Jesus in the Sanctuary With Anchor and Lampsby KandD
25:4Matthew 25:4
But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
The verse pictures wise bridesmaids at a night wedding who carry a reserve supply of oil in separate flasks besides what is already in their torches so their lights will not fade through delay. The torch is the Bible and the outward profession of truth, the oil is the Holy Spirit and the grace of Christ that alone keeps it burning, and the flask is the cleansed human heart made ready to receive that supply. That supply must be gained personally day by day through watching, prayer, Scripture study and working faith, for character cannot be borrowed or transferred when the decisive hour comes. The wise are true doers of the Word transformed into Christ's likeness, while the foolish hold profession, membership and office without inward life and let their lights go out. The delay, the midnight cry, and the shut door were met in the Advent disappointment and waiting time after 1844, and they teach that only those with present grace will endure to the end, trim their lamps at the cry, and enter to the supper while the unready are left outside.
Parable Story and Setting
The verse belongs to an evening wedding parable in which a waiting company expects the bridal procession to pass by torchlight from the bride's father's house to the bridegroom's home for a feast. It is part of the parable of the ten virgins told in a prophetic discourse about the second coming.
The parable is Matthew 25:1-13, spoken by Jesus to His disciples shortly before He entered Gethsemane to teach readiness for His second coming through waiting and watching. Its picture of wise virgins prepared with oil illustrates the experience of the church that shall live just before His second coming. Readiness requires more than quiet, prayerful meditation, for Christian character also calls for vigilant, unselfish labor in God's cause, yet not constant bustle that neglects personal piety, but inner life and faithful service kept together. The call to the sleeping virgins to arise and trim their lamps applies that lesson of readiness to the appointed work of serving God.
The wise brought extra oil in separate vessels and flagons as well as in their lamps, while the foolish brought lamps without that reserve. They prepared for possible delay so they could replenish their lamps and keep them burning through the night without fading, and thus be able to join the wedding procession when the bridegroom came. When the ten went forth their lamps were trimmed and burning, but only the five wise anticipated delay and filled their flagons in preparation for any emergency, so their lamps could be supplied from those flagons and not be left to go out, while the five foolish lacked this foresight and made no provision for disappointment or delay. Their stored oil let them trim their lamps and join the procession, and they had none to spare for the unprepared. That provision distinguishes those ready to meet the Son of man when He comes, and readiness is marked by the presence of this reserve.
The parable describes the bridegroom's delay, during which all the virgins sleep and slumber, and then the midnight cry, Behold, the bridegroom cometh, that wakes them to go out to meet him. The going out represents the widespread movement stirred by the first message, and the delay represents the passing of the expected date, the disappointment of 1844, and the ensuing waiting time. As believers continued to expect the end, some lost zeal and devotion, like the virgins who slept during the delay. The midnight cry announcing the Bridegroom's coming aroused people to go out to meet Him, rekindling the lamp and bringing new scriptural light pointing to Christ's advent that month. The warning to awake and trim the lamps teaches that believers must be spiritually alert and ready, or they may be lost.
When the cry sounds the wise trim their lamps and enter with the bridegroom to the marriage supper and rejoice at His coming, while those who try to obtain oil then find it too late, the door is shut, and they are left outside. The wise secure the oil of grace during probationary time, in the day of salvation before the last great emergency comes, and that advance provision distinguishes them from the foolish course of neglecting salvation. The lack is exposed when the call sounds to go out to meet the bridegroom, and while the unready go to buy, the bridegroom enters with the ready and the door is shut. Those found without oil are met with denial, I know you not, and are left outside in the blackness of night, surprised and shut out, so readiness must be real before the decisive moment, not sought after it. This difference decides destiny when Christ comes and warns churches now slumbering while the signs of the times are fulfilling not to be found without oil. The oil that enables discernment and acceptance of clear light is grace that cannot be obtained from others at the decisive time, and without it a person cannot light a lamp or join the procession to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
The parable pictures the professed Christian church watching in the evening of earth's history. It calls for serious reflection, searching the Bible, and earnest prayer for God to lead believers into all truth, rather than remaining asleep. Those who have fallen asleep at their post are called to awake and trim their lamps, and not to doubt the truth for this time, especially as a time of trouble approaches in which they must rely on Jesus to carry them through trial. Waiting believers are represented by those who keep their eyes fixed on Jesus as He goes to the Father to receive the kingdom, keeping their garments spotless and waiting for His return from the wedding. Believers are to study the Bible, share present truth with neighbors, repent of neglect in worship, and seek from Scripture an understanding of truth as it is in Jesus.
Lamp Vessels and Oil
The lamps are the Bible and the Word of God, the light of truth held by all who go out to wait for Christ. They are also the outward form and profession, the knowledge of Scripture and confident expectation of His near approach possessed for a time by the whole church without visible difference. The wise carry oil in separate vessels as well as in their lamps, having personally studied Scripture to learn the truth and having sought purity of heart and life. That personal faith in God and His Word is what sustains through disappointment and delay and prepares to meet Christ when His coming seems delayed.
The oil in the vessels is the Holy Spirit and the grace of Christ, the holy oil and precious life-giving power that feeds the lamp and keeps it burning. It is regenerating and enlightening power that makes the Word a lamp to the feet and a light to the path, replenishing spiritual life, keeping discernment alive, setting affections on heavenly things, and revealing God's love as the source of supply. Those who have it possess more than knowledge of truth; they have faith, love, and patience nourished day by day, their lights burn steadily in moral darkness, and they seek and save the lost. Their readiness is shown by genuine conversion, patient waiting through trial, searching Scripture for clearer light, and following Christ by faith in His work in the heavenly sanctuary.
The oil is also unseen principle forming character and giving entrance to the marriage supper, gained only by personal faith in the Word of the living God, not by birth, descent, or church membership. It is the oil of grace and the righteousness of Jesus Christ, real and genuine, received by depending on God every hour and drawing sap and nourishment daily as a branch grafted into the living Vine. That faith works by love, revealing true preference, firm reliance, entire willing obedience and consecration, until life is bound up with Christ and made one with Him, bearing fruit daily in words to the glory of God and talk of Jesus and heaven and eternal realities. The wise are thus sanctified through the truth they know and are doers of the Word, worked by the Holy Spirit, walking in heaven's light on justification by faith and imputed righteousness, searching the Scriptures that testify of Christ and imparting what they receive, while the foolish have knowledge and light and everything except oil and forget the day of trust and reckoning. This righteousness enables standing the test of long waiting, bearing delay with patience and working with more diligence to plant, build, and gather souls instead of doubting or waiting in idle expectancy.
