Jesus' Parable warns the non-believers

Today I would like to discuss the Parable of the Ten Virgins which is mentioned in Mathew 25 in the Bible.
I have not found many other accurate interpretations of it online, so I would like to dedicate this Blog Post to just what that parable means. This parable is a Very Strong Warning to People that don’t believe in and/or are not currently following God’s Word.

Here is the Parable as it was told by Jesus:

“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 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. 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. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.”
Mathew 25: 1-12 (KJV)


What it means:
This Parable is a dire warning to Non-Believers. Below I will dissect this Parable word for word. As always, Because Jesus always crams a lot of meaning into small amounts of words, the best way to interpret this passage’s meaning is sentence by sentence.

“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.”
What this passage means is simple. The ten virgins represent all of us as human beings, the lamps represent the works which we have done here on Earth, and the Bridegroom represents God. The easiest way to describe this part of the parable is like this: Imagine at the end of your life you are going forth to meet God and with you, you carry your lamp (all the works you have done throughout your life).

“And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.”
Now, Jesus uses 5 (half) and 5 (half) to symbolize the division between people. Even in society today, people are highly divided into different groups. We saw a good illustration of this during the last Presidential Election. Half of America is fed up with the way the other half is acting (or has been portrayed to act by the media). Even if the media has been feeding false information, people are inclined to believe whatever their side is telling them and in turn that makes people more frustrated with the other side. Jesus shows this kind of division in his Parable.
Now Jesus shows in the parable that there is a wise side that takes with them oil to fill their lamps and a foolish side which does not bring oil. So what does the oil represent? The oil represents the Word of God. From the previous verse, we determined that we are the Ten Virgins who at the end of our lives will come to face God’s Judgement. We know that “the lamps we carry with us” symbolize everything we did here on Earth. Now, we know that the “oil” symbolizes God’s Word. Essentially, without God’s Word we cannot keep our “Lamps” lit.
So what is God’s Word? God’s Word is just as it sounds. It is what the Father and Jesus, the Son taught us in the Bible. It is the same message the Apostles spread throughout the World and is the message that every Christian Religion was founded on.
Therefore in “simpleton’s terms”, what Jesus is saying is that if we choose not to live our life according to the word of God (If we choose to follow what the world/society teaches us instead), then we can end up like the Virgins who are carrying their lamps without oil.

“While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.”
To me, this is one of the most interesting verses in the Parable. In this verse God just says it like it is. God is giving us a chance at life. He is giving us plenty of time to follow his Word. He wants us to be in Paradise with him after we pass from this World. However, the sad truth is that just as Jesus says in the verse, we are all "sleeping". So what does he mean by "sleeping"?
God gave us all free will. God does not interfere with our Lives. If you want to go steal from a grocery store, rob a bank, beat up a homeless man, etc, that is your right. If you want to lie, have premarital sex, do drugs (or drink), worry only about your personal wealth, etc, that is also your right. That is what free will is all about. When we live in a world in which God gives us that choice, essentially we are all living in ignorance. When you were a toddler maybe you saw a shiny knife and wanted to play with it. When your Parents took that knife away from you and scolded you, maybe you cried and hated them for it. As a toddler all we can think about is how appealing that knife looked. We didn't understand why our mean mother or father took that knife away from us. It wasn't until we grew up that we realized that they actually did us a favor. We could have drastically hurt ourselves. Our Relationship with God is the same way. We are all like children and he is our Parent. Sin looks attractive but it always leads to someone getting hurt whether that someone is yourself or someone else. God tells us not to sin and many people despise him for it. In reality, he is trying to save us from hurting ourselves. So the words "slumbered and slept" in this...Continued on http://brandonjchai.com/index/ten-virgins-parable/
 
Welcome to CFS bchai
,
It's a blessing to have you as a member of our family here at cfs and I am looking forward to the fellowship one with another.

As you look around the forum I would ask that you look over the following and get familiar with these as they will aid in making sure your time here at cfs is a fun and safe time.

1. Forum Policies and Procedures
2. Topics which May Not be Discussed in the open forum.

Oh and if you have any questions or problems please feel free to contact a moderator or helper and we will be glad to help in any way we can.

Again Welcome to cfs.
Blessings
 
Welcome to CFS bchai
,
It's a blessing to have you as a member of our family here at cfs and I am looking forward to the fellowship one with another.

As you look around the forum I would ask that you look over the following and get familiar with these as they will aid in making sure your time here at cfs is a fun and safe time.

1. Forum Policies and Procedures
2. Topics which May Not be Discussed in the open forum.

Oh and if you have any questions or problems please feel free to contact a moderator or helper and we will be glad to help in any way we can.

