Jesus' Parable warns the non-believers

[bchai]

Today I would like to discuss the Parable of the Ten Virgins which is mentioned in Mathew 25 in the Bible.
I have not found many other accurate interpretations of it online, so I would like to dedicate this Blog Post to just what that parable means. This parable is a Very Strong Warning to People that don’t believe in and/or are not currently following God’s Word.

Here is the Parable as it was told by Jesus:
“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.”
Mathew 25: 1-12 (KJV)

What it means:
This Parable is a dire warning to Non-Believers. Below I will dissect this Parable word for word. As always, Because Jesus always crams a lot of meaning into small amounts of words, the best way to interpret this passage’s meaning is sentence by sentence.

“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.”
What this passage means is simple. The ten virgins represent all of us as human beings, the lamps represent the works which we have done here on Earth, and the Bridegroom represents God. The easiest way to describe this part of the parable is like this: Imagine at the end of your life you are going forth to meet God and with you, you carry your lamp (all the works you have done throughout your life).

“And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.”
Now, Jesus uses 5 (half) and 5 (half) to symbolize the division between people. Even in society today, people are highly divided into different groups. We saw a good illustration of this during the last Presidential Election. Half of America is fed up with the way the other half is acting (or has been portrayed to act by the media). Even if the media has been feeding false information, people are inclined to believe whatever their side is telling them and in turn that makes people more frustrated with the other side. Jesus shows this kind of division in his Parable.
Now Jesus shows in the parable that there is a wise side that takes with them oil to fill their lamps and a foolish side which does not bring oil. So what does the oil represent? The oil represents the Word of God. From the previous verse, we determined that we are the Ten Virgins who at the end of our lives will come to face God’s Judgement. We know that “the lamps we carry with us” symbolize everything we did here on Earth. Now, we know that the “oil” symbolizes God’s Word. Essentially, without God’s Word we cannot keep our “Lamps” lit.
So what is God’s Word? God’s Word is just as it sounds. It is what the Father and Jesus, the Son taught us in the Bible. It is the same message the Apostles spread throughout the World and is the message that every Christian Religion was founded on.
Therefore in “simpleton’s terms”, what Jesus is saying is that if we choose not to live our life according to the word of God (If we choose to follow what the world/society teaches us instead), then we can end up like the Virgins who are carrying their lamps without oil.

“While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.”
To me, this is one of the most interesting verses in the Parable. In this verse God just says it like it is. God is giving us a chance at life. He is giving us plenty of time to follow his Word. He wants us to be in Paradise with him after we pass from this World. However, the sad truth is that just as Jesus says in the verse, we are all “sleeping”. So what does he mean by “sleeping”?
God gave us all free will. God does not interfere with our Lives. If you want to go steal from a grocery store, rob a bank, beat up a homeless man, etc, that is your right. If you want to lie, have premarital sex, do drugs (or drink), worry only about your personal wealth, etc, that is also your right. That is what free will is all about. When we live in a world in which God gives us that choice, essentially we are all living in ignorance. When you were a toddler maybe you saw a shiny knife and wanted to play with it. When your Parents took that knife away from you and scolded you, maybe you cried and hated them for it. As a toddler all we can think about is how appealing that knife looked. We didn’t understand why our mean mother or father took that knife away from us. It wasn’t until we grew up that we realized that they actually did us a favor. We could have drastically hurt ourselves. Our Relationship with God is the same way. We are all like children and he is our Parent. Sin looks attractive but it always leads to someone getting hurt whether that someone is yourself or someone else. God tells us not to sin and many people despise him for it. In reality, he is trying to save us from hurting ourselves. So the words “slumbered and slept” in this…Continued on brandonjchai.com/index/ten-virgins-parable/

 

[bchai]

Just a note to everyone, I do choose to study using the KJV simply because it’s older and closer to the original text in my opinion, but if you compare this parable verse to the NIV or other Catholic Versions, you will see it says the same thing anyway.

 

[Mike_from_NJ]

God loves everyone, even the children of Job. When God permits someone to die, it is for their ultimate good. The righteous are taken out of this world of suffering and go to the eternal joy of heaven. (See Wisdom 4:7-18, on early death) Even the wicked, who die and go to hell, are by death prevented from committing more evil, saving them from experiencing even greater punishments in hell.

To me, it’s a bit disconcerting when violence and tragedy in the real world are excused by stating the victims will see a much better afterlife. It connects unfavorably to non-Christian zealots who cause mayhem on Earth for the promise of something better after death.

