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The haunting, deep, and, at the same time, thrilling prophetic parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) given by Jesus as a response to the question asked by the disciples in Matthew 24:3, Mark 13:3,4, and Luke 21: 7 has been problematical for Bible scholars, especially those of a dispensational persuasion, and, as a result, it is usually given a spiritualized general application related to maintaining our readiness for the return of Christ at any time.

However, we must remember that this parable was given with numerous specific details as part of the Lord's lengthy answer to the disciples' question, When will this happen and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?

As recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 (See The Olivet Prophecy), the Lord first gave His disciples (Peter, James, Andrew, and John) an outline of major events of the end times, the prophetic future of these specific men, and the major prophetic events that would be experienced by His future disciples in the end times right up to, and including, the last day.

Following His straightforward prophetic outline in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, the Lord gave them two analogies and two parables to illustrate details and aspects of His prophetic answer to their question.

All of the analogies and the parables shed light on the details of His prophetic response, but the parable of the ten virgins is the least understood and contains the most important details.

The parable of the ten virgins, like all parables, is a spiritual analogy, and, as such, the amazing amount of detail tells us that this parable was intended to reveal a great deal more than just a general application concerning the maintaining of our readiness for His return.

Like all prophecy, this parable was intended to be illuminated most clearly to the generation for whom the parable is intended, and, apparently, we are the generation for whom it is intended.

In order to clearly understand the literal meaning of the text we need to first establish the time frame in which this event takes place. After that we need to establish the identity of the bridegroom, the bride, the groomsman, the lamps and oil, and the virgins.

The time frame of the parable is at midnight immediately prior to the wedding banquet of the Lord, and, because the parable was given in response to the disciples' question, When will this happen and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?, the parable must be concerned with the return of the Lord.

The succinct overview includes:

The parable does not specifically identify the source of the announcement, Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!  We do know that it is not the "virgins" themselves, because they have all fallen asleep. We may assume that this announcement is made or caused anonymously by the Holy Spirit, the "groomsman", but there is no direct scriptural evidence. Nor do we know what the nature of the announcement will be, but we can assume that it will be remarkable, universal, and recognizable to the entire believing church.

The identification of the "virgins" is more problematical. Inductively, we must conclude that the parable, given to the church, is about the church. But questions arise.

"Virgins" (parthenos Strong's #3933) is a term used to denote an unmarried person of either sex, and in relation to a group waiting to accompany the bridegroom into the wedding feast, it would indicate the unmarried kinsmen of the bridegroom.

The KJV uses a more literal translation, when it identifies the virgins as "children (sons) of the bridechamber", a term that would apply to the bridegroom's close relatives, including adopted brothers and sisters (i.e. the church).

This interpretation is strengthened by the Lord's literal identification of His disciples as "guests" of the bridegroom (Himself).

How can the guests ...(referring to His disciples)...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 9:15 NIV  (insert and emphasis is the author's) 

This specific scriptural identification of the disciples (and, therefore, the church) as "guests" (unmarried kinsmen of the groom) is coupled with the Lord's specific scriptural identification of Himself as the "bridegroom.

Go back to the original question asked by Peter, James, Andrew, and John, the future mega-apostles of the church.

"When will these things happen, and what will be the signs of your coming?"

This parable given to the future apostles of the church, by context, must be about the church, and the church must be the "virgins" (unmarried kinsmen of the Groom) in this parable.

This logical conclusion should be overwhelmingly apparent to anyone who reads the passage, but our ability to reach this logical conclusion has been hindered by our assumption of false dispensational teaching that the church is the "bride of Christ."

Scripture clearly identifies the New Jerusalem as the "bride of Christ," and the church, along with all the other saints from Adam through the millennium as the "dress" or adornment of the bride. We are, therefore, associated with the bride of Christ, but we are not exclusively the "bride of Christ." No other inductive exegetical conclusion can be reached without deliberately distorting scripture, but the temptation to do so is great because of the power of tradition, even when that tradition is blatantly erroneous.

But error, no matter who has repeated it or for how long, is still error.

And we Laodiceans, especially the dispensational Laodiceans among us, all of whom the Lord has threatened to spew out of His mouth if we do not repent from our blending of truth with error, love to think of ourselves as the lovely "bride" of Christ who will be carried away in glory, even though we have failed miserably in our commission, while the rest of the world catches hell.

