The Ten Virgins - What is the parable about? Matt 25

[Enoc]

 

 

 

The parable of 10 Virgins.....

5 with oil and 5 without oil

In scripture, in many instances, Oil is symbolic of the holy spirit. If we sorta agree that Oil in scripture is symbolic of the holy spirit we can apply it here.

5 with the Holy Spirit and 5 without.

A natural man can not tell visually which ones are truly virgins and which ones are not, but the bride groom can tell which ones heart has been circumcised, and which ones have not.

All 10 have lamps giving the appearance that they all had light, but really only 5 had the light.

How can one be born of water and the spirit and not posses the Oil....or How can one being a witness not posses the Oil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

interesting interpretation but then you would also have to deal with the problem of why the faithful were unable to share the Holy Spirit and how to receive the free gift which is a deposit to those sealed for salvation, If someone came to you asking how they could be saved and filled with the Holy Spirit, would you send them away?...

 

 

who sells the Holy Spirit for a price?

 

 

 

 

There is a difference between releasing the Spirit and receiving/being filled with the Spirit.

 

It is not up to me who will receive the Holy spirit.

 

Only God knows those who will be saved and delivered. 

 

The scripture that comes to mind:

 

Acts 16:14

Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.

 

 

 

 

 

 

you are right! Oil is almost always in reference to the Holy Spirit, Just as wine is representitive of Christ blood, do we now interpret every case in the bible where wine is mentioned to be Christ blood?

 

 

you have to make a distinction sometimes if the interpretation is leading in that direction, In the case of the 10 virgins you will see at the very beginning they ALL HAD LIT LAMPS, they ALL HAD OIL! as they complained "OUR LAMPS ARE GOING OUT"

 

so your only interpretation of oil and the Holy Spirit is you can have the Holy Spirit but it is a measurable substance and it can run out, It can also be bought and sold for a price, and one can not get it from other Christians but from merchants who sell it, you can also contain the Holy Spirit in large quantities and use it at your leisure, you can see the Holy Spirit and are able to know when you are running out of the Holy Spirit

 

 

Not sure of the point you are making here.

 

However I’ll take it a step further, the scripture from the KJV is as follows:

 

Matt 25

¹ “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

² Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

³ Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them,

⁴ but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

⁵ But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

⁶ “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!

⁷ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.

⁸ And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.

⁹ 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.’

 

 

I suggest, the passage is about the kingdom of heaven and the second coming of Christ /Day of the lord. The distinction between the wise and foolish is that the foolish took/had no oil.

 

Although the 10 Virgins had lamps, 5 were wise and 5 were foolish, I mean 5 church attending, and tithe paying religious patrons, they lacked the seal of the Holy Spirit, I mean personal relationship with Jesus Christ which is needed to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

 

Without the power of the Holy Spirit, I mean Oil, I mean being filled/Sealed with the Holy Spirit a born again believer, Christian will not be able to make the journey, I mean eventually fall asleep, and fail to reach the bridegroom, I mean Jesus, I mean day of the Lord.

 

I suggest that the wise Virgins knew this and brought Oil along while the foolish Virgins did not have Oil to bring along and being foolish thought the lamp was enough to meet the bridegroom.

 

When the bride groom arrive they knew that had the lamp, but realized they were missing something essential in order to meet the bridegroom, the Oil which completed the purpose of the lamp, I mean the personal relationship with Christ, I mean the holy Spirit. Therefore when the 5 foolish Virgins asked for Oil from the 5 wise Virgins they refused an told them to get there own oil, I mean your own personal relationship with Christ.

 

In this scripture, the Holy Spirit which provides the power to stay awake, endure the journey  until the bridegroom comes, and not fall away. In addition to representing the personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

 

The other symbolic meaning that may apply here is Oil=Love. However even with this interpretation, in order to love as God intents, you would need to posses a mature spirit and a mature spirit bears the fruits of the spirit affording you the capacity to love as God intends (Another topic indeed).

Edited June 16, 2013 by Enoc

[missmuffet]

Put 10 different people in a room and ask their meaning of a particular verse of scripture.You will probably get 10 different answers.

[Brennno]

I suppose I think along the lines a little bit like one light, in the fact that if there is a bridegroom there is a bride, and that leads back tow virgin , which leads back to the wise and foolish virgins. Being I believe to be the body of Christ. For me when I read these passages of scripture, i find myself not focused on the when so much is the issues of the oil and the lamp. They seem to be the important issues of depth of relationship and am I ready which of the five virgins catagory do I fit into now and the facts of buying the oil

[enoob57]

Put 10 different people in a room and ask their meaning of a particular verse of scripture.You will probably get 10 different answers.

More if any are split personalities

[missmuffet]

 

Put 10 different people in a room and ask their meaning of a particular verse of scripture.You will probably get 10 different answers.

More if any are split personalities

 

LOL!

[Retrobyter]

Shalom, all.

 

Has anyone even considered that the "oil" is NOT the Holy Spirit? In my experience, there's such a thing as "typolatry" just as there is "typology." To define these terms, "typology" is the study of types used in the Bible, particularly in the parables of the Master, but "typolatry" is the WORSHIP of these types! It is suggesting that these types can represent ONLY certain things and one must therefore somehow squeeze them in, regardless whether they truly fit!

 

Leaven is another such type. So many say that "leaven is a type of sin," that they FREQUENTLY err in their interpretation of the Master's parable about the leaven hidden in three measures of meal. Nevertheless, Yeshua` is VERY CLEAR that ...

 

 

Matthew 13:33

33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

KJV

 

So, if one is going stubbornly to say that "Leaven is a type of sin," doesn't that make the "Kingdom of heaven like unto a type of sin?" Forget the "type of sin" nonsense for a moment and look at the characteristics of "leaven," a leavening agent such as yeast: It causes the bread dough to RISE and DOUBLE in size! What's up with the "three measures" of dough? It's not "symbolic" of ANYTHING! It simply represents a LOT OF DOUGH! This parable is talking about the INFLUENCE of the Kingdom of God on the rest of the world! Even if God's Kingdom is rather small to start out, it will be able to influence a HUGE AMOUNT of other nations and peoples as people watch the wisdom of its King.

 

In the same way, the "oil" here doesn't have to represent "the Holy Spirit!" That's an ASSUMPTION that many have made that has no support in the Scriptures! The parable itself doesn't demand it, and the ONLY way one might make this assumption is to focus on Yeshua`s warning to His students to "Beware the leaven of the Pharisees."

 

However, when it comes to interpreting the parables of our Master, it is usually best to let the Master Himself do it, whether in an explanation of the parable or in the context of the passage. One must quit trying to FORCE the interpretation to fit a particular mold!

 

Let's look more carefully at the wording of the parable:

 

 

Matthew 24:45-25:13

45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?

46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.

48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;

49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;

50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,

51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:

4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.

9 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.

10 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.

11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

KJV

 

The point of the parable was that they were to be ready for the Son of man's arrival! They were to be ON GUARD and READY! They were not to procrastinate about getting their supplies but have them at hand!

 

Another thing to remember is that not all of the objects in the parable are elements of comparison between the parable and the reality it represents! Many times, a whole story is told simply to make a single point! I believe this is such a parable. Not everything mentioned in the parable needs to "represent" something in reality! Simply reason it this way: If Yeshua` Himself didn't tell you what certain objects in the story represented, then it's a good chance that they don't represent ANYTHING!