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The prophecy of the Second Coming of Jesus is often either misunderstood by Christians themselves, or, the object of derision and ridicule among non-Christians. And yet, it is one of the most important doctrines of the Bible. By tradition, advent is the season in which both the Old Testament prophecies concerning the birth of Jesus, which have been fulfilled, and the promise that Jesus made in John 14:3, “I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also”, are given special attention by Christians.
The metaphorical allegory (i.e. “parable”) of the Ten Virgins, found in Matthew 25:1-13, is an excellent illustrative example of Christ’s teaching regarding his future return. As is the case for all Christ’s parables, it is metaphorical in nature. In the metaphors as used by Jesus, commonly understood situations are referenced to help the listener gain an understanding of a transcendent truth that otherwise, without the help of metaphor in an allegorical context, could not be grasped. The Holy Spirit helps the hearer “bridge the gap” between metaphor and the transcendent concept to which it points. Let us consider the parable of the Ten Virgins, a metaphorical allegory pointing to the second coming of our Lord.
As the story opens, we see at first the similarities of the persons involved in the story. Notice that each of the ten all young women who had been invited to a wedding celebration had lamps, and all went out to meet the bride-groom, which was a familiar and customary tradition in those days. These young women were "bridesmaids” so to speak. Their job was to attend to the bride and keep her company until the bridegroom arrived.
Now part of the tradition is that this waiting for the bridegroom was a festive game in which everyone knew that the bridegroom would try to surprise the wedding party and catch them off guard. The bridegroom kept the time of his arrival secret, and would try to arrive at an unexpected time. The wedding party of bride and her guests joined in the game by being on the lookout for groom’s arrival, hoping to catch him coming into the feast.
Here are ten bridesmaids. They all looked alike. Each had a lamp. Each dressed in the garment of a bridesmaid. Each claimed to have been invited. Each acted like the others. They all had the same purpose. None suspected that there was anything different or wrong with any of the others. But there was. There was a flaw in five of them that would, as the story progresses, be revealed. Five of them had neglected to put oil in their lamps.
There are several important meanings that we can draw from this parable. First, while the difference in these persons, the bridesmaids, could not at first be detected, in time it was discovered that five of them were unprepared for the return of the groom, and this is a reminder for us today that the visible church shares a similar problem? Some church members are prepared meet the Lord when He returns, others are not. All Christian church members identify themselves as being followers of Christ, and they all look pretty much the same outwardly. They all claim to be going to heaven. They all claim to be outwardly working for God. But, many of them are not really what they claim to be. And, many “Christians” are not what they themselves think they are. Like the five foolishly unprepared bridesmaids in the parable, many persons today, even though they have been invited to the feast celebrating the marriage of Christ to His bride the church, are not prepared. (Another similar parable, if you are interested, may be found in Matthew 22:1-14, the parable of the unsuitably attired wedding guest.)
Persons may attend church, engage in religious rituals, recite creeds and so on, yet not has Christ in their heart. If one’s religion is superficial it is counterfeit, and that person will not be prepared to meet the “bridegroom”, Jesus Christ, when he returns for this “bride”, church. There is a true and yet invisible church comprised of all those who have Christ in their hearts; and, there is a “visible” church comprised of all those persons who identify themselves as Christians, some of whom are and others who are counterfeit. By “true” or “invisible” church I mean all those of every branch and denomination of the visible church who truly are inwardly one with Christ, and, perhaps even those who have not yet heard the Gospel but in whom the Holy Spirit has begun to work. It is not for us to judge and single out the true from the untrue. That will be done when the Lord returns (see Matthew 13:30).
All the bridesmaids in this parable told by Jesus looked alike, but there was a hidden difference, not apparent to the unpracticed eye. In our churches today, there is a difference between the saved and the unsaved, often not apparent to the unpracticed eye. The foolish bridesmaids described in the parable had no oil. Lamps are of no use without oil. “Oil” in the Bible is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, as we see in I John 2:27 where the gift of the Holy Spirit is referred to metaphorically as an anointing. This word, “anointing” refers back to the Old Testament use of oil for infusing the gifts of God, as, for example, when Samuel anointed David to become king, (“Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward”—1 Samuel 16:13a), something like the laying on of hands and a blessing or the gift of the Holy Spirit is sometimes passed from one Christian to another. Not having oil in the lamp equates to not having the Holy Spirit in the soul.
