Ten Virgins

[douge]

The parable of the ten virgins produces an interesting array of interpretation. This study will present my understanding of this well-known parable. I understand the parable as being directed to Jewish believers to exhort faithful obedience to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in light of his return and the establishment of His earthly kingdom of heaven.

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

First, the context of this parable is regarding the coming of the Lord Jesus. It is an exhortation to be found watchful and obedient.

Secondly, the parable relates to the kingdom of heaven; the citizens are compared to ten virgins.

And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Matthew 25:2

A wise servant is faithful, staunch with what has been entrusted to him, and dutiful. A foolish servant is unprofitable.

They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
Matthew 25:3-4

This is relatively simple on a surface level; the wise were astute enough to make preparations; the foolish were not. Both the wise and the foolish were provided with lamps; the wise virgins were not apathetic, but being fervent, acquired the oil to maximize the profitability of 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. Matthew 25:5-9

The bridegroom did not come immediately; just as the coming of the Lord Jesus. All the ten virgins arose at the cry; all had some oil initially, but the foolish, lacking perseverance, did not arrange for a delayed coming by buying extra oil.

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.
Matthew 25:10

The wise servants being ready went in with the bridegroom. The foolish servants were neglectful and did not obey the command to be watchful, and prepared.

The door was shut. This parable does not say that the foolish virgins never entered in however.

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.
Matthew 25:11-12

The other virgins are just that, others. They are not the five foolish virgins. The kingdom of heaven is equated to ten virgins; these others are not of the ten and are not included in the kingdom. The Lord knows his own; to these he says he does not. Entrance is denied to these other virgins. Also, Matthew 25:7 refers to all ten as - those virgins; therefore there must be others, the others are in verse 11.

The exhortation for us also, is to be furnished with abundant oil of faithfulness to keep our lamps lit.

Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. Matthew 25:13

[Zemke]

I like that you mentioned faithfulness. It is truly the faithful that will have insight to hear, see, are clothed and have food at the proper time.

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path" ps119

Amos prophecied about a famine, not a famine of bread or wine but of the hearing of the word of God. 

I've been told the reading that week in the synagogue was the Song of Solomon, supposedly it is the same today. The parable was a play off of the scheduled reading. The bride that was ready and the bride that was not.  

The Holy Spirit illuminates the Word, the oil in the lamp. Faith and faithfulness is the same word in Hebrew, one is faithful because they have faith, if you have faith you are faithful. 

The time to get the oil is now, ask for eye sauve to see, ears to hear and proper wedding garments, Jude talks about hating the garment spotted with the flesh. Laodicea was naked.

A always timely parable. Thanks for sharing.

[Deborah_]

What makes five of the virgins wise, and why are the other five foolish for not being prepared?

There are 'five wise virgins' in the Old Testament as well - the five (unmarried) daughters of Zelophehad (Numbers 27:1-11) They are remarkable not only for their initiative (in asking to inherit their father's property) but also for their faith. Even when the land of Canaan was as yet unentered, let alone conquered, they petitioned for a share in it as if it were already in Israel’s hands! They believed (probably with good reason) that once the land allocation actually began, the men wouldn’t give them a chance to put their case.  So by staking their claim in advance, they made sure that they wouldn’t miss out. 

The wise virgins in the parable are also thinking ahead; they are determined not to run any risk of missing out on their places at the wedding feast. Like the daughters of Zelophehad, they want their inheritance - and they make sure that they get it. But whether through lack of faith or lack of desire, the foolish ones are less motivated; and they suddenly wake up to the fact that they may get left out at the last moment.

So we must ask ourselves: do we give the Kingdom of God a high priority in our lives? If we do not think it sufficiently important to invest in it now, might we risk losing our place altogether?

[Dennis1209]

3 hours ago, Deborah_ said:

What makes five of the virgins wise, and why are the other five foolish for not being prepared?

There are 'five wise virgins' in the Old Testament as well - the five (unmarried) daughters of Zelophehad (Numbers 27:1-11) They are remarkable not only for their initiative (in asking to inherit their father's property) but also for their faith. Even when the land of Canaan was as yet unentered, let alone conquered, they petitioned for a share in it as if it were already in Israel’s hands! They believed (probably with good reason) that once the land allocation actually began, the men wouldn’t give them a chance to put their case.  So by staking their claim in advance, they made sure that they wouldn’t miss out. 

The wise virgins in the parable are also thinking ahead; they are determined not to run any risk of missing out on their places at the wedding feast. Like the daughters of Zelophehad, they want their inheritance - and they make sure that they get it. But whether through lack of faith or lack of desire, the foolish ones are less motivated; and they suddenly wake up to the fact that they may get left out at the last moment.

So we must ask ourselves: do we give the Kingdom of God a high priority in our lives? If we do not think it sufficiently important to invest in it now, might we risk losing our place altogether?

Hi Deborah,

I've never heard it explained quite that well and in that way, excellent post!

I've always associated the five foolish & five wise virgins parable with the Rapture of the church, would you agree? There are other similes in scripture that I ascribe referring to the Rapture of the church as well. If you agree these 10 virgins are symbolic of the Rapture, I'd like to further hear your thoughts on a couple of things if you're willing?

Namely, the five foolish virgins, whom the door was closed for the celebration and wedding supper. As Giller pointed out above, the Lord said, I know you not (Matt 25: 12), as compared to I never knew you (Matt 7:23). Those would be two different meanings.

Symbolically, the 5 wise virgins were awake, they were watching, they had there lamps burning and were prepared and waiting for the arrival of the groom. Then suddenly the door was opened for them to attend the wedding feast. On the other hand,  the 5 foolish virgins were denied access and entrance to the bride grooms feast and celebration because they were not ready or prepared, their light was extinguished.

