BIBLE STUDY #227 – SUNDAY, AUGUST 07, 2022
TITLE: THE MYSTERY OF THE FOOLISH VIRGINS AND THE WISE VIRGINS
Dr. William Soto Santiago
September 11, 1997
San Miguel, El Salvador
Scripture: Matthew 25:1-13
COME AND SEE
Dr. William Soto Santiago
Friday, January 31, 1975
Ponce, Puerto Rico
The wise virgins and the foolish virgins… And I want to clarify this, this little word “fatuous” (it sounds a little ugly, doesn’t it?). The prophet almost never uses it, or never; he says “sleeping virgins.” I was looking for that word: “fatuous,” because it is the word that has been applied to this group of virgins.
Both groups are virgins, they are, in the Kingdom of Heaven…
In the Kingdom of Heaven!, not the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of the devil. “The Kingdom of Heaven is likened unto ten virgins.”1 See? The ten are of God, they belong to the Kingdom of Heaven; but five are wise and five are sleeping virgins.
I looked up that little word (“fatuous”) in a dictionary; then, what that word says, one meaning is “fatuous,” but another meaning is “foolish”: foolish. So they are really foolish virgins, naive virgins.
Why? Because when they heard the Word, instead of holding on to the Word even if nobody else believed it and received it, they started waiting for So-and-so or So-and-so: “If he says amen to that, I say amen.” That is to be a fool. Because when you see that it is the Word, you don’t have to count on anybody to see if you believe it or not. The only thing you can do is what the children of God always do: Say amen! to the Word.
BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO DID NOT SEE AND BELIEVED
Dr. William Soto Santiago
Sunday, January 12, 1975
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Among the small group that loved the Lord, for not being present when he had to be, one was filled with unbelief, the devil filled him with unbelief.
Do you see how important it is to be where all the Lord’s people are? Do you see in these tremendous days, with so much unbelief, how important it is to be all together? Then, we see that being all together, the Lord appears to us revealing His Word, speaking to our hearts, showing us the things that we have to see in this time.
So, we see that Thomas wasn’t there when he was supposed to be, and the Lord had already revealed Himself to them a few times. For not being there, he was full of unbelief over there; and when he heard about what they had seen and heard about the Lord revealing Himself to them again, Thomas, one of the eleven… Notice: Out of twelve there were eleven left; out of eleven, one of them was full of unbelief.
So we see the picture of that time; and knowing that we are again in that span of time of waiting for the fullness of God, as they were awaiting for the Holy Spirit; then we see that any brother —even being of the chosen ones— neglects himself, ceases to have fellowship with one another, and to be present where he should be: then, instead of being filled with faith, what does he fill himself with? Unbelief.
What happens then? When he hears of what God has done, when he hears of the Lord revealing Himself in the midst of His people, how He is revealing Himself: “Uh-uh. If I don’t see, I don’t believe it. If I don’t see, I don’t believe.”
Then, by chance, or already hearing so much that they had talked about the Lord being resurrected and that He had already appeared a few times, Thomas was in one of the disciples’ services. Notice, Thomas, one from the people, had gone away; he had gone away in the midst of that difficult time; and now, when he comes back again, he comes back full of unbelief. So, when he came back, he was there, but full of unbelief.
(…) Do you know that Thomas represents, typifies, the foolish virgins? Do you know that the prophet says that when the foolish virgins see in the midst of the chosen ones, in the midst of the genuine Bride…?
But remember, Thomas was one of the group, he was there with them, he was one of the eleven; he had seen God manifested in the flesh, he knew that He was the Messiah.
Oh! This brings the foolish virgins into our midst. This brings the foolish virgins also knowing and knowing God manifested in the flesh. This brings that group…, though they are of God: they are not lost; but it brings them into the midst of the elect. But that, when the Lord reveals Himself, and they hear about the revelation of the Lord in the midst of His people, they can’t believe, unless they see and touch.
(…) If one begins to speak against it, there comes the cause for any name to be blotted out; for in speaking against something which one doesn’t understand, being the truth, there it is that he enters into blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. That is why when one doesn’t understand something: shut your mouth and you do it better.
