The Ten Virgins

by Dr. Suhento Liauw translated by Mrs. Krista Ang

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, ive us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, !ot 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, "ord, "ord, open to us. But he answered and said, #erily $ say unto you, $ know you not. Watch therefore for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the %on of man cometh. &'atthew (): *+*,-.

Many people have tried to interpret this parable. Some of the interpretations are similar, and some are totally different. hi!h one is the right one" The right interpretation should be the one whi!h is supported by the verses in the #ible or has the basi! bibli!al !on!epts and !an be understood logi!ally. $irst, this parable was told by %esus in order to prepare &is dis!iples for &is departure and to warn them to be wat!hful for &is se!ond !oming. 'n Matthew (), &is dis!iples as*ed &im about the time the temple in %erusalem would be destroyed, the signs of &is se!ond !oming, and of the end of the world. 'n response to those +uestions, %esus gave many signs and admonitions. &e also told &is dis!iples that &is se!ond !oming ,at rapture- will be li*e a thief. Thus, &e warned them to be wat!hful. 'n order that &is dis!iples may live in harmony, &e told them the parable of the faithful and wise servant and the evil servant, and also about wise and foolish virgins. Se!ond, these two parables are still in!luded in .the mysteries of the *ingdom of heaven/ whi!h are a!tually about the !hur!h. $rom this we !an dedu!e who are meant by the bridegroom, the bride, and the virgins who were going to meet the bridegroom. #ased on other passages in the #ible, the #ridegroom must be 0hrist &imself and the bride must be the !hur!h ,1phesians 23 ((4(5-. To the !hur!h of 0orinth 6aul wrote, .$or ' am 7ealous over you with godly 7ealousy for ' have espoused you to one husband, that ' may present you as a !haste virgin to 0hrist/ ,'' 0orinthians 883 (-. The 9ew Testament !hur!hes are the future bride of 0hrist at the $east of the Lamb. 8

'f the !hur!hes are the bride, then who are the virgins that meet the bridegroom" 't seems that lately, there are many groups that are waiting for the !oming of Messiah, although with different understandings and !on!epts. 9ot only 0hristians, the %ews and Moslems are also e:pe!ting the !oming of Messiah and imam mahdi. 'n 0hristianity itself, from mainstream groups up to the most hereti!al groups, all have a *ind of !on!ept about the se!ond !oming of 0hrist whi!h differs from one another and also with different e:pe!tations. Thus, the virgins that meet the bridegroom !an be the groups or everyone who are e:pe!ting the !oming of the .Messiah./ Third, ea!h of the virgins too* a lamp. The lamp represents a *ind of identity, witness, or worship system of ea!h group. 'n the ;ld Testament, lamp in the taberna!le symboli<ed the witness of the divine truth in the symboli! worship of the %ews as the *eeper of the symboli! worship of ;ld Testament. The lamp in this parable symboli<ed a *ind of worship whi!h is held or honored by the religious groups and !hur!h denominations. 9ear to the se!ond !oming of 0hrist, many !hur!h denominations, religions and beliefs will !ompete in showing their lamps. $ourth, there was the oil that enabled the fire to burn on the lamp. Some theologians interpreted the oil as a symbol of the &oly Spirit. #ut ' don=t agree with them, sin!e &oly Spirit is not for sale. The only in!ident written in the S!ripture in whi!h somebody tried to buy &oly Spirit is that of Simon, a magi!ian in Samaria. Then, what is a!tually symboli<ed by the oil in this parable" The ;ld Testament tells us the differen!e between oil for lamps and oil for anointment. ;il for light is not fragrant, while the anointing oil is fragrant sin!e it is made with spi!es ,1:odus (23 >, 9umbers )3 8>-. Sin!e the oil in this parable is to light the lamp, then it is more appropriate to interpret it as the truth whi!h forms the basis of ea!h group=s witness to the outer world. The lamp will only shine its light if there is oil in it, and so the witness to the outer world will only be meaningful if there is truth or sound bibli!al do!trines in it. The ne:t +uestion is, !an truth be traded" ell, Solomon was the first person to mar*et it in 6roverbs (53 (5, .#uy the truth and sell it not? also wisdom, and instru!tion, and understanding./ 9e:t, let us understand the purpose or tea!hing of 0hrist in telling this parable. 't is !lear that in the parable, @od said that there were ten virgins who were going to meet the bridegroom. %ust li*e ' said before, there are many 0hristian denominations, %ewish and Moslem groups who are still waiting for their Messiah or imam mahdi. All groups lift up their .lamps./ Most of them don=t even !are whether their lamps !ontain oil or not. 0hristianity should be %ehovah=s program in the era of spiritual worship whi!h is separate from physi!al symboli! worship in the ;ld Testament. &owever, there are still many 0hristians who *eep the symboli! physi!al rituals in their worship. This is 7ust li*e a lamp without oil. Sin!e %ohn the #aptist appeared pointing to the Savior, we have entered into a worship system in whi!h we worship in spirit and in truth. #ut there are many who still worship in symbols and in rituals. e should worship with our hearts, but there are many who still worship @od physi!ally. The Apostle 6aul in '' Timothy 53 2 wrote, .&aving a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof3 from su!h turn away./ hat 6aul really meant was that at end times, many people are trapped to worship @od physi!ally, not spiritually. Many people put more emphasis on ritual formalities rather than the true bibli!al do!trines. Some even don=t !are at all about do!trines 7ust li*e the virgins who did (

