eth; go ye out to meet him!" only five were ready. The others lacked the oil that was to give them light. We know what the oil represents the genuine heart experience of the grace and love of Christ. Those overtaken unready, hastened away to get oil. "And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that THE TEN VIRGINS 'They that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut." Matt. 25:10. were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut." Matt. 25: 10. Those that were ready went in; those that were getting ready were too late. How came some to be ready? - They were ready all the time; they kept ready. This lesson is for us now. Our only safety is in being ready every day, keeping sins forgiven, the life surrendered to God. CHRISTIAN AGE 1,000 YEARS BETWEEN THE TWO RESURRECTIONS (EARTH DESOLATE) THE MILLENNIUM LAST DAYS SAINTS THE KINGDOM The millennium is the closing period of God's great week of time- a great sabbath of rest to the earth and to the people It follows the close of the gospel age, and precedes the setting up of the everlasting kingdom of God on earth. It is bounded at each end by a resurrection. Its beginning is marked by the pouring out of the seven last plagues, the second coming of Christ, the resurrection of During the one thousand years the earth lies desolate; Satan and his angels are confined here; and the saints, with Christ, The wicked dead are then raised; Satan is loosed for a little season, and he and the host of the wicked encompass the The millennium is one of "the ages to come. Its close will mark the beginning of the new earth state. [350] This definite period is referred to specifically in but one chapter of the Bible, the twentieth of Revelation; and in that chapter it is spoken of repeatedly. We find it to be: The period during which the saints reign with Christ in judgment. The period during which Satan is bound. The measure of time between the two resurrections, that of the just and that of the unjust. An examination of the scriptures bearing upon the millennium will show: 1. The events that mark its beginning. 2. The events that occur during the thousand years. 3. The events that come at the end of the period. We shall find it clearly taught in these scriptures: That the reign of the saints with Him in judgment is not on this earth, but in heaven. That this earth, void of human inhabitants, is Satan's prison house during the thousand years. That at the end of the thousand years the judgment determined is executed upon Satan and all the wicked. That this earth, purified by the fires of the last judgment, and renewed, becomes the eternal home of the saved. 1. Events at the Beginning of the Thousand Years The key to the time is furnished by the declaration that the millennium begins with — The Resurrection of the Just Speaking of the risen saints, the Scripture says: "They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead [the wicked] lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection." Rev. 20:4-6. There are to be two resurrections. The apostle Paul said that this was the teaching of all Scripture: "There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust." Acts 24:15. The first resurrection, that of the just, marks the beginning of the thousand years. Christ's Second Coming When is this first resurrection, in the order of events in this "day of the Lord"? It is at the second advent of Christ. One scripture, out of many, will suffice to state it: "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first." 1 Thess. 4: 16. As the Saviour comes in glory, with all the holy angels, the graves are opened, and His voice awakens His children. who sleep in the dust. "He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Matt. 24: 31. The time of Christ's second coming, therefore, is the beginning of the millennium. The Righteous Taken to Heaven The living righteous are translated, and, together with the risen saints, are taken to heaven, as the apostle says: "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 Thess. 4:17. This was the Saviour's promise: "In My Father's house are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14: 2, 3. The Destruction of the Wicked At Christ's second coming the wicked are slain. The unbelieving left without shelter in that day, cannot endure the presence of such glory as will burst upon the world: "The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Thess. 1:7, 8. The Binding of Satan With the saints in heaven, beyond the reach of Satan's wiles, and with the wicked dead, not to live again till the thousand years are finished, Satan is "bound"- confined by divine power to this earth, which becomes his prison house, there being neither saint nor sinner upon whom to ply his arts of deception. No prisoner was ever more effectually chained. The symbolical language of the prophet pictures the scene: "I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand And |