The Wise and Foolish Virgins

By Gerry Watts

 

  “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

  At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

  But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’ But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don't know you.’

 Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”

(Matthew 25:1-13 NIV)

 

  Firstly, the thing we must take note of is that this parable is given in the context of Christ’s Return, also known as the Day of the Lord. It belongs to the clear prophetic details of Christ’s ‘Olivet Discourse’ in Matthew 24. So Jesus is saying that ‘At that time’ or ‘then,’ as the end of the age draws near, the kingdom of the heavens (that is, the Church) will be like Ten Virgins.

  Secondly, we dealt with the subject of the Wedding Feast in quite some detail in the last chapter, so to avoid unnecessary repetition, I would suggest that the reader should refer to that chapter for further details on Jewish weddings in the time of Christ. This will shed further light on our present parable.

  So in the above parable we have the following picture. Ten virgins or young maidens, who are bridesmaids, are awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom. Due to the fact that they are not aware of when he will arrive to take his bride to the wedding festivities, they need to have oil lamps or torches with them so that they can guide the way of the wedding procession at night upon his arrival. Five of them were foolish and didn’t come prepared with extra oil, while the other five were wise and carried extra oil with them. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, so as they waited, the day wore on, eventually becoming evening and nighttime - and they all fell asleep.

  Yet, in the middle of the night, the cry from the watchmen, leading the bridegroom’s procession, rang out, announcing the bridegroom’s arrival - at last. The ten virgins wake up and quickly trim their lamps, ready to receive the bridegroom, but the five foolish ones were running out of oil; hence their lamps were going out. So they begged the others to share what oil they had, but, wisely, they had to refuse, otherwise none of them would be ready to receive the bridegroom on behalf of the bride, because all their lamps would be going out, ruining everything!

  Yet while the five foolish virgins went off to buy more oil, the bridegroom arrives and the complete procession moves on to the place where the wedding festivities are about to be held. Meanwhile, the five foolish virgins return and they try to get in to the feast, but the bridegroom rejects them for their failure to serve and honour him and his bride.

The Virgins Are Leaders

  The simple message that Jesus gives here is ‘Be prepared and watch for My Return.’ He indicated many times in His ministry that the Church, during the era of His Return, would be characterised by deception and complacency, summed up in the words “Watch, for you do not know the day or the hour, and the Son of Man will come at a time when you do NOT expect Him.” Interesting, yet sober, words from the Master. Yet there is a little more being revealed in this parable.

  Evidently, Jesus is the Bridegroom, who is a long time in coming, and the wedding festivities are the manifestation of the Kingdom at His Return. Yet notice that the bride herself is not mentioned at all. She is only there in the background, so to speak, and she is not the main focus. The primary focus of this particular parable is the Bridegroom and the ten Virgins. So who are the ten Virgins?

  Well, the job of the virgins or bridesmaids was to be servants and guides for the bride and bridegroom. In the same way as John the Baptist was the Friend or Best Man (special Prophet) of the Bridegroom (Christ), yet he still belonged to the Ecclesia of God (the Bride) (John 3:27-30), so the Virgins represent the leaders (i.e. apostles, prophets, shepherd/teachers, evangelists) of the Church, though they still belong to the Ecclesia or Bride (cf. Ephesians 4:11-13).

  Paul spoke the following words to the Ecclesia at Corinth, which by extension applies to all believers.

  For I betroth you to one Man, to present a chaste virgin to Christ.

 

(2 Corinthians 11:2 CV)

  Although Paul is primarily referring to believers in Christ as being, collectively, a betrothed bride, nevertheless he mentions the fact that we are to be spiritual chaste virgins. That is to say, we are to remain loyal to Christ by walking in righteousness and holiness and truth, in obedience to His commands, avoiding all forms of idolatry, which is viewed in Scripture as spiritual adultery and prostitution. So the ten Virgins are clearly representing the Ecclesia in some way or another.

  Also, the number Ten seems to symbolise God’s Perfected Order in the world. God is perfecting His order of the kingdom of the heavens in this world through His Ecclesia. Yet five of them are wise (five being the number symbolising Grace), and the other half are foolish. The real issue is that the wise ones are prepared with extra olive oil for their lamps, because their focus is on serving the Bride and Bridegroom, while the others are totally unprepared, revealing their lack of loyalty to the bride and groom.

