For a long time, the meaning of the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25: 1-13 eluded me. I often wondered why the wise virgins didn’t share their extra oil with the foolish virgins; aren’t we ought to be generous? And why wasn’t the door opened to them as they knocked desperately for the Bridegroom to open? Wasn’t their circumstance as a result of waiting long for Him to return, then their lamps went out and they had no choice but to go back for extra oil?

As I began to study these verses again, but this time around while nurturing a closer relationship with God, reading this scripture came with a fresh understanding. And here’s what I discovered, but before we dive right in, let us say this short prayer:

Prayer: 

Dear Holy Spirit, You’re my teacher and guide. Teach me what I ought to know from this message, as it relates to my life and circumstances. Just as You do so, guide me on the right steps and path to take. Help me to embrace what You need me to and let go of what You need me to. I want to be not just a hearer, but doer of Your word. Amen.

The parable of the ten virgins explained

The Bridegroom and the Banquet

The church and body of Christ is the bride of Christ 2 Corinthians 11:2 and we can easily understand that the parable is describing the return or second coming of Christ, the Bridegroom. While the Bridegroom delayed in His return, all the virgins fell asleep but a loud cry rung out upon His arrival and only those who were prepared went in with Him to a feast that was prepared.

This event foretells what has been happening for ages and is still happening today – those prepared like the wise virgins waiting for the Bridegroom’s return, and those who are like the foolish virgins. We also see how it will come to an end in a rapture – those that are prepared will be welcomed into the banquet with Christ, and those not prepared will have the door shut against them.

Christ died over 2000 years ago, and promised to return Revelation 19:6-9 in what verse 7 of this passage terms the wedding of the Lamb. He promises to those invited to the wedding banquet, a new heaven and earth, where there will be no more death, pains. trials and tribulations Revelation 21:1-4. He also gave us instructions on what to do, in order to be prepared and ready for His coming. However, how not many people today are living in obedience to this command. It is now so common for people to indulge their sinful nature and make excuses for it, or even spin the word of God to suit themselves. Some others have become numb to spiritual conviction and have normalized their sinful ways. But no matter how we feel or what we think, God’s word has been established and can never change. His word will surely come to pass whether we like it or not, regardless of our feelings. So, it is important for us to live in obedience, so we do not miss an invitation to the wedding of Lamb and by virtue receive eternal life – here’s what the scripture says:

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 “⁹Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God” NKJV.

Yes, I know it’s difficult to hear or accept it but the word of God stands true whether we do or not. We must be willing to die to our flesh, though not easy but the end reward is greater and that should be our focus not the fleeting pleasures of life. Be like the wise virgins and stay prepared. God loves us, and wants to help us along the journey of life. He only needs you to willingly surrender whatever sinful desires you have to Him and walk in obedience.

According to Matthew 25:5, “The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep”. To fall asleep means to disobey these instructions given by God.

The time or hour the Bridegroom shall come is unknown, Revelation 16:15 “Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!” (ESV). In summary, Christ shall come when we least expect and He’ll take with Him only those who are ready”. It’s important to be reminded that Christ may not return during yours or my life time, but according to Hebrews 9:27, we’re destined to die once, and after death face judgement. There is no do over, we should literally be prepared like the wise virgins at all times.

Reflection:

Before we continue, I want us to reflect on the story below:

Two friends – Alfred and Dean, always loved a good Sunday church service. This particular Sunday, the sermon was on the story of the Israelites, narrating their disobedience to God which resulted in their capture and exile to Babylon. Despite several warnings to repent over a period of time, the Israelites failed to listen and turn from their sinful and wicked ways. After the service, Alfred and Dean discussed with one another on how hard-headed and unwise these Israelites were to have continued in sin and ignored the warnings of God’s impending judgement until it became too late. ‘If we were in their shoes, we would have repented and turned quickly from our old ways’, they discoursed. ‘That reminds me of the people of Noah’s time’, Alfred chimed, ‘they did not turn away from their sinful ways until they were swept away by the flood. People should really do better and take God’s warnings seriously’.

But if Alfred and Dean looked inwardly, they would realize that they were guilty of the same wrongdoing. Although they were regular church goers and believed in God, they were not obedient to His instructions to stay ready for the return of Christ and the impending judgement to those who disobeyed. They acted lukewarm and were dull to their sinful ways.

