The parable of the ten virgins

Ten virgins go out to meet a bridegroom at a wedding

1) "At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

There were three stages to a Jewish wedding in that day: engagement (a formal agreement made by the fathers), betrothal (the ceremony where mutual promises are made), and marriage (approximately one year later when the bridegroom comes at an unexpected time for his bride).

In this parable, the first two stages have already taken place; now the wedding party (the ten virgins) awaits the coming of the bridegroom for his bride.

Why does Jesus describe ten virgins? Talmudic authorities affirm that there were usually ten lamps used in a bridal procession.

The young women caught unprepared are denied entry

2) Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3) The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4) The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5) The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6) "At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'
7) "Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8) The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'
9) “‘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.'
10) "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.
11) "Later the others also came. ’Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!'
12) "But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'
13) "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
 

These young women were outwardly prepared (they had their lamps in hand), but yet not really ready for the coming of the bridegroom.

What did they lack in their readiness? Oil, is emblematic of the Holy Spirit; only He can make us really ready for the coming of Jesus. No one can be a true Christian without the indwelling Holy Spirit - now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His (Romans 8:9); these virgins had the appearance of readiness, but they lacked the critical ingredient.

[How can the five virgins “buy” oil if they need the Mark of the Beast? This must be before!]

Were the five saved or not saved? The basic story is simple enough, five were ready and five were not. The problem is when we start to examine, what does it mean? The five foolish had lamps? Were they saved?

The concept of the virgin is that they were set apart for this service.

They were called to give light! Five of them had their profession empty (the wick will burn for awhile without oil). They had no oil.

The oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. No evidence that they are saved. The fact that they were in the profession, does not tell us that they are saved. How do we know they were not saved? They were outside when the door was shut. Also, when they asked the Lord to open the door, He said, “I know you not.”! The scary part of this is that they thought they were saved.

How can we make sure that we don't lack in our readiness? Ask for the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13), and walk in the Spirit.

In addition, we see that if we are not ready, no one else can protect us; not because no one will, but because no one can.

The point of this parable is simple: be ready

The parable of the talents

A man gives instructions to his servants before departing on a long journey

14) "Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, which called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15) To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.

A talent is not an ability (though this parable has application to our abilities), but a unit of money, worth at least $1,200 in our modern terms. In the application of this parable, it is valid to see these talents as resources in our lives, such as time, money, abilities, and authority.

The servants were given different amounts of money according to their ability; one of the servants only received one talent, yet we should see that this was not an insignificant amount.

The first two servants are judged

16) The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17) So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18) But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
19) "After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20) The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'
21) "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
22) "The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.'
23) "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
 

The reward was the same for both; each performed the same according to the resources given.

What was the master looking for? Goodness and faithfulness in His servants; whatever success these servants enjoyed came out of their goodness and faithfulness; but the master looked first for these, not the "bottom line".

The last servant is judged

24) "Then the man who had received the one talent came.' Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25) So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'
26) "His master replied, 'you wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27) Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28) " 'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29) For everyone who has will be given more and he will have abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30) And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

The servant who merely buried his talent seeks to excuse himself on the basis of his master's great power; in fact, he believes his master to be sort of omnipotent: reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.

However, the sovereignty of the master never excuses the laziness of the servant; it condemns that laziness all the more. Those who don't work for the Lord, or pray, or evangelize because "God is sovereign" are condemning themselves by their laziness - by their actions (or lack of action), they show that they, like the wicked servant in the parable, do not know their Master's heart at all.

The charge against this servant who merely buried his talent is that he was wicked and lazy; we too rarely see laziness as a real sin, something that must be repented of before the Lord.

The servant shows himself to be not a true servant of his master at all; it is fitting that he (and those who show the same heart) are cast forever out of the master's presence.

