THE PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS
Mattew 25:1-13
 

 

(1) Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins,

      who took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
(2) And five of them were foolish, and five were wise.
(3) For the foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them:
(4) but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
(5) Now while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
(6) But at midnight there is a cry, Behold, the bridegroom!

      Come ye forth to meet him.
(7) Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
(8) And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil;

      for our lamps are going out.

(9) But the wise answered, saying, Peradventure there will not be enough for us and you:

      go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
(10) 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.
(11) Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
(12) But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
(13) Watch therefore, for ye know not the day nor the hour.
 

 

PRELIMINARY FULFILLMENT OF THE PARABLE

 

In the first half of the 19th century, close to the turn of the sixth and seventh millennium of human history, there was a religious revival in Protestantism called the Advent revival or the Second Advent movement, because its essence was the belief in the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ. The movement developed mainly in the United States, where a man named William Miller publicly announced his conviction (which he claimed to have been derived from the Bible) that in 1843 Jesus Christ would come to earth and the final judgment would begin. The date was slightly postponed to 1844, and then the leader of the movement himself and all his supporters went out to meet the events full of hope that they would be taken to heaven. Expectations completely failed. The movement was in disarray. The leader himself and a few sincere hearts remained with God and the Bible. According to the Scriptures, this small handful of faithful ones constituted the cleansed sanctuary class.—Dan. 8:14.

The Second Advent movement could not have ended otherwise, if only because it was not based on a biblical understanding of the purpose, manner and time of Christ's second coming. Nevertheless, it must be admitted that the alleged date of this coming (1844) was very close to the correct one, that is year 1874.

By the grace of the Lord, shortly after Miller's let-down, Charles Taze Russell understood all three of these topics. He clearly showed that the object of the Lord's return was first the final completion of the Church ("little flock" class) and her taking to heavenly glory, and then the restitution of mankind (not burning it up in literal fire); that Christ's coming would not be visible to human sight (John 14:19), because at his resurrection he received the glory of the spiritual divine nature (Acts 26:13-15); that at the beginning of the seventh millennium Christ, the lord of the Sabbath, literal and antitypical (Matt. 12:8), will be engaged in the affairs of the earth, to accomplish with his glorified Bride the work of restitution of all things. (Acts 3:21; gr. apokatastaseos panton, that is: return to original state of things [lost by sin])

It was this sheer flood of truth in the understanding of God's Plan that convinced brother Russell that the beginning of the seventh millennium had been correctly recognized (1874), and thus the second coming of Jesus Christ had become a fact. The prophetic light given in his days did not extend beyond 1914 (understood as the end of the Gentile Times), so Brother Russell assumed that will happen in the same year the glorification of the Bride of Christ at the marriage of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7).

In the Pastor's understanding, William Miller's movement (1829-1844), which ended in disappointment, was shown in the first, too early going forth of the virgins to meet the bridegroom. He therefore concluded that the recognized dawn of the Lord's second presence (1874) was equivalent to a cry at midnight that has called the awakened virgins to go out again. He assumed that this second going out would be no disappointment; that this time, at the end of the Gentile Times (1914/1915), the "ready virgins" unfailingly would cross the threshold of the wedding door.
 

 

The virgins’ first going forth (1829-1844)

 

The year 1829, the year in which William Miller's prophetic movement began, was the first outing of the "virgins" to meet the Bridegroom, with whom they hoped to unite in 1844. Expectations failed all along the line. The mood of disappointment, discouragement, and utter disorientation in time which resulted was interpreted by C. T. Russell as the fall asleep of the virgins. According to this view, the proclamation of Christ's second presence in 1874 was the midnight cry from parable that woke up the virgins from their sleep. This cry, "Behold the Bridegroom!" sounded in the middle of the years 1844-1914, that is the time of lasting of symbolic night abundant with various "dream delusions" concerned of time. The exact middle of such understood night points out the year 1879, significant for the beginning of the publication of the "Watch Tower" magazine.
 

 

The cry at midnight and virgins’ second going forth (1874-1914)

 

Brother Russell understood that the first going forth of the virgins to meeting took place during Miller's movement and ended in a "sleep" that lasted thirty years, that is, until 1874. The rest of the Lord's parable, therefore, according to his interpretation, proceeded as follows:

The cry at midnight, "Behold the bridegroom!" awakened all the virgins, both wise and foolish, but only the wise grasped the state of affairs. They owed it to the supply of oil that they had accumulated in reserve containers in advance. So even if they found out, during a trimming the lamps, that the oil was already burning out, they would have how to replenish the lack of it. The message to the followers of the Lord Jesus was clear: The symbolic oil in the vessels will be the ever-increasing supply of the Holy Spirit in their hearts and minds. By it their "lamp" (the Scriptures) will continue to shine, or they will have an understanding of the events of the presence of the Lord recorded in the prophecies, pictures and visions of the Bible; They will see well even as the darkness of ignorance and confusion begin falls all around them.

