WISE VIRGINS

Matthew 25

1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:

4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.

9 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.

10 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.

11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Personal journey to salvation

Foolish virgins are churchgoers. The word virgin implies purity. These virgins have once been saved by God. They have experienced God’s power of redemption.  They understand the Gospel. They understand the importance of preparing the vessels. However, their understanding is not profitable for them because these foolish virgins are lazy and easy to be distracted from the allurement of their lives. Foolish virgins represent a major portion of the church today. They hear the gospel and the teachings, but they fall asleep. Their mind wanders. They do not fill their oil. They do not fill their lives with the presence of God. They do not follow His instructions. They are lukewarm Christians. They are busy with prosperity, with worldly gain, with vain thoughts, and even with gossiping or fighting in the church. They entertain false doctrine and persecute genuine teachers of the Word.

Perhaps, at first, the conversion of foolish virgins was genuine, but they grow cold and become fake Christians. They are not truly in love with Jesus. They do not yearn for Christ and believe in His promise.

Wise virgins, on the other hand, have already made up their minds that this world is temporary and soon passing. Wise virgins occupy their lives with the business of God. Their lamps are always filled with sufficient oil so that if Jesus comes now, they are ready. They are busy repenting, cleaning up their lives, praying, and winning souls. They know that eternity is forever. They actively prepare for eternity with God.

In this passage, we also learn that salvation is personal. The wise virgins cannot share their oil with the foolish virgins. Being in a church or being a child of a pastor do not guarantee salvation. Every soul must fight their own good fight. 

Sudden coming of Christ

The passage of Matthew 25 is in agreement with other warnings in the Bible about the coming of Christ

Mark 13

32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

34 For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.

35 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:

36 Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.

37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

Nobody knows the day of Lord’s coming. Nobody knows the day they have to face the judgment. Even if Jesus will not come today, this week, or the month, anything can happen to anyone. Sudden death from illness, accident, or even murder can happen to anyone at any given time. If we refuse to watch, to repent, to be sanctified, and to prepare, we will miss the time of our appointment with God. Our lamps will be empty without oil to light our ways to meet the bridegroom. The only solution is to be prayerful and watchful all the time, constantly. Make sure the garments of our souls are washed with blood of the Lamb at all times.

Wasted lives of foolish virgins

Matthew 25

11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

When the door of heaven is closed, when the last opportunity is missed, foolish virgins face the horrible reality that for eternity they will be tortured in hell. Some people will offer half dedication. Some efforts they give the Lord while some efforts are to serve themselves. In fact, they have already sacrificed something. They have suffered hardship for the Lord. However, their half dedication, their half-heartedness will result in “Verily I say unto you, I know you not” (Matthew 25: 12). This rejection, this realization will be so painful to anyone who remains foolish virgins. They will realize that God does not know them all along. He does not approve of their actions.

Lessons from wise virgins

We have to make decisions on who we will serve, God or the world. If we want to serve God, we have to make daily decisions and commitments to be pure. The world can argue against the doctrine of the Bible all they want, but the word of God holds truth forever. As time goes by, the devil will make sinful things become acceptable in societies deceiving the whole world. Being wise virgins today is more challenging than before because of this. Wise virgins have to learn to separate the lies and the truth and hold fast on the truth.

We have to face many peculiar situations, but by abiding in God, He will guide us through. Wise virgins always watch, always prepare, and always fill their lamps with oil.

Sam Christian

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Acknowledgements

Vocabulary and grammar checks were done with the help of Microsoft Word and Google Docs.

The Bible used is the King James Version by Hendrickson Publishers. ISBN 978-1-59856-461-7. Some texts were inspired by boldfaced words and reference systems from this Bible book.

Style of quotation followed partly the APA style-7th edition.