The five foolishly unprepared bridesmaids were without oil in their lamps, and because of this, they would not be allowed to go into the wedding celebration when the bridegroom arrived. Likewise, none of us will be permitted to enter the Kingdom of Heaven when Jesus Christ returns for His church unless we have been reborn, filled with His very essence; i.e., unless He is living in us and we in Him (see John 14:20). Those who are not prepared when Christ returns will not be allowed to join the celebration, for as it is written in Romans 8:9, “anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him”.
Our nation is in great need of a spiritual revival. We need more Christian teachers and domestic missionaries who will go into the mission field right here in America. America is “ripe for harvest” (John 4:35). We are in great need of having our lamps filled. Millions today, like the foolishly unprepared bridesmaids in the parable told by the Lord, will be barred from the wedding feast when He returns for His bride (i.e., the church), unless we have lived a life in preparation, having been filled with new life, His life (see John 3:3-7).
Truly there is a comparison to be made between the foolish bridesmaids of the parable Jesus told, and those persons today who think they are Christians but who in fact are not. And there is another comparison to be drawn from this parable as well. All ten of the bridesmaids fell asleep—both the wise and the unwise. So too, the church as a whole today has fallen asleep, metaphorically speaking. The hour is late and the time is near. We must awaken! “Now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11).
Many think that the Lord is not coming back because the delay has been long. Jesus warns in another parable of the result of this error. In Matthew 24:48-51 we read, “… if the evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” So it shall be.
The second coming of Christ was the hope of the church during the first 400 years of church history, but it seems to have been all but forgotten today. Titus 2:13 tells us that the coming of Christ is the "blessed hope" of the church. We need to return to that blessed hope.
Christ is coming again, though we know not the hour. Notice in the parable of the Ten Virgins that the time of the shout alerting them to the coming of the bridegroom was at midnight, the hour least expected. The Bible does not tell us when the return of the Lord will be, other than that the return will be when least expected, as was the case with the midnight arrival of the groom in the parable of the Ten Virgins. The Bible tells us that the Lord’s return will be sudden and unexpected. And for the unprepared, the consequences shall be like the intrusion of an unexpected thief in the night (see 1 Thessalonians 5:2).
While counterfeit Christians may pass for a time as genuine sons and daughters of the Heavenly Father, just as the virgins without oil in their lamps passed for a time as proper bridesmaids, eventually the counterfeits will be discovered, and in that hour “there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth”(Matthew 13:42). Counterfeits manage for a while, but in the hour of need they will lack what they need most. They do not have the “oil for their lamp”; they do not have the Lord present in their heart. And when the Lord arrives, they will not be allowed to enter the celebration because of it. When the Lord returns, the most important thing that you can possess is the Person of Jesus Christ in your heart, in your life, in your soul. This is the “oil” you need for your “lamp”.
In addition to being rejected, the five foolishly unprepared virgins were shamed. The door was shut and they were left on the outside, ashamed of themselves because of their foolishness. The foolishly unprepared virgins tried to get in but the Lord of the manner answered, “Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.” They are going to be greatly shamed. Christ reiterates this in Matthew 7:21-22 where he says, “Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven…. Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not … done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”
I think it safe to say that all of us today what to be numbered among the wise bridesmaids who are prepared rather than those who were unprepared. Let us prepare our hearts for His coming!
We are told in Matthew 24:42 that we must WATCH and not be negligent. Let us therefore, develop the habit of watching for every prompting of the Holy Spirit, and let us respond by saying “yes”, by being obedient to these promptings. Let us not be negligent about this. And let us look forward with blessed hope, as did the early church, to the return of our Lord who is coming to claim His church, his “bride”, those who are a part of His true church.
BE READY! Accept Christ now as your one true Lord and Savior, repent of your sin, embrace the cross, and be reborn!
And finally, each of us has a responsibility to strive each and every day to help others come to the light. Watch! Watch for those opportunities! We are to be like the faithful steward who when made ruler over his household gives food in due season to others for whom he cares”, (Matthew 24:45). Be faithful stewards! Care for and share spiritual food with those in need, so that they might learn and grow in Christ. “To those to whom much is given, much is required” (Luke 12:48). You have been given much. Your lamp has been filled. Trim your lamps! Keep them burning! Bring light to a darkened world! Let your light so shine that others may be brought to your Lord and Savior!
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