Scripture Reading: Matt. 24:1-3, 32-44; 25:1-13

DAY 1 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 2 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 3 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 4 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 5 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 6 Outline　MorningRevival

«　WEEK 2　DAY 1　»

　　Matt. 24:27 For just as the lightning comes forth from the east and shines to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

　　30 And at that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the land will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

　　The Greek word translated “coming” in Matthew 24:27 is parousia, and it literally means “presence.” The same word is translated as “presence” in Philippians 2:12. To His believers the Lord’s return will involve His presence with them. The Lord’s presence will begin before the great tribulation, when the overcoming believers are raptured, ... and last until the end of the great tribulation, when the Lord will descend to reveal Himself to the world…. During this time the Lord will rapture the believers into His presence at different times. With respect to the believers, His coming involves their rapture to His presence; with respect to the Lord, His presence involves His coming to the believers. (CWWL, 1932-1949, vol. 4, “Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures, Volume 6,” p. 599)

　　The Lord’s parousia will start when the Lord raptures the overcomers to heaven to be with Him before the beginning of the great tribulation. Beginning at this time, the Lord’s parousia, that is, His coming, will last for three and a half years until His appearance is manifested. This manifestation..., or appearance, is what the Bible calls the manifestation (epiphaneia) of His coming (parousia) [2 Thes. 2:8]. The Lord’s return involves a period of time, the parousia (coming), and a point in time, the epiphaneia (manifestation)….Therefore, 2 Thessalonians speaks of the epiphaneia of His parousia.

　　If we do not understand that this word parousia refers to His coming over a period of time, we will not understand why the Lord’s return begins before the great tribulation but does not consummate until the end of the tribulation, a period of three and a half years. We will also be unable to understand why some places in the Bible speak of the Lord coming before the great tribulation, and other places speak of His coming after the great tribulation.

　　The Bible shows that the Lord’s second coming is an actual coming and that the Lord Himself will descend from the heavens to be manifested before men. His coming with respect to His believers involves a long period of time, the time of His presence, which begins before the great tribulation and ends at the end of the great tribulation…. At the end of the great tribulation, the coming of His presence will be manifested when He comes to earth to appear to men. His coming is hidden and secret at the beginning and manifested and open at the end.

　　One aspect of the Lord’s second coming involves a coming that is hidden and secret, like the coming of a thief in the night. The hidden and secret aspect of the Lord’s second coming occurs before the beginning of the great tribulation; it is not related to His manifestation at the end of the great tribulation.

　　Although there is a secret and hidden aspect of the Lord’s coming, which will be seen only by those who are watchful, the Bible also speaks of His coming as lightning across the sky, which will be seen openly by everyone [Matt. 24:27, 30]…. These portions speak of two different aspects of the Lord’s second coming: the hidden, secret aspect and the manifested, open aspect. The hidden aspect is His parousia, and the open aspect is His epiphaneia….Only watchful, overcoming believers who are waiting for Him will participate in the hidden aspect. All the world will see the open aspect, and all believers will participate in it. (CWWL, 1932-1949, vol. 4, “Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures, Volume 6,” pp. 599-602)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1932-1949, vol. 4, “Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures, Volume 6,” ch. 60; CWWL, 1983, vol. 1, “Living in and with the Divine Trinity,” ch. 4

«　WEEK 2　DAY 2　»

　　Matt. 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

　　32-33 But learn the parable from the fig tree: As soon as its branch has become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that the summer is near. So also you, when you see all these things, know that it is near, at the doors.

