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Sermon Notes

Last Days Parables of Jesus
Pt. 2
“The 10 Virgins: Be Ready in Your Salvation”

Matt 25:1-13 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meetthe bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
6 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.
11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”
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This is the 2nd of Jesus’s last days parables.

–He is answering his disciple’s questions as to what would be the signs of His return and of the end of the age.

In chapter 24 he gives several general signs to look for, as in…

–earthquakes in many places,
–widespread famines and plagues,
–mass deception through false prophets and false teachers,
–wars and rumors of wars, and
–a repeat of the widespread violence and rejection of God that was in Noah’s day, mixed with the sexual perversion of Lot’s day.
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He closes out these general predictions with the warning, “Be ready.”–Matt 24:42

The Lord then delivered four parables based on those words–Be Ready!

The first parable is of the WISE AND EVIL SERVANT that we looked at last time–which was about being ready in your FAITHFULNESS.

The second parable we’re looking at this time is the story of the TEN VIRGINS–which is about being ready in your SALVATION.
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Now, the main characters in this parable are:

–The Bridegroom, who represents Jesus
–Ten virgins or bridesmaids, representing professing Christians, and
–The bride who, though not named, is inferred in the parable.
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Now, to better understand this parable we need to understand a first century wedding, which was very different from a modern day wedding.

An ancient Jewish wedding in Bible times consisted of 3 parts:

First, a BETROTHAL.

In our day we would call this the engagement.

But an ancient middle-eastern betrothal was much more binding and serious than a modern engagement.

A betrothal was a legally binding contract between the parents of the groom and the parents of the bride.

You see, it was an arranged marriage–that was the culture!

Once the betrothal contract was signed, a sum of money called a DOWRY was paid by the father of the groom to the father of the bride to seal the deal.

Once it became official the betrothal was binding–you could not get out unless there was a divorce due to unfaithfulness.

Once the contract was complete, the groom would depart for up to a year to build a home for he and his bride.

During that year he was exempt from any other demands, including military service (Deut 24:5).

His total focus was to prepare for his bride!
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Then came the Second phase of the wedding–the groom’s RETURN.

At the end of the year he would return for his bride.

His return was unannounced and without warning.

The parable hints that the groom’s return took longer than the bridal party and bride expected, because it says,

“While the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.”–vs 5

When the bridegroom arrived the wedding party would rise to greet him.

Traditionally he usually came at night, which is why the ten virgins in the parable each had a lamp.

When he arrived they would rise and light the lamp, holding it up so that the whole town was aware of his arrival.

This gave his return a more spectacular, celebratory effect!a

The bridesmaids would gather at the front of a large greeting procession.

The bride would often be hoisted up on a chair or some other type of support so that she was elevated above the crowd.
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The groom would then lead the procession to the house he had built where the bridal party and towns-folks would gather for the THIRD PHASE of the wedding:

THE WEDDING BANQUET

The wedding banquet would last about 7 days.

At the end of this 7 days the bride and groom would come together for the first time physically as husband and wife.
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Now, Jesus used these stages of a first century wedding to draw parallels between Himself and the church.

FIRST, the betrothal period represents our SALVATION.

We enter into salvation with a binding commitment on the part of ourselves and Jesus.

–We will never leave Him, and He will never leave nor forsake us!

And a dowry was paid, but not with silver or gold.

1 Pet 1:18-19 “For you know that God paid a ransom to save you…and it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. 19 It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.”

The blood of God’s Son, Christ Jesus, was the dowry the Heavenly Father was willing to pay for our marriage to His Son!

FOLKS, we are living right now in the BETROTHAL period before the return of the groom!

Jesus has gone to build a home for us in heaven as he said in John 14: 2-3,

“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
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Next on the prophetic calendar is the RETURN of the bridegroom, the Lord Jesus!

A heavenly trumpet will blow, and those that have died with faith in Christ will rise first from the grave, then those believers alive on earth will be “caught up together with them in the clouds…”–1 Thes 4:17
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Interestingly, the parable says the return of the bridegroom takes place at midnight–a very odd hour to come for your bride!

But the message is that the return of Christ will come when people least expect it–at a surprising, ‘take you off guard’ moment.

This is how Jesus always describes his return!

“For the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect (like a thief in the night).”–24:44

His return will shock the world!

The Book of Revelation predicts, “Behold, he is coming with clouds…and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him.”–1:7
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Now, here is where we come to the MAIN POINT of the parable.

Jesus says that when the bridegroom appears, “Then all (ten) of those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.”–vs.7

But then and there a crisis arises!

The parable divides the bridesmaids into two categories–wise and foolish.

Those who were foolish had brought their lamps but “took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.”–vs 3-4

When the time came to light the lamps to welcome the bridegroom, the foolish realized they had no oil for fuel to light them!

In a state of growing panic, “…the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’–25:8
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Now in the Bible, OIL is symbolic of the Holy Spirit.

The five foolish virgins had no oil, which clearly tells us they were not saved.

Paul wrote, “…if anyone doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ living in him, he is not a Christian at all.”
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So what we have here is a sobering reality.

At the return of Christ…
–people that professed to be Christians,
–that were involved in religious activities,
–that were in relationships with genuine believers,
–that knew Christianese,
–that for all intents and purposes appeared to be true believers,
–were shown to have never been born again, never converted, were never in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit.

Like the parable of the wheat and tares where the tares looked just like the wheat but weren’t,

–these 5 foolish virgins were among genuine christians but never became one,
–they were apparently self-deceived, thinking they were ready to meet the bridegroom, never realizing they had no oil!

In a panic the 5 foolish bridesmaids turned to the 5 wise bridesmaids and asked for some of their oil, but it wasn’t theirs to give!

That’s because salvation is not
transferrable,
purchasable,
or inherited from saved parents, saved in-laws, or saved friends.

It can only be found by personally turning to Christ for salvation!
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The parable says, “And while they went to find their own oil, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and THE DOOR WAS SHUT.

As God shut the door to Noah’s ark as the flood began, he will shut the door at the return of Christ.

In other words, there will come a time when it’s too late to get the oil!

The Bible says, “Afterward the (five) other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’–vs 11-12
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The message of the parable is “Be ready in your salvation.”

Are you ready?