Parable of the Ten Virgins

An in depth analysis of the Parable of the 10 Virgins.  What does it look like when your oil is empty?

[Watch the Video]

Scriptures:

• Matthew 25:1-13
• Matthew 24:42-51
• 2 Corinthians 3:5-6
• Revelation 16:15
• Matthew 7:21-23
• Matthew 13:18-23
• John 14:1-3

Outline:

• Review
• Parable of the 10 virgins
• Biblical context
• Cultural context
• Analysis of the parable of the 10 virgins
• What we learn about the kingdom
• Jesus is our bride groom
• Check your oil

Review: The Kingdom of God

Different than What the Jews Expected

• The Jews expected the Messiah to be a human who would take dominion from the Romans
•  The kingdom is spiritual and not geopolitical

 What does it mean to enter the Kingdom?

• “Kingdom” means “reign” or “rule”
•  God’s reign over the earth and the hearts of men
• The Kingdom of Heaven is the same as the Kingdom of God

What We Know About the Kingdom of God

•  Already, but not yet…
• The Kingdom of God is here but not yet fully accessible by us
• It will be fully accessible after the end of the age
• It is different now than what it will be like at the end of the age
• The plan for God’s future Kingdom is the same as what He intended with Adam and Eve
• To have His will implemented upon the earth through mankind

About Parables

A parable is a short story that illustrates one or more lessons or principles

•  A parable is a type of analogy
•  A parable has a surface story and a deeper meaning
•  A simple story helps to explain a more complex or hidden story  

Analyzing the Parables

We have a tendency to filter the parables through our doctrine

• Especially the concept of salvation by grace
• We can’t filter Jesus through Paul
• We have to filter Paul through Jesus

It’s not necessarily wrong, but we need to be cautious of it

Parable of the 10 Virgins

This parable happens during passion week

• Passion Week is the first time Jesus Presented Himself as Messiah
• He allowed Himself to be worshipped

Jesus is speaking privately to his disciples

They asked him what will be the signs of His return at the end of the age

Matthew 25:1-13

1 "Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
2 "Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent.
3 "For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them,
4 but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps.
5 "Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep.
6 "But at midnight there was a shout, 'Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.'
7 "Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.
8 "The foolish said to the prudent, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.'
9 "But the prudent answered, 'No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.'
10 "And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut.
11 "Later the other virgins also came, saying, 'Lord, lord, open up for us.'
12 "But he answered, 'Truly I say to you, I do not know you.'
13 "Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.

• The point is to be alert because you won’t know the day nor the hour of Jesus’ return

Biblical Context

Olivet Discourse

After leaving the Temple, Jesus told His disciples that this great Temple, which took forty six years to build (John 2:20), was going to be torn down. Without responding the disciples quietly made their way out of the city and followed Him up the slopes of Mount Olivet.

In what is called, the Olivet Discourse, Jesus described the end-time events leading up to His Second Coming. He explained

• The timing of these events was only known by the Father
• Jesus warned His disciples about being watchful and ready by giving three parables and a description of the Final Judgment.
• This includes the discussion of the sheep on the left and the goats on the right

The parable of the 10 virgins starts off with “then”.  It is a continuation of what Jesus just finished teaching...

Matthew 24:42-51

42 "Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
43 "But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
44 "For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
45 "Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time?
46 "Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.
47 "Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
48 "But if that evil slave says in his heart, 'My master is not coming for a long time,'
49 and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards;
50 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know,
51 and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

• The master came sooner than they were expecting

Cultural Context

Jewish Wedding Traditions

There are 3 stages to a Jewish marriage

1. The Arraignment - Shiddukhin

1. The Wedding Contract - Ketubah
2. The Bridal Payment - The Mohar

2. Betrothal - The Eyrusin

1. The Bridal Gift - The Matan

3. The Marriage - Nissuin

The Arraignment

Shiddukhin refers to the first step in the marriage process.

• It was common in ancient Israel of the father of the groom to select a bride for his son.

The Wedding Contract - Ketubah

• The groom promises to support his wife to be.
• The bride (or her family) stipulates the contents of her dowry - financial status
• The bride to be had the right to say no

The Bridal Payment - The Mohar

This is sometimes called - the Bride price.