Olive Oil

  It is a common, well known fact that in ancient times, olive oil was used for anointing those in special office, such as prophets, priests and kings, and it was also commonly used in lamps, in particular, the seven-branched Lampstand in the Tabernacle/Temple. Olive oil is a clear symbol of the Holy Spirit of God, which brings illumination (light) and power (heat), as well as authority (being anointed).

  “Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning. In the Tent of Meeting, outside the curtain that is in front of the Testimony, Aaron and his sons are to keep the lamps burning before the LORD from evening till morning. This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for the generations to come.

 

(Exodus 27:20-21 NIV)

 

“…and a hin of olive oil. Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil.”

 

(Exodus 30:24-25 NIV)

  The Menorah (the seven-branched lampstand) represents Christ Jesus as the ultimate Anointed One of God (Messiah) who is the Light of the whole world. Yet the spiritual Body of Christ, as temples of God (individually and corporately) are also Menorahs, lights of the world (Revelation 1:20; Matthew 5:14-16).

Loyal Servants

  In light of this (excuse the pun), the following words of Jesus fit well into our present subject.

  “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

 

(Luke 12:35-40 NIV)

  Here we have a similar picture and message. The followers of Christ are like servants who need to be diligent, loyal servants of their Master as they wait for Him to return, keeping their lamps burning, even if He returns late into the night, during the second or third watches. When He knocks on the door, they’ll be ready for Him. These are good, wise servants. Then in response to their loyalty and faithfulness, the Master Himself will dress Himself to serve them as they recline at the Feast in the Kingdom of God. What a beautiful picture of love and fellowship – and awesome humility from our beloved Lord. This IS age-abiding life – knowing Him!

  Yet even now He is knocking on the door, that we may open it for Him and begin to have fellowship with Him in His Kingdom, and to those faithful ones who overcome and serve Him faithfully to the end, He will give the throne-rights to co-rule with Him in His Kingdom. An awesome promise!

  “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

 

(Revelation 3:20-22 NIV)

  This also reminds me of one of my favourite passages of Scripture – John 21:1-25. John tells us of the time Jesus appeared to seven of the disciples after His resurrection (John included), while they were fishing on the Sea of Galilee. Early in the morning, while they were still in the boat trying to catch some fish, after fishing all through the night, Jesus appeared to them on the shore. After causing them to haul in a miraculous catch of fish, Jesus cooked them breakfast over a coal fire on the beach (the staple food of fish and bread), which, I may add, was already cooking by the time they got to the shore with the miraculous catch of fish. They then ate together on the beach by the Lake, talking and having fellowship with their resurrected, immortal Master.

  During this time, Peter was fully restored to fellowship (after the shame of his triple denial) through Jesus asking him three times, “Do you love Me?” and then commissioning him to be a shepherd of His sheep (of added interest, Jesus used the two Greek words for love in this conversation – ‘agapao’ for unconditional love, and ‘phileo’ for brotherly love or affection). This is such a wonderful picture of pure love and friendship that goes beyond a Master/slave relationship. To me, this is what it’s all about – communing with (or knowing) the Father and His Son, and the rest of His family. This is what Moses was doing when he was up on the Mountain of Sinai for 40 days and nights – hanging out with God and His Son!

  Here are some more precious words that Jesus originally spoke to the Twelve.

  “You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other.”

 

(John 15:14-17 NIV)

  These words contain the key to true discipleship. Those who are growing into the sons of God (the chaste virgins; the wise, obedient servants) are no longer called servants, but friends of Jesus, the Prince – ultimately, His brothers. This, in turn, leads to true power and authority before the throne of the Majesty in Heaven. No servant is greater than his Master, but it is enough that we become like our Master, so we must learn to walk as Jesus did.

  This whole episode of Jesus and the seven disciples by the Sea of Galilee is also a type or figure of the end of this age. The Seven disciples represent the Ecclesia, particularly the chosen leaders, who will be working through the night or darkness of this world appearing to catch nothing, but at dawn Jesus will appear and a great harvest of fish (i.e. men, fishers of men) will be saved for the kingdom. Then Jesus and the Seven will co-rule over the rest in the kingdom in love and fellowship (breakfast on the beach).

