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Today’s Devotional – August 8th

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Ten Sleeping Virgins!

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“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.” Matthew 25:1-5

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Brooklyn Museum – The Wise Virgins – James Tissot – Wikimedia – public domain

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Most all of us have heard that infamous parable about the Ten Virgins, and how five were wise and five were foolish! And we frown at those Five Foolish ones, don’t we?

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But the fact is, all ten were sleeping! So why were the wise any more wise than those foolish ones?

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Brooklyn Museum – The Wise Virgins – James Tissot – Wikimedia – public domain

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WHAT KIND OF SLEEP?

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First, it must be understood what kind of sleep both groups were engaged in, when the call came… “Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him!” Matthew 25:6

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Well, perhaps the last verse of this parable will help… “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” Matthew 25:13

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And so, this parable ends with Jesus warning us to WATCH! But obviously, if one is sleeping, they cannot be watching, can they? Therefore, all ten virgins, both wise and foolish were not watching like they should have been! They were all having a good time, like these virgins seem to be doing in this painting! 

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Brooklyn Museum – The Foolish Virgins – James Tissot – US Public Domain

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TWO DIFFERENT SLEEPS!

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“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee,” Hosea 4:6

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Perhaps this next painting might help us to understand more about the sleepiness of all ten virgins. Yes, all ten in this painting look sleepy. But there is a big difference between the two camps, isn’t there? One group is sleepy, yet have their Bibles open, and are praying, and are doting upon Jesus, etc..

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But the other five are sleepy with the amusements and pursuits of this world of selfish pride and pleasures.

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Francken, Hieronymus the Younger – Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins – c. 1616 – Wikipedia – Pub. Dom.

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WICKED COMPASS THE RIGHTEOUS!

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And of course, we all know that Salvation is a free gift, not at all dependent upon any work!

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But what many in the Church are ignorant of is, that those who truly receive that gift, will ultimately overcome the world, and will finally crucify the “Old Man” of sin, within! (see Ephesians 4:22, regarding;”Old Man”)

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And so, Salvation is not the result of overcoming, but overcoming is the result of true Salvation!  

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And this great ignorance is because many biblically illiterate church-goers are putting their trust in false shepherds who tell them that they have “peace and safety” (see 1st Thessalonians 5:3).

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Yes, many “grievous wolves” in today’s pulpits are leading their parishioners to the slaughter-house of the Devil! (Acts 20:29)

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Listen… “O My people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.” Isaiah 3:12

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This verse from Isaiah warns us, just who it is, which will deceive God’s people: not the cults, not the secularists, but our very own, beloved church leaders!

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sheep – Lambs to the slaughter – cropped & altered image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

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THE WISE GO INTO THE MARRIAGE

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Yes, it’s true that even the wise ones in the “Commonwealth of Israel” are sleeping: that is, Christians, spiritual Israel, are sleeping! (Ephesians 2:12)

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God’s people are just not watching to the degree that we should be! And the example set by the Foolish Virgins within Christendom, has had such a degenerating influence on the Wise, that the Wise, just like the foolish, have had the bottle of Babylon’s wine put to our lips, and have drunken from it! 

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But the Good News is, that “there has been found some good thing” in them: a tiny flicker of light from the holy lamp doth yet shine within their hearts! Yes, and because it still shines, those Wise Ones can see their way into the Marriage Supper of the Lamb!

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Listen… “And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 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.” Matthew 25:8-10

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Five Wise Virgins – Matt 25 – www.thebiblerevival.com – public domain

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OIL RAN OUT!

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Now, sadly, the Foolish Ones were so busy enjoying this present self-seeking world, that they didn’t bother to hide God’s Word in their hearts! Nor did they learn or practice daily, walking by God’s “exceeding great and precious promises”. (2nd Peter 1:4)

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And they were so busy with their lucrative careers and/or time-consuming pleasures, that they neglected the heart purification process. They were still worldly and unconverted! And when the call came, and the light of the Bible is extinguished, they begged for the Wise Ones to remain in their fallen congregations to share their heavenly light and Bible wisdom.

