“They tell us that no virgin’s lamp can go out;”
This is a reference to the parable of the wise and foolish virgins:
“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” (Matthew 25:1-13).
This is a parable about “the kingdom of heaven”. The Kingdom of Heaven is the future Millennial Kingdom of Jerusalem according to scripture, “And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.“ (Matthew 8:11). The kingdom of heaven is a geographical location you have to travel to in order to sit down in it. It is NOT a reference to eternal salvation, it is a geographical kingdom in the future when Jesus rules and reigns from Jerusalem, “Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.“ (Matthew 5:35). On top of that, this passage is doctrinally in the old testament, before the new testament began with the death of the testator (Jesus Christ), “And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.” (Hebrews 9:15-17). So, it’s not for the church at all, it’s for Jews under the law of Moses. And on top of even THAT, notice these are TEN VIRGINS (not ONE virgin as the church is, Ephesians 5:31-32), and notice that none of these virgins actually marry the bridegroom. The wise virgins go “with him to the marriage”, but they don’t marry him. These virgins are representing Jewish people in the Tribulation. The Jews who are wise are those who endure to the end to be with Jesus in the “kingdom of heaven”. The Jews who aren’t wise are those who don’t endure to the end, but take the mark of the beast and don’t enter into the “kingdom of heaven”. This has nothing to do with the church.
“no promising harvest be choked with thorns;”
This is a reference to Matthew 13:7, part of the parable of the four soils, where seed is thrown to four different soils, “And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:“. Once again, this parable is about the Millennial Kingdom, not eternal salvation, “He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.” (Matthew 13:11). The seed is called “the word of the kingdom” in verse 19. It is NOT the gospel of grace for today, but the proclamation to Jews under the law of Moses that their kingdom was at hand. It is before the new testament began, before the death of Christ, and is for Jews in the Tribulation getting ready for the Millennial Kingdom right after it. Here is the explanation of the thorny soil, “He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.” (Matthew 13:22). In the Tribulation, this will come in the form of the mark of the beast. You will not be able to buy or sell without it, and so the deceitfulness of riches will destroy all those who take it even after believing the word. But we’re not Jews under Moses in the Tribulation period. That’s not for us.
“no holy garment can ever be defiled (Rev. 3:4)”
“Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.“ (Revelation 3:4). Something John Wesley didn’t note is that Revelation (which was NOT written by Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles, Romans 11:13) is written to Jews, and as such switches back and forth between Christian Jews today in the Church Age and Tribulation Jews tomorrow in the Tribulation Age. Here is one obvious example of this:
Revelation 1:5, “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,”. Here, Jesus himself washed us from our sins in his blood. Jesus washes us.
Revelation 7:14, “And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.“ Here, tribulation saints wash themselves in Christ’s blood and make their garments white. This is a clear contradiction from Revelation 1:5. Which is it? Did Jesus wash us, or do we wash ourselves? The only solution to this problem is if we accept the fact that Revelation (being written to Jews by the apostle John) switches back and forth between Christian Jews today, and Tribulation Jews tomorrow. Christians today are washed with Christ’s blood, and Tribulation saints will need to do works to wash themselves with Christ’s blood in the Tribulation.
In fact, the answer to this objection is in those scriptures we just touched. Since Christ washes us with His own blood as Christians (not as “they which came out of great tribulation”), our garments are already washed by Christ Himself. They can never be defiled, when it is God Almighty who has made us clean with His own blood. To say our garments can be defiled is to say that God’s blood can be made unholy by our actions. That’s blasphemous. Our garments are forever clean because God Himself has washed us. Revelation 3:4 is describing people who like in 7:14 are washing themselves with Christ’s blood with their own works in the Tribulation.
“no branch in Christ can ever be cut off from unfruitfulness;”
Now, Wesley is referring to John 15:5-6, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” Jesus is giving his disciples an image of the (then future) body of Christ for the Church Age. We abide in Christ as branches in a vine. But here, Wesley made a huge mistake, for he thought these burned branches were “in Christ”. But Jesus himself said these branches “abode NOT in me”. They weren’t “in Christ”, they weren’t connected to Christ at all! These are branches that were not even part of the vine here! These are lost men who are burned, not “fallen away Christians”. God later revealed to the apostle Paul that not only are we branches to a vine, we are bone of Christ’s bone and flesh of Christ’s flesh. Christ is not going to amputate his own body, “For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.” (Ephesians 5:30).
“no pardon can ever be forfeited,”
Here, Wesley is referring to another parable in the book of Matthew:
“Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.“ (Matthew 18:23-35).
