The Ten Virgins

The Ten Virgins

“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.”

The five foolish virgins do not represent the world; neither do they represent the religious world—the harlot—because they are virgins. Therefore, we find them in the church together with the wise virgins. All of them were virgins; their hearts were closed to the world. They all went out to meet the bridegroom. They had bidden the world farewell in order to seek the things that are above, where Jesus is. Col. 3:1-2. All of them took their lamps along. The lamps represent their testimony.

“Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.” Matt. 10:27. “Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.” Matt. 5:15.

They had fellowship in the doctrine. There was only one difference between them. The wise virgins took oil in their vessels together with their lamps. The foolish virgins did not realize that they had to take oil in their vessels.

“Command the children of Israel that they bring to you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to make the lamps burn continually.” Lev. 24:2.

To obtain oil, something has to be crushed; and the lamps cannot shine without oil. We need to have works for our testimony to shine. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matt. 5:16.

There is a great need for lamps that can shine, especially where there is a lack of life and teaching. If my testimony is that I will walk in Jesus’ steps, “Who, when He was reviled did not revile in return,” my lamp will not shine if I revile in return. But if I do not revile in return, something within me—my self-will, my honor—has to be crushed. If it is crushed, the lamp will shine. The five foolish virgins did have some oil in their lamps because they said, “Our lamps are going out.” So something must have been crushed in them as well.

“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murder, drunkenness, revelries, and the like . . . .” Gal. 5:19-21.

These and similar works are evident. Everyone knows that they are sin. If we do such things, no one will believe in our Christianity. No matter how beautiful our lamps are, they will not shine. These things must be put off if we are to be reckoned as Christians. All ten virgins had put these things off. All of them had a sufficient amount of oil from crushed olives that they were reckoned as Christians. This left the five foolish virgins satisfied. However, the five wise virgins thought not only about letting their lamps shine in the present moment; they also thought about their vessels.

The works of the flesh will become apparent in the various trials of daily life when we have to do with other people. It is then that our lamp must shine. Even the five foolish virgins will deny themselves in these trials, so that their lamps shine and people cannot judge them. However, then they are satisfied. It doesn’t occur to them that the little bit of oil they received at that moment is also burned up in the same instant. True enough, their lamps shone for the people, but when they had finished shining, their lamps were just as empty as before. The five wise virgins, on the other hand, thought about gathering oil in their vessels. They were not satisfied with just letting their lamps shine for the people; but, when the trial was over, they reflected on what had happened. In quietness before God’s face, they got to see themselves, their human nature, and they crushed it. They had no need for their lamps now because there was no one to shine for. The oil they received from this crushing went into their vessels. This is the hidden life with Christ in God.

The foolish virgins are satisfied when they have put off manifest sins; but Paul did not stop there. He said, “For I know nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.” 1 Cor. 4:4.

“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Gal. 5:25. You cannot live in the Spirit and be angry at the same time. You cannot say that you know nothing against yourself if you are angry. Not at all, because then you have a bad conscience. Your lamp is not shining; other people can see that there is something wrong with you. Paul was not content with the Galatians just living in the Spirit where others could not judge them for anything. Not at all! He says, “Let us also walk in the Spirit.” You add depth to your life by walking in the Spirit. Even if the others cannot judge you, and even if you do not know anything against yourself, you may rest assured that the Lord is able to judge you. It is by walking in the Spirit—when the Lord begins to judge you—that you begin to gather oil in your vessel.

This is where the attitude of the foolish virgins is revealed. They are satisfied that people cannot judge them. Then they are bold. They have no sense for being quiet before God’s face. They think of it as laziness and indifference. They can also be zealous to spread the gospel and travel around with their lamps. You can find them at meetings, in hospitals or retirement homes, or visiting here and there. They believe they have a work to do wherever they go. If they are out traveling, they have to speak to someone or sing. They always feel compelled to be busy. Forget rest and quietness; they have to be doing something. They could, in fact, be compared to Martha. In all her zeal to serve Jesus, she was human. She did not understand Mary who sat at Jesus’ feet and gathered oil in her vessel.

Putting off sin that burdens our conscience gives us oil in our lamp, but putting to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit gives us oil in our vessel. Col. 3:8; Rom. 8:13. If the lamp is to shine, then vanity, seeking honor, preacher’s itch, respect of persons, and miserliness, all of which are things that people can see, must be put off and crushed. When their lamps give light, the five foolish virgins are satisfied. They are full and rich; they are kings. 1 Cor. 4:8. The one who is satisfied—irrespective of the state to which he has attained—will end up among the five foolish virgins. But the Spirit searches much deeper. If you want to have oil in your vessel, you must come to rest in your inner being so that you can hear the Spirit’s voice. There He will enlighten you and show you your vanity, ambition, preacher’s itch, etc., to a much deeper degree than you ever could have imagined. This is why it is vital to walk in the Spirit, to acknowledge what He shows you, and to crush it. The five wise virgins have a sense for this “vessel life”; they love it, and they get oil in their lamps and in their vessels.