The vessels are human hearts that must hold heavenly grace as oil, prepared by cleansing of soul and spirit, reformation of heart, getting out of self, dying to self, preserving unity, and abiding in Christ. Those who think themselves full of wisdom and knowledge feel well supplied by human understanding and do not hunger and thirst after righteousness, so there is no room in their vessels for that grace. The holy oil is the Holy Spirit in the heart working by love and purifying the soul, emptied from the divine source and heavenly courts through the two golden pipes from the two olive trees, the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth, into the bowl and then into the lamps that lit the sanctuary. Angels take special part in serving by preparing the heart to receive it so that Christ may be all and in all, and it is imparted to human workers consecrated to His service to communicate heavenly grace, for the work is not by might nor by power but by God's Spirit. It cannot be borrowed or transferred, because character is not transferable, and without it faith, love, and knowledge leak away like water from a vessel; if truth is not practiced the profession is like coming to the banquet of God's Word without the wedding garment.
Without the Spirit knowledge of God's Word is of no avail, for truth held as theory alone cannot quicken the soul, sanctify the heart, or transform the character even where commands and promises are known, unless the Spirit presses truth home. Without the Spirit's enlightenment people cannot distinguish truth from error, lack holy character and discernment to recognize the value of holiness, fall under temptation, and are in worse condition than one who has not had light. The Bible becomes like a lamp without oil when knowledge of its words is turned into speculation, producing misunderstanding and confusion. It should therefore be presented simply so people can understand what it requires.
Advent History Fulfilled
The going out of the virgins pictures the widespread stirring raised by the first message, and the delay of the bridegroom pictures the passing of the expected date, the disappointment of 1844, and the waiting time that followed when zeal and devotion were tried. During that delay all slumbered, yet believers still expected the end soon while many lost fervor, and the call was to watch for Christ's coming and not let the lamps go out but endure faithfully until the Master comes. The coming of the Bridegroom was understood as a distinct event after the midnight cry, with further light given in December 1844 about the travel of the Advent band and about the middle of February 1845 about the Bridegroom's coming, applying the parable's events to the history of the Advent movement as a change in Christ's position and work as great High Priest in heaven in relation to the marriage of the Lamb.
The midnight cry, Behold the Bridegroom cometh, rekindled the lamps and aroused believers to go out to meet the Lord, bringing new scriptural light pointing to His advent that month and teaching the need for spiritual alertness and readiness lest they be lost. That readiness was made through searching of heart, confessing and forsaking sin, earnest prayer, and consecration to God, with believers seeking a genuine Christian experience and clear evidence of acceptance with God. The cry, Behold the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet Him, was then to be heard by the whole world, and those who preached the second appearing of Christ in the clouds of heaven were compelled to go out from the churches.
The Bridegroom's coming to the marriage means Jesus rising from His mediatorial throne and going into the holiest in heaven as Bridegroom to receive His kingdom, rather than coming then to this earth to deliver His people on the tenth day of the seventh month. This is Christ's coming as High Priest to the most holy place for the cleansing of the sanctuary and to the Lord's temple, the same event described in Daniel, distinct from His later second advent to execute judgment. When the 2300 days ended in 1844 He closed ministration in the holy place and began work in the most holy, and this heavenly coming settled the truth of the shut door, which did not mean that mercy for sinners had ended. Those prepared with oil in vessels as well as lamps had more than knowledge of truth, even the Spirit and grace of God, and showed it by patiently waiting through trial, searching Scripture for clearer light, accepting these truths, and following Christ by faith as He entered before God to perform His final ministry and receive His kingdom so as to be ready to enter the marriage.
The parable was fulfilled under the proclamation of the first and second angels' messages, when the wise had made the provision needed to join those walking in the light they had received. If all who claimed to believe the truth had acted as wise virgins, the message would have reached every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, but many who had gone out under the first and second angels' messages refused the third angel's message, the final testing message for the world. The same lamp-and-oil imagery is seen when Luther in hiding filled his lamp from the storehouse of truth, so that the light of the gospel would shine more brightly when the time came. The wise who have had a precious experience in the truth must therefore arouse and trim their lamps, reject sophistry and skepticism, and consecrate themselves wholly to God. The oil is grace needed to keep the light burning, calling for cherishing the light and spiritual blessings given at the 1893 General Conference rather than allowing the enemy to turn people from them.
Wise and Foolish Classes
The ten virgins stand for the whole company of professed believers watching for the Lord's appearing, earnestly seeking to be acknowledged as the Lamb's wife, divided into two classes, five wise and five foolish, about half ready and half unready, a division that decides destiny when Christ comes. The wise are real Christians who have life in themselves, while the foolish outwardly appear like the wise yet hold the truth in unrighteousness, having lamps of profession but no oil in their vessels. Self in all its perverted attributes hardens the heart and closes the door against Jesus so He does not enter and abide, leaving them unconverted, with minds blinded by self-indulgence, having known God yet not worshiped Him as God, and they will die greater sinners than before they professed belief. For a time no human can certainly distinguish who is wise and who is foolish, for men cannot read the heart from which evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness and blasphemies proceed, and the tares so closely resemble the wheat that separating them is not given to human beings, but fruits declare character, the angels never mistake wheat for tares, and a time will come when the door will be shut.
The oil that marks the wise is the oil of grace, unseen principles forming character that give entrance into the marriage supper of the Lamb, marking those with whom the Lord is acquainted in open communion with God. It is gained only by personal faith in the Word of the living God, not by human birth, descent from Abraham, or membership in any church, a faith that works by love to Jesus Christ, revealing true preference, firm reliance, entire willing obedience and consecration, securing complete identification with Christ in feelings, desires and interests until life is bound up with Him and made one with Him. The wise have more than theoretical knowledge of the truth, for they are doers of the Word, worked by the Holy Spirit and bearing living testimony as God's witnesses, receiving heaven's light on justification by faith and the imputed righteousness of Christ, walking in that light, searching the Scriptures that testify of Christ, and imparting what they receive to gain still more light as they share. Theoretical knowledge alone is not enough, and the equal division warns how few of those with great light and opportunities are truly prepared, since readiness requires doing the Word.
The wise illustrate the experience of the church that shall live just before the second coming, told by Christ to His disciples, prepared with inward supply to endure delay, while the foolish have lamps of profession but are spiritually cold, senseless, waning in piety, and destitute of vital life. Their lamps are the Bible, the light of truth held by all who go out with lamps and vessels, having the Scriptures, having heard the message of His near approach, and confidently expecting Him, so that for a time no difference is seen between them. The wise have personally studied Scripture to learn the truth and sought purity of heart and life, joining the Holy Spirit to their knowledge, which is the reserve supply of oil, the grace and regenerating enlightening power that makes the Word a guide and sustains personal faith through disappointment and delay. A waiting time tries faith, and when the cry announces the Bridegroom many prove unready because they lack this inward supply and are destitute of the Spirit, for without the Spirit knowledge of the Word is of no avail, truth held as theory alone cannot quicken the soul, sanctify the heart or transform character even where commands and promises are known unless the Spirit presses truth home, without whose enlightenment people cannot distinguish truth from error and fall under Satan's temptations.
