The parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13 gives us a message that’s essential to remain ready for the second coming of Christ. However, many believe they can prepare for this event by examining current events, blood moons, and narrowing down the day, hour, or season. Then, they start prepping themselves and their families, but often their preparation becomes self-focused and selfish, like gathering food and money for themselves. The Bible says we will never know the day or the hour when He will return, so panicking about every unknown is a futile.
False Teaching About the End Times
Instead, Jesus has taught us that we should already be prepared and remain in constant spiritual readiness for his coming. If you ever encounter individuals saying they know the season, month, or day of Jesus’ return, they become distracted and off track. It’s not helpful to listen to online teachers who use the Book of Revelation and the Book of Daniel to manipulate people’s emotions and bank accounts. Unfortunately, when the month or day they were referencing arrives, the world does not fall apart, and Jesus does not return. Yet new teachers continue to pop up, and they distract people.
Preparing for the second coming of Christ is not about your pantry or bank account. It is about being spiritually ready. If you are more concerned about the contents of your pantry, ammo closet, or bank account, then you may not be concerned about what is in your heart and the hearts of others. Having some beans and rice, and water in case of emergencies is understandable, but it should not be the sole focus of your preparation. I would suggest that if this is your primary concern, then you might be off track.
Readiness for Christ’s Return
Readiness for the second coming of Christ is a spiritual matter that goes beyond physical preparation. It involves obeying the Lord’s will, striving for personal holiness, and participating in corporate worship. The Bible teaches us to be prepared by loving and obeying God more. Jesus clarified that the most important thing is to love the Lord with all one’s heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love one’s neighbor as oneself. This is achieved by obeying the Great Commission through gospel proclamation and focused discipleship as an outflow of personal devotion and gathering in unity and worship.
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
The parable in Matthew 25, often referred to as the Parable of the Ten Virgins, illustrates the importance of being prepared for the second coming. The parable describes ten virgins who took their lamps to meet the bridegroom. Five were wise and brought extra oil, while five were foolish and did not. The bridegroom was delayed, and all the virgins fell asleep. When he finally arrived, the wise virgins were prepared with enough oil, but the foolish ones were not. The foolish virgins asked the wise ones for some of their oil, but they did not share.
There was not enough for everyone, so the foolish virgins were advised to go to the dealers to buy oil for themselves. However, it was already too late. When the five foolish virgins realized this after leaving to buy oil, the bridegroom had already arrived, and only the five wise virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast. The door was then shut. Later, the other virgins came and asked to be let in, but the bridegroom replied that he did not know them. The parable ends with the instruction to be on alert, as no one knows the day or the hour of Jesus’ return.
What We Can Learn From the Parable of the Virgins
As believers, it is important to stay ready and even be eager and giddy in anticipation of meeting Jesus on that day. The parable is meant to help us understand the transitional time that Jesus’ second coming represents. The Kingdom of God is described as already not yet, and Jesus’ second coming is the transition between the already and the not yet. It will be a glorious time, but not everyone will be ready. In this passage, the coming of the bridegroom represents Jesus coming again to meet his bride.
In Revelation chapter 19, we read about the marriage supper of the Lamb, where there will be much joy and celebration. However, there can be confusion regarding the ten virgins in the passage. At first, it may seem like a heavenly bachelorette competition or a situation where the groom is supposed to marry all five of them. But this misunderstanding comes from a lack of understanding of first-century Jewish marital ceremony customs.
The Significance of the Ten Virgins
The ten virgins are better translated as young unmarried women who were not the bride but were there to assist the bride as a part of the wedding party, much like modern-day bridesmaids. The story takes place after the official connection at the bride’s house, and it is likely to occur at the groom’s house, and these ten bridesmaids were there to wait to usher in, announce and guide the bridegroom to his party.
While the bridegroom may seem late from our perspective, he will be here on time when it’s his time. As believers, we are ready and even eager to meet him on that day, but we do not know when that day will be. The story of the ten bridesmaids has two groups: five wise and five not.
This distinction sounds a lot like the Old Testament wisdom literature that teaches us how to live God’s way in God’s world or God’s kingdom. Therefore, the application for us is to be wise and prudent, always ready for the coming of the bridegroom, Jesus, and to stay faithful to his teachings.
Instructions to Live in God’s Kingdom
This passage is a New Testament version of wisdom literature, and Jesus instructs us how to live in God’s kingdom. We are to live expectantly and be ready to meet the bridegroom when he comes so that we can celebrate with him at the marriage supper of the Lamb for all eternity. Thus, we need to apply some of the principles from this parable.
We Need the Holy Spirit
Firstly, we must stay prepared for Christ’s return. This may seem obvious, but it is essential to note that we must have the Holy Spirit in us. Without the Holy Spirit, we will not be ready for that day or be in heaven. This is a call to salvation, and we need to accept it. According to the parable, five bridesmaids were saved, and five were not. In verse ten, we see that the five bridesmaids who were prepared ushered the bridegroom to the wedding feast, and the door was shut after they arrived. There are no late arrivals, no second chances when the bridegroom returns for his bride. The time for preparation will be over, and it will be too late to prepare ourselves for the Savior’s second coming. We must prepare now and have the Holy Spirit in us so we can worship with him forever.
