In John 3:5-6 (Amplified) Jesus says, "I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, unless a man is born of water and (even) the Spirit, he cannot (ever) the Kingdom of God. What is born of (from) the flesh is flesh (of the physical is physical); and what is born of the Spirit is spirit."
Without the Holy Spirit, no man can be born again. One of the great movements and work of the Holy Spirit, comes during what we refer to as the "tribulation hour." Revelations 7:9-17 (Amplified) tells us, "After this I looked and a vast host appeared- which no man could count, (gathered out) of every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages. These stood before the throne and before the Lamb; they were attired in white robes, with palm branches in their hands. In loud voice they cried, saying, (Our) salvation is due to our God, Who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb (to them we owe our deliverance)! And all the angels were standing round the throne and round the elders (of the heavenly Sanhedrin) and the four living creatures, and they fell prostrate before the throne and worshiped God." Verses 12-17 go on, "Amen (so be it) they cried, blessing and glory and majesty and splendor and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and might (be ascribed) to our God to the ages and ages (forever and ever, throughout the eternities of the eternities) Amen! (so be it)! Then, addressing me, one of the elders (of the heavenly Sanhedrin) said, Who are these (people) clothed in long white robes? And from where have they come? I replied, Sir, you know. And he said to me, These are they who have come out of the great tribulation (persecution) and have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb. For this reason they are (now) before the (very) throne of God and serve Him day and night in His sanctuary (temple). And He Who is sitting upon the throne will protect and spread His tabernacle over and shelter them with His presence. They shall hunger no more neither thirst anymore; neither shall the sun smite them, nor any scorching heat For the Lamb Who is in the midst of the throne will be their Shepherd, and He will guide them to the springs of the waters of life; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
God showed John( and us), the power of the "incorruptible" Seed of the Word of God. We are also shown above, the power of God's love and His forgiveness. The Holy Spirit is operating in the midst of the "tribulation," to bring about the new birth and deliverance available to those left behind after the rapture of the Church. Some of these persons might be the "five foolish virgins" from Jesus' parable in Matthew 25:1-13.
I believe that these five virgins represent part of the Church. The very fact that they were virgins waiting for the Bridegroom, indicates they were to be at the wedding. Some however, seem to "burn out" or simply cease seeking and following the Bridegroom. Referring to them as "backslidden" isn't a popular description these days, nonetheless, these virgins "ran out of oil" before the Bridegroom arrived. Jesus showed up while they were "trying to get it together."
Revelations 7:14 (Amplified) says, "Who are these (this great multitude that could not be numbered)? And He said to me, These are they who have come out of the great tribulations (persecution) and have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb."
Ephesians 5:25-27 (Amplified) says, "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her. So that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word. That He might present the Church to Himself in glorious splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such things (that she might be holy and faultless)."
I often wondered why those coming out of the great tribulation would need to wash their robes. When we received the robe of righteousness, it was already clean, so why would it need to be cleansed? Could it be that these are the foolish virgins who ran out of oil and missed the call of the Bridegroom? Praise God that the Holy Spirit could still reach them and that people received the Spirit even during the tribulation. Personally, I would rather be part of the wise virgins and maintain the oil in my lamp, thus skipping the tribulation.
One of the greatest harvest to be reaped by the Holy Spirit, is the one in Revelations 7:9-11. In the middle of history's worst period, the love of God, through His Spirit continues in the quest to make "My House shall be full." In Matthew 22:8-10 (Amplified) Jesus says, "The wedding (feast) is prepared, but those invited were not worthy. So go to the thoroughfares where they leave the city ( where the main roads and those from the country end) and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find. And those servants went out on the crossroads and got together as many as they found, both good and bad, so (the room in which) the wedding feast was held) was filled with guests."
He went on to say in Verse 14, "For many are called (invited and summoned) but few are chosen. I cannot stress enough how we must make sure our lamps have plenty of oil (the Holy Spirit) to run us until our Bridegroom returns. They Holy Spirit will never cease to bring forth Truth, Light and the Knowledge of salvation, even in the midst of the great tribulation. But, it's far better to be ready when Jesus comes back.
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