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Scripture Reading: Matt. 25:1-13; 24:40-42; Prov. 20:27; Rom. 9:21, 23-24
In this chapter we come to the parable of the ten virgins found in Matthew 25:1-13. Something very basic is found in this parable, but for centuries Christians have not fully apprehended it. Of all the parables in the book of Matthew, the parable of the ten virgins is the most mysterious. If it were standing alone apart from the rest of the Bible, it would be impossible for us to understand this parable.
As we have seen in a previous chapter, from the time of Matthew 13, the Lord no longer spoke about the kingdom in an open way. He began to speak in parables, in a mysterious way. In Matthew 13:10-17 He gave the reason for speaking in parables: the religious people assumed that they were for God and that they knew the Scriptures, but actually they were not for God and did not understand the Scriptures. Thus, the Lord began to hide the kingdom from them, making it a mystery, and to reveal it to those who meant business with Him, to those who were poor in spirit and pure in heart. Only those who are poor in spirit and pure in heart can apprehend the mysteries of the kingdom. Whenever the Lord spoke about the kingdom from Matthew 13 to the end of the book, He spoke in the way of a mystery.
We praise the Lord that today, by the revelation of the entire Scriptures, it is not difficult for us to understand this parable of the ten virgins. We can have a proper, exact, and accurate interpretation of each point of this parable. The parable of the ten virgins is actually like a jigsaw puzzle. This jigsaw puzzle has been cut into many mysterious pieces, and we must find a way to collect all the pieces and put them together. All the pieces to this puzzle are hidden in the Scriptures. If we know the way to find them and how to put them together, they will show us a clear picture of the economy of God. No other picture in the entire Bible shows us the economy of God as clearly as the parable of the ten virgins.
First, we must discover why the Lord Jesus used the number ten. Why did He say ten virgins and not fifteen or twelve or eight or two? Perhaps you may be thinking that the number ten signifies completion, such as ten fingers and ten toes. We should recall that this parable concerns the kingdom of the heavens, whose number should be twelve and not ten. The number of the kingdom must be twelve because in the Old Testament the number of the tribes of the people who were representatives of God’s kingdom was twelve. Also, the number of the apostles in the New Testament representing all the people of God is twelve. The representative number of the people of the kingdom is twelve. In the book of Revelation we see the ultimate consummation of God’s economy, the New Jerusalem. In the New Jerusalem the number twelve is used almost exclusively: there are twelve foundations, twelve gates, twelve pearls, twelve apostles, twelve tribes, and twelve varieties of fruit from the tree of life. There is also the number one hundred forty-four, which is composed of twelve times twelve (21:12, 14, 17, 19-21; 22:2). Therefore, twelve is the proper number to represent God’s kingdom.
According to the Bible, this number twelve is composed in a unique way. It is not composed of six plus six, seven plus five, or four plus eight. It is composed of four multiplied by three. Revelation 21 verifies this. In this chapter we see that the city is square, meaning that it has four equal sides (v. 16). On each side there are three gates, making a total of twelve (vv. 12-13). The number four in the Bible signifies the creatures. Man is the leading creature in God’s creation, and the number four represents man, including all of us. The number three has two meanings: it signifies both the Triune God and resurrection. Therefore, the number three denotes the Triune God in resurrection.
The number twelve is not the result of addition but of multiplication. If it were the result of addition, the number would be seven and not twelve. In the early chapters of the book of Revelation, we see the addition of three plus four, giving us seven churches, seven lampstands, seven seals, and seven trumpets (1:4, 12; 6:1; 8:2). At the beginning of Revelation, three and four are added to make seven; at the end of Revelation, four and three are multiplied to make twelve. This is quite meaningful. As the church today we are the number seven because we are the creatures plus the Triune God in resurrection. The Triune God in His resurrection life has been added to us, making us the number seven. The church is the addition of God to man. However, this is only the beginning, for the addition must be changed into multiplication. Multiplication means mingling, the mingling of three with four, which signifies the mingling of the Triune God in resurrection with man. At the time we were saved, God was added to us. Thereafter, addition will be changed into multiplication until we reach the full multiplication, which is the number twelve — man multiplied with God, man mingled with God. The New Jerusalem is the corporate and consummate mingling of God with man.
Why is there the number ten rather than twelve in the parable of the virgins? This means that two are lacking. Ten indicates the majority of twelve. Of the twelve tribes of Israel in the Old Testament, ten rebelled against the house of David. Only two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, were left. So ten out of twelve means the majority of twelve. We see the same thought in an instance in the Gospels: ten of the twelve apostles had one concept, and the other two apostles had a different concept (Matt. 20:20-24). Again, ten represents the majority of the twelve, with two as the remainder. Therefore, the number ten signifies the majority of the people of God.
