Oil for our Lamps

Kongsvinger Lutheran Church

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Welcome to the teaching ministry of Kungsvinger Lutheran Church. Kungsvinger is a beacon for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of northwestern

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Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone.

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And now, here's a message from Pastor Chris Roseberg. The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, chapter 25, verses 1 -13.

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At that time, the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

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Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish one took their lamps, but they did not take any oil with them.

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The wise, however, took oil and jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and they fell asleep.

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At midnight the cry rang out, Here's the bridegroom, come out to meet him. Then all the virgins woke up, trimmed their lamps.

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The foolish one said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, our lamps are going out. No, they replied, there may not be enough for both of us and you.

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Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves. But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived.

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The virgins, who were ready, went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut.

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Later the others also came, Sir, sir, they said, open the door for us. But he replied,

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I tell you the truth, I don't know you. Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

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In the name of Jesus. It's the end of the world.

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For the next three weeks, the church calendar focuses our attention on the end of the world, the end of times.

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Now, here's a trick question I have for you. When is the end of the world? Now, in some sense, we don't have the answer to that.

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But in another sense, we do. And this is important. You keep the two together. I can tell you with confidence that the day and the hour in which you die, which you don't know when it's coming, that is the end of the world for you.

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Right? And if you think about it, Scripture makes it very clear that the end times began when

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Jesus ascended into heaven. So we are living in the end times. And the end of the world comes at the day or hour that you do not know, either with Christ's return or with your death.

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And funny enough, our parable today kind of teases this out a little bit, but you have to look very carefully at the text to get it.

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And due to the fact that this text begins with some interesting words, the words being this, at that time the kingdom of heaven will be like, well, when you see in a text like this, it says at that time,

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Jesus is in the middle of a discourse. In fact, this is a very famous discourse, and the name of the discourse is called the

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Olivet Discourse. Jesus is on the Mount of Olives, and this is the big reveal regarding the end of the world.

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And this is critical. Jesus is just about to be betrayed, arrested, beaten, flogged, crucified.

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He knows he's about to leave, and he's got very important information to give to us.

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And it's like this is a dying man's plea. Pay close attention. Listen, I'm leaving, I'm about to die, and you've got to pay attention.

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Things are going to be really, really difficult in the last days, extremely difficult.

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And you need to listen to Jesus. And those people who would paint the future of humanity as marshmallow -covered rainbows, that's not the future.

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It's not bright. In fact, what Jesus paints in the Olivet Discourse is a little bit bleak, and it's important for us to see what he said.

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That will give us the context, and then we'll get to the parable. So you have your pew Bible. Open up to Matthew 24, verse 1.

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We're going to do a very rapid flyover of the Olivet Discourse.

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It's Holy Week. Jesus is about to be arrested. Here's what it says. It says, Do you see all of these, he asked?

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I tell you the truth. Not one stone here will be left on another. Every one will be thrown down.

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Now think about that for a second. Where is the only place on planet Earth at that time where men can hear the absolution that God has forgiven their sins?

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The temple. That's the only place. But the reality is this.

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The temple that used to be in Jerusalem, that was type and shadow. The reality is

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Jesus. Jesus is the temple. So when Jesus is starting to talk crazy like this about the temple being destroyed, well, the first thing that comes to mind to the disciples is, it must be the end of the world.

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In a sense, it is. And in another sense, it isn't. So the destruction of the temple,

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Jesus uses typologically to then begin to discuss the ultimate end of the world.

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So here's what he says. I tell you the truth. Not one stone here will be left on another. Every one will be thrown down.

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As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, hence the name the Olivet Discourse, the disciples came to him privately.

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Tell us, they said. When will this happen? What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age? So Jesus answered.

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Watch out that no one deceives you. First thing, you want to know about what the end times are going to be like?

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The end times are marked with major deception. Major deception.

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Many will come in my name. People are going to come in the name of Jesus, claiming

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I'm the Christ. Whoa. If you pay attention to the news, the news is very diligent to cover the fact there's all kinds of people running around the planet claiming to be the

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Messiah. There's a famous guy in Russia right now, another one down in Australia. I had a little bit of a conversation with one a couple of years ago, and I told him to repent, and his response to me was, oh, a

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Christian who still believes in repentance? But that's another story. Anyway, so don't be deceived.

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Many will come in my name, in the name of Jesus, claiming to be the Christ, and you know what they're going to do?

