Our growth in life will determine the time of our maturity. If we grow in life and, like the wise virgins, have the extra portion of oil in our vessel and have been transformed, we shall mature earlier. While our growth in life determines whether or not we mature early, our work, our exercise, and our use of the talent determines whether or not we share in the Lord’s kingship. The Lord said to the servant with the five talents, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matt. 25:21). This is to be a co-king with the Lord Jesus and to enjoy the real rest, the Sabbath during the millennial kingdom. According to Luke 19:17, the Lord said, “Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.” In the millennial kingdom, some will rule over ten cities and others over five cities (Luke 19:19). You may not only be a mayor of one city but a governor of ten cities. Although we may not be clear about all the details, no one can argue with the principle here.
While in the parables we only have the principles, in Revelation 2:26-27 we have the details. Here we are told, “He that overcometh, and keepeth my work unto the end, to him will I give authority over the nations: and he shall rule them with the rod of iron” (Gk.). The nations on earth surely need to be ruled by us. When the Lord Jesus returns, He will assign us to rule over all the nations. In that day there will be no more nonsensical talk. Everyone will talk rightly because they will be under the proper ruling. Who will rule over them? We, the people who have been disciplined. Do you believe that all the rulers today are the proper persons? Some of them smoke, drink, and gamble. How could they be the proper rulers? The whole earth is waiting and groaning to be released from the improper rulers. The earth will be released from that kind of rule when the Lord Jesus comes back. Why has the Lord Jesus not yet returned? Because we have not yet been disciplined. If He were to come back today, whom would He assign to rule over the nations?
The word talent in Matthew 25 is the equivalent of the word gift in the Epistles. Paul told Timothy to “stir up the gift of God which is in thee” (2 Tim. 1:6). In life we need to grow, and in work we need to exercise our gift. The parable of the ten virgins reveals our need of transformation by the life-giving Spirit, and the parable of the talents reveals our need to have the proper exercise of the spiritual gifts. We all need to be transformed by the extra portion of oil in our vessel, and we all need to exercise our gift to gain some profit for the Lord. We need to grow on the one hand and make profit in God’s economy on the other. Our growth will determine the time of our maturity, and the exercise of our gifts will determine the position we will share with Christ in the millennial kingdom. If we do not mature and exercise our gifts, we shall miss the early rapture and the enjoyment of reigning with Christ. Matthew 25 speaks of “the joy of thy lord” (vv. 21, 23). Undoubtedly, this joy is the rest in the Sabbath during the coming kingdom.
The slothful, one-talented servant will not only miss the enjoyment of being a co-king with Christ during the millennial kingdom, but he will also have some suffering. If there is to be no suffering, there would have been no mention of “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 25:30), which are signs of the suffering of some punishment. This is not eternal perdition; it is our Father’s wise discipline.
Both the church age and the kingdom age are parts of the period of God’s accomplishment for the fulfillment of His purpose. The period of God’s accomplishment will not be over until the end of the millennium. Hence, God’s dealing with us. His discipline over us, may not necessarily be in the church age, but may also wisely be in the coming kingdom age. At the end of the millennium, God’s eternal purpose will have been accomplished, the new heaven and the new earth with the New Jerusalem will be ushered in, and then there will be no more dealings, no more discipline of God. I must repeat this because many Christians have the wrong concept that as long as the Lord comes back, and we are resurrected, everything will be all right and all Christians will share the reign in the millennial kingdom. Whether or not we will reign with Christ during the millennium depends on how we are doing now. Our Lord is sovereign, having a way to ripen us and make us mature. It we do not ripen in this age, He will see to it that we ripen in the next.
After the foolish virgins discovered that they were lacking in oil, they were told to pay the price and buy it for themselves (Matt. 25:8-9). Salvation is free, but transformation is not. We must pay for it. If we do not pay the price today, we shall have to pay it in the future. No one can pay it for us. According to the parable of the ten virgins, even after the Lord’s coming back, and even after our resurrection, the foolish ones will still have to pay the price to gain the extra portion of oil in their vessel. It is not, as the Calvinists say, that the five wise virgins were saved and that the five foolish ones were false Christians. That is an escape. We must take Matthew 25 in a very serious way. If we do not pay the price to gain the oil in the church age today, we shall have to pay it after the Lord comes back and we are resurrected in the future. This is the principle. This is not my concept or my teaching; it is the revelation of the pure word in the Holy Bible. Many Christians select verses according to their choice and taste, choosing verses that suit their natural concept, not daring to touch these verses in Matthew 25. How damaging that is! They are deceiving themselves and others. The wise virgins and the faithful servants shall enter into a Sabbath rest that is better than the Sabbath rest which we know today. Although we are enjoying a good Sabbath in the church age, it is not as good as the Sabbath to come in the kingdom age. Entering into the Lord’s joy is to enter into the Sabbath rest with the Lord in the millennial kingdom. When the Lord looks at all the overcomers, He will be satisfied and enter into His Sabbath rest. If we are among the overcomers, we shall enter into that rest with Him.