TWO ASLEEP, ONE AWAKE!
Perhaps it's been just my misunderstanding, but I have always believed that the parable of the Ten Virgins applies to the entire Last Days church. All are somehow asleep to what's happening around them, but all wake up at the very end. Some are equipped with a lamp and oil to keep it burning, while others have lamps but no supply of oil. The first group are ushered into the wedding feast, but the last group who run to seek oil and come late have the door slammed shut in their faces and are condemned. Therefore, two groups: those with and those without oil, but all alseep!
That scenario changed for me when I read I Thessalonians one more time. Paul clearly states:
"For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, 'Peace and safety!' then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of the night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night...But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him." I Thessalonians 5:2-6, 8-10.
This long passage identifies a third group of people within the body of Christ: Those who are wide awake and attentive to the admonitions Jesus gave us in Matthew 24-25 before His crucifixion.
After all, in the parable of the virgins, they are awakened by a watchman who heralds the bridegroom's soon appearance. As the groom nears, his friend sounds the alarm, so the virgins waken. Who is that watchman?
Jewish Marriage Customs
At this point in the dialogue, we need to step back and look at the customs surrounding Jewish wedding in ancient times. We're all familiar with the Christmas story and that Joseph and Mary were engaged to be married when Mary was found to be pregnant. Joseph was shocked, but honorable, and wanted to divorce Mary quietly rather than having her stoned to death because of her purported unfaithfulness to him.
You see, when a Jewish young couple were to be married, they had a one-year period of engagement that was as binding as the marriage ceremony itself. The groom left his bride-to-be at her parents' home while he went back to his father's house to prepare the home they would settle in as a couple. As an example, think back to when Jesus told His disciples He was leaving them and said:
"I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also." John 14:2-3.
Believers in Jesus are engaged to Him just as surely as a Jewish young woman was engaged to her husband-to-be. Our engagement to Jesus while we live on earth is as binding as the actual marriage ceremony. He wants us to know that and for us to take our place in Him as seriously as a Jewish bride did when she became engaged to marry.
An engaged bride was no longer 'available' and would not consider for one moment having a relationship with any other male. She kept herself pure for her 'husband.' (Incidentally, that's why God calls idolatry 'adultery' in the Old Testament. If a believer loves anything, not matter what it may be, first before God and Jesus to whom she is betrothed, the Word calls it adultery. She has broken her marriage vow.)
The bride prepared herself for her marriage. She must have sewn a wardrobe of garments that would delight her husband--her trousseau! Even so, the Bride of Christ puts on the spotless garment of holiness.
At the Last Supper Jesus told His men He was going to leave them (meaning His death, resurrection and ascension to the Father's right hand in heaven), but that He would come back and get them--and us, too! Paul speaks of that in I Corinthians 15 and I Thessalonians 4, when he described what we call today The Rapture of the Church. He will catch us away into the air and we shall be with Him forever. What goes on subsequently on this corrupt earth will never involve us or be our concern. We shall be enjoying the Marriage Supper of the Lamb!
Now, return to the Jewish marriage customs:
At year's end when it was time for the actual marriage of the couple to take place, the bride prepared herself in her finest gown and jewels. She knew her groom was coming to get her, but wasn't sure of the exact time. Likewise, the groom put on his grandest outfit and, his best friends with him, set out, preferably at night, for his bride's parents' house. Of course, they had no street lights in ancient times, so they carried their own lights and torches in order to see the way...and undoubtedly, you're familiar with the couplet: "The darker the night, the brighter the light..."
As the groom's company headed for the bride's house, they probably had a good time shouting and announcing their coming. It was the friend of the groom that alerted the bride of her beloved's soon arrival. He is the one who wakened the ten virgins in Matthew 25.
Believer's Responsibilities
Friend, those of us who are awake and alert NOW, looking for the coming of Jesus as told us by the signs of the times, are the watchmen who must be faithful to our calling. God has given us the privilege of being awake, of listening to modern-day prophets who reveal what God is telling them. We are entrusted with this knowledge and faith so we can warn the sleeping church and urge her to rise up and be ready.
We are the third group of people who figure in the scenario of the Ten Virgins. We are Jesus' friends who share the joy of His soon arrival for His bride, the Church. We are the ones who, with the Groom, will lead the raptured souls to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
We must be about our Father's business of rousing the Church, as well as witnessing to the lost and dying-in-delusion world around us. We cannot rest on our oars! Time is VERY short! We must be intentional in our relationships with others: Proclaim the soon-coming of Jesus, that they not be found lacking the precious oil of the Holy Sprit on that day. What an awesome responsibility and privilege is ours! We must be faithful to our Groom! Seize every opportunity for His glory!