When Jesus was on the Mt. of Olives with His disciples telling them about how end-times would unfold, Matthew included details in his book that the other gospel accounts didn’t.
We read Matthew 24, Luke 21 and Mark 13 and assume that since they are all recording the same teaching session that Jesus stopped at the end of one chapter.
But Matthew continued to record the parables that followed. This was the same teaching session on the same day. The chapter and verse divisions were not inserted until centuries later. There would have been nothing to separate Matthew 24 from Matthew 25 because they were one message delivered by Jesus on the Mount of Olives.
With that background knowledge, read the parable of the Ten Virgins.
Matthew 24:1-13
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they did not take extra oil with them; 4 but the prudent ones took oil in flasks with their lamps. 5 Now while the groom was delaying, they all became drowsy and began to sleep. 6 But at midnight there finally was a shout: ‘Behold, the groom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. 8 But the foolish virgins said to the prudent ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ 9 However, the prudent ones answered, ‘No, there most certainly would not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the groom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. 11 Yet later, the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Be on the alert then, because you do not know the day nor the hour.
There are a few things I want you to notice about this passage.
- The foolish virgins weren’t locked out of the wedding because they weren’t virgins.
- They weren’t locked out because they fell asleep, even the wise virgins were asleep.
- The foolish virgins weren’t locked out of the wedding because the bridegroom came earlier than they expected. Scripture indicates He was ‘delayed’ and came later than expected.
- The foolish virgins were not locked out because the wise virgins were heartless and didn’t give them what they felt so entitled to.
- These virgins knew He was coming. They didn’t know exactly when, but they were still unprepared. They brought enough oil in their estimation, but they never considered He might not come as early as they expected Him to come. It apparently never occurred to them to be ready for a late arrival.
I’ve heard all kinds of teaching on this passage. The most common is that the oil represents the Holy Spirit and they ran out of the Holy Spirit before Jesus got here. Therefore, we need to keep oil in our lamps.
It’s interesting that this common interpretation doesn’t really fit with common sense. The wise virgins, the ones with plenty of the Holy Spirit, not just in their lamps, but also in extra flasks, refused to share the Holy Spirit with those that asked and told them to go BUY their own oil! Apparently, these heartless individuals didn’t share the gospel with the foolish, didn’t share the light of their lamps, or offer to wait on them while they got oil!
As a teenager, I puzzled over this interpretation. It made no sense to me in light of the rest of scripture.
As an adult, I dug into the meaning of this word ‘oil’. In the original text it was “e’-lī-on” and means … olive oil.
olive oil (e’-lī-on)
- for fuel for lamps
- for healing the sick
- for anointing the head and body at feasts
- mentioned among articles of commerce
Clearly, olive oil had many spiritual purposes. It was used to anoint the kings of the Old Testament. It was used to anoint the sick and has continued to hold an important place in the church. But this same word, e’-lī-on, is used many times as just … olive oil.
Here are a couple of them:
Revelation 6:6 KJV
6And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
Here’s another one, and I am including several verses to show it in context:
Revelation 18:11-13 KJV
11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
In this case, it is talking about the things that Mystery Babylon bought from the merchants of the earth. It is clear from this context that sometimes “e’-lī-on” just means olive oil. So not every time the word ‘oil’ is mentioned in scripture does it mean anointing oil or the oil of the Holy Spirit.
Since the five wise virgins refused to share, I think it is clear they are talking about fuel for their lamps. They sent the foolish ones away to buy more oil from dealers. True Christians do not send others away when they are seeking God, especially to go find Him in some market!
If oil literally means olive oil, a substance that is used to sustain life in the Middle East, what was Jesus saying in this parable?
It is clear that even though the five wise virgins were weary and even sleeping, they had prepared and made sure they had what was necessary to get through until the Bridegroom came. They may not have been the most generous with it, but they had enough to make it into the wedding feast!
So why weren’t the foolish virgins admitted to the wedding after they arrived late with their oil? The verse below makes it clear why they were disqualified from entering the wedding.
Revelation 13:17 NASB
16 And he causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 and he decrees that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.
Taking the mark won’t seem like a problem to a lot of Christians! In fact, they won’t believe it is really the Mark of the Beast or that the Anti-Christ is even the beast, because they didn’t go up in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture. Jesus warned us again and again not to be deceived! This means it IS possible to be deceived!
There are severe consequences for taking the mark.
Revelation 14:8-10 NASB
9 Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
This is why you need to sort out what you believe about the timing of the rapture now. If you’re not paying attention because you don’t think you have to, the great tribulation can overtake you without you being aware it is so close.
If you believe the rapture is the next event to happen, you won’t be looking for and preparing for the events that Jesus told us were coming upon the earth prior to His Second Coming. (Read Matt. 24, Luke 21, Mark 13) You will simply be waiting to be raptured.
The mark may be implemented before you realize that there isn’t a single scripture that says there is a secret, silent rapture before Jesus’ glorious Second Coming. Not one. Take on the challenge of trying to find it in your Bible now.
