Watch and Be Ready

By

Shelby G. Floyd

July 28, 2006

 

 

Once the disciples asked Christ when he would come again, and he answered them that no one knows, not even the angels, nor the Son, but only the Father. (Matthew 24: 36.) He further answered them by stating that when he does come again, the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins; five of them were wise, and five were foolish. (Matthew 25:1-13.) In the parable of the ten virgins, the lesson to be gained is that one should be prepared and ready at all times, for no one knows when the Lord might come. It is a lesson en­couraging preparation and warning against neglect.

 

A Parable of Preparation or Neglect

 

How is the church like ten virgins when Christ comes again? The ten virgins symbolically stand for all the members of the church of Christ. All of them were virgins which mean that every member of the church has been purified by the blood of Christ and his sins have been washed away in baptism. (cf. Acts 22:16.) Every one of the virgins outwardly looked alike, all of them had lamps and every Christian is to have a lamp and is to let his light shine that men may see his good works and glorify God. (Matthew 5: 13-16.)  All of the virgins slumbered and slept while the bridegroom tarried, and so it is appointed unto men once to die and after this the judgment. (Hebrews 9: 27.) At midnight a cry was made as the bridegroom entered the place where the virgins were waiting, indicating that Christ will come as a thief in the night. (1 Thessalonians 5: 2.) When he comes there will be a shout of the archangel (1 Thessalonians 4: 16), and all that are in the graves will hear his voice and come forth, both the good and the bad. (John 5: 28-29.) Also, all of the virgins arose, trimmed their lamps and went forth to meet the bride­groom. Every child of God must be brought before the great judgment throne of Christ (Matthew 25: 31-46), and stand in judgment before the king of kings. (Acts 17: 30-31.)

 

All ten virgins had received the same instructions relative to going forth to meet the bridegroom, and every child of God has the same instructions, for God speaks to us through his Son, Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 1:1-2.) The bridegroom no doubt represents Jesus Christ, for John the Baptist stated that he himself was the best man, implying that Christ was the bridegroom. (John 3: 29.)

 

Five Were Wise and Five Were Foolish

 

Five of the ten virgins were wise while five of them were foolish. What made the difference between the wise and foolish? The five foolish virgins do not represent those who make no preparation, or who have never entered upon service to God. They had made some preparation, but they were foolish because they were complacent and had not made sufficient preparation. (cf. 2 Peter 1: 5-11.) The Hebrews writer emphasized that we should give the more earnest heed to the things we hear from Christ and that if we neglect the great salvation offered by him, there can be no escape. (Hebrews 2: 1-3.) Jesus taught that those who hear his sayings and do them are wise, while those who hear them and do not are foolish, and are like a person building his house upon the sand with the consequence that it will fall and be destroyed. (Matthew 7: 24-27.)

 

The five wise virgins gave evidence of their pru­dence from the fact that they were ready and prepared for any emergency. They were not trying to get by with as little preparation as they could. They would not let their lamps go out since they had extra oil, and consequently when the crisis occurred, their wisdom was declared because they had made sufficient preparation. Every crisis in our life will determine whether we have been wise or foolish: “0 that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!” (Deuteronomy 32: 29.)

 

Christ Will Definitely Come Again

 

From all of this we may definitely learn that Christ will come again. (Heb. 9: 28.) We may draw the conclusion that not all the members of the church of Christ will be saved. This parable of Christ certainly condemns universal salvation. Five of them were foolish and were shut out of the marriage feast. (cf. Luke 13: 24-30.) Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7: 13-14.) Fifty percent of the virgins were unable to enter into the marriage feast because of a lack of preparation. In many congregations today, a large percent of the members stay away from the Lord’s Day worship.  Are people so well prepared that they do not need to be present at these services? When the bridegroom came, the five foolish virgins said to the wise, “Give us of your oil for our lamps are going out.” But the wise told them to, go and buy for themselves, and while they went to buy those who were ready went in with him to the marriage and the door was shut. (Revelation 19: 7-9.)

 

We Must Buy, Not Borrow

 

We cannot borrow from our brethren what we must buy by faith and diligent work. In other words, right­eousness or good works cannot be borrowed at the judg­ment day. We are all going to stand before Christ to give an answer for the things that we have done in the body according to what we have done whether it be good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5: 10.) Our righteousness cannot be transferred to some other individual in the church. (Revelation 22: 11-12.) None of us will have any extra oil to spare; we will need all that we have. Those that were ready went into the marriage while the door was shut against those who were not ready, and the foolish virgins cried out saying, “Lord, Lord, open to us.” Jesus said, “I know you not.” The double emphasis, “Lord, Lord,” shows their earnestness as well as their claim to be related to Christ. However, Jesus has said, “Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7: 21.)

 

Watch and Be Ready

 

In the words of the poets,

 

Too late, too late, poor trembling soul,

Will this be your fate?

Too late, too late, to be made whole,

Too late, too late, too late!

 

 

Of all sad words of tongue or pen

The saddest are these, it might have been.

 

Therefore, Jesus drew the conclusion of the whole story by saying, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” (Matthew 25:13.) To watch means to be pre­pared, both in state of mind and life.  Copyright © 2006 All Rights Reserved