Yeah, Stan, I really liked what you said about parables teaching a singular point/moral. I know I have a tendency to get way out of hand when deciphering parables, so I try to keep it simple, otherwise I know I'm going to force meanings and links where there aren't any. That's not to say that there isn't a lot to talk about here. I just think you can drive yourself mad trying to create an extended metaphor in what is actually a fairly simple parable.
So, I guess I can't really say I'm convinced that I know exactly what this parable means, but I'll add to the discussion. Here are my impressions.
- So for the question of "who is the bride," I don't think there necessarily has to be one for this to be a complete parable. The parable only needs the characters it already has: the groom is just the guy overseeing the wedding "event." I too read the groom as Christ and the event as His second coming. If this was an extended metaphor, the bride might be significant, but it's a parable -- just one main point to take home. We don't need a bride here.
- I also read the virgins as believers waiting for the second coming. I don't really see another possible reading there.
- I don't know if we can really separate the wicks, oil, lamps and lamplight as all being separate and specific things. It occurs to me that they can all be grouped together as "what we've done to be ready." Although, I think it's clever (but not essential to the meaning here) that Jesus did choose to use the lamps in this parable, because of the connotations they naturally carry, which is what aha talked about.
- As for what "The Kingdom of Heaven" is, it seems to me that this is just a way of saying "what things are going to be like after the second coming," i.e., The kingdom of our Lord as opposed to the kingdom of the world, as in Revelation 11:15.
I feel that the message of this parable is adequately summed up by Matthew 7:21, "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." In the parable, the lamps/oil are the things done by the individuals when they have done the will of the Father. So it occurs to me that we could now have the "once saved, always saved?" discussion now, but being a parable, I don't think Jesus is necessarily trying to teach theology along those lines here. Also, there are other threads discussing that issue.
Instead, I think the singular message of this parable is, do not wait, time is short, get up now, get out there and do God's work.
- Also, Stan, since you asked about the "watch" part in the original post, I'd originally interpreted that as "watch for signs of the second coming," but I think it's more likely saying "watch yourself to make sure you're still being vigilant about spending your life doing God's will," which seems to fit more with what I said is the "singular message" of the parable.