy Ghost, someone says!! That’s fine, however, note Matt. 25 is not discussing anyone getting saved! Bride, you can’t have one foot in one camp and the other foot in another camp and expect to get anywhere yourself! You can’t be WISE and FOOLISH virgins at the same time! You are at the end, stop allowing sympathy to rule you! God isn’t a God who is ruled by sympathy, He is ruled by facts, truth, and reality!

GLOSSOLALIA & CHARISMATIC REVIVAL

 Although they cannot give any of their oil or help them in any manner the WISE instructs the FOOLISH to go back out into the religious world and find those merchants who are still selling the oil. In other words, go back out to some little prayer meeting group. Pentecostal church or somewhere and get the oil. Off they go, all the FOOLISH to buy oil. However we must realize, although the frontline message from 1903-1956 had been strongly COME AND GET OIL, it is now no longer the frontline message, yet there will still be plenty places where one could receive the oil. The bride message has now taken over the frontline or pre-eminent spot, message wise. Does that imply people can no longer receive oil? CERTAINLY NOT! However it must be remembered that while the oil was the pre-eminent message through those years, it was for the sole purpose of getting oil in the virgins vessel to go out and meet the bridegroom. Being the pre-eminent message of God, not only did it carry a definite purpose or goal but furthermore the message lay mainly in the hands of dedicated men who strongly promoted holiness of life, who fought bitterly against sin and hewed to the line on clean living. 

Now I am saying all of that to show you something (things have changed) Once the Holy Ghost message had served its purpose, which was to fill the vessels of the WISE virgins with oil for the journey, we begin seeing it slowly take on another purpose. About that time as this teaching began to slip from superiority among the Pentecostals who had been so greatly used up through 1956, we now see this Holy Ghost message slowly changing hands unto a new group of merchants as well as changing its name to a new shiny, attractive, fancy Greek name called glossolalia and the charismatic revival. This message now falls into the hands of men who have an altogether different idea and goal from the old time Pentecostals who had supreme rule of the message. The charismatic move did not spring from the Pentecostals but from denominational prayer groups and is now mainly promoted through the denominational and Catholic realm. While the Pentecostals were all receiving the Holy Ghost, speaking in tongues etc., the denominations called it of the devil, making all manner of fun of it and ridiculing the people who received the Spirit as Holy Rollers linked it with tongue jabbering and snake handling however look at them today! Now they accept it with open arms calling it the charismatic- experience!

 Furthermore, when the Pentecostals carried the message of the Holy Ghost supremely, anyone who embraced the Holy Ghost blessings was forced to sever his fellowship with his own present movement because the Holy Ghost always led that one filled with the Spirit out of what they were in. However the Holy Ghost wouldn’t have to lead you out, the denominations would throw you out announcing you had fallen in the clutches of satan and unless you would denounce this thing you called the Holy Ghost experience you were ousted! Note, around the time this awakening message of COME OUT OF HER MY PEOPLE comes to the forefront as God’s message of superiority getting a bride ready for the bridegroom, what do we begin to hear out in the religious world? It is at this time we begin to hear of leading dignitaries in the Catholic Church, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, and other groups going about from place to place who, you recall, have come nowhere near this endtime message, testifying to how they have received the Holy Ghost or what is now called glossolalia experience, speaking in tongues etc.. 

