Thematic Bible


Thematic Bible



"Then will the Kingdom of the Heavens be found to be like ten bridesmaids who took their torches and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. For the foolish, when they took their torches, did not provide themselves with oil; read more.
but the wise, besides their torches, took oil in their flasks. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, so that meanwhile they all became drowsy and fell asleep. But at midnight there is a loud cry, "'The bridegroom! Go out and meet him!' "Then all those bridesmaids roused themselves and trimmed their torches. "'Give us some of your oil,' said the foolish ones to the wise, 'for our torches are going out.' "'But perhaps,' replied the wise, 'there will not be enough for all of us. Go to the shops rather, and buy some for yourselves.' "So they went to buy. But meanwhile the bridegroom came; those bridesmaids who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. "Afterwards the other bridesmaids came and cried, "'Sir, Sir, open the door to us.' "'In solemn truth I tell you,' he replied, 'I do not know you.' "Keep awake therefore; for you know neither the day nor the hour.

Take care, be on the alert, and pray; for you do not know when it will happen. It is like a man living abroad who has left his house, and given the management to his servants--to each one his special duty--and has ordered the porter to keep awake. Be wakeful therefore, for you know not when the master of the house is coming--in the evening, at midnight, at cock-crow, or at dawn. read more.
Beware lest He should arrive unexpectedly and find you asleep. Moreover, what I say to you I say to all--Be wakeful!"

"Have your girdles on, and let your lamps be alight; and be yourselves like men waiting for their master--on the look-out till he shall return from the wedding feast--that, when he comes and knocks, they may open the door instantly. Blessed are those servants, whom their Master when He comes shall find on the watch. I tell you in solemn truth, that He will tie an apron round Him, and will bid them recline at table while He comes and waits on them. read more.
And whether it be in the second watch or in the third that He comes and finds them so, blessed are they. Of this be sure, that if the master of the house had known what time the robber was coming, he would have kept awake and not have allowed his house to be broken into. Be you also ready, for at an hour when you are not expecting Him the Son of Man will come."

As they were listening to His words, He went on to teach them by a parable, because He was near to Jerusalem and they supposed that the Kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. So He said to them, "A man of noble family travelled to a distant country to obtain the rank of king, and to return. And he called ten of his servants and gave each of them a pound, instructing them to trade with the money during his absence. read more.
"Now his countrymen hated him, and sent a deputation after him to say, 'We are not willing that he should become our king.' And upon his return, after he had obtained the sovereignty, he ordered those servants to whom he had given the money to be summoned before him, that he might learn their success in trading. "So the first came and said, "'Sir, your pound has produced ten pounds more.' "'Well done, good servant,' he replied; 'because you have been faithful in a very small matter, be in authority over ten towns.' "The second came, and said, "'Your pound, Sir, has produced five pounds.' "So he said to this one also, "'And you, be the governor of five towns.' "The next came. "'Sir,' he said, 'here is your pound, which I have kept wrapt up in a cloth. For I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man: you take up what you did not lay down, and you reap what you did not sow.' "'By your own words,' he replied, 'I will judge you, you bad servant. You knew me to be a severe man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow: why then did you not put my money into a bank, that when I came I might have received it back with interest? "And he said to those who stood by, "'Take the pound from him and give it to him who has the ten pounds.' ("They said to him, "`Sir, he already has ten pounds.') "'I tell you that to every one who has anything, more shall be given; and from him who has not anything, even what he has shall be taken away. But as for those enemies of mine who were unwilling that I should become their king, bring them here, and cut them to pieces in my presence.'"

And He spoke a parable to them. "See," He said, "the fig-tree and all the trees. As soon as they have shot out their leaves, you know at a glance that summer is now near. So also, when you see these things happening, you may be sure that the Kingdom of God is near. read more.
I tell you in solemn truth that the present generation will certainly not pass away without all these things having first taken place. Earth and sky will pass away, but it is certain that my words will not pass away. "But take heed to yourselves, lest your souls be weighed down with self-indulgence and drunkenness or the anxieties of this life, and that day come upon you, suddenly, like a falling trap; for it will come on all dwellers on the face of the whole earth. But beware of slumbering; and every moment pray that you may be fully strengthened to escape from all these coming evils, and to take your stand in the presence of the Son of Man."








For we have no permanent city here, but we are longing for the city which is soon to be ours. Verse ConceptsDecayCitySociety, Positive Aspects OfDeath, Preparation ForCitizens, HeavenlyThe Future AgeCity Of GodCitizensseeking



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"Have your girdles on, and let your lamps be alight; and be yourselves like men waiting for their master--on the look-out till he shall return from the wedding feast--that, when he comes and knocks, they may open the door instantly. Blessed are those servants, whom their Master when He comes shall find on the watch. I tell you in solemn truth, that He will tie an apron round Him, and will bid them recline at table while He comes and waits on them.
