The talents here are used as figures of speech. There are a few theories as to what the talent symbolizes, they are generally treated as gifts (as in skills). The issue is that one views these talents as opportunities, and you will be held accountable. The last guy refused to put to use what the Lord had entrusted Him with. Hiding it for safekeeping is not using it. Whatever resources the Lord has put at your disposal (money, place in community, skills). What are you doing with them? You lose when you don’t put them to use. The fruitfulness of it, the Lord will take care of, whether 10-fold or 100-fold. You will take risks.

Where there is no vision the people perish.

The Judgments:

This is one of three major judgments in the Scripture. We will call it the Sheep and Goat judgment (not to be confused with the Bema Seat of Christ where the Christians get their rewards for service, nor to be confused with the Great White Throne judgment which comes at the end of the Millennium.)

Who is being judged here, nations.

The main point of this parable: our readiness for Jesus' return is determined by our stewardship of the resources that He has given us.

Some think that "readiness" for Jesus' return is a rather mystical thing; it really isn't - it is a matter of being about our business for the Lord.

In light of this parable, we must ask ourselves: what have we done with our knowledge, our time, our money, and our abilities? The sins of omission often seem to be more damning than the sins of commission.

The judgment of the nations

The nations are gathered before God's throne and judged

31) "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32) All 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. 33) He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34) "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35) For 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 invited me in, 36) I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37) "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38) When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39) When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40) "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41) "Then 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. 42) For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43) I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
44) "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
45) "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
46) "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

In this parable, the nations are judged on the basis of their treatment of the least of these My brethren.

Are the brethren mentioned here Jesus' fellow Jews, or are they Christians? Perhaps Jesus has both in view.

Both those who are found guilty (the goats, on the left hand) and those who are declared innocent (the sheep, on the right hand) are surprised, wondering when they helped or neglected Jesus. The answer is simple: they helped or neglected Jesus when they helped or neglected the least of His brethren. The charity of the righteous had no ulterior motive; it was a simple response of love from the heart. The charge against these lost ones is not concerning any flagrant violation of a moral code, but their indifferent attitude toward Jesus (and His people); this indifference seals their doom.

Jesus clearly points out that hell was prepared for the devil and his angels; men only go there when they have willingly cast their lot with the devil and his angels.

Everlasting and eternal are the exact same Greek words; if the righteous experience life forever, then we must say that the guilty experience punishment forever.

Descriptions of future judgment in the Bible

Revelation 20:11-15 describe the great white throne judgment, where individuals are judged to see if their names are included in the Book of Life.

Romans 14:10 describes the judgment seat of Christ, where Christians are judged according to their faithfulness.

The judgment of the nations described in this chapter seems to be distinct; it probably describes the judgment of the nations preceding the millennial kingdom, to determine national roles in the millennium.

This is not the resurrection judgment. There are four groups of people that go into Gehenna, or the outer darkness: paraguys (the beast and the false prophet), unrighteous nations (this judgment), then at the end of the millennium: the devil and his angels, and finally the wicked dead from the Great White Throne judgment.

Here nations are being judged. And they are judged in such a way that even the winners are puzzled.

Who are the brethren? Some consider all believers as this group, but perhaps it has a more specific and surprising application, his brethren being the Jewish remnant that will be given the mandate to be His witness around the world. The “Great Tribulation” is the “Time of Jacob’s Trouble,” focusing specifically on Israel and especially the 144,000 which are His ministers proclaiming the gospel to the world.

They will be under great persecution. Certain nations will choose to protect them, feed them, hide them, etc. And they will be surprised that they will be singled out and spared.

We can also see a historical application of this theory, there are studies that have been published which show how nations rise and fall in relation to their treatment of the Jews (for example, the Persians vs. the Babylonians). This particular application is yet future.

A theme throughout this chapter: the price of indifference is much too high to pay.

We cannot afford to be indifferent towards Jesus and His return, towards the Holy Spirit who is required of all who would be ready for Jesus' return, towards the resources that God has given you, towards the needy people all around you, and towards a lost humanity that will stand in judgment.

Chapter 26

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