The Ten Virgins Story

Then shall the kingdom. The word ‘then’ means at that time. Jesus has just described in chapter 24 the days of the coming of the son of man, days of tribulation, days of apostasy, and days of great deception associated with the last days, and He moves immediately into this parable of the ten virgins. So, He is still talking about the last days, the days before His coming.

Spiritual Meaning of the Ten Virgins

The ten virgins in this story represent the entirety of the body of Christ, the redeemed ones who have been made like virgins, purified by the blood of the Lamb, those who know the Lord, and while living their lives on earth are preparing to meet the bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Foolish Virgins

That’s a fairly even division of the group, half were wise, and half were foolish. In any given group of people, that’s probably about right. Some are meticulous and focused on every detail, and some just sort of fly by the seat of their pants, leaving important details undone, as we will see in this story.

The foolish ones did not take any oil for their lamps, thus rendering their lamps useless for the very purpose they were embarking on. They should have been more diligent in thinking things through. They had not done what they should have done. They were not prepared. Or perhaps they didn’t consider the possibility of needing to use their lamps. After all, maybe the bridegroom would conveniently come during the daytime.

But the wise virgins thought of every possible scenario for their journey, which included the need for oil for their lamps, in case the bridegroom came at nighttime, and they would need to go out to him in the dark. We might say that they maintained their readiness for any possible scenario.

Again, as mentioned earlier, the previous chapter, chapter 24, paints a picture of extremely dark times on the earth at the coming of the Lord. And it also says that the son of man comes at a time when we think not; when we don’t expect Him.

The Bridegroom Comes at Midnight

The bridegroom came later than expected. It says he tarried. Things became mundane and uneventful. The excitement of the journey grew dull. And as time passed, the virgins, the redeemed ones, got weary and fell asleep. Their clarity and awareness were at a low level.

Trimmed their Lamps

They woke up. They prepared their lamps, to make them ready for use. They trimmed their lamps, which means to remove burnt parts of the wick and to raise or lower the wick to the place that produces optimal light. But even the best-trimmed lamp will not produce light without oil to burn.

Give us some of your oil. Our lamps are empty and won’t produce any light. We have been slack in our preparation, but we’re counting on you to help us get there.

No, we can’t do that. We don’t know how much oil we’ll need to get where we’re going, and we cannot take the risk of running out of it by sharing it with you. Go buy some oil for your lamps.

The unthinkable happened. The foolish virgins were left out. The wise virgins went in and the marriage took place while the foolish virgins were gone to buy oil. They missed the opportunity they had journeyed all this way for, and now their chance was gone.

I Know You Not

Watch Therefore

This parable is clearly about being prepared, about being ready, about being alert. What does that mean for us? It means maintaining a closeness with the Lord as we wait for His coming, whether that be for His foretold second coming, or for the time when each of us shall pass into the world to come, or even for those times when His presence comes in a special way into our lives as we live here on the earth. The Bible speaks of special times of refreshing that come to us from the presence of the Lord. (Acts 3:19)

What does the Bible say about being Prepared?

As followers of Christ, we are closer to the Lord at certain times than we are at other times. We tend to drift in and out of our relationship with Him as we focus on the various things that occupy our time in this world, as we pursue learning new things, or we endeavor to work in our occupation, or even as we sometimes run after things we shouldn’t be running after.

There are many distractions in life. Jesus spoke, in the parable of the sower, about how the word of God within our hearts can be choked out by the worries of this world, the deceitfulness of pursuing riches, and the desires for other things entering in. These things draw us away from a deep relationship with the Lord. And it can take us some time to get back to that, even as it took time for the foolish virgins to obtain oil for their lamps. We sometimes fail to walk closely with the Lord, to keep ourselves prepared to encounter Him, and we must take the time to trim our lamps and put some fresh oil in them.

Trimming Our Lamp

What does it mean to trim our lamps? It means to get our light up to where it ought to be. The Bible says that the entrance of thy words giveth light and that we are the light of the world. But if we are not spending time every day pondering the word of God, feeding on His word, the light we have in us will decrease. Oh, yes, we will walk somewhat in the light we have gained over the years, but we are not as close to Him as when we are currently in the word. Our lamp is not well-lit. Jesus said, if you continue in my word, continue to be in it, continue to feed on it, then are you My disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free.

You Anoint My Head with Oil

What is the oil that’s spoken of in this parable? Psalm 23 says ‘thou anointest my head with oil and my cup runs over.’ The Bible tells us that we, as believers in Christ, have an unction, or, that is, an anointing, from the Lord, and that it, that anointing, abides with us. Yet, if unattended, this heavenly anointing that we have from the anointed One, Christ, can diminish and become very small.

The Anointing

We must enhance the oil within us, the anointing, through prayer in the Spirit, through practicing the presence of God in our lives, that is, by maintaining an ongoing discourse with the Lord. This is how we get oil to be in us.

Be Filled with the Spirit

The Bible says to be filled with the Spirit, by speaking to yourselves in Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; by singing and making melody in our hearts to the Lord. So, we should always maintain a song of love, a song of worship, in our hearts. It is difficult to worship Him in our hearts and at the same time be far from Him.

Keep your Lamp Burning

This parable is telling us to do the things we need to do to keep the light and the oil well-maintained within us. It is about staying close to the Lord as we live our lives.

The wise virgins had oil with them at all times. They did not allow themselves to be low on oil for their lamps. They were always ready, they were always prepared, they were not distracted by unimportant things, and they did not let themselves become lazy in their relationship with the Lord. And, as a result, they were not caught off guard.