Having oil is genuine Christianity that blends working, waiting, watching and praying rather than idle expectancy or mere bustle to the neglect of personal piety, portraying people spiritually prepared and living rather than cold and lacking vital piety, and for God's minister it means constant increase in spiritual power. The difference is between true Christians and mere professors, for the parable does not describe open sinners who make no profession of loving God, but people who claim to be children of God and church members while not practicing the truth. Those without preparation have no burden for souls, do not deny self, do not lift the cross, seek an enjoyable time with the world while claiming to be Christians, wear a mask, refuse to yield to any authority, and by worldly principles do great harm to others and seduce many, while those with preparation are Christians in deed and in truth who live and work to restore the moral image of God in man and labor on Christ's side to convince men of every class that a consecrated life is a power for good, while sin results only in weakness and eternal ruin. Claiming God's promises and service is not enough if a person does not live as Christ has taught, for professing belief in Scripture is not enough unless faith is genuine and shown in practice, distinguishing Christians whose profession is matched by practice from those whose understanding and practice are superficial.
The lamps are outward semblance of religion, outward preparation, the highest profession, even ordination for the ministry or appointment as superintendent or teacher in the Sabbath school, while the oil in the vessels is inward piety, the oil of grace, the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus abiding in the heart as a living link with Him. Without this oil all outward preparation is worthless, and even one entrusted with high responsibilities may lack heavenly light and have no connection with Christ, having only enough religion for outward show, which deadens the conscience, deceives the senses, ruins the soul, and leaves the name to live while dead, whereas the oil feeds the lamp so it sends forth clear rays and is given to everyone who most earnestly seeks the Lord with all heart and soul. Having oil means taking Christ as Counsellor, walking in the light of His Word, coming under His yoke, and using the sacred fire which comes from God, so the lamp can be kept replenished and the life given to seeking to save souls ready to perish instead of living for self, while empty vessels belong to those who remain in character the same as before they claimed to believe the truth, work their own way, walk in darkness in the light of sparks of their own kindling, to whom Christ says, I know you not.
The contrast applies especially to ministers, teachers and workers who have great light and privileges, for the ten virgins are an appropriate symbol for the present time. The Bible's life-giving truth, when practiced, makes people wise unto salvation, and obeying its teaching makes them pure and keeps them pure, yet receiving the Holy Spirit is not felt to be a positive necessity. The foolish-virgin way is to remain unchanged year after year despite ministerial privileges, failing to absorb and live the truth meant to be taught, and therefore being unable to give the truth to others, while the wise stand in contrast to this failure. Ministers must not merely possess the outward profession represented by the lamps, but have the grace, faith and love that sustain a living witness, since oil is grace that makes the lamp burn and give light, and faith and love are essential because true faith works through love and purifies the soul. Churches are destitute of faith and love, and those preaching in conferences must not be like the foolish virgins who have lamps but are destitute of that oil, for teachers need the oil of grace in the vessels in order to have a good influence.
Gaining Readiness Now
The oil must be secured by each person for himself, for it cannot be borrowed, lent, or transferred to another when the decisive hour comes. Character is not transferable, and each must form his own character through the work of the Holy Spirit and the faithful use of God-given abilities. Readiness to meet the Lord cannot be gained by waking when the cry is heard and then gathering up empty lamps to have them replenished, for having Christ in the life now is what fits a person for His companionship hereafter, and keeping Christ apart from the life here leaves one unfitted for heaven. The oil is grace that enables discernment and acceptance of clear light, and without it a person cannot light the lamp or join the procession to the marriage supper. It is an experience and knowledge of Christ's grace that must be gained personally before the time of crisis, growing into settled knowledge sustained by earnest prayer and faith in Christ, while merely nominal religion is worthless. It is to be received from the two anointed ones commissioned to communicate it to the churches, and without it faith, love, and knowledge of God and the truth leak away as water from a vessel. It is Christ's righteousness and a character purified from sin, to be secured without delay before His coming and the final separation, since character cannot then be made or changed.
Readiness is present and daily grace today, a living and complete connection with God today and every day. Keeping it means watching and praying, putting talents to use to bring souls to the Master, and refusing to be surfeited and drunken with the cares of this life, so that day does not come as a thief and find one unready. It means living with faith, love, and patience, nourished by the Spirit day by day, in steady spiritual preparation that cannot be supplied at the last moment. The wise secure the oil of grace during probationary time, in the day of salvation before the last great emergency comes, and that advance provision distinguishes them from the foolish course of neglecting salvation. The difference decides destiny when Christ comes, and the lack is exposed when the call sounds to go out to meet the bridegroom. Trying to obtain oil then is too late, for while the unready go to buy, the bridegroom enters to the marriage supper with the ready and the door is shut, and those found without oil are met with denial and left outside in the blackness of night, a warning to churches now slumbering while the signs of the times are fulfilling. The grace of Christ is needed continually, every day and every hour, to keep the spiritual life burning and ready to meet the Bridegroom, for without that grace the inconsistencies of the natural heart appear and life becomes divided in its service. Believing in Christ and receiving the Holy Spirit are necessary to understand the saving truths of the gospel and receive its blessings.
Keeping the vessel filled requires time to pray, to search the Scriptures with humble and contrite study, and as far as possible to attend public worship, while putting talents to use and drawing sap daily as a branch grafted into the living Vine. The present is trading time in which God-given capabilities must be used for the Master, for having a name in the church book will not secure entrance into the kingdom. Each person must make close, critical self-examination of how opportunities are used and whether the Lord's talents are traded and put out to the exchangers, and God rewards every servant who works with self-denying, self-sacrificing zeal for the salvation of souls, so that each one who has denied self and purified the soul through belief of the truth will begin at once to do missionary work for those perishing in sins. The oil is grace received and preserved through prayerful study of God's Word and an obedient heart, and this watchfulness prepares for response when the midnight cry comes. Prayer, searching the Scriptures, public worship, and abiding in God's presence sustain this grace, and workers exposed to worldly influences especially need this spiritual care so their hearts are not drawn away from God. It is spiritual strength gained through prayer and worship, which sanctifies service and equips a person for daily duty and to shine amid moral darkness.