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They're going to deceive many. You will hear of wars, rumors of wars. Sounds a lot like watching

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Fox News. But see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen. But the end is still to come.

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Nation will rise against nation. Kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All of these are the beginning of birth pains.

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So as you're watching the news, and you see wars, rumors of wars, pestilence, disease, Ebola, right?

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And you sit there and go, it's like the end of the world. Well, kind of. It's, those of you women here who've had babies, it's just like being in labor.

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So, as the world progresses and gets older, the contractions get stronger and stronger.

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And they come closer and closer together. Why? Well, what's getting birthed to is the visible kingdom of God.

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Christ is coming back. This world as we know it is passing away. And as we get closer to the day, it's going to get crazier and crazier.

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Again, the major thing is deception, though. That's the thing you've got to watch out for. Then, Jesus says, then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death.

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You will be hated by all nations because of me. Can anyone say ISIS? Right? At that time, many will turn away from the faith.

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Ouch. Many Christians will turn away from the faith and they will betray and they will hate each other.

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And many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. In other words, just because somebody says, the word of the

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Lord came to me and I've had a prophecy and here's what's happening in the year 2015, you need to prepare for this, chances are that person's really not a true prophet.

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Chances are they're a false prophet. Jesus here warns about the increase of false prophets in the last days.

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And then he says this, because the increase of wickedness, the love of many or the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

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So in this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come.

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So when you see standing in the holy place the abomination that causes desolation, think of the man of lawlessness here, this is what's being spoken of here.

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So when you see standing in the holy place the abomination that causes desolation, spoken through the prophet

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Daniel, let the reader understand and let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house.

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Let not the one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and for nursing mothers, and pray that your flight will not take place in the winter or on a

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Sabbath, for then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now and never to be equaled again.

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If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive. Things are going to be so bad that if the days of tribulation are not cut short, no one will survive.

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This kind of goes into my theory, and I have to kind of put it out like that. Jesus says the devil was a liar and a murderer from the beginning.

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He wanted to murder humanity right out of the chute. That's what he was trying to do in Genesis. When he deceived them, he wanted them...

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He heard, the day you eat of the fruit you will surely die. He deceived them, they ate the fruit.

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He's thinking they're dead and God's going to be the one to murder them. I think Satan still has as his plan the murder of humanity.

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So Jesus says, in the last days, if those days had not been cut short, no one would survive.

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The trajectory that humanity is on is suicide. That's where we're heading.

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And if Christ doesn't intervene, there's no one left. That's what

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Jesus said. So don't let the marshmallow -colored rainbow scenario of the end deceive you.

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There are those who actually in the Christian church believe that our job is to bring the kingdom of God here on earth and make the world a better and better and better place.

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And eventually we make it so great that everybody is all getting along. And then Jesus shows up and gives us a big pat on the back and says, good job, now

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I'm king. You know. That's not what Jesus said. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive.

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But for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened. At that time, if anyone says to you, look, here's the

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Messiah, the Christ, or there he is, don't believe it.

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Don't believe it. For false Christs, you can even put into this text right here, false

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Messiahs, false anointed ones. That's what Christos means. Somebody who claims to have a special anointing.

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False anointed ones. False prophets will appear. And get this. They're going to perform great signs and miracles.

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Do you think that miracles prove whether or not somebody is a true prophet or a false prophet? They don't.

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The message is what proves whether they're a true prophet or a false prophet. Jesus here says that false

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Christ, false anointed ones, false prophets are going to appear and they are going to perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect, if that were possible.

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And see, Jesus says, see, I've told you ahead of time. Marshmallow -covered rainbows,

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I don't think so. So if anyone tells you, there he is out in the desert, don't go out.

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Doesn't this sound like the last days are extremely religiously treacherous? It's exactly.

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False Christ, false Messiahs, people claiming, Jesus is coming back and he's going to appear in the desert.

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I'd like him to appear somewhere in North Dakota. But if somebody says, hey, he's appearing in Oslo next weekend.

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It ain't Jesus. How do you know? Because it says in scripture, when Jesus appears, it's going to be like a lightning flash across the sky.

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Everybody on the earth is going to know it's Jesus. There'll be no doubt. So these rumors about Jesus appearing and people performing miracles and stuff like that, that's all part of the last days' deceptions.