NO PRICE TAG

 For recall, while Pentecost carried supremely the Holy Ghost message it definitely had a price tag attached to it (1903-1956)! That is to say back when it really cost you something to claim this experience and when you had to live right to enjoy the benefits offered, back during that period none of these so-called great ecclesiastical denominational leaders wanted any part of this tongue speaking experience and furthermore would have nothing to do with it! However now that you can receive it with no price tag or cost to you whatsoever and you are not required by this glossolalia spirit to leave your organization seeing this experience today does, not no require the same obedience and restriction to the Word of God as the old experience of the Holy Ghost did 10 years ago. WHY? Because according to personal testimonies of those who enjoy glossolalia this experience makes you a more devout Catholic or more devout to the church program of denomination religion–something the Holy Ghost 40 years ago would never do! Now everyone, that the price tag has been lifted by man and not God, wants to jump on the glossolalia bandwagon. Movie Stars, television stars, Jesus people, hippies, and what have you, all can receive this experience and never have their worldly career affected in the slightest. WHY? Because the new merchants have taken the old price lag off. Now you can move about unhindered in your chosen worldly careers. Beloved get this, it is the first movement in the history of this religious world that costs you nothing to have and keep so-called truth. Furthermore it is the first movement in the history of the world to ever use or depend upon worldly personalities such as television stars and movie personalities to promote any movement as these new merchants are relying more and more upon this to promote their charismatic revival. Shame on this movement because all other movements of the past, especially in its infancy relied strictly upon the power of God to get their teaching across! However this movement today relies strictly upon the worldly personalities such as singers and actors to be the main drawing card to the huge crowds who flock to the glossolalia meetings as the charismatic revival is promoted. Why do they use these personalities who have the glossolalia experience? Simply because the precious Word of God which brings forth many doctrines of the faith means nothing to these merchants! 

PENTECOST JOINS BANDWAGON 

Even down to the Pentecostals, both trinity and oneness, are flabbergasted at the growth of this movement proclaiming truly it is the great revival to sweep the earth spoken of by the Prophet Joel…In the last days I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh etc., (Joel 2:28-29). Therefore even Pentecostal evangelists who rejected the truth wants to jump on this charismatic bandwagon and help promote its program through this spirit of bringing all denominations together by helping them receive their charismatic experience! Therefore I ask you is there any wonder that many of these Pentecostal leaders who had been influential up until around 1956 in promoting a true program of the Holy Ghost now changes their appearance to hippie dress, changing also their hair styles with their bushy sideburns, goatees etc.. to make themselves more acceptable unto the masses of this movement! 

UNITY WITHOUT DOCTRINE 

A moment ago I mentioned glossolalia and the charismatic move had an entirely different goal or objective in mind from that of the old time Pentecost when they carried the pre-eminence and this frontline message. The charismatic revival promotes strictly unity of all denominations including Catholicism to come together under one head and this can only be accomplished by destroying all restored scriptural church doctrine leaving everyone alone to do what is right in his own eyes and concentrate on promoting strictly a movement based on love and unity (without Bible doctrine) for all. (Though not unity-based on the truth of the Word of God). This movement seeks to destroy by simply ignoring those great restored church doctrines for they realize there can never be unity between Protestants, Catholics, and Pentecostals alike, as long as there are church doctrines standing between or separating these movements! Thus this wall and barrier must be broken down and the spirit of ecumenicalism which is highly promoted above anything else by the so-called Holy Ghost charismatic move, has that one goal and objective in mind! Thus the charismatic move serves two purposes–(1). To bind together all TARES in denominational religion and carry them to Rome where later God shall burn them (Matt. 13:40) (2). Through glossolalia and this angle of speaking in tongues this spirit will smite blind the Pentecostals unto its true identity and gently lead them into the one world church—while in the meantime the poor FOOLISH denominational virgins who had 1st been awakened by the cry of the messenger or awakened by the commotion of the message and realizing their need for oil are somewhere out there caught up in that spirit buying oil. And for sometime the vision of the FOOLISH VIRGINS as they get wrapped up in this thing will be to help promote it, yet it is interesting to note from the parable these FOOLISH virgins who could not make the bride will not be deceived by this glossolalia spirit and led into the one world church either because as the parable reveals the FOOLISH VIRGINS after spending a time in this movement get their eyes opened to more truth or something and returns to the WISE virgins, although at this time the door to that truth is shut and the WISE virgins are locked inside of it! Nevertheless, the FOOLISH virgins have made a break from this movement and will never be sucked into the deception of this one world church— later we will see what happens to these virgins!