Again Welcome to cfs.
Blessings

Just read all of the rules and procedures over and agree 100% with them and will ensure I do my best to follow all of them. Thank you and look forward to networking with everyone on here.
 
Today I would like to discuss the Parable of the Ten Virgins which is mentioned in Mathew 25 in the Bible.
I have not found many other accurate interpretations of it online, so I would like to dedicate this Blog Post to just what that parable means. This parable is a Very Strong Warning to People that don’t believe in and/or are not currently following God’s Word.

Here is the Parable as it was told by Jesus:

“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 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. 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. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.”
Mathew 25: 1-12 (KJV)


What it means:
This Parable is a dire warning to Non-Believers. Below I will dissect this Parable word for word. As always, Because Jesus always crams a lot of meaning into small amounts of words, the best way to interpret this passage’s meaning is sentence by sentence.

“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.”
What this passage means is simple. The ten virgins represent all of us as human beings, the lamps represent the works which we have done here on Earth, and the Bridegroom represents God. The easiest way to describe this part of the parable is like this: Imagine at the end of your life you are going forth to meet God and with you, you carry your lamp (all the works you have done throughout your life).

“And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.”
Now, Jesus uses 5 (half) and 5 (half) to symbolize the division between people. Even in society today, people are highly divided into different groups. We saw a good illustration of this during the last Presidential Election. Half of America is fed up with the way the other half is acting (or has been portrayed to act by the media). Even if the media has been feeding false information, people are inclined to believe whatever their side is telling them and in turn that makes people more frustrated with the other side. Jesus shows this kind of division in his Parable.
Now Jesus shows in the parable that there is a wise side that takes with them oil to fill their lamps and a foolish side which does not bring oil. So what does the oil represent? The oil represents the Word of God. From the previous verse, we determined that we are the Ten Virgins who at the end of our lives will come to face God’s Judgement. We know that “the lamps we carry with us” symbolize everything we did here on Earth. Now, we know that the “oil” symbolizes God’s Word. Essentially, without God’s Word we cannot keep our “Lamps” lit.
So what is God’s Word? God’s Word is just as it sounds. It is what the Father and Jesus, the Son taught us in the Bible. It is the same message the Apostles spread throughout the World and is the message that every Christian Religion was founded on.
Therefore in “simpleton’s terms”, what Jesus is saying is that if we choose not to live our life according to the word of God (If we choose to follow what the world/society teaches us instead), then we can end up like the Virgins who are carrying their lamps without oil.

“While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.”
To me, this is one of the most interesting verses in the Parable. In this verse God just says it like it is. God is giving us a chance at life. He is giving us plenty of time to follow his Word. He wants us to be in Paradise with him after we pass from this World. However, the sad truth is that just as Jesus says in the verse, we are all "sleeping". So what does he mean by "sleeping"?
God gave us all free will. God does not interfere with our Lives. If you want to go steal from a grocery store, rob a bank, beat up a homeless man, etc, that is your right. If you want to lie, have premarital sex, do drugs (or drink), worry only about your personal wealth, etc, that is also your right. That is what free will is all about. When we live in a world in which God gives us that choice, essentially we are all living in ignorance. When you were a toddler maybe you saw a shiny knife and wanted to play with it. When your Parents took that knife away from you and scolded you, maybe you cried and hated them for it. As a toddler all we can think about is how appealing that knife looked. We didn't understand why our mean mother or father took that knife away from us. It wasn't until we grew up that we realized that they actually did us a favor. We could have drastically hurt ourselves. Our Relationship with God is the same way. We are all like children and he is our Parent. Sin looks attractive but it always leads to someone getting hurt whether that someone is yourself or someone else. God tells us not to sin and many people despise him for it. In reality, he is trying to save us from hurting ourselves. So the words "slumbered and slept" in this...Continued on http://brandonjchai.com/index/ten-virgins-parable/
A very interesting interpretation of the parable of the 10 lamps my friend.

Blessings
 
What it means:
This Parable is a dire warning to Non-Believers. Below I will dissect this Parable word for word. As always, Because Jesus always crams a lot of meaning into small amounts of words, the best way to interpret this passage’s meaning is sentence by sentence.

“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.”
What this passage means is simple. The ten virgins represent all of us as human beings, the lamps represent the works which we have done here on Earth, and the Bridegroom represents God. The easiest way to describe this part of the parable is like this: Imagine at the end of your life you are going forth to meet God and with you, you carry your lamp (all the works you have done throughout your life).

Hello bchai,

Welcome to the forum. :)

I do not believe that the ten virgins represent, 'all of us as human beings,' as you say, simply because the first line of the parable tells us, that they are intended to be representative of 'the kingdom of heaven'. The Kingdom of Heaven is 'heavenly' in origin, but it's outworking is upon the earth. It is the special subject of Old Testament prophecy: and therefore related to the Jewish nation; the Messiah is it's King.