But...that's not what will happen.

The oil is generally accepted to be the Holy Spirit and needs no exegetical expansion, and the lamps represent our souls or our unique spirit-soul connection whereby we receive revelatory input ("light"), which is His word (His truth, promises, and commands) from the Holy Spirit in various ways.

A lamp with oil but without a neatly trimmed wick provides some light, but not the full light of a lamp with oil and a trimmed wick.

The "trimming" of the wick is the cutting away of false doctrine, false practices, and false interpretations of scripture that have divided the body of Christ and hindered the manifestation of the fullness and glory of Christ through the church.

When these are cut away the oil is allowed to burn brightly, and, in terms of the Spirit's revelation, all of the church will begin to "see" more clearly with the eyes of their hearts and all of the church will begin to "hear" more clearly with spiritual ears.

A lamp without oil, though,  is like trying to read scripture in the dark and is reminiscent of 1 Corinthians 2:14.

As we review the parable itself, keep in mind that this parable reveals what will happen to two distinct classes of virgins, or unmarried kinsmen of the bridegroom. It does not relate to individual history. Individual history is relative only to whichever classification the believer falls into.

        Nor is the designation "foolish" virgin a description of the nominal (not born again) church. If you are a "virgin" (an unmarried kinsman of the Lord) you are born again. Being "foolish" or "wise" is an adjective describing two categories of "virgins" (unmarried kinsmen of the Lord) both of whom have the oil of the Holy Spirit at the time they are awakened.

             Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom....All ten virgins went out to meet the bridegroom, which we must assume is the expectation that the entire church has had from the beginning, not just the present day. But we must also assume that the seeds of "foolishness" were already planted. Keep in mind, too, that this parable is about believing, born-again Christians and has nothing to do with nominal Christianity.

Note: Ten is the number of divine perfection as in the ten commandments. The number ten represents the whole church. Therefore, all ten are born-again Christians. This is not a parable about five "nominal" Christians and five "born-again" Christians.

         Five of them were foolish and five of them were prudent...The designation of "foolish" and "prudent" applied to the entire believing church from the initial going out to meet Him, which includes the expectancy of His original disciples and the earliest days of church history.

         For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them...This is the real point of division. At some point, early in church history,  the entire believing church began to divide into these two classes. Here the indication is that they have oil in their lamps, but they did not take extra oil or make provision to keep oil in their lamps.

          But the wise took oil with them in their flasks...The "prudent" or "wise" made sure that they would continue to have oil in their lamps by taking extra flasks of oil. This activity includes a diligent, continual pursuit of pure doctrine and active, obedient faith responses to the truth, promises, and commands of the Lord.This is the specific difference between the designation of "foolish" or "wise" virgins.

          Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all became drowsy and began to sleep...The "delay" represents roughly 2000 years of church history, and we should note that the entire born again believing church became drowsy and fell asleep. Sleep, in this case, does not indicate death, but a lack of alert, vigilant faith.

          But at midnight there was a shout, 'Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.'..."Midnight" refers to a time immediately before the arrival of the bridegroom. It also prophetically refers to a time immediately before the last day, which is also the day we are resurrected, and the day of the Lord , the day of His return to Mount Olivet. The prophetic time frame for "immediately" could be a number of years, though, and it may apply to the entire "generation" of those who "see" the "beginning of birth pains" signs of Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. 

          Then all those virgins arose and began to trim their lamps..."All", again, means the entire born again church. It is impossible for those who have not been "born again" to "trim" their lamps. Therefore, at the time of the midnight announcement, all of the virgins begin to trim their lamps, and all of the "virgins" are born again believers. Trimming the lamps is a response of preparation and specific repentance relative to the Lord's instructions to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3. (See Who Are The Laodiceans?)

          The foolish said to the prudent, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out'...The KJV says "are gone out" which suggests an entirely different meaning, but the verb transliterated as sbinnymi (Strong's #4570) is in the passive voice, thus indicating "are being quenched" or "are going out." All translations of the Bible other than the KJV recognize the passive voice in their translations. Note that the foolish, who had long ago failed to prepare to keep oil in their lamps, are now looking to the "wise" to provide oil for them, and we should note that the foolish are aware of their predicament. Of tremendous interest (revealed completely in "Awakening of the Wise Virgins") is the fact that the foolish virgins know (see and observe) that the wise virgins lamps are burning brightly. They also know that their lamps are going out, and that they will soon be depleted. This is a time of great conflict between the wise and the foolish virgins. This is also the beginning of the great apostasy or falling away from the faith during the tribulation.

