The Parable of the Ten Virgins

The parable of the ten virgins is a story told by Jesus to His disciples, in response to a question they posed, reported to us in Matthew 24: ³ As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”  Jesus responds first by describing what those times will be like, and admonishing His followers that, as you see the fig leaves begin to bud out, you know that summer is coming, so you can know when the end times are upon us based on seeing what He described as the “birth pains” of those times.  He begins this section of His response to their question by saying, “At that time, the kingdom of heaven will be like…”.  This sets the stage for our understanding of this parable. 

Throughout Scripture, prophesy operates simultaneously on at least three different levels.  The most obvious level is relating something that is happening or will happen in the time of the prophesy (an example includes Isaiah prophesying the taking of Israel into captivity by the Babylonians).  In this case, in Matthew 24:34-35, Jesus tells His followers: “³³ Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.”  In other words, the disciples (then apostles) had their own experiences of being hated because of Jesus, of being persecuted and turned over to death, of hearing of wars and rumors of wars, of having false prophets claiming to be the Christ and false teachers misleading many – and as He said, all of those things happened before that very generation passed away.  Still, it was not the “end.”

The second level of prophesy speaks to an ultimate culminating event in a future time (using the example of Isaiah again, he spoke of Messiah coming to release Israel from captivity, which happened ultimately with the coming of Jesus Christ to release us all from captivity to sin).  In Matthew 24, Jesus is responding to that question as well: what it will ultimately be like at the end of all time, when He returns: “as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”  According to Jesus and foretold in other Scripture, there will be an ultimate end, where He returns and gathers His children to Him, separating them as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  In the mean time, as we wait for that ultimate end, we each experience our own “gathering to Him” at our death, which is our personal “end time” – which leads to the description of the third level of prophesy.  Prophesy is applicable on a personal, individual level, and describes in the macrocosm what takes place within our hearts (in the microcosm).  Going back to our Isaiah example, we each have our own personal “Babylon” to face, our own captivity from which we need Jesus to be set free, and our own personal release from prison (to sin) through Christ. 

Having set the stage in Matthew 24, Jesus begins by describing what the kingdom of heaven is like “at that time” – meaning at the time the disciples would experience after His death and resurrection, at the end of all time, and at our time of personal trial.  Since I don’t believe we can separate the last two, as we experience both, I will speak about that “time” as now.  The parable goes as follows:

25 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 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 ones, 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. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’

¹² “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’

¹³ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”

In this parable, the “oil for their lamps” refers to the presence of God’s Spirit, providing light in times of darkness.  The wedding banquet refers to the Kingdom of Heaven (which is within us now, is where we will enter at our death, and is the coming Kingdom when He returns bringing Heaven to Earth).  The five wise virgins were prepared.  They brought the Spirit of the Living God with them to fill their lamps (to light their way through the darkness or time of trial).  They had already developed that strength of relationship, by focusing on their relationship with God as the thing of primary importance – they had invested their resources wisely into that relationship, instead of spending their time, energy, and resources on other things (whatever worldly things might try to distract from the relationship with God and His presence within our hearts).  They were ready when the time of deepest darkness came, and Jesus (the Bridegroom) showed up.  The five foolish virgins, however, brought their lamps (in other words, they knew the Bridegroom was coming – they knew about Jesus) but failed to invest in the oil for their lamp (the intimate presence of the Holy Spirit). 

The Bridegroom took a long time to come, and although five were prepared and five were not, they “all” dozed off.  (This reminds me of the three disciples who could not stay awake with Jesus at His time of trial – no matter how deeply we love Jesus, we still succumb to the weakness of the flesh, and can “fall asleep” when things seem to be going along fine in our lives).  Then suddenly, the Bridegroom is approaching and the alarm is sounding – and the five foolish virgins become aware they are not prepared.  Notice that the preparation of the five wise virgins is not going to be enough to cover the five foolish virgins, it can only provide oil enough for their own lamps – their “oil” (relationship with Jesus) cannot sustain the others during that time of trial, or during the end times.  Jesus is giving us an important warning here: prepare by investing in your relationship with Me as of first importance, for when the time of trial comes (or the end time comes), you will not be able to stand in the light without that preparation to sustain you, and you cannot rely on the relationship of others with Jesus to sustain you.  I know from personal experience that, when a time of trial came (Cody’s death), if I did not already have the depth of relationship with Jesus that both Cody and I had through investment of our hearts, our focus, and our time and energy, I would not have made it through that time intact.  And that is just the trial of losing a child to death.  The trials of the end times, according to Jesus, are unequaled:  Matthew 24:^21 “For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. ²² “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.”  If at the time of great trial, or in the end times, I go out seeking to purchase “oil for my lamp”, because of the nature of the times, the strong and prevailing presence of the enemy in those times, and the distractions of my emotions and the pain of those times, I will have difficulty “making it back in time” to be with the Bridegroom in His kingdom.  The warning from Jesus is clear:  you will not “make it back”, so the door will already be closed and the way blocked, and Jesus will say “I don’t know you.”

