Amen. You know, prior to Christ's crucifixion, he gave solemn and clear warnings to individuals concerning the end times and the need to be ready to meet the Lord. I was talking to a man just recently and he was telling me of an individual who was 93 years of age And he'd been in the church for many, many years. This individual was not only 93 years of age, but he also was on the committee of his local church. Not only was he 93 years of age and on the committee, but he also helped out in every department of the work of God. I'm not sure, but I think in the conversation we had, he may have even opened up the church and closed it. I was also told by that individual that this man was the superintendent of the Sunday School. And in many respects, most people thought he was saved. He died a few weeks ago, I heard. And only five weeks before he died, he came to Saving Faith in Christ. Now, think of it. All those years, all that service, All that outward impression, and yet the man didn't know the Lord. He wasn't saved. It is wrong for us to assume that in any gathering of individuals that all do know the Lord, you have to personally make sure your calling and your election. salvation and make sure that you know Christ as your Savior and you'd be ready to meet the Lord. We have as a text just in our car park up on the hill coming as you're coming down the carriageway. You can see that text. Prepare to meet thy God. How often the Lord spoke about watchfulness here in this very twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew in the parable of the ten And then the Lord literally means watch because calamity's coming. The word isn't just to be awake. It literally means this, that destruction is about to come and you are to exercise care and make yourself ready and prepare for that destruction that is about to come. That word watch literally means and it relates to in its context in the Greek, it means destruction is coming and you need to be careful and make preparation and watch for your soul because the end time is coming, the judgment day will arrive. And lack of preparation for that momentous occasion, our Lord Jesus Christ said that it would result in eternal loss of man's soul in the lake of fire that's prepared for the devil and his angels and for the nations that forget God and for sinners who reject the Lord. In order to emphasize the urgency and the necessity of a state of readiness for the Lord's second coming, He gave forth certain parables. I don't want to mention them all tonight, but one of which is the one we read together, the parable of the 10 virgins. The stated purpose of this parable was to encourage preparation for and watchfulness in light of the second coming of Christ to this earth to rule and to reign on this earth. The return of Christ to receive his blood-bought people to himself is often represented under the similitude of a marriage. In other words, marriage seems to depict what will happen at the end of the age when Christ comes to receive his bride. when Christ appears in the air, and the dead in Christ will rise first, and then those of us which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, and we'll be forever with the Lord. It seems the Lord takes the marriage relationship, and he wonderfully symbolizes the union between the sinner and the Savior. In other words, the sinner, saved by his grace, is his spouse. It is His bride, the church that is the invisible church, those that belong to the Lord, those that are born again, those that are saved. They will be His bride. He will come to fetch them home. He will come to receive them unto Himself. Now, the parable is best understood in the connection in which it lies now, that is, in the Jewish wedding. There's not a wedding that we know of today could really, you could apply this parable to. The setting is the Jewish wedding, and if you understand the nature of a Jewish wedding in Bible times, you will understand what the Lord's talking about here. About those who were wise and those that were foolish. And why the evening time was mentioned, in fact the midnight hour. what was happening and why the groom was coming to fetch a bride and then bringing him to his house and so on. I want to tell you that it's best understood in connection with a Jewish wedding because weddings took place in Bible times after a lengthy engagement. In fact some will say that they're literally already married and The husband then goes off to get a good job and save his money and build a home. And then at a certain point, he goes to claim his bride and take her from her house to his house as a joyous occasion. We'll not go into the detail. But after a lengthy betrothal or engagement, the bridegroom made his way to the house of the bride to bring her home. The time of his arrival was never announced. He never told her. She was always to be in a state of readiness. In other words, her bags were packed. She was ready to move. He could call at any time of the day, but usually, in most cases, it was always in the deadness of night. That's why the lamps were used, the torches, and the little vessel to carry the oil, because the lamp would go out and you had to refill, and you had to have sufficient oil to make it from the groom's house to the bride's house back to the groom's house. That's what it's all about. And the Lord was taking what the Jews knew, that the Jews practiced, and maybe even that very day, because remember the Lord attended the wedding in Cana of Galilee, the marriage feast. And what happened was the time of his arrival was never announced and the bride had to be in a state of readiness