The case is different, the Pastor believed, with stupid virgins. In the parable, when these virgins woke up, they also began to clean their lamps, but then they noticed with fear that the oil in them had almost burned out and they had no supply. The flame of their lamps is dimming and they begin to plunge into darkness. Helpless, they ask for oil from the wise virgins, but none of them has it in excess.

Commenting on this parable, Brother Russell recognized that the foolish virgins were all those who, although awakened by the midnight cry, were not convinced that the Lord was present a second time. He put these words in their mouths: "Give us your light, tell us how you know these things, why you feel so sure about them while others are asleep. We are awake enough, but our lamps give no light." W.T. 1905; R 3868

Meanwhile the "wise virgins," from the dawn of the recognized presence of the Lord, has been hastening to the open door for the marriage feast beyond the second veil, aware of the fact that that this door would soon be closed and that the Great Tribulation (1914) would come.

Everything was going well with such understanding of the parable until the events of 1914/1915. Indeed, the outbreak of World War I, at a precisely appointed time, proved indisputably that the Time of the Gentiles had extingueshed and the deprivation of their power by symbolic wind, earthquake and fire had begun, but the Marriage of the Lamb did not come. The disappointment and bitterness of those waiting were no less than those of seven decades earlier (1844). The zealous brethren could not come to terms with this fact for a long time and still kept trying to determine causes of this another failure. They did not stop issuing subsequent dates until finally everyone gave up and abandoned further investigations concerning of time.

Here is a graphic presentation of the events discussed:

 

 

 

Today’s conclusion:

 

Today we have no doubt that foregoing interpretation of the parable, that was offered at the dawn of the second presence of our Lord, was of a preliminary nature, because the second departure of the virgins was not to end in disappointment, and this is what happened in 1914 as well. Nevertheless, by Providence, it was this interpretation that had a very mobilizing effect on the zeal of the Lord's saints. It has built, developed, and sanctified their characters, contributing to the publication and distribution of millions of copies of Bible literature around the world. That activity was a fruitful continuation of the spiritual work of the cleansed sanctuary class that emerged after failure of the Miller's movement.

The above conclusion would not have been possible if the Lamb of God had not opened the seventh seal (Rev. 8:1) illuminating the last stage of „the path of the righteous … that shines more and more unto the perfect day” (Prov. 4:18).

 

 

 

The mysteries revealed by the opening of the last seal, closed until 1967, not only provided an understanding of the entire book of Revelation, but also proved to be a midnight cry awakening God's people from the "sleep" of ignorance respecting their position in the stream of time of God's unfolding Plan.

 

THE FINAL FULFILLMENT OF THE PARABLE

Virgins’ first going out and their disappointment

 

All the virgins who went out to meet the Bridegroom represent the Lord's people being brought out of Babylon through a clear understanding of the Truth respecting the purpose, manner and time of Christ's second coming. The understanding of theme of "times and seasons" was particularly joyful and stimulating. Bible chronology has proved that the year 1874 ushered all mankind into the seventh thousand years of its history, and therefore has come the time of the second coming of the Sabbath Lord, Jesus Christ, and his work for the establishment of God's Kingdom on earth.

The Lord’s people very clearly understood once again that God has called them to share with his Son in the work of blessing all the families of the earth as his symbolic Bride. In order to be united with him in the glory of the Divine nature, they had to completely abandon the allurements of the world, accept the betrothal of the heavenly Bridegroom, and await the marriage in virginal purity (2 Cor. 11:2).

The parable foretold that some of the chaste virgins, who were not very zealous in obtaining oil, would be unpleasantly surprised when they were awakened by a cry at midnight. Without oil, their lamps will dim in the darkness of the night, and they will lose their way to the wedding door. They will be late and will not be allowed to attend the wedding ceremony. Other passages of Scripture show that the Bridegroom also loved these other virgins, for though they were less faithful, they were persevering in chastity. So they will be invited to the evening feast after the wedding (Ps. 45:15; Rev. 19:9).