To find the remaining two you must read the preceding chapter, Matthew 24:40-42. These verses mention two men working in the field or two women grinding at the mill. In Matthew 25 we have the number ten; in Matthew 24 we have the number two. The concluding word of these two portions is the same: “Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord comes” (24:42; 25:13). This word of warning was given both to the two and to the ten, indicating that they go together. The two plus the ten equal twelve, the complete number of God’s people.
When the Lord Jesus returns, the believers will be of two classes. The primary division is ten and two. Because the two men or two women were working, they represent the believers who will be alive when the Lord returns. The ten, on the contrary, were all asleep indicating that the majority of the believers will have died by the time the Lord returns. Do not consider that only the five foolish virgins slept while the five wise virgins did not. The Bible says that all ten were asleep. What does it mean for the believers in Christ to sleep? First Thessalonians 4:14-16 tells us clearly that for the believers to sleep means they are dead. In the eyes of God, the dead believers are not actually dead; they are sleeping, resting, and waiting for the resurrection.
By this we can see that the ten virgins represent the dead saints; both the foolish and the prudent have died because of the delay in the Bridegroom’s coming. The foolish ones died, and the prudent ones, including Peter, John, Martin Luther, and many other saints, also died. They were waiting and expecting the Lord’s coming back, but He tarried, so they all became drowsy and slept. The ten virgins represent the dead saints, and the other two represent the living saints. When the Lord returns, the majority of the saints will be among the dead ones. The living saints will be the remainder, signified by the two.
Many Christians have the concept that death automatically solves all problems. According to this concept, if they believe in the Lord Jesus, everything is settled when they die, regardless of whether they have been prudent or foolish, good or bad. They think that once they die, they will go to heaven, and everything will be fine. To them death is a type of graduation. It does not matter whether or not they have finished the course; as long as they die, they graduate. This concept is in the minds of so many Christians, but I must tell you that death does not solve any problem. Death does not automatically make everything all right. If your problem with the Lord has been solved before death, it has been solved; if your problem with the Lord has not been solved before death, it remains to be solved. Whether you live or die, the unsolved problem is still there.
Some have considered that the five foolish virgins represent false believers. But this is not logical. How can we say that the foolish ones are false ones? Parents who have several children know that some children are wise and some are foolish. Can the parents say that the foolish children are false children? It simply is not logical to say that the virgins were false because they were foolish. They were all virgins in every respect: in nature, in essence, in title, and in position. All were virgins; the only difference was in their behavior. A couple may have several children. Some of the children are wise, conducting themselves in a proper way; some are foolish, behaving in a naughty way. Can we say that the naughty ones, the foolish ones, are false children? Can the parents refuse to recognize them as their children because they are foolish? Likewise, whether they are prudent or foolish, virgins are virgins.
Furthermore, all the virgins had lamps that were burning. Matthew does not say that the lamps of only the prudent were burning and that the lamps of the foolish were not burning because they were false. All the lamps were burning. How could a false Christian have a burning lamp? This is impossible! Matthew also says that all the virgins went forth (25:1). This means that they all went out of the world to meet the Bridegroom. Not only the five prudent virgins went forth to meet the Bridegroom but also the five foolish ones. As a believer, you are expecting to meet the Lord. However, you must be alert. Are you prudent or foolish? Whether you are prudent or foolish does not depend upon your smart mind. It depends upon your having oil in your vessel. The five prudent virgins, besides having burning lamps, had prepared an extra portion of oil in their vessels. The foolish ones did not have an extra portion of oil in their vessels. This one point determines who is prudent and who is foolish.
What does it mean to prepare oil in the vessels? We praise the Lord that He has shown us the meaning of the lamps and the vessels. In the Bible there are the lamps and the vessels. Proverbs 20:27 tells us that the spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah. The lamp signifies the spirit of man. What then are the vessels? Romans 9:21, 23, and 24 say that we are God’s vessels, made to contain God. As God’s vessels, we are human beings with a soul. Our spirit is the lamp, and our soul is the vessel.
According to the Bible, we have three parts: the spirit, the soul, and the body (1 Thes. 5:23). At the time we were saved, the Lord came into our spirit, and we were regenerated (John 3:6), but God cannot be expressed from our spirit alone. Therefore, we have a soul as a vessel to contain and to express God. Genesis 1:26-27 says that we were made in God’s image. This does not refer to our spirit but to our soul. Because God is a God of love, we have a loving organ in our soul. Because He is a God of thought, we have an organ of thought in our soul. Because He is a God of decision, we have a deciding organ in our soul. God’s image is related to the different parts of our soul. We are beings, not because we have a body or a spirit, but because we have a soul. The soul is our being. Sometimes in the Bible a person is called a soul. Genesis 46:27 says that seventy persons of the house of Jacob went down into Egypt. A soul is a human being, a person. Strictly speaking, it is our soul that is God’s vessel; our spirit by itself cannot express God. God must be expressed through our soul — through our mind, emotion, and will. The way we think should express God. The way we love and hate, like and dislike, should express God. The decisions and choices we make should also express God. In our spirit we do not have the ability to express God. The faculties for expressing God are found in our soul. Therefore, our soul is the vessel. According to the revelation of the Bible, this is very clear. Our spirit is the lamp of God, and our soul is the vessel of God.
