The 10 Virgins

[Slug1]

In Matthew 25:1-13 we read the parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins.

My question is... are all 10 saved?

[BruceG]

In Matthew 25:1-13 we read the parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins.

My question is... are all 10 saved?

All ten thought they were. All ten talked like they were. All ten had clean cups outwardly. The issue was what was found on the inside.

I would suspect if there were five weeping and wailing and gnashing their teeth with the gate closed on them, preventing them from joining the marriage supper of the lamb, I suspect the correct answer would be five, no? How we need to remember, bowing the knee once is not going to cut it. Our entire life is to be lived with that same knoee bowed. It is "He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved."

How this ought to drive us to our knees, seeking God to examine our hearts to make sure that they are His and not our own. The scary thing about deception is that it is deceiving! Those lukewarm saints in Laodecia really did not know that were playing with God, but not wholeheartedly sold out to the kingdom to come. Better to be spewed out now than when it is too late.

Where is our only protection from deception? Walking in God's holiness. Being clothed with His very life. It is the only safe place.

"Beware lest your hearts be hardened thru the deceitfulness of sin, in departing from the living God."

[Slug1]

[SIZE="4"][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"]All ten thought they were. All ten talked like they were. All ten had clean cups outwardly. The issue was what was found on the inside.

Let me comment on this statement... all ten did have one common denominator and this is pointed out in v8: 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’

If the ones who were foolish were not saved... then why do they even "have" lamps that are "capable" of going out? If they were not saved, they'd not have lamps lit that are now going out do to their foolishness.

So where all 10 saved?

[Vhayes]

The 'oil' is the Holy Spirit. One is not saved without the Holy Spirit. One can carry the lamp all they want - if there is no oil, there is no salvation. And what is the stamp of the Holy Spirit? Love.

[Slug1]

The 'oil' is the Holy Spirit. One is not saved without the Holy Spirit. One can carry the lamp all they want - if there is no oil, there is no salvation. And what is the stamp of the Holy Spirit? Love.

All 10, based on v8 had oil at one time so there is salvation for all 10, at one time. Yet in the end, only 5 made it... even though all at one time began with their oil otherwise we'd not read what we do in v8.

I agree, oil is the Holy Spirit and this is how the lamp is kept lit so Jesus can shine from them... but only 5 kept shining.

So... were all 10 at one time, saved?

[Amos_with_goats]

Oh Slug... where shall this go?

First, what a great parable. Who can take issue with the Lord's teaching? What all was He telling us here?

- ten virgins... 5 foolish....
- Their lamps COULD go out... the oil obviously COULD run out... right? or why mention it? (see Rev 2, where the Ephesians were warned).
- This idea that 'watching' is enough is obviously not true.... many conversations can launch from this idea...

Good stuff... great stuff... lets see where everyone else goes with this...

[Nihil Obstat]

I think that the plain meaning of the parable is that the midnight herald is John the Baptist (cf. 3:1-3), the virgins are symbolic for all of Judea (cf. 3:5), and the bridegroom is Yahweh (cf. 9:15; 25:13) - Immanuel, "God with man" in the Person of Jesus, both the Son of Man and the Son of God. The wise are those who heed the voice of Yahweh's prophets, and the foolish are those who do not, but instead lean upon their ethnicity (cf. 7:24-27). The oil and the lamps are word-pictures to describe "seeing / watching", which is synonymous with having ears to hear the message of the prophets. The last prophet, the one who cries at midnight, is consistently said to be John the Baptist (cf. 11:11-15). Jesus' point? Only those who listen to John will enter the kingdom (21:28-32); those who did not will surely not listen to Jesus' words, for they spoke the same message (3:2; 4:17; 11:16-19) with the same authority (21:23-27). The wise will, as Noah was, be "taken / received" into the ark / wedding, while the foolish will be "left / denied" outside in the great deluge / judgment (24:36-42). This deluge occurred in 70 AD, putting this parable completely in context with the Olivet Discourse where Jesus details the events surrounding the destruction of the temple (24:1-3 ff). So were the foolish virgins saved? No, they were not saved. They were not like the wheat which would be gathered into the barn, but were like the chaff which would be burned with unquenchable fire (3:12; 13:24-30, 36-43, 47-50; cf. Jer. 15:5-8). When the trouble came, they fell, and great was their fall (7:26-27).

[Ta-An]

I think that the plain meaning of the parable is that the midnight herald is John the Baptist (cf. 3:1-3), the virgins are symbolic for all of Judea (cf. 3:5), and the bridegroom is Yahweh (cf. 9:15; 25:13) - Immanuel, "God with man" in the Person of Jesus, both the Son of Man and the Son of God. The wise are those who heed the voice of Yahweh's prophets, and the foolish are those who do not, but instead lean upon their ethnicity (cf. 7:24-27). The oil and the lamps are word-pictures to describe "seeing / watching", which is synonymous with having ears to hear the message of the prophets. The last prophet, the one who cries at midnight, is consistently said to be John the Baptist (cf. 11:11-15). Jesus' point? Only those who listen to John will enter the kingdom (21:28-32); those who did not will surely not listen to Jesus' words, for they spoke the same message (3:2; 4:17; 11:16-19) with the same authority (21:23-27). The wise will, as Noah was, be "taken / received" into the ark / wedding, while the foolish will be "left / denied" outside in the great deluge / judgment (24:36-42). This deluge occurred in 70 AD, putting this parable completely in context with the Olivet Discourse where Jesus details the events surrounding the destruction of the temple (24:1-3 ff). So were the foolish virgins saved? No, they were not saved. They were not like the wheat which would be gathered into the barn, but were like the chaff which would be burned with unquenchable fire (3:12; 13:24-30, 36-43, 47-50; cf. Jer. 15:5-8). When the trouble came, they fell, and great was their fall (7:26-27).