　　The gospel of the kingdom, which includes the gospel of grace (Acts 20:24), brings people not only into God’s salvation but also into the kingdom of the heavens (Rev. 1:9). The gospel of grace emphasizes forgiveness of sin, God’s redemption, and eternal life, whereas the gospel of the kingdom emphasizes the heavenly ruling of God and the authority of the Lord. This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole earth for a testimony to all the nations before the end of this age. Hence, that preaching, signified by the white horse of the first seal in Revelation 6:1-2, will be a sign of the consummation of this age. (Matt. 24:14, footnote 1)

　　[When] the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom to the whole world... has been accomplished, we should realize that the last three and a half years are about to begin [Matt. 24:14]…. Prior to this preaching, many other things will have taken place. But these things are not the signs of the end of the age, for in speaking about them the Lord said that the end was not yet. Therefore, the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom to all the inhabited earth will be the unique sign of the end of this age. (Life-study of Matthew, p. 722)

　　The fig tree represents the nation of Israel. In Matthew 21:18-20 the fig tree, the symbol of the nation of Israel, was cursed by the Lord and withered because it did not produce fruit for Him. The Jews lost their nation and were scattered. According to prophecies in the Bible, however, the Jews will recover their nation. The Lord’s word concerning the fig tree branch becoming tender and putting forth its leaves refers to this matter. When Israel, like the fig tree, becomes tender and puts forth leaves, the Lord said that His coming would be near. The recovery of the nation of Israel is another sign of the Lord’s second coming. (CWWL, 1932-1949, vol. 4, “Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures, Volume 6,” pp. 607-608)

　　The fig tree, signifying the nation of Israel, was cursed in Matthew 21:19. It passed through a long winter, from the first century to A.D. 1948, when the nation of Israel was restored. That was its branch becoming tender and putting forth its leaves….To become tender signifies that life has come back, and to put forth leaves signifies outward activity. Winter signifies the time of being dried up, the time of tribulation (24:7-21). Summer signifies the age of the restored kingdom (Luke 21:30-31), which will begin at the Lord’s second coming.

　　Israel is a sign to us, just as the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom is a sign to the Jews. When the Jews see the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom, they should realize that it is a sign of the coming tribulation. Likewise, Israel as a fig tree is a sign to us concerning the Lord’s coming. The disciples had asked the Lord concerning the sign of His coming and the sign of the consummation of the age. In the foregoing section the Lord gives the sign of the consummation of the age. This sign is the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom. Now the Lord gives another sign, the sign of His coming. This sign is the fig tree. When its branches become tender and it puts forth its leaves, we know that summer, the full restoration of the Messianic kingdom, is near.

　　As far as both population and geography are concerned, there has not been a full restoration of Israel….The Lord is sovereign….The restoration of the nation of Israel is becoming more and more full. At the time of the millennium, it will reach its fullness. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 733-735)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Matthew, msg. 63

«　WEEK 2　DAY 3　»

　　2 Thes. 2:3 …It will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition.

　　7 For it is the mystery of lawlessness that is now operating, but only until the one now restraining goes out of the way.

　　11 And because of this God sends to them an operation of error that they might believe the lie.

　　Before the day of the Lord’s second coming, the apostasy will come, and the man of lawlessness, Antichrist, will be revealed [2 Thes. 2:3]. These things are signs of the Lord’s second coming. Although Antichrist has not yet been revealed, the mystery of lawlessness is already operating on the earth [v. 7], so the earth is filled with apostasy. This tells us that the day of the Lord’s second coming is not far off. (CWWL, 1932-1949, vol. 4, “Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures, Volume 6,” p. 608)

　　Because the perishing ones did not receive the love of the truth, which God intended to give them that they might be saved (2 Thes. 2:10), God sends to them an operation of error, an active power of misleading, that they might believe the lie. (2 Thes. 2:11, footnote 1)

　　The prophecy spoken of through Daniel indicates that the abomination of desolation will occur in the “middle of the week” (9:27), the last half of the final seven years of the church age. In the middle of this week, Antichrist will set up the abomination of desolation in the holy place [Matt. 24:15]. According to 2 Thessalonians 2:4, holy place refers to the temple of God. Antichrist will set up an abominable idol of desolation, an image of himself (Rev. 13:14; 14:9, 11), in the temple and make people worship it. This shows that the temple in Jerusalem will be restored. When the great tribulation, the last three and a half years, is about to begin, Antichrist will set up his image in the temple. When this happens, the day of the Lord’s second coming will be very close….We should have no desire to be on earth to see the fulfillment of this prophecy; instead, our hope should be focused on being raptured by the Lord from the earth to His presence before the three and a half years of the great tribulation.

