Hey everyone. From what I've seen since I've been here at RFTH, most everyone believes that the church represents the 10 virgins from Matt 25. Although there are many applications in/to scripture, I believe there's only 1 correct interpretation (simply, what the author meant when speaking the verse...i.e., the Holy Spirit). Here is a teaching from a man at gracethrufath.com which I believe is sound doctrine.

"Faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see.
Hebr. 11:1


“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

“Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
” ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

“Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’
“But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour (Matt. 25:1-13)

What’s That All About?
This parable is often incorrectly described as having to do with the church, especially by those who cling to the post-tribulation rapture viewpoint. Let’s apply some standard rules of interpretation to see what it really means.

As for the timing of the event, there’s little debate since it’s clearly disclosed. The opening phrase “At that time” refers to several earlier references in the Olivet Discourse all pointing to Matthew 24:29 which says, “Immediately after the distress (tribulation) of those days…”

This verse of course refers to the Great Tribulation, a 3 1/2 year long sequence of judgments begun by the appearance of the “abomination that causes desolation, standing in the Holy Place,” commonly thought to be the anti-christ standing in the newly rebuilt Jewish Temple in Israel proclaiming himself to be god as prophesied by Paul in 2 Thes. 2:4.

So the timing of the parable is just after the end of the Great Tribulation, when what’s left of the world awaits the appearance of Messiah, the King. But notice, they’ve been waiting a long time, implying that the story actually began much earlier, and is now concluding.

The parable centers around 10 virgins, or bridesmaids depending on which translation you prefer, awaiting the appearance of a bridegroom. The Greek word is parthenos, which always describes someone who has never had sexual intercourse. The use of the word bridesmaid comes from an attempt by translators to adhere to the context of the story. But in any case, here’s where some knowledge of 1st century Jewish wedding traditions comes in handy.

Can I Marry Her?
In those days when a man took a fancy to a young woman, he approached her father to ask for her hand in marriage. A brief negotiation followed where the price he was required to pay as compensation for the family’s loss of their daughter was determined. It was called the bride price. If acceptable, and if the daughter agreed to become the man’s wife, they were officially betrothed and he went away to build a home for them next to his father’s house. This could take some time, and the couple rarely met again until the father of the groom pronounced the newly built home fit for habitation. Only then was the date set, and the man given permission by his father to go collect his bride for the wedding.

During this time the young woman was to watch and wait. She and her bridesmaids were to maintain a constant state of preparedness, since the wedding date would not be known to her until the bridegroom actually appeared. For his part, the groom would usually try to show up unexpectedly to surprise her, carrying her off suddenly “like a thief in the night” when no one would see them. When the bridesmaids discovered the bride had been “snatched away” there would be a great torch-lit procession, announcing to the whole town that the wedding banquet was about to begin. This was typically a seven day celebration during which the bride and groom were hidden away in their private rooms while the whole town made merry. The father of the groom picked up the tab for the festivities.

I Can See Clearly Now
Against the backdrop of this tradition, the meaning becomes clear when we insert the actual characters that those in the parable represent. To do this, we’ll rely on the principle of expositional constancy, from which we learn that symbolism in scripture tends to be consistent. For example, whenever yeast is used symbolically it always refers to sin, while symbolic use of the word rock always refers to the Lord, etc.

All through the scriptures, whenever the term bridegroom is used symbolically, it always refers to the Lord. And no one argues that the Bride of Christ is uniquely descriptive of the church. Obviously, the bridesmaids are not the Bride so they can’t represent the church. In fact, the Bride is never mentioned anywhere in the parable. She was obviously spirited away earlier while the bridesmaids slept. The bridesmaids represent people on Earth during the Great Tribulation after the church has gone.

Got Oil?
Now it’s time for the wedding banquet but some bridesmaids lack sufficient oil to light the way. Asking to borrow some from their friends they’re refused, since there might not be enough to go around, and sent off to buy some for themselves. By the time they return, the banquet has already begun, the door is closed and they’re refused admission, the bridegroom claiming that he doesn’t even know them.

Checking on the symbolic use of oil, we find it refers to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a gift uniquely given to believers at the moment of salvation (Ephe. 1:13). You can’t get it for others nor can they give any of theirs to you. Each of us has to receive it by ourselves and for ourselves.