       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.'...This is is not an act of selfishness on the part of the wise. The "oil" is available only from God. The instruction by the wise saints is also an instruction for the foolish virgins to get their doctrine and obedience straight (as instructed by the Lord in Revelation 2 and 3), which is a difficult message to take for the foolish virgins who have invested lives, ministries, and personal reputations in false doctrines and erroneous, "foolish" practices and presumptuous interpretations of scripture. Their confusion and inability to appropriately respond to the tribulation, persecution, and martyrdom of the saints ultimately leads them to deny and reject the faith.

       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...This is the point of real separation between the foolish and the wise as the foolish fall into apostasy, and it is after this real separation that the Bridegroom arrives.

        Later the other virgins also came, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open up for us.'...Later" does not indicate a specific time frame, but it does indicate that the wise virgins have already gone into the father's house with the bridegroom. Therefore, we must assume that this is a time after the resurrection of both the dead and the living saints. This event, therefore, represents the foolish virgins response to the Lord at the white throne judgment after the millennium.

         But he answered, 'Truly I say unto to you, I do not know you.'...This is a response to a class of men, the foolish virgins, who were "away", having become apostate before the time of the bridegroom's arrival. Note that He did not say, "I never knew you." He said, "I do not know you." He did, in fact, "know" them at one time, but He does not "know" them now.

         Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour...This is the Lord's warning to the entire believing church from its beginning until the resurrection of the saints, and the key phrase is, "be on the alert."

The key to understanding the difference between "wise" and "foolish" virgins, is whether or not they have made provision, or planned and determined, to keep the oil of the Holy Spirit in their lamps (souls). An elaboration concerning what this might or might not entail would be exhaustive, but our assumption concerning what kinds of things could lead to the "foolish" classification would include the following:

 1. Failure to keep and maintain the pure doctrine of the original apostles;

It was obviously the Lord's intent that Paul and other early church leaders and members maintain their alertness in the Spirit in the expectation of the Lord's imminent return, and His intent has never changed in two thousand years.

That this alertness in the Spirit gradually waned for the reasons stated above as well as reasons not specifically mentioned, is historic fact, and the Lord prophesied to His disciples that this gradual loss of alertness in the Spirit would take place. (His foreknowledge that it would take place does not mean that it was His will.)

The parable was reported by Matthew as it was repeated to him by the disciples who were present, but it is unlikely that the Lord allowed him or the disciples who heard Him speak the parable to have Holy Spirit insight other than the general, but extremely important, command to maintain alertness.

The fact that the revelatory veil has now been lifted is a strong indication that the fulfillment of this parable will take place soon (i.e. this generation).  

The term and description, "asleep", used to describe the church at the time of the announcement is important, and we should note that the entire church is asleep at the time of the announcement. This term obviously does not refer to the entire church being dead in Christ at the time of the announcement, but the intuitive picture is one of the entire church not being spiritually alert, which is relative to the Lord's final warning in this parable.

Some who are reading this commentary are assuming that they are wide awake, and they may be. But, as a general rule, the entire body of Christ will not be fully awake until we hear the announcement.Therefore, the entire church "hears" the announcement and wakes up, but, as we trim the wicks of our lamps (cutting away false doctrine, false practices, and false interpretations of scripture) and prepare to meet the bridegroom it somehow becomes apparent to the foolish virgins that they are running out of oil for their lamps.

Nominal believers are not included in this parable, and the parable has nothing to do with the division between the true church and the nominal church. It has to do with apostasy in the true church because of "foolishness".

The concept of apostasy is extremely difficult for the church to deal with, especially those, like the author, who were trained to believe the doctrine of the eternal, unconditional security of the believer, or "once saved, always saved."

The reality of apostasy will be shockingly demonstrated during end times tribulation, but it is prudent ("wise") to be aware of the reality and the cause of apostasy before we enter into that time.