I’m concerned about why God had to be bragging in front of satan. Seriously, does God really need the esteem of the evil one? Of course not. So why was he bragging?

Didn’t God say “thou shalt not put the Lord thy God to the test”? But here God allows the devil to test him over and over. Why did God allow satan to get away with this?

I would take it a step further and say God was tempted by Satan.

In these beautiful verses, Job sublates his prior astonished indignation at an unjust God and confesses his enlightened surrender to an unfathomable God. In a free act, albeit conditioned by intense physical suffering and the resulting mental anguish, Job converts his attitude from being God’s victim to beneficiary. I think Job’s desolation, his deep, soul- wrenching suffering, sprang from the culturally prevalent but erroneous premise that one’s physical suffering verified one’s alienation from God. As I read the text, I imagine Job’s eyes opening wide and the wrinkle of a smile softening his taut, pained face as the reality behind his suffering finally comes to him. After the theophany, Job is filled with God’s grace and the desolation that surged from Job’s false perception of God’s disaffection departs. Job now sees himself suffering with God; his prior view imagined his suffering as coming from God. Job’s new attitude allows grace to accompany suffering; his former attitude made suffering and grace mutually exclusive. Job’s renewed affection with God stunningly reverses Job’s disposition toward his suffering from the evidence of his alienation to the instrument of his atonement, “at-one-ment” with God.

I would definitely disagree with this. When God finally reveals himself to Job, God doesn’t answer any of Job’s questions. God simply states that he has the power and Job does not. Job doesn’t appear to have a change of heart or see himself as benificiary as opposed to a victim. If anything he seems resigned to accept that he will not get answers and that by lacking power he lacks a say in the matter. Job understands that might makes right.

 

[1Lord1Faith]

I would say that this parable is about being prepared (for the Lord). Even believers can be be caught unprepared. The 5 foolish virgins knew the bridegroom was going to show up eventually, but they weren’t prepared when he did. The parable indicates that there was time, even while the virgins were waiting, to procure more oil, but they fell asleep instead. The virgins’ best option was to bring extra oil with them so they would have it if they needed it. Five of them brought extra oil. Five did not. And by the time the bridegroom came, it was to late; the 5 foolish virgins tried to make up for their unpreparedness but it was to late.

I’d love to hear some of the historical significance of this cultural practice and what insights that could give to this parable.

 

[bchai]

I would say that this parable is about being prepared (for the Lord). Even believers can be be caught unprepared. The 5 foolish virgins knew the bridegroom was going to show up eventually, but they weren’t prepared when he did. The parable indicates that there was time, even while the virgins were waiting, to procure more oil, but they fell asleep instead. The virgins’ best option was to bring extra oil with them so they would have it if they needed it. Five of them brought extra oil. Five did not. And by the time the bridegroom came, it was to late; the 5 foolish virgins tried to make up for their unpreparedness but it was to late.

I’d love to hear some of the historical significance of this cultural practice and what insights that could give to this parable.

Totally agree with you about being prepared. I didn’t have enough room on this page to post the entire dissection of each line of the parable (however the whole post is on my website), but anyway here’s the next line: “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.”

I believe that this verse symbolizes the time of our death. When we die, we will meet God. The most important thing to note in this verse is how unexpected a time it is when he comes. In many parts of the Bible, Jesus states that he will come at a time when we don’t expect. Many will not be ready. In this verse, the “bridegroom” came in the middle of the night while everyone was fast asleep.

So I agree that preparedness is also a big part of the message that God is trying to relay through this Teaching.

 

[Todd977]

Since all the virgins seem to be awaiting the bridegroom (Jesus Christ), I think the parable is mostly directed at Christian believers and is a warning for them to persevere in good works until the end and not let their love for their neighbors diminish or disappear. It is basically the same warning he gave to the Churches in Revelation, especially the Churches at Ephesus:
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then from what you have fallen, repent and do the works you did at first. (Rev 2:4-5)
At Thyatira:
“‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. … I do not lay upon you any other burden; only hold fast what you have, until I come. (Rev 2:19, 24b-25)
At Sardis:
I know your works; you have the name of being alive, and you are dead. Awake, and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God. (Rev 3:1b-2)
And at Laodicea:
I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth. (Rev 3:15-16)

Haydock’s commentary on this parable, here, and Confraternity Bible supplementary commentary, here, say pretty much the same thing.