I WISH THEY ALL HAD BEEN READY

Matt.25:1 – Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

In my early years as a Christian the imminent return of Jesus was always on our minds. It was one of the first doctrines I embraced as a Christian; believing in the soon return of Jesus put the fear of God in my life. Just to show you how intertwined the Second Coming of the Lord was in the Jesus movement, Parris and I had a song from Larry Norman sung as our bridal march. The song was entitled I WISH THEY HAD ALL BEEN READY. It wasn’t very traditional but we made our point, we were going to follow Jesus and the end of the age is near. Here are some comments from the Fire Bible about the parable of the Ten Virgins and how it spoke of the coming of the Lord.

1) The difference between the foolish and the wise virgins is that the foolish failed to recognize that the returning Lord would come unexpectedly, without obvious signs as the time approached.

(2) Christ indicates here and elsewhere that a large portion of the church will be unprepared at the time of his return. He makes it clear that he will not wait until all churches and professing believers are prepared for his coming.

(3) Notice that all the virgins (both faithful and unfaithful) were taken by surprise at the bridegroom’s coming.

(4) The oil in the parable represents true faith, a right relationship with God and the constant presence of the Holy Spirit. In Scripture, oil is often a symbol of the Holy Spirit’s presence and power in a person’s life. All true followers of Jesus can enjoy that presence. If we want to be ready, like the wise virgins, our lives need to be pure and full of the faith and righteousness that come only from God’s Spirit.”

Jesus used this parable to show the surprising and sudden nature of His return. Being prepared and expectant is critical if there really is a Second Coming of Jesus. The main point in this parable was the place of the oil in the lamps. The oil is a picture of the Holy Spirit and the lamps could well represent us being containers of His presence. The only way to be ready for the imminent return of Christ is to be constantly filled with the Holy Spirit, without that oil we will certainly be caught by surprise.