The parable says the bridegroom takes the bridesmaids and shuts the door. The five bridesmaids who were left out plead with the bridegroom to open the door, but he says he does not know them. Therefore, we mustn’t miss our opportunity to be ready for Christ’s return.
Only Christ’s Followers Receive Salvation
If you’re not currently a follower of Christ, it’s essential to become one now. This urgency is reminiscent of the language found in Matthew 7:21, where Jesus says that not everyone who calls Him Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of His Father. Many will protest that they performed miracles and prophesied in His name, but Jesus will declare that He never knew them. It’s important to understand that Jesus isn’t saying you have to do things to enter into heaven in either Matthew 7 or Matthew 25, but you must know Him to go to the marriage supper of the Lamb and vice versa.
The guaranteed sign that He knows you and you know Him is that His Spirit lives within you, evidenced by the fruit you bear, the life you live, and the obedience you exhibit as an overflow of the Spirit living in you. To be a follower of Christ means to live surrendered to the Holy Spirit and His influence through prayer and study of His Word daily. Out of this overflow, people will be able to see the Spirit’s influence within you, and you will know it from within. If you do not have the Holy Spirit, you cannot bear good fruit or follow Him into the marriage supper celebration.
How to Receive the Holy Spirit
Salvation is the only way to receive the Holy Spirit. Like the rest of humanity, you must agree that you are a sinner, broken and separated from God and in need of a savior. God is holy, and you are not, and if you have your sin apart from salvation and Christ, you will remain separated from God for eternity. That’s why Jesus came as the God-man, fully God and fully man, born perfect and lived perfect, fulfilling every letter of the law for you. He died on the cross as your substitute, bearing your penalty, and was buried. Three days later, He rose from the dead so that you could confess, repent, and believe. At the moment you believe and are indwelled, anointed by God’s Spirit in you.
If you’re reading this today and don’t have the Holy Spirit within you, I encourage you to confess, repent, and believe that Jesus is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead. This is the only way to be saved and to have the Holy Spirit in you. The evidence of the Holy Spirit in you is your obedience to Him. Therefore, having the Holy Spirit in you is essential before you can bear good fruit and shine your light to the world. To stay ready for the return of Christ, we need to be a light. The lamps in the parable symbolize personal holiness, obedience to the gospel, and corporate or collective worship. The bridesmaids carried torches that produced a much greater type of light, and we, as believers, have the Holy Spirit in us that enables us to shine our light before the world.
Believers Can Be a Light in This Dark World
You were created to shine the light of Christ to your family, workplace, and school, and the question is whether you are shining or not. In Matthew 5:14, Jesus says, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.” In verse 15, Jesus asks why one would hide this light under a basket, and in verse 16, he urges us to let our light shine before men so that they may see our good works. These works are an overflow of the evidence that the Spirit is in us, and by shining in us, we mean that we are daily being overwhelmed by the reality of who the Holy Spirit is in our personal lives through prayer and the reading of his word. This overflow of personal holiness is why we talk about abiding.
Staying Prepared for Christ’s Return Requires Abiding in Christ
The point of abiding with Christ is for you and for others to see the difference in you. Having a plan is essential because it won’t happen accidentally; it has to be intentional. Do you have a Bible reading plan, and are you following it? It’s also important to have accountability. If you haven’t been faithful or consistent, don’t feel guilty, but instead, find the time and place and make the plan. Through a personal, holy, abiding relationship with Christ, you will flow over into the obedience that He wants to see. The Holy Spirit will change you from the inside out. You will become holy like God, which means you should look different than the world, the person who rejects the gospel or the person who pretends to have the gospel.
Staying Prepared for Christ’s Return Requires Obedience
Gospel obedience is a great way to stay ready through personal holiness and obeying the gospel commands in the Scriptures. Obey the Lord out of gratitude for what He has done for you through His life, death, and resurrection.
Sharing the gospel with an unbeliever, forgiving someone who hurt you, and sacrificing your finances to build the Kingdom are ways you will look different to the world. They may not understand it, but they will see it. For example, the five wise bridesmaids were set apart from the foolish ones because they were ready with oil and were ushered into the marriage supper and the wedding celebration. The lamps they had were for light, not to guide the bridegroom to his wedding feast because he likely already knew the way. It was for honor and worship. Similarly, corporate worship is another way to stay ready.
Christ Will Return: Are You Ready?
In order to stay ready every day of your life, you need to work for the Lord Jesus. This includes working hard, following God’s commands, spending time in personal devotion, and loving your neighbor. However, gathering to worship in a corporate setting is also vital to your faith. We must not forsake this gathering, as it allows us to shine for God’s glory and prepare for the marriage supper of the Lamb. When we gather together and let God’s Spirit guide our worship, it is as close to heaven on earth as possible. That is why it is no surprise that God often chooses the corporate worship setting to bring an anointed manifest presence of His Spirit. This should excite us. By removing distractions, abiding in Christ, and persevering in obedience, you can stay ready for the day when Jesus will return to call you home.
