Sooner Than You Think
but
Later Than You Want
1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. (Matt 25)
This is a Kingdom of Heaven parable. Jesus had just told His disciples about the end of the age and about His return. He stresses to them about being prepared and ready for these events. Then, the Lord seems to bring forth a transitional parable. Jesus is talking about the Messianic Kingdom. This is not talking about the Church. It is dealing not with the Bride but with the guests of the wedding or the bridesmaids or attendants of the Bride. Nonetheless, I would like to use this story to talk about the apparent delay in the Lord's Appearing.
In the parable all 10 virgins were expecting the bridegroom. Five of them thought they knew when the bridegroom was arriving. The other five were not sure so they were prepared to wait longer than the others. The question is: Which group was the wise virgins? The super-confident, know it all, proclaimers of unknowable future events? Or the group who thought they should prepare for an unlikely but possible delay in the bridegroom's arrival?
When a prophesied event occurs, after the fact, we will look back at it and remark how it all happened exactly as God foretold. But it is never as anyone imagines it is going to unfold. For example, many people know when the Rapture is going to happen. Just ask them. Many are loud and arrogant. Self-confident and insulting, they berate anyone who suggests looking at the Scriptures again, to help clarify.
Do you know with dogmatic certainty when prophesied events are going to happen and how they will play out? Do you know when Jesus is coming back? Forget those dates. May it be today!
I had been a Pre-Tribber for 50 years. Why? No reason, that's just what “everybody” had said. Do you know for sure when Jesus is coming for His people? May it be today. But it wasn't yesterday. Maybe tomorrow. Likely a fall feast day. I think almost everyone, if they are honest, has a strange sense that it is soon. World events are heating up and speeding up. The Lord's Return will be sooner than you think. I know of a Bible teacher that seriously said he had taken his last shower because Jesus was coming. That was many months ago. Would it have hurt so much to take another shower or maybe several? Could it be that the Appearing of Jesus is coming later than we would prefer? Maybe will go farther into Daniel's 70th week than we would like to.
The “Left Behind” franchise was based upon the best general knowledge that most people had 30 years ago. A lot of insight has been released to Bible students in the time since then. I have studied and heard many theories and positions about the Rapture and related subjects. Many of them are very convincing. At the time of this writing this (below) is the most Bible-supported speculation that I have heard. This may change when and if the sealed book of Daniel is opened more.
The 70th week of Daniel is probably going to start unnoticed by most people. It will likely not start by some cataclysmic event that is reported on the evening news. World events will progress just as God has said but not at all as people have imagined. When people start to realize that they are in what they have always called The Tribulation, someone will remember that there was no Rapture before all this started. Many will give up the Christian Faith as worthless and the idea of a Rapture as fantasy. There will be a great falling away from Christianity with resentment toward God and hatred toward Believers that are still holding on to belief in God and the Bible.
I see the Church going about 6 years into the last 7 years. This will be after the greatest part of the Persecution (tribulation) but before the greatest part of the trouble (tribulation). Therefore this eliminates a Pre-Trib rapture and a Post-Trib rapture and a Mid-Trib rapture. More likely, it is the fall harvest season of the 6th year. That is a lot farther into the final 7 years than anyone wants to go. It is a lot farther into it than I want to go. Again, may the Appearing of Jesus be today!
I believe we could think of the story of the 10 Virgins as a template for our day as well as the Millennial Kingdom later. We need a humble attitude. May it be today but could we have to wait a little longer than we want to? It would be foolish to be dogmatic about a certain date of the Rapture. It would be wise to be prepared, at least mentally, to go farther or wait longer than the “experts” are telling us.
May we be able to discard the extra unused oil of preparation instead of lacking it. Jesus' Appearing is sooner than you think but later than you want.
Sept 9, 2025