The Parable of the Ten Virgins does not refer to the church
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That’s who the apostles picked. But Jesus chose Paul.
It says in Daniel that Jesus’s ministry would be for seven years. But in the middle after 3 1/2 years that Jesus would be cut off. That means crucified. When Paul was on the road to Damascus and Jesus appeared to him and spoke to him. He blinded him and then one of the followers of Jesus came and healed his blindness. Then he went into the desert for 3 1/2 years. That’s where Jesus taught him. Thus fulfilling the prophecy in Daniel. that’s why Paul’s writing is so beautiful.
A sign can refer to something, but John didn't see the 12 apostles in the heavens, he saw Virgo, 12 stars in the crown, the sun, the moon, and Jupiter in her womb that is born after 9 months.
Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
This parable appears to be complementary to that of the banquet. In that parable a man was found not dressed in wedding clothes and if there is any correlation between the two, failing to give honor to the groom, or the bride, or the father of the groom, or the entire wedding party, would be it.
The word used is parthenos which means a marriageable daughter who has never had sex with a man. Why some translations make it "bridesmaids" is beyond me... but anyway, that's the meaning of the word. So I'd throw out "bridesmaids" because thats just a really dumb translation choice.
What bridesmaids? Matthew 25 includes the parable of the Ten Virgins, but they are not called bridesmaids. As far as I am aware, the notion we have in the west of "bridesmaids" is not mentioned in Scripture.
Yes, most English Bibles give the literal translation "virgins." There are a few (link below) that use "young women" instead and there are also occasional translators who think they are being helpful by changing it to "bridesmaids," evidently on the grounds that they had been picked to play a part in the wedding ceremony, possibly by escorting the bridegroom from his home to the place where the wedding was to take place.
Matthew 25:1 - The Parable of the Ten Virgins
At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
biblehub.com
Good point. I call them Bridesmaids because five of them are locked out of the wedding. They can't be the bride because if you lock the bride out of the wedding there is no wedding. From what I understand so far in this thread there are two acceptable interpretations and the unusual thing is that rather than fight over them everyone seems willing to accept either one.
The first is what I was taught, that the ten virgins represent the dead in Christ and the midnight cry that awakens them is the dead in Christ being raised prior to the rapture.
The problem with that interpretation is that half of the "dead in Christ" raised from the dead are not caught up into the wedding feast. So according to this the dead in Christ are raised and then half of them are left to wander the earth and be shut out of the wedding.
The second is that the ten virgins represent Christians in general. They are all Christians, they all have lamps that are lit, it is just that half are foolish and don't have the oil. They are all waiting for the bridegroom and when they hear He is coming they all rise up to go meet him.
OK, so then what is the midnight cry? It would seem to me that is a very significant part of this parable. Secondly why are they all asleep? I can believe that at the end of the age some, even most of the Christians would be asleep and need to be woken up, but not all.
So then I would propose a third interpretation that will only bother those Christians who are asleep. The ten virgins represent the Christians on earth at the time of the Lord's return who are asleep. The complete number would be 12, so 2 are awake, and 10 are asleep. So then what is the midnight cry which was supposed to wake them up? I have three proposals:
1. The Revelation 12 sign, a sign that John says "was a great sign in the heavens". This was followed a few months later with a birth announcement by Trump declaring that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. That sign was of a "Virgin" who did have a lamp lit (the sun is in Virgo during Feast of Trumpets). If you look at each of these Virgos year by year as a procession of ten that would take you to Feast of Trumpets 2026 which is September 11, 2026.
2. Prior to this on the Feast of Trumpets in 2014 we were told of two calves born with the number 7 on their foreheads. This reminded many of Pharoah's dream which Joseph interpreted as meaning 7 years of plenty and 7 years of famine. Pharaoh saw full grown cows, not new born calves. It takes five years for a cow to become fully grown. Five years later was 2019, the year Covid19 was released from the bioweapons lab. The seven years from 2019 to 2026 have indeed been very good years for wheat, and corn production as well as beef. This indicates a famine beginning in 2026 which has been confirmed by the shortage in fuel for fertilizer due to this war in Iran.
