Please open your Bibles to the Gospel according to Matthew. Matthew 25, Matthew 25, verse one. We have here the parable of the 10 virgins. And since this is a parable, we need to find from the Bible what these people and things in this parable represent. It's important that we find the solution of this puzzle from the Bible. For we need to apply what we believe, which is that we must interpret scripture with scripture. And also remember the context. This chapter is a continuation of Matthew 24, which mainly concerns eschatology, which means it describes a scenario near the end of time. Now let us read this parable here in Matthew 25, verses 1 through 13. And then put some marker here because we'll be coming here many times. We'll be back. Matthew 25 verse one. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto 10 virgins which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them. But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh. Go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out. 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. 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. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch, therefore. For ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh." What's the purpose of this parable? The last verse is the punchline and is also the focus or the purpose of this parable. Watch, therefore. The Lord Jesus told this parable right after the punchline of the parable he told in Matthew 24, 51, where he said, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And look at the ending of the second parable in this chapter. The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 25 verse 30, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And so we can infer that the destruction of the five virgins, foolish virgins, is a place, I'm sorry, and so we can infer that the destination of the five foolish virgins is a place where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And thus the title for this sermon is taken from verse 13 in this parable. Watch therefore. It's a story of calamity for the five foolish virgins. It's a story of weeping and foe for the woe for the five foolish virgins. It's a story of those who are ready and those who are not ready for the coming of the Lord in the last day. There are only these two alternatives and there's nothing in between. In the end, there is only heaven and hell, and there's nothing in between. And all throughout the history of this earth, there have only been two armies fighting one another. There's the army of Christ, and there's the army of Satan, and there's nothing in between. And so the punchline of this parable is an urgent reminder to us to examine ourselves, for either we are ready or we are not. and there is nothing in between. When we look at the moral application of this story, we're reminded of the striking similarity between the conduct of the five foolish virgins and the conduct of someone who is approaching, facing the approach of death. When most men approach death, when their physician has told them they have only one month to live, they then begin to make ready. They're alarmed, anxious, and trembling, and then they seek counsel about the life hereafter, but often it's too late. When they get cancer, they're so busy with their cancer treatments that there's no time left for the Lord. They're looking for a quick fix. And thus they seek counsel from other men rather than from the Lord. They seek the words of a preacher rather than the words of the Bible. And so they fall in the hands of those who preach a false gospel. For they have no discernment to distinguish between true and false gospels. And there are many more false gospel teachers than there are true gospel teachers. And so they're led more and more astray and they die unsaved. They did not prepare for death when there was enough time to prepare. My name's gonna be Ecclesiastes. Remember thy creator in the days of thy youth before the evil days come. Let us now consider the 10 virgins. Please turn in your Bibles to the revelation of Jesus Christ. Revelations 14 verse 3. Revelation 14 verse 3. We might ask who or what do the 10 virgins represent? Would they represent churches? Or would they represent individuals? Let us find that out from the context. The parable at the ending of Matthew 24 dealt with individuals. The second and third parables in Matthew 25 also have to do with individuals. And thus, this first parable of Matthew 25 must also pertain to individuals. Moreover, verse 10 is the language concerning salvation. And we know that God does not save entire churches, but God saves individuals. Now, how is it that God calls these men virgins? How is it that these individuals do not seem to bear any sin? If that were so, then Christ would not have to come down for these who are so-called virgins. We read in Revelation 14, verses three through five, about the 144,000 representing the church on earth, the church militant. Let's read there Revelation 14 verse 3. And they sung as it were a new song before the throne and before the four beasts and the elders. And no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile, for they are without fault before the throne of God." How can it be that they are without fault before the throne of God? We read clearly in Romans 3, there is none righteous, no, not