Matthew 25:9, commentary and pictures

The wise refuse because they have only enough oil for their own lamps and sharing would leave too little for both, so they tell the foolish to go to those who sell and buy for themselves. The oil in vessels is the Holy Spirit and the grace of Christ in the heart, which keeps faith living and the light burning and must be received continually. The lamps are the Word of God and the outward profession of truth, which flicker and go out unless fed from within with holy oil. Spiritual readiness cannot be transferred, lent, or borrowed from another person, not from spouse, minister, church, or membership, but each must obtain his own supply. Preparation must be made beforehand in probationary time, for when the bridegroom comes and the door is shut it will be too late to obtain oil. The ten virgins portray the professed church in the last evening of earth's history, all with lamps and expectation yet divided between the wise who have unseen communion with God and the foolish who have only theory and outward form.

Parable Setting and Story

Matthew 25:9 belongs to the parable of the ten virgins given in Matthew 25:1-13. It is set at an evening wedding, where a company waits for the bridal party so they can join its procession. It was told to the disciples while looking upon a party waiting for the bridegroom, and by the experience of the ten virgins it illustrates the experience of the church that shall live just before the second coming. It warns believers to watch for Christ's coming and asks whether their lamps will still be burning when He arrives.

When asked for oil, the wise answer that they have none to spare and there may not be enough for both groups, telling the foolish to go to them that sell and buy for themselves. They had anticipated delay and brought enough for their lamps, filling extra flagons so their lamps could be supplied, while the foolish had failed to prepare for the delay. They had only enough for their own lamps, and in one telling had used all the oil in their vessels and could not spare any, so their readiness could not supply what the others had failed to prepare. Their advice to buy comes as the bridegroom is about to arrive, while the wise are ready to join the wedding procession. The ten portray the church's spiritual condition at Christ's second coming, and the question raised is whether each person will be among the wise and ready.

While the foolish go to buy oil for their empty lamps after the call to go out to meet the Bridegroom, the bridal procession moves on without them. The Bridegroom comes and goes in to the marriage supper with the wise virgins, and the door is shut. Their attempt to obtain oil comes too late, and they miss their opportunity to join the procession. When the foolish afterward reach the banqueting hall they receive an unexpected denial, I know you not, and are left standing without in the empty street in the blackness of the night. Those who neglect preparation for the heavenly marriage feast turn away from its invitation and seek admittance too late, after the door has shut, and those who remain unready can also influence others to remain unready.

The parable includes a time of waiting and slumber in which faith is tried, followed by the midnight cry, Behold the bridegroom cometh, that awakens believers and calls them to go out to meet Him and prepare. All ten have gone out to meet the bridegroom with lamps and vessels for oil, showing the church living just before the second coming where all have a knowledge of the Scriptures, all have heard the message of Christ's near approach, and all confidently expect His appearing. For a time no difference is seen, then a time of waiting intervenes and faith is tried. The bridegroom's delay represents the passing of the expected time and the ensuing disappointment, during which believers began to lose zeal and devotion, like the virgins who slumbered. The sequence was connected with the autumn 1844 proclamation of the midnight cry, which believers associated with the time of Christ's coming, awakening them and calling them to prepare to meet the Lord. It is a warning to the churches generally, which are slumbering while the signs of the times are fulfilling in the world, not to be found without oil when the call comes.

Meaning of Oil and Lamps

The oil in the vessels with the lamps is the Holy Spirit and the grace of Christ in the heart, the oil of grace that feeds the lamp and keeps it burning with undimmed flame. It is what makes faith living, sustains light and witness, and keeps patience and love growing through vital connection with Christ, and it must be received continually every day and every hour through dependence on God. Without that daily experience the lamp flickers and goes out like a waning faith, and mere assent to theory, even to the third angel's message, leaves one unprepared and surprised when the bridegroom comes. Provision has been made so that every soul may be abundantly supplied, for the holy oil is joined to human effort in living experience and godly example through personal connection with heavenly agencies.

