"THEY THAT WERE READY WENT IN."
By Uriah Smith
THE whole passage from which these words are taken, reads as follows: "And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage; and the door was shut." Matt. 25: 10. By way of warning and admonition, the Bible often brings to view circumstances like the ones here set forth, in which a great and decisive crisis is upon the people, in connection with which compliance with well-defined conditions secures blessing and safety, and neglect of which results in widespread and irreparable loss. In the case before us it is implied that there is some special position or opportunity which it is very desirable to secure, and in reference to which instruction is most timely; but if there is too long-continued neglect, or a failure to make the necessary preparation, the opportunity goes by, and what might have been gained is lost. "They that were ready, went in;" and then the door is shut. It becomes, therefore, a matter of paramount interest and importance to inquire diligently into these circumstances, to learn what the blessing is which is here shadowed forth in so enticing a manner, and what the preparation is that is necessary to secure it. The words, "And the door was shut," are words of fearful import, teaching that a time may come in our own experience when we will be past the reach of mercy and hope, and that such a time will come unless by zealous repentance we keep ourselves in the love of God, and the patient waiting for His Son from heaven. These considerations should take hold of every heart with irresistible power. The Scriptures often describe just such decisive occasions in the experience of the church. For instance, our Lord utters the following solemn warning: "Strive to enter in at the strait gate; for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are." The points established in preceding articles throw an equal flood of light on this parable. Here again is the bridegroom, which is Christ; and here is a marriage, or wedding, which, as in Matthew 22, is Christ being inducted into His everlasting kingdom; and here are the virgins, wise and foolish, which represent the connection of the church with this great movement; and here also the virgins, the guests of the wedding, have to be suitably prepared for before they are in a proper condition to entitle them to participate in the wedding ceremonies. This brings us again to the investigative judgment of the sanctuary; for there it is that the candidates for eternal life in Christ's kingdom are examined, the record of their lives carefully scrutinized, and their characters adjudged as to their fitness to enter into the kingdom of the Father. Those who pass this test successfully, who are found having received from Christ the white raiment, the "wedding-garment," are the ones who are found "ready." "They that were ready went in with Him to the marriage; and the door was shut." The marriage does not take place till all the guests are examined, and this part of the work is finished; and this fitting up of the guests, the confessing of their names before the Father, and the blotting out of their sins, is the last work of Christ as priest before He takes His position as king, which latter movement is the marriage; and it is not till this takes place, and they that are ready have gone in to the marriage, that the door is shut. Then those who find themselves shut out, return and vainly seek admittance. There remain two more questions to be answered in order to a more complete understanding of the question before us, namely, "And while they went to buy, the Bridegroom came." What coming is here referred to? "And they that were ready went in with Him to the marriage." This must refer to the wise virgins; and what is their going in to the marriage? Coming of the Bridegroom.
Bear in mind that the whole burden of this parable of Matthew 25 is the coming of the Bridegroom to the marriage. That is the only "coming," on His part, here brought to view. But it is not the coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven again to this earth; for the marriage does not take place here. Christ receives His kingdom, which is the marriage, before He comes again to this earth. Luke 19: 12, 13: "He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return." "And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom," etc. In this parable, the nobleman undoubtedly represents Christ, and His going into a far country to receive for Himself a kingdom, viewed from the standpoint of the time when He was here on the earth at His first advent, which was the standpoint of the disciples to whom Christ spoke, refers to His ascending to His Father in heaven, there to be invested, in due time, with the power and regalia of His glorious kingship, and then to return to take His people to Himself. But this act of going in before the Father to receive His kingdom is called a "coming;" and in a certain sense it is. A description of it is found in Dan. 7: 13, 14: "I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came 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 people, 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." This is Christ's promised kingdom (Luke 1: 32, 33), the taking of which, on His part, constitutes the marriage, and to receive which He comes to the Father, to the Ancient of Days. And while this work is going on in heaven, the foolish virgins are off to buy oil for their lamps, that is, are seeking some new application of prophecy or some new sensational experiences which they think will help their condition, but find it all in vain. "And while they went to buy, the Bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with Him to the marriage; and the door was shut." These who go in with Him to the marriage must, of course, be present to witness the wedding ceremony, or that which is, in this case, the coronation of the King of kings; not literally so, for they are still here on the earth, and the coronation takes place in heaven; but such is their union with Christ that they are brought into such a degree of spiritual ecstasy, and Holy Ghost exultation of vision, that they will be, virtually, present with Christ, just as Stephen was when, as recorded of him, in Acts 7: 55, 56, "he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God." Just so the church at that hour of supreme spiritual union with Christ, which the Scriptures declare will come to the last generation, will be so filled with