Keeping oil means blending vigilant waiting, watching, working, and praying rather than idle expectancy or mere bustle to the neglect of personal piety, trading faithfully upon entrusted goods with self-denying zeal for souls. Readiness requires more than quiet, prayerful meditation, for Christian character also calls for vigilant, unselfish labor in God's cause, yet not constant activity that neglects personal piety, but inner life and faithful service kept together. Having a lamp is not enough without the oil of grace kept in the vessel, the lamp trimmed, and waiting joined with watchfulness and faithful work to guard against spiritual decline, so that the day of the Lord does not take one unprepared. The faithful worker whose lamp is trimmed and burning serves with self-sacrifice and unselfish devotion, diligently advancing the interests of the work, and such service brings a precious experience and a sense of God's presence, making the worker feel privileged to give ability, service, and constant care. The lamps of the soul must be kept filled and burning by vigilant waiting and earnest looking in preparation for the solemn events soon to take place and the coming of the Lord, in fervency of spirit, not slothful in business but serving the Lord, clearing the King's highway and preparing a people through earnest, energetic warnings and appeals. This does not mean spending all time in waiting, meditation, and contemplation, but blending personal piety with active work, having quiet, prayerful hours of communion to learn His will while bearing a positive message of warning to the world, as Enoch walked with God in obedience and warned the old world and stands as an example of those who will be caught up to meet Christ in the air. The wise keep oil with their lamps by combining vigilant work with faithful waiting and watching while probationary time lasts, before the night comes when no man can work, resting in the Lord and waiting patiently for Him without moving hurriedly, yet working and watching and praying and waiting. Working alone and mere bustle and continual activity are not enough, for keeping the lamps trimmed and burning means cultivating personal piety with humble, contrite hearts that cherish the love of God and fear to walk contrary to His will, active in every line of service and fervent in spirit, with unceasing watchfulness and sincere earnest prayer, improving every opportunity, so that by use gifts increase and Christlike virtues are active in representing Christ, taking heed to self and to doctrine. Neglect of personal piety makes even the most splendid endowments of no value and the most splendid service nothing unless soul, body, and spirit are devoted to His service. Readiness means waiting patiently, watching vigilantly, and working faithfully, with the trimmed and burning lamp as the symmetrical Christian life where personal piety and devotion are blended with earnest work, neither given up wholly to contemplation nor so engrossed in busy works as to neglect personal devotion, but not slothful in business and fervent in spirit, keeping up spiritual life and bringing every facility into play so that declension does not take place, bright rays are sent into the moral darkness, and the note of warning is sounded, lest the day overtake as a thief in the night.
Ready Life and Witness
Those who have oil are inwardly transformed, for the oil is grace in the heart and holy grace sent from heaven that replenishes the spiritual life, keeps discernment alive, sets the affections on heavenly things, and opens the understanding of God's love as the source of supply. It is precious, life-giving truth received in vital connection with God, in contrast to self-love and a fluctuating experience built on uncertain principles, and it requires more than theory or profession, demanding obedience to the truth and a life being purified from hidden sin and made holy. That inward adornment clothes with Christ's righteousness, conforms to His image, and enables standing when the Bridegroom appears, shown by letting light burn in good works and by learning Christ's ways, since baptism alone is no proof of readiness while old habits and worldly ideas and customs are retained. Nominal faith without this preparation is not enough, for the wise are those who accept the final message of mercy and are ready to enter the marriage supper, sanctified through truth with faith working by love in meekness, patience, and obedience to God's law written in the heart.
Their light burns steadily in the world's moral darkness because the lamp supplied with holy and precious oil reveals its value as it shines on the path of others, requiring both devotion and active service. The reserve in vessels kept the light from fading through the night, and that shining honored the bridegroom and helped light the way to his home and the marriage feast, illustrating how God's word through the Holy Spirit transforms followers by forming God's character in them to glorify God and point the way to the city of God and the marriage supper of the Lamb. Grace abundantly provided and held within keeps the light of truth from growing dim and going out, so that a heart filled with good things lets light reach and bless others, while words and conduct reveal what fills the heart, with good things strengthening Christian influence and evil or foolish speech bringing darkness to speaker and hearers. Those truly serving God let light shine in words of truth and deeds of holiness, reveal progression heavenward, and help those serving God to serve with whole mind, heart, soul, and strength, opposite to religionists one in spirit with men of the world who do not want the light of truth and never let their light shine. Readiness therefore includes recognizing dependence on God and making every effort to save souls by work and prayer, by publications and earnest missionary labor to seek and save the lost, standing on the verge of eternity when the final call announces the coming.
Having this extra supply enables patient endurance through delay, disappointment, and the final conflict, keeping lamps trimmed during probation's waiting time and standing sustained by God's power in the time of trouble and the battle of Armageddon. It is grace and the real, genuine righteousness of Christ that enables standing the test and trial of waiting long, for the exact period cannot be known by any reckoning of figures, symbols, or types, though the signs show He is at the door, and the waiting tests and proves who truly possesses it. Those who have it bear delay with patience, waiting and watching while working with greater diligence to plant, build, and gather souls, instead of doubting His coming or waiting in idle expectancy. To have oil is to be wide awake and not sleeping for Armageddon, when all the world will be on one side or the other and evil angels united with evil men, with centuries of experience in deception and battle, make a desperate final struggle with every form of evil sprung into intense activity. Then the power of the Holy Ghost rests upon God's people to sustain faith and courage, with the Captain of the Lord's host at the head of the angels of heaven to direct the battle, so that none is found sleeping but all are sustained by God's power. The sleeping virgins picture a present sleep on the borders of the greatest event in history, with signs fast fulfilling and a time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation right upon them bringing strait places as never before, and to have oil is to have feet in the narrow path and an experience giving assurance that the God of all grace is a very present help in need. It means to awake to the nearness of this trial, to seek Christ's help, and to ask the Lord Jesus to place His everlasting arms underneath and carry through.
Lacking oil warns that outward religious profession, church membership, association with Christians, theoretical assent to the third angel's message, business cares, self-indulgence, pride, and worldliness leave lamps dim or going out and bring surprise, disappointment, and exclusion when the end comes unexpectedly as a thief and when life ends. Without oil the lamp goes out, for those who fail to live in the light received will lose their light, while others may still accept truth when they respond to the light available to them. Keeping lamps burning means living the truth and obtaining wisdom and grace from God to be made complete in Jesus Christ, for without that oil the chance is lost, the door is shut when entry is sought, and those without cannot partake of the marriage supper of the Lamb. A person's true condition before God is made visible by conduct and conversation, and neglecting to keep the vessel filled leaves one unprepared, calling for vigilance and readiness since the time is unknown. Those who live only to please themselves may discover in sickness or death that they lack this preparation and are unfit to meet the end of life, for readiness requires preparation expressed in trimming the lamps, looking for the Lord, light-bearing, and action.
