SERMONS - BIBLE TEACHING - SCRIPTURE COMMENTARY - REVELATION
Ten Virgins
August 6, 2023
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 go 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, saying, 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.
O, brothers and sisters, who are these ten virgins? These are the members of the church. Both the wise and the foolish!
Brothers and sisters, hear me, because this is for you. I might not always be able to tell which one of you is wise and which one of you is foolish (the Lord knows), but I pray by the grace of God, may he be merciful and anoint your ears to receive the truth.
First, some say that the "kingdom of heaven" phrase pertains to an earthly kingdom, and that it is for Jews mainly. O, be careful my virgins, because you heard it or read it from another (person and spirit), and not from the Holy Spirit; he did not teach you that. Are you using this as a part of an excuse to ignore doctrinally what the Lord Jesus teaches in the Gospel of Matthew?
Second, notice the numbers. Five and five. The Lord said that five were wise and five were foolish. How is that? Fifty - fifty? At the flip of a coin? (I talk as a man) Fifty - fifty chance that any of us are of the foolish, which he, the Lord, does not know? He knows which, but do you? Tremble, my virgins.
Why is it that five were foolish? They were deceived. They knew the Lord, but the Lord did not know them. O, how terrifying. You might say, Lord, Lord, but he might say, I know you not. O, know him, abide in him, so he will know you. Hear his voice, not just a text. Hear his voice and follow him. Be not of the foolish.
The foolish virgin is one that may have heard the word of God unto salvation, and came to the entrance of it, and looked at it and liked it for herself. She heard good things coming out from behind that gate, and looked at the door and did see herself, only herself in the mirror, and thought, This is good for me! And was never called by the Holy Spirit unto salvation, and as such never received that oil - the Holy Ghost - which gives light unto the lamp to enter into that gate where Christ the Lord is, to abide in him.
And it may be that another virgin heard the word from a certain pastor, on how to be saved. Or a priest, on how to obey. Or a relative, how to come to that certain house of worship. That virgin just followed those, as she perceived that to be good for her. By the "letter" of these followings, and not by and in the Spirit she came to the door of the Lord, and was told by others how good it is to come to the gate (and it is). But never entered by the call of the Spirit of Christ, and did not get to know the Lord Jesus, and to call upon his name by the Holy Ghost. Between her and the Lord was another, standing in her path, even preventing to enter in and receive the Savior Christ Jesus. The Spirit of Christ is that oil, which burns the holy light in you to follow him, and not another.
But these foolish virgins follow after their own selves or after others.
In their mind that was their witness (proof) of their salvation. Examine yourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5). You need another witness, the true witness, the Holy Spirit in you:
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
The wise virgins had the oil in their vessels (the Spirit of God dwelling in them), and were ready to meet the bridegroom (Christ Jesus, the Lord). But the foolish, not having the oil, asked of the wise to give them theirs. And the wise rightfully indicated by their answer that the oil (the Holy Spirit) is not to be given by them and shared around from others, but they (foolish virgins) need to "buy" it for themselves. A virgin does not save a virgin. God, by the Lord Jesus Christ, saves. A virgin does not get saved by following a virgin, who is saved. A virgin is saved by following Jesus Christ.
The word "buy" is not used that you can buy the salvation for the money, God forbid! It is free (Isaiah 55:1). So then, the word buy in this parable is used to emphasize your commitment to obtain it - the oil - the Holy Spirit in you, your salvation. Jesus Christ made an atonement for it (paid for our sins with his precious blood). And as such, he is the only one from whom you can now receive it (your salvation). Not from another, not by your own, but by the Holy Ghost (Titus 3:5). We are washed and free from the sin, in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2). He is that door to your salvation (John 10:9). He is that Light, and the Holy Spirit is that oil, which you will be given, when you believe that he, Christ Jesus, is the Son of God, and receive him as your Lord and Savior. O. my virgins, hear his voice and enter in. Enter in to abide in him, to be known by him as the shepherd knows his sheep.
I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
And so, the foolish virgins, not having the oil, went to "buy", and the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went with him, it says in verse 10 of Matthew 25. And the door was shut. THE DOOR WAS SHUT! O, virgins, hear that sound of a shutting door. It is a beautiful ("sound") for the wise, but how terrifying for the foolish!
Those who were ready went in. That is to say that they were being caught up alive to meet the Lord.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with 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.
The door was opened in heaven, and they which were ready - who had the Spirit of Christ - had that light by that oil - went in, and the door was shut. So when the other virgins came saying, Lord, Lord, open to us, they were not opened. So they thought they knew him; they called him the Lord. They were convinced by themselves or by others that they are his - the Lord's. And such do you sense the entitlement in their calling? OPEN TO US! I hear an expectation in that, they thought that for sure they are his. They deceived themselves or were deceived by others. They may even have that day, when they thought they became his, and being persuaded by themselves or by others, they were satisfied with their standing towards God. Please understand, their witness of salvation was just themselves or others, missing that only witness which matters, the Spirit of God in them (Romans 8:16). O, virgins, do not be deceived, examine yourselves:
Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
Lord, cleanse our hearts and renew our minds as to purge us of that which prevented us from truly knowing you and you receiving us to you. O, Lord, do not let us be deceived, the salvation is yours.
So, the parable ends with the warning to the virgins which were not ready. After them calling, Lord, Lord, open to us, he answered, I know you not. They did not go with him to the marriage. They were not ready to be known by him.
And he warns:
Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
He, the Lord Jesus Christ, is that Son of man, that Lord, who will appear to the virgins - his church - the body of Christ and take them to himself. Those who "sleep" with those who are alive, his saints.
In closing, members of the church, I pray you, meditate on this:
The oil is what the five out of ten virgins did not have and as such they were not received by the Lord. The oil is the Spirit of the Lord, the Holy Ghost in you. They did not call Lord, Lord, by the Holy Ghost, but by other followings.
Christ be in you, the hope of glory.
-By Lubomir
