and in it he says:
But the parable doesn't say that five of them had oil and
somehow lost it. On the contrary it says that five of them never took any
oil in the first place, implying they were never saved.
~~~
True, the biblical account in
Matt. 25 says the foolish virgins took no oil with them.... HOWEVER, pls.
note this verse: 8 And the foolish said to the wise,
‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are
going out.’
Thus, their lamps WERE burning
"at one time"!! It wasn't that they NEVER had ANY OIL ~ it's just
that they didn't bring any with them THIS TIME.
Diane & others reading here
-- I think, basically, what it comes down to is the old debate of OSAS vs.
OSNAS: ("once saved always saved") versus ("once saved not always
saved")..... and bottom line is - it matters not what we WANT to believe,
the ONLY THING that matters is what the Bible has to say on it!!
Jack Kelley is in the OSAS camp,
btw. And I used to be as well (once nearly gave a lil' old Church of
Christ lady a heart attack for hotly debating this subject with her!).....
but upon getting into the Word & actually studying it, the Bible has a
lot to say about how any of us CAN "depart from the faith", "fall away", "wander
away", "shipwreck our faith", etc. etc.
Now, I know that OSAS'ers generally
choose to explain away all these Scriptures, but the stark truth hits us between
the eyes when we read it as it is actually written.
How does one keep from falling
away? STAY IN THE VINE!!! Be an overcomer, CONTINUE in the
faith -- be STUBBORN enough to hang on REGARDLESS of what happens to you in
this life!! We say we have faith in the Lord -- well, can He have faith
IN US, to keep on keeping on COME WHAT MAY?? As long as we are faithful
to keep Jesus as our first love, to love Him with all our hearts, souls, minds
and beings, and to live holy lives by obeying Him, then He can keep us from
stumbling! (per Jude)
In Hebrews 11, there's a list
of people with great faith -- some were sawn in half for their faith.
But look at many of us today -- someone says a crass word to us at church
and boom -- we're out the door!! Not gonna' go back to THAT place
any more -- all those hypocrites in there! (extreme example, but not
by much! ;)
Here's more on the 10 virgins
(and btw, this topic/parable will continue to be debated clear up till the
trumpet sounds!! ..... ask 100 different people, and you'll get 101
different answers explaining it! *wink*) No doubt in my
mind though that the 10 virgins are JUST THAT -- the brides!!
Understanding the parable of the 10 virgins
The parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25 shows that only those
who are "ready" will be taken in the pre-tribulational rapture. Let's take
a closer look at that passage.
Matthew 25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be
likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the
bridegroom. 25:2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 25:3They
that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: 25:4 But the
wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 25:5 While the bridegroom
tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 25:6 And at midnight there was a cry
made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
25:7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their
lamps. 25:8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil;for our lamps are gone out. 25:9 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. 25:10 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. 25:11 Afterward came
also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 25:12 But he answered
and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 25:13 Watch therefore, for
ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh
Right away we must look at who is being addressed in this passage.
The symbolism of the virgins is a clear reference to the church. Let's look
at a passage in II Corinthians that establishes this principle.
II Corinthians 11:2 For I am jealous over you with
godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present
you as a chaste virgin to Christ
The apostle Paul also conveys this theme in the book of Ephesians.
Ephesians . 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as
Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 5:26 That he might
sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 5:27 That he
might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle,
or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
We (the church) are awaiting the arrival of the bridgegroom (Jesus)
to take us to the marriage supper of the Lamb. This passage cannot be a reference
to Israel because the whole context of the passage is that of a "surprise"
coming. When Jesus returns to the earth and "all Israel shall be saved" this
will not be a surprise or a secret.
There will have been 7 years of chaos, signs in the heavens, and
earthquakes, etc. Also the notion that these virgins are a mixture of believers
and unbelievers should be rejected. They are ALL virgins (though 5 were foolish).
Nowhere in scripture will you find the LORD referring to an unregenerated
man as a virgin (remember, we saw earlier that this parable is applied
to the church).
Now the foolish virgins took no oil in their lamps. We know that often times
oil is a symbol or symbolic of the Holy Spirit and His annointing.
The temptation here is to say that
since the 5 foolish had no oil, then they had never been saved to begin with.
But let's look at what these foolish virgins say in Matthew 25:8
Matthew 25:8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give
us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out
It is very important to see that these foolish virgins said their
lamps had "gone out." This implies directly that they had burned at one time.
We know that Jesus said that "new wine must be put in new bottles." When the
oil is in a leaky vessel, the end result is an empty lamp.
When we become more like the world than we are like Jesus, the
lamp grows dimmer and dimmer. Remember Christ told us that our lamp should
not be put under a bushel. Sin, compromise, and apathy will cause the oil
to run dry (remember Samson whose strength left him unawares?) and we won't
realize it until it's too late. The sad thing is that all the virgins (even
the 5 wise) were asleep when He returned.
At the midnight cry (and we are quickly approaching that time), "those
that were ready" went to meet the bridegroom and the door was shut
(verse 10). I think it is a parallel to the story of Noah, where the door
was shut by God once Noah and his group entered the ark.
I think it is also noteworthy that the foolish virgins are told to "go to
them that sell and buy for yourselves." That passage has always baffled me
because we all know that salvation is "the gift of God, not of works lest
any man should boast." So what could it possibly mean? Here are my thoughts.
I believe that right now we are living in the age (or dispensation) of grace
where salvation is a free gift of God. But once Christ returns, we will go
into the dispensation of the fulness of times. (Ephesians 1:10) At that point
it will no longer just be a point of accepting a gospel message from a pulpit
preacher. In order for those who are left behind to reach heaven, they must
go by the way of martyrdom (Rev 7:14) So in essence they will have to pay
a price that those who were ready didn't have to pay....literally it will
cost them their lives.
We would all do well to heed the warning of the Master.
Matthew 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither
the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh
MARANATHA!!
Reva