and preparedness for she didn't know when he would come to fetch her. And therefore, a procession would gather at the groom's house, and they would take their torches, and they would march, and there'd be like a celebration, and it was a noisy affair. And people would have come out of their houses. Some would have joined the procession. Some would have made it. So maybe they started out with 20, and by the time they got to the bride's house, there could be 300 people in that little town as the groom made his way to receive his bride. And those people came with the groom. You can see the picture, the holy angels, saints made perfect, will all come with the groom, with Christ that is appearing to receive who? His bride, those that are still on planet earth, those who are not now with Christ in heaven, but they're still upon the earth. And then they made their way from the bride's house to the groom's house. And when they got there, there was a tremendous celebration. And those that were invited in, they came in and the door was shut. And Scripture tells us that when that door was shut, there were those who were foolish. They weren't in a state of readiness or preparation. They had not the oil in their lamp. In other words, they didn't have the oil of grace. They didn't have the oil of salvation. They didn't have that which was sufficient to get them to heaven. They didn't have that which would take them to the groom's house, to the marriage supper and the feast at this wedding festival and celebration. In other words, that once they were at the house and the door was shut, they would bang on the door and they would cry, Lord, Lord, let us in, let us in, open unto us. And then the Lord would shout from within, depart from me, I never knew you. And the Bible says they were shut out from the marriage and from the celebration. And now Christ takes the Jewish wedding and he lifts it out of its context and he applies it now to his bride. to those that are saved on the earth when the Lord returns. And he says, when I die on the cross, when I'm crucified, when I've purchased eternal life, when the gospel is preached to all the nations and the elect are gathered in, then I will return again. And I urge caution on this matter, that you be in a state of readiness. Verse 13 says, watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour when the Son of Man cometh. I used to give out the illustration concerning an individual who was an evangelist and he asked a group of people, believers, that he was doing a Bible study with. I was told recently that the individual's name was Robert Murray McShane. And I didn't actually know that. I've often given this illustration. In fact, it was today that I found it out, listening to a sermon, that it was Robert Murray McShane. And as I was listening and I heard that, I know the illustration well. He said to believers, do you think Christ will come tonight? And he asked another one, do you think Christ will come tonight? And then just like me asking someone over here and someone in the middle, someone over to my right-hand side to ask some elder or some young person, do you think Christ will come tonight? Just saying, even to a child, do you think that the Lord Jesus Christ will come tonight? and every one of them said something very similar. I don't think so. I think not. You see, they were studying scripture and prophecy and a lot of things have to be fulfilled. No, I don't think so. I don't think tonight. No, I don't think so. And then McShane called out the scripture to them, the words of Christ. And he says, you know, gentlemen, in an hour that you think not, the son of man cometh. In an hour when you think not, the son of man cometh. There's very little preaching on the return of Christ today. That's a fact. Oh, there's a lot of argument and debate about it, but there's little preaching in the gospel on the return of Christ. There was a bookseller and he owned a little shop. and he owned a shop, and across from him was an evangelical church. That bookseller was an unsaved man, and he decided that he would attend that local evangelical church, and he did so. And he attended for a full year, and when the full year was up, he said to the pastor, he says, you know that I've been attending this church now for exactly one full year. pastor was pleased that he was in attendance for a full year without missing. But he says, I want to tell you something. I am not a saved man. I don't profess to be born again or a Christian. But I'm going to say something to you. In the year that I've been at this church, I've never heard you preach once on the second coming. of the Lord Jesus Christ. And yet the Lord is returning. It is the blessed hope of the church. It is the climax of all history and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We often speak about the blessed book and the precious blood But the third link in that chain is the blessed hope. And that's why we as believers differ from all other so-called religions. And that we believe not only in a resurrection of the just and the unjust, but we believe Christ will return and we have a blessed hope. One day the Lord is coming back and the Lord, in the light of that, has issued a caution and put urgency into it. Watch therefore, for you don't know the hour. You don't even know the day when the Lord will return. And I want to look at this parable in a little more detail just now. And I want you to think, first of all, of the sudden declaration in this parable. Notice there in verse six. Think of the sudden declaration. I don't know how long that this engagement period had gone on. Some