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The Ten Virgins When reading about the five wise and the five foolish virgins there are
many ways a person could interpret their meanings. One of the things that
make a difference in understanding is whether we believe in Grace as the
basis of our salvation or whether we believe that works is the basis of
our salvation. If you believe that you are saved by grace then you will
probably believe that the five foolish virgins were not born again or they
were possibly backslidden and will be left behind in the rapture of the
Church. If you believe that works determines your salvation you will
probably believe that the five foolish were Christians that were in a
fallen state and that all five are destined for Hell and eternal
damnation. Hopefully we will come to the right understanding of this
parable before we are finished. Matthew 25: There are several things to consider when reading these scriptures. When we see these ten virgins the first thought that comes to us this
that of the Bride of Christ. The fact that the Word says that we are
supposed to be as chaste virgins. There is a little disappointment in not
seeing her as brides but rather as to find that these are considered to be
bridesmaids. The reason for this is because we as individuals, are not the Bride of
Christ. The Church is the Bride. We are only a part of the Bride and like
the bridesmaids we will attend the wedding. But the Church in its totality
is to be considered as the Bride. In this parable the five wise Virgins
are the true Church and have been born again with eternal oil. There are those in the Church known nowadays as Nominal Christians.
There are millions of these in our land today. Only 47 percent of all who
claim to be Christians in America are truly born again according to Gallup
pole. Which means that they have a personal experience and know that they
are born again. There are two types of oil: one is the Holy Spirit that
produces the righteousness in the born again Christian. The other is the
oil of self-will and self-discipline. This is what Paul would call;
establishing our own form of righteousness. There are many that come to
Church with this kind of oil. But this oil is only from the human heart
and will run out because it is not eternal. Just as the oil ran out for
the Covenant of Moses this kind of oil in the heart that is not born again
will eventually burn out. The fact that they were all virgins symbolized that they were all
living righteously. Which tells us that there was no difference between
the five wise and the five foolish. When it came to living right, they
were pure. They all slumbered and slept when the bridegroom tarried. They all
believed that he had delayed his coming so they had gone to bed. Perhaps
they thought that he would come the next day. Of course we know that the
cry went out at midnight. The significance of this is that they all
believed that they were ready. I don’t suppose that any of them believed
that he would come in the night. So both groups of virgins were taken by
surprise. The next point is that they all had lamps. The difference of course was
that the wise had taken extra oil in their vessels, the foolish didn’t
take any more than what they had in their lamps. This is the factor that
is going to open our understanding to what Jesus was teaching these
people. And as to what he was talking about. The Lamps and the oil in them
are the answer to the mystery. These lamps and their oil could also represent the two covenants and
the Spirit of God that is in them. We must realize that when Jesus came to
Israel the Jewish people were under the Law of Moses. They at the time
were the only lights that God would use to show the world his will. The
oil or the Spirit of God was in this covenant. This covenant, The Law of
Moses was the light that they were showing to the world. The people who
sincerely followed and lived by this covenant were considered righteous by
God. It was the only light in the world until the time that Jesus
came. When Jesus came he gave us a brand New Covenant. Because of this New
Covenant, God would change his method of doing things. When Jesus was
crucified he established his new covenant with all mankind. But, Israel
would have a real problem with this simply because they would not be able
to understand. So Jesus in this parable was trying to reach their minds in
order to show them the end results of not accepting the New Covenant that
he had given. One of the things we must consider is that Israel had been placed in
partial blindness as a judgment for past sins. So the scripture "many are
called but few are chosen" was fulfilled at the time of Christ. They have
remained in darkness for the most part until this day. Many of them are
still trusting in the Old Covenant as the way to get to God. This is the
very basis of this parable. The five foolish virgins are the children of
Israel who believe that this is the way. This is the very basis of this
parable. The five foolish virgins are the children of Israel who believe
that this is the way. They live as righteous as they can. The Lamp they
carry is the Law of Moses and they try to celebrate and share this as much
as they possibly can. In fact you can become a Jew if you want to. They
are looking for new converts all the time. They are also looking for the
bridegroom to come. You see Israel believes that the Messiah has never
come. So they are also looking for his appearing. They also to this day
believe that he has delayed his coming. The five wise virgins represent the Jewish people who were following
Jesus at that time. This also includes the Church, both Jew and Gentile
across the earth today. The lamp that we carry is the New Covenant, or the
New Testament that Jesus has given to us. This lamp is now the light of
the World. We call it the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we witness
or share this Gospel we become a city set on a hill for all men to see.
When the bridegroom comes this is the people who will be ready to meet
him. Just like Israel we are looking for the Messiah, the only difference
is that it is his Second Coming, not his first. When the veil of the Temple was rent the Spirit of God left. But, I
believe that God gave Israel a period of forty years to repent and accept
Jesus. Jesus told them that the Temple would be destroyed. In exactly
40yrs from the time Jesus spoke those words the Temple was destroyed and
Jerusalem was captured. It was at this time that the oil ran out for the
Old Covenant. I believe that God gave them this space before the oil would
run out. Today they are carrying a lamp without oil. The message in this parable is to show them and us the futility of
trying to be saved through the Law of Moses. There is only one covenant
that will save us, and that is the New Covenant of faith in Jesus through
his blood and accomplishments at the cross. Paul said that the preaching
of the cross was the power of God unto Salvation. There is absolutely no
other way. We can all live right, be looking for the Messiah, but if we
are not in the New Covenant through faith in Jesus we will be lost. The extra oil in the Lamp of the Church is the fact that the New
Covenant is eternal. He said that the Holy Ghost would abide with us
forever. The oil in our lamps will never run out as long as we are truly
looking for Jesus to come. The foolish virgins went to the wise virgins trying to get them to
share their oil. The problem with this was that the wise were unable to do
this. All they could do was point the way to those who could. Go to the
sellers. It is symbolic of us preaching the Gospel. All we can do is tell
others where to go to get it. Isaiah said it like this. Isa:55:1: 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. We cannot give someone else the Holy Spirit. Only God can do that. So
it is necessary for those who are trying to make it to heaven any other
way to go to Jesus to get the oil. The message is to get the oil of
salvation from Jesus so that you can be saved. How do we buy it? With our
faith! Believing enough to come to him and ask. The Gentile Church needs to have a heart towards Israel and give them
the Gospel so that they will not be rejected when Jesus comes. It is up to
us to make the difference. God has placed this ministry in our hands. Paul
told us in the 11th Chapter of Romans that God had placed
Israel in blindness so that he could have mercy on us. He did it this way
so that through our mercy they would find mercy. What he was saying was
this. God put Israel in blindness so that we could be saved. His plan is
that after we have been saved we would in turn give them the Gospel and
then they will be saved. It is his perfect will for this to happen. I hope that you have enjoyed this teaching. If you have please share it
with someone you love. Yours in Christ, |