WAKEUP CALL

WAKEUP CALL

There are two parables describing marriage feasts in the gospel of Matthew and they are about the Kingdom of Heaven and of God’s relationship to his Church, and they both give us a picture of the end time return of Jesus to be joined to his bride.
In Matthew there is the parable of the King arranging a wedding for his son.
“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come (Matthew 22:2) Here the attention is upon the guests who were invited and their various reasons for not attending, which dishonoured the King, but there is nothing mentioned here about the bride or the bridesmaids. In this story the King finally sends his servants out into the highways and byways to compel people to come to the feast because he wants the celebration to be well attended. 

The parable of the wise and the foolish bridesmaids is in Matthew chapter 25 and is more focussed upon the bride and the bridegroom and the bridesmaids. The bridegroom is Jesus, and the bride is the church, and the attention is upon the readiness of those who have roles to perform in their attendance at the marriage feast, such as the bridesmaids. 

Today we will look mainly at the parable of wise and foolish bridesmaids, which starts off by saying. ‘Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps in order to go out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish (m??ros –neglectful, unmindful [moron]), and five were wise (phronemos – thoughtful, mindful). (Matthew 25:1)

The background to these parables is the Jewish marriage customs in Bible times, and they give us an insight into the order of certain arrangements such as who sends out the invitations and to whom are invitations sent and the question of who determines what the wedding date shall be. There are various obligations and expectations and if these are not observed properly then a person’s honour could be at stake
The usual arrangement was that both families would arrange for a young couple to become betrothed for about a year and then work together on the future plans and financial arrangements for all parties involved. When the marriage occurred around a year later the bridegroom and the bride would not organise their own future household arrangements as the bride would join the bridegroom’s family household after the marriage. After the initial betrothal the bridegroom would live in his father’s house, and he would prepare a bridal chamber like an add-on apartment for he and his bride to live in for some time into the future. 

There was some flexibility regarding the time for the bridegroom to prepare this new place for he and his bride so there was no definite wedding date and when the place was complete, the groom would come to get his bride and bring her home for the wedding and the wedding feast. The bride would not know the day or hour of her husband-to-be’s return, and the groom’s arrival was usually suddenly announced with a trumpet call and a shout, so the bride at least had some forewarning. The bride would take part in a ritual cleansing and then came the smaller family ceremony which was attended by a select few. Then after the family ceremony the couple would attend a more lavish wedding feast celebrated in their honour which included a much larger crowd. The servants of the bridegroom’s father were sent out to invite the guests to the larger wedding feast celebration.
This is why the parables concerning wedding feasts always involve some confusion over the guests often being caught having to put off other arrangements in order to honour the host of the wedding feast, and this was a test for the guests and their order of priorities and loyalties as they often had other matters of importance or self-interest to attend to. The uncertainty of the timing of the event all depended upon how long it took the bridegroom to prepare a place for his bride (no one knew the day or the hour) and the smoothness of the process of the wedding and the feast depended upon how ready everybody was when the bridegroom announced that he was ready. Some were extremely mindful of all these proceedings while others were unmindful or indifferent.
The main point of these stories is; who was mindful and who was unmindful during the delay.

Matthew 25:1 Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps in order to go out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish (m??ros – heedless, neglectful, unmindful), and five were wise (phronemos – thoughtful, mindful). For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those bridesmaids rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready (hetoimos – prepared oil in lamps) went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 
Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

We have said that these parables are about Jesus and the Church, so we must ask the question ‘Is everybody at the wedding feast part of ‘The Church’?
The answer is yes, this is clearly the case and that there are very many people who make up the Church that are at different levels of commitment to God. God knows where his Church is somewhere in amongst all those that ‘do Church’ because ‘doing church is not necessarily ‘being Church’. 
This prompts another question ‘If the Bible says that the bride of Christ is the Church, then what is the difference between the bride and the bridesmaids and the other guests, as aren’t they also the Church?
Again, the answer is yes, but there are people also at different levels of intimate relationship with Jesus, and the ‘bride company’ of the Church exists invisibly here and there as ones who would be in the most intimate of relationship with him. The Father is very accepting and merciful to all who believe in his Son and are on their journey of faith and all we can say is that by the grace of God people make their own choices in these relationship priorities. Only God knows the heart of each one and we cannot assume or presume in these matters about where everything is at right now and where they will be one day. 

However, we can observe that the Bible describes different categories of people involved in these wedding feast stories.
The two most important ones are the bride and the bridegroom, and they only have eyes and minds and feelings for one another, anticipating a life of being together as one forever.
This speaks of Jesus coming back for his bride which is part of the Church.

Then we have the bridegroom’s father who is concerned for the honour and fulfillment of his son’s life and future. This speaks of Father God

The bride’s parents are concerned that the bride will be prepared and ready and bring beauty and glory to this very special occasion. This speaks to us of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in preparing us to be his bride.