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And see, Jesus says, see, I told you ahead of time. This is a dying man's wish for you to know what's coming.

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So if they tell you, there he is out in the desert, don't go out. Here he is in the inner rooms, don't believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even to the west, so will be the coming of the

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Son of Man. And wherever there is a carcass, the vultures will gather. Immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.

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And at that time, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky or in the heavens, and all the nations of the earth will mourn.

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They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory, and he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call.

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Notice, the loud trumpet call also appears in our epistle texts. And they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

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Now learn this lesson from the fig tree. As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.

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Well, even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.

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I tell you the truth, this generation, not the generation living in Jesus' time, the generation that sees these things fulfilled, they will not pass away until all these things have happened.

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Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. No one knows that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven nor the

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Son, but only the Father. So anyone who says, Oh, I know Jesus is returning, and it's next month, it happens to be next month on a

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Thursday, at two in the afternoon, yeah, every single person who has claimed that they figured out and cracked the eschatological code has been wrong.

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Somehow we continue to endure, continue to live on after these men have predicted that Jesus is going to return.

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So if someone's out there claiming they know when Jesus is coming back, you know that they're deceived, and that those who are following them are also being deceived.

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No one knows that day or the hour, for in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark.

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They knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the

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Son of Man. Two men will be in the field, one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill, one will be taken, the other left.

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So therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.

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That's the word, watch. Watch. You don't know when he's coming. Understand this, if the owner of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.

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So you must be ready, because the Son of Man will come on an hour when you do not expect him.

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In other words, if you don't think Jesus is coming back today, oh, you are foolish.

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Absolutely foolish. Jesus could come back before I'm done with this sermon. Literally.

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So then who is the faithful and wise servant whom the Master has put in the charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?

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It will be good for that servant whose Master finds him doing so when he returns, I tell you the truth. He will put him in charge of all of his possessions.

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But suppose that that servant is wicked and says to himself, Ah, my Master's staying away a long time, and then he begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.

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That Master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and an hour when he is not aware, and he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites.

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By the way, again, when does the end of the world happen? Either when Jesus returns or when you die.

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And you don't know the day or the hour of your death now, do you? So he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

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Yeah, that's talking about hell. And yes, Jesus actually taught it. He actually believed in it. So if you have a church leader who says,

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Oh, hell doesn't exist. The God I believe in would never send people to such a place. Well, the God they believe in doesn't exist.

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The God they believe in is an idol of their own making. Jesus believed in hell, and he taught it.

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Now we get to our parable. At that time, the end, which end?

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The answer is either the end of your life or the end of the world. Pick one. It doesn't really matter which. At that time, the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

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Five of them were foolish, five were wise. What does the fool say in his heart?

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There's no God. The fool says in his heart there is no God. Now notice here, all ten of them are virgins.

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Now this is kind of a fascinating little thing here. We Lutherans like to take stabs at the

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Calvinists from time to time. And the Calvinists have this doctrine called the doctrine of limited atonement.

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And they like to say that Jesus only died for the elect. We say, well, John the Baptist said,

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Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Right?

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But here's the thing. Just because Jesus bled and died for everyone doesn't mean that everyone's saved.

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So here in this parable, all ten are virgins. Even the foolish ones are virgins. They're virgins by virtue of the fact that Christ bled and died for them.

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This is most certainly true. But the question is, what does the oil represent in this story?

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Because when we look at these parables, keep in mind parables, the true meaning is kind of encoded in symbols. So let's tear this apart a little bit.

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So at that time, the kingdom of heaven would be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish.

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Five were wise. The foolish one took their lamps but did not take any oil. What's the point of having a lamp if you're not going to bring oil?

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That would be like bringing a flashlight but having no batteries in it. Doesn't make any sense. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.

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And by the way, in the Greek here for wise, it's probably better translated as prudent. It kind of gives you the right sense in which they're wise.

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They're thinking ahead. They're being prudent. Sometimes you can think of wise as somebody who, you know, really has kind of studied the

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Proverbs and is really kind of wise in that way or wise in the way Solomon was wise. That's not the wisdom that's talked about here.

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This is real, true prudence and thinking ahead. So as in all of Jesus' parables, we talked about that all of this is wrapped up in symbolic meaning.

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And so we can say, well, Jesus is the bridegroom. Pretty straightforward, right?

