The Parable of the Ten Virgins does not refer to the church

[Psalm1]

There is nothing about the parable or the immediate context to suggest carnality,

Running out of oil...they ran out.
What do you call it?
Secular vs spiritual?
Foolish vs wise?
Foolish= carnal and secular believers.
What is your take on them being foolish?

Paul laid out the classes of believers

The parable, overly simplified, can be worthy vs unworthy.

 

[Roger316]

You do not understand salvation.
Carnal believers are still believers.

Paul defined spiritual believers contrasted with carnal ones.

What is obvious is that a spiritual believer is intimate with their savior and groom.
Carnal would be the American gospel.
( Jesus is an additive)....not a ruler of my life...which is dying to the flesh and spending time in his manifest presence.

Iow the prodigal was family. He never lost sonship....even though he defected.

The foolish virgins.
They do come in later...via martyrdom

Don't you see how your incorrect interpretation forces you to contradict clear biblical teaching, making up stuff?

 

[ZNP]

Carnal is an adjective meaning relating to the physical body, earthly desires, or sexual appetites rather than spiritual concerns. Derived from the Latin word carō (meaning "flesh" or "meat"), the term often describes worldly, sensual, or bodily pursuits. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Common Applications

• • Sexual Desires: Frequently used to describe physical or sexual attractions and bodily pleasures.
  • Religious Context: Often used in theological or biblical texts to contrast the material world with spiritual devotion, referring to human nature in its "natural" state.
  • The "Flesh": Broadly describes base instincts, urges, or earthly needs

 

[Roger316]

The number for "individual believers" would be 12, their are 12 gates to Jerusalem, 12 Apostles whose names are on each gate, and 12 tribes of Israel (a type of the believers in the church). So then why 10?

There are twelve apostles, yes. But during that time there were hundreds of other believers. Nonetheless, since Jesus hasn't returned yet, Jesus' warning applies to us too. We need to stay awake.

 

[Psalm1]

What I understand is that you are a novice when it comes to Bible exposition.

Try me on.
I am not the one that started from a bad interpretation.

Forget what you see wrong in me personally.
Use scripture to contest what I am saying.
BTW I follow much of your material.
So the nastiness seems out of place slightly. ..but I am taking you to school, simply by going with the story"s obvious components.

This place has so much unnecessary resentment.
Bizarre.

 

[Psalm1]

Carnal is an adjective meaning relating to the physical body, earthly desires, or sexual appetites rather than spiritual concerns. Derived from the Latin word carō (meaning "flesh" or "meat"), the term often describes worldly, sensual, or bodily pursuits. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Common Applications

• • Sexual Desires: Frequently used to describe physical or sexual attractions and bodily pleasures.
  • Religious Context: Often used in theological or biblical texts to contrast the material world with spiritual devotion, referring to human nature in its "natural" state.
  • The "Flesh": Broadly describes base instincts, urges, or earthly needs

Now Apply it

 

[Psalm1]

Again, referring to the five foolish virgins as "carnal believers" is your interpretative leap. It isn't stated, it isn't even implied. What is stated is "foolish". All of them were virgins, all had lamps that were lit, the issue is that half had bought oil for themselves and had full vessels and the other half assumed they could simply borrow oil from others. Their job was to light lamps for a midnight walk to the wedding. That is what is stated. You can infer that their status is "servants" but to call them generic believers is faulty, especially babes in Christ. No one is going to ask a babe in Christ to light the way in the dark for those going to the wedding.

This is where the faulty "bridesmaids" translation comes to light. ( sorry about the pun)
It AINT THERE.
YET that is your starting place.

 

[Psalm1]

Don't you see how your incorrect interpretation forces you to contradict clear biblical teaching, making up stuff?

What did I say that is not correct?
Be specific.
Throwing spitballs is not conversing.
Take a deep breath and give me your correct side of it.

 

[PennEd]

QUOTE
"NOWHERE in the parable does it say that the foolish virgins (people) EVER had any oil."

Mat 25
7“Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

...you were sayin?

I was saying nowhere does it say the foolish had any oil.

Where in that passage you posted does it say they had oil?

As I said, you can go to the store right now and buy a lamp like that or like we have, tiki torches that have metal containers for oil, and light their wicks.

Do it, and then get back to me and tell me if they burned for a little while.

 

[Roger316]

Running out of oil...they ran out.
What do you call it?
Secular vs spiritual?
Foolish vs wise?
Foolish= carnal and secular believers.
What is your take on them being foolish?

Again, "foolishness" isn't anything other than foolishness. The parable itself gives no indication that “foolishness” is a symbolic label for carnality or any other moral category; it is simply a description of the virgins’ actual behavior in the story. Jesus defines their foolishness in the narrative: they failed to bring enough oil to last until the bridegroom arrived. Nothing in the text suggests that the oil represents moral purity or that their lack of oil represents fleshly living. The contrast between wise and foolish is practical, not allegorical—the wise anticipate delay and prepare accordingly, while the foolish do not. To turn “foolishness” into a symbol for carnality imports meaning that Jesus never assigns. The point is straightforward: readiness for the kingdom is measured by perseverance, not by decoding hidden symbols.