　　Second Timothy 3:1-5 describes the condition of human society at the end of this age... [as] a sign of the Lord’s second coming…. In the last days men will love themselves the most, followed closely by money….There also will be boasting, arrogance, reviling, and the blaspheming of God….People today do not want to be restricted; they all do things recklessly and arrogantly under the guise of freedom. It is also a particular characteristic of people today to be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God….These are all signs of the Lord’s second coming, and they should remind us that we must watch and be prepared for the Lord to come.

　　By the time of His second coming, many of the believers will have little faith [Luke 18:8]. A lack of faith among believers is a sign of the Lord’s second coming. (CWWL, 1932-1949, vol. 4, “Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures, Volume 6,” pp. 608-609, 605-607)

　　Before the Lord’s imminent coming, there will be clear signs. During this time, men will accumulate wealth in an unprecedented way….No other age will see as much wealth as the age immediately preceding the Lord’s return. Not only is there a multiplication of material enjoyment, but there is a multiplication of lustful indulgence. I am saying this to let all the brothers and sisters throughout the whole world know that the day of the Lord is approaching! We have to spend whatever we have on the Lord, while the money is still useful. (CWWN, vol. 61, “Matured Leadings in the Lord’s Recovery (1),” pp. 201, 203-204, 208)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1990, vol. 3, “The Up-to-date Presentation of the God-ordained Way and the Signs concerning the Coming of Christ,” chs. 6-7

«　WEEK 2　DAY 4　»

　　Matt. 24:44 For this reason you also be ready, because at an hour when you do not expect it, the Son of Man is coming.

　　Rev. 3:10 Because you have kept the word of My endurance, I also will keep you out of the hour of trial, which is about to come on the whole inhabited earth, to try them who dwell on the earth.

　　[Matthew 24:40 and 41] indicate that while the worldly people are befuddled by the material things, with no sense of the coming judgment, some of the sober and watchful believers will be taken away. To the befuddled people, this should be a sign of Christ’s coming.

　　The two men in verse 40 must be brothers in Christ, and the two women in verse 41 must be sisters in the Lord. This is indicated by verse 42, which tells us to watch because we do not know on what day our Lord comes. Both “watch therefore” and “your Lord” prove that the two men and the two women in verses 40 and 41 are believers. The Lord would not charge unsaved people to watch, nor is He the Lord of the unsaved. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 737-738)

　　To be taken means to be raptured before the great tribulation [Matt. 24:40-41]. This rapture is a sign of the Lord’s coming and a sign to the Jews. It is very interesting to see that the two men are working in the field and that the two women are grinding at the mill. Both working in the field and grinding are for eating. There is a difference between our eating and the eating of the worldly people. The worldly people study and work, and we also study and work. The worldly people, however, have been drugged. But we... rather... are simply fulfilling our duty to make a living….We maintain our existence in order to take the way of the cross to fulfill God’s purpose.

　　As we wait for His coming and expect to be raptured, we must be very faithful in our daily duties…. It is the brothers working in the field and the sisters grinding in the mill who will be raptured. As those with a fallen human nature, it is easy for us to excuse ourselves for not spending so much time in the field or at the grinding. If you do this, you will not be raptured.

　　Of the two men in the field, one is taken and the other is left; and of the two women grinding at the mill, one is taken and the other left. The reason for this is that there is a difference between them in the matter of life. I believe that the one taken is mature and that the one left is immature. The life makes the difference. The rapture of the overcomers, those who are mature in life, will be a sign to those who are left.