The lamps carried by all ten are the Word of God, Bibles, the lamp of truth and profession and outward semblance of religion, while the vessel pictures individual preparation and the need to decide to obey the truth. The lamp must be supplied from the storehouse of truth and fed with holy oil, or it flickers and goes out when it should shine brightly under the pressure of temptation. Those who profess godliness yet sleep without that oil will at last see their defects, and God calls all who have lamps to trim them now, refresh them, obtain the oil of grace, and reflect the light with rejoicing before the chance to enter is gone.

That oil is the holy golden oil of Zechariah, emptied out through the two golden pipes by the two anointed ones that stand by the Lord of the whole earth. It is received only into vessels prepared for it, into clean, pure, sanctified souls made ready through humbleness of mind, wearing Christ's yoke and learning of Him, and practicing the truth. From the holy ones that stand in God's presence His Spirit is thus imparted to human instrumentalities consecrated to His service, to communicate that heavenly grace which alone can make His word a lamp to the feet and a light to the path, for it is not by might nor by power but by God's Spirit. Without practicing the truth there is no holy oil, and its light is effective as worship and devotion give strength for daily duties and as its light is reflected on the path of others in cheerful service to seekers after salvation.

So supplied, the wise burn with undimmed flame through the night of watching, swelling the illumination for the bridegroom's honor and illuminating the way to the bridegroom's home to the marriage feast. Followers of Christ are thus to shed light into the darkness of the world, filled with holy oil from the divine altar, receiving grace and new truth and passing it on to others lest received light be lost and become darkness. Through the Holy Spirit God's word becomes a transforming power in the life of the receiver, implanting the principles of His word in hearts and developing the attributes of God in men. Then the light of His glory, His character, shines forth in His followers to glorify God and lighten the path to the Bridegroom's home, the city of God, the marriage supper of the Lamb, fed continually with holy oil so its light shines on the path of others.

The oil also denotes character, experienced knowledge of Christ's grace, faith, love, patience, and Christ's righteousness purified from sin, held as unseen principles and open communion with God. The foolish know the standard of righteousness and the theory of truth, yet self-love keeps them from receiving and valuing the truth that would sustain spiritual life, leaving faith and experience unstable, piety feeble and waning, and the soul spiritually cold. They neglect Scripture, cherish hidden sins, and lack vital connection, obedience, and purification through obedience to the truth, though expecting to enter heaven. Without the Spirit a mere knowledge of the word, theory of truth, and outward profession cannot quicken the soul, sanctify the heart, transform character, distinguish truth from error, or give entrance among those the Lord knows.

Readiness Cannot Be Borrowed

The wise had oil only for their own lamps and could not spare any without risk that there would not be enough for both themselves and the foolish, and their answer directing the foolish to go and buy for themselves shows that readiness for the bridegroom cannot be transferred from one person to another at the decisive moment. Each virgin had to obtain what was needed for her own readiness, for no one can supply another's lack when the call comes. The midnight cry calling believers to go out to meet Christ was proclaimed under the first and second angels' messages in expectation of His second coming, and while the foolish went away to buy, the bridegroom arrived and only those ready entered with him to the marriage. The warning applies to professing Christians who have heard and accepted the truth but have not lived by it, who have failed to seek a faith that works by love and purifies the soul and to become doers of the Word and keepers of God's commandments, and who profess to wait for Christ without entering into fellowship with Him; outward claims and works do not replace that fellowship, and without it they will be unready and shut out from the kingdom. It is a call against spiritual sleep to present vigilance, for each believer must seek a living experience for himself and cannot lean on another person's faith at the last moment.