The comfortable explanation, and the one some readers will be tempted to believe, is that the parable is dealing with religious traditions and denominations, not individual believers. However, the context of the parable indicates that these are individual "virgins" who ultimately rebel against the faith.

        But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times...(when?)... some...(individuals)... will fall away from the faith...(revolt and leave their initial standing)..., paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience.... 1 Timothy 4:1 NASB (inserts and emphasis are the author's)

      This shocking truth has been nullified by the presumptive doctrine of the unconditional, eternal security of the believer, and many will depart from the faith because they believed the lie and the tradition of "once saved, always saved," as well as the lie of a pre-tribulation resurrection-"rapture" of church only saints, and were not, therefore, prepared to endure tribulation.

      Apostasy has not been common in the church up to this time, and I know of no specific New Testament example of apostasy. But examine the circumstances that Paul says born again Christians will face in the time of the great apostasy:

       1. There will be false prophets empowered by deceitful spirits to teach doctrines of demons

       False prophets will come from and infiltrate the true church in a time of intense persecution, tribulation, betrayal, and deception greater than at any other time in history, greater even than we can imagine, even though we have been warned.

       The apostasy Paul refers to does characterize a part of the true church during end times, but it does not characterize the entire church.

            There will be a holy remnant of wise virgins.

As we examine the parable we should note that the entire true church has not, yet, heard this announcement. I should not have to make a case for this conclusion. The awakening of the entire "wise" and "foolish" church will be an apparent departure from the current status quo.

We may assume that it is the Holy Spirit who will make the "announcement" as it corresponds with some event.

At the time of the announcement, even the foolish virgins, those who are a part of the true church but are participants in the "foolishness" stated previously, will have "heard" the announcement, but, because of "foolishness", they will run out of oil as the church undergoes tribulation, trial, and persecution unlike anything we have, yet, experienced.

The specific words used to describe the announcement give us a clue concerning the nature of the announcement itself.

 ⁶But at midnight there was a shout, 'Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.'

The "shout" or "cry" is the word transliterated as krauge (Strong's #2906). This is properly understood as an outcry or clamor like shouts from the guards on the watch tower or the screeching cry of a raven warning other ravens of danger.

And the word translated as "Behold" is not like an introduction but is more like, "Listen up! Pay attention!"

Whatever this event might be it will wake up the entire church all over the world. It will be identifiable in scripture, and it will not need a lot of explaining. Like the sound of sirens in the street it will be universally recognizable, and will get the entire church's attention.

The return of Israel in diaspora to become a nation again on May 14, 1948 is the first prophetic fulfillment to indicate that we are in end times.

That event, though, has not sparked a general awakening of the entire church. Nor has the recent escalation of "birth pains" as described in the Lord's prophecy to His disciples concerning the "signs" of His impending return. False Christs, false prophets (which, as a point of interest, does include false religion, but is primarily a reference to false prophets within the professing church), wars and rumors of wars, pestilence, famine, and earthquakes have all escalated at an alarming and measurable rate. This prophetic escalation has also been generally noticed by the church, but without a remarkable awakening.

I will not speculate on the specific event or sequence of events that will be included in our wake up call, because that raises other issues. What is important to note is that this "wake up" event will also be the event that will cause those who have believed in a pre-tribulation resurrection-"rapture" of church only saints to cry out in confusion, doubt, and mis-trust of those who have misled them, "Where is the promise of His coming for the church before the tribulation?"

Dispensational theology views everything in the book of Revelation after chapter 3 as being irrelevant for the church, but they ignore the fact that the Revelation of Jesus Christ was given to John for the church, to be read in the Christian Bible by Christians, both then and now.

For whom? Israel? No. The 144,000? No. The entire message of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, given to John, an apostle of the church, is for the church.

The virgins without oil are reminiscent of the church of Sardis (Revelation 3:2,3) the church with a good repuatation, but who are admonished to "wake up", and the church of Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22) whose lukewarmness causes the Lord to threaten to spew them out of His mouth, and who are admonished to buy gold (tested faith) from Him, white clothes (of true righteousness), and salve so they can "see" with the eyes of their hearts.

I will not comment further on this passage, but will allow the Lord to make application as He will. (See Who Are The Laodiceans?)

What a shocking time of disappointment and discouragement for the foolish virgins who have been let down by the major evangelical denominations and ministries of the day.