• It is a gift paid by the groom to the bride's family - but ultimately belongs to the bride.
• It changed her status and set her free from her parent's household.

The Ritual Immersion - The Mikveh

To prepare for betrothal it was common for the bride and groom to separately take a ritual immersion.

Betrothal

The betrothal period - it is a time in which the couple are to set side to prepare themselves to enter into the covenant of marriage. The Jewish understanding of betrothal has always been much stronger than our modern understanding of an engagement. The betrothal was so binding that the couple would need a religious divorce or (get) in order to annul the contract (Deut. 24:1-4). This option was only available to the husband, as the wife had no say in any divorce proceeding - this point will be very important when we view the spiritual implications later.

The couple would publicly express their intention of becoming betrothed or engaged.

There would be a betrothal ceremony.

After the ceremony - the couple was considered to have entered into the betrothal agreement.

This period was to last for one year. During this time the couple was considered married - yet did not have sexual relations - and continued to live separately until the end of the betrothal.

The Bridal Gift - The Matan

Following this betrothal ceremony the groom would return to his home to fulfill his obligations during the betrothal. But just prior to leaving he would give his wife to be a Matan - or bridal gift, a pledge of his love for her. It's purpose was to be a reminder to his bride during their days of separation of his love for her, that he was thinking of her - and that he would return to receive her as his wife.

• Groom gave a gift as a pledge of his love

The Couple's Responsibilities During the Betrothal

• During betrothal the groom's responsibility was to focus on preparing a new dwelling place for his bride and family:
• In Biblical times this was most often done not by building a new home - but by simply adding additional rooms to the family's existing home.
• The groom's father would determine when the dwelling was ready
• The father would then give the go ahead for the groom to receive his bride

The bride also was to keep herself busy in preparation for the wedding day - specifically wedding garments were to be sewn and prepared.

Arrival of the Bridegroom

• It was the father of the groom who would give the final approval for the marriage to begin.
• The bride knew the approximate timing - but the exact hour or day was uncertain.

The groom would go to the bride's house to bring her to the wedding.

It was customary for one of the grooms party to go ahead of the bridegroom, leading the way to the bride's house - and shout - "Behold, the bridegroom comes."

• This would be followed by the sounding of the shofar.
• At the sounding of the shofar the entire wedding processional would go through the streets of the city to the bride's house.

The bridegroom set out with his bride from the house of her parents, and there followed a grand procession all the way to his house. The streets of Asiatic cities were dark, and it was necessary that anybody venturing forth at night should carry a lamp or torch.

• Those invited guests, who did not go to the bride’s home, were allowed to join the procession along the way, and go with the whole group to the marriage feast.
• The virgins in the parable were part of this wedding procession

The Wedding Ceremony

The groomsmen would again set up the huppah:

• Again the couple would say a blessing over the cup of wine.
• The ceremony finalized the promises and vows.

The pinnacle of this joyful celebration was the marriage supper:

• It was much more than just a sit down dinner for all the guests.
• It included seven full days of food, music, dance and celebration
• After the festivities the husband was free to bring his bride to their new home to live together as husband and wife in the full covenant of marriage.

Analysis of the Parable

Parable talks about

• Being ready for Christ’s return
• Not knowing the time
• Expect a delay
• Judgment will follow the Second Coming

The focus of the story is that there was an unexpected delay.

• If there were no delay there would be no way to tell who was wise and who was foolish.

Bridegroom

Jesus is the bridegroom

He was in the middle of telling stories about His second coming

Bride

The bride wasn’t mentioned

• Similar to the parable of the wedding feast

Most scholars say the church is the bride since it is referred to as such throughout the New Testament

The concept of “the church” had not yet been revealed by God to anyone

• The disciples would not have understood the concept at the time
• The fact that the bride isn’t mentioned could actually support this though

10 Virgins

These young women served the role of escorting the bride and the bridegroom to their wedding feast in an elaborate processional.

