“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 no 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, spying. Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.”—Matt. 25:1-131Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: 4But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 6And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. 7Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 9But 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. 10And 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. 11Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 13Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. (Matthew 25:1‑13).
With this parable we all are, happily, more or less familiar, however short we may come of being practically in its spirit. It is the normal condition of the Christian, like the saints of Thessalonica, to be waiting for the Lord from heaven, to be going out in spirit to meet the Bridegroom.
It may be a question as to when the parable more definitely applies. It is introduced by the word, “then.” In the previous chapter we have, “Watch, therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.” (Ver. 42.) And in Luke we are exhorted to be like unto men who wait for their Lord, that when He cometh, we may open to Him immediately. All of which well agrees with the thought, that, from the beginning of the church, the true position of the Christian has been to be going out to meet the Bridegroom.
It is true that, some fifty years since, there seemed to be a definite cry raised, “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh;” which was followed by much searching of the scripture on the subject, and a general revival followed as to the hope of the coming of the Lord in the hearts of His saints.
Along with this, many grave mistakes were made, by attempting to fix dates when our Lord should come, in direct conflict with the assurance, that we know not the day nor the hour; and this agrees well with our parable. And as these various dates, one after another, passed by, and our Lord came not, we fear that many a one dozed off again, and slumbered and slept, though we trust a few still are really looking for, and expecting their Lord with their lamps still burning; while the foolish fixing of dates, and the inevitable failure, estranged many an earnest Christian from the after study of the prophetic books of scripture.
Sad indeed it is to read in the parable that they all—wise and foolish—fell asleep, after having once gone out to meet the Bridegroom. And with this agrees the fact, that, until comparatively recently—as just referred to—there is scarcely a trace to be found of any Christian looking for his Lord as a present hope before his soul.
Does not the call yet continue? And may it not yet wax louder and louder—“Behold, the bridegroom cometh”—as, in many prophecies, there would seem to have been a partial fulfillment before the full and final one? In the parable, we do not read of the virgins again going to sleep after they were once awakened by the call; while we fear many who once heard it have given up the hope, and, in this respect, have slumbered again. The cry, too, is at midnight; we know not whether the darkness is quite at its full, though alas! it seems hardly possible to be worse than it is.
As in other parables, the virgins are taken up on their profession. They all profess to go forth to meet the Bridegroom, and they are all furnished with lamps—the lamps of profession. But only the wise have oil in their vessels: the foolish have their lamps, but no oil—a profession without Christ. Alas! the state, we fear, of many thousands in this day of nominal Christianity.
Well, as they all slept, so they all awoke at the cry, and trimmed their lamps. And now it is on the approach of the Bridegroom that the foolish find they need something they do not possess, for they find their lamps are “going out” (as it should read, not “gone out”).
The wise virgins cannot supply their need. They must go and buy for themselves. In the meantime the Bridegroom arrives, and they that are ready go in with him to the marriage; and—awful words!—“the door was shut.”
But the foolish virgins now appear. It does not say that they have procured any oil, but they come, and are represented as crying, “Lord, Lord, open unto us. But he answered, and said, Verily, I say unto you, I know you not.”
What words of warning are these to the professors of this day! Will you still be deceived? Will you still profess to be God’s people? Here you are represented as deceived up to the very gates of heaven, as it were; but then to hear those fatal words, “I know you not.” Alas! one trembles to think of the responsibility of any who help on, with ritualism, or any other means, the fatal delusion, that a mere human religion is all that is needed. May God open the eyes of all who are being led astray by the delusions of Satan. The exhortation is still, “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” (Isa. 55:11Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. (Isaiah 55:1).)
All closes with these seasonable words: “Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” With oil in our vessels, with joy we can look forward to that happy moment, when we shall hear “the voice of the archangel and the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive, and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
We have looked at the various parables in the New Testament. It will be seen that they embrace a wide range, even from Christ seeking fruit in His vineyard (Israel), until He comes again, and receives those waiting for Him, and calls His servants around Him, to hear how they have been engaged for Him while away. We have also seen there are some fundamental truths taught in the parables, such as Christ becoming “a sower,” because man is too bad to be able to render any acceptable fruit to God. And also life after death of the wicked, in the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, and an impassable gulf which prevents escape. Also the wonderful grace of God, in the way in which He seeks the lost, and receives the prodigal to His bosom; but nothing more, or different, is to be expected from God as good news. In the Old Testament there were Moses and the prophets; now there is the gospel of the grace of God, If men reject this, neither would they believe though one rose from the dead.
We have also the wonderfully true pictures of the professing church—not its glory and beauty, for, as a whole, here it has none; but of the evil mixed with it—evil in doctrine, and evil in person, true pictures indeed, which could only have been drawn by the finger of God.
All this throws light upon what our Lord said to His disciples, after He had been relating some of His parables. He said, “Have you understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven, is like unto a man which is a householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.” (Matt. 13:51, 5251Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. 52Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old. (Matthew 13:51‑52).) Thus the parables embrace things of the old dispensation, and things of the new: and a man instructed in these has a treasure from which he can draw. And, as we have seen, in several of the parables are the very truths Christians need in this day, that they may see things as God sees them, and be looking for only that which He has said is to be expected. But every truth taught in the parables is confirmed, again and again, by other parts of scripture, so that none can say, “It is only in a parable.” No, all God’s truth is one. But God Himself has stamped an importance upon the parables, so that a man instructed in them shall have a treasure out of which he can bring things new and old.
May God enable us, each and all, to do this, to our own blessing; and to Him be all the praise.