The Parable of the Ten Virgins Explained

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
Jul 23, 2018
12,199
2,775
113
Please excuse my being late to this conversation :)

If the only difference is extra oil, why then does Jesus say He does not know them?

"Them" being the five foolish virgins ;)

They are shut out of the wedding feast. That seems a pretty significant difference....

10 b Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut.

11 Later the other virgins arrived and said, ‘Lord, lord, open the door for us!’

12 But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ From Matthew 25

Immediately following the parable of the ten virgins is the parable of the talents.

Jesus starts that parable by saying, "For it is just like a man going on a journey,"

Three servants were given his possessions to look after while their Master was away...

Two were rewarded for investing wisely, but to the third who had not, the Master said:

29 'For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. But the one
who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 30 And throw that
worthless servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
I think "know" there is used in the "intimacy" thingy.

Mary did not "know" joseph. As in the marriage bed
 
Jul 23, 2018
12,199
2,775
113
Please excuse my being late to this conversation :)

If the only difference is extra oil, why then does Jesus say He does not know them?

"Them" being the five foolish virgins ;)

They are shut out of the wedding feast. That seems a pretty significant difference....

10 b Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut.

11 Later the other virgins arrived and said, ‘Lord, lord, open the door for us!’

12 But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ From Matthew 25

Immediately following the parable of the ten virgins is the parable of the talents.

Jesus starts that parable by saying, "For it is just like a man going on a journey,"

Three servants were given his possessions to look after while their Master was away...

Two were rewarded for investing wisely, but to the third who had not, the Master said:

29 'For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. But the one who
does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 30 And throw that worthless
servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’


He calls the one who did not wisely invest "worthless." And casts them out...
You can but in at any time.
It is always a pleasure
 
Aug 2, 2021
7,317
2,048
113
We cannot lose the Holy Spirit either. God promised He will be with us forever. So the oil isn't Holy Spirit.

Luke 11:13
13If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

John 14:16-17
16And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

Now ask, what are things we can lose? Can we lose faith? Can we lose positional forgiveness in our relationship with God? (not that permanent forgiveness we get through Christ's blood sacrifice, by the forgiveness we need when we grieve the Holy Spirit through sinning). Can we lose truth by being deceived? Many things can fit. The irony is what seems to fit the least is the oil being Holy Spirit, yet it's a common interpretation.
These Scriptures magnify that the Oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit as the five foolish did not fill their vessels with such.

The five foolish placed no or little value in the "filling of the Holy Spirit" as the entire Scripture from Genesis to Revelation speaks of.

"God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must do so in Spirit and in Truth" - must is not an option.

"Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit says the LORD"

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep.
And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
59,774
29,149
113
I think "know" there is used in the "intimacy" thingy.

Mary did not "know" joseph. As in the marriage bed
In that sense, how could Jesus have "known" any of them?

It seems more along the "known" in these verses (Matthew 7):

21 Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me
on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name
drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly,
I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’
 
Jul 23, 2018
12,199
2,775
113
In that sense, how could Jesus have "known" any of them?

It seems more along the "known" in these verses (Matthew 7):

21 Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me
on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name
drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly,
I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’
To me...personally, it is the intimacy now in worship where you are not even there anymore, and are taken so far into his presence that you can not describe it.
on one such occasion (during worship at our church) I was taken into heaven. we were all there(I am sure you were there lol),and in heaven there were millions before the throne. we were doing a "special" to the father, to just adore him with all we had, which was our worship to him....total devotion.
In this assembly before his throne we were singing "I exalt thee".
There is some dimension there where time is way different.
But in the "special" one at a time someone would step foreword and all would stop singing so this individual would do the chorus "I exalt thee" right at the feet of the Father. It seemed like 10 earth years that this went on but time was so different that we could all get a chance within an hour or so.

When my time came, I approached the throne and was so taken by his holiness and presence that even with my glorified body I couldn't take it. I tried to sing but his presence and glory and holiness just overwhelmed me.
it was totally disarming and overwhelmed me. nothing came out,i could not sing.
It was so powerful that I "came to" in the meeting and I was back on earth so to speak,
I was back in the church in the worship meeting.

that kind of intimacy, where we are in his lap, in heaven, in the spirit.
 

JTB

Well-known member
Aug 31, 2021
2,227
699
113
If the only difference is extra oil, why then does Jesus say He does not know them?
This presents a curious juxtaposition.