The interesting thing about the bridesmaids is that is that ‘they all became drowsy and slept because of the bridegroom’s delay’ – That is why I’m calling this word ‘Wakeup Call’. Some were more diligent than others in being ready by having oil in their lamps, which speaks to us of being filled with the Holy Spirit and awake and alive to his activity within. The unmindful bridesmaids had indeed experienced the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives but had been distracted and had neglected the work of the Holy Spirit alive in them and run out of oil. 
In those times the bridesmaids were chosen knew that they too would without doubt be brides one day. That would be their sure hope and expectation. We could speculate that this progression from bridesmaid to bride is there for every one of us and even if it does not occur within our lifespan, we might consider that in the age to come the Holy Spirit will cause our love to be completed in the Father’s love for us so that we too will be as the bride in perfect oneness with his Son Jesus who will appear to us as the bridegroom 
1John 3:2 we are God's children now, and what we shall be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears (phanero??- to know what has been hidden or unknown, to manifest, whether by words, or deeds, or in any other way) we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself as he is pure.

As for the many other guests mentioned in the first parable the Bible reveals that this was a test for their order of priorities and loyalties in honouring the son’s father. And when we consider how the father’s heart was so determined to fill his house at all costs that he sent the servants to get people from the highways and byways, such as beggars maybe sleeping under bridges. 

This prompts another question for further speculation.
Could there be people that we know of who have not responded to the gospel for a multitude of reasons and whose hearts maybe have pondered the Mystery of God with doubt or improbability or even the denial of a wounded and painful heart, and whom the Father sees as his children who need more time in an age to come, for their heart response to his love to be completed just as do the bridesmaids? 
Only God knows. 
But to join the dots a little more boldly I will add this; The final thing God did when he created the world, on the sixth and final day of his creation was to fashion a bride Eve for his Son Adam. On the seventh day he rested in order to enjoy the fulness of fellowship with his sons and daughters to be.
And now for another question. If God’s final work in the final days of this present kingdom age will be to fashion a bride for his Son, what will be the nature of the next Kingdom age that the Scriptures speak about at length concerning a one-thousand-year reign of Christ upon the earth during which time Satan is bound? (Revelation 20:1-6, Timothy 2:11, Romans 16:20, Isaiah 2:2-4, Isaiah 11:6-9, Micah 4:1-3 and many more).

Could this be a time of opportunity for the completion of the love response in the hearts of multitudes of people that perfects their oneness with the bridegroom Jesus?
Today I will just have to leave these questions open for your consideration and address them further in the New Year, the Lord willing. Have your questions and comments ready.

In both parables a peculiar thing happens in that some of those invited to the marriage feast have the door closed on them at the last moment. The five unmindful bridesmaids were left outside, and in the other parable a man was put out into outer darkness for not having a wedding garment. There is no explanation given about this outer place in the parable but my speculation concerning this in the reading of other Scriptures in Revelation chapters 11, 12, and 19, is that this outer place could well be a time of trial and tribulation that some in the Church may experience while those at the feast are given safety and refuge in the presence of the Lord during that time. 

In every generation that lives upon the earth there is this wake-up call to what we are here for and what we were born for and what the Father’s heart is for his Son and for his Son’s bride and for all who honour and appreciate Gods love for us. It has been a long delay!
I also believe that when Jesus does return for his bride and the wedding feast is celebrated that there will be people from down through the ages attending that reunion wedding feast that have been awake and alive to the Father’s heart for this occasion for his Son.

Paul dwelt thoroughly on the relational aspect of Christ and his Bride when he spoke of presenting his bride as having her soul cleansed by his Word and having a heart of inner beauty that is without spot or blemish.
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish

Paul was always urging the church to awaken and to reawaken into a conscious awareness of the nearness of God with us at all times, and not to allow the difficulties and distractions of the world to weary us into a spiritual slumber.
Romans 13:11 You know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep

Paul saw that the uncertainties of the future and the fatigue of past struggles had allowed a lethargy of spirit to take over peoples’ souls that he had in his care, and he went to great lengths to remind them to live in the present moment and not in the vagaries of time that had been wasted or lost or anxious that time was running out.

He pressed upon them to take hold of the available grace that abounded towards them if only they would trust and believe. Paul saw himself as co-labouring and cooperating with God on their behalf and stirs them to be of a similar disposition of working together with God and for God. He writes, ‘I heard you at the right time and came to give you salvation but be aware that the time is right now for your grace to fully co-operate in this day of salvation’ (2Corinthians 6:1) 
Act now, Paul urges, for this is the acceptable (and only) time to do so. It is not only having had salvation come to you once and that is all there is to it, but it is time for your salvation to live in you and come out of you from a conscious kingdom life within you. 
He was saying, God hasn’t stopped labouring but have you stopped co-labouring.

How do we cooperate and co-labour?
We occupy the now (and only) moment of grace in his presence which is to us a place of safety and refuge. To do this we need to stop, be still, and engage our mind to focus upon his life actively streaming its goodness towards us.
We then trust and fully believe that God is working his Kingdom of heaven life into our earthly lives and circumstances to bring them into the order of his Heavenly life.
We trust and believe that God is redeeming and restoring our past experiences of loss and disorder in our lives into a thankful now present place of peace and order.
And that gives us new hope as we look forward to an ongoing Kingdom ordered life for the future.