The Gospel Of Matthew Chapter 25 Part 1 The Parable Of Ten Virgins: Five Were Wise And Five Were Foolish

Jesus, the Son of God, is a master at using parables about earthly things to teach truths about His kingdom.

In the parable, the second coming of Jesus Christ is in view. 

It helps to recall that His second coming is divided into 2 parts. 

First, Christ will come for His bride, the Church and after the great tribulation, He will come with His bride to judge the nations.

In the first part, Christ will come in the clouds and call His bride the Church home. 

This glad reunion will take place in the air surrounding our world. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 & 1 Corinthians 15:50-58).

The Lord will come in the clouds and stop there as the dead in Christ rise first. 

All other believers alive at that moment, will be caught up in the air to meet Christ and ever be with Him.

The Greek word "caught up" is where the word "rapture" is used when speaking of the end of the Church age. It literally means to snatch away.

Jesus is going to take His bride to heaven for the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19). 

After the tribulation period of seven years, Christ will come a second time with His bride back to the earth to destroy the wicked and establish His kingdom. 

The 10 virgins in the parable represent the professing believers both Jew and Gentile, and what they are to be doing until the final return of Christ to the earth to establish His kingdom.

When the feet of Jehovah touch the Mount of Olives it will be split into 2 pieces and the Day of the LORD & judgment of the nations will happen. (Zechariah 14).

At that physical return of Christ to the earth, the faithful Jews (and some Gentile proselytes) will be watching and waiting for the arrival of their King who is coming to this earth with His bride.

All the world shall see Christ and the Jewish nation will look on their Messiah that they crucified and shall mourn and be converted.  (Revelation 1:7; Zechariah 12:10).

Jesus is pictured as a bridegroom preparing to come for His bride. 

Matthew 25:1-13  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.  

The text below from the Apostle Paul speaks of Christ coming to the earth with His bride, the church, at the end of seven years tribulation, at the time of final judgment.

1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: 13 To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.

We learned that the Bridegroom is Christ and that He is returning to the earth to establish His kingdom.

He will bring His bride, the Church with Him, when He returns for judgment and for Israel's salvation (See Revelation 19:11-21). 

Thus, we saw that the ten virgins represent believing Jews and any Gentile proselytes, and that this parable shows what they are to be doing until Christ does return.

I also mentioned how the bridegroom (Christ) returns to His home after the marriage ceremony in heaven was complete. 

Jesus will rule and reign over all the earth at that time which leads up to the sober day of the LORD final judgment.

It was a Jewish custom that the bridegroom came, accompanied by his close friends, late in the night to the house of the bride. 

He came to take her to her new home.

She expected his arrival and when her bridesmaids had notice of the bridegrooms' approach, they were to go out with lamps in their hands, to welcome him into the house with ceremony. 

This custom began a formal celebration of the nuptials with great joy and mirth. 

On many of these occasions they usually had ten virgins. 

Ancient Jewish writings show that Jews never held a synagogue, or the rite of circumcision, or kept the passover, or contracted in marriage, unless at least ten persons were present. 

For example, when Boaz married Ruth, he had ten witnesses present to certify their wedding (See Ruth 4:2). 

This parable highlights the 10 virgins, so we must ask what are they to be doing until the bridegroom arrives?

We ask this because we need to know what Christians today ought to be doing and what believing Jews in the future ought to be doing before Christ comes.

Matthew 25:2-4 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.

They that follow the Lamb, are said to be virgins  because this speaks of  their beauty and purity (See Revelation14:4). 

Believers in Christ are to be presented to our Lord as chaste virgins, washed clean and pure by His blood (See 2 Corinthians 11:2). 

Ten virgins were subdivided into two groups of five and Jesus tells us that five were wise and five were foolish.

All ten virgins took their oil lamps but only five also took oil for the lamps. 

They were the wise virgins.

"Wise" in this text means the faithful virgins were prudent and properly prepared for the coming of the bridegroom.

Ephesians 5:8-11  For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: 9  (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) 10  Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. 11  And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. 

We are to walk as children of light because all who are in Christ, have communion with the One who is the Light of the World (See John 8).

The fruit of God's Spirit should be manifest in us and a Christian should be known for avoiding the mire of cultural darkness and depravity.

Philippians 2:15-16  That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; 16  Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain. 

We should take note that in scripture, all Christians are children of light and the gospel of Christ is light. 

The light of the glorious gospel of Christ shines into our hearts, leading us to repentant faith in Jesus (See 2 Corinthians 4:1-4). 

This heavenly light must shine forth from us into a world that needs Christ, just as the love of God poured into us flows out in ministry to others (See Romans 5:5).

