“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they did not take oil with them; but the wise ones took oil in their flasks with their lamps. When the groom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. In the middle of the night there was a shout: ‘Here is the groom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all the virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ The wise ones answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and for you. Go instead to those who sell oil, and buy some for yourselves.’ When they had gone to buy some, the groom arrived, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut. Later the rest of the virgins also came and said, ‘Master, master, open up for us!’ He replied, ‘Truly I tell you; I do not know you!’ Therefore, be alert, because you do not know either the day or the hour” (Matthew 25:1-13, CSB).
This passage is an allegory describing how important it is for the church of the Lord Jesus Christ to be prepared and ready for the hour when the rapture of the body of Christ occurs—If you want a more detailed writing on this passage, you can read the article I wrote more than two years ago by clicking on the link below.[1] In this passage, Jesus uses the ancient Jewish wedding preparation to present the similarities between it and the day he comes to receive his bride. At the time Jesus taught this parable the church was not even born yet, but nonetheless, when this allegory comes to pass it will fulfil the words of Jesus: “In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again, and will receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (Jn. 14:2-3, ASV). You may want to go back and read again what I wrote in chapter thirteen, The Betrothal Period, to get reminded how this passage relates to the church and its rapture.
This symbolic illustration is a good reason why pastors and teachers must get the church ready for the moment the Lord comes for the body of Christ. The hour he comes is too late for the church to start making a hurried attempt to get their spiritual life in order. Pastors and teachers will be responsible for having a hand in either producing wise virgins or foolish virgins. The apostle Paul felt it was his responsibility to get not only the Corinthian believers ready to meet the Lord, but all the churches he ministered to. His goal was to present them to Yeshua Hamashiach as pure virgins (2 Cor. 11:2), in other words, a church that walks in righteousness and holiness, being renewed in the spirit of their minds. At that time Paul had to deal with the possibility that believers may stray from Christ, and begin to entertain another Jesus, or receive a different spirit, or start receiving a different gospel; for already they were accepting these things quite easily. (2 Cor. 11:3-4).
But you may say that the rapture did not happen in Paul’s day. That is obvious, but he knew whether the church under his care were to die before the rapture or not, it was extremely important for the church to be walking in holiness and righteousness every day. Paul’s attitude was, whether a believer should pass from physical life before the rapture occurs it is essential that they should daily put off the old man and put on the new man, because the old self is corrupted with lust and deception whereas the new self is to be like God being created in righteousness and holiness (Eph.4:22-24). So, it does not matter if the believer is asleep or alive when the rapture occurs, they are to be presented to Jesus as pure virgins, presented to him in all the church’s glory without spot or wrinkle—the church’s character must be holy and blameless when the rapture occurs whether they be in heaven or on the earth (Eph.5:25-27).
The Greek word Paul used that scholars have translated into English as spot is, σπίλος (transliteration: spilos). Spilos can mean a mole or stain, and figuratively it can mean spiritually weak or defective. It can also refer to the noun, blemish, which can mean noticeably imperfect; imperfection. By using the word, spilos, Paul is saying that Jesus will receive to himself a church that is not weak but overcoming, not defective but perfect, in that it is overcoming defiling itself, it is overcoming the world and the sinful nature. The apostle Peter wrote about those that are spilos (stains) in his second letter (2 Pet. 2:13). He said that they revel in worldly pleasure (2 Pet. 2:13d), and that they follow the corruption of their sinful nature (2 Pet. 2:10a). Those in the church that are stained and blemished never stop sinning (2 Pet. 2:14a), they do not seek forgiveness because they do not see themselves as sinning; or the Father would forgive them (1 Jn. 1:9-10). People that continue to sin without sincere repentance forsake the Lord’s way and go astray, they follow the way of Balaam (2 Pet. 2:15; Num. 22:1-24:25). Peter said that if a person gets born-again and then goes back to the world to be overcome by it, then they are worse off than before they got saved (2 Pet. 2:20). It would be better for a believer to have never received the truth nor walked in righteousness then to forsake it (2 Pet. 2:21-22). Christians that continuously sin without seeking sincere repentance sow to their flesh which will reap corruption instead of sowing to the Holy Spirit which will reap eternal life (Gal. 6:8). The Greek word Paul used that is translated into English as wrinkle is, ῥυτίς (transliteration: rhytis). The noun, wrinkle, carries the idea of a fold or crease. But in this instance, rhytis carries the idea of being disconnected or having schisms in relationships, whether between church leaders and their congregations or one Christian to another. There should be no rifts between one believer or another. There should be no divisions within the church of God, but rather there should be perfect unity (1 Cor.1:10).
