Matthew 25:1 - Forerunner Commentary

Matthew 25:1

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Matthew 25:1
Excerpted from: The One Thing

Now we are going to tie Psalm 50 to another chapter of judgment, and I find this really interesting. This chapter of judgment is directed to the end time church as well. So please turn with me to Matthew 25. In Matthew 25, Jesus speaks through three parables that are all tied together with the end time judgment.

The very definition of spiritual virgins here confirms these are called Christians in God's church, keeping at least the letter of the law. They are not spiritual virgins if they are not doing that. So this is written to us. This is written to the end time churches. All ten had oil in their lamp producing light. But five were wise with extra oil, five foolish, unprepared as the oil ran out.

Now, what could this oil represent? We have talked about this before, but as we reflected on the offerings in Leviticus, I find it pretty interesting.

So the burnt offering always came first, with the complete giving of a life. Our sacrifices and service to God always have to come first, but the instructions on the burnt offerings of Leviticus 1 do not use any oil. I thought that is pretty interesting. Whereas, if we read through Leviticus 2 and the requirements for the grain offering, we would see the requirement for oil within the grain offering is repeated at least nine times. We cannot separate our worship and devotion to God from our required service to man.

We are called to sacrifice ourselves in service to man as Jesus Christ did. Bruised, battered, finely ground up, if you will, into a powder mixed with pure oil, His Holy Spirit, that fuels our sacrificial good works to our fellow man. I believe the foundational criteria for the final judgment is God's foundational act of sacrifice foreordained before the foundation of the world.

These wise virgins have an abundance of oil through years of sacrificial good works that have built up strong relationships, first and foremost with God the Father, but right there with it, with the Body of Christ. The two must go hand in hand.

And this ties perfectly to Jesus' other parables in Matthew 25, if we really think about it. The Parable of the Talents is about the judgment of our stewardship over all of our God-given talents. We must sacrifice and use all of those talents to bring glory to God and build up the Body of Christ. And in the final judgment, let us read that conclusion in verse 45 now.

So in this parable of the final judgment, both the sheep and the goats are judged not just according to the keeping of the letter of the law. No, here we see keeping of the letter of law is absolutely required. This chapter started with describing spiritual virgins, so this chapter is about those keeping the law. But the judgment of the sheep and the goats is solely based on what they did or did not do to each other, the Body of Christ.

Matthew 25:1-13
Excerpted from: Proverbs 31 and the Wife of Christ (Part Two)

But then we go to Matthew 25. Here He gives us a clear warning to all the individuals who He has called to be His helpmate at His coming. We will pick up Matthew 25, verse 1 (again, very familiar scriptures), but they should be very concerning for us:

Only half of those called had been chosen, and they were chosen because of their own efforts as they went along. Brethren, you have been called now to individually use what God has freely given in His strength to make yourself personally ready to be Christ's perfected wife throughout His millennial rule, to rule with Him. But He is warning us here in these 13 verses, half did not use the time and the strength He has freely given to live up to the perfect standard of the wife of valor that He has given.

Articles
'As a Thief in the Night'
Be There Next Year
Could You Be a Spiritual Terrorist?
Elisha and the Shunammite Woman, Part II: Serving God's Children
Light Affliction?
Make Every Day Count
Our Uniqueness and Time
Praying Always (Part Two)
Prophecy in Song
Prophecy in Song
The Fruit of the Spirit: Faithfulness
The Marriage of the Lamb
Unity and Division: The Blessing and a Curse (Part Two)
Will Deceive Many (Part One)
Will Deceive Many (Part One)
Will Deceive Many (Part Two)  (2)
Y2K: You-2-the-Kingdom
Y2K: You-2-the-Kingdom

Bible Studies
Parable of the Faithful and Evil Servants
Parable of the Talents (Part One)
Parable of the Ten Virgins (Part One)
Parable of the Ten Virgins (Part One)
Parable of the Ten Virgins (Part One)
Parable of the Ten Virgins (Part Two)
The Seven Churches (Part Nine): Laodicea
The Seven Churches: What Now?

Booklets
Preparing the Bride
The World, the Church, and Laodiceanism  (2)

Essays
Do You Have Enough Oil? (Part One)
Fading Freedoms
Here I Am! (Part Two)
No Need to Borrow
Planning and Preparation (Part One)

Sermons
Death, or Not A Hair of Your Head?
Don't Be Indifferent
Psalms for the Winter Blues
Be Prepared
Take Heed to Yourselves
Stand Fast in a Changing World
God's Warning
Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Four)
How Long, O Lord?
Discerning Signs and Redeeming Time
Death, or Not A Hair of Your Head?
Shrugging Off Scoffers (Part Two)
We Still Need a Sense of Urgency
Many Are Called, But Few Are Chosen (Part Ten)
Many Are Called, But Few Are Chosen (Part Ten)
Many Are Called, But Few Are Chosen (Part Eleven)
Don't Be Indifferent
What Is the Work of God Now? (Part One)
Moral Purity
Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Thirty-Two): Ecclesiastes 8:1-9
Warning of Judgment, Urgency to Prepare!
God Expects a Return on His Investment (Part Two)
Our Awesome Destiny (1993)
Don't Be Indifferent (1995)
Prophecy and Love in the Song of Songs
Keeping God's Standards
Compromise
Focus
Focus
Who Was Herbert W. Armstrong?
When the Trumpet Blows
Trumpets, Christ's Coming, and Works
How Much Would You Give Up for the Kingdom of God?
Born Again (Part 3)
Foundations

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