The join with the Bridegroom of the wise and ready virgins, or such collective Bride, was to be accomplished at the end of the Gospel age. One of the aids in determining the time of this end and time of the wedding of the Lamb was the parallelism of the Jewish Age and the Gospel Age. During the suppression of the revolt of the Jews in 69-73 AD the Romans burned the Temple of Jerusalem. The 70th year in which this happened was recognized by C. T. Russell as the complete fall of Israel as the nation; as the turning point marking the end of the harvest and the end of the Jewish age. This event pointed out the year 1914/1915 as the presumed wedding-day of the Lamb and the end of the Gospel Age.

We know however from history that decades later, in 135 A.D., the Romans crushed the last Jewish uprising under Bar-Kokhba and then scattered Jews around the world. Since then they actually ceased to exist as a nation. About this event, the historian Moscheim wrote: "... the fate of this city had been sealed by Hadrian [A.D. 135], and not the most distant hope could any longer be entertained by the Jews, of seeing their ancient government re-established." B-304

Bible Students knew that in the parallel of the two Ages, the year 135 pointed to the year 1980, but they did not take it into account in their calculations as to the future, because it seemed too far away. All the parallels and time prophecies that were then known seemed therefore to focus on 1914.

Moreover, in the great zeal of expectation and common admiration for the Plan of the Ages, outlined as the fulfillment of Habakkuk 2:1, one detail of the prophet's prediction may not have been fully recognized. This detail concerns of some delay (alleged of course) in the fulfillment of this prophecy. Prophet said: "For the vision is yet for the appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry." (Hab. 2:3). From this it follows that this Plan of the Ages, which to the very end maintained its accuracy as to the year and all its symmetry, nevertheless from the very beginning foreshadowed some special circumstance, an apparent delay, which would test the fidelity of the expectation of the Bride of Christ.

The year 1914 disappointed expectations. Brother Russell however did not make the slightest remark that the stream of time had been imperfectly settled, or that the Plan of the Ages had some errors. Pastor enthusiastically welcomed the outbreak of World War I in 1914 as conclusive evidence of the end of the Times of the Gentiles, and as a favourable test of the reliability of Bible chronology. At the same time, he admitted that expecting the Church to be taken away to glory this year was a mistake. The attitude of zealous brothers who, with such an accurate chronology, could not accept the fact that they had met with such a great disappointment should be treated with understanding and sympathy.

Here is what the American brethren wrote in the book "The Finished Mystery" a year after Brother Russell's death, or in 1917 (p. 61):

"The chronology as it appears in the STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES is accurate. The year 1914 brought the end of the Times of the Gentiles, but not the end of the Harvest work. Have the teachings of the Parallels lost their value? Not at all. The point not previously noticed is that the Jewish polity was not to be destroyed in Jerusalem only, but throughout all Judea. Nor does Judea mean all of Palestine. The actual depopulation of the whole of Palestine did not occur until the year 135 A. D. (corresponding to our year 1980), on the ninth day of the month of Ab, the anniversary of the burning of the Temple under Titus. On that day came to an end the insurrection of Bar-Cocheba, the false Messiah, … 'It was the effort, under the leadership of Bar-Cocheba, to regain their independence, that brought about a repetition of scenes enacted under Titus, and resulted actually in the depopulation of Palestine. The whole of Judea was turned into a desert; about 985 towns and villages were laid in ashes; fifty of their fortresses were razed to the ground; even the name of their capital was changed to Aelia Capitolina, and they were forbidden to approach it on pain of death; thousands of those who had escaped death were reduced to slavery, and such as could not be thus disposed of were transported into Egypt.'— McC. …

He [our Lord] showed that the end of Fleshly Israel foreshadowed the end of Spiritual Israel. Fleshly Israel had three ends; the destruction of Jerusalem in A. D. 70, the complete subjugation of Judea in A. D. 73, and the actual depopulation of the whole of Palestine in A. D. 135.
Which did He mean should be the end that would be a guide to His followers? Not the end in A. D. 70, foreshadowing 1915; for the Harvest of the Gospel Age is still in progress. Not the end in A. D. 135, foreshadowing 1980; for the Harvest is the end. He must have meant the end in Judea, … Foregoing Scriptures, prove that the Spring of 1918 will bring upon Christendom a spasm of anguish greater even than that experienced in the Fall of 1914. … It is possible that A. D. 1980 may have something of special interest for Fleshly Israel, but certainly not for us. It is 70 years beyond 1910, the date when Pastor Russell gave his great witness to the Jewish people in the New York Hippodrome."
(Today we know that in 1980, in spite of the whole world, the Israeli Knesset declared Jerusalem the eternal capital of Israel.)
 