The Lord Jesus Christ came to,
'the lost sheep of the house of Israel' (Matt.15:24), He came to confirm the promises made to their Fathers (Rom. 15:8), and the parables are directed to them.

In Christ Jesus
Chris
 
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Hello bchai,

Welcome to the forum. :)

I do not believe that the ten virgins represent, 'all of us as human beings,' as you say, simply because the first line of the parable tells us, that they are intended to be representative of 'the kingdom of heaven'. The Kingdom of Heaven is 'heavenly' in origin, but it's outworking is upon the earth. It is the special subject of Old Testament prophecy: and therefore related to the Jewish nation; the Messiah is it's King.

The Lord Jesus Christ came to,
'the lost sheep of the house of Israel' (Matt.15:24), He came to confirm the promises made to their Fathers (Rom. 15:8), and the parables are directed to them.

In Christ Jesus
Chris

Greetings Chris,

According to Luke 17:20-21
Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is inside of us. It may begin in heaven...but as it is spiritual it resides within the born again spirit.


Luk 17:20 — Luk 17:21
And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Blessings
 
Greetings Chris,

According to Luke 17:20-21
Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is inside of us. It may begin in heaven...but as it is spiritual it resides within the born again spirit.


Luk 17:20 — Luk 17:21
And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Blessings
Hello Cturtle,

With respect, the word, 'within', according to my Bible marginal notes, has the meaning of being in the midst or among. Their Messiah, their King, was 'among' them, in their very midst, He was the very KINGdom, yet they were unaware of who He was, because of their unbelief.

This was being spoken to the Pharisees who were standing opposed to Him. Is He likely to say to such as they (who sought to kill Him), that the Kingdom was within them 'spiritually'? No.

Thank you.
In Christ Jesus
Chris
 
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This was being spoken to the Pharisees who were standing opposed to Him. Is He likely to say to such as they (who sought to kill Him), that the Kingdom was 'within' them spiritually? No.

Hi Chris
I am not sure of the point you wish to make here. Could you explain please what you mean.
Thank you
FCJ
 
Hello Cturtle,

With respect, the word, 'within', according to my Bible marginal notes, has the meaning of being in the midst or among. Their Messiah, their King, was 'among' them, in their very midst, He was the very KINGdom, yet they were unaware of who He was, because of their unbelief.

This was being spoken to the Pharisees who were standing opposed to Him. Is He likely to say to such as they (who sought to kill Him), that the Kingdom was 'within' them? No.

Thank you.
In Christ Jesus
Chris

Thanks Chris for taking the time to answer, and for pointing out the meaning, it sure does bring my point into further light, for The Holy Spirit (Which is part of the Trinity, and the One Whom Jesus sent to reside "within" each one of us) Is the One Whom now is responsible to carry out Jesus' and The Father's work. The One Whom is responsible to teach and bring our Lord's Words to pass.

I believe in this passage like many others throughout the gospels..that Jesus was prophesying about any believer who comes to trust and believe in His name for salvation.

Blessings to you abundantly
 
Cturtle
Fish Catcher Jim

(Luke 17:20,21)

Hello there,

The Lord, their Messiah and King, was among them, and by His very presence the Kingdom was in the midst of them.

If, as many believe, the Lord was saying that the Kingdom was within these men to whom He spoke, then they would have to be believers surely? But they were not: they had rejected the Lord and His Word and strove to have Him put to death.

The Kingdom spoken of in the Old Testament is a real and solid reality, but in order to have a Kingdom there has to be a King, Christ will come, and reign within the Kingdom promised, during the millennium. This Truth is not spiritual but literal. His presence among them in Luke 17 was literal too, and He was 'the Kingdom come', had they only believed and received Him.

The Kingdom is not within us. 'Christ spirit', or the New nature dwells within us, as a promise of future glory, yes, but not the Kingdom.

Is this what you wanted, Fish Catcher Jim?

Thank you again
In Christ Jesus
Chris
 
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The Kingdom is not within us. Christ spirit, or the New nature dwells within us, as a promise of future glory.

Hi Chris,
entos
(the Greek word that is translated “within”) can also be translated “in the midst of” (Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words). The New American Standard Bible, the New International Version, the Modern King James Version and Green’s Literal Translation translate this phrase “in your midst.” In this sense, Jesus, the King of the coming Kingdom of God, was standing in the midst of the Pharisees. These translations are clearly better, for the Kingdom of God was not in the hearts of these Pharisees.

However it should be, needs to be and better be when it comes time for our Judgment.