 Therefore you can see when Pentecost had pre-eminence of this oil message God had strictly one purpose in mind, however now that the WAKE UP message has arrived and the great cry for oil has subsided, the WISE virgins who receive the oil are now busy at this hour preparing to enter into their new revelated message of truth. If you can accept it, God is now allowing or permitting this new teaching; now dressed in a new attractive garb and a new name to catch the attention of the WISE and prudent, of the university students, the professional people with a new experience which allows them to speak in tongues etc.. and at the same time blind and deceive the Pentecostals who also have a tongue speaking experience into accepting all Protestants and Catholics alike as brothers, seeing now they have all received their charismatic experience. 

Seeing Roman Catholicism today already has the 3rd largest group of charismatic experience seekers, it would not surprise me any day to hear that the Pope himself had received his own experience and watch what that would do to the Pentecostals! Pentecostal Catholicism or charismatic Catholicism as it is more preferably referred to has some 200,000 Pentecostal Catholics in America alone! .. Recently at the great Catholic Notre Dame stadium, a stadium which only attracted 99 people to its first glossolalia meeting, this year drew 25,000 who watched more than 600 robed priests in clerical stoles, chanting, singing, and expressing their charismatic experience while all openly declare, according to Times Magazine they are everyone devout obedient followers of the Roman Church! The charismatic movement alone in the Catholic circle has some 1100 glossolalia prayer groups. 

What is the objective behind all this? Recall, between the time Bro. Branham was delivering the Church Age messages – The 70 Weeks of Daniel and the Seven Seals to those who had been awakened by the message, in 1962 to be exact, Pope John 23rd was calling his Ecumenical Council meeting at Rome, as he slated, for the purpose of airing out the great system, making some necessary changes, and inviting the Protestant daughters to come home! John called his Ecumenical Council meeting an inspiration saying the idea of the Council came to me like a flower in an unexpected spring. Recall, the rest of his short lived life was dedicated to the purpose of unity to fulfill his personal interpretation of Christ’s prayer in John 17 “make them one” (Christ meant make them one through the Word—not without it). And where John fell in death, Pope Paul vowed to bring John’s dream to a reality. Protestant ministers visiting the Ecumenical Council declared it was a beautiful dream which could not be filled for many many a year, seeing there were entirely, far too many doctrinal barriers which divided the people. However I call your attention to the successful work of 15 short years through the work of the World Council of Churches with her more than 400 million members, including the National Council of Churches not to mention the greatly publicized Ecumenical evangelism programs and the charismatic revivals—-actually little is left to be accomplished! 

Denominational Pentecostalism rejected the WAKE UP message, hence they have no choice now but to fall in line with the new deceptive charismatic endeavor. Especially now that they are witnessing the denominational and Catholic people all speaking in other tongues, how can they stand by in doubt when according to their own initial evidence doctrine created in the early 1900’s they have to accept these people have truly received the Holy Ghost or become hypocrites! It shall be through this glossolalia movement that Pentecostalism shall be truly received the Holy Ghost or become hypocrites! It shall be through this glossolalia movement that Pentecostalism shall be deceived into going through that route into the one world church back to Rome wherein God has vowed he will kill all her children with death. Rev. 2:20-24! Behold I will cast her into a bed and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation except they repent of their deeds and I will kill her children with death”

 “TIMES” DECLARES GLOSSOLALIA USEFULNESS

 Times Magazine dated May 25, 1970 in their article RELIGION shows how the charismatic revival even back in 1970 was absolutely the strongest tool in breaking down those wide boundaries of doctrinal ideas between Protestants and Catholics… “If Catholics are ever to find ground for reunion with Calvinistic Baptist and Pentecostal churches, the idea of a —”charismatic” ministry may be of substantial help in overcoming the still vast difference in their theologies.” Why? Because this movement seeks to destroy doctrine! To them doctrine divides. Such an atmosphere as this is what the FOOLISH virgins must go out into to buy oil. Even within the Pentecostal churches the overtone has changed. The term ecumenicalism, world church unity, along with glossolalia and charismatic revival are all the new words found in their vocabulary as Pentecost is doing everything in their power to identify themselves with the spirit of this new move.