Sometimes, it’s easy for believers to overlook scriptures and not see that scripture is being fulfilled once again and the side we’re heading towards.

The Five Wise and Unwise Virgins

The five wise virgins who carried extra oil represents the preparedness of believers, that is those who have denied their flesh. To deny your flesh simply means to no longer desire or indulge in sinful pleasures (world) but rather in the things of God (the Word). Regardless of life’s trials and temptations, these people are steadfast in faith and obedience to God. They have built a relationship and intimacy with Him and their lives bear fruits. It’s no doubt that in the event of death or Christ’s return, these people will always be ready because it is a way of life.

The five unwise virgins are people who know God but their lives are not a reflection of His ways. They believe in Christ and the message of salvation; they have good deeds but they crave and gratify the desires of their flesh over the things of God. Here, we can see that since we do not know the hour and time Christ shall return, this class of people will not be prepared and may be living in sin at the hour the Bridegroom comes.

There is no haphazard way of being in Christ, you’re either in Him or not. The world as we know is controlled by the spiritual realm – case in point Daniel 10:1-14, and in the realm of spirits there are two opposing sides. The side of God, our Heavenly Father or the side of Satan, the enemy. Therefore, any action taken that’s opposed to God’s word is against His side and it is called sin. The nature of man is easily to sin and indulge the desires of the flesh – that’s why we have been instructed to die to our flesh daily. It’s definitely not as easy as it sounds – that is why Matthew 7:13-14 tells us that the road to eternal life is hard and very narrow and only a few will find it. These are people who are ready to take the hard steps now for the later reward – so it’s certainly hard but doable.

While we may not achieve perfection simply by our nature, the bible encourages us to be Christ-like and resist the advances of the enemy so that he will flee from us. In addition, if you love God and have an intimate relationship Him, naturally you will desire to do His will and live in obedience of Him. If you put Him first always, He will remain first in your life before the desire of any sin. Although the we may fall because of our imperfect nature, we repent immediately of that sin and no longer go back to it.

Picture this, you have a partner whom you love dearly and this partner also promises you his/her love in return. If your partner does something to break your trust and immediately feels repentant and seeks your forgiveness, you probably will feel inclined to forgive. Now, imagine if you forgave your partner because they were truly sorry, but later your partner turns around and commits the same act against you, how do would that make you feel? You probably will feel your partner is taking you for granted, or doesn’t truly love you or is not truly sorry for what he/she did. Now replace this context with God – “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” Romans 6:1-2 KJV

Now, let us answer both questions posed in the opening paragraph. Why didn’t the wise virgins display generosity? They were literally going against general principles taught by Jesus in other parables. To understand this, we must look beyond the literal meaning of the oil to decipher what it represents. The oil here signifies an individual’s spiritual preparedness. In this context, it will be impossible to share your oil with others. In the following verses, we also see that the wise virgins advised the foolish virgins to go and get their own oil, because it’s our individual responsibility to work out our spiritual readiness and relationship with God.

Then the foolish virgins left to get the oil but upon their return, the Bridegroom had arrived and entered the banquet with the prepared virgins. They cried for the door to be opened unto them, but the Bridegroom responded thus “Truly I tell you; I don’t know you.” Matt 25: 12 ESV. Well, these virgins when not spiritual ready when the Bridegroom came, neither had they been living in obedience to God. As it is written in Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (ESV). It’s now clear why the Bridegroom will respond in such a way and not heed to their cries for the door to be opened unto them.

In the world today, so many believers live their lives like the foolish virgins and their spiritual eyes to see this truth has been dulled because they hardly renew their minds with the word of God or try to seek Him and know Him intimately.

Action Points:

We must stay ready for the return of Christ, always carrying extra oil on us – being spiritually prepared. If you would like to grow your relationship with God, start by inviting Him into your daily life. You can try these points out but note that these are just a guide and not exhaustive.

• Spend more time in His presence e.g., prayer walks, devotions, bible study etc.
• Replace some screen times with sermons, meditation on the word of God or worship.
• Acknowledge Him and thank Him for the big and little things daily.
• Chat with Him occasionally, like a friend who is right next to you. Personally, I love to do this at night, telling Him about my day including the highs and lows. What I struggled with and what I loved about it.

If you have been lukewarm for a while, it will take some adjustments but you have to die to your flesh and desires daily, and naturally after a while of exposing yourself to godly things, there will be a renewing of your mind Romans 12:2.