We cannot serve two masters.  We cannot have two “gods.”  Jesus said, as reported in Matthew 6:24, “Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.”  We cannot stand with one foot in the Kingdom and the other in the world, nor can we focus on our relationship with Jesus as the thing of primary importance – our first priority – while focusing on things of the worldly view as equally (or even more) important to us.  Our circumstances cannot take precedence over our relationship with Jesus.  Whatever the foolish virgins were doing with their resources, they were not investing in that connection with Jesus (the presence of the Holy Spirit within us to give us light and truth).  They were counting on what they had in the lamp already to see them through to the end.  It will not be enough.

I personally believe that we are in those end times described by Jesus in Matthew 24 and 25; I see evidence in the increasingly strong presence of evil influencing the actions of mankind, in the engulfing fear that grips the world in so many ways and determines the direction of our leaders (as well as many of us individually), in the realities of global annihilation at the fingertips of those who have no restraint from creating destruction and who are willing and even eager to do so, in the pain and suffering of children and those who are weaker at the hands of those in power, in the burgeoning upheaval in the natural realm, and in the rise of attitudes contrary to those taught by God and demonstrated by Jesus such as taking the easy path, looking out for self, and rejecting any absolute truth.  However, and I want to stress this point, even if we are NOT in those end times, the truth of this parable is still relevant to our individual experience and the warning still holds true.  For each of us, the trial will come.  If we do not have that connected presence of Jesus to hold us fast, we will lose our grip on the Kingdom and we will fall. 

What are you invested in?

Battle ground!

Psalm 35
1 Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me;
fight against those who fight against me.
2 Take up shield and buckler;
arise and come to my aid.
3 Brandish spear and block the way
against those who pursue me.
Say to my soul,
"I am your salvation."
Psalm 35 seems to be a discourse on revenge, asking God to destroy those who were against David. This does not seem to be a very Christian concept – on the surface. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you does not appear to match David’s prayer here. But we do need to remember that we are in a spiritual battle, and that is indeed a Christian concept. Paul is clear that we are to “stand against the devil’s schemes.” Ephesians 6 states: 10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Those who “contend against” us are the minions of our enemy. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but it is against evil. If we do not take a stand, we are abandoning those we love into the enemy’s influence and deceptions. David is also clear, as Psalm 35 continues, that those who are against him are spreading lies and making false claims. Who is the father of lies? To call God to action side by side with us, to ask Him to take up the spear and shield on our behalf, is a perfectly appropriate prayer. Somewhere along the way, Christians have adopted an attitude of passivity as if that is the meaning of love and grace. We have bought into the false idea that confronting evil is tantamount to judging others, and that we will be held accountable for making those judgments. No! Jesus was anything but passive! Check out His confrontations of the religious leaders, and His stand against all hypocrisy, and then see if your picture of a passive Jesus is accurate. Ask, seek and knock are action verbs, and so is taking a stand. We are called to action, not passivity. We are partners with God in the battle. Stand on the truth of God and stand firmly against the enemy’s schemes. Let us as Christians never forget that we are in an all-out war.

Reconciling God in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament

Imagine for a minute that you are a parent (if you are not – if you are then just think about being a parent). If your child is two years old and you are going to explain to him or her about not running into the road, you would probably point and say a firm “No!” while holding their hands. There is not a whole lot of need to go into all the whys of you might die, etc., because the two year old would not understand the concept of death anyway. At four, you might say, “Honey, don’t run into the road.” A four year old has more language and hopefully by that point has learned to trust your direction. You still would not need to explain the concept of death. It is too abstract for a four year old to comprehend. They might say, “If I died when would I wake up?” or “Could I come home in time for bed?” But you can see how they would not grasp the concept and would misrepresent what you said if you tried to explain it to them.