These are bridesmaids ... and I don't know anyone who invites totally unknown strangers to be their bridesmaids. So they had to be known at some point.
 
Jul 23, 2018
12,199
2,775
113
In that sense, how could Jesus have "known" any of them?

It seems more along the "known" in these verses (Matthew 7):

21 Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me
on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name
drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly,
I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’
yes
I understand

but if you read vs 1 through 19 or so, it is the context of saved vs unsaved, false brethren and hypocrites.

In the virgin parable,all are virgins...pure/undefiled/set aside for their husband
 
Jul 23, 2018
12,199
2,775
113
To me...personally, it is the intimacy now in worship where you are not even there anymore, and are taken so far into his presence that you can not describe it.
on one such occasion (during worship at our church) I was taken into heaven. we were all there(I am sure you were there lol),and in heaven there were millions before the throne. we were doing a "special" to the father, to just adore him with all we had, which was our worship to him....total devotion.
In this assembly before his throne we were singing "I exalt thee".
There is some dimension there where time is way different.
But in the "special" one at a time someone would step foreword and all would stop singing so this individual would do the chorus "I exalt thee" right at the feet of the Father. It seemed like 10 earth years that this went on but time was so different that we could all get a chance within an hour or so.

When my time came, I approached the throne and was so taken by his holiness and presence that even with my glorified body I couldn't take it. I tried to sing but his presence and glory and holiness just overwhelmed me.
it was totally disarming and overwhelmed me. nothing came out,i could not sing.
It was so powerful that I "came to" in the meeting and I was back on earth so to speak,
I was back in the church in the worship meeting.

that kind of intimacy, where we are in his lap, in heaven, in the spirit.
I get goose bumps just reliving that vision.

indescribable
 
Jul 23, 2018
12,199
2,775
113
I came in my office price a tarp on ebay. I got up to walk out and realized i got on a 30 minute sidetrack on cc...too funny......and never even looked at tarps

what was it i came in here for?????
lol
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
59,774
29,149
113
This presents a curious juxtaposition.

These are bridesmaids ... and I don't know anyone who invites totally unknown
strangers to be their bridesmaids. So they had to be known at some point.
The King originally invited Israel to the wedding, but they made excuses and declined,
and even murdered the messengers.... so the King sent His servants to invite everyone.

Luke 14:15–24

1 Once again, Jesus spoke to them in parables: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to call those he had invited to the banquet, but they refused to come.

4 Again, he sent other servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

5 But they paid no attention and went away, one to his field, another to his business.
6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them, and killed them.

7 The king was enraged, and he sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the crossroads and invite to the banquet as many as you can find.’

10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered everyone they could find, both evil and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

11 But when the king came in to see the guests, he spotted a man who was not dressed in wedding clothes. 12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’

But the man was speechless.

13 Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
59,774
29,149
113
To me...personally, it is the intimacy now in worship where you are not even there anymore, and are taken so far into his presence that you can not describe it.
on one such occasion (during worship at our church) I was taken into heaven. we were all there(I am sure you were there lol),and in heaven there were millions before the throne. we were doing a "special" to the father, to just adore him with all we had, which was our worship to him....total devotion.
In this assembly before his throne we were singing "I exalt thee".
There is some dimension there where time is way different.
But in the "special" one at a time someone would step foreword and all would stop singing so this individual would do the chorus "I exalt thee" right at the feet of the Father. It seemed like 10 earth years that this went on but time was so different that we could all get a chance within an hour or so.

When my time came, I approached the throne and was so taken by his holiness and presence that even with my glorified body I couldn't take it. I tried to sing but his presence and glory and holiness just overwhelmed me.
it was totally disarming and overwhelmed me. nothing came out,i could not sing.
It was so powerful that I "came to" in the meeting and I was back on earth so to speak,
I was back in the church in the worship meeting.

that kind of intimacy, where we are in his lap, in heaven, in the spirit.
Thank you for sharing :) I love praise and worship music!

Still, that is not the intimacy spoken of between and Mary
and Joseph before they consummated their wedding vows...


When Jesus says He does not know someone, anyone, it means they do not belong to Him.

He stresses the not knowing by saying "I never knew you."

It brings to mind for me, the whole virginity thing, pureness,
being free of the yeast/leaven of the Pharisees, also. And
also reminds me of how Hosea was told to marry a prostitute
as a sign to Israel denoting/representing their unfaithfulness.
Marriage represents unity with God and adultery unfaithfulness.


yes
I understand

but if you read vs 1 through 19 or so, it is the context of saved vs unsaved, false brethren and hypocrites.

