The Parable of the 10 Bridesmaids Explained
"Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom" Mat 25:1
This parable is for those Jews and Gentiles who believe in Jesus, but especially those alive during the final week of Daniel’s prophecy (the 7 years which ends with the Great Tribulation starting at the mid-point of Daniel’s 70th week). In the context of Jesus’ warning against deception and apostasy (the “falling away”) in the end times, it appears that he is warning the church not to fall into sin and its inevitable progeny (if left unchecked): unbelief. This will be especially important because he would be gone for a very long time (see 2 Peter 3:3-10 printed at the bottom of this blog), and people will be tempted to give up and start behaving like he is never going to return and bring justice. If there is no justice, people will behave lawlessly and expect no repercussions.
So, in the series of parables in Mat 25 where this particular story is situated, those who believe and know the Lord (and behave accordingly) are commended; but those who are foolish, violent, drunk and lazy are condemned for demonstrating their lack of faith, belief, and devotion to Jesus. In the case of the virgins, some possible degree of temporary inattentiveness (slumber) can be overlooked so long as they are wise enough to maintain their sincere belief (oil). Therefore, the only logical conclusion that ties all of these together appears to be that from the book of James - namely, that faith is what is needed to please the Lord when he returns, but it must be active living faith, for faith, without the works of faith, is dead.
With this context established, the virgins with enough oil are faithful believers, whereas, the virgins with insufficient oil cannot keep watch for their faithfulness is incapable of standing the test of time.
Without the oil of belief, the lamps held by the foolish virgins would not remain lighted, and one cannot keep watch in the dark. Note: there will be signs immediately preceding his return: the sun will be darkened etc. All 10 virgins heard the announcement “behold, the bridegroom comes” which seems to echo these obvious signs. This will tip off his faithful followers that his return is FINALLY imminent (not like the perpetual imminence of the pre-tribulation crowd), yet those who run out of oil, would be unable to keep watch or “be ready” for his imminent return. Since they would have no sincere or deep belief, they would be unable to be found “walking in the light” (a sign of true active belief) when he comes back. Compare this concept with 1 John 1:5-6:
“5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”
Also, see Ephesians 5:5
“For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”
And also, 1 Thes 5:4-5
“But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5 For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.”
In that last passage, Paul defines being in “darkness” as living in sins like sexual immorality and drunkenness.
Perhaps the long delay, or the persecution of the antichrist, or the great deception were to much for them, but whatever the reason, the foolish virgins had no faith/belief left of their own, and since true faith cannot be “borrowed” from another, they missed being gathered to him in the great harvest at the end of the age. Jesus confirms he does not recognize them as believers by saying he does not know them. Thus, the encouragement to watch and the many warnings about the great “falling away.” Indeed, this is not unlike Jesus’ statement in Gethsemane to “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.” (Mark 14:38). In any case, these warnings to “keep watch” would appear meaningless if Christians cannot go apostate when habitual sin has led them astray into the oil-less darkness of unbelief. See Col 1:21
“And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.”
All of these parables in Mat 25 are the same, they all involve servants who make a wise or foolish choice, those who are wicked or righteous, those who end up in hell or heaven.
Note: I am not outlining a “salvation by works theology.” Rather, one must think of “faith” while visualizing a glowing, luminous, glorious vitality, flowing from the Jesus (the Vine) to us (the branches) like living sap. It is that active, living faith in Jesus that saves us.
The faith of the wise virgins must have involved this intimate connection to the vine, a source of oil that (like living water) could not run out. These wise women were walking as ONE with the Lord. The foolish virgins, conversely, did not remain connected, so they ran out of oil. Thus, it is about connection, a living vibrant connection! Indeed, a connection where the Lord will say he “knew” us… intimately. It is not about empty rituals, OR mere head-knowledge with zero action. There are two ways to be an unbeliever: 1) By performing ritual works with a cold heart toward God, or 2) having only abstract head-knowledge divorced from action. Both are dead, devoid of real faith and miss the point entirely. That kind of belief will not last, and it cannot save.
One cannot help but conclude after an honest reading of the parables of Mat 25, that if we do not LOVE the Lord, and remain in that LOVE (i.e. connected to him in true, unwavering belief) then we will be in a perilous place during the end times. There is simply no mistaking this fact. Thus… the many warnings!
During the end times, there will be darkness, evil, lawlessness, and persecution like never before. Those who do not truly love the Lord may “fall away” during the great apostasy.