Many times we have used the diagram of three concentric circles denoting the spirit, the soul, and the body. The spirit at the center is surrounded by the soul, which is composed of the mind, emotion, and will. The Bible considers the soul with its three parts plus one part of the spirit, the conscience, as the heart. The heart is very similar to the soul but somewhat larger since it includes the conscience, which is a part of the spirit. When we were saved, the Lord came into our spirit. However, the Lord has not spread very much into our soul — into our mind, emotion, and will. With some of us the Lord Jesus has not even been able to come into our conscience. He is confined to a small part of our spirit. But at least He has come into our spirit, He has enlightened us, and our spirit is now burning as a lamp.
Before we were saved, our spirit was darkened and deadened (Eph. 2:1, 5). We had no sensation regarding our spirit, and it seemed that there was not such a thing within us. When we heard the gospel or when we read the word of the gospel, something shined within us, and we received the light. As this light entered deep within us, we repented and called on the name of the Lord. Immediately, something deep within us was made alive and started to burn and to shine. We did have the sensation that deep within us something was living, burning, and shining. This means that God’s Spirit had come into our spirit to enlighten us and to make us alive (John 3:6).
Although your spirit has been made alive, I am concerned that your mind has not been saturated by the Lord and that He has not penetrated your emotions. I am afraid that in some matters you have rejected the Lord. Some of you have been unwilling to pray because you fear that you will be caught by the Lord Jesus in a particular matter in your mind or emotions. Perhaps during the last few days some sisters have even resisted the Lord Jesus when He tried to spread into their emotions concerning their love of certain things.
All Christians have their lamps burning, but many have no desire or intention to prepare oil in their vessels. They are saved and have the Lord within them. Although their lamp is burning, they should not be at peace. They still have a problem because they are short of oil. They have some oil burning in their lamp, but they do not have the extra portion of oil in all the inward parts of their being — in their mind, emotion, will, and conscience. How wonderful that they have the oil in their lamp, but they still have a big problem with their soul. They have the Lord in their spirit but not in their soul.
Most Christians realize that oil is a symbol of the Spirit of God. We need to see that the Spirit of God is simply God Himself. In his book The Spirit of Christ, Andrew Murray says, “In the Father we have the unseen God, the Author of all. In the Son God revealed, made manifest, and brought nigh; He is the Form of God. In the Spirit of God we have the indwelling God: the Power of God dwelling in human body and working in it what the Father and Son have for us...what the Father has purposed and the Son has procured, can be appropriated and take effect in the members of Christ who are still here in the flesh, only through the continual intervention and active operation of the Holy Spirit.” This realization is correct. The Spirit of God is simply God applied to us. When God is applied to us, He is the Spirit. The Spirit of God is simply God reaching us, God applied to us. The oil signifies God Himself in an all-inclusive way applied to us. When we called on the name of the Lord Jesus, He came into our spirit as such an oil, the all-inclusive Spirit of God. At that time our spirit was enlightened, and now it is burning. However, the Lord is still waiting for an opportunity to spread into our vessel — our mind, emotion, and will.
For the Lord to get into our spirit is easy. It is a free gift. We simply repent, call on Him, and He comes in. But there is a price to pay for Him to enter our inward parts. We must buy the oil. To have the Triune God as the all-inclusive oil spreading into our inward parts requires that we pay a price. He spreads within us at a cost. We must pay the price. Without paying the cost, it is impossible for the indwelling Christ who is in our spirit to spread Himself into our mind, emotion, and will. Although we have the oil in our spirit, we must pay the price to have the extra portion of oil in our soul. If we will buy the oil now, we will have oil in our vessels when the Lord returns. Then we will be those prudent virgins who are ready to go in to the marriage feast of the Lamb.
Why are the ten virgins divided into two groups of five? The meaning of five is marvelous. Our ten fingers are divided into two groups of five, and five is composed of four plus one. The number four, as we have already seen, represents the creatures including man. The number one represents the unique God, the Creator. Therefore, four plus one signifies man, the creature, plus God. Four plus one also signifies responsibility. Four fingers plus one thumb means that we must bear responsibility. Although it is truly marvelous to have God added to us, we must realize that man plus God equals responsibility. This means that both the prudent virgins and the foolish virgins must bear responsibility. Whether you are prudent or foolish is your responsibility. You are responsible to be a prudent virgin and to prepare an extra portion of oil in your vessel.