Having one’s lamp full of oil refers to being ready for when the rapture of the church occurs, it is symbolic of being committed to the coming of the bridegroom, as I wrote in chapter thirteen. Reread what I said there about the oil in the virgin’s lamp not representing the Holy Spirit as many of the clergy continue to say. Sacred anointing oil is symbolic of the anointing of the Holy Spirit but straight olive oil does not. The lamp oil in this allegory is symbolic of the level of devotion the bride has for the bridegroom. It is also deeply symbolic to the level of commitment the church must have in watching and being ready for the hour that our Lord comes for us.
I also made this statement in chapter thirteen: Having extra oil on hand to replenish their lamps is symbolic to their commitment in seeing the betrothal period through to the end, right up until the moment the bridegroom comes to get them, and then to the point when they get into the wedding banquet. It is the same with the church, we must be committed to the Lord right up to the day he comes to get us. We must be devoted to his plan to rapture us to take us to his Holy Father’s house. Right now, the church is in the betrothal period of our relationship with our husband, the Lamb of God. During the church-age every believer is going through the process of salvation. The redemption of our physical body completes the process of our salvation; this occurs at the rapture of the body of Christ (1 Thess. 4:16-17).
Today’s pastor and teacher must have the same attitude as Paul had. Each must present the bride under their leadership as pure virgins to their husband. Before the rapture occurs, the clergy should be making sure that the church has their lamps filled with plenty of oil; metaphorically speaking. The clergy should be working at getting the church ready for the coming of the Lord so he can complete every believer’s salvation.
In this parable you may notice how the foolish virgins end up being shut out of the wedding banquet, therefore they are heard saying to the Lord to let them in (Matt. 25:11-12). If this parable is symbolic of what it will be like the hour the rapture occurs then how does it compare to the Christian that is not prepared for the rapture to occur? How will this prophesied sequence of events come to pass or transpire in his life? In this parable it is simple to explain, because the foolish virgins come to the banquet hall in the physical sense after the wise virgins have been taken. They call out to be let in because now the door is shut, and they cannot get in. When the rapture occurs, the wise Christians are taken up into the eternal realm in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye (1 Cor. 15:51-53). Then the door or the spiritual gateway or spiritual portal to the kingdom of heaven, the place where the Holy Father dwells is shut. The wise Christian waits now for the rapture to occur as is indicated in the various Scriptures I posted below.[2] As indicated in this prophetic parable, it looks like the foolish Christian is then left in the world once the rapture of the body of Christ occurs because they are not prepared for this event when it happens, because in the very least they are friends of the world. The door to heaven will at that time be shut to them. Like the foolish virgins in this parable, they will shout and shout for the Lord to let them in. They will not be right outside of heaven’s door shouting to be let in, but rather, they will be shouting from the earth hoping there is still the chance they too will be snatched out of the world. When they realize the rapture of the church has happened, and they are still on the earth in their earthly bodies, they will certainly be anxious. But it will be too late. The door to the kingdom of heaven will be shut to them. They will shout from the earth to heaven for the Lord to open heaven’s door to them, but instead he will say that he does not know them (Matt. 25:12). He does not recognize them as his glorious bride, holy and perfect in his sight. The Lord’s command to the church is to keep watch and be ready for the rapture of the church to occur, because he has kept this day and hour a secret (Matt. 24:42-44; 25:13).
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[1] The Ten Virgins – A Teaching
https://thelogosrevealer.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-ten-virginsa-teaching.html
[2] 1 Corinthians 1:7-8; Philippians 3:20-21; 1
Thessalonians 1:10; 2 Timothy 4:8; Titus 2:11-13;
Hebrew 9:27-28; 1 Peter
1:13; 2 Peter 3:11-12; Jude 1:21