 

The Bridegroom delayed, so the Virgins fell asleep

 

As mentioned above, the long-awaited year 1914 was a great disappointment for God's people. The urgently awaited Bridegroom – Jesus Christ did not come to receive his Church to himself. Rechecking the individual time links did not reveal any errors in linear chronology. Events of the "Double" of Israel are (except for the outbreak of the World War with the end of the "Times of the Gentiles") additional evidence and seal of the credibility of the chronology. Even more so Bible students could not understand the reason for this delay. As mentioned above, the brothers still lived in the hope that perhaps the year 1918 would meet their expectations. In vain. The last hopes were dashed in 1954.

The matter of the alleged "delay" was not cleared up until 1967, that is after the opening of the seventh seal. Then the Lord gave to his followers further light. It was then found that the Lord had not delayed coming for the Church, in the sense that there had been some change in the Divine Plan respecting the time of its exaltation. The expression used, "As the bridegroom was late in coming," expresses rather the viewpoint of the waiting virgins. Our Lord has permitted his followers to attribute to 1914, that great chronological milestone, more events than the Plan of the Ages had actually foreseen.

Evidently the Lord, with a wise purpose, has permitted his people to hold to the end such an understanding as it saw fit; so that, being aware of the proximity of time, it may to put everything on the line, all its energies, in announcing the great Plan of Salvation to the world. Hence the Lord not only is not angry at the premature of the virgins’ going out to meet Him, but He loves his people for its devotion and zeal and is sympathetic to its mistakes.

Falling of the virgins into a nap and finally sound asleep has occurred as a result of prolonged waiting, as the next chronological failures increased the mood of depression more and more. The great sage of antiquity, Solomon, described this condition as follows: " Hope deferred makes the heart sick" (Prov. 13:12). The expectations attached to 1925 failed, and after that year a number of others failed, until the last disappointment concerning of time, happened in 1954 finally spilled the cup of bitternes and disappointment.

The lack orientation in time, the lack of further indications, caused the teaching about the time of the end of the earthly pilgrimage of God's people to be put aside. Fewer and fewer of the brethren showed interest in Bible chronology until it was completely abaddoned. This moment is described in the parable with the words: "As the bridegroom was late in coming, they all dozed off to sleep." Let us emphasize, however, that it was by no means a dream in the reprehensible sense of which the Apostle speaks, "Sleepers sleep at night" (1 Thess. 5:7). Sleep of being disoriented in time was not an obstacle to the accumulation of oil in vessels, that is, to filling hearts with holy spirit, piety and faithfulness to God. All of the waiting were virgins, and they all fell asleep, both wise and foolish. Could the Lord be angry with His people because they did not bear the burden beyond their strength? Not at all.

The common feeling of discouragement caused by the chronological setbacks was reflected in the resolutions of the General Convention of the Polish Brethren class in Chicago in 1955. Here is an excerpt from one of the resolutions approved by the general decision:

 

Motion [to be voted on]

 

"If any speaker should intend to speak of further dates, of further philosophical calculations, it would be better to substitute for him another orator, who would speak of one single date--faithfulness even unto death, and that he should exhort all of Christ's followers to faithfulness, and that each should be prepared for the end of his pilgrimage every moment, that he should not dare to postpone it until a later time. To this or that year, as one of the "seduced brothers" had already marked for himself the year 1954, which he did not live to see. May the Lord forgive him for his wandering.
We should resolve once not to proclaim any dates, to forget about dates once and for all, and to proclaim only what the Word of God authorizes us to do."

 

Decision

 

"This motion, voted twice, was presented to the brethren body for final decision, to all brothers and sisters at the business meeting on Saturday, September 3. After a comprehensive discussion, the vote began. 179 votes were in favor of this motion, and 39 against it."

This resolution is in direct contradiction to Brother Russell's methods of work. For three decades he spoke with faith about the events of 1914; And yet it was a date concerning the future. How contrary is this resolution to the teaching of the second volume of Studies in the Scriptures, "The Time is at Hand," the first chapter of which is entitled, "The Times and Seasons of Divine Appointment." Just as sleep comes from weariness, so all the virgins, tired of long waiting, fell asleep, that is, they completely lost interest in the topic of "times and seasons". This was foreseen and made evident in the parable of the our Lord. The symbolic sleep happened in 1954, as evidenced by the numerical value of the expression related to that situation (Matt. 25:5):

 

n 1914, after chronological let-down the God's people has stood at a crossroads. In the midst of confusion and disorientation, brothers who were familiar with the Truth and who were also gifted with leadership skills and charisma came to the fore. They took matters into their own hands and conducted them as they saw fit. The Bible Students movement split into different factions. The majority of them ignored Pastor C. T. Russell's death-long claim that the harvest of the Gospel age did not end in 1914, that the book of Revelation on key points had not been understood, and that hence further light from the Lord must be waited for. These leaders outlined their own scenarios for the future, considered the doors of the High Calling closed, divided the period of the Lord's Parousia into sub-periods with their own dates, and began to judge and classify other brethren accordingly.

