25:1-13 What does this story of the ten virgins teach?

This is called the parable of the Ten Virgins. It is only recorded here and is a continuation of Jesus’ discourse in Mt 24 about the events that will take place on earth during the time of the Great Tribulation just prior to His second coming. We need to read at least part of that discourse to better understand what Christ is teaching here because this parable has been used down through the ages to teach many different things in the contemporary church (cp Mt 24:27-51).

There are three parables included in those scriptures, all pertaining to the uncertainty of the time of Christ’s return: the parable of the Fig Tree in Mt 25:32-33, the parable of the Goodman of the House in Mt 25:43-44, and the parable of the Two Kinds of Servants in Mt 25:45-51. The core teaching in all of them is faithfulness, preparedness and watchfulness in view of the second coming of Christ, and the same teaching applies to the parable of the Ten Virgins (cp also Mk 13:28-37; Lk 12:35-48).

It needs to be restated here that the church is not in view in any of these teachings - it is raptured, or caught up to heaven before the emergence of Antichrist and the onset of the Great Tribulation (cp Ro 5:8-10; Eph 5:1-7; 1Th 4:13-18; 2Th 2:7-9; Rev 3:10). But by way of application the teachings in both Mt 24 and Mt 25 are relevant to all believers in any age until Jesus comes back, whether in the air to rapture the church, or on land to defeat Antichrist.

The parable of the Ten Virgins has been used variously to teach among other things that there are two kinds of Christians – wise and foolish; the oil is the baptism in the Spirit; the rapture will take place at midnight or in the middle of the Great Tribulation; only those baptized in the Spirit will be saved; only those baptized in the Spirit will celebrate the marriage supper of the Lamb; the door of mercy will be closed to the Gentiles after the rapture and the five wise virgins represent the true church, etc, etc.

The list goes on, but none of these teachings have any grounding in scripture whatsoever. They only detract from the real meaning of the parable – that of Christians always being in a state of readiness for when Jesus returns. The bridegroom’s response to the foolish virgins’ knocking on the door echoes what Jesus also teaches inMt 7:21-23 (cp Mt 7:21-23). Not everyone who calls Jesus Lord will enter into the eternal Kingdom of Heaven – only those will who have prepared themselves for His return.

The kingdom will not be open to those who profess to belong to Christ but have no Divine resources within, (cp Lk 13:23-27).