• Some believe them to be the bride in the story

virgins

• “young women of marriageable age”
• “Bridesmaids”

Opinions on who the virgins are:

1. The church - those expecting Christ to return

• The foolish are those in the church who are unsaved
• Foolish are confessing Christians who don’t have a relationship with Jesus
• Those who claim to believe in Jesus but in their heart they really don’t or they have doubts

2. Virgins are the Jews

• The wise are those who accepted Christ
• The foolish are the Jews who didn’t accept Christ

3. A subset of believers

• The virgins are the believers who slept (not all believers)
• There are others who don’t sleep

4. The wise and foolish are both inside of us

• Foolish - left side of brain; wise - right side of brain

5. The Disciples

• He was warning them to be the wise ones

“Modern scholars generally see the wise virgins as those who are born again and the foolish those who only carry an outward appearance of salvation.”

The Disciples

If the church is the bride how can the virgins also be the church?

The 10 virgins represent the disciples given the current text of the previous statement

• This parable is a warning to the disciples

So the virgins in the parable are the apostles who are charged with leading and accompanying the bride to the bridegroom.

• He is warning them to be prepared for delay:
• They were the ones helping to prepare the bride
• They thought He would come back in their lifetime
• He was warning that they would need to endure for their whole lives
• Had they heeded this warning they wouldn’t have been surprised that He didn’t return in their lifetime

Although the warning was initially specifically for the twelve it has application now for all charged with preparing, leading and accompanying the bride of Christ to Christ.

• We can apply it to ourselves

The Wise vs the Foolish

• They all knew Jesus would return
• They were all waiting for the coming of the bride groom

What would have happened if the wise Virgins shared their oil with the foolish?

• Should the wise have given their oil to the foolish?

Each person will be judged based upon his/her own personal relationship with the Lord

You can’t get in by by your Pastor’s understanding

• Know what you believe

Maybe them saying “no” was part of what made them wise

Lamps

Many scholars believe they were torches

The lamps are the word of God

Psalms 119:105

Your word is a lamp to my feet

And a light to my path.

All of the virgins had lamps

Oil

All of the virgins had oil

Opinions: Oil is believed by various theologians to mean:

• good works
• saving faith or grace
• the Holy Spirit
• God’s name
• Wisdom
• joy
• A willingness to heed the warnings not to be deceived - During the tribulation
• The lack of oil is Self righteousness

Opinions:

• Augustine believes the lamps symbolize man’s heart burning with a pure conscience and inner glory, manifested by good works; and the oil represents one’s charity.
• Epiphanius says the oil represents compassion.
• Martin Luther believed the oil represented genuine faith
• Grotius believed it symbolized the Holy Spirit
• Alfred Plummer suggests the lamp represents outward works, while the oil represents “inward spiritual power”.
• Some say it’s God's grace imparted through the Holy Spirit

Most current scholars believe the oil represents the Holy Spirit

• By application most believe that the 5 foolish were unsaved

Not having the Holy Spirit would imply they weren’t saved

Problem is none of the disciples had the Holy Spirit at that time

• so they wouldn’t have understood that

Scripture Without the Holy Spirit Kills

2 Corinthians 3:5-6

5 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God,
6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

• The Bible without the Spirit kills
• But with the Holy Spirit it gives life

Self righteousness

Revelation 16:15
15 “Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.”

• The consequence of being asleep is that you do not know when Jesus will return
• Filthy garments relate to self righteousness

Buying the Oil

When the parable speaks of "selling" and "buying" that valuable article, it means simply, "Go, get it in the only legitimate way."

Jesus doesn’t tell us whether they bought oil or not

• It implies that it is not relevant to the story

Sleeping

What was the consequence of the virgins being asleep?

• Both the wise and the foolish slept
• Nowhere does Jesus imply that it’s bad

There is an implication that they knew he would be there on that day

• “Fell asleep vs “went to bed”
• They fell asleep wherever they were waiting

Opinions:

• Augustine believes the sleep of the virgins represents the sleep of death

              The Jesus came back after they died

• Sleep means that they went on about their normal everyday life. They went to sleep, woke up, and lived ordinary lives, kept doing their normal life.  - John Piper
• Living a life of sin

Sleeping doesn’t keep you out of Heaven unless you miss the midnight cry

Me: Sleep is focusing on worldly things

• It can make some people lose their faith
• Which includes going about your normal life

Return of the Groom

Once  the groom returns there will be no more opportunity for the grace

The parable of the bridesmaids is saying you better be ready because you don’t know when it’s going to happen

Opinions:

There has also been much debate as to whether this parable alludes specifically to

• the Rapture of the Church
• the Tribulation Period
• the Second Coming of Christ

Rapture

• Do you understand that the rapture theory assumes Jesus will come back twice?
• Do you have to believe in the rapture to be caught up in it?