Grace, character, preparation, piety, and experience cannot be given, lent, borrowed, or bought from other believers at the last moment, not by husband or wife, minister, church, birth, or membership. Each person must supply himself, kindle his own taper from the divine altar, trim his own lamp that it may shine, and keep oil in his own vessel. The refusal underscores that many expect to join the marriage supper of the Lamb yet are unprepared to meet the King, for the foolish have no oil by which to discern the clear light or accept it, and therefore cannot light their lamps and join the procession. Those whose lamps are going out may awaken to their lack too late to obtain what they need before the Bridegroom comes. Those who live in spiritual darkness cannot diffuse light and have no overflowing and subduing influence for good to pour out upon the lost, and even churches with every spiritual advantage and the most solemn truths for this time become weak, cold and dead at heart, with no burden or love or sympathy for souls for whom Christ gave His life, grumbling like the Pharisees because time is devoted to hunting up the lost sheep. No amount of attention from others can keep the breath of life in the soul, and those who expect to be nursed like sick babies instead of longing like babes for the sincere milk of the Word remain without oil for themselves and for others.

Preparation must be made beforehand during probationary time, for when the final call comes and the bridegroom arrives and the door is shut it will be too late to obtain oil and those unready will be shut out. The oil of grace must be secured now, and those who neglect to receive God's grace and form characters fit for His service will be unprepared when the call comes, and once probation has ended and the door is closed there is no gaining that readiness. Those living in the last days must therefore be personally prepared, not follow the world's customs nor assume the Lord's coming is delayed. Pursuit of worldly pleasures leaves people without the inward character represented by the white robe of Christ's righteousness, unfit when the end comes and unprepared to meet death and close life's history. The lamps' lack of oil represents a spiritual lack that leaves people unprepared when sickness and death come, for living for self-pleasing does not prepare them to meet the end of life. The wise virgins' oil is grace feeding the lamp, while the foolish virgins' lack is nominal faith without readiness, and their failure leaves them unable to join the procession; the call to the last days is to accept the final message of mercy, including the third angel's message.

Provision to buy has been made so that every soul may be abundantly supplied, and the oil is received by seeking the Lord in earnest prayer offered in simple faith, humbling the heart, being born again, cleansing from every selfish purpose, confessing sins before God, and obtaining a fresh supply before entering worship or stepping into crisis. Without this supply religious experience lacks fervor and follows the footsteps of the world, but with it believers are distinguished from the world as His peculiar, chosen and precious people, their words and actions become an example to believers and bring conviction to unbelievers, and the light of truth shines forth in bright, clear rays to a world lying in darkness. Now is the time for each person to fill his own vessel because the end is near and He that is to come will come and will not tarry, and the call is get ready, get ready, get ready, by cleansing the hands and purifying the double mind, being converted, becoming laborers together with God, and preparing in this life to unite with the redeemed. Trimming the lamps means seeking that fresh supply before stepping over the threshold into the house of worship, not bringing the gloom of unbelief into the church, for it is the right and privilege of each one to dismiss gloomy depression and to go to meet with God and His people with joyfulness. Christ paid a great price to make it possible for all to be wise virgins, partakers of the divine nature, complete in Him, perfect, without spot and blameless, one with Christ in God, yet each must make Christ his personal Saviour and cooperate with God, working out his own salvation with fear and trembling while God works in him, choosing good over evil, resisting all wrong, subduing evil temper, selfishness and pride, exercising self-control, and attaining to the righteousness of Christ, because untruthful, impure, unrighteous, evil natures cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven, sin has no place in heaven, and sin if not destroyed will destroy the sinner.

Wise and Foolish Virgins

The ten virgins portray the church of professed Christians watching in the evening of this earth's history for the Lord's appearing and seeking to be acknowledged as the Lamb's wife. All ten have a call, a name, lamps and vessels, a knowledge of Scripture and the truth, and a confident expectation, yet they are divided into five wise who are ready and five foolish who are unready, about half ready and half unready. Only five made the provision essential to join the company walking in the light that had come to them, though the truth should have been proclaimed by all ten, and had all who claimed to believe acted their part as wise virgins the message would have been proclaimed to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. This division was seen in those who heard the first and second angels' messages and went forth to meet the Bridegroom expecting to live to see Christ coming in the clouds of heaven, but many who went forth under those messages refused the third angel's message, the last testing message to the world, and thus lacked the essential provision of the wise. Their true character cannot now be reliably judged by human beings, because some who hold the truth unrighteously look outwardly wise, but their fruits reveal their character and God's angels can distinguish them without error until the time comes when the door is shut.

