“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.”

I am not a theologian, but there is one thing that I can say without a doubt about this passage — being properly prepared for a task at hand is essential. In this case, being prepared for the Lord’s imminent return is the most important thing you can do in this life.

The lamp represents God’s word (light) and God’s Spirit (oil) while the virgins are professed believers and the bridgegroom is Jesus Christ. Those who love the Lord will make certain that they are ready for His return, by reading their Bibles, praying, and watching (observing and understanding the events of this day as they unfold).

You cannot truly call yourself a Christian if you do not have communion with the One who made you — My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me (John 10:27). Listening comes from reading God’s word and by allowing Him to speak to you through a particular passage. Sure, God can also speak to your heart throughout the day, but you must test that spirit by making sure what you hearing lines up with the word of God and is from God.

Most definitely, there are Christians in this world who have little to no access to the written word. Here in the US, we do have the word therefore, “…to whom much is given, from him much will be required…” (Luke 12:48)

How often should we read God’s word? More often than not! Of course, anyone can read the Bible, but only God can illuminate the text for clear understanding. Regular, consistent reading is a must — a chapter a day is a good place to begin.

I’m sharing this with everyone who has a heart for God and who wants to be prepared for what lies ahead. It doesn’t take much to realize that the world is in precarious shape and the church is collapsing under the assault.

We don’t have to be overwhelmed by the tide of evil now being lifted up before us. In fact, God will deliver us. Our duty is to stay in His will and we can only know His will by keeping our lamps trimmed and burning.

Don’t be like the five foolish virgins who realized after the fact that they needed to get prepared to meet the bridgegroom. In tht day many will say, “Lord, Lord” but He’ll say to them, “I never knew you.”

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (KJV)

We are commanded to preach the gospel to the poor in spirit (the unsaved) and to leave the judging of people to God. This point should be clear to believers, but as you probably have witnessed personally, it isn’t always followed.

In Luke 9, when certain disciples were sent ahead to a village of Samaria to prepare for his arrival, the Samaritans chose not to receive Him. Indignant, James and John asked Jesus if He wanted them to “…command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”

Jesus’ response was swift and sure, rebuking his disciples for not understanding in what Spirit He had come in — to save men’s lives, not destroy them. Instead of judging the Samaritan village, they went on to another one.

Life is like that — you can witness to someone impassionately and your message is summarily rejected. Feeling slighted, our response can come in one of two ways — we could condemn (burn) them for their unbelief or thank (bless) them for their time and move on.

In your personal account, although a blessing was waiting for this person, he chose to reject it (at least for the moment), telling you that it is time to move on and go where your message might be received.

I don’t know if the Samaritan villagers who rejected Jesus and His disciples later heard the gospel and repented, but if they did they were able to do so because God withheld His judgment. In any event, God is concerned with saving men’s lives not destroying them and we should be too.

Clearly, there is a time when every person who has ever walked the earth will have to give an account for his life. At that point judgment will be meted out, but not before. God has given His followers the power to bless people in His name, but we’re often eager to have them burned instead.

Take care that your zeal for the Word is built on the right application of that Word.

Photo courtesy of Abel Leemans.