During the Church Age the Holy Spirit is sealed within believers as a guarantee of our inheritance. But no such guarantee is mentioned for Tribulation believers. In fact Rev. 16:15 specifically warns them to stay awake and maintain their righteousness, symbolized by keeping their clothes with them. (Clothing is often used to represent righteousness, as in Isaiah 61:10). Rev. 16:15 implies that Tribulation believers are responsible for remaining steadfast in their faith to avoid losing their salvation. Matt. 25:8 agrees, telling us that all 10 virgins had oil in their lamps at the beginning, but the five foolish ones didn’t have enough to carry them through.

All 10 bridesmaids fell asleep and their lamps were in danger of going out. Only 5 had the ability to replenish their lamps with oil they had brought, and they refused to lend any to the others.

The 5 bridesmaids with oil represent those who will have given their hearts to the Lord during the tribulation period after the Church has gone and stayed faithful, while those without it symbolize others who haven’t. Only those who’ve remained faithful will be invited in.

What’s That Supposed To Mean?
So what does the parable mean? First of all, I’m convinced it’s not trying to hint at the timing of the Rapture. I believe it’s sole purpose is to serve as one of the clearest warnings the Lord ever gave to those He would find still on Earth when He returns, and that’s to make sure they remain faithful and ready to receive Him no matter how long they have to wait.

When the Lord comes back at the End of the Age, He’ll find both believers and unbelievers present on Earth. Having previously spirited His bride (the church) away, He’ll now decide who among the Tribulation survivors should be allowed to participate in the blessings of His Kingdom, using the presence of the Holy Spirit in each one’s life as the determining factor. Those in whom the Spirit resides when He returns are invited in but those without it will be excluded.

Because just as importantly, the parable teaches that His return signals the deadline after which even the request to be saved and receive the Holy Spirit will be denied. (The foolish virgins, as the story calls them, were on their way to replenish their oil when the bridegroom arrived.) The door will be closed, and the Lord will deny ever knowing those who’ve come too late.

By not remaining faithful, they will have disqualified themselves and once He returns there’ll be no opportunity to change their minds. For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith (Ephe 2:8) and faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see (Hebr. 11:1). Selah 3-21-04"

As you can see, the 10 virgins are not the bride. Remember John the Baptist said he was "the friend of the bridegroom"? John was considered by Jesus to be the greatest old testament prophet. I point that out to show that only the "church" is the bride of Christ while other saved people through history (and future) are either friends of the groom or friends of the bride. Blessings to all the saints in Christ Jesus! -Michael G

Regarding what you said, Michael, you are right. Bridesmaids, we are not!

I'm going to repost the OP of a thread that I started months ago, regarding this very issue. I didn't quote someone else's article when I wrote it--I wrote my own post. This is a legitimate question. Who are the 10 virgins--the Church? The Tribulation saints? Or who? I've noticed that so many watchers insist that the Church is a collection of virgins who must keep their lamps lit or else miss out on the Rapture. But are we, truly?

Before I attempt to answer that question, first, let's look at the parable itself. Who was the groom marrying? Was he marrying 10 women who had to keep themselves ready or they would miss out on their own wedding? (Ten women sounds more like a harem to me, not a union between one man and one woman--not very appealing to me! =)) Was he telling them, "If you're not ready to go to the banquet with me when I get there, then tough patouties, you're out of luck; our engagement is broken"? That doesn't sound like any wedding I've ever heard of, least of all the Jewish wedding customs in Jesus' day. Don't forget that a betrothal was as binding as a marriage is now; only through divorce could it be broken. So even if the groom was annoyed enough with his bride, for her lack of preparation, to want to call it off, he had to go through the legal channels to do so, and divorce her. He couldn't just say, "Since you weren't ready in time, I don't know you, so I'm not letting you in. I will not marry you."

Let's look at the study notes in the NIV Study Bible that pertain to this subject. First I will post the passage in its entirety, and then I will include among the verses, in parantheses, the notes at the bottom of that page in my study Bible.

1"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. (25:1 ten virgins. The bridesmaids, who were responsible for preparing the bride to meet the bridegroom.) 2Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. (25:3 oil. Olive oil.) 4The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

6"At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'

7"Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. (25:7 trimmed. The charred ends of the rags were cut off and oil was added.) 8The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'

9" 'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.' (25:9 there many not be enough. Torches required large amounts of oil in order to keep burning, and the oil had to be replenished about every 15 minutes.)