"Have your girdles on, and let your lamps be alight; and be yourselves like men waiting for their master--on the look-out till he shall return from the wedding feast--that, when he comes and knocks, they may open the door instantly. Blessed are those servants, whom their Master when He comes shall find on the watch. I tell you in solemn truth, that He will tie an apron round Him, and will bid them recline at table while He comes and waits on them. read more.
And whether it be in the second watch or in the third that He comes and finds them so, blessed are they. Of this be sure, that if the master of the house had known what time the robber was coming, he would have kept awake and not have allowed his house to be broken into. Be you also ready, for at an hour when you are not expecting Him the Son of Man will come."















"So they went to buy. But meanwhile the bridegroom came; those bridesmaids who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Verse ConceptsFolly, Effects OfDoorsBanquets, Events CelebratedExclusionShutting SecurelyShutting The KingdomAttitudes While Waiting For Second Coming

Be wakeful therefore, for you know not when the master of the house is coming--in the evening, at midnight, at cock-crow, or at dawn. Verse ConceptsHourLast ThingsNightCrowsSleep, Warnings AgainstMidnightDaybreakIgnorance Of Christ’s ReturnAt DaybreakThe Time UnknownAttitudes While Waiting For Second Coming


"Have your girdles on, and let your lamps be alight; and be yourselves like men waiting for their master--on the look-out till he shall return from the wedding feast--that, when he comes and knocks, they may open the door instantly.

"Injure neither land nor sea nor trees," he said, "until we have sealed the bondservants of our God upon their foreheads." Verse ConceptsForeheadsRestraintDivine Protection, Examples OfHarming TreesSlaves Of GodhurtingChristians Are Called Servants Of God

And they promise them freedom, although they are themselves the slaves of what is corrupt. For a man is the slave of any one by whom he has been worsted in fight. Verse ConceptsFreedom, Abuse Of ChristianAddictionsBondage, SpiritualSlavery, SpiritualCaptivity, MetaphoricallyEvil And FreedomPeople PromisingSlave Or FreeSubject To EvilAddictionChristian LibertyslaveryFreedomOvercomingcorruptionMoral Decay


As for us Apostles, let any one take this view of us--we are Christ's officers, and stewards of God's secret truths. Verse ConceptsApostles, Function In Early ChurchBeing A ServantSecrecyMinisters, Description OfResponsibilityVolunteeringMoney Managementsecrets


"Who therefore is the loyal and intelligent servant to whom his master has entrusted the control of his household to give them their rations at the appointed time? Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes shall find so doing! In solemn truth I tell you that he will give him the management of all his wealth. read more.
But if the man, being a bad servant, should say in his heart, 'My master is a long time in coming,' and should begin to beat his fellow servants, while he eats and drinks with drunkards; the master of that servant will arrive on a day when he is not expecting him and at an hour of which he has not been informed; he will treat him with the utmost severity and assign him a place among the hypocrites: there will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.




"Have your girdles on, and let your lamps be alight; and be yourselves like men waiting for their master--on the look-out till he shall return from the wedding feast--that, when he comes and knocks, they may open the door instantly. Blessed are those servants, whom their Master when He comes shall find on the watch. I tell you in solemn truth, that He will tie an apron round Him, and will bid them recline at table while He comes and waits on them. read more.
And whether it be in the second watch or in the third that He comes and finds them so, blessed are they. Of this be sure, that if the master of the house had known what time the robber was coming, he would have kept awake and not have allowed his house to be broken into. Be you also ready, for at an hour when you are not expecting Him the Son of Man will come." "Master," said Peter, "are you addressing this parable to us, or to all alike?" "Who, then," replied the Lord, "is the faithful and intelligent steward whom his Master will put in charge of His household to serve out their rations at the proper times? Blessed is that servant whom his Master when He comes shall find so doing. I tell you truly that He will put him in authority over all His possessions. But if that servant should say in his heart, 'My Master is a long time in coming,' and should begin to beat the menservants and the maids, and to eat and drink, drinking even to excess; that servant's Master will come on a day when he is not expecting Him and at an hour that he knows not of, and will punish him severely, and make him share the lot of the unfaithful. And that servant who has been told his Master's will and yet made no preparation and did not obey His will, will receive many lashes. But he who had not been told it and yet did what deserved the scourge, will receive but few lashes. To whomsoever much has been given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been entrusted, of him a larger amount will be demanded.

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But which of you who has a servant ploughing, or tending sheep, will say to him when he comes in from the farm, 'Come at once and take your place at table,' and will not rather say to him, 'Get my dinner ready, make yourself tidy, and wait upon me till I have finished my dinner, and then you shall have yours'? Does he thank the servant for obeying his orders?

and you shall know the Truth, and the Truth will make you free." "We are descendants of Abraham," they answered, "and have never at any time been in slavery to any one. What do those words of yours mean, 'You shall become free'?" "In most solemn truth I tell you," replied Jesus, "that every one who commits sin is the slave of sin. read more.
Now a slave does not remain permanently in his master's house, but a son does.

