Mountain advocate., 1914-09-11
INTERNATIONAL
.SUNDNSCHOOL
LESSON
LESSON FOR SEPTEMBER 10
THE TEN VIRGINS.
Csy n. o. SELLERS, Director Of Evenins
Department. The Moody Bible Institute.
Chicago.)

IHE EN- NlnSlNos
LESSON TEXT-Matt a:1-13
GOLDEN TEXT-"watch therefore for
ye know neither the day nor the hour
when the Son OF Man cometh." Matt.
B:i2
A parable is ian earthly story with
q heavenly meaning" An analogy Is
"a likeness" This story is a parable.
It is to illustrate the vigilant, expect
ant attitude OF faith, Heb. 6:2S; II
Tim. AS. Leaving the temple, Jesus
drew the disciples attention to its
buildings and predicted its destruc-
ton. Proceeding to the Mount OF
Olives, his disciples ask him, Tell us.
when shall these things be? And what
shall be the sign OF thy coming, and
the end Of the world?" In reply Je-
sus gave the disciples his Olivet dis
course and prophecies found in chap
ters "a and rs. To fully comprehend
this parable we ought to review all
Of this teaching. The discourse as a
whole falls into these parts Cd "a: LA
deals with Israel as a nation; (2)
24:45-25: 30 deals with the church as
being responsible for the king dur
ing the period between his two ad.
vents; and (3) 25:31-46 deals with the
Judgment OF the nations when the Son
Of Man comes in his glory. 1t will be
seen then that this lesson comes In
the second part and is one of three
parallels concerning the responsible
ity Of the church. Jesus is the BRIDE
groom, John 1928, 20; Eph. 5:25; ii
Cor. 11:2; Rev. 21.9. and sets forth
the love OF Christ for the church.
Eph. 5:25. %, 1882.
Two Glasses.
I. "Whlle the bridegroom tarrIed"
w. is. The first and strongest idea
of this section is that he, Jesus, the
bridegroom. is coming again. Among
those who wait are two classes, the
wise and the foolish, though both
were right intentioned. The lamps
symbolic Christian profession, Luke
l2:35: IL Tim. 3:5, and the oil that
which is essential to give us power
whereby we maintain our profession,
Acts 1928; John 2:20-27. The fool
ish virgins were superficial and had
not enough to maintain their profess
sions. The wise virgins had enough
oil; SO also may the believer have the
abiding spirit OF Christ's presence
wherein to maintain his Christian
profession. Waiting they all nodded
(slumbered) and others evidently lay
down (slept). The wise virgins could
afford to rest as they had all things
ready. II they had been awake, how
ever, they might have seen and rem
dered aid to those who were In the
sorry plight of not being ready. The
tarrying was a test of the faith and
patience of both the wise and the
foolish as both awaited the "fulnesi
Of time" when he should appear.
The Great Question.
%. Behold the bridegroom eometh'
W.. 6-13. All are awakened by thi!
midnight cry. The hour was on'
when he was least expected. and the
church OF today needs to be awak
ened to a realizing sense OF this truth
Both the wise and the foolish have t
meet him, but the wise were the onl!
ones whose lights could shine ant
show the way into the banQuetinl
room. They all outwardly appear alik'
even to the very point OF separation
The church OF God individually ant
collectively, has yet to sense the dan
ger to II and to others II Its light 70
any reason be not continuous. Thi
cry was q call to meet him" and W
all need to ask ourselves, ARE W
ready to meet him." The hour wa
too late to make needful preparation
to meet him. In their emergency the
turned to the 1--WE wise ones but tn
wisdom OF one cannot supply the d.
fciency or the foolishness of other
". 81. There is no Scripture to SUI
port the teaching that one mans mert
is applicable to another except tn
merit of the Goldman Jesus as al
piled to sinful humanity. Hence tn
wise sent their sisters to the oril
inal source OF supply for oil. and
they went the bridegroom came" 8
will It be with all who put on too Ion
the securing OF the Holy Spirit
their lives.
They that were ready" went Il
they that wero not ready when the
came found tho door shut" To a
tend q marriage feast is highly .
teemed everywhere. but II IL q pri
ilese that Is worthy OF careful pre-
aration. Remember that Jesus
here showing the attitude towart
himself OF those who profess to
devoted to him during the period
his absence. and who expect his r
, turn as king. That beink 30. we nee
to remind ourselves OF the Laws
| the kingdom as he gave them
Jesus knows those that are h
John 1921; II Tim. 2:ls; l Cor. .:
but such are not those who mako
mere outward profession OF faith n
lack the abiding presence and pow
of the Holy Spirit. Tho day OF se