Burning Lamps

  Anyhow, getting back to our parable, the Virgins are leaders of the people of God (the Bride) who are also servants of the Bridegroom. (This is a similar metaphor as to believers being the sheep of God’s flock, yet there are those who are called to be shepherds of the sheep – yet the shepherds still belong to the flock!) In relation to this, the ecclesias in Revelation chapters 1 to 3 are symbolised as 7 seven-branched candlesticks or lampstands, which not only represents individual believers, or ecclesias (groups of believers), but they represent various characteristics of the whole of Christendom or the Church from the First Century to the end of the age. Jesus’ words in the letter to the ecclesia at Ephesus are very sobering.

  “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”

 

(Revelation 2:4-5 NIV)

  So, not only are believers in Christ supposed to be burning lamps, shining out God’s righteousness, truth and love, but we are to be loyal servants of God, some of whom become chief servants (or virgins with lamps), serving the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ. The wise ones are those who remain loyal to the end, being prepared by studying the Word of God, remaining in Christ, and walking by the Spirit. This is how we watch – and endure – and have plenty of oil while the Bridegroom tarries.

  Yet notice how ALL of the virgins fell asleep! This appears to be indicating that at the end of the age, when the kingdom is drawing near again, THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD WILL BE LULLED TO SLEEP DUE TO THE LENGTHY ABSENCE OF CHRIST. No wonder, then, that Jesus and the Apostles have given many warnings about this age, and the apostasy and deception that will grow as this age progresses. No wonder the NT is full of words of encouragement that urge believers to watch, be prepared, endure to the end, remain in the teaching of Christ, run the race, keep focused on your faith, etc, etc. There is an inevitable danger of falling asleep due to the spirit of the times!

  Remember how Peter, James and John fell asleep in the garden of Gethsemane while Jesus was praying, even though He had warned them about what was coming (Matthew 26:36-46). “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak,” Jesus told them. Nevertheless, their weak flesh got the better of them and they slept at a time when they should’ve been watching and praying with their Master. The result was that they were unprepared for what happened that night – Peter attacked the servant of the chief priest with a sword, and all the disciples deserted Jesus and ran away due to fear of what was happening. Peter then went on to deny Jesus three times due to his fear and weakness of the flesh, exactly as Jesus had told him beforehand that it would happen, warning him that Satan was going to sift him (Luke 22:31-34, 54-62). Even though all this occurred before the Holy Spirit was poured out at Pentecost, nevertheless, the lesson to be learned remains the same.

The Time is at Hand

  I strongly believe that we are already approaching this era of the end of the age when all the virgins will temporarily fall asleep. If you are a disciple of Christ (as most reading this probably are), and especially if you are called to be a chief servant or virgin in the Ecclesia of God, then you will either be a wise one or a foolish one. If you’re taking the time to read this, then you’re probably a wise one, as you’re seeking truth. I pray that you may be amongst the wise ones who are patiently waiting and enduring, watching for the Master’s Return, being faithful to His commands, no matter what others may say or do – and relying totally on His Grace and Mercy to deliver us all. 

  The time is near when the prophecies of the Day of the Lord and the coming manifestation of the kingdom shall be fulfilled. This is a time for spiritual fasting for we are entering the deep watches of the night, when, for a time, the Shadow of darkness will grow for a while – but the great Wedding Feast is nearly upon us. Rejoice and be glad for the Bridegroom is coming to expel the darkness – and Watch!

  Here are some closing words of Scripture in relation to this. For those who have ears to hear, let them hear!

  Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.”

 

(Matthew 9:14-15 NIV)

 

  “Yet should not God by all means be doing the avenging of His chosen ones, who are imploring Him day and night? And He is patient with them. I am saying to you that He will be doing the avenging of them swiftly. Moreover, consequently, at the coming of the Son of Mankind, will He be finding the faith on the earth?”

 

(Luke 18:7-8 CV)

 

  The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.”

 

(Revelation 22:17 NIV)

 

 

Copyright © Gerry Watts 2007

 

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