one. We read clearly in Ephesians 2, verses 1 through 3, that we all were spiritually dead in trespasses and sins, and that we all were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. And so how could it be that they, quote, are without fault before the throne of God? The answer is in the previous verse. These were redeemed from among men. Christ redeemed them, which means Christ paid the full penalty for all their sins. Christ washed their sins while he was hanging on the cross, and that is why, quote, they are without fault before the throne of God. But then Revelation 14 verse 4 also says they are virgins, which spiritually means in God's sight they are virgins. They are not defiled with sin, because in God's sight they are as clean as if they had never sinned. for Christ has perfectly washed away all their sins. It is in this way that God defined for us the term virgins so that we can understand the parable of Matthew 25. Now where do we find those kind of virgins? We find them in the church where they gather to worship God and thank him for sending his anointed, the Lord Jesus Christ, to save us from our sins and from our slippery slide into hell. But let's return to the parable in Matthew 25. Matthew 25 verse 12. Matthew 25 verse 12. In the parable of Matthew 25, we find both wise and foolish virgins together in the church. And the foolish virgins are also called virgins. But we know that the foolish virgins are certainly not saved. For the Lord says in verse 12, verily I say unto you, I know you not. Why are they both called virgins? They're all called virgins for the sake of the storyline of the parable and for declaring to us that here on earth, we cannot tell who the wise or who the foolish virgins are. This will only be made known when the last day has arrived. And so here is a parable of a number of individuals in the church who are waiting for the last day. And we ask, were they ready? Matthew 25 verse 1 and 2. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise and five were foolish. You see the kingdom of heaven shall be likened unto these ten virgins. And thus we understand clearly that the kingdom of heaven consists of two parts. A part that is in heaven and a part that is on earth. which is the church militant, of which the five wise virgins are a part. The Greek word that is translated lamps actually means torches instead of lamps. This clarifies a great deal about the metaphor of these lamps, for these are not the lamps of which the Lord Jesus commanded us, saying in Matthew 5 verse 16, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven. These torches in Matthew 25 were not burning all the time. These lamps in Matthew 25 do not refer to us shining the light of the gospel during our lifetime, but these torches refer to lights with which we will glorify the bridegroom when he comes at midnight. And who is this bridegroom? He's none other than the Lord Jesus Christ who is coming to take us, his bride, to be with him in the rapture forever. And so these torches are only to be lit when the bridegroom has come. The oil that these virgins would take in their vessels is oil that is poured on these torches and then the torches are lit. And so when we read in Matthew 25 verse 3 that the five foolish virgins took no oil with them, we realize that this was a really foolish thing to do. Why did they act so stupid? They did not believe that the Lord would come in their lifetime. Most people today do not believe that the Lord will come in their lifetime. And thus they lead a careless life and do not consider that they sin constantly and thereby make God angry. They're not ready to meet their maker and to give account of their worthless life that did not glorify God in any way. They do not consider that God made man for his own glory. And so whatever we do in this life that is not glorifying God is sin. And God is angry with the wicked every day as we know from Psalm 7 verse 11. Can we see these wise and foolish virgins somewhere else portrayed in the Bible? Please turn in your Bibles to chapter 7 of this Gospel of Matthew. Matthew chapter 7 verse 24. Matthew 7 verse 24. We must see the overview of the passage shown to us in Matthew 7 verses 15 through 27. The Lord Jesus gave us here the same theme in three parables. The theme is salvation and condemnation. The first parable in verses 15 to 20 deals with good prophets and bad prophets. Good trees and bad trees. Good fruit and bad fruit. and by their fruits ye shall know them. The second parable in verses 21 to 23 deals with the faith of those who put their trust in the will of the Father in heaven and the faith of those who put their trust in their own works. The third parable in verses 24 to 27 deals with those who put their trust in the words of Christ and those who put their trust in the words of another than Christ. Here is where the comparison with the five wise and the five foolish virgins come in. We read in Matthew 7 verses 24 to 27. Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell not. for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell. And great was the fall of it. The wise man who built his house upon a rock, and that rock is Christ, can be compared to the five wise virgins. Be careful that we do not give the glory to man. The reason why the wise man acts wisely is because it pleased the Father in heaven to draw that man to Christ. And so this man represents one who has been saved and he becomes a doer of the word. The foolish man who built his house upon the sand represents one who remains unsaved. And he can be compared to the five foolish virgins who also remain unsaved. This man remains in rebellion against God and refuses to listen to the words of scripture. This man is not a doer of the word, but is a hearer only. Let us return to the parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25 verse eight. And let us solve the riddle of the oil that they were supposed to take in their vessels. One reason why previous expositors stumbled at this parable is that they almost unanimously considered the oil to be a representation of the Holy Spirit. But this is not possible for several reasons. First of all, the five wise virgins could not take the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit must be given to them. Second reason, at midnight, The foolish virgins could not possibly have asked the wise to share a portion of the Holy Spirit with them, for the Holy Spirit is given without measure. Thirdly, the wise virgins could not have answered the way they did in verse 9, for they said, not so, lest there be not enough for us and you. If oil represented the Holy Spirit, it would display a serious misunderstanding of who the Holy Spirit really is. And so we need to go back to the basics of the oil and what it really is used for. And for this we need to turn to the corn and the wine and oil. To do that, please turn in your Bibles to the prophecy of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter 7 verse 13. Deuteronomy 7 verse 13. When we search the Bible for the combination of corn, which is really the kernels, it could be wheat as well, and wine and oil, we find 21 verses with this combination, where almost all of them favor the drinking of wine, and there are many more, and thus it's impossible to distill out of the Bible a law that forbids Christians to drink wine. Churches have done that, but it's a gross misinterpretation of scripture. When we see so many verses repeating the same pattern, corn, wine, and oil, And when we realized that it was impossible for people to exist, to live alone on corn, wine, and oil, we're drawn to look for a spiritual meaning for these three elements. For example, we read here in Deuteronomy 7, verse 13, and he will love thee and bless thee and multiply thee. He will also bless the fruit of thy womb and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kind, cows, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he swear unto thy fathers to give thee. Please turn now to chapter 11, Deuteronomy 11, verse 14. Deuteronomy 11, verse 14. There we read, that I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn and thy wine and thine oil. Please turn perhaps one more page to chapter 12, Deuteronomy 12, verse 17. Deuteronomy 12, verse 17. Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn or of thy wine, or of thy oil, or the firstlings of thy herds, or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill offerings, or heave offering of thine hand." Two more. Turn now to chapter 14. Deuteronomy 14 verse 23. Deuteronomy 14 verse 23. And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose to place his name there. the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks, that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always. And finally to chapter 18, Deuteronomy 18 verse 4. Deuteronomy 18 verse 4. The first fruit also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him." I could go on, but you can already see what's developing here. God speaks of the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, which God will give the children of Israel in abundance, for it is something that brings glory to God. And why will it bring glory to God? It brings glory to God because these are elements in the ceremonial law which were all pointing to the Christ who was to come. The corn, or the wheat, points to the doctrine of Christ as the bread of life that we see in John 6, verse 35. The wine, which almost unanimously refers to the wrath of God on Christ at the cross, points to the doctrine of Christ crucified, 1 Corinthians 11, verse 25. The oil, which is always olive oil, comes from an olive tree. and is pointing to Christ as the root of the olive tree of which the church is the trunk and we have been made the branches. We see that in Romans 11 verse 18. Now let's take this information to the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25. What was the olive oil used for? The olive oil was the fuel to light the torches, which served to glorify Christ after He has come to take us home. What is the fuel for the fire that burns within us before Christ takes us home? We remember that we love Him because He loved us first. The love of Christ constrains us, and thus it is the fire of the love for Christ as the Word of God A fire that only God could have lit within us. And it is still the same fire that burns within us after He has taken us home. Only much stronger. And thus the fuel for the fire that glorifies Christ is the love of Christ. And the love we have for Christ as a result. Let me read that again. Put the emphasis where it belongs. And thus the fuel for the fire that glorifies Christ is the love of Christ. and the love we have for Christ as a result of Christ's love for us, which is symbolized by the oil for the torches that the virgins have in their hands. Please turn again to the parable in Matthew 25. Matthew 25 verse 6 now. Matthew 25 verse 6. Let's see what else is in store for the five foolish virgins. We read in Matthew 25 verses 6 through 10, about the cry at midnight. And at midnight there was a cry made. Behold, the bridegroom cometh. Go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out. 