November 11, 2001

Jesus pointed out in Matt. 24:36 and following, that no one on earth knows when He will return, and thus, that we should keep ourselves in a state of preparation. In verses 45-51, He spoke a parable about the wise and evil servants to reinforce the importance of proper behavior, in the light that our Master might return at any time.

In Matt. 25:1-13, He continues to emphasize the importance of keeping ourselves ready for His appearance. "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard, 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.' Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming."

Note that this parable, like many of Jesus' other parables, points out that some who have become Christians will not keep themselves ready for His second coming -- and that those who are not properly prepared will be forever shut out. In our permissive age, this may sound somewhat harsh to many of us. Could a loving Savior really shut out those who are not ready for His return? Certainly not without a proper warning. But He has warned us repeatedly.

In Matt. 24:45-51, Jesus had indicated that some of His servants will become evil, and will not be ready when He comes. "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matt. 24:51).

Now, in 25:1-13, note that all then virgins were citizens in His kingdom and all of them had made some preparation. They all had lamps. To begin with, all their lamps were burning. But as time passed, some of the lamps began to flicker because the foolish virgins had failed to keep fuel in their vessels and in their lamps. One is reminded of the warning Jesus gave the church in Ephesus which had ceased to love Him as they had once loved Him. "Repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove the lampstand from its place -- unless you repent" (Rev. 2:5). Jesus would never remove the lampstand until the light has gone out. But those who do not keep their lamps burning are in danger of being forever shut out.

We have been treated to many dramatizations on television of the time when mankind first discovered fire, but we wonder also about the serendipity when he first discovered fire water.

What was the occasion and what was the reaction when man finished off his first cup of fermented grape juice? Did he immediately start brewing a second batch or did he hop on the wagon, leaving the wrath of grapes to some other poor unfortunate.

Who knows if Noah was the first, but he was the first to have his binge recorded for posterity. The mighty man of ark fame became a farmer once the water receded, planted a vineyard, and made wine. Enough did he drink that Noah became intoxicated and shamed by his own son.

In a dramatic reversal of the more common practice, some young women got Lot drunk and took advantage of him. Turned out it was his daughters who fretted over his lack of a male heir and so conspired to make him drink wine so that both could take turns laying with him. Each girl became impregnated; the Moabites and Ammonites were the result.

Events like these led inspired writers to describe the wrath of grapes in dramatic terms. Solomon's seven verse proverb in chapter 23 is an ancient public service announcement on the perils of drink.

Today, society considers alcohol to be a temporary solution to sorrow, marital strife, disappointment and fear. Ancient wisdom, however, rightly noted that all these things are as likely to be caused by drink as temporarily relieved by it.

"Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long at wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine."

Experience suggests and scripture confirms that salving a troubled life with drink is like rubbing salt in an open wound. Neither a bender nor a beer run will alleviate a single woe; more likely, they will cause a few, for alcohol is a depressant that lowers both inhibitions and reactions. These so-called spirits shrivel a man's soul while making him feel ten feet tall. He is less inhibited against fornication, adultery, even rape. He is unable to discern an inability to walk or drive safely. Temptations to resort to verbal and physical violence are made almost impossible to resist in the intoxicated state.

The effect on young ladies is just as scandalous. The weaker vessel in a drunken state becomes a rag doll in a wicked man's hands. She is unable, morally or physically, to resist him.

Some will argue that social drinking is no danger, so long as one knows when to say when. If, then, drunkenness is sinful, but drinking is not, pray tell where is the line that clearly distinguishes the two states? Is it the same for everyone and does it increase as the body requires a little more each time to approach a buzz?

Surely, the New Testament teaches us to crave sobriety instead (Rom. 13:12-13). The apostle Peter begs Christians to swear off the will of the Gentiles, which includes drunkenness, half-drunkenness and social drinking. First Peter 4:3 condemns all these:

Proverbs 23:31 gave much the same counsel, however: "Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it swirls around smoothly; At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper."

If it is foolish even to gaze on the temptation, why would one think it permissible to imbibe a little? Wine and beer are enticing before they ever reach a person's hands. They are portrayed in advertisements as the essence of sophistication or real fun. Those who drink them appear to be physically fit, financially set and magnetic to those of the opposite sex.

The commercials don't tell the truth, however. None depicts the drunk driving accidents that claim thousands of lives every year after a little or a lot of alcohol has been imbibed by suddenly less cool people. None shows the role alcohol plays in date rape, domestic abuse and disease. All could be avoided if we learn not to play with poisonous snakes.

Lastly, there is alcoholism to fear. When it comes to drink, there are two types of people who do - those who actually can drink without becoming addicted to it and those who turn into hopeless drunks who would trade their lives and souls for another sip (Prov. 23:33-35). Until you take that first drink, you have no way of knowing which category will claim you.

For a young person with big dreams in life, that is too great a risk to take. Say when before the cap is unscrewed or the cork is popped.

A little girl was invited by a priest to attend religious instruction. She refused, saying it would be against her father’s wishes. The priest said that since he was a religious instructor, she should obey him, not her father. "Oh, Sir," she replied, "We are taught in the Bible to ‘Honor thy father and thy mother."

"But I am your spiritual Father," said to priest -- to which she replied, "No. The Bible says, ‘Call no man your father upon the earth for one is your Father, which is in heaven.’"

The priest was not anxious to lose a religious discussion to one so young. He said, "You have no business reading the Bible." "But," she replied, "Then why did Jesus say, ‘Search the Scriptures’?" He answered, "But that command is only to the clergy. Surely you know that a little child cannot understand the Scriptures." "Then why," she asked, "did Paul say to Timothy: ‘From a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures’?"

Surely there was some way to get the best of this young upstart. Said the priest, "Timothy was being trained to be a bishop and he was taught by the church authorities." "No, sir," said the little girl. "He had been taught by his mother and his grandmother. At least, that’s what Paul said."

The priest turned away and someone said they heard him mutter, "She knows enough Bible to poison a whole parish."

UPCOMING GOSPEL MEETING SCHEDULE
Dates	Congregation	Speaker
November 12-16	Annandale, Virginia	different speakers
November 16-18	Bethlehem, PA	different speakers
Nov 30 - Dec 2	Mt. Airy, Philadelphia	U. G. Baldwin

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