Those with oil in their vessels have hearts filled with grace from Christ and an increasing desire for peace and joy.
The verse pictures wise bridesmaids at a night wedding who carry a reserve supply of oil in separate flasks besides what is already in their torches so their lights will not fade through delay. The torch is the Bible and the outward profession of truth, the oil is the Holy Spirit and the grace of Christ that alone keeps it burning, and the flask is the cleansed human heart made ready to receive that supply. That supply must be gained personally day by day through watching, prayer, Scripture study and working faith, for character cannot be borrowed or transferred when the decisive hour comes. The wise are true doers of the Word transformed into Christ's likeness, while the foolish hold profession, membership and office without inward life and let their lights go out. The delay, the midnight cry, and the shut door were met in the Advent disappointment and waiting time after 1844, and they teach that only those with present grace will endure to the end, trim their lamps at the cry, and enter to the supper while the unready are left outside.
Parable Story and Setting
The verse belongs to an evening wedding parable in which a waiting company expects the bridal procession to pass by torchlight from the bride's father's house to the bridegroom's home for a feast. It is part of the parable of the ten virgins told in a prophetic discourse about the second coming.
The parable is Matthew 25:1-13, spoken by Jesus to His disciples shortly before He entered Gethsemane to teach readiness for His second coming through waiting and watching. Its picture of wise virgins prepared with oil illustrates the experience of the church that shall live just before His second coming. Readiness requires more than quiet, prayerful meditation, for Christian character also calls for vigilant, unselfish labor in God's cause, yet not constant bustle that neglects personal piety, but inner life and faithful service kept together. The call to the sleeping virgins to arise and trim their lamps applies that lesson of readiness to the appointed work of serving God.
The wise brought extra oil in separate vessels and flagons as well as in their lamps, while the foolish brought lamps without that reserve. They prepared for possible delay so they could replenish their lamps and keep them burning through the night without fading, and thus be able to join the wedding procession when the bridegroom came. When the ten went forth their lamps were trimmed and burning, but only the five wise anticipated delay and filled their flagons in preparation for any emergency, so their lamps could be supplied from those flagons and not be left to go out, while the five foolish lacked this foresight and made no provision for disappointment or delay. Their stored oil let them trim their lamps and join the procession, and they had none to spare for the unprepared. That provision distinguishes those ready to meet the Son of man when He comes, and readiness is marked by the presence of this reserve.
The parable describes the bridegroom's delay, during which all the virgins sleep and slumber, and then the midnight cry, Behold, the bridegroom cometh, that wakes them to go out to meet him. The going out represents the widespread movement stirred by the first message, and the delay represents the passing of the expected date, the disappointment of 1844, and the ensuing waiting time. As believers continued to expect the end, some lost zeal and devotion, like the virgins who slept during the delay. The midnight cry announcing the Bridegroom's coming aroused people to go out to meet Him, rekindling the lamp and bringing new scriptural light pointing to Christ's advent that month. The warning to awake and trim the lamps teaches that believers must be spiritually alert and ready, or they may be lost.
When the cry sounds the wise trim their lamps and enter with the bridegroom to the marriage supper and rejoice at His coming, while those who try to obtain oil then find it too late, the door is shut, and they are left outside. The wise secure the oil of grace during probationary time, in the day of salvation before the last great emergency comes, and that advance provision distinguishes them from the foolish course of neglecting salvation. The lack is exposed when the call sounds to go out to meet the bridegroom, and while the unready go to buy, the bridegroom enters with the ready and the door is shut. Those found without oil are met with denial, I know you not, and are left outside in the blackness of night, surprised and shut out, so readiness must be real before the decisive moment, not sought after it. This difference decides destiny when Christ comes and warns churches now slumbering while the signs of the times are fulfilling not to be found without oil. The oil that enables discernment and acceptance of clear light is grace that cannot be obtained from others at the decisive time, and without it a person cannot light a lamp or join the procession to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
The parable pictures the professed Christian church watching in the evening of earth's history. It calls for serious reflection, searching the Bible, and earnest prayer for God to lead believers into all truth, rather than remaining asleep. Those who have fallen asleep at their post are called to awake and trim their lamps, and not to doubt the truth for this time, especially as a time of trouble approaches in which they must rely on Jesus to carry them through trial. Waiting believers are represented by those who keep their eyes fixed on Jesus as He goes to the Father to receive the kingdom, keeping their garments spotless and waiting for His return from the wedding. Believers are to study the Bible, share present truth with neighbors, repent of neglect in worship, and seek from Scripture an understanding of truth as it is in Jesus.
Lamp Vessels and Oil
The lamps are the Bible and the Word of God, the light of truth held by all who go out to wait for Christ. They are also the outward form and profession, the knowledge of Scripture and confident expectation of His near approach possessed for a time by the whole church without visible difference. The wise carry oil in separate vessels as well as in their lamps, having personally studied Scripture to learn the truth and having sought purity of heart and life. That personal faith in God and His Word is what sustains through disappointment and delay and prepares to meet Christ when His coming seems delayed.
The oil in the vessels is the Holy Spirit and the grace of Christ, the holy oil and precious life-giving power that feeds the lamp and keeps it burning. It is regenerating and enlightening power that makes the Word a lamp to the feet and a light to the path, replenishing spiritual life, keeping discernment alive, setting affections on heavenly things, and revealing God's love as the source of supply. Those who have it possess more than knowledge of truth; they have faith, love, and patience nourished day by day, their lights burn steadily in moral darkness, and they seek and save the lost. Their readiness is shown by genuine conversion, patient waiting through trial, searching Scripture for clearer light, and following Christ by faith in His work in the heavenly sanctuary.
The oil is also unseen principle forming character and giving entrance to the marriage supper, gained only by personal faith in the Word of the living God, not by birth, descent, or church membership. It is the oil of grace and the righteousness of Jesus Christ, real and genuine, received by depending on God every hour and drawing sap and nourishment daily as a branch grafted into the living Vine. That faith works by love, revealing true preference, firm reliance, entire willing obedience and consecration, until life is bound up with Christ and made one with Him, bearing fruit daily in words to the glory of God and talk of Jesus and heaven and eternal realities. The wise are thus sanctified through the truth they know and are doers of the Word, worked by the Holy Spirit, walking in heaven's light on justification by faith and imputed righteousness, searching the Scriptures that testify of Christ and imparting what they receive, while the foolish have knowledge and light and everything except oil and forget the day of trust and reckoning. This righteousness enables standing the test of long waiting, bearing delay with patience and working with more diligence to plant, build, and gather souls instead of doubting or waiting in idle expectancy.