PART V

BRIDE ENTERS IN

 Are any of these people actually receiving the Holy Ghost, someone may ask? Well, I say this, the Holy Ghost is still available. Sure, I have no doubt many are truly receiving experiences from God. especially those FOOLISH virgins who are out seeking oil. Although unbeknownst to them they have been gone far too long from the WISE virgins, according to the parable to possibly be in the bride. For while they went to buy oil (showing their going required a process of time), verse 11-12 says, Christ came unto the bride not for her translation just yet seeing there we will meet him in the air. (1 Thes. 4:17) Instead, here Christ comes unto her in the fullness of his revelation that is unto the WISE virgins who had the oil in their vessel when they awoke and now make up his bride saints. Christ gives unto them the revelation of his Word, whereby they might first be thoroughly washed and cleansed through the revelation of his word as is clearly shown in Eph. 5:25-27. When does this happen? At the end of the age.

 BRIDE BATHES SELF

 In the natural a young girl who is to be wed, before she dons that wedding garment will certainly take a good bath. While the FOOLISH virgins are out buying oil from those deceptive merchants who now have control of the oil program, the bride has been shut in taking her bath in the revelated Word of God before donning her wedding garment. Eph. 5:26 declares Christ at the end of the age, shortly before He Presents the church unto himself sanctifies and cleanses the church with the washing of water by the Word. See according to the parable of Matt. 25:10-12 while the FOOLISH were still out (through that process of time) buying their oil from his new brand of merchant and getting involved in glossolalia, the bride had already entered into her full revelation of Christ and was now being cleansed and thoroughly washed in the revelated Word of God from all traditional filth.

 Finally in Rev. 19:7-9 we hear these words showing the bride at last is ready— Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor unto him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come and his wife hath (Past tense) made herself ready. Remember now, before she makes herself ready she takes her final bath in the washing of the Word to cleanse herself of all denominational particles that may still be attached unto her thinking. How? By the washing of the revelated Word of God! 

THE THUNDERS. WHEN? 

One more little thing I might drop in concerning the bride in that closing hour, is a word concerning those seven mysterious unknown thunders spoken of in Rev. to: 3-4 that John almost recorded but was instructed not to. Recall the seven thunders are to be revealed under the 7th Seal and although in 1963, Bro. Branham broke into the first six seals and delivered fully the revelation hidden there however when he came to the 7th Seal to be opened Bro. Branham remarked how a certain portion of this seal at that time (’63) could not be broken; although he fully thought beforehand that every portion of the Seven Seals would be revealed when he came to it! For some reason God had saved that little portion of the 7th Seal (those 7 thunders) for another period of time.

 Not a single living human being on earth knows anything about those seven unknown mysterious thunders —- seeing they are not even written! Recall the world has the privilege today of knowing if they so choose, what was revealed in the Seven Seals by Bro. Branham in 1963 however, get this, no one but the little bride of Christ. sometime after she is separated from the FOOLISH virgins, when she is alone, separated from all then shall she and she alone know the mystery of the seven thunders and all I can say concerning the seven thunders in that 7th Seal is sincerely believe their sounding has something to do with the little bride of Christ knowing concerning her translation to glory when she meets the bridegroom in the air (II Thes. 4:17) Undoubtedly when she is alone, separated from all others, shut in alone with him making her final preparations to depart this earth shall God then reveal to her the mystery of the seven thunders! It shall, no doubt, involve in some way the dead in Christ who are to rise first, as well as she herself being changed from mortal In immortality!

 Verse 11-12 records the saddest part of the story concerning the FOOLISH virgins who, after having returned from their oil buying trip now with their eyes fully open to what this so-called Holy Ghost revival is all about and where it will lead the people, they now are perhaps seeing far more truth in the Word to walk in than %what this group walks in seeing the FOOLISH virgins have the Spirit and is ready to enter into more revelation along with the Bride. however now it is too late!! Why? because the WISE virgins have already been shut in with the Lord in this revelation and undoubtedly are in progress of receiving their bath in the Word, Eph. 5:26-27 and is now ready to don the full revelation of Christ, their wedding garment, to be married unto the bridegroom. 

