Christ gave several parables about the kingdom of heaven during His first coming nearly 2,000 years ago. The parable of the ten virgins always caught my attention because it came after Matthew 24, which is one of the most important chapters in End Times prophecy. A reader asked me to give my thoughts on the parable of the ten virgins so in this blog entry I will provide my view about the parable of the ten virgins.
Christ began the parable by mentioning that there were ten virgins that each possessed a lamp. Christ labeled five of the virgins as “wise” and five of the virgins as “foolish”. The foolish virgins were the ones who were unprepared since they failed to take oil for their lamp with them.
- Mat 25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
- Mat 25:2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
- Mat 25:3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
- Mat 25:4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
- Mat 25:5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
- Mat 25:6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
- Mat 25:7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
- Mat 25:8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
- Mat 25:9 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.
The five foolish virgins’ lack of preparation cost them dearly. They were rejected by the Lord who told them He did not “know” them.
- Mat 25:10 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.
- Mat 25:11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
- Mat 25:12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
Christ ended the parable with a call to watch events because the timing of His coming is unknown.
- Mat 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
I believe the main message of this parable is to always watch events so that you are not caught off guard as the time of Christ’s coming approaches. This is perhaps why Christ ended the parable with a reminder to keep “watch”.
I do not believe the fact that there were an equal number of wise and foolish virgins has a lot of significance. I do not believe we are going to see a situation where 50% of Christians are rejected from entering the kingdom of heaven. I actually think the percentage of Christians who will enter the kingdom of heaven is going to be much smaller than 50%.
I believe it is significant that Christ characterized the five virgins who did not bring oil with them as “foolish”. This seems to be an indirect way of Christ stating that those who do not prepare for the future are fools. This attitude towards people who fail to prepare is consistent with a verse I cited yesterday, Proverbs 22:3 (which I mistakenly posted a non-KJV version of the verse yesterday). Recall that Proverbs 22:3 labels those who take action after foreseeing trouble as wise/prudent and those who fail to take action as simple/foolish.
- Pro 22:3 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.
Spiritually, you risk encountering major problems that may prevent you from entering the kingdom of heaven if you are unprepared for future events. Christ illustrated this when describing the fate of the five foolish virgins. For these virgins’ inability to prepare they were prevented from entering the kingdom of heaven. Similarly, if you fail to prepare yourself spiritually for the future you are unlikely going to enter the kingdom of heaven as you are likely going to succumb to Satan’s lying signs and wonders.