 

[Psalm1]

In the parable, half were taken by Jesus, to the marriage, and half were left behind.
Keep in mind, Jesus had just finished about 13 sentences earlier, depicting the exact same percentage.
Jesus said, " fifty percent will be taken and fifty percent will be left behind".... (when he gave the noah analogy).
Again...almost in the same breath.
Back to back analogies of half taken, half left behind.

In BOTH CASES, those left behind are believers., and those taken are believers.

 

[Psalm1]

I was saying nowhere does it say the foolish had any oil.

Where in that passage you posted does it say they had oil?

As I said, you can go to the store right now and buy a lamp like that or like we have, tiki torches that have metal containers for oil, and light their wicks.

Do it, and then get back to me and tell me if they burned for a little while.

Makes no sense

Their lamps went out.
The oil was now missing.
The missing oil was a game changer in a bad way.

No brainer.

 

[Roger316]

What did I say that is not correct?
Be specific.
Throwing spitballs is not conversing.
Take a deep breath and give me your correct side of it.

I already talked about one example. Since you are convinced that each element of the parable must be a symbolic label for another idea, you go looking for what the symbol might mean, and you make stuff up. You imagined that foolishness must mean carnality. Being convinced that the parable is working on the allegorical level, you seek to find the meaning of oil, virgins, etc. contrary to Jesus stated conclusion.

 

[Psalm1]

Again, "foolishness" isn't anything other than foolishness. The parable itself gives no indication that “foolishness” is a symbolic label for carnality or any other moral category; it is simply a description of the virgins’ actual behavior in the story. Jesus defines their foolishness in the narrative: they failed to bring enough oil to last until the bridegroom arrived. Nothing in the text suggests that the oil represents moral purity or that their lack of oil represents fleshly living. The contrast between wise and foolish is practical, not allegorical—the wise anticipate delay and prepare accordingly, while the foolish do not. To turn “foolishness” into a symbol for carnality imports meaning that Jesus never assigns. The point is straightforward: readiness for the kingdom is measured by perseverance, not by decoding hidden symbols.

Could be we are sort of agreeing.

I ask again, what is a foolish believer ?
What is a wise believer?

The components are not some taboo boogeyman.
They need to be on the table.
Anything "test fitted" needs to fit.

What does the oil represent?

A critical component.

 

[Psalm1]

I already talked about one example. Since you are convinced that each element of the parable must be a symbolic label for another idea, you go looking for what the symbol might mean, and you make stuff up. You imagined that foolishness must mean carnality. Being convinced that the parable is working on the allegorical level, you seek to find the meaning of oil, virgins, etc. contrary to Jesus stated conclusion.

If you just sit back and say me or anyone else is wrong, and don't know what the components are.....seems a little odd to me.

Again show me what the components represent.
...since you know for a fact I am wrong.

Show me the "correct" interpretation.

 

[Psalm1]

It is amazing ...the effort to redo the parable.

Amazing.

What is going on with this ?

 

[Psalm1]

Again, "foolishness" isn't anything other than foolishness. The parable itself gives no indication that “foolishness” is a symbolic label for carnality or any other moral category; it is simply a description of the virgins’ actual behavior in the story. Jesus defines their foolishness in the narrative: they failed to bring enough oil to last until the bridegroom arrived. Nothing in the text suggests that the oil represents moral purity or that their lack of oil represents fleshly living. The contrast between wise and foolish is practical, not allegorical—the wise anticipate delay and prepare accordingly, while the foolish do not. To turn “foolishness” into a symbol for carnality imports meaning that Jesus never assigns. The point is straightforward: readiness for the kingdom is measured by perseverance, not by decoding hidden symbols.

...when oil is in fact the game changer, you say it is nothing?

 

[Psalm1]

I was saying nowhere does it say the foolish had any oil.

Where in that passage you posted does it say they had oil?

As I said, you can go to the store right now and buy a lamp like that or like we have, tiki torches that have metal containers for oil, and light their wicks.

Do it, and then get back to me and tell me if they burned for a little while.

Mat 25
7“Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.
8The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

You saying the bible is wrong?

 

[Roger316]

Could be we are sort of agreeing.

I ask again, what is a foolish believer ?
What is a wise believer?

The components are not some taboo boogeyman.
They need to be on the table.
Anything "test fitted" needs to fit.

What does the oil represent?

A critical component.

Again, the oil isn't symbolic. The wise virgin carries more oil in case the wedding party is delayed.

 

[Roger316]

If you just sit back and say me or anyone else is wrong, and don't know what the components are.....seems a little odd to me.

It might seem odd to some who has pre-decided that all parables are allegorical, but it isn't odd for those who allow the story and the context to demonstrate whether it is allegorical or not. Allegorical language employs fabulous language depicting animals or inanimate things doing human-like things. There is nothing fabulous about the parable; instead, it depicts a normal activity in a normal way.

Again show me what the components represent.
...since you know for a fact I am wrong.

The components don't represent anything.

Show me the "correct" interpretation.

Just as wise virgins prepare for the late arrival of the bridegroom, wise Christians should prepare for the delayed arrival of Jesus Christ.