At that time the virgin company of God will awaken. They will begin to stir. For the wise, for those who have the oil Revival will come. For the others there will be burnout and a Great Falling Away. Even a great Apostasy.
For the wise it will be a time of new stirrings and great wonder. The swaddling coverings of our comfortable churchy bed of ease will fall away. They will no longer matter. They will have become a thing of the past. The saints will be stirring even as a butterfly about to emerge from a cocoon. They will awaken from their dreamy state. There will be forces pressing in on them. There will be a sense of urgency, even a time of travail. That dark night of the soul will have finally come. It will be a time to break away. It will be a time to “Arise and shine!” God will be calling His covenant people. And they will be on to new things.
The path that lies before us is a strait and narrow passage. (Mat.7:14) It is the highway of holiness. (Isa.35:8) The passes are fearful places, guarded by dragons of fear. The powers of this world, those in heaven and on earth, will be trying to hold us back. But for the saints there can be no other pathway. This is the only Way. Our God will be leading us onward. The time that Isaiah saw will have finally arrived.
ISAIAH 60
“1 Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
2. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
3. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
4. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.
5. Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.” Isa.60:1-5 KJVThe One and only pathway into the glory lies out there in our future. It is a strait and narrow way. This will become even clearer when the trumpets sound the alarm. Our Lord Jesus Christ will become our everything. In the Valley of Achor, (Valley of Tribulation), we shall come to know Him not as “Lord” but as “Ishi”, as our Beloved. (Hos.2:15-16)
The Bridegroom is returning. Of this we can be sure. He will be calling us even in a time of great future darkness. We shall know the time has come. For we shall hear the midnight cry,
“And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.” Matthew 25:6 KJV
The bridal party stirs and awakens. And then the moment of awful realization. And a prayer is heard in the night. Lord help us! Our lamps are going out! And then the awful question. Do we have the oil?
