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NOTE: This article or series has not been updated recently. As such, it may possibly contain some outdated information, and/or ideas and beliefs which I no longer embrace, or which have changed to some degree.



Continuing our discussion from part three, let me also call your attention to the fact that in the verse that I shared with you earlier, the Apostle Paul writes "ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise". As I point out in the article entitled "Are You Saved and Sealed and Healed and Filled?", the Scriptures inform us that not only are we filled with the Holy Spirit, but we are sealed by the same as well. This same concept regarding being sealed is also mentioned in the following verses which were also written by the Apostle Paul:

"Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts."


"And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."


Derived from the Greek word "sphragizo", the word "sealed" has a variety of meanings. It means to seal something for the purpose of protection, such as from Satan, for example. It also means to confirm or authenticate something. In this case, being sealed with the Holy Spirit appears to signify that we belong to Jesus and our Heavenly Father, because He willingly paid the ransom price for our Redemption. As we saw in part three, the Apostle Paul wrote in his Epistle to the Ephesians that Jesus purchased us with His own Blood. As a result, we are His possessions. Therefore, Satan has absolutely no rights over us whatsoever. We are actually God's untouchables insofar as our Salvation is concerned. Consider the following verses which confirm these points:

"Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."


"For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."


"Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood."


"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."


"Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men."


"In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory."


"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."


Regarding this same topic concerning being sealed by God, As I discuss in the article called "The Woman in the Wilderness and the 144,000", you may recall that in the seventh chapter of the Book of Revelation, we are informed that 144,000 of the servants of the Lord are sealed prior to God releasing His Wrath upon the inhabitants of the Earth. Consider these verses:

"And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand."


Concerning those people who have not accepted Jesus Christ, and thus who are not sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise, their fate is not something which any wise person would want to bring upon themselves, as we see by the following verses:

"And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads."


Having now shared with you the deep spiritual significance that is concealed within Jesus' Parable of the Ten Virgins, it is time to conclude this series by sharing with you the final two verses which truly serve as the icing on the cake. The verses I am about to share with you clearly confirm why the Lord rejected those Five Foolish Virgins, why He told them "Verily I say unto you, I know you not", and why He would not allow them in the door after it had been closed.

We have seen that the clay oil lamps represent our very own bodies of flesh. We have also seen that the oil in the lamps symbolizes God's Spirit. We know from the Scriptures that the Holy Spirit is only imparted to those people who accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. In fact, in the New Testament, it is often referred to as the Spirit of Christ. Finally, we know that it is through the Power of that same Spirit, that God's saved children witness their faith to the world. These two verses inform us how we know that Christ truly dwells in us, and they also inform us of the consequences of not being saved, and not having the Spirit of Christ:

"Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit."


"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his."


Let me emphasize that final thought for you:

". . . if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his."

Isn't that simple enough for anyone to understand? The Five Foolish Virgins did not have any oil. They did not have the Spirit of Christ. The reason why they did not have Christ's Spirit, is because they had rejected Him and were not even saved. They apparently thought that they were saved -- just as the proud, self-righteous Scribes and Pharisees were also of the belief that they were righteous, and were saved as a result of their supposed good works and adhering to the Laws of Moses -- however, those Five Foolish Virgins were in fact not saved. That is why the Bridegroom rejected them. He did not know them, and He didn't recognize them as His own sheep. They were not sealed with the Spirit. As we learned in part one, if they had been His own, He would have never rejected them by any means, yet He did.

Think about that for a moment. Even after the Bridegroom left so that he could attend the Marriage Feast, the Five Foolish Virgins still had sufficient time to purchase their oil. They could have been just as ready as the Five Wise Virgins. They could have easily accepted Christ while the Bridegroom was absent. Sadly, they did not do that. They thought that they had all the time in the world to make a decision for Christ, and so they procrastinated. To their shock and surprise, the Bridegroom returned unexpectedly in the middle of the night, and they were simply caught unprepared. It was no one's fault but their own.