the Holy Ghost that they will be present in spirit, which will seem to them as real as if they were bodily and literally there, beholding the glorious coronation of their King. They will that and then have gone in with Him to the marriage. And then, Christ's priestly work being ended, and his kingly office entered upon, the door will be shut.5 The movements set forth in the opening parable of Matthew 25 are of such consequence, the truths are of such paramount importance, the figures are so striking and appropriate, the application so clear and consistent, that a restatement, or recapitulation, of the subject we trust may not appear inconsistent. That the great Advent movement of the early part of the present generation should be set forth under the figure of an Eastern marriage, is very fitting, the features of such a marriage tally so completely with the experiences of the church at the time in question. The bridegroom represents Christ; the virgins, the church; five of the virgins being wise, and five foolish, represents the fact that no definite proportion is to be drawn between the wise and foolish, that is, between the faithful and unfaithful professed followers of the Master. We can not say that so many will be saved and so many will be lost. If it had said that six of the virgins were wise and four were foolish, or that three were wise and seven were foolish, or any other proportion, then it would be evident that some definite information was intended to be set forth on this point. Making the number of the wise and foolish the same, it will be seen, was the only indefinite way in which it could be stated. So we can not tell, and need not speculate, on the question how many more will be wise than foolish, or foolish than wise, in the service of the Lord. But the solemn fact is set forth that a portion of those who hear the Lord's call will prove untrue and fail at last. Who will it be? Every one would do well to ask himself most seriously, "Lord, is it I?" The first part of the Advent proclamation, that which aroused the attention of the world, in the beginning, to the great message, represents the condition of things in the parable which induced the virgins to go forth to meet the bridegroom. Then, in the illustration, there follows a tarrying time, the slumbering of the virgins, then the awakening and trimming of lamps, on account of a sudden cry raised at midnight, "Behold, the bridegroom cometh." What was there in Advent experience to answer to these features?—In the spring of 1844 the time first set for the Lord to come, passed by. The Bridegroom tarried; and the virgins began to slumber and sleep. In the midsummer of 1844 the proclamation, "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh," was raised in power, and swelled to a mighty movement. This was the midnight cry. In the autumn of 1844, the 2,300 days (Dan. 8: 14), at the end of which the Lord was expected to appear in the clouds of heaven, did end, and then the Bridegroom did come to the marriage (but not in the clouds of heaven, which was the mistaken idea); that is, He was brought before the Ancient of Days (Dan. 7: 13, 14), to receive His kingdom, and power, and glory, which events constitute the marriage. But after Christ came to the Ancient of Days, and after the Bridegroom comes to the marriage, then there is an intervening work to be done before He receives the kingdom, or before the marriage takes place. And what work is that?—It is the examination of the guests who have been bidden to the wedding, to see if they have the wedding-garment on; it is the examination of all the candidates for Christ's kingdom, to determine if they are entitled to immortality; it is the investigative judgment, the making of the atonement, and the cleansing of the sanctuary. All these expressions refer to one and the same work, and all with marvelous beauty fit in together here. And all this intervening work must be finished before Christ can take the kingdom, or before the marriage can take place. Till this is done the door can not be shut; for not till then is it determined who are "ready" to go in with Him to the marriage. The door is still open; and other guests may still come, as they have been coming since 1844, and secure the wedding-garment, and go in to the marriage. We are now in the period of the examination of the guests, to see who is ready. More than half a century of time has already passed since this work of examination began; and how much longer, think you, reader, it can continue before it will be finished? In the very nature of things, it must soon close, and the momentous question for every case be decided who among the guests is "ready" to go in to the marriage, and also who, not being found with the wedding-garment on, must be bound hand and foot, and cast into outer darkness. The time for the marriage is just at hand. Those who are found "ready" will then go in, and be forever safe. Then the door will be shut, and no further admission be possible. As the going in with Him to the marriage is a future event, it becomes a matter of special interest to inquire what it will be. On this point we have the following facts to guide us:— 1. The marriage takes place in heaven, not on this earth; for it is in heaven that Christ receives His kingdom, before His second coming. He receives it from the hand of the Ancient of Days (Dan. 7: 13), who is, at the time, in heaven, not on the earth. 2. It takes place before any of the saints are translated to heaven; hence they enter in with Him to the marriage, not literally, but in the state of spiritual ecstasy already described. 3. No one can go in to the marriage with Him till the marriage takes place; and that does not occur till Christ has finished His work as priest in the sanctuary. The going in with Him could not, therefore, have taken place in 1844. 4. No person can go in to the marriage until he is pronounced "ready;" and that decision can not be rendered till all cases are decided in the sanctuary above, and probation is ended. The time when those who are "ready" go in with Him to the marriage is, therefore, at that moment of supreme importance when their cases are decided for salvation, and when all probation closes, for after they thus go in, the door is shut. There are various scriptures which describe the condition and privileges of the church at this time; but as these belong to another division of the subject, we defer examination of them to a future article. URIAH SMITH.