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 and neither do they represent the religious world—the harlot—because they are virgins. This is why we find them in the church together with the wise virgins. They were all virgins; their hearts were closed to the world. They all went out to meet the bridegroom. They had said goodbye to the world in order to seek the things that are above, where Jesus is. Col. 3:1-2. They all took their lamps with them. The lamps represent our confession of faith.

“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.

Our lamps cannot shine without oil, and to obtain oil, something has to be crushed. We need to have works if our confession of faith is 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.

The thing that is lacking so desperately is lamps that can shine brightly in life and teaching. If my confession of faith is that I am to walk in Jesus’ footsteps “Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return,” my lamp will not shine if I revile in return. But in order for me not to revile in return, something within me has to be crushed—my self-will, my honor. 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, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like.” Gal. 5:19-21.

These and similar works are manifest. Everyone knows that they are sin. If we do such things, it is not easy for others to believe in our Christianity. No matter how beautiful our lamps look, they will not shine. These things must be put off if we are to be considered to be Christians. All ten virgins had crushed sufficient olives so that they were virgins. However, the five wise virgins thought not only about letting their lamps shine in the present moment, they also thought about their vessels.

These works of the flesh will become apparent in the various trials of daily life when we are together with other people. It is then that our lamps must shine. Even the five foolish virgins will deny themselves in these trials, so that their lamps shine and people cannot judge them. But then they are satisfied. It doesn’t occur to them that the little drop of oil they received at that moment is also burned up in the same instant. True enough, their lamps shone for the people, but afterwards they were just as empty as before. The wise virgins, on the other hand, thought about gathering oil in their vessels. Their lamps also shone for the people, but this did not satisfy them. When the trial was over, they reflected on what they had done. In quietness before God’s face, they were able 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 sin; however Paul did not stop there. He said, “For I know of 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 lose your temper at the same time. If you lose your temper, you cannot say that you know nothing against yourself. On the contrary, you have a guilty conscience. Your lamp is not shining; other people can see that there is something wrong with you. It was not enough for Paul that the Galatians lived in the Spirit—that other people couldn’t find anything to judge in them. Not at all! Because he says, “Let us also walk in the Spirit.” Walking in the Sprit is what gives depth to your life. 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 see no value in being quiet before God’s face. They consider that to be 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 people here and there. They believe they have a ministry wherever they go. If they are out traveling, they feel like they have to be talking or singing. They always feel compelled to be busy. Rest and quietness before God? No, they have to be doing something. Truly they are like Martha. In her zeal, she served Jesus, but she was soulish. She could 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. Vanity, honor-seeking, preacher’s itch, respect of persons and stinginess, all of which are things that people can see, must be put off and crushed if our lamp is to give light. The five foolish virgins are content with this. They are full and rich; they reign as kings. 1 Cor. 4:8. The one who is satisfied with his spiritual condition such as it is becomes one of the 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 give you light and show you a much deeper degree of your vanity, vainglory, lust to preach, etc., 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 see the value 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 on the verge of becoming one of the five foolish virgins. He had to repent. He had lost his first love. Only in this first love is our fellowship and communion with God and His leading perfect. The first works in the first love are done for Jesus’ sake, for Him alone. This was the intimate fellowship that Jesus required 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. No, there was an essential difference. Though the works were outwardly in order, their quality was poor.

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 the name of being alive. He got that name because he was very active and his works were very good; yet he was dead. He had lost his connection 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 lost their connection 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. That is what motivates them to testify and pray and strive to get people to be converted, and that 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 others 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 bright linen, are the righteous acts of the saints. These few in Sardis had not defiled their garments. They had overcome their lust for honor. They did all their works for God alone. The most important thing for them was to be led by the Spirit. It was the love of Christ that compelled them. They did not allow themselves to be drawn into the race leading to death that the leader and others in the church had entered into.

“He who overcomes!” There are great promises for him. To overcome: that means not doing your works to be seen, but because you love Jesus, and everything you do is for His sake. If you do this, 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 be allowed to walk with Jesus, and He will confess your name before the Father and His angels. But the angel of Sardis and the others in the church there will be left behind if they do not repent. They had become foolish virgins. Rev. 3:1-5.

“Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord lazily.” Jer. 48:10. (Norw.) This was the state of the angel of the church in Laodicea. He was neither cold nor hot. That is why Jesus was about to spew him out of His mouth. When we read this, we must 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.” Rev. 3:17. (Emphasis added.) This is how it can go with us if we are not faithful in the depths of our hearts and do not walk only 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, but they must be carried out in a zeal for the Lord. Tit. 2:14.

People can only see our lamp. They cannot see the vessel, because it is hidden in a cupboard. They cannot distinguish between the virgins, although they can see that some of the lamps have less oil and don’t shine as 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 can mean that a time will come when they cannot work. “The night is coming when no one can work.” John 9:4. They could not use their lamps (for example, they could not hold public meetings). They were forced 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 be holy still. ‘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. Suddenly they needed their lamps. This call went out to the virgins in the darkness, and they all had ears to hear that call. 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. In the deepest night God can send a little help, an opportunity even in great trial to preach the Word and have revival. They trimmed their lamps, but for them to burn brightly in the midnight hour, more oil was needed than what was already in their lamps. It was then that the foolish virgins made the terrible discovery that their lamps were going out. Their words did not have enough weight to break through the darkness—the spirit powers of evil that prevailed. They were too shallow. They lacked a deeper understanding of the doctrine of Christ. Suddenly it dawned on them what it was that they had neglected, and they tried to get oil from the wise virgins. They were unable to stand alone in the conflict, and they wanted help. But the wise virgins only had enough for themselves. They didn’t have enough to supply the foolish virgins. The foolish virgins had to go out to the sellers—they had to live the life—take the time to crush the olives so that their words could have the necessary weight and power.

Life is the light of men; no one can borrow light from another. Today, too, there are people who live in sin but try to hide among the Christians. People trust them because they attend the meetings, and they seem to be good people. But the time is coming when they will be manifested for what they really are.

When some people speak, we can hear that they have received something from God. Their lamps shine as a blessing to others. But then they feel that what God has given them to say is not enough, so they continue speaking from the development of their own thoughts and reasonings. Then we see that their lamps are beginning to smoke.

When the cry went up, 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 and had not considered what the bridegroom had to say. He could not speak to them the way He did to Mary. He did not know them.

The foolish virgins were left behind in the great tribulation. The night becomes cold and hard when it is past midnight. So may all of us wake up and be more conscious of 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.