people can tell us that they could be engaged for years. for years. They could literally be engaged for years, and that groom never once in all those years come to fetch his bride. No procession, but yet for years this bride waited for her groom to come. And the Bible even says, while the bridegroom tarried, And so it was clear that it just wasn't straightaway engaged one day and married the next. No, there was a lengthy period of waiting. And as a direct result of that, the Bible says that one night, it was just the same as every other night. I'm sure she went through her routine. She might've even thought, where is he? Why isn't he coming? I wonder when it will be. Maybe, maybe, she said, tonight. It might be tonight. I'll be ready. I'll be prepared. It could be tonight. And then when everyone was settled down in the town, no doubt they went to bed very early in Bible times and they rose early. And such was the nature and the habit of the customs in Bible times. We read that in Joshua three this morning and Joshua And so the midnight hour, they would have been fast asleep. In fact, the Bible tells us that they were, because it says, while they all slumbered and slept. This parable tells us that. There came a cry at the midnight hour, at the darkest point, there came a cry. And verse six says, and at midnight, there was a cry made. Behold, the bridegroom cometh. Go ye out to meet him. Wake up, church. That's what it's saying. Wake up believer, the Lord has come. Go ye out to meet him. And I want to tell you there was delight at his coming. Not only in verse six, but look at verse 10 as well. There was delight at this groom's coming. Notice what it says in verse 10. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage. There was delight. The time had come. The groom had arrived. And I often think about weddings. I think about weddings. Not that I'm planning to have a second wedding or renew my vows or anything like that. I often think when our young people get married. I often think of the focus as I sit down with them and I take them through the interview. And then they go through their preparations and the big day comes and they walk up the aisle of the church. I had it recently with my own family. I've had eight weddings this year alone. couple more next year on the on the list and the will of the Lord. But I often think the emphasis is always on the bride. And the poor groom he stands there. He just appears. That's the truth. And he just is. basically stand there and smile cute and cuddly. That's that's the the term. Just you stand there and smile for the pictures. Hardly anybody says you're looking well. They're looking at the bride and the scent. Look at that dress. See the back of it I saw a girl one time and she had all these butterflies all at the back of the veil. And I want to tell you it it was like a royal wedding. And then the flowers in the church but everything was on the bride. But I want to tell you something young people you're getting married I'm sure and it will be on the groom. For the first time in history, in marriages, the emphasis will be on the groom. When Christ returns, it'll not be about the bride. Isn't that what Rutherford said in his great hymn, as if I'm getting it right here, or Elizabeth Cousins? The bride eyes not her garment. She doesn't eye her garment, but she looks at the groom. Christ. And when Christ comes, it'll not be the bride. That'll be the focus. It'll be the groom. It's all about him. All about Christ. And there's delight here. Because they're brought into the married supper of the lamb. That's what we're looking at here. In the Jewish wedding, the delight, the celebration. I've never been to a Jewish wedding. I've been to Northern Irish weddings. And they are And the last one, I think it was, I mean, it wasn't the last one. Second from the last was my own son's and we had a tremendous time of celebration. And all our young people know all about that. They certainly and thoroughly enjoyed that night. But there was delight. And I wonder, are you ready for the coming of the bridegroom, Christ? Are you prepared tonight? Would there be delight at his coming? or would there be damnation? Can I say something else? There was darkness that is coming. Notice in verse six it tells us there at midnight. Do you see that in verse six? At midnight. In other words, the midnight hour perfectly symbolizes the spiritual darkness that engulfs this world and especially the thickening and the intensifying of that darkness. as the Lord's coming draws near. And when the Lord comes, I want to tell you, it will be the midnight of all midnights, spiritually speaking, and the dark night of sin. It will also symbolize the blackness and darkness of those who are outside the married supper of the Lamb. Those five foolish virgins that didn't make preparation. They were shut out. And remember, their lamps had gone out. and they were in complete darkness. And that tells me that at the coming of Christ, there'll be light and there'll be delight for those that are saved. But for those that are lost, there'll be damnation and there'll be darkness and it will be the midnight for all eternity. There'll be no dawn of a new day. the sun of opportunity will set forever in the eastern sky of God's grace and mercy and your soul will be cast into the blackness of darkness forever. That's why we urge, that's why Christ gave forth these parables that you might be preached to and taught your need to be ready to meet the Lord. Do you notice as well in verse 8 that there was discovery at his coming? Not only was there delight and darkness on this sudden