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Posts Tagged ‘Matthew 25’

Likened unto Ten Virgins – Part 1

Posted in Christian Walk, tagged , , , , , on October 15, 2025| Leave a Comment »

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Scripture reading: Matthew 25:1-7

Let us go to Matthew 25 today. Starting in verse 1, Jesus said, “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins.” I want you to keep in mind that the kingdom of heaven is talking about where we live now. It is talking about where we live! And the kingdom of heaven is likened unto ten virgins. But there is a problem we have. Five of the virgins were wise, and five were foolish. Why five? Couldn’t it be three wise and seven foolish, or six and four? Why did Jesus say five wise and five foolish? Because your Bible is written in such a way that you are not supposed to make any mistakes in understanding what God means. Five is the number of grace, five is the number of ministry and God is saying there is a wise ministry and there is a foolish ministry. Now, you have to make up your mind as to where you are going to be. Are you going to be listening to the wise ministry or to the foolish ministry? The foolish ministry are leading people into a certain direction. The wise ministry are leading people in another direction. You have to decide which direction is the one in which God is leading you. Amen.

It says “virgins.” The word “virgins” in scripture means “Christians.” So, although you are born again, although you are saved, you can be foolish. I mean, I am born again, I am saved, I have done so many foolish things in my life that it is a good thing God didn’t make feet that you can kick yourself! I would be kicking myself! So, you can be foolish, and you can be foolish in a spiritual sense. You know, it is all well and good if you are foolish in the natural, waste money and do things wrong in the natural sometimes. But God is saying that these virgins, these Christians, were foolish in a spiritual way. He was telling us the meaning of foolish. He said in Matthew 25:7 that the virgins took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. Now, you cannot meet the bridegroom without your lamp shining bright. Your lamp must be bright and burning in order to meet the bridegroom. Do you know what your lamp means then? It means your spiritual life.

I am going to explain something to you that you probably never heard before. When we sit in a meeting and a spirit comes in, he looks at us and sees each person’s lamp burning bright or burning dull, burning faint. If he wants someone to tempt, he would be able to go to the one whose lamp looked dullest. So when Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like virgins with lamps,” he meant virgins with lamps, naturally. Spiritually the lamps are there, only we don’t see them with our eyes.

Now, the scripture describes what the lamp is. The spirit of man is the lamp of God, working in the soul (Proverbs 20:27). Do you remember that? The spirit of man is the lamp of God, working in the soul. So what God is saying is that some peoples’ lamps are bright and burning and some peoples’ lamps are running out of oil. Remember now, we are coming towards midnight. We are coming towards midnight. I’m saying to you, midnight is just down the road. I cannot tell you an exact time when midnight will be, because things seem to be progressing much faster than I even thought. Therefore it is not for us to even guess when the midnight will be, but it is for us to be prepared!

(Excerpt from Keeping in Touch, April 28, 2002)

Thought for today: The foolish ministry are leading people into a certain direction. The wise ministry are leading people in another direction. You have to decide which direction is the one in which God is leading you.

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Begin to Recognize God

Posted in Christian Walk, tagged , , , , on October 10, 2025| 1 Comment »

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Scripture reading: Hebrews 11:6

Some years ago I had a vision that we were horses; we had turned into horses. We were supposed to run a race, but there was a lion that wanted to eat one of the horses. We got very indignant and felt that if we got together we could kill this lion. But God spoke and said, “Don’t kill the lion, for the lion has to have his portion.” Nevertheless, we were so indignant that we were going to kill him anyway. This lion came in and sat down in our midst like a man. I went over to him to strike him, but he said, “Remember what God said!” We had to back off. The time came for us to run and all the horses began to run. The lion was running in the back and we knew instinctively that he was going to eat the horses that were in the back. It was very sad but we just had to obey God. It has been a source of sadness in my soul to know that some of us are going to fail.

When I look and see what is happening with some of the young people, that at the time when it is most important for us to press on in God they are pulling back, it makes me sad. Even among the ministry I have seen a pulling back. Many have lost the excitement which we had at the beginning. Instead of pressing forward, they are looking back to the weak and beggarly elements of the world. The world has nothing to offer. Anything that we gain now, we are going to leave it and lose it.

The time has come for us to be one, yet we are more divided. The time has come for us to move forward into God, and yet the situation of the five wise and the five foolish virgins is right in our face (Matthew 25:1-13). One of the problems we have is that we believe maybe half of what we hear. Somebody will not believe this, or believe that, and somebody will say, “This is duCille, and that is.” You must recognize God different from duCille. You must recognize God different from that child, for there are things that that child is going to say which is not that child, it is God!

We have to begin to recognize God in our midst. We are going to begin to understand and BELIEVE GOD! We believe in prophecy. Oh yes. Praise God. We believe in prophecy. A prophecy comes, and it tells you how nice you are, you feel very good, you have it written out and every now and then you read it to feel good. But if that prophecy ever said anything that you didn’t want, you would despise it immediately! This is a wrong nature in us. This nature is leading us into unbelief. For unbelief is not believing part, it is believing part of the whole. If I said, “God said so and so, and so and so, and so and so,” and you believe two out of three, you don’t believe. For if you believe it is God that says the first two, then you have to believe it is God that says the third one! We are going to have to begin to recognize the voice of God as different from other voices that are all around us.