But there were also freedom-loving brothers who refused to submit to the discipline imposed by the leaders. In the spirit of a sober mind, they were still looking for their place in the House of Faith. The latter included a group of Polish Brethren. Discouraged by the fruitless search for future dates, they in a somewhat extreme zeal forbade the dates to be spoken of from behind the pulpit, and continued to believe that the door of the High Calling was still open. In doing so, they “froze” the understanding of the Plan of the Ages in its pre-1914 positions. Such a radical decision, paradoxically, did not tie hands of brethren at all but kept their hearts and minds continuously ready for further light from the Lord.

Such was the course of events foreseen and supervised by the Divine providence. Under her direction, the Scriptural conditions of the end of the Gospel Age were being formed in Europe. On this old continent, God's adversary, Satan, was building the last stronghold of the altar and throne, in the hope of saving his empire from its final collapse. The altar was represented by the Great Whore of Rome with her seat in the Vatican (Rev. 17:1,18), while the throne of secular power was represented by a powerful fiery dragon with seven heads and ten horns with its seat in the Kremlin (Rev. 12:3). The mutual alliance of these systems was to form the papal beast of the end times (Rev. 17:3).

Our Lord intended to inform the world of Satan's schemes, and He took action to place his witnesses at the center of the events of the end. This necessitated, to some extent, the redirection of the Lord's work from the United States and English-speaking countries to the Catholic world of Europe, especially Eastern Europe. The geographical location and backwardness of religious Catholic Poland made it the most useful for lighting a fire of faith in it. The Roman clergy in there fiercely defended access to the Bible and jealously guarded their faithfull from every ray of light of God's truth. No wonder, then, that when "swift messengers in vessels of papyrus were sent [from USA] to a nation trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled!” the Word of Truth in the hearts of sincere Poles enthusiasm and first love were ignited (Isa. 18:3,7). When the Lamb of God opened the seventh seal in this Polish spiritual environment (1967), the preparation of the representatives of the John class for the final mission of witnessing began. They were to confront the papal beast.

 

 

 

 

The cry at midnight

 

The cry at midnight which woke the "virgins", announced them the arrival of the Bridegroom, and also called them to come out to meet him. This part of the parable could only be fulfilled after 1954, which ended a series of depressing disappointments concerning time. Logic itself indicates that the cry waking the virgins must have been closely related to time, just like falling asleep itself. The cry has announced the final date of the closing of the wedding door, that is, the time of the glorification of the Bride of Christ.

C. T. Russell believed it was wise and proper to wait for such a date. In the third series of volumes of STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES., he wrote: "There are three ways in which the closing of this door might be indicated: first, by a definite Bible statement of the exact date..." (page 207). Volume III was published in 1890, so that definite date was not revealed to God's people neither until by the time this volume was written nor until the Author's death in 1916.

This does not mean, however, that the Church was to remain to the end in ignorance in relation to the time, when such a momentous event as her glorification will occur. In the Divine Plan, everything is fulfilled exactly according to time. According to the due time the Gospel Age has begun, and according to the due time it is ending. God sent the Apostle Peter with two keys, to open the door of the high calling to the Jews with one (33 A.D.) and the door to the Gentiles with the other key (36 A.D.). Even from this episode it appears that in the symbolism of the Holy Scripture the door represents a date.

The vision of the tenth chapter of the book of Revelation is additional confirmation that waiting for the exact date was right attitude. The glorious Angel puts his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the ground, then calls John to come and take from him the "open scroll". The content of this scroll contains, among other things, the date of the seventh trumpet (the Great Tribulation, Armageddon). Verse six reads, "... and he [the Angel] raised his right hand to heaven and swore by him that lives for ever and ever … that there shall be no more delay.'"