I believe the parable is about the Second Coming

The distinction of when is only relevant if you’re alive when He returns

• It wasn’t relevant for the disciples
• We just need to make a point to be ready when Jesus returns

For most in history this parable refers to your death

• After that point it’s too late to buy any oil

I Don’t Know You

Why didn’t He let the foolish in?

• He didn’t know them

Opinions:

• They were Christians who didn’t have a relationship with Jesus
• They weren’t Christians (not saved)

Similar to...

Matthew 7:21-23

21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
22 "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'
23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

Jesus implies that “practicing lawlessness” is a reason to be kept out of Heaven

We studied this in the parable of the wheat and tares and saw that this word can be interpreted as those who aren’t saved

What Prevents You From Being Ready?

Jesus tells us that the parable of the soil is the key to understanding all of the other parables.

Matthew 13:18-22

18 "Hear then the parable of the sower.

19 "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.

20 "The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;

21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.

22 "And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

The word is unfruitful because of:

1. Satan took the word because they didn’t understand
2. Received with joy, but affliction and persecution come
3. Worry of the world
4. Deceitfulness of wealth

These are things that can cause you to turn away from Jesus.

Summary

The parable teaches:

• Jesus will return
• We won’t know the exact time
• There are things you can’t attain in the last minute
• Others won’t be able to help you
• If you aren’t ready you will not be let into The Kingdom

What We Learn About The Kingdom of God

The parable starts off the kingdom of heaven “will be like”. This means he is talking about the future.

The kingdom currently exist in two dimensions

• In heaven and on earth
• The two kingdoms will merge when Christ returns

This parable talks about the time when the kingdom of earth ends and merges with the kingdom of heaven

• At that time there will be a purging
• Sorting out the weeding out

Jesus clearly illustrates in multiple Kingdom parables that upon His return there will be a sorting

• He doesn’t explicitly give the criteria for who gets “into the Kingdom”
• He uses language that the “evil doers” and “the wicked” and “lawless” will be removed from (among) the kingdom
• (Jesus never talks about taking the righteous anywhere)

Related Kingdom Parables

Parables talking about the transition from the current Kingdom to the future one

• Wedding Feast
• Dragnet
• Wheat and weeds

All talk about weeping and gnashing of teeth

• All talk about a removal

Kingdom Points

1. There will be an end to the kingdom as it exists on earth
2. The end will come suddenly
3. Everyone in the kingdom will be responsible for themselves
4. Once the transition is made it is permanent
5. Sorting / judgment will occur when Jesus returns

Jesus is Our Bridegroom

The church is the bride waiting for our bridegroom, Jesus, to return

The Arraignment

The father of the groom selects a bride for his son

• God chose us

The bride had the right to say no

• We have to accept Jesus as our Lord

The Wedding Contract is the The New Covenant

Baptism is the ritual immersion

Betrothal

Once we accept Jesus we are betrothed to Him

• We are engaged

The Bridal Gift

Groom would give a gift as a pledge of his love

• That is Holy Spirit

Prepare a Place

During betrothal the groom's responsibility was to prepare a new dwelling place for his bride

John 14:1-3

1 "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.
2 "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
3 "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.

Only the Father Knows

The father would make that determination and give the go ahead to receive his bride.

• Jesus has given us signs and seasons but no man knows the day or the hour
• Only The Father knows the day and the hour

Be watchful your bridegroom is coming!

Check Your Oil

If you’ve been a Christian for a length of time you may have had a season of “not feeling it”

• Your not as motivated to follow Jesus as you were previously
• When the  oil in your lamp had gotten low

This is a parable talks about five virgins who were ready and five who were not

• 5 of them ran out of oil

Why didn’t they have enough oil?