The vessels are human hearts that must hold heavenly grace as oil, prepared by cleansing of soul and spirit, reformation of heart, getting out of self, dying to self, preserving unity, and abiding in Christ. Those who think themselves full of wisdom and knowledge feel well supplied by human understanding and do not hunger and thirst after righteousness, so there is no room in their vessels for that grace. The holy oil is the Holy Spirit in the heart working by love and purifying the soul, emptied from the divine source and heavenly courts through the two golden pipes from the two olive trees, the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth, into the bowl and then into the lamps that lit the sanctuary. Angels take special part in serving by preparing the heart to receive it so that Christ may be all and in all, and it is imparted to human workers consecrated to His service to communicate heavenly grace, for the work is not by might nor by power but by God's Spirit. It cannot be borrowed or transferred, because character is not transferable, and without it faith, love, and knowledge leak away like water from a vessel; if truth is not practiced the profession is like coming to the banquet of God's Word without the wedding garment.
Without the Spirit knowledge of God's Word is of no avail, for truth held as theory alone cannot quicken the soul, sanctify the heart, or transform the character even where commands and promises are known, unless the Spirit presses truth home. Without the Spirit's enlightenment people cannot distinguish truth from error, lack holy character and discernment to recognize the value of holiness, fall under temptation, and are in worse condition than one who has not had light. The Bible becomes like a lamp without oil when knowledge of its words is turned into speculation, producing misunderstanding and confusion. It should therefore be presented simply so people can understand what it requires.
Advent History Fulfilled
The going out of the virgins pictures the widespread stirring raised by the first message, and the delay of the bridegroom pictures the passing of the expected date, the disappointment of 1844, and the waiting time that followed when zeal and devotion were tried. During that delay all slumbered, yet believers still expected the end soon while many lost fervor, and the call was to watch for Christ's coming and not let the lamps go out but endure faithfully until the Master comes. The coming of the Bridegroom was understood as a distinct event after the midnight cry, with further light given in December 1844 about the travel of the Advent band and about the middle of February 1845 about the Bridegroom's coming, applying the parable's events to the history of the Advent movement as a change in Christ's position and work as great High Priest in heaven in relation to the marriage of the Lamb.
The midnight cry, Behold the Bridegroom cometh, rekindled the lamps and aroused believers to go out to meet the Lord, bringing new scriptural light pointing to His advent that month and teaching the need for spiritual alertness and readiness lest they be lost. That readiness was made through searching of heart, confessing and forsaking sin, earnest prayer, and consecration to God, with believers seeking a genuine Christian experience and clear evidence of acceptance with God. The cry, Behold the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet Him, was then to be heard by the whole world, and those who preached the second appearing of Christ in the clouds of heaven were compelled to go out from the churches.
The Bridegroom's coming to the marriage means Jesus rising from His mediatorial throne and going into the holiest in heaven as Bridegroom to receive His kingdom, rather than coming then to this earth to deliver His people on the tenth day of the seventh month. This is Christ's coming as High Priest to the most holy place for the cleansing of the sanctuary and to the Lord's temple, the same event described in Daniel, distinct from His later second advent to execute judgment. When the 2300 days ended in 1844 He closed ministration in the holy place and began work in the most holy, and this heavenly coming settled the truth of the shut door, which did not mean that mercy for sinners had ended. Those prepared with oil in vessels as well as lamps had more than knowledge of truth, even the Spirit and grace of God, and showed it by patiently waiting through trial, searching Scripture for clearer light, accepting these truths, and following Christ by faith as He entered before God to perform His final ministry and receive His kingdom so as to be ready to enter the marriage.
The parable was fulfilled under the proclamation of the first and second angels' messages, when the wise had made the provision needed to join those walking in the light they had received. If all who claimed to believe the truth had acted as wise virgins, the message would have reached every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, but many who had gone out under the first and second angels' messages refused the third angel's message, the final testing message for the world. The same lamp-and-oil imagery is seen when Luther in hiding filled his lamp from the storehouse of truth, so that the light of the gospel would shine more brightly when the time came. The wise who have had a precious experience in the truth must therefore arouse and trim their lamps, reject sophistry and skepticism, and consecrate themselves wholly to God. The oil is grace needed to keep the light burning, calling for cherishing the light and spiritual blessings given at the 1893 General Conference rather than allowing the enemy to turn people from them.
Wise and Foolish Classes
The ten virgins stand for the whole company of professed believers watching for the Lord's appearing, earnestly seeking to be acknowledged as the Lamb's wife, divided into two classes, five wise and five foolish, about half ready and half unready, a division that decides destiny when Christ comes. The wise are real Christians who have life in themselves, while the foolish outwardly appear like the wise yet hold the truth in unrighteousness, having lamps of profession but no oil in their vessels. Self in all its perverted attributes hardens the heart and closes the door against Jesus so He does not enter and abide, leaving them unconverted, with minds blinded by self-indulgence, having known God yet not worshiped Him as God, and they will die greater sinners than before they professed belief. For a time no human can certainly distinguish who is wise and who is foolish, for men cannot read the heart from which evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness and blasphemies proceed, and the tares so closely resemble the wheat that separating them is not given to human beings, but fruits declare character, the angels never mistake wheat for tares, and a time will come when the door will be shut.
The oil that marks the wise is the oil of grace, unseen principles forming character that give entrance into the marriage supper of the Lamb, marking those with whom the Lord is acquainted in open communion with God. It is gained only by personal faith in the Word of the living God, not by human birth, descent from Abraham, or membership in any church, a faith that works by love to Jesus Christ, revealing true preference, firm reliance, entire willing obedience and consecration, securing complete identification with Christ in feelings, desires and interests until life is bound up with Him and made one with Him. The wise have more than theoretical knowledge of the truth, for they are doers of the Word, worked by the Holy Spirit and bearing living testimony as God's witnesses, receiving heaven's light on justification by faith and the imputed righteousness of Christ, walking in that light, searching the Scriptures that testify of Christ, and imparting what they receive to gain still more light as they share. Theoretical knowledge alone is not enough, and the equal division warns how few of those with great light and opportunities are truly prepared, since readiness requires doing the Word.
The wise illustrate the experience of the church that shall live just before the second coming, told by Christ to His disciples, prepared with inward supply to endure delay, while the foolish have lamps of profession but are spiritually cold, senseless, waning in piety, and destitute of vital life. Their lamps are the Bible, the light of truth held by all who go out with lamps and vessels, having the Scriptures, having heard the message of His near approach, and confidently expecting Him, so that for a time no difference is seen between them. The wise have personally studied Scripture to learn the truth and sought purity of heart and life, joining the Holy Spirit to their knowledge, which is the reserve supply of oil, the grace and regenerating enlightening power that makes the Word a guide and sustains personal faith through disappointment and delay. A waiting time tries faith, and when the cry announces the Bridegroom many prove unready because they lack this inward supply and are destitute of the Spirit, for without the Spirit knowledge of the Word is of no avail, truth held as theory alone cannot quicken the soul, sanctify the heart or transform character even where commands and promises are known unless the Spirit presses truth home, without whose enlightenment people cannot distinguish truth from error and fall under Satan's temptations.
