[Note to the Student.—These lessons are not designed to be exhaustive, but suggestive. In references to the “Desire of Ages,” in the lessons, the subscription edition is referred to. Those who have only the trade edition will find the matter in chapters 1, 4, 11, 27, 71, 77, 78; also read “Patriarchs and Prophets,” chapters 5 and 30. “Christ Our Advocate,” Bible Students’ Library No. 20 (price, 10 cents), and “Looking unto Jesus” (price, $1.00) will be found a great help. The Signs of the Times will have an article on the subject of each lesson this quarter by J. O. Corliss. Read these articles in connection with the study of the lesson. We have not space to print all the scriptures. Let the student study them carefully from the Bible. Those printed are from the Revised Version.]
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
1. To what does Christ liken the kingdom of heaven at a certain time?
“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.” Matt. 25:1.
2. At what time does He say this applies? Same verse. See also Ch. 24:32–34. Note 1.
3. At this marriage, who is the bride?
“And there came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls, who were laden with the seven last plagues; and he spake with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God.” Rev. 21:9, 10.
“And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.” Verse 2.
4. What is the marriage ceremony?
“I saw in the night visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven One like unto a son of man, and He came even to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” Dan. 7:13, 14. Note 2.
5. In connection with what event does this marriage take place? See Dan. 7:13, 14 above, and also Rev. 11:15, 19.
6. For what purpose did Christ go away?
“He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country, to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.” Luke 19:12.
7. Is His purpose fulfilled before He returns?
“And it came to pass, when he was come back again, having received the kingdom, that he commanded these servants, unto whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by trading.” Verse 15.
8. From what does he return?
“And be ye yourselves like unto men looking for their lord, when he shall return from the marriage feast; that, when he cometh and knocketh, they may straightway open unto him.” Luke 12:36.
9. Then what two things must be identical?
10. What two classes went out to meet the bridegroom on the way to the wedding?
“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were foolish, and five were wise.” Matt. 25:1, 2.
11. What shows that the bridegroom was expected at a set time?
“Now while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.” Verse 5. Note 3.
12. What was the first set time when the “virgins” expected Him? Ans.—“Miller and his associates at first believed that the 2300 days would terminate in the spring of 1844, whereas the prophecy points to the autumn of that year.”—Great Controversy, page 328.
13. What did they all do while the bridegroom tarried? See verse 5 above. Note 4.
14. When and how were the sleeping virgins awakened?
“But at midnight there is a cry, Behold, the bridegroom! Come ye forth to meet him.” Verse 6. Note 5.
15. What took place while the foolish virgins went to buy oil? Who went in to the marriage?
“And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are going out. . . . And while they went away to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was shut.” Verses 8, 10.
16. How is it determined who are ready?
“But when the king came in to behold the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment; and he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.” Matt. 22:11, 12. Note 6.
NOTES.
Read “Great Controversy,” chapter 21.
1. The last of the three signs in the sun, moon, and stars, took place in 1833. The Saviour says that when we have seen all these things, we may know that He is near; so when the church know that He is near, they go out to meet Him. Having carried the minds of His disciples down to that time, He says, “Then shall the kingdom,” etc. It was at this very time that William Miller and others began to preach the second coming of Christ as near at hand, and in 1844 they went out to meet the Bridegroom.
2. In ancient times the capital city represented the whole kingdom. When a new king took possession of it, and was crowned, wedding festivities were celebrated. Thus when the New Jerusalem is prepared as a bride, Christ’s work as a high priest being finished, the marriage ceremony takes place. The bride, the capital city of the new earth, which stands for all the kingdoms of the world, is given to Christ, the Bridegroom.
3. It could not be said that the Bridegroom “tarried” unless He was expected at a certain time, no more than we could say a train tarries unless there is a specified time for arrival; but when this time passes, and no train appears, we say, “The train tarries.”
4. “They all slumbered and slept”—one class in unconcern and abandonment of their faith, the other class patiently waiting till clearer light should be given.
5. “In the summer of 1844, midway between the time when it had been first thought that the 2300 days would end, and the autumn of the same year, to which it was afterward found that they extended, the message was proclaimed in the very words of the Scripture, ‘Behold, the Bridegroom cometh.’”—Great Controversy, page 398. See also “Early Writings” (“Spiritual Gifts”), pp. 102, 103. “The cause of this sudden arousing was the discovery that the great prophetic period of 2300 days (years) of Dan. 8:14 did not end in the spring of 1844, but would extend to the autumn of that year. At the same time the relation between the type and the antitype relating to the cleansing of the sanctuary was partially seen. And as in the type the sanctuary was cleansed on the tenth day of the seventh month of the Jewish year, that point in the autumn of 1844 was accordingly fixed upon.”—Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation, on Rev. 14:6–12. As the Jewish year began with the first new moon after the vernal equinox, the seventh month began October 12, and the tenth day of that month fell on October 22.
6. In ancient times the master of ceremonies provided each guest with a wedding garment, and a little time was given to array himself. The Lord gives each of us the robe of Christ’s righteousness, and a little time in which to clothe ourselves. Then the master of ceremonies came in to see if each was properly arrayed before going in to the wedding. The Lord, since 1844, has been examining the guests, and when the case of every one has been decided, then those who are found ready will go in to the marriage; the door will be shut; the foolish virgins will knock in vain, because the Lord does not know them. Let us now become acquainted with God.