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. 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. And the door was shut. This tells us in no uncertain terms that there's a time beyond which no more salvation is possible. And all those who are not ready are not able to enter into glory with Christ, who is our bridegroom. And therefore it is of the utmost importance for us to examine ourselves to see if we are ready. And at midnight there was a cry made. Was this a happy cry? Absolutely not. Look a few verses back in the previous chapter where the Lord's coming was announced and seen. Look at Matthew 24 verse 30. Matthew 24 verse 30. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. No, this was not a happy cry, for all the tribes of the earth shall know that this is judgment day for them. And why was this cry at midnight? You can see that this timing cannot be taken literally, for Christ's return shall be seen all over the world simultaneously. And for only a small fraction of the earth, 1 24th of the earth, will it be midnight? But God uses midnight to point us to an event that was similar to the judgment of the last day. It was the judgment on Egypt at the time of the first Passover. Let me read it to you and then you'll remember. It comes from Exodus 12 verse 29. And it came to pass that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. From the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon and all the firstborn of cattle. What have the cattle anything to do with judgment on the Egyptians? But from these words we can see that God intended this event to be a picture of the judgment on the last day. then indeed all the cattle shall also perish, as in the flood. In the principle, all that were in Egypt came under the judgment of God in that night. But God used the principle of a synecdoche, where the fraction of all the firstborn represent the whole. And just like God brought judgment on all in Egypt at midnight, so God shall bring judgment in one instant over this entire world. Please turn in your Bibles to the second epistle to the Thessalonians. Second Thessalonians 1 verse 7. Second Thessalonians 1 verse 7. Will it be a happy occasion when the Lord returns in the clouds of glory? Absolutely not, for he comes to judge those who have not been taken in the rapture. And so all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, for everyone on the earth shall be found guilty. We read in 2 Thessalonians 1, starting at verse 7, and to you who are troubled, rest with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire taking judgment on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power when he shall come to be glorified in his saints and to be admired in all them that believe because our testimony among you was believed in that day. Christ shall come in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel. What is their primary sin? They know not God and they obey not the gospel. They know not our sovereign God who sent his only begotten son into the world that those in the world might be saved. But his love was spurned by all of mankind. In fact, if the Lord would not have chosen some to be saved out of mankind, then no one would be saved. But because he loved us from eternity past, he was not going to take no for an answer. And thus the Father drew us into his love and made us willing. But on the last day, after he has raptured those whom he has already saved, the Lord tells us in Revelation 1 verse 7, behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him. And they also which pierced him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, amen. They all shall wail because of him. Please turn again to the parable in Matthew 25. Matthew 25, verse 7. Matthew 25, verse 7. This is the moment in time when all the virgins trimmed their lamps. Actually, the Greek text says, then all those virgins arose and prepared their torches. This was the time when they poured oil into their torches and put fire therein. But the foolish virgins had no oil at that moment. And they went to buy some oil. They were not prepared for they did not expect the Lord's coming in their lifetime. They were too busy enjoying themselves. But then they came to the door and the door was shut. We read in Matthew 25 verse 11. Afterward came also the other virgins saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. These are frightening words. These are words that contain the promise of hell. If the Lord Jesus Christ says to us, I know you not, it does not mean that he is not aware of us. But it means I do not know you as Christians. I do not know you as being in the family of Christ. I do not approve of you. I do not delight in you. Or I do not admit that you are my friends. The word no is often used in the Bible in the sense of approving or loving or acknowledging as real friends and followers. Please