What about you, dear friend? Are you likewise still sitting on the fence trying to decide about this Christian faith? Do you still need to be convinced that it is all that it says it is? I know and realize myself that there is a lot within modern Christianity which, quite frankly, is really messed up. There is rampant hypocrisy, greed, falsehood, pride and self-righteousness, doctrinal division and infighting, sexual perversions of every kind, and other sins. It is shameful and discouraging to see what has become of our faith in these modern times.

As a result, you may think that you have valid reasons for rejecting it. You may feel totally justified in your decision to remain at arms length. However, let me tell you something. No matter how bad Christianity may look on the outside, and regardless of how it is presented to the world by Believers, it still doesn't do one thing to change God's immutable Word, and the truths which are contained in His Word. As we have already seen, that truth reveals that we are all sinners who are in need of a Savior. That truth reveals that Jesus Christ is that Savior. That truth plainly declares that it is only by accepting His loving Sacrifice as the Final Atonement for our sins, and by symbolically being washed in His Blood, that we can be cleansed of our sins, become the recipients of our Heavenly Father's Grace and Mercy, and thus be saved. These truths remain eternal.

God has His time for all of us. His Spirit works in each of our lives at different times, in different ways, and also on different levels. Whether or not now is your time, is really not for me to say. However, as this series has now revealed to you, the last thing that you really want to do is to wait too long, and to procrastinate in your personal decision to accept Jesus Christ. As we learned in part three, one really never knows when his time is up on this planet. We may think that we still have all the time in the world, but you just never know. If, on the other hand, you sense that now is in fact your time to accept Jesus Christ, I invite you to say a simple prayer, such as the following, in which you personally acknowledge your sinful condition, your need for a Savior, and in which you accept Jesus as your Savior. You don't need to say these exact words. This prayer is simply meant to serve as an example:

"Heavenly Father, I know that I am not perfect. I admit that I have made my share of mistakes. I know that I am a sinner. I believe that Jesus is your Son, and that He gave His life on the Cross for my sins. Heavenly Father, I ask You to please forgive me for my sins through the Sacrifice of Your Son, and to grant me Eternal Life. Please fill my life with Your Spirit, and help me to understand Your Word, the Bible. As I do, help me to submit myself to Your Will for my life; help me to live a life which is pleasing in your sight; and as much as is within me, help me to also begin telling others about Your Son, Jesus, so that they may have Eternal Life as well. Thank you Father for hearing my prayer. In Your Son, Jesus's name, I humbly ask. Amen."

With these thoughts, I will bring this article to a close. It is my hope that you have found it informative, enlightening, and I pray that it has been a blessing in your life as well. If you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or with any other social network, I would really appreciate if you'd take the time to click or tap on the corresponding link that is found on this page. Thanks so much, and may God bless you abundantly!

For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were either mentioned in this article, or which contain topics which are related to this article. All of these articles are likewise located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.

For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were also mentioned in this series, or which are related to this series, and which are likewise located on this very same Bill's Bible Basics website.

A Treasure in Earthen Vessels: Promise of the Spirit
Are You a Burning Ember for the Lord?
Are You Saved and Sealed and Healed and Filled?
Dead to the Law: God's Laws Written on Our Hearts
Humility in Our Understanding of God's Word
Many Are Called, But Few Are Chosen
Message to the World
Not Everyone is a Child of God
Once Upon a Time: A True Story
OSAS: Are We Once Saved Always Saved?
Parable of the Sower: Salvation and Service
Rightly Divide the Word of Truth
Study, Work and Don't Be Ashamed
The Children of Light: Are You One of Us?
The Woman in the Wilderness and the 144,000
This Little Light, Glory of the Lord and Our Bright Future

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Please avail yourself of other areas of the Bill's Bible Basics website. There are many treasures for you to discover.