• They were invited to the banquet
• They accepted the invitation, and planned to go to the banquet
• They were not expecting a delay
• The invitation was acceptable as long as he came quickly
• I’ll do this as long as it’s convenient
• I’ll do this if I don’t have to  endure hardship while I wait
• I’ll do this if my co-workers don’t tease
• I’ll do this if I get my prayers answered

God does not implement things according to our timing

Oil Leaks

Why People Get Oil Leaks

Some people will follow Jesus until

• They get sick
• They lose a loved one
• They lose their job

Sometimes people will follow Jesus until:

• They achieve their dreams
• They get to pentacle of their career
• They become a celebrity
• They begin to believe that they made it on their own
• They don’t think they need Jesus

Some people will go to church until

• They are wronged or hurt by another church member
• Somebody says something behind their back
• They find out something immoral about a church leader
• They find out that the doctrine they believed in had a flaw
• And therefore question Christianity

Maybe the pastor promised that God will heal everyone if you have faith

• And God didn’t come through with His half of the bargain

Or told you that every bad thing that happens to you is God’s will

• You can’t understand why God would do this to me
• Or why God would allow the vulnerable to suffer
• It doesn’t make sense

Not Knowing What You Believe

You’re in danger of an oil leak:

• If your faith has never been challenged
• If you don’t really understand what you believe

When someone wants to argue a bible point with you you ignore all the verses they quote and just stick to the one or two verses you know

• As if your verses cancel out theirs...they don’t

Signs of an Oil Leak

Signs that someone’s might be low on oil:

• They loosen up their grip on God
• They don’t show up as much as they used to
• They begin to allow things into their lives that they did not allow before
• They begin to justify why they allow these things into their life
• They begin to get selective about Bible scriptures that apply to them
• They grab one area or issue and make it there crusade
• They don’t want to hear the full counsel of God

They tell you that I used to be gung ho in that Christian thing

When Your Oil Is Full

When your oil is full and you have a problem, you don’t have anywhere to turn but to God

Your problems don’t make you doubt God

• Trials make you stronger

When your oil is full you say God I know you are not the author of this chaos, so I’m trusting in you to get me out of this

• But even if you don’t, I trust you to keep me through it

Some say when your oil is full you stay watchful

• Being alert for Jesus’ coming
• You stay awake

I’m here to tell you that when your oil is full

• You’ll be okay even if you go to sleep
• Because you know when the trumpet blows you got enough oil to get to the party

When your oil is full

• You can make it through the wait
• You can make it past midnight
• You can weather the storm
• You’re hoping He comes quick but you’re not worried about “what if He doesn’t”

You’re going to make it through

• Whatever happens
• Whenever He decides to come
• Wherever God sends you
• Whoever tries to stop you
• However the enemy tries to distract you
• No matter how many times the enemy tries to knock you down

Cause your oil is full

Cause your cup runneth over...your oil is full

Presenter: Michael Leadon

References

Customs of Bible Times – Betrothal and Wedding

https://www.stepstolife.org/article/customs-bible-times-betrothal-wedding/

Jewish Wedding Customs and the Bride of Messiah

http://messianicfellowship.50webs.com/wedding.html

Exegetical Analysis of the Parable of Ten Virgins (Matt 25.1-13)

http://www.academia.edu/6974206/Exegetical_Analysis_of_the_Parable_of_Ten_Virgins_Matt_25.1-13_

Parable of The Bridesmaids and Talents

https://youtu.be/_fr4q6dqqeE

Parable of the 10 virgins – Parts 1,2,3

https://youtu.be/N1C8-cPWL7o

https://youtu.be/kt9kCvBlYaM

https://youtu.be/0VnHbNdBNZg

10 virgins – a new look at an old parable by Perry Stone

The meaning of the Parable of the Ten Virgins

https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2011/11/06/744812/meaning-parable-ten-virgins#JCVyDfpXe91FL8VV.99

What Does the Oil in the Ten Virgins Parable Represent?

https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/13295/in-matthew-258-9-what-does-the-oil-in-the-ten-virgins-parable-represent

He who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him

https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/11390/what-does-blessed-is-he-who-stays-awake-and-keeps-his-clothes-with-him-mean

1 10 16 The Parable of the 10 Virgins

https://youtu.be/h_R1P8VlmGU

Extra

Cultural Context

Genesis 24:52–53

52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the ground before the Lord.

