What Does The Parable Of The Ten Virgins Mean

Introduction

The Parable of the Ten Virgins is found in Matthew 25:1-13. This parable tells us that we need to be ready for the second coming of Christ. The virgins are all waiting for a wedding feast where the bridegroom will marry his bride, but only half have prepared their lamps properly with oil so they can continue to burn through the night. When the groom arrives, he takes five of those virgins and leaves five behind because they are not ready. They leave to get more oil, and when they return, their lamps cannot be lit because it is too late. When this happens, they are left outside while the others enjoy a wonderful feast inside with the groom.

`The Parable of the Ten Virgins, also known as the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins or the Parable of the 10 Virgins, is one of the well known parables of Jesus.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins, also known as the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins or the Parable of the 10 Virgins, is one of the well known parables of Jesus.

The setting is a wedding where a bridegroom is expected to arrive at any time. The virgins are waiting to greet him when he comes. They are divided into wise and foolish because they have different attitudes regarding their preparation for meeting with Jesus Christ.

`It appears in Matthew 25:1-13 with almost identical wording in Luke 22:1-13.

The parable is intended to help explain allegory. Allegory is a form of storytelling where the characters, objects and actions in a story represent real things or ideas. To understand this parable, we have to look at other parts of the Bible that deal with marriage and adultery.

In Matthew 19:3-12, Jesus talks about marriage as being for life (until death), but he does not say anything about divorce. In Mark 10:2-12 and Luke 16:18-19, Jesus says that marriage should be between one man and one woman for life; however he does not mention anything about divorce. These two passages seem to contradict each other because one says there will be no divorce while the other implies that separation can happen if an unfaithful spouse leaves their partner. Here’s how I believe these two verses fit together:

The Greek word used in Matthew 19:9 translated “except” could also mean “unless” instead of excluding an exception from a rule previously stated; therefore there may be exceptions within marriages when infidelity has occurred (and only God knows).

`According to this parable, ten virgins are taking their lamps to meet the bridegroom (traditionally interpreted as Jesus).

`According to this parable, ten virgins are taking their lamps to meet the bridegroom (traditionally interpreted as Jesus). The virgins are the church and the bridegroom is Jesus. When he comes back for his bride, five of them are wise and have enough oil to keep their lights burning until he returns, but five of them do not. When they run out of oil, their lamps go out and they don’t see him coming for them in his white gown.

`All ten virgins are invited to attend the wedding feast; five are wise and five are foolish.

`All ten virgins are invited to attend the wedding feast; five are wise and five are foolish.`

The Parable of the Ten Virgins is a parable told by Jesus in Matthew 25:1-13. It is a story about ten women who were waiting for their husbands at a wedding feast. Five of them had prepared oil for their lamps, while the other five had not. The bride called for all those waiting for her husband outside, but when she knocked on each door and called out, only those with oil in their lamps answered her call and came quickly through their doorways leading into the house where they were going to celebrate marriage festivities together with many others present there already .

`The difference is that five have brought oil for their lamps while the other five have not.

The difference is that five have brought oil for their lamps while the other five have not. The five who did not bring oil for their lamps fall asleep, and when they wake up, they realize that they forgot to bring enough oil for their lamps, so they must go find more oil. By the time they get back with it, though, it’s too late: The bridegroom has arrived and taken his bride away.

The parable of the ten virgins teaches us that we need to be prepared because Jesus will come back soon!

`While they wait for the bridegroom they all fall asleep.

While they wait for the bridegroom they all fall asleep.

This represents a spiritual sleep that occurs when we are not spiritually awake. It is also a metaphor for being unprepared for the return of Jesus Christ.

`At midnight (some manuscripts read “when it was midnight”) a cry is heard that the bridegroom has arrived.

At midnight (some manuscripts read “when it was midnight”) a cry is heard that the bridegroom has arrived. At this, all the virgins get up and prepare their lamps.

The ones who have brought oil to light their lamps go out to greet the procession.

`All ten virgins get up and prepare their lamps for the arrival but only those who brought oil along have a sufficient supply to allow them to go out and greet the procession, into which they are accepted.

The parable of the ten virgins represents five different groups or types of Christians. These five groups are:

• The wise virgin who brings oil for her lamp (representing faith), and does not need to be told that the bridegroom is coming
• The foolish virgin who does not bring oil for her lamp (representing unbelief), and must ask the wise virgin what she should do
• The foolish virgin who brings oil but has spent it all on herself, so that when it comes time to light her lamp again, she goes out empty-handed; this foolish woman can only be saved if someone gives her some help in lighting a fire in her house
• The wicked woman who refuses to buy any more oil so she can keep it for herself instead of sharing it with others; this wicked woman will find that there is no light when she needs it most; instead, there will be darkness

`Those who did not bring oil find their lamps have extinguished and run out to buy some more but in doing so miss meeting up with the procession into which they are not accepted; when they knock on the door it is too late because those already inside will not open it.

The parable of the ten virgins represents five foolish virgins who were unprepared for the arrival of Jesus, and five other wise virgins who were ready. The five foolish virgins represent those who were unprepared for the second coming of Jesus, whereas the other five represent those who are prepared and ready to meet him when he returns.

The parable tells us that we should all be ready at all times because we don’t know when he’ll come back.

Conclusion

The parable of the ten virgins is a lesson to all believers. It teaches us that we need to be prepared for Christ’s return and how we must not allow ourselves to be distracted from this task by worldly concerns or pleasures. We should live lives that are pleasing to God so that when He comes back, He will find us ready with clean hearts and minds filled with faithfulness towards Him.