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And the virgins, well, that's kind of all of humanity. Some are saved. Some are not saved.

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But the question comes down is what's with this oil stuff? What is the oil all about? Now, I've heard some good sermons on this and I've heard some bad sermons on this.

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The bad sermons on this go something like this. Well, the oil is your good works.

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It's your good works. And if you don't have enough oil in your lamp, well, you're not ready for the

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Lord's return. Well, the problem with that way of reading it is this. It makes salvation based upon what?

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Works. Well, Scripture interprets Scripture and we know that Scripture says no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by observing the law or by their good works.

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It can't be that. Well, Scripture does say what people are saved by. Saved by grace through faith, period.

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So, it's real simple. When you understand what Scripture says about this, the oil is faith and it makes sense.

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Okay. Now, let's say faith without works is dead. But what is works without faith? Works without faith is unbelief.

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That's what it is. So, we kind of got this going on. And something also to kind of keep in mind, we don't know a lot about first century

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Jewish wedding customs and what's kind of being referred to here.

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Keep in mind, wedding feasts in this day were kind of like multi -day affairs. And they began with a light, kind of a lamplight procession of the bridegroom.

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That's how, you know, so they'd wait until the evening when it's dark and, you know, to begin the wedding feast there would be a lamplight procession with the bridegroom coming in and, you know, announcing his arrival and then, you know, there was other things that go along with that.

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So, that's what this is referring to. So, notice that the wise virgins, they were thoughtful. They used foresight.

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They took a supply of oil with them in vessels that were provided for that purpose.

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The foolish or the imprudent, they refused to heed the necessity and they only took their lamps.

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Again, this is like taking a flashlight with no batteries in it. Who does that? Well, without faith it's impossible to please

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God. So, you want to appear before Jesus without faith?

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How do you... Well, that's foolishness, right? Luther says on this text, I think

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Luther gets it right. Here's what he says. When the kingdom is preached, and this is kind of the important part, when the kingdom of Christ is preached, these are the results.

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Some receive the word with all of their heart and they're serious about it.

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They believe the word and they bear fruit and they make the most strenuous effort to practice good works.

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Why? Because they're saved. And they let their lamps shine before the world for they are well provided with lamps and oil, that is, with faith and love.

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And these are represented by the wise virgins. Then there are some that also accept the gospel, but they're sleepy and they're not serious about it.

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They think they can succeed with their works and they're secure and believe that their salvation can be paid for with their works.

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Those are indicated also by the foolish virgins. So in scripture, those are called foolish that do not obey the word of God, but follow only their own mind and they refuse to be taught and accept no opinion other than their own opinion.

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But it will happen to them at the last, as it is here, that the foolish virgins, these two kinds of people are in this kingdom, namely where the gospel and the word of God is preached and there should be the exercise of faith.

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Some follow, some do not follow. So remember then in this gospel that the lamps without oil signify a mere external thing and a bodily exercise without faith in the heart.

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But the lamps with oil are the internal riches and the external works with true faith.

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So that's, you kind of understand what's going on now. So let's continue through the parable. So the bridegroom was long time in coming and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

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What's being referred to here are deaths, right? It's real simple.

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Eventually, you all are gonna become drowsy if Christ continues to tarry and you're gonna fall asleep and you'll die.

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There's no harm in this, it's just, this is what happens. So from the experience of the virgins, they fall asleep and the next thing they hear is, awake, the bridegroom is here, right?

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So from their experience, as soon as they fell asleep, it was the next moment that the end appeared. So it is with your death.

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So this is the sleep of death. Now at midnight, the cry rang out, here's the bridegroom, come out to meet him.

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And our epistle text shows us what this is referring to. Here again, our epistle text.

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Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep or grieve like the rest of men who have no hope.

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We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep.

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Yeah, Christians, it's not that we don't, that our bodies don't die, but the reason why

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Scripture refers to it as sleep is because we're in Christ. Christ has already died and rose again.

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So because we're in him, the Christian's experience of death, Luther likes to say, it's just like falling asleep.

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Nothing to fear, you're in Christ. But to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. So you've fallen asleep.

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So we don't grieve like those who have no hope, for the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command or a loud shout with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet call of God and the dead in Christ will rise first.

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After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the

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Lord in the air. And so, yeah, we'll be like a processional, right? Notice that the parallels here are very much right in line with each other.

