In April, 1988 the evening news reported on a photographer who was also a skydiver. He had jumped from a plane along with several other skydivers and filmed the group as they individually dove out of the plane and opened their parachutes. As the video was being shown of each member of the crew jumping out and then pulling their rip chord so that their parachute opened to the wind, the final skydiver opened his chute and then the picture went berserk. The announcer reported that the cameraman had fallen to his death, having jumped out of the plane without a parachute. It wasn’t until he reached for the ripcord that he realized he was free falling without a parachute. Up until then, he was enjoying himself and was absorbed in what he was doing. But tragically, he was unprepared for the jump. It did not matter how many times he had done it before or what skill he had. By forgetting the parachute he made a foolish and deadly mistake. Nothing could save him, because his faith was in a parachute which he had never taken the trouble to buckle on.
2. Douglas MacArthur
"Although Douglas MacArthur graduated from West
Point at the top of his class, he continued to prepare himself for service to
his country. He studied every military textbook he could get his hands on. He
visited battlefields and personally reviewed the tactics which the victors and
the losers used. While other young officers were playing cards or practicing
their golf swing, MacArthur ignored the social whirl to make him-self better
prepared as a future leader. He even insisted on having his appendix removed
just in case it would ever cause him to be incapacitated with an attack of
appendicitis at a crucial time later in his career. Douglas MacArthur’s
preparedness proved wise. As the key military leader in the Pacific theatre of
operations during World War II, he had personally responded to his country’s
call to duty years before the actual crisis of war by preparing himself to be a
top general.” (William P. Barker ed.
Tarbell’s Teacher’s Guide. 86th Annual Volume. Elgin: David C. Cook Publishing
Co. 1990, p. 123).
3. Matthew 25:1-4; “Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids[a] who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, 4 but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil.
The bridesmaids were the ones who prepared the bride to
meet the bridegroom. We are the
bridesmaids, Jesus is the bridegroom, and the church is the bride. We are to prepare the church for Christ’s
return.4. Matthew 25:5-7; 5 When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’
7 “All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps.
The lambs had rags as the wicks and the oil would have
been olive oil. Jesus is telling us that it will likely be a long time
before he is going to return. He will
not come when we think, but when he decides.
When he does come we need to be ready.
5. Matthew 25:9-10; 9 “But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked.
The torches required large amounts of oil to keep burning and had to be refilled every 15 minutes. When Jesus does return, only those that have prepared their souls will be taken with Him into the great feast. Those that have not prepared their soul will be left out.
6. Matthew 25:11-13; 11 Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’
12 “But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’
13 “So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.
Weddings in Ancient Israel were major events lasting for
a week. This parable describes how the
groom would come to the wedding the night before the wedding. The groom and his companions would
traditionally arrive at the ceremonial house first during the night. The
groom’s family would host a great feast.
A group of young woman would meet the groom at the house before the
feast. Early the next day the grooms
friends would go get the bride and bring her back as her symbolic honor guard.
The Bible says that every knee will bow and every tongue
will confess Christ as Lord, but even though everyone will claim this when He
comes, only those that have proclaimed it before He comes will be taken with
Him. Everyone else will be locked out
and Christ will not remember them.
What we also need to remember is that the second coming
could be for anyone of us at anytime.
When we die that will be our second coming. We need to all be prepared until the second
coming.
References: Archaeological Study Bible form Zondervan, Life
Application Study Bible NLT from Tyndale House, Sermon Central; John Williams
III-The Ten Virgins, Sermon Central; Rodney Buchanan-The Wise & The Foolish, www.biblegateway.com; NLT