53 The servant brought out articles of silver and articles of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother.

Genesis 29:20

20So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, yet it seemed but a few days because of his love for her.

Mary and Joseph

Matthew 25:18-20

18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with Child through the Holy Spirit.19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and was unwilling to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly.

20But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard

The parable of the vineyard was a parable where a vineyard owner hired people to work in his field throughout various times of the day.  At the end of the day He paid them all the same wage.

What Jesus was telling us in the parable was that whether you become a believer early or late in life you will still receive eternal life.  

We also saw in the story of the rich young ruler that Jesus wasn’t teaching that the rich will automatically be esteemed lower than the poor in Heaven.  Jesus stated “the first shall be last and the last shall be first”.  He was teaching that there will be surprises in Heaven.  Some that we esteem highly here on earth will not be exalted in Heaven and some that we don’t think of highly here on earth will be.  Heaven’s value system is different than earth’s.

The bottom line is that we need to trust God to determine what is fair and not lean on our own understanding about what is fair and what isn’t.

• Yes everyone in the vineyard gets paid when the landowner returns
• But you have to be in the Vineyard
• If the landowner returns and you are in the marketplace you will not get paid

Analysis

In The Daily Study Bible Series, Gospel of Matthew Volume II, Barclay observes, "The parable has two universal meanings, it warns us that there are certain things which cannot be obtained at the last minute. It is far too late for a student to be preparing when the day of the examination is come. It is too late for a man to acquire a skill or character if he does not already possess it. It warns us there are certain things which cannot be borrowed. A man cannot borrow a relationship with God, he must possess it for himself. We cannot always be living on a spiritual capital which others have amassed" (pp.320-321).

119 Ministries

they believe we still need to follow all 613 Old Testament laws

Wise - One who hears and obeys

The foolish - those who are disobedient

The lamp – the commandment

The light – the laws of God

The oil - the desire to obey the law of God

Endure to the End

Matthew 24:9-14

9 "Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.
10 "At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.
11 "Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.
12 "Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold.
13 "But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.
14 "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

• ~We can’t filter Jesus through Paul
• ~ we have to filter Paul through Jesus
• ~ we are “Christ”-ians
• ~ Jesus talks about the wicked being removed at the end of the age
• ~ He also talks about his return at the end of the age

The 10 Virgins

The assumption in many of these answers is that this is a warning for the modern "Church" but Matthew's concern is the imminent return of Christ to set establish the earthly kingdom of God (glorified Israel), destroy the nations (IE: Rome) and reign forever from Zion. Instead, because Israel's leaders did not repent and acknowledge Christ, instead he smote the land with utter destruction in 70 AD

Jesus’ Return

1 Thessalonians 5:1-9

1 Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you.
2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.
3 While they are saying, "Peace and safety!" then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.
4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief;
5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness;
6 so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.
7 For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night.
8 But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.
9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Luke 12:36-46

36 "Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks.
37 "Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them.
38 "Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
39  "But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
40 "You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect."
41 Peter said, "Lord, are You addressing this parable to us, or to everyone else as well?"
42 And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time?
43 "Blessed is that slave whom his fnmaster finds so doing when he comes.
44 "Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
45 "But if that slave says in his heart, 'My master will be a long time in coming,' and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk;
46 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers.

• This person is a nonbeliever

Lamp

Mark 4:21-25

21 And He was saying to them, "A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand?
22 "For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light.
23 "If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."
24 And He was saying to them, "Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides.
25 "For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him."

What if you die before Jesus comes back?

• Then I would have died ready!

Oil / Holy Spirit

Exodus 30:32-33

31 "You shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations.
32 'It shall not be poured on anyone's body, nor shall you make any like it in the same proportions; it is holy, and it shall be holy to you.
33 'Whoever shall mix any like it or whoever puts any of it on a layman shall be cut off from his people.'"

• Speaks of a ministry that looks real but isn’t
• The magicians mimicked Moses’ miracles

Why would someone have a lamp without spare oil?