The foolish took their lamps but took no oil with them so their lamps went out, and when they would have entered in the door was shut and they could not partake of the marriage supper of the Lamb and lost their chance. Having no oil means not living the truth and failing to obtain from God the wisdom and grace that makes complete in Jesus Christ, remaining unconverted members of the church whose vessels are empty so they cannot keep their lamps replenished. The parable does not describe open sinners who make no profession of loving God and keeping His commandments, but those who claim to be children of God and church members yet do not practice the truth, have no burden for souls, do not deny self or lift the cross, seek an enjoyable time with the world, wear a mask, refuse to yield to authority, do great harm, and by worldly principles seduce many. They remain in character the same as before they claimed to believe the truth, live for self instead of seeking to save souls ready to perish, have not taken Christ as Counsellor, have not walked in the light of His Word nor come under His yoke to work His way, but have walked in darkness in the light of sparks of their own kindling without the sacred fire from God, bringing the verdict I know you not. Their condition is marked by ignorance, doubts, fear, temptation, confessed bad habits continued without forsaking, wasted probationary time, and weakening others by criticism and faultfinding instead of spiritual work that strengthens the church, and by professing belief without truly worshipping God selfishness hardens the heart and shuts Christ out so they cannot receive the gospel light and may become greater sinners. Religious service and outward religious activity do not prove conversion, for the heart work must be done, and those not ready cannot be made ready by it.

The wise represent those who had God's Spirit and grace as well as knowledge of the truth, while the foolish had only a theory of truth and lacked that grace, a distinction revealed in the 1844 proclamation where one group patiently prepared and looked with joy for the Lord and the other acted from fear and impulse. In those events the wise looked joyfully for Christ and prepared to meet Him, patiently searching for clearer light through trial, recognizing Christ's work in the heavenly sanctuary and following Him by faith as He entered God's presence to continue His ministry and receive His kingdom. They keep their lamps burning through good works, which show they have the inward holy grace sent from heaven needed to be ready for the Bridegroom, for baptism alone does not save when a person remains attached to old habits and worldly ideas and customs rather than being conformed to Christ. The oil must be kept by each person for herself and cannot supply another's lack, as an inward adorning enabling a person to stand when Christ appears, kept by remaining at the feet of Jesus and learning of Him, knowing His ways, letting light burn in good works, giving evidence of conformity to Christ's image, leaving old habits, and refusing to exert influence on the side of the world or weave worldly ideas and customs into character. The wise are those whose hearts are filled with grace from Christ and whose desire for peace and joy continues to grow, who have perfected Christian character by washing their robes white in the blood of the Lamb, holding fast what they received and heard, repenting and watching so Christ will not come on them as a thief, walking with Him in white as worthy overcomers clothed in white raiment with names kept in the book of life and confessed before the Father and His angels.

With the whole of Matthew 25 the parable develops the principles of eternal justice revealed in the decisions of the great day when judgment sits and the books are opened. The offense of the foolish was taking no oil in their vessels with their lamps, where the lamps are a knowledge of the truth and the oil is the grace of God, a living connection with God, vitalization by His Holy Spirit, saving faith with Christ as personal Saviour, and the moral qualifications Christ made every provision to place within reach of every sinner by clothing His divinity with humanity to bring moral power to fallen man. The foolish made appearance of giving light as the wise but supposed themselves wise while wise only in their own sight, without saving faith, not growing in grace and knowledge because they were not doers of Christ's words, whereas the wise look to Jesus, study His life, behold Him and are changed into His likeness, work in Christ's lines, obtain deeper knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ whom He sent, combine moral power with human effort, and become laborers together with God. The final judgment condemns not only revolting crimes and outbreaking sins but neglecting to do what might and ought to have been done through the provision of Christ's grace. Church membership alone does not secure entrance into heaven, for each person is accountable for how he uses what God has entrusted to him, trading talents by using abilities and opportunities in work for souls, diffusing light by eating Christ's flesh and drinking His blood which are His words that are spirit and life, practicing the truth given and dispensing every ray to others and sinking the shaft deeper for more precious truth instead of burying the talent and doing nothing with merely assenting faith. The same readiness exposes ministers who continue year after year without becoming like Christ and who cannot give truth they have not absorbed, and ministers with religious words and theories but without heartfelt piety, devotion, and spiritual life through good works are not a light to the world. Preparation for the day of God is work each must attend to for his own soul, for if neglected he will be found without oil, which is the grace of God needed every hour and brings light from God's throne that cheers the countenance and reflects the image of Jesus.

