Preparing for the Coming of the Lord (Episode 127)

Sad but true, many churchgoers today are not prepared for the coming of the Lord. Jesus warned us about that during His time on earth. He said, “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’” (Matthew 7:22, NASB). “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you…’” (verse 23).

In this episode, Frank King addresses the importance of us being properly prepared for the coming of the Lord. People often talk passively about the Lord’s return. For instance, they may have a favorite verse they often quote about His return. Or they look at the signs of the times around us and say something like, we must be close to the Lord’s return. But the question is, how seriously do we take the idea of the coming of the Lord?

Jesus taught a parable about ten virgins going to meet the bridegroom (Matthew 25:1-13). Of course, the bridegroom is a foreshadow of Jesus. The virgins represent those who aspired to attend the marriage feast. The fact that they are referred to as virgins denotes their purity. Still, Jesus referred to five of the virgins as foolish.

These five failed to be adequately prepared to wait for and to meet the bridegroom. Unlike the wise virgins, they did not take enough oil for their lamps. Their lamps went out at the worst time possible. So, they could not go and meet the bridegroom at midnight. Accordingly, they missed out on attending the wedding feast.

The "Oil" We Need

In the parable, Jesus focused on the oil. The wise virgins took adequate oil for their lamps, but the foolish virgins didn’t. In the Bible, oil often represents the Holy Spirit. An analogy can be made between some churchgoers today and the foolish virgins. The latter were not prepared to meet the bridegroom because they had no oil. Similarly, any churchgoer who does not have the Spirit of God indwelling himself is not prepared for the coming of the Lord.

Jesus told Nicodemus, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3, KJV). Many people today attend church regularly. They join in singing songs of worship and praise, and they listen to the Word of God being preached. But they lack a born-again experience through Christ. They are like the five foolish virgins in this parable. It’s not an option. We must be born again. That’s how we get that spiritual oil, the Holy Spirit.

In the parable, all ten virgins went to meet the bridegroom. But the foolish virgins, to put it in modern-day language, were just playing church. They hung out with the real folks, but they themselves lacked diligence in preparing to meet the Lord. They chose to wing it and hoped it would turn out all right—but it didn’t.