Blessings
FCJ
 
Welcome to the forum! Glad to have you onboard.

I appreciate your thoughts on this parable...

One question, though....

If you getting "oil" is the key.... And YOU are the one who has to go out and get this "oil" on your own before you are acceptable to God......

Then how can Salvation be a truly free, unmerited gift of God if there are pre-conditions and intentional work/ qualifications you have to meet....

Thanks
 
bchai Greetings,
Let me present another view.

The soldier is told stand watch for the enemy is going to attack today. Then after a few hours decides to lay his shield down by the tree and then decides later to lay his sword over by the waterfalls and then goes and kicks back under a shade tree.

He falls asleep and the enemy attacks, he jumps up and says oh look my sword is way over there, some one give me a sword or hey man like my shield is down by the water falls, how about giving me your shield so I can go get it.

No, the soldier is to be Prepared and Ready for the enemy at all times.

Such as we are to have our life ready in right standing at all times.
When the Lord comes, we can not say hey how do I get to go or I did not know or oh Yea I was going to take care of that some day.

Being Prepared and Ready
Blessings
FCJ
 
Greetings Chris,

According to Luke 17:20-21
Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is inside of us. It may begin in heaven...but as it is spiritual it resides within the born again spirit.


Luk 17:20 — Luk 17:21
And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Blessings

This is the stance I had in mind as well when writing this interpretation.

To take it even further, in Genesis 1:27, it states that God created all of us in his Own Image, therefore we can also say that upon Birth, the Kingdom of Heaven is in all of us. Those Baptized of the Spirit who also follow Gods Word can achieve eternal Life with God in Heaven. Those who do not follow his Word may not achieve Eternal Life. That is why I believe that the 10 Virgins represent all People. Half the Virgins did the right thing. The other half the wrong thing. Yet all had the same opportunity to achieve Eternal Life in the Kingdom of Heaven.
 
This is the stance I had in mind as well when writing this interpretation.

To take it even further, in Genesis 1:27, it states that God created all of us in his Own Image, therefore we can also say that upon Birth, the Kingdom of Heaven is in all of us. Those Baptized of the Spirit who also follow Gods Word can achieve eternal Life with God in Heaven. Those who do not follow his Word may not achieve Eternal Life. That is why I believe that the 10 Virgins represent all People. Half the Virgins did the right thing. The other half the wrong thing. Yet all had the same opportunity to achieve Eternal Life in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Hi Brandon,

I can agree with you that we are created in the very image of God, but i dont agree that upon birth it is automatically inside of us. That is reserved for when we accept Jesus as Lord of our lives. Otherwise, there would be no point to Jesus dying and shedding His blood to atone for our sins.

Eternal life is guaranteed to be ours once we accept Jesus as Lord. There is nothing that we have to do to obtain it. God knows our hearts, and if one chooses to follow in God's ways and footsteps, then that is how we earn our rewards in heaven. Also through obedience.

Blessings
 
Those Baptized of the Spirit who also follow Gods Word can achieve eternal Life with God in Heaven
Greetings
I do not believe this is 100 percent correct.
The only way to the Father is through Jesus Christ.
We ask and confess and become born again and have our names in the Lambs book of life which means we are heaven bound.
We do not achieve eternal life if we get baptized in the spirit and follow God's word.

This is adding to what Jesus did on the cross. The biggest screw up of all times can accept Christ and be your neighbor in heaven and never followed God's word.

You don't go to hell for not being baptized or for not following God's words but for Not Accepting Christ.

Now if I totally missed what you are saying, I apologize .
Blessings
FCJ
 
Hello Cturtle,

With respect, the word, 'within', according to my Bible marginal notes, has the meaning of being in the midst or among. Their Messiah, their King, was 'among' them, in their very midst, He was the very KINGdom, yet they were unaware of who He was, because of their unbelief.

This was being spoken to the Pharisees who were standing opposed to Him. Is He likely to say to such as they (who sought to kill Him), that the Kingdom was within them 'spiritually'? No.

Thank you.
In Christ Jesus
Chris

This is a very tough one to take accordingly, but if you look at some other Bible Verses that Jesus Spoke that also contain the word "within", you can clearly see that he is referring to that Person's "inner Spirit". For example in Matthew 23:27, Jesus says "“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness.

We can clearly see that Jesus was referring to the Spiritual Cleanliness of the Scribes and Pharisees.

In Luke 17:20-21 which CTurtle brought up, I believe what Jesus was saying is that the Kingdom of Heaven is Inside of us, meaning inside our Spirit. This is reiterated in Genesis 1:27 which states that we were all created in God's own Image. Original sin is attached to this World but Baptism and God's Word as spoken in the Bible gives us a chance to "keep our place" with God.
 
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