Even the weakest and most humble may receive heaven's reward by following Christ in simple faith and love. The wise represent those who have received Christ's grace and are ready when the bridegroom comes, while the foolish have only profession and outward appearance without genuine conversion, so those ready enter the marriage and when the door is shut those outside cannot enter and their claim to know the Lord is rejected. All profess to serve God and await Christ, but five are unprepared when He comes, for confidence in God's promises does not make ready, profession alone is nothing, and those claiming to follow Christ must live as He commanded. The lamps going out for lack of oil picture people losing spiritual light for want of grace, especially those who received much light and opportunity but failed to live by it and are not prepared when the decisive moment comes. The foolish are asleep with no oil in their lamps, where the oil is the Spirit of God emptied from the olive trees into the lamps, and some among God's people thus unprepared may perish with the wicked.

Prophetic Fulfillment in History

The coming of the bridegroom is His coming as Bridegroom to the marriage, His coming to the Ancient of Days in heaven to receive His kingdom and begin the final work of mediation in the most holy place. It is not His second advent to earth to execute judgment, but a distinct event involving a change in His position and work as great High Priest in heaven in relation to the marriage of the Lamb. It is Jesus rising from His mediatorial throne and going into the holiest as Bridegroom to receive His kingdom, with the midnight cry belonging to the travel of the Advent band before that move and the Bridegroom's coming following it. This coming to the holiest settled the shut-door belief among those who received the vision and held fast to their Advent experience. That shut door did not mean that mercy for sinners had ended, for at the end of the 2300 days Christ had closed His ministration in the holy place and begun His work in the most holy place, still pleading His blood for sinners.

The midnight cry, Behold the Bridegroom cometh, was fulfilled under the proclamation of the first and second angels' messages. In autumn 1844 that cry was proclaimed and aroused thousands with hope in Christ's coming, framing the expectation as a call to be ready with genuine experience and unmistakable evidence of acceptance with God. Under that proclamation believers preached the second appearing of Christ in the clouds of heaven and were compelled to go out from the churches for doing so. The message for the whole world to hear at that time was Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him. Going forth to meet the Bridegroom took place in 1844, though some who then went forth were afterward deceived by false shepherds until they did not know where they were or what they believed.

The delay represents the passing of the expected time and the disappointment, when zeal waned and the virgins slumbered. When time runs a little longer than expected, interest is lost, stupidity creeps over professed waiters, and they fall asleep never to awake again, so they do not see the angels marching through the air. The two groups were revealed in the 1844 proclamation: the wise had patiently prepared and looked with joy for the Lord, having both knowledge of Scripture and the Spirit and grace of God, while the others acted from fear and impulse with only a theory of truth. The wise patiently searched for clearer light through trial, recognized Christ's work in the heavenly sanctuary, and followed Him by faith as He entered God's presence to continue His ministry and receive His kingdom. Only five made the provision essential to join the company who walked in the light that had come to them, for many who went forth under the first and second angels' messages expecting to live to see Christ coming in the clouds refused the third angel's message, the last testing message to be given to the world. Had all who claimed to believe acted their part as wise virgins, the message would have been proclaimed to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. Those who watch and double their diligence and make their calling and election sure will be able to stand despite trembling fear and past wrongs, will be claimed from Satan as redeemed and purchased by the precious blood of Jesus, will have their garments changed and receive the light mantle, and will have their faces light up as they meet the angels in the air.

