The Ten Virgins & The Two Resurrections

THE TEN VIRGINS & THE TWO RESURRECTIONS

Matthew 25:1-13 KJV  Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.  (2)  And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.  (3)  They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:  (4)  But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.  (5)  While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.  (6)  And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.  (7)  Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.  (8)  And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.  (9)  But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.  (10)  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.  (11)  Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.  (12)  But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.  (13)  Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

The parable of the ten virgins has several varied interpretations usually in the context of the true saved Christian who will be raptured versus the fake unsaved Christian who will not be raptured.  In my opinion, this interpretation is entirely wrong as will be discussed.  Like most parables, this one specifically refers to the kingdom of Heaven which is that kingdom of God to be established on the earth in the future. 

Two Resurrections

The Bible speaks of two resurrections not counting the resurrection of Jesus, and the raising from the dead performed by Jesus of various people including Lazarus, the little girl, and a few at the death of Christ.  The first resurrection, sometimes called the “rapture”, occurs at the return of Jesus prior to the wrath of God and will include the living and the dead saints, but not necessarily all of them.  Dr. Stephen Jones calls this the resurrection of the “first fruits” or overcomers.  This will not include all Christians who have received salvation by the grace of God, but only the righteous overcomers who have placed their complete trust in Jesus and have truly learned to forgive everyone regardless of the injustice they may have suffered.

The story of Job would be an extreme case of an overcomer who never placed any blame on God, himself, or another person but maintained a forgiving spirit.  He was greatly honored and rewarded by God in life and presumably also in the next life.

These first resurrection overcomers will be rewarded as the judges and rulers of the earth under the reign of Jesus during the length or time span of the Millennium.  There will be surviving humans after the wrath of God who will live on the earth and procreate and die during the one thousand years.

The second resurrection occurs at the end of the Millennium (not the end of time but during the post Millennial age) and will include the remainder of the righteous and all the unrighteous.  This will be the time of the White Throne Judgment. 

Revelation 20:5 KJV  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.

The final sentence of verse 20:5 reads “This is the first resurrection” and is a parenthetical statement referring to the events stated in verses 1 through 4, and not to the first sentence of verse 5.

Revelation 20:11-12 KJV  (11)  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.  (12)  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

The book of life contains the names of the people of God or the Church in general who were not the overcomers of the first resurrection.  They will undergo a mild form of correction and be given glorified bodies.  The general books, which are probably the books of the laws of God, will be for the unrighteous and the unsaved.  Their discipline will be more severe and will necessitate the lake of fire which is the fiery law of God.  For more information concerning the lake of fire go to the following link:  The Lake of Fire

For more information concerning the resurrections and the judgment, you may click the following link: The Last Ages & the Resurrections

Virgins are Saved

This parable and similar others have always been difficult to comprehend by those who do not understand the two resurrections and the ones who will be impacted by the two resurrections.  All are virgins; all have a lamp with oil; all are waiting at the door; all fall asleep; and all awaken at the call and trim their lamps.  The only difference is that five have extra lamp oil and five do not.  Does this mean that 5 will be raptured (resurrected) and five will burn in hell?  No, but that is the usual conclusion arrived at by most Bible teachers and theological people.

Please note the main characters of this parable are presented as ten virgins and not 5 virgins accompanied by 5 whores.  They are all virgins and thus are righteous individuals saved by the grace of the Lord.  However, five are prepared with an abundance of lamp oil and five are not prepared.

The five prepared individuals are the overcomers and will be allowed into the door for the wedding feast.  They are the “first fruits” and will take part in the first resurrection.  The five unprepared virgins will not be allowed into the door of the first resurrection but will be raised at the second resurrection, which will include both the righteous, with the laws of God issues, and various levels of unrighteousness.  This resurrection was taught in the parables of the sheep and goats and the wheat and tares.  No one will be destroyed but all will be disciplined by the law of God.  Some with few stripes (probably symbolic) and others with the fiery laws of God as symbolized by the lake of fire of Revelation and the stream of fire coming from the throne of God in the book of Daniel.

Acts 24:14-15 KJV  But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:  (15)  And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.

It is my opinion, and also that of others, the lake of fire is not an eternal torment but a corrective method of the law of God for discipline and teaching.

Oil

The first fruits offering was a wave offering of barley which was to be mixed or anointed with oil which is symbolic of the Holy Spirit.  The first fruits is symbolic of the first resurrection.  Oil was used to anoint a king and for the consecration of priests.

Leviticus 23:13 KJ3  And its food offering shall be two tenths part of flour mixed with oil, a fire offering to Jehovah, a sweet fragrance; and its drink offering, a fourth of a hin of wine.

The virgins with an abundance of oil (Holy Spirit) were prepared to participate as the barley first fruits offering.  The second unprepared group would miss the barley offering and could only participate in the following wheat offering which would require threshing; the burning of the chaff; and to be cooked with leaven, which is symbolic of sin.  A study of wheat in the Bible teaches us about the Church in general and the manner in which the Church is raised and judged briefly in the second resurrection.  Barley is the first grain to ripen, is free of chaff, requires no threshing, and can be separated by waving the sheath.  Wheat becomes mature much later than barley, requires threshing, and the chaff residue must be removed.  The two Old Testament grain offerings of barley and wheat symbolize of represent the two levels of resurrection. 

All will be resurrected and receive eternal life but all will not be resurrected at the same time.  The first resurrection (rapture) will be the first fruits or the overcomers.  The second resurrection will occur toward the end of the millennium and will be the grain offering of wheat.  The ones written in the book of life will have their leaven replaced with the sanctified oil of the Holy Spirit in its fullness.

The virgins are waiting for the bridegroom to appear.  Notice they are not traveling to the origin of the bridegroom, but rather, the groom is coming to them.  Jesus will come from heaven, leaving God the Father, to be with his bride and the bridal company on the earth, not in heaven.  The wise virgins escorted him to the place where they had been awaiting his coming.

Genesis 2:24 ASV Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

When Paul speaks of Christ's coming, He speaks of believers meeting Him in the air to escort Him to earth, but not of the believers going to heaven as their final home.

1 Thessalonians 4:17 KJV  (17)  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

This will occur in an almost identical fashion as Moses ascending Mt. Sinai to meet the Lord God.

Exodus 19:20 KJV  And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.

Not everyone celebrated the marriage feast, which is called by some as the Feast of Tabernacles. Those who did not have enough oil which is the Holy Spirit, had to go buy more oil.  It was a late hour and they did not return until the door was shut.