 

 

 

It is obvious to everyone that the possibility of delay only takes place if a deadline is given. And in this vision the Almighty Angel, our Lord, not only reveals to the John class, or the "little flock," the two dates, the end of the high calling (1977) and the date of the glorification of the Church (1980), but also, excluding all delay, confirms them with a solemn oath. The presentation to "John" of the little open scroll cannot refer to the beginning of the second advent of Jesus Christ, because: Firstly – then there was no “little scroll” but a veritable flood of truth being "issued at the proper time"; secondly – then no oath was given to confirm some date; thirdly – the world was not then divided into two hostile camps.

Such a split was caused by the events of the First and Second World Wars. Especially the end of World War II found the world divided into a conservative land in the West and a revolutionary sea in the East. The right foot of the Angel rested on the sea, which clearly indicates that just before the end of the Gospel Age our Lord's special favor was directed to the East, to the Communist zone. It was here that the last prophetic features of God's Plan were to be fulfilled, and it was here that God purposed to inspire His human tools to pronounce His final judgments.

The cry sound in 1967, when brother Tadeusz Wiśniewski, an elder of the Free Bible Students congregation in Warsaw, published the results of his study of Bible chronology. Not only did his commentaries fully confirm the accuracy of the established line of time, but they also called attention of brethren to the prophetic key "3,960 years" to the mysteries of the future. The key was hidden in the total years of the animals’ age that God ordered to Abram to sacrifice in response to his question: "Lord God whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?" (Gen. 15:8-21). See "Biblical Comment" on Genesis 15:9.

In Brother Russell's day this prophetic the "key of 3960 years" was used only one time (in 1907; R-3957). It then turned out that the end of the 3,960 years that had passed since the covenant with Abraham in 2045 B.C. indicates the year 1914/1915, i.e. the date of expiration of the Times of the Gentiles. Since this breakthrough year, the pace of prophecy-fulfilling events has accelerated dramatically. These events were the answer to Abram's question: whereby shall I know? Nevertheless, the key of 3960 years was put aside and somewhat forgotten.

After the covenant was made, Abram lived for another hundred years, and the subsequent events in his life, carefully timed by Divine providence, became a further source of prophetic information as soon as the time was right to reuse the already known prophetic key. Its use promised very fruitful work considering the fact that parallels indicated a series of future dates, illuminating the religious and political scene until the significant events of 2015. However, Providence did not allow this key to be used until the Lamb opened the seventh seal. As proof, let us quote biblical numerology once again:

 

 

 

At the General Convention in Krakow (July 23-24, 1966) brother Tadeusz Wiśniewski gave a lecture entitled "Whereby shall I know?" A year later, the content of this lecture was published in the magazine "Na Straży" No. 1967/2. However, the editors of the journal omitted future dates, ending the short quotation of the article ending with the fact of establishing of the State of Israel in 1948.

Here is an illustration of the reusing of mentioned above prophetic key:

 

 

 

 

The cry at midnight, mentioned in the parable of the ten virgins, was associated with two significant dates for the future: (1) The end of the High Calling showed by Sarah's death. Sarah is the biblical figure of the Covenant of Sacrifice; (2) The date of the glorification of the Bride of Christ showed by the joining of Isaac and Rebecca. For better orientation, only two parallels of these two dates 1977 and 1980 are presented below.

 

The second outing to meet the Bridegroom

 

The content of the lecture "Whereby shall I know?" filled the whole brothers with great enthusiasm. The source of joy was obvious. It was shown the future – the time of meeting the Lord. From the biblical parallels, confirmed by biblical numerology, it was clear that the year 1980/1981 would be the time when the Bridegroom would join with his Church. This cry was intensified by an electrifying event in the Middle East. Our Lord, the great Defender of chosen people made that Israel in six days defeated a coalition of Arab states that had threatened its existence.

The detail that the cry took place "at midnight" is also telling. If the dream occurred in 1954, beginning the "chronological" night, and the meeting with the Bridegroom in 1980 was to end it, then the cry in 1967 sounded exactly at midnight. The prophetic movement, initiated in Poland by the cry at midnight, is shown in the parable as the second outing of the virgins to meet the bridegroom.

 

Then all the virgins arose and trimmed their lamps

 

Since the midnight cry (1967), the world has embarked on a path of increasingly turbulent events. The humiliating defeat of the Arab countries and their protector, the Soviet Union, in the Six-Day War resulted in the unleashing of anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic hysteria. In response to this event, Poland broke off diplomatic and trade relations with Israel, started a witch-hunt against Jews and expelled them from the country.