(Excerpt from Keeping in Touch, April 28, 2002)

Thought for today: We have to begin to recognize God in our midst. We are going to begin to understand and BELIEVE GOD!

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Christ in the Soul

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on August 15, 2025| 1 Comment »

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Scripture reading: Matthew 25:1-13

When we accepted Jesus Christ, we received life. The blood of Jesus Christ is the life of God which we received in our souls, which were dead in trespasses and sins. This life had to help us die to the alien life of sin which had occupied the soul. Then we had the self life, also, which had to die. So we see that when we accepted Christ as our Saviour, it was a matter of submitting to death in order to receive life. When that process is completed, then we begin to enter into Christ. Paul speaking to the Corinthian Christians in 1st Corinthians 12:13 declares,

“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body.”

We are not baptized into the body of Christ until the body of sin and self is given a death blow. If sin is still reigning in our members, then it was not fully dealt with. The grain of corn cannot bring forth a new life until it has given up its own life. We must die to live, and that life does not begin until that death is complete. This is all done by faith. We cannot deal with this subject fully in this short article, because there would not be enough space.

The divine order of the entering into Christ is shown in the Tabernacle of Moses by the three veils. The first veil is called the Gate. The second is called the Door, and the third is called the Veil. The door is Christ, and the entering in is preceded by the washing at the Laver, which is death to self and a complete surrender to Christ. Self cannot be on the throne, and Christ be crowned as King at the same time. One King must depose the other, and even more than being deposed, ONE KING MUST SLAY THE OTHER, so that there is no further possibility of a coup to regain the throne.

THE ENTERING IN OF CHRIST INTO THE SOUL of man is a conscious act of man’s will, which is preceded by the three BAPTISMS of death.

There must be a death before there can be a resurrection. The three baptisms are:

1) Baptism in water, the baptizer being human
2) Baptism in the Holy Ghost, the baptizer being Jesus Christ
3) Baptism into Christ, the baptizer being the Holy Ghost

Christ enters into us, then we begin to enter into Christ. Just as the Holy Spirit enters into us, then we begin to live in the Spirit.

When Christ enters the soul as King, He begins His rule on earth within the individual. HE MUST REIGN TILL ALL ENEMIES ARE PUT UNDER HIS FEET, even death. We see, therefore, that He brings life and immortality to light by the gospel. 2 Timothy 1:10.

The beast nature of man, therefore. is being changed to the nature of the Christ.

From the illustration, we can see that the five wise virgins in Matthew 25 had oil in their lamps, which is the Holy Spirit which occupies our spirits, and not our souls. This stands to reason why, although we receive the Holy Spirit, we still have the power to reject His counsel and have our own way. It also is the reason why we still fall into sin, though having the Holy Spirit of God within us. The process of the Kingdom of God gently seeps into every area of our lives with our own free will consent, just as the leaven that leavens the whole three lumps of the woman’s meal in Matthew 13:33.

This, therefore, is the work of the overshadowing. The work is done in:

  1. The individual temples (individual lives)
  2. The elect church (called out of the called out)
  3. The time of the restitution of all things, the dispensation of the fullness of times, IN OUR TIME.

(Excerpt from The Pattern, 2nd edition, 1995, pg. 162-164)

Thought for today: One King must depose the other, and even more than being deposed, ONE KING MUST SLAY THE OTHER, so that there is no further possibility of a coup to regain the throne.

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And the Door Was Shut

Posted in Time of the End, tagged , , , , on February 24, 2025| 1 Comment »

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Scripture reading: Matthew 25:7-13

Come and listen to Matthew 25. The virgins arose and trimmed their lamps, “…AND THE DOOR WAS SHUT.”  

What door are we talking about? In Scripture, words have a very strong connotation and power on different levels. You read a word down here and then read a word up here, and the word carries a greater power. The “door” means Jesus Christ. He said, “I am the door.” In this verse, the door into Christ was shut. That means that Christ has had His full amount of people (those who will reign and rule with Him) and He shut that door. It was shut!

We don’t really understand what it means. No matter how much we feel that we understand, we have no idea. I often make fun and say, “Well, you will be in charge of Champaign, and the other one will be in charge of San Francisco,” and so on, but what God is talking about is much, much more than that. There are some things of God’s divine plan for the ages that we never even dream about. God wants people. He is recruiting people now for that position! You are going to be part of that according to what you are now, because this is the proving ground! Do you understand it? I put you on the proving ground, and you go taking it easy! You need to understand! Rise up now, and do what God wants you to do now! Because we are the people of the end, and we are at the end. Hallelujah.