This is a parable in the old testament (before the death of the testator, Hebrews 9:16), about “the kingdom of heaven”, or the Millennial Kingdom. Jesus (as the king of the servants in this parable) is giving this parable for Jews in the Tribulation who want to enter into the kingdom. They must forgive others of sin, otherwise they will be rejected from the kingdom. It has nothing to do with the Church.
“and no name blotted out of God’s book!”
Now, he’s referring to Revelation 3:5, “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” Revelation 3:5 is connected to Revelation 3:4, which we saw earlier was directed to Tribulation saints who are washing themselves with the blood of Christ. We as Christians are washed by Jesus Himself!
“They insist that no salt can ever lose its savor;”
Now, Wesley is referring to Matthew 5:13, “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.“ Wesley forgot about the context. Jesus is preaching a sermon to Jews in the old testament, and look what it’s about, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.“ (Matthew 5:3). This whole sermon in Matthew 5 is about the Millennial Kingdom. It is not directed at the church, it is directed to Jews in the Tribulation for the Millennial Kingdom. To prove it, look at verse 9, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” But Christians aren’t waiting to become the children of God, WE ALREADY ARE HIS CHILDREN!, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” (Romans 8:14). Matthew 5 isn’t for Christians at all, it’s for Jews in the Tribulation who will only become the children of God when the Tribulation Age ends and the Kingdom comes in. Likewise, the salt of the earth in the same sermon is not referring to Christians, but to Tribulation Jews.
“nobody can ever “receive the grace of God in vain”;”
Now Wesley is just making things up. No scripture in the King James Bible has the phrase “receive the grace of God in vain”. He’s not quoting scripture.
“”bury his talents””
Same here. That exact phrase appears nowhere in the King James Bible.
“”neglect such great salvation””
Same here. That exact phrase appears nowhere in the King James Bible. Wesley is not quoting scripture.
“trifle away “a day of grace””
Same here. That exact phrase appears nowhere in the King James Bible.
“”look back” after putting his hand to the gospel plow”
Almost same here. That exact phrase does appear in the Bible, but not in reference to any “gospel plow”. If Wesley is going to misquote the scriptures, there’s no point in bothering to refute what he’s referring to. We know what his intentions are here, and they are to twist the scriptures, even to their wording!
“Nobody can “grieve the Spirit” till He is “quenced”, and strives no more”
Same here, no reference to the exact phrase “grieve the Spirit” is in the Bible. Wesley is just referring to some passage, but doesn’t have the decency to even quote it correctly, because he isn’t concerned about getting the scriptures right. He’s concerned about twisting them into his theology.
“nor “deny the Lord that bought them”;”
Same here, no reference to this exact phrase in the King James Bible.
“nor “bring upon themselves swift destruction.””
Finally! A correct scripture quotation! “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.“ (2 Peter 2:1). 1 and 2 Peter is writing to Jews (1 Peter 2:12). Because of this, 2 Peter can switch back and forth between Christian Jews in the Church Age and Tribulation Jews in the Tribulation Age. Since Paul (writing to GENTILES in the Church Age), said a redeemed Christian can never be lost all throughout Ephesians 1, 2 Peter 2:1 is not to Christians, it is to Tribulation Jews.
“Nobody can ever get so lukewarm that Jesus will spew them out of His mouth.”
Here, Wesley is referring to Revelation 3:16, “So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.“ Well, according to Paul in Ephesians 1, we are sealed until the rapture happens. Revelation, as we have seen earlier is written to Jews, and can at times be talking to Tribulation Jews in the future. This applies to Revelation 3:16, it is for Tribulation saints, not Church Age saints. On top of that, we aren’t some foreign substance in Christ’s stomach or mouth, we are bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh (Ephesians 5:30)!
“They use reams of paper to argue...”
All of this is in reference to Calvinists, who aren’t exactly Biblical either. We won’t waste time defending another group that is wrong as well. And that concludes this ridiculous nonsense from John Wesley (founder of the Methodists) that you can lose your salvation.
But we didn’t even need to go through all these scriptures to prove Wesley was wrong. We just needed to hold fast to “the sincere milk of the word” (1 Peter 2:2) to see past this heresy. You see, all we had to do was look at God has promised to Christians in John 3:16. (Read the context of verse 15 and notice it’s about salvation for after the cross!) John 3:16 says all those who believe in Christ “HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE”. If we current have EVERLASTING life, then we will never die! If you can lose “everlasting life”, then it really wasn’t “everlasting” to begin with. Everlasting life means your life is everlasting, and will never end no matter what! John 3:16 is enough to refute every argument ever compiled by man against the precious truth of eternal security.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.“ (John 3:16).
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