To take this one step further....

All 10 were virgins, thus all 10 had equal opportunity to meet the Bridegroom... thus they all knew the Bridegroom. (Remember in Jewish culture, like Jesus said He is going to prepare a place...and when the Father says the place is ready, then the Groom comes to fetch the Bride)

So we see here
The Groom..... Jesus
The Bride........ ??
10 Virgins, 5 wise and 5 not so wise.??

So who is the Bride and who are the Virgins.... ??

But to not get side tracked from the OP.

The 10 virgins all had opportunity to wait for the Groom to come., but for 5 their oil ran out....

What is the Oil??
Turn the focus off the virgins.... they lacked OIL.... What does the oil resemble??

Oil, to me is a symbol of faith and hope and love... and joy... and relationship.... and yes Holy Spirit presence ...
Are people getting too tired to persevere in their waiting for the return of Messiah??
Are they giving up, is their hope failing?
Is their faith dwindling??
Does all this cause their love for their Lord to run out, are they becoming cold in their love for Jesus. .... are they falling prey to hopelessness?? Is their oil running out??

I am thinking of the scripture "....my cup runneth over..."Ps 23:5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. ... and there is there oil Oh what joy.... when the Lord is my Shepherd

Remember, by saying I am a Christian, does not make me one, if I lose the qualifying qualities thereof .....

Therefor: Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Can you lose your hope, you faith your love....???

[Ta-An]

Next question is:
Why were they called :"Foolish"

Surely when you wait for something,,,, you prepare?? Do you pack food and sarmies and coffee in when you go on a long drive on holiday? Do you pack clean clothes when you go on holiday??? It is all about being prepared....

10 virgins going to a feast (Holiday) half of them did not pack clothes... Be prepared to meet with God when it is time...

[HisLeast]

If the ones who were foolish were not saved... then why do they even "have" lamps that are "capable" of going out? If they were not saved, they'd not have lamps lit that are now going out do to their foolishness.

So where all 10 saved?

Is it possible that there's some metaphor mixing here? Are we certain that in this story the lamps necessarily meant salvation?

[Amos_with_goats]

Good stuff... good stuff

Foolish indeed....

I should say that the night was longer then they thought, would your agree?

How many have you known who have 'fizzled out' because their faith has been a passing fad? Can you recall anyone? What about some of those who were influenced by blockbuster movies? Long running book series>?

We had a well known 'revival' in the area I live. It is in an area considered the 'bad' part of town. Many of those I speak to while street witnessing remember the 'revival'. They recall it fondly but sadly their lives do not reflect a lasting result of something they might have thought to have found there.....

I believe that one can not blame the oil when it runs out, but rather the one who choose no longer to seek it.

[Slug1]

Is it possible that there's some metaphor mixing here? Are we certain that in this story the lamps necessarily meant salvation?

This is a great point and not only can it be addressed but needs to be addressed.

Well... and I'm brainstorming, those who don't have a lamp which can represent the light of Christ in us are ones who don't have a relationship in Christ. To even have a relationship in Christ one must have been saved. They are now in Christ, Christ is in them and His light shines. The oil which enables the lamp to shine is the Holy Spirit, through the Holy Spirit we are enabled, the lamp is fueled.

All 10 had this in the beginning, only 5 maintained and were accepted to participate in the "wedding".

So were all 10 saved and only 5 overcame and received their salvation? Yes, I am purposly rewording this question each time.

[Slug1]

10 virgins going to a feast (Holiday) half of them did not pack clothes... Be prepared to meet with God when it is time...

But if you are once saved always saved... being prepared till the end don't matter. All that matters is getting that lamp and the oil at the moment of accepting Christ.... right????

[notuptome]

This parable is not speaking of salvation. The 10 virgins represent Israel. The lamps are the word of God given through Israel as Gods elect. The oil is the Holy Spirit yet in OT Israel relationship His presence is not the same as NT grace. All of Israel has the word of God. They delighted in having the word of God yet they did not receive what the word was teaching. Only the wise virgins were ready when the bridegroom Messiah came. Yet all were expecting Messiah to come but not according to a correct knowledge of the word of God. This parable is illustrating those who were not only looking for the promise but were prepared to receive it.

An application can be drawn to salvation in Christ but that is not the original intent of the parable. Many in this country have heard the word and have heard that they must be saved but they do not receive it into their hearts so that they might be saved. A head knowledge only and not a heart receiveing unto eternal life.

For the cause of Christ
Roger

[Kahtar]

All ten were called to the wedding.
All ten were waiting for the coming of the groom.
All ten were 'light bearers', with lamps.
All ten had oil at the start.
All ten were found sleeping.
Five did not have sufficient oil. They remained in outer darkness. The groom said 'I know you not'.
The running out of oil, and the 'I know you not', I think are very closely tied.
It has been said so many times, Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship. 'I know you not' suggests a lack of relationship.
We see much the same thing in another place, where Jesus said 'In that day many will stand before me and say.......' and are met with the same response, 'Depart from me, I never knew you'.
One person says the magic formula for salvation, and believes he's safe. Another really means what he's saying, and finds a relationship with a close and loving Friend.