To the point: It doesn't sound to me like the 5 foolish virgins were lost souls (unsaved), though I could easily be wrong. Their punishment was being excluded from the wedding and wedding feast (Rapture), as I'm presently viewing it? Could this be symbolic of some true born again Christians missing the Rapture because they were not prepared, watching and waiting? I can't see this being the case, as that would contradict other passages in scripture in my opinion. The Bible does not teach a partial Rapture, so I can only draw one other conclusion, they must not have completely believed (like Pilate almost was convinced).

What are your thoughts? Think you can shine some light on the subject? (Pun intended).

[Deborah_]

8 hours ago, Dennis1209 said:

Hi Deborah,

I've never heard it explained quite that well and in that way, excellent post!

I've always associated the five foolish & five wise virgins parable with the Rapture of the church, would you agree? There are other similes in scripture that I ascribe referring to the Rapture of the church as well. If you agree these 10 virgins are symbolic of the Rapture, I'd like to further hear your thoughts on a couple of things if you're willing?

Namely, the five foolish virgins, whom the door was closed for the celebration and wedding supper. As Giller pointed out above, the Lord said, I know you not (Matt 25: 12), as compared to I never knew you (Matt 7:23). Those would be two different meanings.

Symbolically, the 5 wise virgins were awake, they were watching, they had there lamps burning and were prepared and waiting for the arrival of the groom. Then suddenly the door was opened for them to attend the wedding feast. On the other hand,  the 5 foolish virgins were denied access and entrance to the bride grooms feast and celebration because they were not ready or prepared, their light was extinguished.

To the point: It doesn't sound to me like the 5 foolish virgins were lost souls (unsaved), though I could easily be wrong. Their punishment was being excluded from the wedding and wedding feast (Rapture), as I'm presently viewing it? Could this be symbolic of some true born again Christians missing the Rapture because they were not prepared, watching and waiting? I can't see this being the case, as that would contradict other passages in scripture in my opinion. The Bible does not teach a partial Rapture, so I can only draw one other conclusion, they must not have completely believed (like Pilate almost was convinced).

What are your thoughts? Think you can shine some light on the subject? (Pun intended).

I don't believe that anyone will 'miss' the Rapture; it'll be the last event before the Judgement, and the wedding feast will follow. "The Bridegroom arrived" seems to me to indicate the Rapture.

Scripture teaches that some members of the Church will fall away, and not persevere right to the end. These would be represented by the foolish virgins, whose hearts are not really set on the kingdom at all - they're just 'coasting along'. Maybe some were never genuine Christians, maybe some were - the distinction between "not" and "never" might indicate this, but in practical terms what matters is our status when we are called to account (either by death or by Jesus' return).

[Dennis1209]

3 hours ago, Deborah_ said:

I don't believe that anyone will 'miss' the Rapture; it'll be the last event before the Judgement, and the wedding feast will follow. "The Bridegroom arrived" seems to me to indicate the Rapture.

Scripture teaches that some members of the Church will fall away, and not persevere right to the end. These would be represented by the foolish virgins, whose hearts are not really set on the kingdom at all - they're just 'coasting along'. Maybe some were never genuine Christians, maybe some were - the distinction between "not" and "never" might indicate this, but in practical terms what matters is our status when we are called to account (either by death or by Jesus' return).

Hey again. First let me say I'm not trying to convince anyone on anything on this topic. My belief and opinion on this particular subject is in limbo and I'm all ears.

Yes, I can easily see your view that way also. 

As you're no doubt aware, there's a multitude of camps on the Rapture. I've basically had a life long conviction of the timing and who's included in the Rapture, but the more I study the Word, the more doubts enter my mind. For instance; we're strongly warned to be prepared, look for, watch and wait for it. In the end-times there will be a great falling away (we're seeing it now). What if the Christian is in one of those states of not being prepared, nor watching or has lost interest and fallen away? Were they saved in the first place? Expositors have made a good case for a partial Rapture and it's not hard to view it that way reading scripture.

Then we have the OSAS debate that I won't get into because its been hotly discussed / debated here many times.

As you mentioned, "not persevering right to the end", what's the penalty and consequences to that? That makes me think they are saved but strayed or fallen away and lost something very valuable. 

Our status is either we are saved and sealed with the Holy Spirit or we are not. That seems to pretty cut and dry for me. But the Rapture wording seems to be conditional?

[Riccardo]

Virgins as brother Giller said are pure & unadulterated & on the mark with philosophy.

All 10 were virgins, which is significant.

All 10 had lamps, the light.

All waited & wanted to meet the groom. For a wile there was no difference between them all had knowledge & light, regard for the truth.

But 5 were foolish, note, Jesus describes them as foolish rather than wicked.

All the Virgins slept, because the groom delayed, obviously there was nothing wrong with sleeping in this context.

But the 5 wise virgins slept prepared.

In the denial of the wise virgins not sharing oil, it does not say they were mean.

If 2 people decide to walk across a desert & between them need 10 gallons of water to survive. Both are to bring 5 gallons each or perish, one foolish man forgets to bring his water, if the other is to share his water both will perish. If the wise virgins lamps go out because they shared oil they will not find their way in the dark.

One cannot prepare for someone else to run a marathon. 

In the context of this parable I believe its saying you cannot prepare others but only direct them. 

At a stage the door was shut on Noah's arc.

Therefore, keep watch because you do not know the day or the hour.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 9, 2018 by Riccardo