Do you not know that if you surrender yourselves as bondservants to obey any one, you become the bondservants of him whom you obey, whether the bondservants of Sin (with death as the result) But thanks be to God that though you were once in thraldom to Sin, you have now yielded a hearty obedience to that system of truth in which you have been instructed. You were set free from the tyranny of Sin, and became the bondservants of Righteousness-- read more.
your human infirmity leads me to employ these familiar figures--and just as you once surrendered your faculties into bondage to Impurity and ever-increasing disregard of Law, so you must now surrender them into bondage to Righteousness ever advancing towards perfect holiness. For when you were the bondservants of sin, you were under no sort of subjection to Righteousness. At that time, then, what benefit did you get from conduct which you now regard with shame? Why, such things finally result in death. But now that you have been set free from the tyranny of Sin, and have become the bondservants of God, you have your reward in being made holy, and you have the Life of the Ages as the final result.

Were you a slave when God called you? Let not that weigh on your mind. And yet if you can get your freedom, take advantage of the opportunity. For a Christian, if he was a slave when called, is the Lord's freed man, and in the same way a free man, if called, becomes the slave of Christ. You have all been redeemed at infinite cost: do not become slaves to men.

"Have your girdles on, and let your lamps be alight; and be yourselves like men waiting for their master--on the look-out till he shall return from the wedding feast--that, when he comes and knocks, they may open the door instantly. Blessed are those servants, whom their Master when He comes shall find on the watch. I tell you in solemn truth, that He will tie an apron round Him, and will bid them recline at table while He comes and waits on them. read more.
And whether it be in the second watch or in the third that He comes and finds them so, blessed are they. Of this be sure, that if the master of the house had known what time the robber was coming, he would have kept awake and not have allowed his house to be broken into. Be you also ready, for at an hour when you are not expecting Him the Son of Man will come."

So He said to them, "A man of noble family travelled to a distant country to obtain the rank of king, and to return. And he called ten of his servants and gave each of them a pound, instructing them to trade with the money during his absence. "Now his countrymen hated him, and sent a deputation after him to say, 'We are not willing that he should become our king.' read more.
And upon his return, after he had obtained the sovereignty, he ordered those servants to whom he had given the money to be summoned before him, that he might learn their success in trading. "So the first came and said, "'Sir, your pound has produced ten pounds more.' "'Well done, good servant,' he replied; 'because you have been faithful in a very small matter, be in authority over ten towns.' "The second came, and said, "'Your pound, Sir, has produced five pounds.' "So he said to this one also, "'And you, be the governor of five towns.'

Be on the alert therefore, for you do not know the day on which your Lord is coming. But of this be assured, that if the master of the house had known the hour at which the robber was coming, he would have kept awake, and not have allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready; for it is at a time when you do not expect Him that the Son of Man will come. read more.
"Who therefore is the loyal and intelligent servant to whom his master has entrusted the control of his household to give them their rations at the appointed time? Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes shall find so doing! In solemn truth I tell you that he will give him the management of all his wealth.

"Have your girdles on, and let your lamps be alight; and be yourselves like men waiting for their master--on the look-out till he shall return from the wedding feast--that, when he comes and knocks, they may open the door instantly. Blessed are those servants, whom their Master when He comes shall find on the watch. I tell you in solemn truth, that He will tie an apron round Him, and will bid them recline at table while He comes and waits on them. read more.
And whether it be in the second watch or in the third that He comes and finds them so, blessed are they.

"Who, then," replied the Lord, "is the faithful and intelligent steward whom his Master will put in charge of His household to serve out their rations at the proper times? Verse ConceptsLordship, Human And DivineWisdom, Human ImportanceWho Is The One?People Providing FoodThe Work Of The WiseMoney Management



"Have your girdles on, and let your lamps be alight; and be yourselves like men waiting for their master--on the look-out till he shall return from the wedding feast--that, when he comes and knocks, they may open the door instantly. Blessed are those servants, whom their Master when He comes shall find on the watch. I tell you in solemn truth, that He will tie an apron round Him, and will bid them recline at table while He comes and waits on them. read more.
And whether it be in the second watch or in the third that He comes and finds them so, blessed are they. Of this be sure, that if the master of the house had known what time the robber was coming, he would have kept awake and not have allowed his house to be broken into. Be you also ready, for at an hour when you are not expecting Him the Son of Man will come."






But--to use the words of Scripture--we speak of things which eye has not seen nor ear heard, and which have never entered the heart of man: all that God has in readiness for them that love Him. Verse ConceptsEyes, Figurative UseEarsGenerosity, God'sHoly Spirit, Activities OfAbundance, SpiritualInventionsCounselingSecret ThingsDeep ThingsNot Seeing Spiritual ThingsA Place PreparedUnhearingBenefits Of HeavenPreparationHeavenFuture Plansimaginationserenity

"Who therefore is the loyal and intelligent servant to whom his master has entrusted the control of his household to give them their rations at the appointed time? Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes shall find so doing! In solemn truth I tell you that he will give him the management of all his wealth. read more.
But if the man, being a bad servant, should say in his heart, 'My master is a long time in coming,' and should begin to beat his fellow servants, while he eats and drinks with drunkards; the master of that servant will arrive on a day when he is not expecting him and at an hour of which he has not been informed; he will treat him with the utmost severity and assign him a place among the hypocrites: there will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.

"Have your girdles on, and let your lamps be alight; and be yourselves like men waiting for their master--on the look-out till he shall return from the wedding feast--that, when he comes and knocks, they may open the door instantly.