And at midnight there was a cry made…

Frank M. Keele

There is much in the parable of the ten virgins in the way of teachings, wisdom and counsel for those of our generation. The lessons that could be taken form this parable are many, to name a few…

Be prepared temporally.
The spiritually prepared shall abide the day.
Be watchful for signs of the Lord’s coming.
Being slothful about church membership can come at a high price.
About half of the church will gain access to the Marriage of the Lamb.
Spiritual light must be earned, it cannot be borrowed.

The takeaways from this parable could be many but today’s blog will focus on an aspect of the parable that may be less parable and more fact! Before moving forward lets read the parable in its entirety…

1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
9 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.
10 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.
11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

The fact that was referred to above can be substantiated in multiple scriptural passages. We shall commence with JS Matthew where we read:

32 And again shall the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, be fulfilled.
33 And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
34 Verily, I say unto you, this generation, in which these things shall be shown forth, shall not pass away until all I have told you shall be fulfilled.
35 Although, the days will come, that heaven and earth shall pass away; yet my words shall not pass away, but all shall be fulfilled.
36 And, as I said before, after the tribulation of those days, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn; and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory;

Note that in verse 33 we are told “the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven”. Next we learn that “this generation, in which these things shall be shown forth, shall not pass away until all I have told you shall be fulfilled”. Than we are told, “the days will come, that heaven and earth shall pass away; yet my words shall not pass away, but all shall be fulfilled”.

Note that the author starts over in verse 36 by stating “And, as I said before”, he’s going to repeat something that he just told us in the verses above, we read:

“after the tribulation of those days, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn; and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory”

Did you notice that when the conditions leading up to the Lord’s appearance are re-stated that there is nothing said about the sun being darkened, the moon not giving its light and the stars falling form heaven?

Yes?… No?… The strange thing is that this little sequence tends to work in most of our minds like a Jedi mind trick of some sort. We tend to completely space the idea that “the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven” when the Lord makes his appearance as the bridegroom.

This “fact” is confirmed in the 13th chapter of Mark, where we read:

24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.
26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

So we conclude that when Christ comes as “the bridegroom” and fulfilling the parable of the ten virgins, the phrase “at midnight there was a cry made” may well be intended as a foreshadowing of events to be fulfilled in a very literal way.

If this be the case, how much more dramatic, how much more marvelous, how much more amazed and awestruck shall the inhabitants of the earth be when “the sign of the Son of Man in heaven” is manifest against totally dark skies?

Hope you enjoyed this blog, please help spread the word, please like, share or subscribe! God bless until next time…

5 thoughts on “And at midnight there was a cry made…”

  1. Do u think the sun being darkened on the 21st of August of this year will be followed by the moon being turned red and the stars appearing to fall from heaven?
    In other words is this a sequence in your opinion? And will the other 2 event follow or have they already occurred?
    I believe this same event is to occur again in 7 years.

    What is your opinion

    Thanks Scott

    Reply

    1. Scott, do you have any thoughts regarding the fulfilling of the vision shown to John in Revelation 12 of the woman crowned with stars with the sun at her head, the moon at her feet. The planet Jupiter entered her womb last year and has been there and on September 23, 2017 it will be 9 1/2 months then Jupiter will exit through her legs, this prophecy has two parts, the woman travailing, then Verse 3 mentions the dragon and it follows with possibly events that are possibly an indication that the tribulation is beginning or began on November 20, 2016, when Jupiter entered the womb. This event will be seen in the skies over Jerusalem at about 8:00+pm on September 23, 2017.

  2. Architectural Symbolism:

    The most prominent architectural features on the Nauvoo Temple were the sun stones, moonstones, and star stones that decorated its exterior. It is evident from several sources that at least some of the architectural Symbols on the Nauvoo Temple were seen by Joseph Smith in vision. Josiah Quincy reports that the following incident took place on 15 May 1844 while he was being shown around the temple site by the Prophet. “Near the entrance to the temple we passed a workman who was laboring upon a huge sun, which he had chiseled from solid rock….’General Smith,’ said the man, looking up from his task, ‘is this like the face you saw in vision?’ ‘Very near it,’ answered the Prophet…….The Nauvoo Temple was presumably, like something Smith had seen in vision, it certainly cannot be compared to any ecclesiastical building which may be discerned by the natural eyesight.”

    What Joseph Smith saw in vision of the Nauvoo Temple seems to have been very similar to, or the very same as, what the ancient apostle John saw in a vision that is recorded n ( Revelation 12:1 ).

    1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

    Wangle Mace, who was one of the construction foremen for the Nauvoo Temple, provides us with confirmation on this point.

    “The order of architecture was unlike anything in existence, it was purely original, being a representation of the Church, the Bride, the Lamb’s wife. John the Revelator in the 12th chapter first verse of the Book of Revelation says, “And there appeared a great wonder in Heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.” This earth portrayed in the beautifully cut stone of this grand temple.

    ( footnote 71. 1 Nephi 14:18-26 states that there are others who have been granted the privilege of seeing the vision that was given to the Apostle John on the Isle of Patmos.).

    But why would the Lord show Joseph Smith a symbolic vision of the heavenly Church and then have him incorporate the symbolism associated with that vision into the architecture of the Nauvoo Temple? Perhaps the answer can be found in Joseph Smith’s (JST ) of this biblical vision.
    In ( JST Revelation 12:1, 7 )

    1 And there appeared a great sign in heaven, in the likeness of things on the earth; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.

    7 And the dragon prevailed not against Michael, neither the child, nor the woman which was the church of God, who had been delivered of her pains, and brought forth the kingdom of our God and his Christ.

    Here, we learn that the woman in this vision represented “the Church of God” who “brought forth the Kingdom of our God and his Christ” and that she was “in the likeness of things on the earth.”
    The Apostle Paul called the heavenly Church the “general assembly and church of the Firstborn” in ( Hebrews 12:23 )

    23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,

    According to Joseph Smith, the Ordinances that he restored for use in the Nauvoo Temple consisted of “all those plans and principles by which anyone is enabled to secure the Fullness of those blessings which have been prepared for the Church of the Firstborn.”

    ( footnote 72. HC 5:2 ).

    Hence the architectural Symbolism on the outside of the Nauvoo Temple indicated the nature of the Ordinances that were performed within its walls.

    1. Scott, that vision John saw in Revelation 12 of the woman constellation is about to be shown to the people of Jerusalem on September 23, 2017. The two rapture believers have always considered this event to be the indicator of the imminent first rapture, followed by the great tribulation. I do not subscribe to any rapture theories. The scripture has the past and future events of the war in heaven that has continued to this day. Any thoughts? Is this when the tribulation period really heats up?

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