SECTION 11: THE PROPHECIES OF THE KING’S RETURN
CHAPTER 57
THE PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS
OR
BE READY FOR CHRIST’S RETURN
Scripture To Consider:
“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard; ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!'”
“Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding: and the door was shut.”
“Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” Matthew 25.1-13
Something To Consider:
The meaning of this beautiful and pathetic parable is not difficult to discover and to determine. Jesus was teaching His early followers and all followers of every generation to be ready for His return. His coming should be for all true believers a time of supreme joy. Jesus therefore, compared His coming again to the time of a Jewish marriage feast. For some, however, His coming will be an hour of disappointment, delusion, of judgment, and of extreme despair.
Jesus described Himself as the heavenly bridegroom. His followers are represented by ten virgins, some of whom were foolish and some who were wise. No mention is made here of the bride, for one purpose of the parable was and is to show that the professing church may be divided into two classes. There are the true and the false followers of the King.
Both the foolish and the wise virgins regarded themselves as friends of the bridegroom, but only the wise were ready and allowed to enter with him into the marriage feast. According to the Mid-Eastern imagery only those who carried lights and who formed a part of the marriage procession were admitted into the wedding festival.
Both the foolish and the wise carried lamps, but only the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. Among the followers of Christ mere outward profession is not enough. Preparation for the coming of Christ demands inward grace, and such an influence of the Holy Spirit as will be manifested in a life which will be a light shining in the darkened world.
Something Else To Consider:
While the bridegroom delayed they all slumbered and slept. This delay of the bridegroom is in agreement with the continual teaching of Jesus relative to His return. His coming was not to be immediate. It was however to be and will be sudden. When at last the timing of His coming has arrived it will be at a time that is unexpected by most.
The fact that the virgins slept indicates no special fault. It may have been stated in order to emphasize the suddenness of the return of Christ. Both the wise and the foolish were asleep, but suddenly, according to Jesus, “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!'”
What was and will be the real difference appears between the foolish and the wise? The foolish had no oil for their lamps. They were not ready to take their places in the joyful procession and to enter with the bridegroom into the feast. The refusal of the wise to share their oil with the foolish is not a suggestion of selfishness, but a statement of the serious truth that moral life and spiritual graces cannot be divided and shared in a time of testing or of need.
When the bridegroom is to appear, it will then be too late to prepare for His coming and it will be futile to turn to friends, family, or associates for help. Such too is the solemn teaching of the exclusion of the foolish virgins from the marriage supper of the Lamb. When the door has been shut and when they are crying, according to Jesus, “Lord, Lord, open to us”, it is of course a solemn picture which does not belong to the present. For at the moment there is still time to be redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus, the atoning Lamb of God.
Jesus is now willing to receive all who come to Him; but in the hour of His return when He has admitted into His kingdom those who have been true to Him and who are ready for His coming, it will be too late for all those who were so reckless as to make no provision for their spiritual life. According to Jesus, at that moment, it will be much too late for those not prepared to cry out for mercy and to ask for entrance into the kingdom of heaven.
It is here that the most solemn meaning of the scene appears. The tragic words which are spoken by the bridegroom, who represents Jesus, speak volumes of the seriousness of a false identification of so many. According to Jesus, He will be forced to declare at His return, “Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.”
When Jesus has come in all His glory with the holy angels, it will be then too late to begin a new life, to develop spiritual graces, and to show our faithfulness and friendship to Him. Such necessary preparation for His return belongs to the present time. We must be ready for His return! We must have an up-to-date present tense relationship with Jesus when He returns. This is the meaning of His closing warning, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”
Something More To Consider:
The parable of the ten virgins is a parable of great end time warning, significance, and importance, according to Jesus. This parable follows Matthew 24.45-51, which clearly exposes and explains character traits of both a faithful servant and an unfaithful servant. This parable beginning Matthew chapter 25, is a spiritual contrast between five wise servants and five foolish servants likened to virgins. But there is a distinct difference that Jesus makes between these ten virgin-like servants, as He declared; “Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.”
The important and proper interpretation of this parable lies in the difference of preparedness of the two groups while waiting for the bridegroom. Therefore, the same truth can and should be applied to every generation of so-called servants awaiting the coming of Jesus, the true and Great Bridegroom of His true and faithful church. Therefore, Jesus warns us all to be watchful, to be wise, to be prepared, and to be properly ready for His soon second coming.
A Few Final Words:
According to Jesus, the foolish unprepared servants were and are to be shut out of entering into the eternal kingdom of God. As in the days of Noah, when God shuts the door, no amount of wishful thinking, boastful begging, or last-minute requests for reconsideration will force the closed by God door open. According to the Word of God, Noah was granted access into the ark, an Old Testament picture of divine safety in Jesus, according to Scripture, “Because I [God] have seen that you [Noah] are righteous before Me in this generation.”
In other words, Noah’s righteousness was a present tense, up to date, ongoing and continuing to endure to the end faith-filled righteousness, not a mere outward appearance of human purity. Can the same be said of us? Does our righteousness exceed the hypocritical self-righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees? Does our righteousness resemble those whose righteousness is only an external appearance of righteousness?
True salvation is an individual promised by God possession to all who are willing to maintain a personal relationship with Jesus. If not, we may risk hearing those most dreaded words warned of and spoken by Jesus, “Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.” How final will those words ring true to millions, if not billions of non-concerned at this moment in time individuals?
To wrongfully and proudly cling to anything other than the revealed truth of God’s Word, will prove in the end to be both foolish and eternally regretful for us and for others. Let us therefore be ready for Christ’s return on the basis of his words of warning and His gospel teachings which are many. Let us never base our response to eternal issues upon a denominational creed or righteous sounding tradition of a false doctrine.
According to Jesus, “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he [or she] who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom [this gospel of enduring to the end] will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come”.
In Closing:
Let us consider this gospel of enduring to the end as having been preached in this message of much importance. Now what will we do with it? Will we ignore it because it does not mimic the message of the 21st century so-called church? Or will we embrace it and thereby be as the wise servants of our Scripture to consider today? Will we be properly and biblically prepared and ready for Christ’s return? Will we be prepared for the wrath and evil to be unleashed by Satan and his puppets of pretense and hypocrisy?
Let’s Pray:
Our Father in heaven, thank You for the parable of the ten virgins and Jesus explanation that should better prepare us for the coming end times and end time events. Help us Father to rightfully and biblically be prepared and ready for Christ’s return and the things which Jesus declared must take place prior to His coming. In Him Always, Amen!
According to Jesus 