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And so we will be with the Lord forever. So therefore, encourage each other with these words. Encourage each other.

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So now we're back to our parable. So, arise, the bridegroom is here, wake up. So, this is the day of the resurrection.

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Then all the virgins woke up, trimmed their lamps. The foolish one said to the wise, give us some of your oil, our lamps are going out.

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Well, duh, you don't have any oil. I mean, how long do you think that wick is gonna last, right? Yeah, you can't burn a lamp without oil.

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And, of course, the prudent say, no, there may not be enough for both of us.

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Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves. Now, keep this in mind, work with me here.

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Where today can people go to buy oil?

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The oil we're talking about is faith. Here, that's right, the church.

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In fact, Christ is here today selling oil for free, giving it away as a gift. Here in this church.

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In every church around the world where Christ is proclaimed, where the gospel is rightly preached, where the sacraments are administered according to the gospel,

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Christ is there giving oil away as a gift. So, on the last day when

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Jesus returns, on the day of the resurrection, where are these virgins going to go to purchase oil?

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Well, the merchants on that day are on holiday. You know what I'm saying? And rightfully so.

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So, there's a little bit of a problem here. Foolish virgins trying to buy oil in the middle of the night is like trying to hear the gospel in churches on the day that Jesus returns.

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The merchants are closed. The embassies are done with their duties. Everyone's heading home.

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So, on that day that Jesus returns, all of the oil merchants will be on permanent holiday.

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And that's it. So, in other words, don't fall asleep without oil for your lamp.

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Don't fall asleep in unbelief. Don't live for just today.

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Christ is returning. He's coming back. This is most certainly true.

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But while the foolish ones were on their way to buy oil, how silly is that? In the middle of the night, the bridegroom arrived, the virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet.

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The door was shut. Later, the others came. Sir, sir, open the door for us.

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And he replied, I tell you the truth, I don't know you. That's what

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Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, isn't it? Someone will come to him saying, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?

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Do mighty works and depart from me. I never knew you. These are words that no one wants to hear.

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And then he says, therefore, keep watch. Because you don't know the day or the hour.

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When's the end of the world? When Jesus returns or when you die and fall asleep. You're living in the last days right now with wars and rumors of wars and deception running around rampant throughout the church.

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Is this not a description of your life as it is right now? But I have great news.

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Here's the good news. You are in Christ. You are in Christ.

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You have been washed in the waters of baptism. Jesus Christ has washed away your sins.

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In your baptism, you were buried with Christ. You were raised with Christ. And Jesus has given you faith in him for the forgiveness of your sins.

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Your lamps are not empty. Your lamps are full. Your lamps are full.

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You are watching. How do I know? Because you're here this morning. And Jesus is filling up your lamps again with the oil of his forgiveness and faith so that you and your good works can shine brightly in the darkness.

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So you are watching. You are ready. You are prepared.

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You are not foolish. You are wise because Christ has made you wise.

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And when he returns or when you die, you will not hear from him, away from me,

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I never knew you. You're not going to be foolish. You're here while the merchants are open.

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Instead, you're going to hear from him, come into the wedding feast. And you're also going to hear from him, well done, good and faithful servant.

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That's what you're going to hear from him because all of this is a gift. So we do not need to fear the last day or falling asleep because as our epistle text says, encourage each other with these words.

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So I'm not here to scare you. I'm here to encourage you. You are in Christ. Your lamps are full.

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Your sins are forgiven. You will feast with Jesus, and you will see his face forever.

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You will taste the wine of heaven. You will feast on the great foods at Jesus' table.

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The king has invited you there, and he's clothed you in his righteousness. And you are truly blessed.

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This is a great gift that God has given you. So go and light your lamps. Let them shine in the darkness.

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And tell your neighbors and your friends, and let everybody know how great this Jesus is. And let them know that they need not be foolish.

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But come and receive from Jesus the oil for their lamps so they're prepared just like the wise virgins.

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In the name of Jesus, amen. If you would like to support the teaching ministry of Kungsvinger Lutheran Church, you can do so by sending a tax -free donation to Kungsvinger Lutheran Church, 15950 470th

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Avenue NW, Oslo, MN 56744. And again, that address is

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Kungsvinger Lutheran Church, 15950 470th

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Avenue NW, Oslo, MN 56744. We thank you for your support.

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All of our teaching messages may be freely distributed as long as you do not edit or change the content of the message.