not bring oil for their lamps. #e!ause they are afraid of debates, some avoid tal*ing about do!trines and repla!e them with philosophy, ni!e words, and devotional stories that tou!h the hearts. 0hristians are ama<ed with the grandness of !hur!h buildings, the number of !hur!h members, the si<e of the organi<ation, or in short the outer beauty, 7ust li*e a beautiful lamp but without oil. A grand lamp made of gold will not be useful without oil. That *ind of lamp will only be useful for de!oration? it !an even hurt those who bump into it 7ust li*e a big and grand !hur!h with a false do!trine. The grandness of the building is only used to house !on!erts? it !an be li*ened unto a beautiful lamp with no oil. Many 0hristians don=t !are about truth. This !an be seen from the la!* of enthusiasms towards do!trines. Some of them thin* that sin!e tal*ing about do!trines will lead into serious debates, it is better to tal* about something else. A!tually, it is better to enter into debate, even a serious one, to get to the truth rather than avoiding it by tal*ing about unimportant things. 14mails usually forwarded to pastors through mailing lists !ontain stories about human life and witness whi!h are sub7e!tive. Many +uote the .wise/ words from various people, even atheists. 'f debates arise whenever we tal* about do!trines, does it mean that we should not tal* about do!trines at all" Shouldn=t everyone want to be very sure about a tea!hing before believing it" Aren=t the debates going to provide meaningful inputs for someone see*ing for truth in ma*ing his de!ision" Someone who has the false belief and defends it vigorously is still better than someone with no belief. At least he has a faith. This *ind of person will be willing to !hange his view when he en!ounters a tea!hing more true than the one he !urrently believes. Lately, ' also en!ountered many pastors who don=t dare to read or listen to other people=s view on a tea!hing. They seem to turn deaf ears to opinions whi!h differ from theirs. &ow will they *now that the tea!hing they !urrently hold is the truest" 0an a bo:er !onvin!e others and himself that he is the best bo:er by refusing to fight other bo:ers" The real truth is the one that has gone through many tests. 'f there are ten pearl sellers, nine sell fa*e pearls and one sells original pearls, anyone who wants to buy pearl must insist on proving the originality of the pearls he is going to buy. $or the buyers, originality test will not harm them in any way? it will even benefit them greatly. Theologi!al debates will not harm any truth see*ers? on the !ontrary, it is very benefi!ial. The test will only be harmful for the fa*e pearl sellers. They will absolutely resist originality test. Li*ewise, people who are not tea!hing the truth will resist do!trinal debates? they even prohibit their followers to listen to do!trines that are different from the ones they are tea!hing. Dear readers, if your pastor told you not to read The %word of the %pirit, you should start pondering. So, buy the truth, the oil that ma*es your lamp shine. Don=t wait until it is too late 7ust li*e the five foolish virgins in @od=s parable. Don=t 7ust worship @od physi!ally without understanding the truth. 't means that you only have lamp without oil in it. Many 0hristians do not understand why they re!ite the !onfession of faith whi!h state that they believe the 0atholi!ABniversalAAm 0hur!h to be the true !hur!h while at the same time they are protesting against the 0atholi! 0hur!h. 's that really the !onfession of faith from the apostles" &istory proved that this !onfession of faith appeared in the fourth !entury. Many more 0hristians do not understand why at the end of ea!h servi!e their .pastor/ will raise his hands to bless the !ongregation. 5

They don=t understand that this is a priestly pra!ti!e whi!h is forbidden in the 9ew Testament time sin!e every believer is a priest unto himself and %esus 0hrist is the !hief priest. This priestly pra!ti!e was brought by Martin Luther from 0atholi! 0hur!h that a!*nowledges priesthood along with its position and pra!ti!es. 'n the ;ld Testament, a man named Korah tried to be a priest, %ehovah was wrathful towards him so that he was swallowed by the earth. Dear readers, buy the truth. Don=t be a 0hristian without right understanding? or li*e a lamp without oil. This *ind of lamp will not shine in dar*ness? it is only useful for de!oration. The same applies to !hur!h liturgy whi!h is not based on truth. 't is only de!oration without meaning. Sometimes, the pri!e to obtain truth !an be very high. 't is not surprising sin!e we spend a lot to provide good edu!ation for our !hildren. And sin!e the pri!e *eeps in!reasing, Solomon told us not to sell it. After giving more than one hundred do!trinal seminars, ' have re!eived !omments from the attendees that the do!trines taught by @CA6&1 are very bibli!al and logi!al. #ut they !ould not de!ide immediately to re!eive and implement them for many reasons. Some thought it hard to leave their !hur!h sin!e they have a lot of friends there. Some would not leave be!ause they were afraid to be fired from their 7obs. ;thers fa!ed threats of divor!e from their spouses. So, you see that the pri!e of truth varies from one person to another. Some !an !hoose to embra!e the truth without any signifi!ant hindran!e, while others must pay dearly for it. &owever, anyone who defers the de!ision to buy the truth will SBC1LD suffer a huge loss, sin!e the pri!e of the truth will *eep hi*ing. To buy the .oil/ of truth, not only do you need to pay dearly for it, but you also need time to buy it, 7ust li*e the five foolish virgins in the parable. hen the moment is !ru!ial, you may not have enough time to buy it. ;n!e you have the !han!e to buy the truth, you have to ma*e your de!ision, sin!e there may not be a se!ond !han!e. ' have witnessed a lot of people who deferred ma*ing the de!ision to !hoose the truth and move to a bibli!al !hur!h for whatever reasons ended up not ma*ing the de!ision at all. They be!ame more and more insensitive to the truth, thus they are de!eived even further. $inally, the bridegroom will !ome, and this *ind of people will surely not 7oin the $east of the Lamb. So bewareE