In the virgin parable,all are virgins...pure/undefiled/set aside for their husband
That these 10 are virgins is not the crux of the matter.
The crux is the upcoming wedding, and who is properly
equipped to partake, and who is not. All have been invited :)
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
59,774
29,149
113
The five without oil are as the one improperly clothed when all were invited.

They are not properly covered by the blood of the Lamb.

Jesus does not know them.

They are rejected.
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
59,774
29,149
113
This presents a curious juxtaposition.

These are bridesmaids ... and I don't know anyone who invites totally unknown
strangers to be their bridesmaids. So they had to be known at some point.
Let's just think about this some more.

Who chooses the bridesmaids? Not the groom!

The bridesmaids are chosen by the bride.

Those details are beside the point though.

The crux of the matter is who is properly equipped, and who is not.
 

iTheophilus

Well-known member
Oct 28, 2021
436
471
63
Matthew 7:22-24
[22] Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
The day of Christ's return is what "in that day" means.
[23] And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
In Greek, "iniquity" is anomia (Strong's #458), which means “transgression of God's Word.”These people didn’t care to learn about Jesus Christ, the Living Word; yet they claimed to know Him. They had no time for Him. They’d rather slumber! Yep, they were foolish indeed!

As a result, we have been WARNED by Jesus Christ Himself to be aware of the many false prophets in this generation, as well as INFORMED that not everyone who claims to be Christian will make it into the kingdom of heaven.
[24] Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
So. What’s the conclusion? .... whosoever hears (with understanding) these sayings of Jesus Christ and DOETH them, is a WISE MAN!
 
Jul 23, 2018
12,199
2,775
113
Best to keep the components intact with any parable.

Virgins should stay virgins
oil should stay oil
Jesus should stay Jesus
Marriage chamber/room should stay the same.
No post trib setting or context is noted.
 
Jul 23, 2018
12,199
2,775
113
Matthew 7:22-24
[22] Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

The day of Christ's return is what "in that day" means.
[23] And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

In Greek, "iniquity" is anomia (Strong's #458), which means “transgression of God's Word.”These people didn’t care to learn about Jesus Christ, the Living Word; yet they claimed to know Him. They had no time for Him. They’d rather slumber! Yep, they were foolish indeed!

As a result, we have been WARNED by Jesus Christ Himself to be aware of the many false prophets in this generation, as well as INFORMED that not everyone who claims to be Christian will make it into the kingdom of heaven.
[24] Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

So. What’s the conclusion? .... whosoever hears (with understanding) these sayings of Jesus Christ and DOETH them, is a WISE MAN!
They’d rather slumber! Yep, they were foolish indeed!
The wise virgins also slumbered
 

iTheophilus

Well-known member
Oct 28, 2021
436
471
63
Best to keep the components intact with any parable.

Virgins should stay virgins
oil should stay oil
Jesus should stay Jesus
Marriage chamber/room should stay the same.
No post trib setting or context is noted.
in that Day
 
Jul 23, 2018
12,199
2,775
113
Matthew 7:22-24
[22] Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

The day of Christ's return is what "in that day" means.
[23] And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

In Greek, "iniquity" is anomia (Strong's #458), which means “transgression of God's Word.”These people didn’t care to learn about Jesus Christ, the Living Word; yet they claimed to know Him. They had no time for Him. They’d rather slumber! Yep, they were foolish indeed!

As a result, we have been WARNED by Jesus Christ Himself to be aware of the many false prophets in this generation, as well as INFORMED that not everyone who claims to be Christian will make it into the kingdom of heaven.
[24] Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

So. What’s the conclusion? .... whosoever hears (with understanding) these sayings of Jesus Christ and DOETH them, is a WISE MAN!
those components are not in the virgin parable.
 
Jul 23, 2018
12,199
2,775
113
This presents a curious juxtaposition.

These are bridesmaids ... and I don't know anyone who invites totally unknown strangers to be their bridesmaids. So they had to be known at some point.
STRONGS NT 3933: παρθένος
παρθένος, παρθένου, ἡ,
1. a virgin: Matthew 1:23 (from Isaiah 7:14); Matthew 25:1,7,11; Luke 1:27; Acts 21:9; 1 Corinthians 7:25, 28, 33(1 Corinthians 7:34)

If you click on those references and transcribe "bridesmaids" in place of "virgins" it does not fit.

no "bridesmaids" in mat 25. It says "virgin" in the greek