No doubt the FOOLISH virgins became a little too involved and remained with this deceptive charismatic ecumenical movement promoting unity among all groups SOMEWHAT TOO LONG before making their complete break. Undoubtedly they thought as did others this was truly that great revival prophesied by Joel not realizing you can’t have a great revival and a great deception at the same time! The revival or the people coming together around the Word as it should be is taking place in the bride of Christ. Yes, no doubt the FOOLISH virgins remained too long with this group before making their final break seeing this group would not go on in the Word receiving truth but instead was headed straight into the one world church. Therefore they returned to the WISE virgins for fellowship only to find out they had returned too late as Christ had already shut in the WISE VIRGINS and would not open the door unto them! Their break with the charismatic move undoubtedly came when they were fully awakened to the fact the ecumenical move through its main agent of charismatic revival had successfully united the denominations in unity, not through revelational truths in the Word of God but through speaking in tongues. Yes, she saw this movement was well on its way no doubt to unity with Rome before she broke fellowship fully.

 VIRGINS TURNED AWAY INTO WHAT?

 What is now left for the FOOLISH virgins who have been caught between? What is left for those virgins who were the denominational people who slept too long and missed the original frontline oil message? The scripture says in verse 11—afterward came also the other virgins saying Lord, Lord, open to us but he answered and said verily, I say unto you I know you not! Now Christ did not mean he did not know them by name or who they were. Sure, he knew each of them by name however he did not know them intimately, he did not know them as his bride to be! Ile did not know them in that intimate relationship he knew his WISE virgins. He simply did not know them as his bride! Therefore the poor FOOLISH virgins, now aware of the great deception wherein God was causing all the religious world to believe a lie and be damned (II Thes. 2:11-12) slowly turn back into the world to await the time they must all be slaughtered by the anti-Christ or the man with the number 666 during his dreadful 3 1/2 years reign as he cracks his whip of power, over all those enslaved millions of souls which have been drawn to him through the many spirits such as ecumenical, glossolalia, charismatic revival working at the end to make it a one world church! Michael Ramsey of Canterbury leader of the Anglican Church in England who says, “there is a bit of a wish for women priests in England but I should not wish to go that far, for fear of upsetting the course of Christian unity for I foresee the day when all christianity might accept the Pope as presiding bishop.” 

HOW FOOLISH VIRGINS ENTER MILLENNIUM

 One final word concerning these poor FOOLISH virgins and how they are eventually joined to the fellowship of the Lord although they were not in the bride! No, this great host of people missed the Bride, yet will never submit to the demands of Rome in that midnight tribulation hour, instead they shall all meet their death, resisting the anti-Christ during the tribulation period, as scripture declares they did not take the mark of the beast nor the mark of his image and everyone realizes. I am sure, the image of the beast which is none other than the World Council of Churches in its final stage appears nowhere in history but only at the end of the age when everything is handed over to this false peacemaker. The FOOLISH virgins all die for their stand but that is not the end of the story because Christ who would not accept these people in his bride, nevertheless has promised them they shall rule and reign with him however in a lower position than the bride of course, yet nevertheless, reign with him during the 1000 years reign! Study carefully Rev. 20:4 for there it shows those same people who were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the Word of God and which had not worshiped the beast. Rev. 13:7-8, 15-18, neither his image (world church), neither had received his mark upon their forehead or in their hand—- after Christ returns with his bride to enter the 1000 years reign. A revelation lies in this verse that is not discussed anywhere else, for how is it possible for these who died in the tribulation to be living bodily during a 1000 year reign with Christ unless they too somewhere at the end of the tribulation period had received a bodily resurrection from the dead (get this!) even after the dead in Christ had risen first and the living had been translated I Thes. 4:16-17. Yes, finally Christ has all of his virgins living, ruling and reigning with-him in this 1000 years, which is just ahead. 

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