We are talking about “The coming of Christ.” Young people, some of you have never heard the gospel right, and you need to know what is meant when we talk about the coming of Christ. Christ is first coming in His temple; then He will come out there for everybody to see Him. In other words, CHRIST coming in His Temple, and JESUS CHRIST coming out there.

Matthew 25:10 says, “And while they (the foolish virgins) went to buy (oil for their vessels), the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.”

Do you know what “fool” means? “Fool” means that they have said in their hearts that “there is no God” (Psalm 53:1). You can be fools for a while and wise afterwards, but when you are wise too late then you find yourself outside in the darkness seeking oil.

The whole idea that God is showing us is that there is an elect people. There is an ekklesia—a Church—a “called out” people, and out of the “called out” God is calling out. God is calling out a people to be “excellent,” to be “diligent,” to be the “top”; and I believe that everyone who is reading this article has that privilege right now.

When we speak of a person who is not going to make it, we are only speaking about those who do not WANT to make it! That’s right! You say you want to make it, but if you never make the effort, you will not make it! God wants people who are diligent: who will lay down their life for God and for what they think God is saying that they should do, and what they should be.

It says in Matthew 25:13, “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” 

What am I saying? Why would He tell you to watch if you did not have a chance? So then, the destiny is not a fixed destiny (that you must go to heaven, or you must go to hell, and you must…). No! If you do not understand God, then you will believe that; but if you understand God, you will know that God has given us a race to run; and He said, “All of you—RUN!” (Ref. 1 Corinthians 9:24, Hebrews 12:1).

Furthermore, God gives you everything. He gives you everything possible to make you all winners! Some will win and some will lose, because those who lose do not have the heart to win. “Watch ye therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.” Yet, there will be some outside in the darkness seeking oil.

(Excerpt from The Omega Message, December 1997, pg. 26-27)

Thought for today: If you understand God, you will know that God has given us a race to run; and He said, “RUN!”

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At the Midnight Hour

Posted in Time of the End, tagged , , , on January 31, 2025| 1 Comment »

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Scripture reading: 2 Peter 1:19

We understand that God is telling us that we are the people of the last time, and that a lot of things are going to happen in the last time. Matthew 25 tells us of a separation in the church, and that there was a time for the separation. I do believe, personally, that this is what God is warning us about, and each person needs to make sure that you are on the right course.

Matthew 25:6-7 says, “At midnight there was a cry made, Behold the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.” 

In my vocabulary, the word “virgin” in the Bible means “clean, spotless, God-anointed Christians.” We have passed the state of dealing with the Christians who are half in and half out. We are now at the stage where we are dealing with those who were born again, who are sanctified, baptized in the Holy Ghost, and walking with God in purity! These virgins were dressed. They had on the wedding garment of Christ’s righteousness. That means that they were well prepared and ready and waiting for the Lord. More than that, they had “oil” in their “lamps.” That means they had the Holy Spirit in their spirits. They were well equipped. They were ready! However, guess what? Trouble comes. Distress comes. The time that the Bible calls “midnight” comes.

The word “midnight” in Scripture has a specific meaning. It means problems of the worst kind. In Exodus 11, it was at “midnight” that the firstborn of the Egyptians were slain, and those who were under the blood were sheltered. If God did not shelter them under the blood, they would be dead. In Ruth 3, it says that at “midnight” Boaz woke up, and found that a woman (Ruth) was lying at his feet; the Bible said that he was afraid, and he took off his coat and covered her. This woman is a picture of the Church, and at midnight we are going to need a covering from Jesus Christ, our Boaz! So then the Bible tells us what the meaning of midnight is. Look for midnight through the whole Bible and you will see that at midnight there is destruction, but also there is salvation. Always!

In the whole Jewish calendar, the Jewish year from Passover at the beginning of the year right back to Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) represents the action of God for the whole 2,000 years from Jesus Christ to the end of the age. If you take everything that happens in the Jewish calendar right down to the last with the High Priest entering into the Holiest of All, you will find that it is depicting everything that is going to happen to us, the Church, from the coming of Jesus until His return at the end of the age.

Midnight comes just before morning, so we find therefore that that this “great tribulation,” this great darkness that is coming down on the earth, must finalize itself before Jesus Christ returns, because Jesus is our Morning! He is our Daylight. He is the Light of our lives and He is the Sun of our righteousness. It says in 2 Peter 1:19, “…until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts.” The Daystar will arise after midnight, and we are first going to go through this great suffering of “midnight,” which is the “great tribulation” (see Matthew 24:21) that we have already entered.

It has already begun, but you do not feel it because you were born in it. To you the things that are going on now have become so natural, but the happenings of today are very unnatural! Nobody could have thought that the things that are happening around us would happen. It is very unnatural, but we are being “desensitized.” The Devil so fixes it that he creeps upon us gradually so that we do not really feel the tribulation. However, though we are not feeling it, the tribulation is here.

(Excerpt from The Omega Message, December 1997, pg. 21-22)

Thought for today: Let us be sensitive to the time we live in and prepare ourselves for the midnight hour.

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