By the experience of the ten virgins the parable illustrates the experience of the church living just before the second coming, the church of professed Christians watching in the evening of this earth's history. It is applied to people waiting for Jesus while He goes to the Father and later returns from the wedding, who must wait for Him and keep their garments spotless. It presents readiness for Jesus' second coming as waiting and watching for that event, a lesson of watchfulness that calls for light-bearing action and keeping the lamp ready while looking for the Lord to come. The wise go in to the wedding, and a person's true condition before God is made manifest by conduct and conversation. The parable warns that people must be ready to meet the Lord, with concern for those who are unready echoing that warning.

Call to Present Readiness

The lamp must now be kept trimmed and burning and the vessel filled with the oil of grace, and its light must shine today rather than readiness being put off until tomorrow or until a time of need. Waiting means vigilant, faithful service with personal piety, sustained by a living connection with God, for without that connection there will be no readiness for the harvest nor added grace when it is especially needed. The soul must wake from spiritual sleep, keep the lamp supplied, examine its own spiritual condition, and make constant effort against decline, because the day of the Lord and the coming of the Bridegroom will be without delay and unexpectedly, as a thief, and lamps left untrimmed will go out and leave their holders unprepared to meet Him. The call to go out to meet Him cannot be postponed until He arrives, and the delay before it leaves only a short time to repent.

Keeping the supply requires grace and a living, complete connection with God today and every day, maintained by daily burden and earnest prayer, by prayerfully studying God's Word and choosing to obey it, and by practicing meekness and love in words, behavior, and daily life. The wise keep their lamps filled and burning and are ready to answer the midnight cry, while the foolish are careless about watchfulness; believers must therefore awaken and trim their lamps, reject sophistry and skepticism without losing time in its discussion, and find that entire consecration to God puts an end to vain suppositions and imaginations. Readiness is not idle expectancy or mere bustle but the blending of working, waiting, watching, and praying, using one's abilities and talents to spread present truth, awaken the world to its danger, lead perishing souls to Christ, warn that the end is near, circulate warning publications, and serve unselfishly while staying spiritually prepared. In that service the Lord is found present, giving an experience that assures the soul of God's presence to help and of reliance on Jesus to carry through the time of trouble and trial ahead.

The warning falls on sleeping churches generally while signs are fulfilling, upon people who have received great light and knowledge yet are spiritually cold, insensible, and marked by feeble, waning, fading piety, with lamps but no oil in their vessels and without the spiritual life needed to be ready. Having a lamp is not enough, for without the oil of grace the lamp cannot burn and give light; ministers especially must be spiritually prepared with faith and love rather than merely possessing the outward appearance of readiness, in contrast to God's people receiving new life and power from on high and recognizing and receiving the Holy Spirit. The same call is pressed upon youth facing sickness and death, upon families to keep the home lights burning, upon Battle Creek unless it awakes, and upon neglect of mission work including the Southern field.

Each person, household member, and church member must attend to preparation for his own soul, for no one can keep another's light burning or do another's allotted work, and the lamp and vessel picture an individual preparation in which grace is received personally, held in one's own life, and grown into knowledge through earnest prayer sustained by faith in Christ. The inner lamp must be trimmed first, with the mind guarded every moment and thoughts restrained, because Satan watches for an unguarded moment to take possession, and Christians must neither be ignorant of his devices nor be overpowered by them. He is not the horned figure of pictures but a being of intelligence who was once an angel of light, and those who trust their own intelligence will be led to think they can correct the Scriptures, a form of infidelity to be met in high places; wisdom means not trusting mere theory but having the oil of grace so the lamp shines and the world takes knowledge that its holder has been with Jesus and learned of Him. Character is trained in little duties, defects overcome, talents used, and Christ's lessons practiced in meekness, tenderness, sympathy, and love, for those who do not supply their vessels have a false religion; sleeping believers must wake, repent of neglect, study the neglected Bible to share present truth and let light shine in the home and to the world, seeking an understanding of the truth in Jesus with the promise that the Lord will pardon transgressions and forgive sin, in vigilant watching and sanctified waiting with no relaxation of effort in seeking eternal life.