Five Wise, Five
Foolish
I can think of three separate times when I looked at the parable of the Ten Virgins, but I realize some of the information is scattered around. So I want to work through it all in one place. There is an awful lot to think about in 13 verses, and it flies in the face of the two biggest lies in doctrine today.
“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 KJV
The first
verse tells us that the
As Christians we are considered to be virgins who are to be married to Christ:
“For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” Second Corinthians 11:2 KJV
Also of note is that most sinners are not looking for Christ’s return, indeed they would rather that He not be for real so they won’t have to be accountable for their deeds.
The lamps too are of interest. Lamps give light, and as the parable indicates, require oil to burn. We are told more than once to have burning lights:
“Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.” Luke 12:35-36 KJV
“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 KJV
So we are to have burning lights and to wait for our bridegroom until He comes.
“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.” Matthew
25:2-4 KJV
All of a sudden we see a difference between these virgins. All of them are virgins, yet five are wise and five are foolish. The wise have extra oil with them, enough to make sure they will still have light if the bridegroom takes an extra long time. In other words, the foolish virgins are on the right track, but not prepared for the long haul. That is the only cited difference between them in this parable. Five are prepared to endure, five are not. Preparation is key for making Heaven, especially as things get even worse in the coming years, however many we have left.
“While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.” Matthew 25:5 KJV
This tells you a lot about the pre vs. post tribulation views. It says plainly that the bridegroom tarried, and they all fell asleep. So too has the favored pre-trib view helped to put the church to sleep about the need to endure to the end. We have a free ticket out according to the doctrine, so we can rest happily knowing that we won’t have to endure the hard times. Woe to the pre-trib teachers! Repent now and teach truth.
Let’s take a slightly different look at what happens when we sleep:
“Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.” Matthew 13:24-25 KJV
When we look closely at the parable of the tares (and we can another day hopefully), we see that the enemy was able to come in and do his damage while men slept. Had someone been awake and on guard they would have seen the enemy coming and kept him away. Great harm is done by sleeping on the job. Proverbs also has some harsh words about laziness and sleeping when you should be doing your work. Not that sleep is evil of course, but there is too much of a good thing.
“And at
Unless you
are a night owl,
So we must expect that Jesus will return when we aren’t really expecting it, strange as that sounds. Since most are expecting it to happen before the tribulation, many will wind up despairing and figuring that they were lied to – which will sadly be true. It’s not a lie that Jesus will be returning, it’s about the timing. Few will see it coming, that’s why we need to tell as many as possible now so they can prepare!
“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.” Matthew 25:7-8 KJV
I don’t know much about trimming lamps, but verse eight indicates that the lamps of the foolish virgins had been burning previously, else how would they have gone out? They are in direct disobedience to the command to be found with your light burning as we saw earlier in Luke 12. And as we find in the later part of the parable, they never made it to the marriage. Eternal Security teachers would be forced to say that the foolish virgins were never saved since they did not get in. The parable indicates no such thing, instead their lights went out and the flame of life was snuffed because of their lack of preparation. This lie is also exposed by this parable, our security is conditional on us being faithful and enduring.
“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 25:9 KJV
This is an interesting verse that I do not fully understand. In the natural setting it makes perfect sense… you would have to go buy oil for a lamp. But does it manage to splash over into the spiritual? Perhaps it does, I have a few thoughts on it.
One thing that I get is that you can’t get into Heaven on someone else’s coattails. The wise virgins had enough oil, but only enough for themselves. I can’t make you go to Heaven, I can’t hand you what I have so you can get in, or vice versa. You have to get it from someone who sells.
But who sells? God does, just without price. Isaiah tells us this:
“Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Isaiah 55:1 KJV
On the other hand you get forgiveness instantly if you repent, so your light would burn again without having to go find God. But on the other hand, if you were to take the mark of the beast from which there is no repentance, you would be searching and unable to get what you need. It is a sad thing, but that is a line that cannot be crossed, you can not take the mark of the beast and go to heaven. Still, verse 9 is a bit of an enigma to me.
“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 KJV
Hmmm, what
if they were searching for truth as part of the oil? While the five were searching for truth so
that they could get on track, the bridegroom came. The Holy Spirit often is symbolized by oil,
and He will guide us into all truth (John
But the
last few words are so sad. The door was
shut. Unlike the pre-trib doctrine,
there was no second chance for these
five. Pre-trib teaches that if you are
unfortunate enough to miss the rapture, you can still make Heaven by enduring
the tribulation, you can still go to be with the bridegroom. This parable says the opposite. If you aren’t ready when He comes, the door will
be shut and you will be doomed. I’m not
saying I like it, but it is what the Bible says. I’d rather have everyone be able to make it,
but Jesus explicitly said that few will be able to enter (Matthew
“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.” Matthew 25:11-13
KJV
That is
tough to read, being told that you aren’t known by Jesus. It doesn’t say that He never knew them as some
people will hear (Matthew
Now you might think that verse 13 actually supports a pre-trib rapture so that we cannot know the day or hour, but that is a straw-man argument. The entire parable teaches us to endure and not have our lamps go out, so the weight of the argument is greatly reduced. I don’t claim to know the day or hour; I simply know that I must endure through whatever will come. Dates don’t matter when you’re willing to wait for as long as it takes. By the time we get there people will most likely be convinced that Jesus really isn’t coming back, or that He came back sometime previously (which is what the Preterism doctrine teaches). Besides, it’ll be pretty hard to pinpoint the exact date that the Tribulation begins, and I haven’t seen enough evidence that it is exactly seven years for me to try counting days. It really doesn’t matter. Endure to the bitter end.
I know that I must not let my light go out for salvation’s sake. It doesn’t make me uncertain about where I am today, it makes me more determined to endure. Arguments for Eternal Security make it look like you can’t know you’re saved if you believe you can lose your salvation, but that too is a straw-man argument. I can determine very easily by scripture whether I am saved or not, there is no need to be uncertain.
Pre-trib will help you to be a foolish virgin, one unprepared to go the distance. If you are prepared only to get a lift out of here, how will you survive the Tribulation with your faith intact? If your eyes are not wide open, how will you see the great deception that is quickly slipping upon us? As mainstream doctrine feeds into the world system, people will slide right into Hell without even realizing it. It couldn’t possibly be them, it must be someone else. It’s someone else who wasn’t chosen and thus never saved; it’s someone else who must endure to the end through persecution and tribulation. It must not really be the mark; after all our rapture hasn’t happened.
Who will stand up and say “It’s me! I must endure”?
As always, you have tough choices to make. Thirteen verses make a mockery of what many highly respected people have to say. I have the honor of looking like I’m out of my mind, but if I’m right…