Now move ahead to your eight year old. To them, explaining the same danger, you would likely say, “You know we live on a curve, and cars are coming around that curve all the time. See how fast they are going around the curve? If you were in the road when one of those cars was racing around that curve, they would not be able to stop in time. They might not even see you before they hit you. And you would be seriously hurt, or even killed. Stay out of the road when you are playing in the yard. Do not chase your ball in the road!” Now you have the ability to explain more about the dangers, offer details and specifics, and even give an explanation of the possible consequences. But at eight, you still would not offer a lot in the way of choices for how to go into the road. For example, since you live on a curve without a line of sight, you would not say, “look both ways” like you would at an intersection. Fast forward to your twelve year old. At that age, you could say, “If you are going to walk in the road, walk down to the stop sign on the corner first. Then look for cars and cross the road there. That way, a car coming around the curve has time to slow down and stop before they hit you.” Now you can offer more choices, and even an option for how to walk safely where they want to go. And at sixteen, you start talking about being the driver on the road, and being sure to go slowly around the curve watching for children playing near the road.

The point of this analogy is this: all along the foundational truth remains the same, and your words are spoken out of love and care. See, though, how the words themselves appear to change based on the needs of your child? God, our Father, responds to us in the same way.

Early in the “life” of God’s people, they were like two year olds. When God explained His creation to them, they wrote it down as best as they could understand it, and He used words and images they would comprehend. The Law was given as do’s and don’ts, and as Paul described it, the Law was given to reveal sin, meaning it was given so His people would know what was safe and what was dangerous. But they did not grasp the deeper meanings of the Law as revealed to us by Jesus. This explains Jesus’ statement that He was not abolishing the Law but fulfilling it, and He added the depth of the heart to the Law when He explained to us that those who hate in their hearts commit murder in their hearts. He revealed through exposing the Pharisees’ hypocrisy the part of comprehension that was missing from the “four year old’s” understanding of the teaching given. The truth did not change, only the depth of the explanation.

How does this impact our reconciliation of the OT with the Jesus we know? On two levels: we can see how God would by necessity use relevant terms and understandable concepts, sometimes appearing strict or controlling to the eyes of a two year old, sometimes appearing to not explain His reasons to the four year old, etc.; we can also see how the two and four and eight year olds, when writing down what God said, could present His words in a confused manner (reference back to the four year old trying to explain death). This does not mean the words are not true, or that the truth of God (or His nature) has changed, any more than it meant that the parent above loved the sixteen year old more than he loved the two year old!

I believe we reconcile and understand all Scripture now through the eyes of Jesus, and that Scripture is “written on our hearts” by the Holy Spirit Who leads us into all truth. Jesus came, in part, to show us through experience Who God is. Now we are given the Holy Spirit, Who can also reveal God’s nature to us, and Who can teach us those things that are not specifically outlined in the Bible, as Jesus told us would happen in John’s gospel. So here is the truth about us: we may be somewhat older children than the children of God in the OT, but we are children still. We are in need of a Father and a Teacher, and that Teacher is Jesus and Jesus alone. If we approach reading the OT from a basic truth of understanding that everything written there is meant to point to Jesus – for example, Noah’s ark points ahead to the cross that will carry us over the water of chaos and sin into a new life, and the ark of the covenant parting the waters before the people into the Promised Land represents the same truth; the story of Abraham and Isaac points to God Himself providing the sacrifice, and the story of Passover points to Jesus Who will be the Lamb whose blood covers us from being taken by death (I could keep going and going but I think you get the point) – then we can “get over” ourselves worrying about the way the writers presented their understanding of God through the eyes of a two year old, leaving an impression of an arbitrary or controlling God. Instead, we can see through better equipped eyes and discern the love behind the actions of God in the OT, all the way through dying on the cross for our sakes.

But let’s don’t ever forget that we are also children, and we “see through a glass darkly.” We need the Holy Spirit’s presence to truly understand the truth that God has revealed to us. So do not try to reconcile OT Scripture with NT Scripture on your own. Ask Jesus to help explain it and receive through God’s Spirit within you the truth that makes the Bible a whole story about One God whose every action is coming from a heart of love for His children. The entire Bible is the story of God’s pursuit of His children to reconcile with them because He loves them so much. For this reason, the whole story points to and centers on Jesus.