　　In Matthew 24:42 the Lord tells us to watch, for we do not know on what day the Lord will come….[In verse 43] the householder refers to the believer, and the house, to the believer’s conduct and work which he has built up in his Christian life. A thief comes to steal precious things at an unknown time. The Lord will come secretly as a thief to those who love Him and will take them away as His treasures. Hence, we should watch…. [Verse 44] refers to the Lord’s secret coming to the watchful overcomers. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 738-741)

　　We need to give heed to the prophetic word as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in our hearts (2 Pet. 1:19; Rev. 22:16; 2:28). Preceding the Lord’s open coming, the Lord will appear as the morning star in the darkest hour of the night to those who are watchful and looking for His appearing (2 Tim. 4:8). They have been enlightened by the shining of the prophetic word, which is able to lead them to the dawning day and to the rising of the morning star in their hearts. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 3, “The Prophecy of the Four ‘Sevens’ in the Bible,” pp. 14-15)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1990, vol. 3, “The Prophecy of the Four ‘Sevens’ in the Bible,” chs. 1, 5-6; CWWN, vol. 15, chs. 24-25; CWWN, vol. 23, “The Song of Songs,” pp. 117-119

«　WEEK 2　DAY 5　»

　　Matt. 25:1 lAt that time the kingdom of the heavens will be ikened to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

　　4 But the prudent took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

　　Rev. 19:7 Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.

　　Matthew 25:1-13 addresses what will happen to the majority of the believers who will have died before the Lord’s coming. Ten represents the majority of the believers through all the generations who became drowsy and slept (v. 5). Became drowsy signifies becoming sick (Acts 9:37; 1 Cor. 11:30), and slept signifies having died (1 Thes. 4:13-16; John 11:11-13). While the Lord delays His coming back, the majority of the believers first become sick and then die. Oil signifies the Spirit of God (Isa. 61:1; Heb. 1:9). Lamps signifies the spirit of the believers (Prov. 20:27), which contains the Spirit of God as the oil (Rom. 8:16)….Within the lamp, our regenerated spirit [cf. Prov. 20:27], is the oil, the Holy Spirit. Man is a vessel made for God (Rom. 9:21, 23-24), and man’s personality is in his soul. Hence, vessels here signifies the soul of the believers. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “The Way to Practice the Lord’s Present Move,” pp. 500-501)

　　Matthew 25:1-13 concerns our destiny for at least one thousand years…. If we do not pay the price required to buy the extra portion of oil in this age, the price we will have to pay in the next age will be great, high, and costly.

　　Virgins signify believers in the aspect of life (2 Cor. 11:2). We are chaste virgins bearing the Lord’s testimony in the dark age and going out of the world to meet the Lord.

　　None of us knows the day or hour of His coming…. If you are not watchful in life, you will receive some dispensational punishment….What shall we do to meet Him? We must be prepared. We are virgins going out to meet the One who is coming to us as the most pleasant person, as a Bridegroom. In this solemn book of Matthew He would not let us know when He would come (24:44; 25:13). His not letting us know means that we have to be watchful and always keep ourselves exercised.

　　We all are going out of the world to meet our Bridegroom, bearing a lamp [Prov. 20:27] as a shining testimony….This lamp should be bright and shining, so it needs oil. Oil in typology signifies the Spirit of God (Isa. 61:1; Heb. 1:9), and we need the Spirit as the burning oil. We are going out to meet Him, bearing a shining testimony, so we need the burning oil, the burning Spirit. With the lamp there is a vessel. The foolish ones have oil in their lamps, their spirits, but they do not have the extra portion of oil in their vessels, their souls. We should be in a situation of going out to meet Him and bearing His testimony. For this purpose we need more oil, more Spirit, so we have to buy the oil. This extra portion of oil could never be given to you as a gift. You could never get it freely. You need to buy the oil. To accumulate a deposit of the extra portion of the Holy Spirit in your being is not an overnight job….To pick up things that become a constitution of your proper being is not a matter of one day or even one year. It is a matter of daily business for a lifetime.