During the pontificate of Paul VI (1963-78), unexpectedly, there was a great diplomatic opening between the Kremlin and the Vatican. In 1967, the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Nikolai Podgorny, paid a visit to the Vatican. Satan took final action in leading the papal beast out of the "abyss," or political non-existence. It finally emerged in 1977 on the side of the socialist "sea" as a red political monster with seven heads (Warsaw Pact) and ten horns (members of Comecon). Obj. 11:7, 13:1; 17:3

In the same year, student riots broke out in Poland and Western Europe, which resulted in the creation of terrorist organizations attacking the capitalist world order. Terror, assassinations and kidnappings began to spread. The radicalization of German youth in 1967 resulted in the creation of the Red Army Faction of a left-wing character, which struck the state structures with terror. The alarmed West German authorities proceeded to crush the organization. The remnants of the Faction traveled to the Middle East, where they made contact with the Palestine Liberation Organization. At the same time, the Red Brigades organization was established in Italy with the same goal and program as the German RAF.

In December 1967, a left-wing and paramilitary organization called the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine was formed from the merger of several leftist and nationalist Palestinian groups. Various Palestinian organizations, which have been multiplying like mushrooms since then, targeted Israel and all the states that supported it, and also began to sow death and destruction, mainly in the Middle East and Western Europe.

All of the above events began to create more and more confusion and anxiety in the world. It was from a spiritual standpoint that the twilight immediately preceding the night of the Great Tribulation began to thicken. It became indispensable to reach for the lamp of God's Word in order to see the whole situation in its proper light in this falling darkness and to react accordingly. At this critical moment came the invaluable help of the Most High God in the form of a final understanding of the book of Revelation. This allowed John's class to penetrate with their spiritual sight the human sea as if it were made of crystal. The sea is more and more dark and stormy, and yet "Jan" sees in it clearly the growing fire of anarchy. (Rev. 15:2).

How to understand the strange refusal of the "wise virgins" to share the oil? Trimming the lamps yielded different results. The same events were understandable and certain for some, and incomprehensible and unbelievable for others. Everything was determined by the condition of the heart, that is by amount of the holy spirit accumulated in it. Commentary on Matt. 25:8 puts these words into the mouths of the virgins who ask for the oil: "Give us of your light, tell us how you know these things, why you feel so sure about them while others are asleep. We are awake enough, but our lamps give no light." (R-3868). No wonder that the protracted discussion had to cease as completely fruitless, leading only to inflamement of emotions and spiritual damage.

So not everyone had the oil supply allowed their lamp at a critical moment to light them the way to the wedding door being open till the spring of 1981. For some, the lamp began to dim completely. They increasingly doubted that the extraordinary political events taking place in the Eastern Bloc, and especially in Catholic Poland, should be understood as the prophetic chronological movement suggests. Still others distanced themselves from the radical comments of that movement for fear of repression from the authorities of the totalitarian system in which Poland was located.

These authorities were preparing the specjal celebration of the 60th anniversary of the October Revolution. They have had a plan of making solemn appeals for "peace and security" in order to pave the way for all nations to establish lasting peace on our globe (1 Thes 5:3). Meanwhile, one religious group has dared to condemn these measures as futile and disastrous, inevitably leading to anarchy, which during the Great Tribulation would annihilate all religious and secular systems considered by God as false and bestial.

 

 

 

As mentioned above, the prophetic movement that was "spoiling" the mood of the festival of peace was born and proclaimed its understanding within the Free Bible Students Association in Poland. It is therefore understandable that the governing authorities could not tolerate such a state of affairs in the long run. To silence the troublesome movement, they used a number of their "secret collaborators" who held leading positions in the Association. It was mainly such category individuals, playing a dual role, have stirred up a biased agitation in the congregations of this organization. Ignoring the principles that guide the Lord's people, they brought about the removal of the chronological movement outside of the congregations and scattered its adherents.

All the virgins in the parable, when they woke up, began to trim their lamps so that they would shine brightly. The Greek word "kosmeo" used here means: to arrange, decorate, beautify. As soon as the chronological string of the harp of the Word of God sounded again, the restored harmony of the entire Divine Plan of the Ages resounded with a wonderful melody.

The second coming out the virgins of the parable points to the last preparations of the "chaste virgin" (2 Cor. 11:2), or Little Flock, preceding the union with the Lord at the marriage of the Lamb. Its content does not indicate that wise virgins were admitted to the wedding, but virgins who were ready. That is to say, the period since "waking up from sleep" to the time of the marriage of the whole Church was necessary to develop in the last members this class the highest readiness of heart and mind to meet the Lord.