declaration of his coming, but there was discovery. Look what it says in verse 8. Our lamps are gone out. We have no oil. You have. Give us some of your oil. Lend us some of your oil. Not so. We can't do it. We can do nothing for the lost when Christ returns again. We can't plead with the Lord. Give them oil. Save their soul. Have mercy upon them, Lord. There's no pleading. There's no leniency. There is no individual, no days man, no redeemer, no kinsman. There's no mediator on that day. When you stand before the judge, there is no leniency shown, there's no lawyer, there's no QC, there's no one to stand to plead your case and your cause. And we find in verse 8 that at the coming of the Lord, there were those and their lamps had gone out, they had not the oil that was necessary to bring them to the house. I don't know when they arrived at that door, but I would suspect they couldn't find their way to the groom's house. And when they did find it, they knocked and they knocked and it was too late. Only those that had the torches, only those had oil in their lamps. and trimmed and burning, and in a state of readiness and preparedness, entered into the marriage supper. But those who didn't were shut out. And it speaks about the oil of grace, saved by grace, the oil of God's salvation, washed in the blood of the Lamb, trusting in the finished work. Oh, these five foolish virgins discovered to their horror that they had not sufficient provision for the coming of the bridegroom. They were lacking that which would have taken them to the marriage feast. They're called foolish, the word literally in the Greek is called stupid. How stupid can you be in the light of the Lord's coming? And you know it, that you're not ready and you're not prepared. And how many are exactly the same? That's why we say to you, prepare to meet thy God. Consider secondly, and very quickly, not only do we have a sudden declaration here, but I think this is the most solemn feature of this parable. We have the shut door. in the parable. Not only a sudden declaration, behold, the bridegroom cometh, but the shut door in the parable. Notice in verse ten it says, and the door was shut. I believe that this is one of the most sobering features of the parable and it is the shut door. Its closure is final. Can I say to you, it makes this final scene of the parable a very tragic and yet unforgettable spectacle. Because there are those that are shut out of heaven. Those that heaven's door is closed to. It's a rude awakening for the man or woman who's trusting in their good works or their baptism or their confirmation or their church attendance or any religious right or duty to die in their sin and go out into eternity to find that the door is shut. or for those who are alive at the Lord's coming. And to realize that there are those that will enter in and the door, sorry about that, is shut in your face. You're definitely awake now. Let me tell you, I have your attention. And let me just hammer it home then. One of the most sobering features is the shut door. I want to tell you it's final. Now why do I say that? I'll tell you why. I'm not trying to be smart. And I borrow my knowledge as I've told you. but the Greek word for shut here means not just to close the door. Just as it was tonight, we closed the door. You'll notice that you're free to leave. Now, don't all go at once. You notice that you can leave at any time. The door is shut, but it's not permanently shut. People think in free Presbyterian circles, when they get the inn, they lock the door. door and they close the windows and they make sure there's a guard at the back in case you get out. Well, that is not true. That is not true. You're free to leave by the way. Now, please don't leave all at the once. Now, if you wanted to go to the toilet there, just you're you really need to go in this place. I said to you, you're free to leave but don't go now and you're going to be embarrassed. So, I'm sorry about that but I want to tell you this word means to shut You've seen houses and they say we don't need that door anymore, put blocks on it. And even when you paint it you can still see the silhouette. I tell you maybe you give it another coat and another coat and even then you'll just see the brickwork and you'll see that used to be a door. And now it's closed permanently. We don't use it. Nobody can go in and out of it. That door is sealed shut. Well, that's what that Greek word means. And that's why I said to you that the shut door is the most solemn feature of this parable, for it means it was final. And the tense of this verb shut means to close permanently, to shut tight so it can never be opened again. In other words, nail it closed, bolt and fasten it tight, and this door will never be opened again. It speaks of opportunity. It's the door of opportunity. And once that door is closed, it's final. And you need to understand that. And I don't know what your views are concerning the second coming of Christ. If I take a casual reading of my Bible, if I take a reading of my Bible without ever looking at a single commentary, I will arrive at this conclusion, that when the Lord returns again to planet Earth, there is no second chance. There is no opportunity to be saved. And don't think as some foolishly say, and that's why they're called foolish in this parable, that they will do what these foolish virgins did. They will cry out, Lord, Lord. Somehow when they see the Lord, they'll get right with the Lord. It's too late. Somehow when they see the Lord in the air, they'll bow the knee where they are, and they'll confess their sin, and they'll cry, Lord, have