Click or Tap Icons to Share! Thank you!

Authored By  :
Published On :
Last Updated :

NOTE: This article or series has not been updated recently. As such, it may possibly contain some outdated information, and/or ideas and beliefs which I no longer embrace, or which have changed to some degree.



Continuing our discussion from part one, as we have seen, due to their own pride and deception, the unbelieving Jews of First Century Israel assumed themselves to be the true children of the Kingdom of God. Why were they so confident of this? Well, for two primary reasons. As I amply explain in the series entitled "Dead to the Law: God's Laws Written on Our Hearts", one reason for their deception is that the Jewish religious elders in particular prided themselves in observing the Laws of Moses. Better said, they pretended to observe the Mosaic Law in the public's eye. However, Jesus had this to say regarding those pious hypocrites, and the rest of the chapter is much more harsh:

"Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not."


In other words, the Scribes and the Pharisees, and I suppose other religionists of their ilk, were seriously engaged in a major works trip. They apparently convinced themselves that they could establish their own righteousness, and thus buy their way into Heaven. They deemed themselves to be so holy and righteous, that they figured that they had the Salvation deal all sewed up with God. Thus, they were totally blind to the fact that they needed Jesus to save them. As the Apostle Paul writes:

"Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."


The second main reason why the Jewish religious elders were so convinced that the Kingdom of God was theirs without any question, and that they would be first in God's Kingdom -- even though Jesus said they would be last, and even cast out -- is because of their very heritage. In other words, they foolishly claimed their legitimacy based on their bloodlines to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They were so shortsighted, that they failed to recognize that who we are in the flesh is of little significance to our Heavenly Father. Jesus endeavored to point this out to them, and the Apostle Paul wrote a lot about this same topic as well; but those self-righteous Jews just never understood that the true children of Abraham are the children of faith, who obtain their righteousness only through Jesus Christ. Consider the following verses:

"And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham."


"I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham."


"Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed."


"Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham . . . That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith . . . And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."


"Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise."


So this is why in the previous Parables that I shared with you in part one, Jesus kept making references to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This was not only a hint regarding who His real audience was -- that is, the Jews themselves, and not Christians -- but it was also Jesus' way of saying to them "You think that you've got it made. You think that you are going to sit down in my Father's Kingdom with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but you are not because you are not my sheep, and I do not know you."

Even the fact that in Matthew chapter twenty-five Jesus says "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" is a powerful hint regarding who Jesus is referring to. Clearly, Jesus would not say this to His own dear saved children, who He would never cast out, as we saw in part one. Thus, contrary to what some of you may have been led to believe by certain misguided preachers and Bible teachers, Jesus' words are not directed to Christians who just couldn't make the grade. As we have already learned, these warnings and Parables were directed to the unbelieving Jews themselves, who were Jesus' audience. As I explain in the "Dead to the Law" series, Gentiles would not even become an active part of the evangelical equation until the Book of Acts.

Having stated the above, I am absolutely convinced that the only people to whom Jesus would say this, and in fact banish into everlasting fire, would be the actual children of hell themselves. As I noted in part one, in many cases, the Bible interprets itself. Thus, there is no need for us to resort to personal theories and conjectures and try to guess who these unbelieving evil doers are. Why? Because the Lord informs us exactly who they are in both the Gospels, as well as in His final revelation to us; that is, in the Book of Revelation. As you can see by the verses below, the rebellious people who are cast into everlasting fire are the unbelieving Jews who choose to reject Christ, and who are thus both antichrist, as well as the very children of Hell, and of Satan:

"Ye [speaking to the Jewish leadership] are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."


"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves."


"In whom the god of this world [Satan] hath blinded the minds of them [the Jews] which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."


"For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost."


"I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan."


"Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee."


"Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son."


"And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world."


"For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist."


Some Christians take offence at the previous verses because they are very much pro-Israel, and have been blinded by the Zionist agenda. Thus, they either choose to ignore the verses, or else they endeavor to find some other way to interpret and understand them, so that they feel more comfortable with them. However, the truth is the truth, and we cannot deny it simply because we do not like it, or because it goes against what we want to believe. The verses say what they say. Jesus said it; so do you accept it and believe it? Please note that Jesus is the one who is speaking in the Book of Revelation as well.

For some time now, based on Jesus' own words, I have referred to these outwardly pious people who claim to belong to Jesus, who try to flatter and impress Him with their "Lord, Lord", praises, and who boast of all of the supposed good works they have done in His Name, as the "Lord, Lord Group". They are mentioned in the following verses:

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."


"And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not."


"And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"


"Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity."


"Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."


"Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."


As you can see, Jesus was no fool. He had both Wisdom and Spiritual Discernment. Thus, He knew how to look beyond the hypocritical, flattering praises which freely spewed forth from their viperous tongues, and see within their deep and wicked hearts. They were as trustworthy as Judas Iscariot, and the Lord knew it. They would praise Him one day, and turn around and kill Him just a few days later.

