Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.

Matthew 25

The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins

Matthew 25:¹ “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps (the Word of God) and went out to meet the bridegroom (Jesus at His 2nd return).

• Read Topic: Parables explained “The Wise and Foolish Virgins”

• The Jews are waiting for their Messiah, the Bridegroom. Likewise, the believing Gentiles are also waiting for their Bridegroom as the Bride of Christ.
  • John 5:39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.

• The lamps are the Word of God.
• The oil is the Holy Spirit, the fire of the Word.
• (What good is the Word of God without the Holy Spirit to understand it?)

• Of those who expect the bridegroom, five do not have the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 25:² Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

• What is the difference between wisdom and foolishness throughout scripture? The wise recognize the value of one thing over another. The fool will chose something less valuable to replace the valuable item.

• Abraham was the father of faith, not the father of the law. In brief, they were trying to please God through their own efforts without the anointed oil of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 25:³ Those who were foolish took their lamps (The Word of God) and took no oil (The Holy Spirit) with them,

• The foolish didn’t run out of oil, they took no oil with them because they did not have the Holy Spirit. The oil is the Holy Spirit.

There is no sin in God’s blessings.
It is a sin when the blessings become more important than the Benefactor.

Matthew 25:⁴ but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

• The oil was IN the lamp.

Light is the oil, which is the Holy Spirit.
The “Light” is the testimony of Jesus, the Gospel.

Matthew 25:⁵ But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

Matthew 25:⁶ “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’

• Midnight is the time of darkness.
• Notice the virgins “GO OUT” to meet Him, the Rapture. (When Jesus returns at His 2^nd advent, He will “COME” to earth.)

Matthew 25:⁷ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.

Matthew 25:⁸ And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’

• Time is running out.

Matthew 25:⁹ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’

• Each person must be prepared. “I can’t give it to you because you are responsible for your own preparedness.”
• The “seller” is the one with the gospel. The cost is “faith”. But it’s too late.

Matthew 25:¹⁰ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

• The door to Noah’s ark was also shut and sealed. Once the Rapture occurs, the age of grace is over, sealed tighter than the door to Noah’s ark. The door to the seven years of tribulation opens and the way to eternal salvation is not just to believe in the Son of God, but “DO NOT TAKE THE MARK of the Antichrist”. One almost has to be a beheaded martyr.
  
  • Hebrews 2:3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,

Matthew 25:¹¹ “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’

• At the time of Noah, when the rains came, everyone nearby would have beat on the door of Noah’s ark begging “Open to us!” But the ark was “lifted up” by the rain. (One of the Jewish meanings of the word rain is “teacher”, or faithful teacher, meaning the Messiah. Hosea 6:3 Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth.)

Matthew 25:¹² But He (Jesus) answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

• Matthew 7:21 I Never Knew You
  “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

Matthew 25:¹³ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

• The Parable of the Ten Virgins tie in with the Parable of the Rich man and Lazarus:

• The Rich man dies and finds himself in torment and begs Lazarus to sent someone to warn his brothers. But Lazarus replies that his brothers have Moses and the prophets. Moses and the prophets are “The Word of God”. This is the lamp given to the Jews. (Parable to Parable: the rich man had no oil.)

• Lazarus is in the bosom of Abraham. (Parable to Parable: Lazarus had the oil of God: the Holy Spirit.)

• Five (wise) virgins have “gone out” to meet the Bridegroom. Now (aside from the parable) Jesus warns no one knows the day or the hour the Son of Man is coming. This is Jesus’ Return with the Saints and Angels. Remember what Paul wrote:
  I Thessalonians 5:¹ The Day of the Lord
  But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. ² For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. ³ For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.
  ⁴ BUT YOU (the flipside is …) brethren, are NOT in darkness – so that this Day (The day of the Lord: Jesus’ return) should overtake you as a thief. ⁵ You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are NOT of the night nor of darkness.
  ⁸ But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. ⁹ For God did not appoint us to wrath (taken in the rapture), but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

The Parable of the Talents

Matthew 25:¹⁴ “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.

Matthew 25:¹⁵ And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.

Matthew 25:¹⁶ Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents.

Matthew 25:¹⁷ And likewise he who had received two gained two more also.

Matthew 25:¹⁸ But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money.

Matthew 25:¹⁹ After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

Matthew 25:²⁰ So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’

Matthew 25:²¹ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.”

Matthew 25:²² He also who had received two talents came and said, “Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.”

Matthew 25:²³ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

Matthew 25:²⁴ Then he who had received the one talent came and said, “Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.

Matthew 25:²⁵ And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.”

Matthew 25:²⁶ But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed.

• The purpose of having a relationship with Jesus is not just to be saved from hell but serving Him in a way that brings forth fruit.

Matthew 25:²⁷ So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.

Matthew 25:²⁸ So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.

Matthew 25:²⁹ ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.

Matthew 25:³⁰ And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The Son of Man Will Judge the Nations

Matthew 25:³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.

Matthew 25:³² All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.

• The Red Sea was also divided, God divided the Egyptians from the Hebrews.

Matthew 25:³³ And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.

Matthew 25:³⁴ Then the King will say to those on His right hand (the sheep), ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

Matthew 25:³⁵ for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;

Matthew 25:³⁶ I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

Matthew 25:³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?

Matthew 25:³⁸ When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?

Matthew 25:³⁹ Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’

Matthew 25:⁴⁰ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

• Jesus is speaking of the Jews when the Antichrist betrays them in the middle of the tribulation and they run for their lives, as described in Isaiah 21.

• Isaiah 21: Proclamation Against Arabia
  ¹³ The burden against Arabia.
  In the forest in Arabia you will lodge,
  O you traveling companies of Dedanites.
  ¹⁴ O inhabitants of the land of Tema,
  Bring water to him who is thirsty;
  With their bread they met him who fled.
  ¹⁵ For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword,
  From the bent bow, and from the distress of war.

Matthew 25:⁴¹ “Then He will also say to those on the left hand (goats), ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:

Matthew 25:⁴² for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;

Matthew 25:⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

Matthew 25:⁴⁴ “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’

Matthew 25:⁴⁵ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’

• Note: Isaiah 21
• The concept applies to all believers.

Matthew 25:⁴⁶ And these (goats) will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous (sheep) into eternal life.”

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