The Light of the Bridegroom

Comparing the 7 churches to the 10 virgins, we also see that not all 7 churches are faithful.  Yeshua warns those within the church of Ephesus that unless they repent, that their lampstand will be removed. 

♦Rev 2:5Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.

The implication to this is very serious. It is referring to the removal of the Holy Spirit, and the seal of God upon those who once had a profession of faith. A similar warning is given to those within the church of Sardis, in that unless they repent, He will come upon them as a thief, as they are caught unprepared. This directly goes back to not only the parable of the virgins in Matthew 25, but also the parable given prior in Matthew 24, concerning the faithful servant and the wicked servant. Notice that even though they are both counted as servants, only one is faithful, and the other wicked. Same with the virgins, only five are counted as wise, and the other foolish. 

♦Rev 3:3Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. 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. 4You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 5He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

Again, the implications are serious, as Yeshua pointed out within Matthew 24, that if He comes upon you as a wicked servant He will cut you asunder, count you with the hypocrites, and throw you into outer-darkness (see also Mat 8:12):

♦Mat 24:50The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, 51And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Notice that Yeshua/Jesus speaks that those few in Sardis have not “defiled their garments”, and walk with Him in white, or purity. These are those who continue to remain faithful to their Bridegroom, even amidst those around them who had become defiled.

Many, who profess to have a covenant relationship with Yeshua/Jesus have allowed their garments to be soiled, meaning going back to a life of sin, and the light that once was, has been replaced with darkness:

♦Luke 11:34The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. 36If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”

And, as such, the “light of the candle shall shine no more in thee”

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Part II. Buying and Selling

Something that I want to draw out pertaining to the parable of the virgins, is the aspect of buying and selling.

♦Mat 25:8And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9But 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.’ 10And 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.

Notice, that at the beginning all 10 virgins started exactly the same. They all had lamps and they all had oil. The difference becomes known at the time to meet the Bridegroom, in that the foolish no longer had enough oil in their lamps to sustain the flame. They were then instructed by the wise virgins to go and buy from those who sell. 

When we are redeemed by Yeshua, there was a purchase price for that. It was His blood. The blood of our Creator, paid our debt(Acts 20:28). When we first repent and turn in faith, there is a spiritual transaction that takes place. We then freely receive the gift of the Holy Spirit(oil). 

♦Isa 55:1“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost! 2Why spend money on that which is not bread, and your labor on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of foods.

However, many, think that there is not a cost that is required of them. Yet, each day, we weigh out our daily allowance, and make choices that either further treasures here on earth, or our treasure in heaven. 

The Laodicean church was confronted on exactly these matters, as even though they thought themselves to be “rich” or have treasured inheritance in the Lord, they were “poor, destitute and naked”, being found in a state that left them dressed in garments not fit for the Kingdom. Which is why Yeshua states this harsh rebuke to them:

♦Rev 3:18I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.

He counseled them, and us, to buy from Him. What were those things He wants us to purchase?

1.) Gold refined in the fire. True gold is only achieved through the riches of Yeshua. He is the purifier of gold and removes the dross within the hearts of men.  He sits as a launderer purging the hearts of men of all unrighteousness. Those who allow Him to purge out the dross within their hearts allow their vessels to become vessels of honor. Those who believe they already have obtained their riches will be confronted with the reality that they are poor and will not inherit the riches of eternal life.

♦Mal 3:3…For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap. 3And He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the LORD(YHWH) in righteousness. 

The sons of Levi represent the priests. The priests in which serve Him in the tabernacle. We are a kingdom of priests, who offer up our lives as a living sacrifice presenting offerings before the LORD(YHWH).(1 Pet 2:9)   

♦2 Cor 8:9For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

♦2 Tim 2:20But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. 21If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.

2.) White clothes to wear. The garments in which we present ourselves before the King determine whether or not we have been faithful. 

♦Mat 22:11And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 14For many are called, but few are chosen.

♦Zec 3:3Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. 4And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.

3.) Slave to put on the eyes. Spiritual blindness has pervaded the eyes and only can be restored to a spiritual sight with pure anointing salve. Those who claim to have sight are blind by their own self-righteousness

♦Joh 9:6When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. 7And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.

♦Joh 9:40And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? 41Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

He is the seller of all things worthy of purchase. The walk of faith, or “running the race”, is a constant cycle of spiritual transactions, in which we turn from sin, and are refined as gold. Blindness comes upon us when we allow pride to reign in our hearts. This appears to be the haughty call of the Laodiceans, as they find “need for nothing”. Our hearts and our minds must continue to be refined and mature, if we are to walk in the Light of His truth. 

We are either buying and selling to Yah, or to our flesh. 