　　To be watchful does not mean only to watch for His coming. To be watchful is to prepare yourself every day by buying the oil….Our spiritual transformation is a daily and lifelong matter. Every day there should be some accumulation, some deposit of oil added to our being. We have not been that much in the proper exercise every day to exercise ourselves even every minute to buy the oil. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “The Way to Practice the Lord’s Present Move,” pp. 525-528)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “The Way to Practice the Lord’s Present Move,” chs. 7, 9; CWWN, vol. 48, “Messages for Building Up New Believers (1),” ch. 9

«　WEEK 2　DAY 6　»

　　Matt. 25:8 And the foolish said to the prudent, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.

　　10 ...As they were going away to buy, the bridegroom came; and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast. And the door was shut.

　　To buy indicates the need of paying a price. The fullness of the Holy Spirit is obtained at a cost, such as giving up the world, dealing with the self, loving the Lord above all, and counting all things loss for Christ. If we do not pay this price today, we must pay it after resurrection. Those who do not pay the price do not have the extra portion of the Holy Spirit.

　　Those who are ready must be those who are invited to the marriage dinner of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9). We should be ready (Matt. 24:44) by always having oil in our vessel, always being filled with the Spirit of God in our whole being. To watch and be ready should be our daily exercise for the Lord’s parousia.

　　To go in with Him refers to the rapture of the resurrected believers to the air (1 Thes. 4:17) during the Lord’s parousia. The wedding feast in Matthew 25:10 is the marriage dinner of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9), which will be held in the air (1 Thes. 4:17) during the Lord’s coming, His parousia. It will occur before the manifestation of the kingdom as a reward of mutual enjoyment with the Lord to the believers who are ready, who have been equipped with the fullness of the Holy Spirit before they die.

　　After those who are ready go in with the Bridegroom to the marriage feast, the door is shut. This is not the door of salvation, but the door to enter into the enjoyment of the Lord’s marriage feast. (Life-study of Matthew, p. 753)

　　For us to be qualified to be raptured to enter into the Bridegroom’s wedding feast requires our passing through a long period of accumulating the spiritual oil. From the time you become a Christian, you should buy the oil to be deposited in your vessel every day.

　　The Christian life is not a matter of legalities... [but of] our buying of the oil….To receive the Holy Spirit into our spirit, our lamp, is free. But to have the Spirit saturating our soul is not free….You must pay the price in dealing with your soul.

　　We need to pray from the time that we wake up every morning, “Lord, I do not like to do anything that is not under my being watchful, that is not under my buying of the oil. I like to buy the oil at any time and in any instance. Otherwise, that will be a waste of my time.” This should be our prayer and even our prayerful attitude, ... [to] spend all [our] time to be in the spirit.

　　We have the Holy Spirit in our regenerated spirit, but there is a question as to whether or not we have an extra portion of the Holy Spirit in our soul, saturating our being. The problem was not with the lamps of the virgins. Even the lamps of the five foolish virgins were burning. The fact that their lamps were “going out” (Matt. 25:8) proves that their lamps were lighted, having oil in them, but not having an adequate supply. They did not have the extra portion of the oil in their vessels.

　　Matthew 25:8 [indicates that]... after resurrection the foolish believers discovered that they were short of the Spirit of God and needed the fullness of the Spirit of God….They [did] not have an extra portion of the Spirit in their vessel, in their soul, their being. Then the foolish ones begged the prudent ones to help by giving them some oil. “But the prudent answered, saying, Perhaps there will not be enough for us and for you; go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves” (v. 9). We should not forget that this conversation takes place after all the believers have been resurrected…. [Many believers] were short of the Spirit all the time during their life, but they were befuddled and stupefied. When they are resurrected, they will discover their shortage, but then it will be too late. They have to go and buy for themselves. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “The Way to Practice the Lord’s Present Move,” pp. 528-529, 501-502)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Matthew, msg. 64