Having oil is genuine Christianity that blends working, waiting, watching and praying rather than idle expectancy or mere bustle to the neglect of personal piety, portraying people spiritually prepared and living rather than cold and lacking vital piety, and for God's minister it means constant increase in spiritual power. The difference is between true Christians and mere professors, for the parable does not describe open sinners who make no profession of loving God, but people who claim to be children of God and church members while not practicing the truth. Those without preparation have no burden for souls, do not deny self, do not lift the cross, seek an enjoyable time with the world while claiming to be Christians, wear a mask, refuse to yield to any authority, and by worldly principles do great harm to others and seduce many, while those with preparation are Christians in deed and in truth who live and work to restore the moral image of God in man and labor on Christ's side to convince men of every class that a consecrated life is a power for good, while sin results only in weakness and eternal ruin. Claiming God's promises and service is not enough if a person does not live as Christ has taught, for professing belief in Scripture is not enough unless faith is genuine and shown in practice, distinguishing Christians whose profession is matched by practice from those whose understanding and practice are superficial.
The lamps are outward semblance of religion, outward preparation, the highest profession, even ordination for the ministry or appointment as superintendent or teacher in the Sabbath school, while the oil in the vessels is inward piety, the oil of grace, the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus abiding in the heart as a living link with Him. Without this oil all outward preparation is worthless, and even one entrusted with high responsibilities may lack heavenly light and have no connection with Christ, having only enough religion for outward show, which deadens the conscience, deceives the senses, ruins the soul, and leaves the name to live while dead, whereas the oil feeds the lamp so it sends forth clear rays and is given to everyone who most earnestly seeks the Lord with all heart and soul. Having oil means taking Christ as Counsellor, walking in the light of His Word, coming under His yoke, and using the sacred fire which comes from God, so the lamp can be kept replenished and the life given to seeking to save souls ready to perish instead of living for self, while empty vessels belong to those who remain in character the same as before they claimed to believe the truth, work their own way, walk in darkness in the light of sparks of their own kindling, to whom Christ says, I know you not.
The contrast applies especially to ministers, teachers and workers who have great light and privileges, for the ten virgins are an appropriate symbol for the present time. The Bible's life-giving truth, when practiced, makes people wise unto salvation, and obeying its teaching makes them pure and keeps them pure, yet receiving the Holy Spirit is not felt to be a positive necessity. The foolish-virgin way is to remain unchanged year after year despite ministerial privileges, failing to absorb and live the truth meant to be taught, and therefore being unable to give the truth to others, while the wise stand in contrast to this failure. Ministers must not merely possess the outward profession represented by the lamps, but have the grace, faith and love that sustain a living witness, since oil is grace that makes the lamp burn and give light, and faith and love are essential because true faith works through love and purifies the soul. Churches are destitute of faith and love, and those preaching in conferences must not be like the foolish virgins who have lamps but are destitute of that oil, for teachers need the oil of grace in the vessels in order to have a good influence.
Gaining Readiness Now
The oil must be secured by each person for himself, for it cannot be borrowed, lent, or transferred to another when the decisive hour comes. Character is not transferable, and each must form his own character through the work of the Holy Spirit and the faithful use of God-given abilities. Readiness to meet the Lord cannot be gained by waking when the cry is heard and then gathering up empty lamps to have them replenished, for having Christ in the life now is what fits a person for His companionship hereafter, and keeping Christ apart from the life here leaves one unfitted for heaven. The oil is grace that enables discernment and acceptance of clear light, and without it a person cannot light the lamp or join the procession to the marriage supper. It is an experience and knowledge of Christ's grace that must be gained personally before the time of crisis, growing into settled knowledge sustained by earnest prayer and faith in Christ, while merely nominal religion is worthless. It is to be received from the two anointed ones commissioned to communicate it to the churches, and without it faith, love, and knowledge of God and the truth leak away as water from a vessel. It is Christ's righteousness and a character purified from sin, to be secured without delay before His coming and the final separation, since character cannot then be made or changed.
Readiness is present and daily grace today, a living and complete connection with God today and every day. Keeping it means watching and praying, putting talents to use to bring souls to the Master, and refusing to be surfeited and drunken with the cares of this life, so that day does not come as a thief and find one unready. It means living with faith, love, and patience, nourished by the Spirit day by day, in steady spiritual preparation that cannot be supplied at the last moment. The wise secure the oil of grace during probationary time, in the day of salvation before the last great emergency comes, and that advance provision distinguishes them from the foolish course of neglecting salvation. The difference decides destiny when Christ comes, and the lack is exposed when the call sounds to go out to meet the bridegroom. Trying to obtain oil then is too late, for while the unready go to buy, the bridegroom enters to the marriage supper with the ready and the door is shut, and those found without oil are met with denial and left outside in the blackness of night, a warning to churches now slumbering while the signs of the times are fulfilling. The grace of Christ is needed continually, every day and every hour, to keep the spiritual life burning and ready to meet the Bridegroom, for without that grace the inconsistencies of the natural heart appear and life becomes divided in its service. Believing in Christ and receiving the Holy Spirit are necessary to understand the saving truths of the gospel and receive its blessings.
Keeping the vessel filled requires time to pray, to search the Scriptures with humble and contrite study, and as far as possible to attend public worship, while putting talents to use and drawing sap daily as a branch grafted into the living Vine. The present is trading time in which God-given capabilities must be used for the Master, for having a name in the church book will not secure entrance into the kingdom. Each person must make close, critical self-examination of how opportunities are used and whether the Lord's talents are traded and put out to the exchangers, and God rewards every servant who works with self-denying, self-sacrificing zeal for the salvation of souls, so that each one who has denied self and purified the soul through belief of the truth will begin at once to do missionary work for those perishing in sins. The oil is grace received and preserved through prayerful study of God's Word and an obedient heart, and this watchfulness prepares for response when the midnight cry comes. Prayer, searching the Scriptures, public worship, and abiding in God's presence sustain this grace, and workers exposed to worldly influences especially need this spiritual care so their hearts are not drawn away from God. It is spiritual strength gained through prayer and worship, which sanctifies service and equips a person for daily duty and to shine amid moral darkness.
