Symbolism Behind The 10 Virgins Parable Explained

Did You Know That The Parable Of The Ten Virgins Is Taught Incorrectly In Most Churches?

“The Kingdom of Heaven at that time will be like ten Virgins, who carried their lamps and went out to await the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish and five were wise.  The foolish ones took lamps with them but no oil,  whereas the others took flasks of oil with their lamps.  Now the bridegroom took longer than expected, so they all got tired of waiting and went to sleep.  It was the middle of the night when the cry rang out, ‘The bridegroom is here! Go out to meet him!’  The virgins all woke up and trimmed their lamps.  The foolish ones said to the wise ones, ‘Share some of your oil, because our lamps has been found wanting.’ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there is not enough for both you and us. Go to the oil dealer and redeem some for yourselves.’ But as they were going off to redeem some, the bridegroom came. Those who were ready went with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. Later, the other virgins came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they cried, ‘Let us in!’ But he answered, ‘Indeed! I tell you, I don’t know you!’ So take heed, because you know neither the day nor the hour, that the Son of Man will come.

Now, let's look at the symbolism behind this parable and learn the truth of the Ten Virgins Parable.

Kingdom of Heaven is consistently used to portray the church time period, from the 1st Day of Sukkot, Pentecost, until the day that the Messiah returns for his bride, the Remnant of God.

Virgins is defined by the Greek word used, within the scriptures, "Parthenos". It means a marriageable person. It is clearly a reference to those who are eligible to be married to the coming bridegroom. Those who believe the Gospel.

Lamps represent the outwardly display of your true nature, or Christ like nature. Y'shua referred to this in Matthew 5:16.

Bridegroom. The scriptures are quite clear that this represents the coming Messiah, the Son of God. This needs to be contrasted to the Husband of Israel, which is Yah, Yahweh Hayah Asher Hayah.

Foolish is the Greek word, "Moris", which means to be foolish by way of being impious, not showing respect or reverence, especially for God. They are truly godless.

Wise is the Greek word, "Phronimos" which means to be wise, by way of being prudent, mindful of one's interest and needs.

Oil is consistently used throughout the scriptures as the presence or the anointing of one with God's Holy Spirit.

Flasks are a receptacle used to hold something. In this case, the oil or Holy Spirit. Colossians 2:9-10 and 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 clearly show that this is our body or the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

Tired Of Waiting is the English translation of the Greek word, "Nystazo", which means literally to be nod or metaphorically to be non-attentive, by way of being neglectful of a thing, delay in taking care of the necessary things of life.

Went To Sleep is the English translation of the Greek word, "Katheudo", which means to litereally fall asleep but metaphorically, to yield to sloth and sin or to be indifferent to one's salvation.

Trimmed is the Greek word, "Kosmeo", which means "to prepare for display, make ready".

Oil Dealer is God, Yahweh, the one that gives his Holy Spirit freely.

Many preachers have taught this parable without any background, to reveal its actual meaning.  Many of Y'shua's, Jesus' parables were warnings about the infiltration of either evil or false teachings into the church. This one is no different.

To give you a little background, Y'shua's, Jesus' disciples were questioning him on what would be the timing of his return, a question that Y'shua, Jesus could not answer, for no one knows the time or day, only the Father knows. That included Y'shua, Jesus. There are some scriptural and anecdotal evidence that points to Y'shua not knowing the day of his return until Yahweh tells him to go and get his bride.

In the end times, the Kingdom of Heaven, the Church, which is different from the Kingdom of God, will resemble the parable of the 10 virgins.  As a sidenote, an alternative reading could be Kingdom from God or Kingdom from Heaven. You can get both from the Greek. 

Toward the end of his dissertation, he brings up the condition of the church, during the end times, just prior to his return. If we take the symbols for what they represent consistently through the scriptures, we find the true meaning of the 10 Virgin Parable.

“The Church, at that time will be like ten eligible believers, who carried their outwardly display and went out to await the Coming Messiah.  Five of them were impious, not truly showing reverence and respect to God and five were truly respectful of God, Godly, cognitive of what God expects.  The impious ones carried their outwardly display with them but no Anointing of the Holy Spirit, whereas the others carried themselves, full of the Anointing of the Holy Spirit with their outwardly display. 

Now the Messiah took longer than expected, so they all became non-attentive, neglectful of the necessary things of life and yielded to sloth and sin and became indifferent to one's salvation.  It was the middle of the night when the cry rang out, ‘The Messiah is here! Go out to meet him!’  The eligible believers all woke up and prepared for display their outwardly display. 

The Godless ones said to the Godly ones, ‘Share some of your Holy Spirit, because our display of their true nature has been found wanting.’ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there is not enough for both you and us. Go to God and obtain some for yourselves.’ But as they were going off to obtain, the Messiah came. Those who were ready went with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. Later, the other eligible believers came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they cried, ‘Let us in!’ But he answered, ‘Indeed! I tell you, I don’t know you!’ So take heed, because you know neither the day nor the hour, that the Son of Man will come.

The five virgins who have the extra oil represent the truly born again who are looking with eagerness to the coming of the Messiah. They have saving faith, including the indwelling of God's Holy Spirit and have a desire to know and developed a relationship with God, through the Messiah.

The five virgins without the oil represent false believers who enjoy the benefits of the Christian community, without true love for the Messiah and lacking indwelling of God's Holy Spirit. They didn't care to get to know God and were more concerned about the party than about longing to know the bridegroom. In the end, their hope is that their association with true believers will bring them into the kingdom.

A very disturbing characteristic of the end time church is that all believers fell asleep.

Dont' be satisfied to know of God. Get to know God personally, through the Messiah.

The Best Time To Get To Know God, Is Now.

You don't want to hear, "Depart from me, I never knew you."

...and that's what you'll find When You Search For The Truth.