10"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

11"Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!'

12"But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'

13"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. (25:13 keep watch. The main point of the parable. Of the paurosia, the coming of Christ.)

OK, let's look at a few points in this passage and the notes I included.

First, the study notes plainly state that the 10 virgins were bridesmaids. Their job was to attend the bride, help her to get ready for her wedding. (BTW, where was the bride? Jesus didn't even mention her!) Now, the big question. Who are we? Are we a collection of bridesmaids? Or are we the Bride? We're the Bride of Christ, are we not? And if we are, is our Groom going to shut us out of our own wedding? Of course not! He would have to divorce us to do that; in other words, He would have to revoke our salvation. And the study notes also plainly state that the parousia is the coming of Christ. Not the coming of Jesus in the air for His Church, but His Second Coming--His return to this earth, this time to rule it. There is no hint of the Rapture in this passage, only of the Glorious Appearing.

So if the 10 virgins are not the Church, then they have to be the Tribulation saints. And that fits much better with the eternal security that we enjoy (and the lack of such security which they will have to endure) than the notion that we must maintain our standing in Jesus in order to qualify to escape His wrath in the Tribulation. I mean, consider this. During this dispensation, the Church Age,we are sealed and indwelled by the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation. He is our deposit, our down payment, so to speak. It is the Church alone that enjoys eternal security. The Old Testament saints were not so fortunate. The Holy Spirit came upon them when He needed them for a particular ministry, but they had to maintain their standing through their works. The Tribulation saints will have to do the same thing, and it appears that not all of them will be successful in doing so, sad to say. The ones who fail to maintain their standing, their readiness, up to the moment that Jesus returns will be the ones who will hear those dreaded words, "I tell you the trust, I don't know you." They will go to Hell.

Now, you may say that those who are left behind won't necessarily lose their salvation. I honestly don't know how you can think that, when every person who is left behind will be lost and the Restrainer will be removed. I mean, think about this. Not only does the Holy Spirit seal and indwell us, guaranteeing our salvation and thus its completion in the Rapture, He also restrains evil. Acting through the Church, He is the Restrainer. As long as even part of the Church is still here, so is the Restrainer. The Tribulation cannot begin until the Restrainer is gone, and He won't leave without us. That means, to leave even one born-again Christian behind, God would have to remove His Holy Spirit from that Christian. In other words, He would have to cancel that Christian's salvation. It would be just as if he had never been saved to begin with. Every former Christian in that deplorable state would be lost and subject to God's wrath, both in the Tribulation and in the world to come. And once that happened, would God be willing to save us a second time? I don't know, and I have no desire to find out! Thank the Lord I don't have to.

Nope--God is taking His entire Church to Heaven when that trumpet blows. The Rapture is not a reward for good works, but the completion of our salvation, because it is at that completion that we will be freed of our sin natures and be granted our glorified resurrection bodies. For us, sin and death will have been conquered once and for all. Our rewards will come at the Bema. Some will lose rewards, sad to say, but they will not be forced, as a form of Protestant purgatory, to endure seven years of God's wrath, while facing the very real possibility of eternity in the Lake of Fire. As His Body, we are not appointed to wrath--in this world or the next--but to salvation, every one of us.

I tried to insert two posts I placed on that thread in the same reply, but apparently, put together, it's too long. So I'm going to post a reply that I posted on that same thread here.

Since the Rapture is the completion of our salvaton, it's part of the salvation package, not a reward. To elaborate further on that aspect on the Rapture, I am going to post a reply to a thread that an administrator of another end-times forum posted on this very subject, with her permission. (I'm also posting a link to that thread, at the bottom.)
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Then your hope isn't biblical, because the Bible says our blessed hope is the completion of our salvation, not it's beginning. We've already experienced what you're talking about. That is a "Fact", not a "hope". Our "hope" is for when we receive our new bodies and our salvation is made complete, which happens at the rapture.

Titus 2:12-14 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

The rapture is the culmination of our spiritual journey. It's the completion of our salvation as the disciples called it. That's why it's called "our blessed hope!"

When we accept the gift of salvation, we are saved, 100%. This is when we are given the new nature, which is also referred to as a new spirit. This is our eternal incorruptible spirit which the Lord gives us; a spirit that cannot die, cannot be damaged or corrupted by sin in any way.