3. Another big sign which should have woken Christians up is the "Writing on the Wall" sign. Three solar eclipses from 2017 to 2024 cross the USA and write out the Hebrew letters "Aleph, Tav" which in Greek would be "Alpha and Omega". This sign began with the first eclipse crossing seven cities named Salem indicating the US would be at peace for seven years and that would be broken in 2025, which is what happened. There were a lot of others significant references to Biblical prophecy in this sign. X marked the spot in "little Egypt" illinois where each year they have a festival for "where the vultures gather". This sign was interpreted with a book that was published in the Spring of 2024 and it was confirmed when in the Fall of 2024 Biden was removed from office, similar to what happened the same day that Daniel interpreted the dream. We were also given a two year warning from this sign when it completed in 2024. It began by going over Uvalde, Texas where just two years earlier an elementary school was shot up and bunch of kids killed. This reminded us of Herod killing the children that were two years and younger. Sure enough two years later in 2026 the US bombed a girls school in Iran on the first day of bombing. And the MOU was announced on the two year anniversary of that sign being completed. A third big sign given to the US, and according to that sign we have been told that the nation has been weighed in the balance and found wanting. The fulfillment of that sign would be the overthrow of the government and that would take place in the evening, and based on the pattern with Biden being kicked out in the Fall we can read that as the Fall of 2026.
But even if you don't agree that these events are the "midnight cry designed to wake up the Christians on earth" you should at least be able to tell me what this "midnight cry" refers to? It can't be the dead in Christ rising. Now you might say that it would be Israel starting to rebuild the Temple. The problem is that according to Daniel 9 there is no mention of that, rather it is the covenant being "confirmed" that starts a seven year period and in the middle of that seven year period the oblations and sacrifices are forced to cease. It is reasonable to say that if Israel were to restart the oblations and sacrifices that would be a very big sign, the problem is that according to Daniel it would start on the first day of this seven year period we call the tribulation. Only a fool would wait till then to wake up. However, there was a sign relevant to this one year ago. On July 1, 2025 Israel burned a certified red heifer according to the law of Moses (meaning with a certified priesthood and while looking down into the Tabernacle which has also been raised in Shiloh). That gives them the ashes of a red heifer which they need to restart the oblations.
Are you saying that these virgins are in fact representing the Bride and not bridesmaids? How do you lock the bride out of the wedding and still have a wedding? At the very least you would have to agree that the five foolish ones are bridesmaids, and not the bride.Yes, most English Bibles give the literal translation "virgins." There are a few (link below) that use "young women" instead and there are also occasional translators who think they are being helpful by changing it to "bridesmaids," evidently on the grounds that they had been picked to play a part in the wedding ceremony, possibly by escorting the bridegroom from his home to the place where the wedding was to take place.
Matthew 25:1 - The Parable of the Ten Virgins
At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.biblehub.com
OK, now that we have cleared up the translation who do these 10 virgins represent?
You’re asking for my personal interpretation of the parable? The ten virgins represent people who have prepared themselves in advance for the arrival of the kingdom of God (half of them) and people who haven’t (the other half). That’s all. No other symbolism of any kind.
The five who were welcomed into heaven represent the saved/saints and the others did not satisfy God’s condition for forgiveness.
Don’t be late to the pearly gate!
Today is the opportunity for salvation.
Don’t be late to the pearly gate!
Today is the opportunity for salvation.
OK, that is the third interpretation I offered which is the only one I think you can defend. But then if they are saved and prepared for the Lord's return, what is the midnight cry that wakes them from sleep?
It seems to me for any believer who has prepared themselves in advance for the arrival of the kingdom of God, that would be my primary interest.
That is why I have connected the parable of the ten virgins to the Revelation 12 sign.
I also tied this to "the writing is on the wall" sign.
"The writing is on the wall" is an idiom meaning there are clear, unmistakable signs that something—usually a project, relationship, or situation—is going to fail, end, or turn out badly
The two year anniversary of this sign being completed is the announcement of the MOU by Trump. That was a clear, unmistakable sign pointing directly at "when they shall say peace and security, then sudden destruction comes upon them".
The fact that "X marks the spot" where Uvalde Texas is and two years later the US bombs a girls school on Day 1 of the battle, that is a clear and unmistakable sign.
The fact that the other "X marks the spot" is where the vultures gather, that is a clear and unmistakable answer to the question "where is this judgment going to hit".
The fact that the Biden administration was weighed in the balance and found wanting the same year the sign was written and interpreted is also part of the sign. It tells us this judgment will fall on the US because the US has been found wanting and it directly ties that to this MOU as a deceitful work by the US.
That would make no sense. The rapture is in the twinkling of an eye, how would they have time to go and ask other believers to borrow oil. Verse 10 is the rapture. 10 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. The midnight cry wakes them up to get ready.The midnight cry that surprised those sleeping must be those raptured. Hallelujah!!