At first glance, the previous verses may seem to be talking about Christians. After all, who would prophesy in the Name of Jesus? Who would cast out devils in His Name? Who would do many wonderful works in His Name? If you think that only Christians could do these things -- who, let us not forget, did not even exist at that time -- you are mistaken. There were in fact a number of Jewish false prophets, exorcists and sorcerers who tried to capitalize on Jesus' Name, but who did not actually accept Him for who He was, and is. If Pharaoh's two wizards -- Jannes and Jambres -- could resist Moses, it should not surprise us then that there were also certain Jewish deceivers who also endeavored to imitate the power of the Lord but who were really empowered by the Devil himself, or at least by his demon army. This becomes evident by the following verses:

"Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was."


"For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect."


"For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect."


"But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done . . . And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me."


"And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus: Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand."


"Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded."


"And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."


As I mentioned earlier, we need to remind ourselves of the environment of that period, and who Jesus' audience was. It was not Christians, and it was most certainly not Gentile Christians. His audience only consisted of Jews at that time, including the proud, self-righteous Jewish religionists who were in power in Israel, and particularly in Jerusalem. We see another hint that this is so in the words "teaching for doctrines the commandments of men". As I have pointed out a number of times before, this is precisely what the Jewish religious leaders did. Much like what is happening in the world today, they nullified God's Word through their own doctrines, traditions, laws and customs. Following are some additional verses which expose and warn against this very same problem:

"In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy."


"Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees."


"Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition."


"For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye."


"And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."


"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."


"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."


Another very important point that is worth mentioning here is the fact that the main theme of many of Jesus' Parables is Salvation, and the expediency of receiving Him as their Savior while there is still time. Jesus repeatedly warns His Jewish listeners that they should not procrastinate insofar as their decision is concerned, because once He leaves the Earth, that is it. All opportunity will be lost for them. He tells them that when He returns later, it will simply be to collect His own, and then the door to the Marriage Supper will been shut. If you doubt that the Salvation of the Jews is in fact the central theme of many of these Parables, then consider that the verses which I shared with you in part one from the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of Luke begin with this important question:

"Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved?"


Considering that Jesus said "salvation is of the Jews" in the Gospel of John, and that Jesus only preached to the Jews, it is evident that this question in the Gospel of Luke concerns the Salvation of the Jews, and not the Salvation of Gentiles.

It is amazing how much we can learn if we simply take the time to seriously study God's Word, instead of resorting to our own human wisdom and understanding, and the misguided doctrines of men. As I explained in part one, we need to be Spirit-led in our understanding, and we need to compare one Scripture with another, so that we are not led astray. Also, we need to be careful that we do not study God's Word with doctrinal filters on our eyes which can very easily blind us to the truth. In other words, if we start out with certain preconceived ideas, we will only see what we want to see, and not much more. Even if God tries to show us something new and different, we will resist it.

Taken into consideration this preponderance of evidence which we find in the New Testament, it seems rather obvious to me that, contrary to what this misguided person wrote, the five foolish virgins were not backslidden Christians, or members of the Church of Laodicea, or Christians who had been rejected as a result of not being baptized in water. The reason why these five foolish virgins were shut out of the Marriage Feast of the Lamb is because they were not actually saved. They were in fact unsaved Jews. In their deception, they thought that they were saved -- just like the self-righteous Jewish religious leaders who were convinced that they could establish their own righteousness by keep the Law -- but as it turned out, Jesus did not know them or recognize them as belonging to Him. They were not His sheep, just as the Scribes and the Pharisees were told by Him that they were not His sheep either. Thus, these five foolish virgins were rejected and not let in.

As I point out in articles such as "Once Upon a Time: A True Story" and "Many Are Called, But Few Are Chosen", those five foolish virgins are just like the man who tried to sneak into the Marriage Feast without wearing the proper wedding garment. If you take the time to read those two articles, you will see that the wedding garment represents the righteousness of Jesus Christ, which is the only ticket to Heaven that there is. That deceived man was relying on his own righteousness, just like the Scribes and the Pharisees. While he thought that his own works would suffice, to his shock, he learned rather quickly that only faith in Jesus' finished Work on the Cross counts towards our righteousness. The fact that we are born in sin, have no righteousness of our own, and are only saved by the Grace of God through our faith in Jesus Christ is revealed in such verses as the following:

"Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me."


"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."


"If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?"


"But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:"


"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one . . . But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"


"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"


"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."


"And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness."


"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;"


"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"


"And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins . . . But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus . . . For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."


"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed."


Please go to part three for the continuation of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

Click or Tap Icons to Share! Thank you!

---

---

Please avail yourself of other areas of the Bill's Bible Basics website. There are many treasures for you to discover.