turn to chapter 7 of this Gospel of Matthew. Matthew chapter 7 verse 21. This is the second parable on salvation and condemnation in this chapter of Matthew. Why do I say that this is a parable? When people stand before the judgment throne of Christ, they actually will not be arguing with the judge, for he knows their inmost thoughts and intents of the heart. We read in Matthew 7, starting at verse 21, not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. but he that doeth the will of my father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. What insight does this passage give to the parable of the 10 virgins? It tells us that these people also were not ready for the Lord's coming. They thought they were ready, for they had done many wonderful works in Jesus' name. They prophesied in Jesus' name, which was very good. And they have cast out devils in Jesus' name, which was very bad, for only Christ can cast out devils, because Satan is much too powerful for us. Genesis 3 verse 15 clearly says that it is Christ as the seed of the woman who shall fight for us against Satan. We should not be so arrogant to take that job out of Christ's hand. And so what's the main problem with these people in Matthew 7 verse 21 to 23? Their main problem is that they put their trust in their own works rather than in the grace of Christ. In other words, they are adhering to a works gospel rather than a gospel of fully the grace of God. They trust in their water baptism and in their sinner's prayer and in their acceptance of Jesus as their Lord and Savior and other such works, which may appear very holy, but they have only a form of godliness, but are denying the power therein. And Christ says to them, I never knew you. Depart from ye, me, ye that work iniquity. Then the question is, are we ready? Let us not forget what the punchline is. of this entire parable the Lord emphasized in Matthew 25 verse 13 after the parable back to the people he's addressing watch therefore for ye know neither the day nor the hour where the Son of Man cometh notice that he said watch therefore why did he say therefore is it not to emphasize that no man knoweth the day or the hour And therefore the Lord Jesus will return at such a moment when no one really expects Him? Even the people who calculated that the Lord would come in 2011 were surprised. For He will appear at a time when they least expect Him. And so the million-dollar question is really, are we ready? Are we ready any time now? Are we watching as the Lord would want us to be watching? We touched on this subject in the sermon of last week. Based on Luke 12 verses 29 to 34, we prepare ourselves for the coming of the Lord by seeking to do those things that are pleasing in his sight. We prepare ourselves by showing the Lord that our treasure is in heaven and not on earth. And all these things we do, but it is God which worketh in us, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. When I pose this question, are we ready? It is really a legitimate question for all of us in this congregation. We must watch that we do not slide into becoming like the complacent church that we came out of. Do we remember what the Lord said in Revelation 3 verse 15 and 16? Let me read it to you. I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would, I wish thou wert cold or hot. So then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth." We are in danger of becoming lukewarm. This is what I want to warn you for. And if you would say to yourself, that doesn't apply to me, then keep in mind that everyone else around you is saying the same thing. Let me now bring a positive note to all whom God the Holy Spirit is moving to prepare themselves for the Lord's return. The Lord says in Revelation 3 verse 21, to him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with my father in his throne. What a glorious promise to be with Christ in his throne. Yes, we will be reigning as kings and priests unto God. And we will inherit all that God has in the new universe that he has created for us. And more so we will inherit God himself. And we will be in the presence of him who loved us from eternity past and who loved us so that his grace he gave us his only begotten son for us so that we might also inherit his glory. Let's praise God for this unspeakable gift. Amen. Let's turn to the Lord in prayer. Father in heaven, we come to you to thank you for your word. Lord, we thank you for the warnings in it, and we pray that you will cause those words to work in our hearts and our lives, that we will watch. We will not just be as the foolish virgins who supposedly were ready and were not aware of when, not really believing that you would come. Lord, help us to live every day in preparation for your return, as if today is the day you will return, because no man knows the day or the hour. Lord, we know we can only do that through the work that you do in our hearts and lives, that you cause us to do this, and we pray that that will occur for all of us here, and for those whose ears you have prepared and whose hearts are being moved by your word today. Lord, help us to go forth powerfully, and may your word, we know your word does not return to you void. Thank you for all you've given, especially for your word. May we enjoy it and read it daily. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.