The three parables in Matthew 25 (The Ten Virgins, The Talents and The Sheep and Goats) all focus on the importance of spiritual preparedness.

Aside from being only simple stories, parables can have prophetic implications as well.

While the Parable of the Ten Virgins highlights preparation for Christ's return, the Parable of the Talents portrays Christians engaged in profitable activity.

In the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, the oil is often assumed to represent God's Spirit, yet it indicates much more and it accrues over time.

Should we even bother with plans? After all, God is in charge. Proverbs 16:9 answers: 'A man's heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.'

We have been warned to keep alert, watching for the return of our Savior, not living in careless ease. We should be sobered by the degenerating state of the world.

Jesus does not specify in so many words what we are to watch. The evidence points to the fact that watching has everything to do with spiritual preparation.

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.

God never intended Israel to have to borrow from anyone. How did a nation of modern-day Israel go from the greatest lender to the greatest debtor?

The Olivet Prophecy foretells a gathering of eagles or vultures in anticipation of God's judgment. Will they mistake us for the nearly-dead?

A curious phenomenon ties together several biblical stories: God makes a judgment and divides His people into two groups, often splitting them down the middle!

Jesus Christ wants His people to look for and recognize the signs of the times, including rampant deception in the world and, sadly, even in the church.

Though Christ has warned us to be aware of the times, we need to be more alert to how we are living. End-time events should lead us to repentance.

Jesus kept the two great commandments flawlessly, providing us an example. These two great commandments are where most of our self-examination should revolve.

God is actively involved in the lives of His people. The command to love our God with all our hearts and our neighbors as ourselves cannot be carried out passively.

God's selecting a particular candidate does not necessarily mean He has given America a reprieve from the results of her sins. We still need a sense of urgency.

Because the exact time of Christ's return is not known, we must always be ready, as though His return is imminent. Those not prepared will be blindsided.

Christ's second coming is described as being like 'a thief in the night.' Here is what it means for Christians living in the end times.

If God's Law has not been written in our hearts, the corporate entity in which we find ourselves will not save us from the wrong side of the judgmental cut.

Profit from life is produced by work, requiring sacrifices of time and energy. We have been created for the very purpose of doing good works.

We need to prepare physically and mentally for God's expected judgment—a terrible thing for those not aligned to His divine purpose for humanity.

The Holy Spirit is only a portion of what oil represents. If the Holy Spirit is all we think of when we read about oil, we will miss miss much meaning.

Christ's trial and crucifixion were not historical accidents; rather, God prophesied both events in minute detail in Old Testament scriptures.

Jesus' statement that 'Wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together' is a warning that He will judge those who resist Him.

Americans are apathetic to religion, politics, morality, and civic responsibility, while devoted to hedonism, sports, entertainment, and narcissism.

The Seventh Trumpet is a call to assemble, a call to battle, and announces the arrival of a new ruler, Jesus Christ, separating the wheat from the tares.

The pillars of the Parthenon were fitted together in sections. It is impossible for these pillars to stand without a solid foundation.

Both the watchman and the one who hears have a responsibility to make preparations for bad times, helping themselves and others through the tough times.

Our special position before God gives us an equally unique opportunity that we do not want to squander.

We should be willing to give up anything for the Kingdom, controlling our speech, thoughts, behaviors, and lives. We cannot grow in grace without works.

God's people have an obligation to awaken out of their complacency, realizing that their allotted time for repenting and overcoming is drawing to its close.

We cannot allow ourselves to become surfeited with the world's distractions, being lulled off to sleep as the foolish virgins, wasting our precious time.

While the indwelling of God's Spirit certainly produces abundance, it is more accurate to say that oil and the Holy Spirit are often parallel, not equivalent.

Some of us, facing the stress of the times, may simply be going through the motions but losing every vestige of faith. We must strengthen our convictions.

The Beast is a reality, and it is coming to pass in the scope of globalism. Satan has a vast reservoir of people he can work through; we used to be a part of it.

Solomon compromised with God's law because his heart was turned to idolatry through his multiple marriages, diluting his early gift of wisdom and understanding

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.

We are not puppets whom God and Satan are fighting to take control over. We are fighting carnal nature and must always take action to give our hearts to God.

The Parable of the Talents teaches the need for diligence in using the gifts of God. God expects us to use our talents to His glory and in the service of others.

Labor-saving technology seems to have had the effect of separating us from each other and making us indifferent to things that should be important to us.

Laodiceanism is the attitude that dominates the end time. It is a subtle form of worldliness that has infected the church, and Christ warns against it strongly.

Paul gives two signs of the Tribulation: The falling away and the appearance of the man of sin who sits in the temple in Jerusalem (II Thessalonians 2:3-4).