All ten "hear" the announcement by the groomsman that the Bridegroom is coming, and this announcement takes place at midnight, just before the arrival of the Bridegroom. The indication here is that the timeframe between the announcement that causes all of the "virgins" to awaken and the actual arrival of the bridegroom is very short (within the term "generation" as far as readers of this commentary are concerned).

The "birth pains" described by the Lord in response to the original disciples' question had absolutely nothing to do with them individually. They may have assumed that they would be present, but His message was to the generation of the church that would hear the announcement, "Behold the Bridegroom! Come out to meet Him!"

        There is no way to sugar coat this. The "foolish" as we have defined them, will fall away, and their fate will be worse than if they had never been born again. Endurance, even greater than the endurance required by the original disciples and their followers will be required by the "wise" virgins, but this endurance will be empowered by the "latter rains" outpouring of the Spirit. (To be presented in "Awakening of the Wise Virgins")

         The apostasy or the great falling away takes place in the church during the tribulation as a result of tribulation, trials, and persecution, including betrayal by those in the church, that born again believers will universally experience during that time right up to the last day.

         Wise virgins who have made obedient faith responses to the Lord's instructions to the churches, though many will be martyred, will endure and be received by Him on the last day. These important instructions include:

     1. Return to our first love, doing the works of faith we did in the beginning;

     2. Be willing to suffer trials, tribulations, and persecutions, even unto death;

     3. Reject false teaching, even if it is popular with those around us;

     4. Do not tolerate false prophets and the doctrines of demons, even if that

     7. Obtain white clothes of genuine righteousness by making obedient faith 

Foolish virgins who are not prepared for this time of extreme tribulation, trial, and universal persecution will reject the faith and will not be received by Him. The cause of their apostasy is a result of the following:

       1.      Failure to keep and maintain the pure doctrine of the original apostles;

As I prepared this commentary I read and meditated on the message to the seven churches (Revelation 2 and 3), and the seriousness of those messages struck me as it has never struck me before.

Therefore, I recommend that anyone who has been impacted by this message do a similar in-depth study of Revelation 2 and 3 accompanied by much prayer and meditation.

The important indication here is that the "foolish" virgins will hear the announcement and begin trimming their wicks with the assumption that they are "wise". The rapid and highly confrontational division between the "wise" and "foolish" virgins at this time will not save the foolish virgins who are deceived by false doctrine and erroneous interpretations of scripture. They will not "hear" what the wise virgins tell them, which is how to "get oil from the vendor" (God as the Spirit of Truth), and will, instead, continue to defend false doctrine and erroneous interpretations of scripture, ultimately leading to their complete yielding to doctrines of demons and a rejection of their faith in Christ.

Because the foolish virgins are not empowered by active faith during trials and temptations they will become bitter against God, not remembering, even, the early days of their faith when they eagerly followed the Lord as true disciples.

It is my assumption, then, that none of the revivals of the church, including the Charismatic renewal, would qualify as the trimming of wicks that takes place in the true church after the announcement has been made. But I believe that the prophetic passage of Ephesians 4:11-16 describes what the wise virgins will experience in this time of awakening, and the Lord's prayer in John 17 prophesies the time of unity and glory they will experience, even in the midst of great tribulation.

The act of trimming the lamps is the pruning process (trimming away the sinful parts and the doctrinal errors so that the glory may be revealed (ie. our response to the Lord's message to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3)) that takes place in the church after the announcement, and I believe this announcement will soon be heard by both wise and foolish virgins all around the world.

The church at large, though, has lost its sense of history. We think that the last hundred years of church history has established the norm for our times, as if being asleep and being lukewarm (divided by "winds of doctrine") will be our condition until kingdom come. In our arrogance we also think that whatever is happening in our church fellowship, our particular denomination, or in America is what is happening everywhere. But the history of the world and the history of the church are both dynamic, not static, and what is happening in our individual church fellowships, our denominations, and in America is only a part of what is happening in the body of Christ at large.

What is happening is change in accordance with prophecy and the purposes of God, and, for the wise virgins, this will be a time of intense persecution and trouble, but also a time in which we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ as we bring in the great last days harvest of souls and fulfill the commission given to the church in Matthew 28:18-20:

                      And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."