2023-08-29 16:30:26
As the days go by, more and more Christians have the feeling that the return of Jesus Christ is imminent, given the events that point to the fulfillment of biblical prophecies, also, in our generation. This is something Pastor Douglas Gonçalves, founder of the JesusCopy movement, has no doubt about.
In a video posted on the JesusCopy channel, Gonçalves highlighted chapter 24 of the book of Matthew as fundamental to understanding the last days before the second coming of Jesus.
Speaking about the parables of the servants, the ten virgins and the talents, the pastor explains that they all symbolize the position of the Church, precisely each Christian, in the face of the last events that mark the return of Jesus.
“They are like a sieve”, he explains, “those who are not very interested stay in the middle of the road and those interested remain”. Gonçalves recalls that, just as the disciples of Jesus were very concerned with the figure of a common enemy, it is currently no different with Christians.
However, the pastor alerts to the fact that the great enemy is temptations and sin. “They did not understand that their enemy was not Rome, but sin, hell and sinful flesh. Even if Jesus ended Rome, sin would continue in the Romans, in other peoples and in themselves, ”he teaches.
I prepare individual
Citing the parable of the ten virgins, Gonçalves emphasized the need for each Christian to be individually prepared for the return of Jesus. Even in communion with the Church, this is an individual responsibility, according to the pastor.
“All were virgins, that is, they had a separate life. The parable is not talking about the people of the world, but about Christians,” he says. “Everyone’s lamp was lit, the ten were burning and waiting for the bridegroom to return. The question is not who will start burning, but who will burn until the end”.
The oil needed for the lamp to remain lit, in this case, symbolizes individual communion with God, something that is reinforced by the relationship with the Church, in community, but which must also be observed individually, since it is something non-transferable.
“The five ‘mad’ or foolish brides were side by side with the prudent ones and it didn’t help at all, because oil cannot be borrowed. That is, it is not enough to walk with someone who burns for Jesus. The oil is individual, you have to accumulate yours”.
According to the pastor, rejection of the world is the way to accumulate oil. Every Christian, in this case, needs to know how to say “no” to sin, in order to keep his lamp burning, until the return of Jesus is fulfilled.
“Prudent brides had reserve oil. The time to accumulate oil is now. Have the desire to be ‘the friend of the bridegroom’ to watch and announce throughout the land: ‘Behold the bridegroom’. Get ready because the Lord is coming back, keep the lamp burning”, he concludes. Watch:
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