Keeping oil means blending vigilant waiting, watching, working, and praying rather than idle expectancy or mere bustle to the neglect of personal piety, trading faithfully upon entrusted goods with self-denying zeal for souls. Readiness requires more than quiet, prayerful meditation, for Christian character also calls for vigilant, unselfish labor in God's cause, yet not constant activity that neglects personal piety, but inner life and faithful service kept together. Having a lamp is not enough without the oil of grace kept in the vessel, the lamp trimmed, and waiting joined with watchfulness and faithful work to guard against spiritual decline, so that the day of the Lord does not take one unprepared. The faithful worker whose lamp is trimmed and burning serves with self-sacrifice and unselfish devotion, diligently advancing the interests of the work, and such service brings a precious experience and a sense of God's presence, making the worker feel privileged to give ability, service, and constant care. The lamps of the soul must be kept filled and burning by vigilant waiting and earnest looking in preparation for the solemn events soon to take place and the coming of the Lord, in fervency of spirit, not slothful in business but serving the Lord, clearing the King's highway and preparing a people through earnest, energetic warnings and appeals. This does not mean spending all time in waiting, meditation, and contemplation, but blending personal piety with active work, having quiet, prayerful hours of communion to learn His will while bearing a positive message of warning to the world, as Enoch walked with God in obedience and warned the old world and stands as an example of those who will be caught up to meet Christ in the air. The wise keep oil with their lamps by combining vigilant work with faithful waiting and watching while probationary time lasts, before the night comes when no man can work, resting in the Lord and waiting patiently for Him without moving hurriedly, yet working and watching and praying and waiting. Working alone and mere bustle and continual activity are not enough, for keeping the lamps trimmed and burning means cultivating personal piety with humble, contrite hearts that cherish the love of God and fear to walk contrary to His will, active in every line of service and fervent in spirit, with unceasing watchfulness and sincere earnest prayer, improving every opportunity, so that by use gifts increase and Christlike virtues are active in representing Christ, taking heed to self and to doctrine. Neglect of personal piety makes even the most splendid endowments of no value and the most splendid service nothing unless soul, body, and spirit are devoted to His service. Readiness means waiting patiently, watching vigilantly, and working faithfully, with the trimmed and burning lamp as the symmetrical Christian life where personal piety and devotion are blended with earnest work, neither given up wholly to contemplation nor so engrossed in busy works as to neglect personal devotion, but not slothful in business and fervent in spirit, keeping up spiritual life and bringing every facility into play so that declension does not take place, bright rays are sent into the moral darkness, and the note of warning is sounded, lest the day overtake as a thief in the night.
Ready Life and Witness
Those who have oil are inwardly transformed, for the oil is grace in the heart and holy grace sent from heaven that replenishes the spiritual life, keeps discernment alive, sets the affections on heavenly things, and opens the understanding of God's love as the source of supply. It is precious, life-giving truth received in vital connection with God, in contrast to self-love and a fluctuating experience built on uncertain principles, and it requires more than theory or profession, demanding obedience to the truth and a life being purified from hidden sin and made holy. That inward adornment clothes with Christ's righteousness, conforms to His image, and enables standing when the Bridegroom appears, shown by letting light burn in good works and by learning Christ's ways, since baptism alone is no proof of readiness while old habits and worldly ideas and customs are retained. Nominal faith without this preparation is not enough, for the wise are those who accept the final message of mercy and are ready to enter the marriage supper, sanctified through truth with faith working by love in meekness, patience, and obedience to God's law written in the heart.
Their light burns steadily in the world's moral darkness because the lamp supplied with holy and precious oil reveals its value as it shines on the path of others, requiring both devotion and active service. The reserve in vessels kept the light from fading through the night, and that shining honored the bridegroom and helped light the way to his home and the marriage feast, illustrating how God's word through the Holy Spirit transforms followers by forming God's character in them to glorify God and point the way to the city of God and the marriage supper of the Lamb. Grace abundantly provided and held within keeps the light of truth from growing dim and going out, so that a heart filled with good things lets light reach and bless others, while words and conduct reveal what fills the heart, with good things strengthening Christian influence and evil or foolish speech bringing darkness to speaker and hearers. Those truly serving God let light shine in words of truth and deeds of holiness, reveal progression heavenward, and help those serving God to serve with whole mind, heart, soul, and strength, opposite to religionists one in spirit with men of the world who do not want the light of truth and never let their light shine. Readiness therefore includes recognizing dependence on God and making every effort to save souls by work and prayer, by publications and earnest missionary labor to seek and save the lost, standing on the verge of eternity when the final call announces the coming.
Having this extra supply enables patient endurance through delay, disappointment, and the final conflict, keeping lamps trimmed during probation's waiting time and standing sustained by God's power in the time of trouble and the battle of Armageddon. It is grace and the real, genuine righteousness of Christ that enables standing the test and trial of waiting long, for the exact period cannot be known by any reckoning of figures, symbols, or types, though the signs show He is at the door, and the waiting tests and proves who truly possesses it. Those who have it bear delay with patience, waiting and watching while working with greater diligence to plant, build, and gather souls, instead of doubting His coming or waiting in idle expectancy. To have oil is to be wide awake and not sleeping for Armageddon, when all the world will be on one side or the other and evil angels united with evil men, with centuries of experience in deception and battle, make a desperate final struggle with every form of evil sprung into intense activity. Then the power of the Holy Ghost rests upon God's people to sustain faith and courage, with the Captain of the Lord's host at the head of the angels of heaven to direct the battle, so that none is found sleeping but all are sustained by God's power. The sleeping virgins picture a present sleep on the borders of the greatest event in history, with signs fast fulfilling and a time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation right upon them bringing strait places as never before, and to have oil is to have feet in the narrow path and an experience giving assurance that the God of all grace is a very present help in need. It means to awake to the nearness of this trial, to seek Christ's help, and to ask the Lord Jesus to place His everlasting arms underneath and carry through.
Lacking oil warns that outward religious profession, church membership, association with Christians, theoretical assent to the third angel's message, business cares, self-indulgence, pride, and worldliness leave lamps dim or going out and bring surprise, disappointment, and exclusion when the end comes unexpectedly as a thief and when life ends. Without oil the lamp goes out, for those who fail to live in the light received will lose their light, while others may still accept truth when they respond to the light available to them. Keeping lamps burning means living the truth and obtaining wisdom and grace from God to be made complete in Jesus Christ, for without that oil the chance is lost, the door is shut when entry is sought, and those without cannot partake of the marriage supper of the Lamb. A person's true condition before God is made visible by conduct and conversation, and neglecting to keep the vessel filled leaves one unprepared, calling for vigilance and readiness since the time is unknown. Those who live only to please themselves may discover in sickness or death that they lack this preparation and are unfit to meet the end of life, for readiness requires preparation expressed in trimming the lamps, looking for the Lord, light-bearing, and action.
Those with oil in their vessels have hearts filled with grace from Christ and an increasing desire for peace and joy.