Who are the Foolish Virgins

[iamlamad]

On 5/21/2019 at 7:43 AM, OldCoot said:

I still am convinced that the parable of the virgins in Matthew 25 has nothing to do with believers/redeemed.  For one, all those who trust in Yeshua are given eternal life.  Now, what part of eternal is not eternal?   There isn't any conditional eternal or semi eternal.  There is just eternal.  And while the bride of Yeshua is as a chaste virgin He will gather to Himself, the bride of Yeshua is not a collection of virgins.  All the redeemed constitute one body in Messiah, not a collection of bodies. 

The entire Olivet discourse is not targeted toward the believers/redeemed of Yeshua in any way and Matthew 25 is a exposition on the events of how those on the earth are separated when Yeshua comes and sets up the kingdom of heaven on earth.  The example of the virgins is an exposition with a basis on Ezekiel 20.  Just as the example of the Sheep and Goat Judgment later in Matthew 25 is an exposition with a basis on Joel 3.   And in neither case is the redeemed of the body of Messiah in view.   That is because the Messiah and His Bride, the redeemed, have been joined together as one. 

And if one studies the Jewish marriage ritual of the time of Messiah, the wedding feast occurs after the groom has taken his bride and they have consummated the marriage for 7 days in the Chuppah (wedding chamber) the groom had prepared and had been approved by the groom's father before the groom was allowed to go retrieve his bride.   It was nothing like today where there is a reception and feast at the same time as when the couple are married.  The virgins (pure ones, select ones, chosen ones, elect as per Isaiah) waiting for the the groom to come are the Hebrew people that make it thru the tribulation period and are separated as the virgins are which is outlined in Ezekiel 20.  And the groom comes with His bride to the wedding feast.  He doesn't come for His bride at the wedding feast.  And a wedding feast is not attended to only by the bride and groom but also those who are friends of the bride and groom.   In this case, those who make it thru the tribulation period and are selected to enter the Kingdom of Yeshua on earth.

The bride is not mentioned in Matthew 25 because (1) those listening to this discourse understood the Jewish marriage ritual and (2) the focus is not on the bride of Messiah but those who are not the bride.  In the first part of Matthew 25 the Hebrews themselves who are separated, and later in Matthew 25, those of the nations are separated primarily based on how they treated the Hebrew people, the elect as per Isaiah and the physical brethren of Yeshua, all of which is outlined in Joel 3.

So there is no need to put a paranoia trip on the believers about missing the rapture, being an unwise virgin, guilts trips and other mental and emotional abuse that has been heaped on those who Yeshua has redeemed.  

 

CONTEXT is king! Good job.

[RevelationWriter]

Jesus spoke of them being very much alive not dead nor resurrected.

But alive and knowing.