However, because we already have another spirit/nature, we are constantly being torn between the two of them. The old spirit doesn’t just “disappear” when we receive our new ones. It will remain with us until we die or are raptured. At that time, because it is corruptible, it will die and that will leave us with only one nature/spirit. The spirit we will be left with is the incorruptible spirit, the one that can never die.

So now here we are, we’re saved and we have that incorruptible spirit to prove it. It will live forever, which means that we too will now live forever. It is pure so it will live with God which means that we too will live with God, but something else still has to happen first before we can live there physically. We must get rid of that corruptible spirit and we must get our incorruptible bodies.

This is the “salvation” we are eagerly waiting for. It’s not just that we will immortal bodies, fly through the air and escape the tribulation, although that’s usually what we focus on. We cannot have those perfect bodies until the old spirit is gone. So what we are waiting for as well is the final death of our old spirit so it will no longer plague us.

As we’ve said, the death of our old spirit happens either at our physical death, or if we are still alive at the time when the Father sends Jesus to get us in the rapture, then it will happen at that time. In an instant, the twinkling of an eye, our old spirit will die, so we will only have the one perfect one left, and our old physical bodies will be remade to match our new spirit. We will finally be “whole” and our salvation will be complete. We will be ready for heaven!

This then is the time line if you will of salvation as seen if the person dies before the rapture:

*the instant we are saved we receive a new spirit; we become a new creation

*we then spend whatever time we have left in this lifetime studying to show ourselves approved and doing our best to please the Lord, denying ourselves and making our lives our sacrifice to Him; preparing ourselves for our eternal lives.

*We die leaving this corruptible body behind and when we die, our old nature also dies so it will no longer plague us. We are in heaven immediately on death in our spiritual bodies enjoying heaven and the Lord. We are free of sin forever!

*The rapture happens and in an instant we receive our incorruptible physical bodies which match the incorruptible spirit we received so long ago when we were first saved, and our salvation is now complete and we live with the Lord forever in our new bodies.

Obviously if the rapture happens before we die, then at the instant of the rapture we receive our new bodies as it says in number 4 and our old spirit dies as it says in number 3. Either way, whether we die first or are taken in the rapture, we along with all other believers will receive our physical incorruptible bodies at that point in time.

This is why the rapture is our blessed hope. When we die we do get rid of our old nature, but we do not yet have our incorruptible bodies. It is at the rapture that our salvation becomes totally complete; totally finished, because at that moment we are both rid of our old natures and receive our new bodies and we will be like Him! That is our blessed hope, that we will finally truly be like Him! Not divine as some heresies would have us think, but complete, immortal, sin free, and living with Him forever!

Romans 8:23-24 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?

Galatians 5:5 But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.

Hebrews 9:28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Philippians 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

1 John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.


Where is Your Blessed Hope? (Fresh Hope)

One more thing. The bridegroom's arrival couldn't have been a total surprise to the bride, because if it were, she would have no opportunity to put on her wedding dress, nor would her bridesmaids--her 10 virgins (or however many virgins she had, to attend her)--have any opportunity to get ready. There would have to be some forewarning, so that everyone would have a chance to get ready for the bridegroom's arrival and the festivities to follow.

WOW! Well, there you go, saints. That's pretty plain to me. Well done, Kathy! I'll see you all soon. Maranatha!

Michael,

That's an excellent study by Jack Kelley. I remember reading it before, but I had forgotten that the bridesmaids are those living during the tribulation period, rather than the church, which is the bride. The Ten Virgin parable has been misunderstood for a long time. The bridegroom, bride, and bridesmaids from Jewish wedding tradition parallels Jesus, the church, and the people living in the tribulation perfectly. Great study and encouragement for the church.

Kevin

That reminds me, Michael--we need a link to that article. Could you post the link for us, please?

Here's the link to that study Kathy.

http://gracethrufaith.com/selah/parables/the-parable-of-the-ten-virgins/

Just scroll up to my opening post and click on "website"

Thanks, you two.

LOL! Take your time. There's a lot to digest, I know. =)

Excellent study! To apply that scripture to the church would be a salvation of works, which we cannot complete. Every time I heard someone apply that scripture to the church, it would cause fear, that maybe I would have just messed up, yet again, when he came. Yet I have no fear of death, knowing that I would definitely go to be with Jesus.

Thank God for His promise that we are sealed in Him and NOTHING can pluck us from His hand!

Come, Lord Jesus!

Bump.