♦Luke 14:28For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? 29Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, 30Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish…

The concept of counting the cost to build a house(tower) is using a process of buying and selling. I have seen many housing developments, where a lot of houses were started, yet the companies became bankrupt because they did not invest wisely.  This in turn, is the same cost one must each count while building their house upon Yeshua.

♦Luke 14:26“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple. 27And whoever does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple 

♦Mat 16:24Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

An exchange, or a purchasing price.

Did you ever hear the saying “everyone has their price”?

Satan is the master persuader and manipulator, who can poke and prod at our weaknesses in order for us to give into temptation. The question is, when the pressure becomes exceedingly high, will we succumb to an acceptable selling price?

♦Matthew 4:8Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9“All this I will give You,” he said, “if You will fall down and worship me.”

Remember, in a time of testing, and weakness, Satan will come and offer you comfort and pleasure at a price. This brings me to a verse in which I briefly touched on in my blog: “Overcoming the Mark of the Beast” to which a person can no longer “buy or sell” without the mark:

♦Revelation 13:17and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Excerpt from my blog:

“1.) What is the “cost” of following Messiah? What do you lose by doing so? Yeshua said that we must buy from Him. Is this literal?

Rev 3:18I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, white garments so that you may be clothed and your shameful nakedness not exposed, and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.

2.) From a commentary on Revelation 13:17 that elaborates on what I brought up:

Verse 17. – …This expressly asserts what we might have gathered from the analogy of the mark of the true Christian (see on ver. 16), viz. that “the mark” was “the name” or “the number of his name.” The manner in which this was fulfilled in the early ages of the Church is sufficiently notorious. Then faithfulness to the cause of Christ frequently meant banishment from friends, kindred, and home. St. John himself was feeling the effect of this at the time when he wrote these words in exile at Patmos. So, at the present day, the Jews regard as an utter alien any one of their number who embraces Christianity. So also, at the present day, the faithful Christian is often interdicted the society of the world, is declared a social nuisance, and is shunned by the worldly minded, who pay allegiance to the beast.

In other religions, and countries, you are literally “cut off” from all inheritance and family when becoming a Christian. If you renounce Christ, you can have it all back.”

You can see here, that on one hand the concept of “buying and selling” has to do with the price or cost of following Christ, and on the other, the cost or selling price in forsaking Christ. The “selling price” in which many Christians forsake their belief and faith in Yeshua/Jesus, is the pressure in order to have their life of comfort back to the way they were before coming to Christ. Others may not outwardly deny Christ, but becomes evident in their actions, through compromise and quenching of the Spirit, which I talk about in Part IV. 

This is where I want to lead back to the 5 foolish virgins who went to go purchase more oil, but it was already too late. They could no longer purchase more oil, meaning they no longer had the opportunity to repent, and the door was shut on them. 

♦Heb 6:4For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. 7For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: 8But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.

Several years ago I had a dream that really shook me and I woke up terrified. Not terrified as in a demonic terror, or a spirit of fear, but a terrified reverence for the power of Yah. This is the passage that is brought to mind:

♦Heb 10:30For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. 31It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

This dream has to do with houses, which represent, people, as our bodies here are represented as earthen dwellings or tabernacles has to specifically do with this parable, that I find even more prophetic as the years have passed since then, and a severe warning of things to come.

The dream began where I was out in a garden, it was my garden, and an angel came to me saying that YHWH wants to speak with me. The angel directed me into my house, which was not the most elegant looking house, but it was sturdy. I went into the home, and I heard the voice of the Lord and I was trembling. I do not remember what was said, but I looked out my window, and rows and rows of brick laden homes were crumbling to the ground. I watched in horror, as these homes, beautiful homes, three even four story homes, simply crumbled to the ground, as if the hills that were underneath them were lifted like a rug, and like toy blocks fell to the earth in a smoldering heap. I felt the power that knocked these homes to the ground, and it came closer and closer to my home. My home shook, and I felt the board beneath my feet creak, but my home stood, and the wave of earth shattering power moved over my home, and on to the next.

♦Amos 6:11For behold, the Lord gives a command: He will break the great house into bits, And the little house into pieces.

I know what this dream meant, as I felt His powerful judgement. I dwelt in the secret place of the Most High, and thousands were falling around me, and my eyes looked upon the reward of the wicked, those houses that were dashed into pieces:

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Part III: The Light of the Bridegroom Removed

The passage I shared above from Amos 6:11, was the judgement decree upon the children of Israel, specifically the Northern House of Israel, which was eventually taken captive by the Assyrians in 721BC. They had gone and played the harlot, and were given a bill of divorce(Jer 3:8). Yah’s judgement upon His people, has not changed.

♦1 Peter 4:16Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. 17For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18Now “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?” 19Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.

Judgement also came upon Jerusalem, and the very language that is used from Rev 18:23 was used in proclaiming judgement upon those who were the Bride of YHWH. 

From my blog The Queen of Harlotry :