The Tupelo journal., 1903-03-27
AND At MIDNIGHT.n
Hour of the church's Triumph, and
Hour Of the Worlds Woe.
The Foolish Virgins Forced to En-
dure the Period of TribuIation-
Sermon by the "Highway
and Bywayo Preacher.
Copyright 1908, by A. N. Kellogg News
paper Col

payer WI
Chicago, March 10, 1908.
TEXT.-"And at midnight there VAS a
cry made."-Matt. 1856.
YoN ONE of the most tragic and
~ most momentous- events in
~ profane and sacred history
have tr%anspired during the quiet hush
OF the midnight hour. Man has fire.
quently chosen that period to plot
and to plan, to work and to execute,
and God has often found it a con
venient season in which to nov
purposes. The words of tex are
taken from the parable of the ten
virgins, and mark the advent of the
bridegroom as He comes to claim His
bride and &C into the marriage sup
per. But it must not be supposed
that they fix definitely the hour of
the second coming of Christ, for
Christ Himself declared that "of that
day and hour knoweth no man, no,
not the angels which are in Heaven,
neither the Son, but the Father"
and so
cit may be at morn, when the day is awak-
ing,
When sunlight thro' arkness and shadow
is breaking,
d, That Jesus will come in the fullness Of
glory,
To receive from the world His own
at may be at midday, it may be at twi-
light,
1t may be, per,iance, that the blackness
of midnight
Will burst into light in the blaze of His
glory,
When Jesus receives His own"
But our text rather teaches the I'M
expected realization of the promise
of Christ, and of the angel on Olivet's
brow who told the heavenward-gaz-
ing disciples that, this same Jesus,
which is taken up from you into
Heaven, shall so come in like manner
as ye have seen Him go into Heaven"
The midnight hour is suggestive of
the stiffness and rest and oblivion of
sleep. Nature seeks shelter under
the cloak of darkness and waits pa
tiently for the coming day. And in
the parable before US we are told
that the ten virgins who have gone
forth to meet the Bridegroom rest
in slumber as the darkness gathers
and deepens. And at midnight there
was a cry made" 1t is a glad tri-
umphant cry Paul tells us in I
Thess., 4:16, that "the Lord Himself
shall descend from Heaven with a
shout, with the voice of the arch
angel, and with the trump of God"
There is no intimation that the cry
reaches the ears of any save the ten
virgins, or that it raises fear or
dread in their hearts. The waiting
church, the bride of Jesus Christ,
represented by the ten virgins, hears
h cry and trims the lamps in readi-
ness to receive it's coming Lord. The
five wise virgins, with the oil of the
Holy Spirit filing their hearts and
keeping the flame of their faith burn
ing brightly, pass quickly on to meet
their coming Lord and go with Him
into the marriage supper. The five
foolish virgins, whose heads have re-
ceived the truth in regard to the
Christ, but whose hearts have not
opened up to receive the Holy Spirit,
find that the lack quenches the
flame of their faith in the crucial
time of the coming, and while tliey
go in eagerness, apparently, to sup
ply that deficiency, the door is shut
and the wall of disappointment and
anguish bursts from their lips.
"NUT." declares Rev. G. Campbell
HDX Nnrpon thn 1-oo NIL
scholar and exponent of the Scrip
lures. w have no warrant for
speaking of the foolish virgins as
lost. The punishment to them isthat
they will have to pass through the
tribulation from which the wise have
escaped. This is no exception to the
general rule of Scripture, by which
oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit.
Those who will be ready to go in
with the King to the marriage feast
will be such as have a full supply of
the Spirit of Jesus Christi"
The tribulation to which Mr.. Nor
gan refers is the period which elapses
the time of translation
of the church and the return of the
church with it's Lord to rule over the
world during the millennial age. The
foolish virgins who we're watching.
but not ready, will be left behind in
the world to endure the trials and
distress of the ~tribulation period.
But to pass on to the thoughts
which we wish to draw from our text.
for it is not u purpose to deveIop
the plain lessons of the parable.
which are the necessity of prepared
ness for the coming of Christ. and
the absolute inability of one saint
giving a part of his supply of the
Holy Spirit to fill up the lack of the
careless n who has failed to obtain
the precious oil. We do need to heed
the solemn admonition of Christ
with which he closes this parable.
and WATCH. Elisha would never
have been in the place where Eliiah's
mantle could fall upon his shoulders
had he not been watching ~intently.
and preparing untiringly, for the
going of the p~rophetinto Heaven. and
you will never be ready to step up
ward to meet your Lord and go with
Him into the banqueting hall of
Heaven, uni es you are watching with
the eye of faith, and have the oil of
preparation of the Holy Spirit filling
the lamp of your heart.
HE Midnight Hour.-It was at
midnight that the Bridegroom
oo,,a narxpeSS Grim H. rkpacc c,4 on