Because the bridegroom tarried, all the virgins slept. Even Paul and John are included here. Because the Lord Jesus has delayed His return, most of the saints who were mature, saturated, and filled with the Triune God have died. The Lord has tarried because many are not yet ready. This means that the harvest still is not ripe. The Lord has been waiting for the ripening of the harvest.
At midnight there was a cry, “Behold, the bridegroom!” (Matt. 25:6). We may compare this to 1 Thessalonians 4:16, which says that there will be a shout when Christ comes. The trumpeting of the angel will be the midnight cry. All the virgins, both prudent and foolish, will rise up. This word rise is also used for “resurrection” (1 Cor. 15:52). Resurrection means to rise up. So all the dead saints will be resurrected. First Thessalonians tells us clearly that the living saints will not precede the dead ones. The dead ones will rise first to meet the Lord.
Generally speaking, Christianity teaches people that if they believe in the Lord Jesus, they will have no difficulties; once they die, they will go to heaven. However, if you know the mystery of the kingdom, you will realize that there is a great problem here. For example, let us consider the apostle Paul and the sinful brother in 1 Corinthians 5 who was excommunicated. You may think that the sinful person will be lost, but the Bible does not say that. Paul says that he delivered him over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh that his spirit may be saved (v. 5). According to the Bible, he is still a saved person. Today both Paul and that sinful brother are dead. Tell me fairly and logically, at the midnight cry will the condition of both of them be the same? Before he was martyred, Paul was filled and saturated with the Lord. The Lord had come into every inward part of his being, and he was fully matured and ready. He was truly a prudent virgin. He had not only a burning lamp but also a vessel filled with an extra portion of the Triune God. To Paul the Lord Jesus will present a reward (2 Tim. 4:8); to the other brother the Lord will say, “I do not know you” (Matt. 25:12). This statement, “I do not know you,” does not mean that the Lord actually does not know him. The Lord knows everyone. There is a special meaning to this word. If you compare other verses in which this word occurs, you will discover that in Romans 7:15 Paul says, “What I work out, I do not acknowledge.” Other versions say, “That which I do I allow not.” Thus, we may translate the phrase I do not know you into “I allow you not.’’ This means that the Lord did not approve. It is not a question of being lost or saved but of missing the opportunity to go into the marriage feast. Read Matthew 25 carefully. This is the pure Word of God. There is the possibility that you may lose the opportunity of entering the marriage feast.
Paul certainly will enter the marriage feast, but the fallen brother of 1 Corinthians 5 will not. In 1 Corinthians 9 Paul said that he was running the race. In Philippians 3 also, Paul said that he was still running the race, that he had not attained, and that he was still pressing on toward the goal. However, in 2 Timothy 4:6-8, just before he was martyred, he said that he was already being poured out and that a crown of righteousness was laid up for him and for all those who love the appearing of the Lord.
How can you say that as long as you believe in the Lord Jesus you will have no problems when you die? You will have no problems concerning salvation because you are saved for eternity. But you may miss your share in the marriage feast. The marriage feast is waiting for you, and whether you gain it or not depends on whether you are prudent or foolish. In other words, it depends on whether you are willing to pay the price. If you do not pay the price now, you will pay the price in that day. If you pay the price today, you will receive a prize in that day, but if you pay the price in that day, you will receive no prize. It is very similar to being a student in school. If you study well and complete your courses, you will receive a prize at graduation. If you do not study well, you will fail and not graduate. Then you will have to make up the courses you failed. Do not think that as long as you are saved, there are no problems. You may have regeneration, but you still need transformation.
It is better to be prudent and to be transformed before you die. Tell the Lord, “Lord, I am waiting for Your coming. If You tarry, Lord, help me to be transformed before I die. I don’t want to die without being transformed.” What does it mean to be transformed? To be transformed is to be filled with the Lord in all your inward parts, to be saturated with the extra portion of the Triune God.
Some of you may ask, “After we are resurrected and the Lord returns, will we still have to pay something? Where shall we pay?” Do not ask so many questions. The Lord knows. I do not know. However, I do know by the Lord’s clear Word, that after the midnight cry and after He returns, He will deal with those foolish ones who are not ready. They will not be lost. They will be resurrected, but after being resurrected they will be told to go and buy the oil (Matt. 25:9). I do not know where and how because the Lord has not revealed it, but I do know that such a thing will happen. We praise the Lord that He has revealed this to us as a warning.
We all have been regenerated, and now we are in the process of transformation. How much we will be transformed depends on how great a price we will pay. If we are willing to pay the price, the Lord certainly will saturate us, fill us up, and we will have the extra portion of oil prepared in our vessel, making us ready for His coming back.