We can learn something about this from the letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. Rev. 2:1-6. “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”

There was nothing but good to say about the works of the angel of the church in Ephesus. Nevertheless, he was about to drift in among the five foolish virgins. He had to repent. He had lost his first love. Our fellowship and communion with God and His leading is perfect only in this first love. The first works done in the first love were done for Jesus’ sake, and only for Him. Jesus required this intimate fellowship of Peter before He entrusted him with the ministry of a shepherd. “Do you love Me more than these?” The angel of the church in Ephesus had drifted away from this first love. He had to repent. It was not just a difference in degree, with room for improvement. Not at all! It had become an essential difference. Though the works outwardly were in order, they were of poor quality.

In Revelation 3:1 we read what Jesus says to the angel of the church in Sardis: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.” You have to do something to receive a name. The angel of the church in Sardis had a name of being alive. This gives us an indication of how active he was and how good his works were; yet he was dead. He had come out of communion with Jesus. He did his works before the face of man. Oh, how many there are who, in their zeal for the cause of Christ, have come out of communion with Him. They seek their own and live only a “lamp life.” Phil. 2:21. They want to have a name that they are alive. This is why they testify and pray and strive to get people to be converted; this is why they are generous and self-sacrificing. This angel seemed to be a good worker in God’s vineyard, but listen to the exhortation he received: “Be watchful and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.” Rev. 3:2.

Paul exhorts us not to become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Gal. 5:26. In his striving to receive a name of being alive, the angel in Sardis had drawn the other members into the same race for honor. Such a race is outside the leading of the Spirit and ends in death. He was held accountable for the others as well.

“You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.” The garments, which are the clean and white linen, are the righteous acts of the saints. These few in Sardis had not defiled their garments. They had overcome their desire for selfish ambition. They did all their works before God. The most important thing for them was to be led by the Spirit. It was the love of Christ that compelled them. They were not drawn into the race that leads to death into which the leader and others in the church had entered.

“He who overcomes”! Yes, to him belong great promises. To overcome—that means not doing your works to be seen, but doing them because you love Jesus, and doing everything you do for Jesus’ sake. Then you are truly wise. Then you will be raptured when Jesus comes like a thief to fetch those who are ready. You will be clothed in white garments and walk with Jesus, and Jesus will confess your name before the Father and His angels. But the angel of Sardis and the others in that church will be left behind if they do not repent. They are among the five foolish virgins. Rev. 3:1-5.

“Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord slothfully.” Jer. 48:10. This was the state of the angel of the church in Laodicea. He was neither cold nor hot, which is why Jesus wanted to spew him out of His mouth. When we read this, we must inevitably ask ourselves, “Was he not a hypocrite?” A conscious hypocrite knows what he is doing, but this angel had deceived himself. “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked . . . .” This is how it can go if a person is not faithful in the depths of his heart and does not walk solely before God’s face. We can be certain that all of them believed in the atonement, but that was no longer the issue. In order for us to be of the firstfruits, our works must be perfect, because they will be our wedding garment. It is not sufficient for the works to be good in themselves; they must be carried out in a zeal for the Lord. Tit. 2:14.

People can see only the lamp. They cannot see the vessel, because it is hidden in the “cupboard.” Therefore they cannot distinguish between the virgins, although they have noticed that some of the lamps have less oil in them and shine less brightly.

“But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.” Matt. 25:5. On this point they were all alike, and they are not reproached for having slept. Therefore, the fact that they slept does not mean that they had fallen away or had become lukewarm, but it could mean that a time will come when they cannot work. “The night is coming when no one can work.” John 9:4. For example, they cannot use their lamps when it comes to announcing meetings, etc. They will have to keep quiet. It will be as we read in Revelation 22:11-12: “He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him become more sanctified. ‘And behold, I am coming quickly.’”

“And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’” Matt. 25:6. Then they all awoke. Now they needed their lamps. This call went out to the virgins in the darkness and they all had ears to hear. The time had come for them to preach it from the rooftops in the light. They trimmed their lamps.

“Now when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help . . . .” Dan. 11:34. God can send a little help at midnight—an opportunity, albeit in a great trial, to proclaim the Word—such as a revival. They trimmed their lamps, but it takes more than just oil in the lamps to let them shine at midnight. Now the five foolish virgins will discover that their lamps are going out. Their words are not weighty enough to break through the darkness, through the spirit powers that are reigning. They are too shallow. They lack a deeper understanding of the doctrine of Christ. Now it dawns on them what they had neglected, and they ask for oil from the wise virgins. They cannot stand alone in the conflict, and they asked for help. But the wise virgins have only enough oil for themselves. They could not give any to the foolish virgins, who had to go out themselves to the merchants—they had to live the life and take the time needed to crush the olives, so that their words could have the necessary weight and power.

The life is the light of men; for this reason, no one can borrow light from another. And today there are those who even live in sin, but who try to hide among Christians. People trust them because they attend the meetings, and they seem to be good people. But the time will come when they will be revealed.

We can hear some who have received something from God, and they come with what they have. Their lamps shine as a blessing, but then they think that what they have been given to say is too little, and so they carry on testifying but use their own thoughts and reasoning. When this happens, we realize that their lamps are beginning to smoke.

When the cry was heard, it was too late to buy oil. The bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with Him. “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’” Matt. 25:11-12.

They had walked before the face of man, not thinking about the bridegroom’s testimony. He could not speak to them as He did to Mary. He did not know them.

The foolish virgins were left behind in the great tribulation. When it is past midnight the night becomes hard and cold. So may all of us wake up and receive more of a sense for gathering oil in our vessels. Then we will be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man. Luke 21:36.