So, here is how I understand the parable of the ten virgins:
The five wise virgins are both gentile and Jewish believers who endure the Great Tribulation after the midpoint of Daniel’s 70th week. They have sincere belief even after the apostasy, or “Great Falling Away” that Jesus warned of. They even endure in spite of the persecution of the antichrist. They are near the end of “enduring to the end [to be] saved.” (Mat 24:13). After Jesus’ long delay in returning (which includes the entire church age from Jesus’ first advent through the first 3 1/2 years of the 70th week do Daniel), they apparently fall asleep. Apparently this means that they were temporarily inattentive (like John the Baptist when he was in prison and sent messengers to confirm if Jesus was really the Christ - Luke 7:20), but their sincere faith (or oil) never wavered or ran out. They were filled with the spirit, the seal of their salvation and had a close, loving relationship with the Lord, so when they hear the call, “behold the bridegroom comes!” (which is likely a parallel to the sun being darkened and the moon not giving its light at the sixth seal of Revelation) they stand up… and, with their belief intact, they are able to “trim their lamps,” i.e. see through the darkness and are thus found to be wise and faithful and are welcomed into his feast. The five foolish virgins appear to have some belief/oil, enough to last for only the first watch of the night, but not enough if the Bridegroom is delayed. So, tragically, they do not endure to the end. (I looked it up, and the “first watch” lasts from sunset until midnight. So, assuming they took only enough oil for one watch of the night, their lamps would be running out right at midnight when the announcement is made of the Bridegroom’s imminent arrival). Thus, after seeing him not returning, they become complacent, and fall asleep. These foolish virgins, I assume, face deception, persecution, and temptation during the Great Tribulation, and (unlike their wise counterparts) they go apostate. This means they no longer have active saving faith (which must be the answer as the oil could not represent anything other than true belief - the consistent prerequisite for acceptance into heaven). The other option is that the foolish virgins never had true belief to begin with, but that is impossible, because they had oil just like the wise virgins, they just didn’t have ENOUGH to endure the delay… and the darkness. Upon seeing the obvious darkening of the sun (“behold the Bridegroom comes!”), they realize they are going to face the wrath of the Lord, but having no belief of their own (sincere belief cannot be borrowed) they miss Jesus’ return and are NOT raptured. Jesus confirms they are no longer believers because he says he does not know them. They are left out - presumably in hell if you compare with the other parables which reference being left in outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mat 24:51 and 25:29).
The moral of the parable is for believers to watch!
We will be able to observe the season, but must have true belief when the exact moment arrives (near the end of the 70th week of Daniel), which in this context means that one must come through the Great Tribulation with his faith intact as demonstrated by walking in the light, a light made possible only by the oil of sincere belief and demonstrated by active faith - the state of wise and alert attentiveness/sobriety, not drunken debauchery, laziness and lawless violence - see 1Th 4 and 5. If one is walking in the light, then he will see the signs after the midpoint of the tribulation and joyfully raise his head, for his redemption is drawing nigh (see Luke 21:28). That is the first point in history when the rapture will truly be “imminent,” and it will be too late at that point to change your mind, or to buy true faith.
So, the whole point of my writing music for the parable of the ten bridesmaids, (though I didn’t understand it at the time) was to warn the church to seek active living faith, a vibrant RELATIONSHIP with the Lord, to be holy, to avoid deception/apostasy and remain steadfast in the face of persecution, and thus to be “ready” alert to the signs - should we still be alive during the end times - and ultimately to be found welcome at the wedding feast with Christ. (see my poetic rendition at the link below).
Again, this is accomplished by the “oil” of SINCERE faith, defined by an intimate relationship and vibrant belief in Jesus - not empty rituals, or dead faith proven to be absent by a complete lack of any action whatsoever. This is the reason Jesus gave us this fascinating parable, and its meaning was almost completely obscured by our modern Protestant misunderstanding that it only referred to Jews who missed the (pre-tribulation) rapture! This erroneous opinion has probably been held because pre-tribulation theology teaches the rapture would have already taken the church away before the Great Tribulation, and most so-called “tribulation saints” who were thought to be saved after the erroneous pre-tribulation rapture (other than Jews) would have already been executed during the tribulation. This is yet another example of how the bias of a priori assumptions of dogmatic doctrine trump the Bible’s clear words in many modern churches.
If you have always wondered about the meaning of this mysterious parable, now you know!
For further study, see 2 Peter 3:3-10 - portions listed below.
"Scoffers will come in the last days... They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming?... the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years... 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away... and the heavenly bodies will be burned up... Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God?" - Portions of 2 Peter 3:3-10