mercy. It's too late. I told you, it's far too late. Can I say it was not only final, but it was fair. We've heard people say, a God of love could never send anyone to hell. A God of love could never exclude anyone out of heaven. And we see that today in equality law. Everybody must be treated the same. Nobody's different. Everybody must be treated the same. And you can't in any way discriminate against any person. You carry that into the gospel. You can't tell that person they're a sinner. You're making them feel bad about themselves, and they've got low self-esteem, and you're just putting them down. So you're banned, you're barred by legislation. Don't you dare tell a person that they're a sinner, that they're lost, and they're shut out of heaven. Don't you dare do that. Well, the Lord does it, and he's the truth, and we'll do it. And it was fair. because these five foolish virgins had ample time. In fact, if you look at verse five, look what it says, the bridegroom tarried. The bridegroom tarried. And listen, if you died in your sin now, or if the Lord returned now and you weren't ready to meet the Lord, I want to tell you this, it would not only be final, it's over, but it would be fair. And I'll tell you why. You're still alive today. Why did you not die as a child? Why did you not die as a teenager? Why was it that at work you didn't meet with the accident but someone else did? Why was it that that car crash didn't involve you but a close associate of you? Why is cancer taken so many that you and I know and you're still here in reasonable health? Why? Why hasn't the Lord come? Why didn't he come when you were 20 years of age? Because if he did, you'd be in hell. Why didn't the Lord come last year? The bridegroom tarried. and I want to tell you something. The reason behind that is simple, because you have ample time. You can't say, Lord, I only found out this morning, Lord. I only heard in church last night, Lord, that you were coming again, and I needed to be ready. Oh, no, you have had ample opportunity. You have had plenty of time. The bridegroom tarried. You didn't die all those years ago. God spurred your life. and the Lord hasn't come yet the second time and you're not saved and the Lord has been merciful to you. That's why you are to seek the Lord now while he is to be found. Because this could be your final gospel meeting. Your last opportunity. You have one final thought, and I have to finish because I want to keep my word. You have the solemn directive in the parable. Notice what it says in verse 13. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh. You have the solemn directive. Watch. because you don't know when the Lord's going to return. And neither do you know the day of your death. But I'm going to say this to you. This word literally, watch, means to be on your guard lest a calamity, a calamity, a destructive calamity overtakes you. During the troubles in Northern Ireland, it was like the RUC coming to your house and saying to you, now listen to me, the IRA, or even loyalism. They've been spying out your house. Such and such an individual, a known killer. He sat outside your home now for two weeks and he sat in a blue car. Oh yes, I saw that car. I didn't think, I thought it was a neighbor. I thought it was somebody on night shift. I saw that car for weeks. It never even fizzed on me. And they've been spying out your house. They've been watching your routine. Now here's what we want you to do. You gotta be on your guard. you've got to watch because we believe that you're on their list and they're going to kill you. The people who have had that this past few months from the PS and I, a warning that they're going to be killed and some of them didn't bother watching, took no precautions and now they're out in God's eternity. That's a fact. They're out in God's even paid dissident republicans, something in the region of 10,000 pound, to save his own life. Can I say something to you? It wouldn't surprise me if they took the money and killed him. There's no honor among thieves. What a way to live. Instead of getting right with God when his mates were killed and done to death, he tries to preserve his life. Rather than seeking the Lord and repenting of his sin, sinners are no different. Watch. Man's greatest duty is to watch and attend to the business of his soul and its eternal salvation. We're to make sure that at death or at the Lord's second coming that we're right to meet the Lord. That's why you must repent and sin. And you must turn from your sin. And you must seek the Lord. You must believe Christ died for you. Suffered for you. Bled for you. Rose again for you. And you must come tonight because he loves you. And he will save you. He will pardon you. And if you come every sin he'll wash away. Listen to me. Don't you go out of this house tonight. Don't dare leave the house without Christ. Come young person. Older person. You get this matter sorted tonight. And may God and his love and and bring you to Christ. Let's bow in prayer. Father, we do thank thee for thy presence, and we thank thee, Lord, for thy mercy, love, and grace. Bless the word preached tonight. and back at home, and burn it into every heart. And those of us who are saved as we leave this house, may we do so very prayerfully and carefully. Watch over our young people as they journey to after-church meetings or other places. Keep them safe on the road, and grant, Lord, you'll make sure that even these young people are saved and they know the Lord. So, hear our prayer tonight, and bless the closing of meetings across our land. Save, we pray, in Jesus' precious name. Amen.