• They planned to lean on the provisions of others
• Hoping to blend in among those who had the oil
• They were hoping that in the end it just wouldn’t matter

It’s not your knowledge of the Bible that makes you ready

It Is the Holy Spirit

John 7:37-41

37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
38 "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'"
39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
40 Some of the people therefore, when they heard these words, were saying, "This certainly is the Prophet."
41 Others were saying, "This is the Christ." Still others were saying, "Surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is He?

The Holy Spirit in your life is what makes you ready

It has nothing to do with sin

We’re not talking about

• The baptism of the holy spirit (1 Cor 12:13-14)

There there’s a difference between being into it by the Holy Spirit and having the Holy Spirit come upon you

• Ask God to fill you a fresh with the power of the Holy Spirit

Why would God give you the power of the Holy Spirit if you don’t have intentions to fully living out your Christian life

• If you have not surrendered

Luke 11:9-13

9 "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
10 "For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.
11 "Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he?
12 "Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he?
13 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?"

His Name

Psalms 45 - A Song Celebrating the King’s Marriage.

 10Listen, O daughter, give attention and incline your ear:

            Forget your people and your father’s house;

      11Then the King will desire your beauty.

            Because He is your Lord, bow down to Him.

      12The daughter of Tyre will come with a gift;

            The rich among the people will seek your favor.

      13The King’s daughter is all glorious within;

            Her clothing is interwoven with gold.

      14She will be led to the King in embroidered work;

            The virgins, her companions who follow her,

            Will be brought to You.

      15They will be led forth with gladness and rejoicing;

            They will enter into the King’s palace.

      16In place of your fathers will be your sons;

            You shall make them princes in all the earth.

      17I will cause Your name to be remembered in all generations;

            Therefore the peoples will give You thanks forever and ever.

Matthew 24: 9-14

9 "Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.
10 "At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.
11 "Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.
12 "Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold.
13 "But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.
14 "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

This is a song about a bride

Song of Songs 1

2 "May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is better than wine.
3 "Your oils have a pleasing fragrance,
Your name is like purified oil;
Therefore the maidens love you.
4 "Draw me after you and let us run together!
The king has brought me into his chambers."
" We will rejoice in you and be glad;
We will extol your love more than wine.
Rightly do they love you."

Wisdom

Psalms 11:10

10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments;
His praise endures forever.

The Sheep and the Goats

31When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. 32All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.

34Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, 36I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’

37Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? 38When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’

40And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’

41Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

44And they too will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’

45Then the King will answer, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’

46And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Sleep

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

Sleep Is Self Righteousness

Revelation 3:1-3

1 "To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: 'I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
2 'Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.
3 'So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.

4 But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 5 He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

• The consequence of being asleep is that you do not know when Jesus will return
• Filthy garments relate to self righteousness

Revelation 16:15
15 “Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.”

• The consequence of being asleep is that you do not know when Jesus will return
• Filthy garments relate to self righteousness

Thus the idea of sleep and taking your clothes off in the dark come together. In the following verse, clean white clothes represent righteous living.

Revelation 19:8
8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Hebrews 6:1-2

1 Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on  to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
2 of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.

1 Thess 5:5-11
5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; 6 so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. 7 For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. 8 But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.

In the example noted in Sardis, some are believers were seen as asleep in the darkness of carnality, but in the omniscient eyes of the Lord, some were not asleep but were DEAD, which means that they were not believers, but unbelievers -- and thus their names will not appear in the Book of Life.

Second Coming

Muslims Believe Jesus Is Coming Back

In Islamic eschatology, Jesus returns in a Second Coming to fight the Al-Masih ad-Dajjal or "False Messiah" and establish peace on earth.

--Wikipedia

The Midnight Cry

There will be a cry when Jesus returns

It says he will return with the voice of an archangel

trumpet at Christ’s Second Coming

Could be a prophet

Everyone heard the midnight cry

It was too late to be saved once the cry was heard

The midnight cry will be useful to those who are ready

Check Your Oil

What if your entrance to Heaven was based on interviews of people who knew you best?

• If God asked them whether or not you exhibit it a lifestyle of having a Lordship to Christ

He asked:

• Your spouse
• Your siblings
• Your children
• Your parents
• Your neighbors
• The homeless person that you saw multiple times
• The janitor at your job
• The security guard at your job
• The waiter who messed up your last order