Pastor Troy Brewer, OpenDoor Church, Burleson, TX
Tuesday, June 28, 2022
Matthew 25:1-13 – “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. 11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”
WHAT IF I TOLD YOU YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE TO BE PREPARED FOR THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH AND THE MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LAMB?
Revelation 3:3 – Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.
It is clear that Jesus will not come as a “thief in the night” for watchful believers, because in the very same passage, verse 4, Paul tells us,
1 Thessalonians 5:4 – But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.
JESUS DOESN’T WARN US TO SCARE US, BUT TO PREPARE US:
Luke 21:28 – And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
THE LORD ALWAYS GIVES US A WARNING OR HEADS UP OF MAJOR EVENTS IN HIS WORD:
NOAH WAS WARNED OF THE FLOOD AND PREACHED REPENTANCE FOR 100 YEARS BEFORE THE SPRINGS OF THE DEEP BURST FORTH AND THE RAINS CAME DOWN.
THE ANGELS WARNED LOT THAT DISASTER WAS COMING TO SODOM AND GOMORRAH.
JOSEPH WAS WARNED TO ESCAPE THE WRATH OF HEROD AND ESCAPE TO JERUSALEM.
WHEN ELIJAH WAS GOING TO BE RAPTURED, THE SCHOOL OF THE PROPHETS KNEW IT. SO DID ELISHA.
Amos 3:7 – God said, “Surely the sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing it to His servants the prophets.”
God said “nothing,” and He did not exclude Christ’s return and the Rapture of the Church. I take Him at His word.
God know the end of the story. He tells us so!
Isaiah 46:10 – “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.”
WHO GETS THE WARNING? GOD’S FRIENDS.
Genesis 18:16– Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way. 17 And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, 18 since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”
The RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH AND THE MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LAMB ARE BY INVITATION ONLY! YOU GOTTA BE A FRIEND OF GOD.
The feasts of the Lord:
The Spring feasts have already been fulfilled. They are:
1. Passover — Pointed to the Messiah as our passover lamb whose blood would be shed for our sins. Jesus was crucified on the day of preparation for the Passover, at the same time that the lambs were being slaughtered for the Passover meal that evening.
2. Unleavened Bread — Pointed to the Messiah’s sinless life, making Him the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Jesus’ body was in the grave during the first days of this feast, like a kernel of wheat planted and waiting to burst forth as the bread of life.
3. First Fruits — Pointed to the Messiah’s resurrection as the first fruits of the righteous. Jesus was resurrected on this very day, which is one of the reasons that Paul refers to him in I Corinthians 15:20 as the “first fruits from the dead.”
4. Harvest or Pentecost — (Called Shavuot today.) Pointed to the great harvest of souls, both Jew and Gentile, that would come into the kingdom of God during the Church Age. The Church was actually established on this day when the Messiah poured out the Holy Spirit and 3,000 souls responded to Peter’s first proclamation of the Gospel.
The long interval of three months between Harvest and Trumpets pointed to the current Church Age, a period of time that was kept as a mystery to the Hebrew prophets in Old Testament times.
That leaves us with the three fall feasts which are yet to be fulfilled in the life and work of the Messiah. Because Jesus literally fulfilled the first four feasts and did so on the actual feast days, I think it is safe to assume that the last three will also be fulfilled and that their fulfillment will occur on the actual feast days. We cannot be certain how they will be fulfilled, but my guess is that they most likely have the following prophetic implications:
5) Trumpets — (Called Rosh Hashanah today) Points to the Rapture when the Messiah will appear in the heavens as a Bridegroom coming for His bride, the Church. The Rapture is always associated in Scripture with the blowing of a loud trumpet (I Thessalonians 4:13-18 and I Corinthians 15:52)
6) Atonement — (Called Yom Kippur today) Points to the day of the Second Coming of Jesus when He will return to earth. That will be the day of atonement for the Jewish remnant when they “look upon Him whom they have pierced,” repent of their sins, and receive Him as their Messiah (Zechariah 12:10 and Romans 11:1-6, 25-36).
7) Tabernacles — (Called Sukkot today) Points to the Lord’s promise that He will once again tabernacle with His people when He returns to reign over all the world from Jerusalem (Micah 4:1-7).
THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS IS LITERALLY CALLED “THE FEAST THAT NO MAN KNOWS THE DAY OR THE HOUR”
- 3-Day window for the feast to happen
- Starts when the High Priest sees the sliver of the New Moon. (What if it’s cloudy, the moon comes up during the day or early in the morning this year?)
- Priest has to blow the shofar 100 times.
- Feast starts at the end of the 100th, or last, trumpet.
1 Corinthians 15:51-52 – Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
JESUS FULFILLED THE SPRING FEASTS WITH HIS FIRST COMING TO THE DAY!
WHY WOULDN’T HE FULFILL THE FALL FEASTS WITH HIS SECOND COMING TO THE DAY?
ANOTHER REASON WE CAN KNOW THE DAY, BUT NOT THE HOUR: THE WORLD IS ROUND
24 TIME ZONES & 2 DIFFERENT DAYS AT THE SAME TIME.
When Luke 17 was written, people still believed the earth was flat! King Jesus knew better:
Luke 17:34-37 – I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. 35 Two women will be grinding together (morning): the one will be taken and the other left. 36 Two men will be in the field (daytime): the one will be taken and the other left.” 37 And they answered and said to Him, “Where, Lord?” So He said to them, “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.”
EAGLES ARE THE HIGHEST FLYING BIRDS! HIGHEST ALTITUDES!
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT AN EXCLUSIVE EVENT—SELECTIVE RAPTURE FOR THOSE WHO WERE LOOKING FOR IT.
Matthew 24:30-31 – Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 – For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
AGAIN, GOD DIDN’T GIVE US THESE SCRIPTURES TO SCARE US BUT PREPARE US. THE PROPHETIC PROMISE OF THE PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH SHOULD BRING YOU GREAT HOPE AND COMFORT.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-9 (The Day of the Lord) – But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ
JESUS IS A GOOD BRIDEGROOM. HE WILL NOT TURN HIS BRIDE OVER TO THE ENEMY TO BE BRUTALIZED BEFORE THE WEDDING!!
Revelation 3:10 – Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
1. GOD ALWAYS WARNS HIS FRIENDS OF WHAT’S TO COME.
2. HE TELLS US TO BE WATCHFUL BECAUSE HE HAS GIVEN US THE SIGNS OF THE END TIMES IN HIS WORD.
3. BECAUSE OF THIS, WE CAN KNOW THE DAY!!!!
Revelation 4 – After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.”