Thus, five foolish virgins took lamps but no oil and without any oil, they cannot light their lamps when the bridegroom arrives.

The Greek word translated "foolish" in this text is found in the words morose or moronic.

It literally means "godless" and this is a key to rightly understanding Jesus' teaching.

Since none of the 10 virgins knew the actual day or hour that the bridegroom would be arriving, they were to be in a state of perpetual readiness.

This is a general principle for Christians today. 

We do not know when Christ will come at the resurrection of life and the rapture of His Church.

Therefore, we must be watching for Jesus' return, working for His kingdom, worshiping God in Spirit and in truth, and walking a worthy walk that honors Christ.

In addition, faithful Jews and Gentile proselytes living in the tribulation period, must be doing the same things, until Christ comes to judge the nations.

Oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

Anointing someone with oil in scripture often pictures the ministry of the Holy Spirit of God. 

A special anointing oil was commanded to be made under the law and all holy things were anointed with it. 

The scripture references are too numerous to list here but following are a few examples.

1 Samuel 10:1  Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance? 2  When thou art departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel's sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son? 3  Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine: 4  And they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands. 5  After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy: 6  And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man. 7  And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee. 8  And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do. 9  And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day. 

Samuel was a judge, a priest and the man whom God chose to anoint Kings for Israel.

The words in this account are very revealing concerning the oil of anointing as a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

Samuel prophesied of some very specific things that would happen to Saul. 

When the Spirit of God came upon Saul he was turned into a new man, a man different from what he was like previously.

God gave Saul another heart and another spirit that day, and this connects with His promises given to Ezekiel (See Ezekiel 11:19-21; 36:22-28; Titus 3:4-6).

Thus, in Saul's anointing with oil we have a foreshadowing of the Holy Spirit's ministry in our hearts.

In 1 Samuel 16:1-13, the text tells us that David was anointed king over Israel and that the Spirit of God did not depart from him from that day forward.

Isaiah 61:1-3  The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2  To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3  To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. 

Isaiah prophetically spoke of Christ coming in His earthly ministry with the oil of joy (Compare with Luke 4:18). 

John 3:33-36 speaks of Christ receiving the Holy Spirit without measure, meaning that He had all of the Spirit because He was anointed with the oil of gladness.

Hebrews 1:8-9  But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. 9  Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. 

Hebrews 1:7-9 speaks about Jesus Christ, the Son of God being anointed with the oil of gladness.

2 Corinthians 1:21 speaks of the believer being anointed by God. 

1 John 2:20 speaks of the believer having the unction from God. 

The word "unction" refers to a holy oil of anointing. 

All of this points to the anointing we receive when the Spirit of God regenerates our hearts and indwells us.

This is why the five virgins who had oil for their lamps are called wise. 

They heard or read the scriptures and believed God, and were born again by the Holy Spirit's regenerating work.

The other 5 virgins were foolish because they did not have God's Spirit and thus, they pictured those who profess faith but who do not have spiritual life.

There is no oil in their lamps because the Spirit of God does not dwell in them.

Thus, the five foolish virgins were religious hypocrites, professing to be saved but inwardly were still full of dead men's bones.

Matthew 25:5  While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 

It is a fact that all ten virgins nodded off into a sound sleep because the bridegroom tarried His coming.

Jesus' own disciples could not stay awake to pray with and for Him before His betrayal (See Matthew 26:36-43).

Therefore, in any stage of life as a believer, it is possible for us to be too busy working, going to school, running our kids around, where we lose our joy and fervor for the things of God.

Romans 13:11  And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 

Christians can become weary in well doing. 

We can become infected with spiritual lethargy and this is why we find numerous calls in the Bible for us to "Wake up, and Serve the Lord."

Ephesians 5:14  Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. 

God will give us fresh life, new light and revival in our heart when we heed His call to "Wake up and be about my kingdom work."

1 Thessalonians 5:5-6  Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6  Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 

A born again believer in Christ is made a child of light through the new birth.

We are children of the day who follow Christ, and who live according to the light from God's Word (See Psalm 119:105; 119:130).

We have been rescued from the dark domain of the Devil and securely planted in Christ's kingdom (See Colossians 1:12-14).

So far in the Parable of the Ten Virgins, we learned that our duty is to walk as children of light, and to be ready for the return of Christ at any moment.

We learned to be on guard against spiritual lethargy where we lose our zeal for Christ.

We will look more deeply into this parable in our next post.

May we humbly seek our God and ask for gospel light to fill us with a zeal for Jesus that never abates.

Bob