Foolish Virgins

Jesus gave the Parable of the Ten Virgins to encourage His disciples to be watchful and to make preparations for His return and the end of the age.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins is prophetic concerning the attitude of Christians at the end time. The wise and foolish virgins each have things to teach us.

Matthew 25:1-13 contains the well-known Parable of the Ten Virgins, an instruction brimming with end-time relevance: Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ...

John Ritenbaugh, reflecting upon an 1858 speech of Abraham Lincoln, in which he warned of a deadly enemy from within which would be many times more dangerous than any external foreign power, suggests that the attack has already begun. This deadly attack de. . .

The Hebrew word translated as "oil" literally means "fat" or "grease," but figuratively, it means "richness," an important idea to keep in mind. The word is also translated as "fruitful." ...

In Part Two, we saw that physical oil symbolizes wealth, abundance, health, energy, and a vital ingredient for a good life. It can likewise represent spiritual abundance, only possible through what God gives. ...

Solomon declares in Proverbs 22:7, "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender." How true that is! ...

David Grabbe, cuing in on verses in Matthew 24 and Luke 17, referring to the sign of eagles or vultures gathering together in the wake of God's impending judgment, corrects some misapplications of these verses, wherein people believe it refers to the Raptu. . .

In Luke 21:36, our Savior gives us two essential keys to being accounted worthy and escaping the terrors of the close of the age: watching and praying always. Pat Higgins explains the role of faith in the use of these keys, especially in our prayer life.

John Reid, reflecting on Christ's admonition to watch, suggests that to watch world events, but to ignore our spiritual progress and overcoming, is a foolish and futile exercise. We need to watch how we conduct ourselves. The oil that the wise and foolish . . .

John Ritenbaugh, focusing upon II John 5, an epistle which cautions about deceivers who would denigrate the value of work, considers the straining on the point "we cannot earn salvation" a red herring, diverting our attention from the true value . . .

Reflecting on the foolish practice of setting dates for Christ's return, John Reid reminds us that, though He has warned us to be aware of the signs of the times, we need to be more alert to how we are living. End-time events should lead us to repentance, . . .

Jesus Christ's Olivet Prophecy provides a handful of specific signs of His return, one of which seems particularly obscure. David Grabbe analyzes His saying, "Wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together," in Matthew 24:28, explainin. . .

Sometimes it is difficult to see how unique each one of us is among the nearly seven billion people on earth. John Ritenbaugh explains, however, that we are not only physically unique, but we are also spiritually unique through God's calling and by our rec. . .

Martin Collins assures us that we are not alone in our faith, but we have an overwhelming cloud of witnesses, both from the physical and spiritual realm. Christ's trial and crucifixion were not historical accidents, Rather, God prophesied both events in mi. . .

John Ritenbaugh, reflecting on the parable of the faithful and wise servant and the evil servant as well as the wise and foolish virgins, suggests that the Day of Trumpets emphasizes the state of caution and faithfulness required at the turbulent end times. . .

Some know that Christ is at the door, but they will not rouse themselves from their spiritual lethargy to open it.

Charles Whitaker, focusing on Paul's admonition to the Ephesians that there be unity in the Body of Christ, suggests that, in the interests of preserving unity, God judges and then surgically separates hypocrites from real believers. This judgment-resultin. . .

Kim Myers, reminding us that the Egyptian army perished on the Last Day of Unleavened Bread, suggests that the army typifies the aggressiveness of sin determined to utterly destroy us. He suggests we are admonished to diligently deleaven our homes demonstr. . .