Doesn’t the Bible say that in many words there is always sin?2 And one of the greatest sins would be the greatest of all: blaspheming the Holy Spirit.
So, we see that any person, even if he is written there, can be blotted out if he falls into that fault.
(…) I can’t tell you that you are one of the wise or the foolish ones… When I say “foolish” people always get scared, and that… No. By “foolish” it means that you are from the other group of virgins —all are virgins— but that you are not in the section of those chosen for the rapture, and that you will have to spend some more days here, after the chosen ones leave; but that you will gladly die for what you have believed; and you will also be there, in that great day after the Millennium.
(…) God is going to let us all know to which group we belong; and He is going to let us know in such a simple way that each one of us will grab hold of the Word.
Do you think that…? For example, if I knew that I had to go through the tribulation, do you think that I would leave the Message?, do you think that I would get discouraged? That is when I have to have more courage! Because I know that what awaits me is a little bit hard, and I have to feed myself well with that Word, and I have to strengthen myself well. And if I used to be late for the services, uh!, now even less so! Now I have to be better prepared to… that when I preach: to grasp everything.
What if I read a booklet during the month, and when the other one arrived, I still hadn’t finished one, humph! Now: “What is happening that they don’t bring me the other one?” What if “it hasn’t arrived yet,” so I take and read another one of the ones I already read. Why? Storing the Word there, getting ready; because the days to come are bad.
So this wouldn’t take away my spirits; it would give me more spirits. Because then I have to be better prepared to stay, so that the name is not going to be erased. And if one has children… and if one has children, then he has to be much more prepared even to be willing to let his children starve to death, but not let the name be erased from there.
COME AND SEE
Dr. William Soto Santiago
Friday, January 31, 1975
Ponce, Puerto Rico
The prophet says that they will see; but he says that when they see the things that were promised to be done, with THUS SAITH THE LORD, then they will recognize, see?
Now, we know that this will happen; and things always happen or start somewhere. Hopefully this part will also begin in Puerto Rico. We would also be blessed that all these things begin here. That both groups recognize their position, and both groups recognize each other, and both groups are arm in arm with each other. Because this doesn’t mean that because one belongs to the wise virgins group, and the other to the other group, that doesn’t mean that they will put on the gloves and will be speaking against each other; no.
THE CALL TO ASCEND
Dr. William Soto Santiago
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Cayey, Puerto Rico
Therefore, at the Last Day those who will ascend will be blessed, because they will be listening: THUS SAITH THE LORD JESUS CHRIST in the midst of His Church and in His Church, in the Last Day, in the Golden Age of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And He will be giving them the faith, the revelation, to be transformed and taken with Christ to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. That is where the Seventh Seal will also be revealed, will be opened, to the believers in Christ.
And it is at that stage of the Church where the Vision of the Tent Cathedral that was shown to the Reverend William Branham will also be fulfilled. And it is there that the Third Pull will also be fulfilled, which will be for the Church-Bride of the Lord Jesus Christ, it will be for (of course) the wise virgins; it will also be for the foolish virgins (which will go through the great tribulation); and it will also be for the world.
In other words, that Third Pull will cover all mankind; and, therefore, it will also be for the Jews.
It is in the fulfillment of the Tent Vision where the Holy Spirit will be speaking. And every believer in Christ will be there hearing the Voice of Christ, the Voice of the Angel of the Covenant, the Voice of the Holy Spirit; and will be receiving the faith to be transformed and taken with Christ to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
And there it will also be that the Jews will be hearing the Voice of the Angel of the Covenant, the Voice of God, the Voice of the Holy Spirit, making known all these things, and doing all the things that He said He will be doing in the fulfillment of the Tent Vision. That is when the Jews will say: “This is the one we have been waiting for. This is what we were waiting for.”
All that will be in the fulfillment of the Third Pull, where the Word, which is the Sword of the Spirit, will be being manifested in all His fullness; and making known all these things that must happen soon, and thus giving us the faith to be transformed and taken with Christ to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb; opening the Seventh Seal to us, and therefore, giving us the faith to be transformed.
The Seventh Seal is the Coming of the Lord, the Second Coming of Christ.
Printed in Puerto Rico
1 Matthew 25:1
2 Proverbs 10:19