Patti,  I can appreciate all the time and effort that goes into one of these postings here at five doves.  And as much as I appreciate your enthusiasm, I am concerned about the degree to which you will go to make something fit.  I am referring to the first comment you made to me in your last post.  So we don't get confused, here it is:

First, let's look at Hebrew people throughout the Old Testament, they are the only people who had one TRUE GOD, they did not defile themselves with other gods and idols. They were pure in that they have always worshiped God Almighty. That is why they have had such a difficult time accepting Christ as their Messiah, to them they would judge Christians to be worshiping another god....not knowing that Christ is God!!

 

Excuse me, but who are you saying worshiped the one true God and never went after Idols?  I just simply can't get past that thought.  The Lord spoke again and again to the children of Israel, cautioning them not to turn to idols and then again, rebuking them because they had.  Here is just one passage that I flipped to:

Isa. 6:  And the word of the LORD came unto me saying, Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them,  And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD;  Thus saith the Lord 

GOD to the mountains, and to the valleys:  Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and will destroy your high places.  And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken; and I will cast down your slain men before your idols.  And I will lay the dead carcasses of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones around your altars.  In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate, that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.

One of the reason the Isrealites did not accept Christ as their Messiah was because of lack of worship, lack of knowledge, lack of understanding. Hosea 4:6," My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me; seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children." Those that were in control of the study and worship for the people- the Pharisees- were so out of line that Christ told them that they were holding the people back from accepting him.

Mt. 23:13  But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for ye neither go in yourselves, neither permit them that are entering to go in.

This is but the first of four woe's pronounced to the spiritual leaders of the day.

And the Kingdom of Heaven- what is that all about.  That takes us back to the covenant between God and Abraham.  He was told by God that his decendants would number as the sand of the sea shore and as the stars in the sky.  God was showing Abraham that his off spring would have dominion in two areas, the sand representing the earth and the stars representing dominion from the heavens.  When Christ came offering the Kingdom of Heaven - not the kingdom FROM heaven , but the Kingdom of Heaven....he was offering them that position in the Heavenlies as was part of the covenant with Abraham.  That is why Pilate was not threatened by Christ's kingship, since Christ told him that his kingship (the one he was offering to the Jews) was not of this world.  This is what the Pharisees forfeited for the children of Israel by rejecting Christ's offer

Mt. 21:43   Therefore say I unto you, The Kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits of it.  

Paul was later to learn that that "nation" would be comprised of the New Testament saints and spent the remainder of his life, proclaiming the gospel of grace to those who had been far off from the promises of God, and now were made near by the rejection of the Jewish people.  

Why is that important?  Because the parable of the 10 virgins starts out with "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto...."  We are talking about the Kingdom of Heaven...not a kingdom here on earth.  We are talking about heavenly ruler ship and that rulership needs to be secure before Christ returns to reign.  There are many reasons for that but the main one has to do with a principle God set forth with Adam and Eve.  It was not until Eve was made from Adams rib, that together they were given the charge to be fruitful and multiply, and have dominion over the earth.  They, together, were to "rule".  To rule as Husband and wife, king and queen, however you want to see it.  So in following the type, God the Father could not -because he had set up the pattern- could not rule on this earth until he had a earthly wife, namely Israel.  You see many many scriptures where God calls Israel his wife and unforunatly later his harlot...., and then gives her a bill of divorce.

 Jer. 3:6-9  The Lord said also unto me in the day of Josiah, the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done?  She is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.  And I said, after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me.  But she returned not.  And her treacherous sister, Judah, saw it.  And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce,..... And it came to pass through the lightness of her harlotry, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with trees.

Now Christ, in following the type, must have his bride or queen, before he can rule on earth.  That means prior to his return, he must have a wife.  That is what the Holy Spirit is doing during this age; calling and then acting as guide to those who will answer the call.  This is portrayed in "type" in the old testament where the servant is sent to procure a bride for Issac.  Rebekah answers the call, puts her trust and faith in the promise and then follows in the provision of Issacs father as well as under the care of his lead servant (the holy spirit).  What a beautiful picture.

So Patti, as much as you want to see what you do in the parable of the 10 virgins, there are some key insights that you have not considered.  May you consider that there is more to learn, more to compare, more room to grow.  I speak from experience here.  I constantly have to recognize that there is fresh territory to be traveled in this growth of faith.  Putting it out there is good, but often times I have had to gulp when faced with not stating something exactly right while" putting it out there."  I don't wish to ruin your day, but inspire you to keep trusting that God in his love will continue to groom you as you grow.