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But in the house-apostate, there was no marriage supper! It was business as usual for those in the fallen and desolate house: one day giving lip-service to God, and the other six days, rendering heart-service to the many idols and pleasures and proud pursuits of this world, the kingdom of selfishness!

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William Blake – Ten Virgins – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

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BIBLE STUDY, PRAYER, CONTEMPLATION

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And so, if there is one point to be made from this devotional, it just might be this: we’ve all been deceived! We’ve all allowed our shepherds and fellow church-members to dissuade us, to a great degree, from being fully engaged in the purification process of our heart!

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Yes, as Habakkuk warned us… “Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.” Habakkuk 1:4.

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And as this above verse reveals, the corrupting influence of apostate churches has caused even the Five Wise ones to become spiritually drunk and drowsy! And yet, to a degree, they have still improved upon the talents given them: the talents of Bible study, prayer, and seeking to become transformed into the Lord’s Image!

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Braet von Ãœberfeldt – Woman with Bible – 1866 – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

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SOME GOOD NEWS!

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Now amidst all this negativity, there is some Good News! Yes, God is graciously giving us a little time to turn from our sleepy-eyed ways, and put our heavenly armor on!

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And so, let’s awaken from our deep slumber and arise and shine! Because, the Son of Righteousness is even now arising with healing in His wings!

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So let’s turn from our former ways, and put our heavenly armor on!

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Let me be accounted with the wise-ones in Thy house! Help me put away all my frivolous pleasures and pursuits, that I might devote myself to preparing my heart for Thy Coming…

Woman Praying – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

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READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “The Pleiades: The Captive Angel & Mystery Harlot Constellation” or you can also read… “November 24 – (The Two Women of Revelation)“

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

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THE END

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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN

Info & pics of constellations on this site from Wikipedia & International Astronomical Union (click here)

 

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WIKIPEDIA STAR-CHART

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This constellation was identified on May 22nd, 2014. It is simply five stars, two from the Serpens Constellation, and three from the Hercules Constellation.

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What gives this constellation impetus and significance is that it appears as five evenly positioned stars, in a slight oval pattern, as if they were sitting in a meeting, listening, or perhaps watching someone.

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Second, they appear to be gathered in front of The Crown of Revelation 12 Constellation. (just below Corona Borealis in this Wikipedia star-chart, in which the editor of this site sketched in these two constellations)

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ABOVE STAR-CHART – Summer constellation – Five Wise Virgins Stars & The Glorious Crown – Corona Borealis – signsofheaven.org – Not for profit uses! – Wikipedia Star chart with constellations drawn in by this website.

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GATHERED AROUND GLORIOUS CROWN!

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The position of these stars is significant in a number of ways. The first, being that these Five Wise Virgins are gathered around the 12-star Crown of Revelation 12. And the obvious message here is, that these wise virgins represent the faithful portion of God’s Church. And as wise virgins, they understand the importance of winning the glorious crown of victory, which Jesus promised.

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Listen… “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.” 1st Corinthians 9:24, 25. 

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And so, God is showing us the difference between the wise and the foolish in His Church. While the wise are gathered around this crown of victory, the foolish are nowhere to be found. This is because the foolish in the Church are much more concerned about the world, with all its pleasures and pursuits. They have little or no time to devote themselves to the pursuit of the treasures of Heaven! They pride themselves into believing that their industrious work-ethics have God’s approval. But God merely sees them only as workers of iniquity.

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Listen… “An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.” Proverbs 21:4

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Corona Borealis/Bootes & Five Wise Virgins

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READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “The Five Wise Virgins Stars” or you can also read… “The Five Foolish Virgins Stars”

 

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TOMORROW:

” August 9th (Television & The Beast’s Mark!)”

ABOVE PICTURE: Mark of the beast – pub. dom. – Wikipedia

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20+ MINUTE AUDIO JEREMIAH STUDY

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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL. 

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THIS IS STUDY #218 IS PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…

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Those who are interested in using photos on this page may click on provided link below each photo, to get to Wikimedia Commons for various licensing details & tags, and all other necessary information on any particular photo. Most tall, narrow photos have been cropped or reduced by this website to make them a better fit on phone screens.