 

And the door was shut

 

So several years passed, during which the bright glow of the cleaned lamps led some of the "virgins" to the wedding door of spring 1981, indicated by the parallelism of the wedding of Isaac and Rebecca, while the others, lost their way in the darkness, completely lost their bearings. And so it continued until the Passover day, April 18, 1981, or the date being pointed out by God as the time for the shutting of the wedding door. Only the Supreme Judge, God Himself, knew which ones of these "first virgins" were victorious in their earthly pilgrimage and entered behind the "second vail" into "glory, honor and immortality" (Rom. 2:7). Before that time, there were various ideas of what crossing the threshold of the wedding door would look like. However, the appointed date passed without any external manifestation, which gave rise to two different attitudes in the polish House of Faith.

Some considered the lack of any manifestation as evidence of another chronological let-down and another senseless exposure to shame and disgrace before the world.

Others, however, impressed by the extraordinary events that took place immediately after Passover in 1981, looked deeper into that experience. They continued to believe in the accuracy of the chronological clues, even though opponents viewed their arguments as subterfuges and hypocrisy. They stood firm because they fully believed that the Lord had given the date of the Church's glorification, sworn it and then confirmed it through prophetic events. Therefore they did not dare to offend God and His Anointed by even the slightest doubt.

Our Lord's ministry ended in disgrace, and in such a disgrace also ended the mission of His "two witnesses" (Old and New Testaments) which He had entrusted to His last few followers. Both His testimony and the testimony of His Church were to be counted false and rejected, was to fall dead " in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt…" (Rev. 11:7,9).

But those who persevered in their faith soon saw God's spirit, which by the progress of events of Armageddon, "is setting two witnesses on their feet." (Rev. 11:11-12). Let us quote a few of these events: Barely three weeks after 18 April, that is, on 13 May 1981, in St. Peter's Square in Rome, the bullets of an assassin pierced the body of the alleged 'Vicar of the Son of God' and pushed him outside of political arena. Efforts of a secular-religious union, an alliance of the throne and the altar, to save the world from anarchy have burst like a soap bubble. The red beast threw the Great Harlot of Rome off its back, and her lovers (the ten horns on the beast) began to tug at her with hatred, strip her, tear her apart and burn her with the fire of criticism. With the fall of communism, the world lost its balance and began to slide into the abyss.

 

The other virgins come to the wedding door
and ask the Lord to let them in

 

The Biblical doors cannot be understood otherwise than the various opportunities which God opens and closes in the appointed and revealed time. One such occasion was the privilege of the High Calling to run for membership in the Church of Christ. The door to this privilege has been open throughout the Gospel Age, until the time has come for shutting of them at the Passover of 1981. What, then, does it mean that the other virgins came to the same door to which they had gone astray because of the lack of light in the lamps and oil in the vessels?

This means that these other virgins managed to buy oil for their lamps and to lit them up; the lamps flashed and iluminated before them the way to wedding door. There will be however no other door, no other exact date for the glorification of the Church than April 18, 1981. The Great Company will have to return to that date, that is, recognize that it was then that "the wedding-day of the Lamb has come! His bride has made herself ready" (Rev. 19:7,8). The opening of the seventh seal by the Lamb of God (1967) revealed the secret of the date of the glorification of the Little Flock class, as the parallel of the joining in marriage of Isaac with Rebecca, that is April 18, 1981. Few have been convinced of this. The sign that will convince the class of the Great Company of this fact will be the smoke of the fire that started to consume the Great Whore of Rome (Rev. 19:2,3).

To this day many Bible Students firmly believe that the High Calling is still in progress and that the door to the marriage feast is still open. What, then, is the parable of the closing of the door (Luke 13:23-27), showing the many willing to enter, knocking and demanding to enter? Nobody knocks on the door when they see that it is locked. Apparently the mounting calamities of the Great Tribulation will begin to worry the latecomer class that day April 18, 1981 was the true date, and they overlooked it, or ignored. Then they will "knock on the door", frantically try to change their situation, warmly recommend themselves to the Host and emphasize their achievements. However such measures will prove to be overdue and being wise belatedly.

The Great Company class, instead of entering into the joy of the Lord, will for a time share in the Great Trouble, anarchy, which is already overwhelming the whole world. Weeping, gnashing of teeth, sorrow, disappointment, will be the lot not only of this class, but also of all the people living at that time. We believe that the great day of trouble will prepare mankind for the grand conditions of the Millennial Kingdom soon to be ushered in on earth. Finally, let us recall the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ not only revealed to His followers the date of the glorification and joining with His Bride in 1980, not only swore it date, but also attested it with the numerical value of His name.