Mystery of the Virgins

The king’s daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king’s palace.  Psalm 45:13-15

There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number. My dove, my undefiled is but one…  Song of Solomon 6:8,9

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.  Matthew 25:1-6

And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads…  These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb. Revelation 14:1-4

The topic of “virgins” and the end times makes for a very deep and very interesting study of both Old and New Testaments. It is nearly impossible to make any sense of the references without some grounding in good old Brethren- style dispensational truth (a la C.I. Scofield, Harry Ironside, Clarence Larkin, et al). 

Suffice it to say, the VIRGINS are not the BRIDE, the virgins always being spoken of in the plural and the Bride always referred to in the singular. Although it is popular to make the 10 virgins of Matthew 25 church age Christians, the fact of the matter is that some of them are saved and some of them are NOT. And NONE of them are waiting for the Bridegroom to come and marry them. The Bridegroom is coming to marry the Bride, who is already inside and waiting when the MIDNIGHT CRY is made.

The virgins, however, are always in sight when the Bride is around. In fact, they are said to “follow her” in Psalm 45:14, and they are also said to “follow the Lamb” in Revelation 14:4. We have also shown that the Bride is the Body of Christ, and that the Bride is flesh of His flesh and bone of His bone (Ephesians 5:30-32). If this is so, following the Bride and following the Lamb (Christ) would put these virgins in the same place.

The “daughters of Jerusalem” (Song of Solomon) or “virgins of Jerusalem” (Lamentations 2:10), then, are most likely Jewish believers in the end-time. They are those who observed the Bride and her passion for her Jewish Messiah. After the fullness of the Gentiles is brought in (Romans 10:25), they also come to believe in Jesus as the Messiah,  making them part of the end-time mystery of the restoration of Israel. 

During the soon coming period of history when the Bride will walk in maturity with her Beloved, these virgins will be like a little sister who “has no breasts” (Song of Solomon 8:8,9). But following the catching up of the Bride to the Marriage of the Lamb prior to the Lord’s triumphant return to Israel, this little sister will have rapidly developed into an “elect lady” in her own right (II John 1 with II John 13).

What shall we do for our sister? From now until the end desolations are in store for God’s chosen people Israel. When the Lord returns, all nations will be gathered and judged on the basis of how they responded to the needs of the Jewish people during the coming Holocaust. We must be fixed in our determination to pray for Israel and to come to the aid of the Jewish people around the world when the Holocaust begins. It might be said that the death camps of WWII were just a practice round on the part of Satan in his attempt to eliminate the Jewish race from the planet. There is currently an increase of anti-Semitic rhetoric in Europe and the United Nations. And of course, the Middle East is ready to blow at any time. But it will not be until the Man of Sin is revealed and stops the “daily oblation” in the yet to be built temple in Jerusalem that the world will see how incredibly devastating a Holocaust can be.

It is the duty of the Church to succor and aid the daughters of Jerusalem in any way we can. When the Bride is taken up, the daughters of Jerusalem will realize who her Beloved truly is, and they will also fall in love with Him (Song of Solomon 6:10-13). But it is an easy duty because of the inexplicable love for Israel that flows naturally from the heart of every true believer. It is the Lord’s own love for Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37) that is planted in the heart of every believer when they are born again and Christ Himself takes up residence in their hearts. It is quite conceivable that before it is all over, it will be the love of the Church for Israel that will result in much of the coming persecution and martyrdom that the Spirit is preparing the Body of Christ to undergo. That, coupled with the jealousy of the leaders of man-ordained, organized Christianity spell real tribulation for the Body of Christ that does not fall into the category of wrath and tribulation mentioned in Revelation 3:10 or I Thessalonians 1:10 and 5:9, but rather under the category of I Peter 4:15-19, among other places.

The Coming Kingdom

The Bible actually has quite a bit to say about the Kingdom that is coming. It is a kingdom of righteousness. Sickness and death do not exist and people live to be a thousand years old! The devil is bound and there is no temptation from the spiritual realm to sin against God. There is still the human propensity to be enticed by the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. For those who succumb, punishment is immediate. They are simply removed from the kingdom.

There will be no major cities in the Kingdom as we now know them. The glass, steel, asphalt and concrete will be rooted up and cast into the sea (It’s ok. The seas are going to be eliminated in the new creation that follows the Kingdom, so we don’t need to get all uptight about polluting them.) Left-wing environmentalists would be tickled pink to see the changes that will be made in the Kingdom. There will be no internal combustion engines, no electrical power plants or power lines, no oil drilling, or any such thing. There will also be no electricity, no CD players, no computers, or any other such thing. It will be the world the way God created it, in pristine beauty. Man will live the way God intended him to live — rising with the sun and resting when the sun goes down. Every man will have all he needs — a field, a fig tree, a wife and children. There will be no need to fly around the world, to run to and fro. The term “Sabbath day’s journey” will again become a meaningful expression, as people will travel on foot, donkey, and (if they are lucky) horse. 

There are some other things that will be not seen in the Kingdom. Spandex bike shorts, tube tops, low cut jeans, bare midriffs, Nike and Reebok sneakers, and other hallmarks of fashion in our day. All women will be dressed modestly and they will learn again what “shamefacedness” means (or how to blush — Jeremiah 3:3, I Timothy 2:9). Children will show respect for their parents, and old men and women will be held in high regard for their wisdom and experience. Men and women will NOT be considered “equal” but will take the God created, God intended roles in the family and society that both history and nature have always honored.

In short, the “turning of things upside down” we have witnessed over the last generation will be reversed and we will be returned to the old paths wherein is the good way (Jeremiah 6:16), and the world will be peaceful and at rest.

There are two possible ways to get to see this wonderful new world order. The first way is to defy the odds and be one who lives through the entire Tribulation period without taking the mark of the Beast. Another way is to be reconciled to God and His eternal purpose for His creation (including you) today. Come before Him in spirit and acknowledge His sovereignty, asking Him to forgive your sins for Jesus’ sake. He will accept the Blood Jesus shed at Calvary as payment in full for your sins and accept you as an adopted son or daughter. The Holy Spirit will baptize you into the Body of Christ, making you a member of the true Church. When the Lord Jesus returns to the earth to establish His kingdom of righteousness, you will be with Him and will rule and reign with Him (Revelation 20:4).