Were all the 10 virgins saved? What does it mean that they all " slept"?

Question

Personally I believe that the 10 virgins were all believers. Why? They were all " virgins" esposed to be married to the Bridegroom and also, they had oil in their lamps. The spirit of man we know is a lamp of Jehovah ( Proverbs 20:27)

And we know also that the Oil here represents the Spirit of God in our spirits.
Romans 8:16
" The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirits that we are children of God"

So there is no doubt that these virgins were saved.
But my question to you is this.
They slept.
Sleeping in the bible is associated with death.
What does this portion say to us as believers. Should we be those who allow the Spirit of God to saturate and transform our souls, this " vessel " ( Romans 9:23-24)during our lifetime?

What is your take on this whole matter. Two things we do not know. When we will die and when the Lord will return. While we wait how do we take care to gain the extra oil in our vessels.
Ty for sharing .
IN Christ
sandy

A few verses on " slept" or sleeping in the bible.
John 11:11
And He said these things and after this He said to them, Or friend Lazarus has fallen asleep but I am going tthat I may wake him out of sleep"

In reference to taking the table unworthily Paul said to the corinthian believers.
1 Cor 11:30
Because of this many among you are weak and sick and a number sleep.

1 Cor 15:1
Behold I tell you a mystery, We will not all sleep but we will all be changed.

1 Thess 4:13-16
But we do not want you to be ignorant brothers concerning those who are sleeping that you would not grieve even as also the rest who have no hope
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose so also those who have fallen asleep through Jesus God will bring with Him...
Because the Lord Himself with a shout of command with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God will discend from heaven and the dead in Christ will rise first.

Hope these verses help to show that sleeping is death

Hi sister Molly:)
Ty for posting.
I just wanted to note something regarding the Lamp and the Vessel. Both had oil in the Lamps. The thing about the wise virgins is that they had Oil in their Lamps WITH the vessels. The difference is the Vessels having the extra oil. Our spirit is this lamp.. but the vessel is our soul. TO not have any extra oil in the vessels means that they went through their whole christian life without allowing the HOly Spirit to transform and saturate and fill their souls. The were simply unrenewed in the minds. Their emotions loved other things more than the Lord and their will was not given to choose the Lord. The Lord remained almost like a prisioner in their spirits. This is a serious condition. That they all slept is a warning to us. We need to cooperate with the Lord for His move and spread in our being by coming to the renewing word.By opening up our heart to love Him and to Choose Him in all things.
ty sister:)

Answer 1

they were all believers.

Old Jewish custom had the bride to be always having her lamp lit, for she knew not when her husband to be would come to get her.
the same holds true for us. We need to be ready at all times, but only half of the Christian faith think they have enough oil.

"Be filled DAILY with the Holy Spirit."

Answer 2

Yes we should allow God to Saturate and Transform our Souls, But the way I'm going to answer your other thoughts is Yes god made Man for Women and Women for Men, Now Seek ye first the Kindom of God, ___Get This----- The rest will follow and be given, curiosity is a working vessel for Father God long as it is about Him and our Souls, get the picture. And something Far as Extra Oil in our Cup__

A Short passage---Our cup runeth over surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all in the days of our Lives and--We Shall Dwell in the House of the Lord forever and ever Amen.
That should answer this particular part of the Tribal Journey.

Father God in Heaven says I speak to you everyday If only you would hear MY Voice, through your Heart Mind and Concience I am there For you, all the time Until Enternity If you let me.

Answer 3

You asked about the virgins, but the point of Jesus' parable was to be ready when the bridegroom came. The five were foolish because they didn't bring enough oil for the lamps, and as a result, missed out on the wedding feast. The imagery is that of a Jewish wedding, and the hearers would have known very well indeed what Jesus referred to.

You're absolutely right about the two things we don't know, especially when the Lord will return. As for the oil, that seems to me to be one of the details, not the point of the story itself. But we do need to be prepared--the Lord Himself said nobody knows when He is going to return. Thank you for a very thought-provoking question.

Answer 4

The fact that they were all sleeping brings light to the fact that no one knows the hour when Jesus will return.

Personally, I believe the difference between the 5 wise and 5 foolish is the fact the the wise were Spirit filled born again believers. The foolish were those that "with their lips draw near but their hearts are far from me".

The harsh reality is that many who claim to be Christians have not allowed the Holy Spirits access to their lives completely and have remained in a state of intellectual salvation. Ever learning but never able to come to the truth.

Answer 5

Dear Sister in Christ, Sandy,

We should be thankful that most of Jesus' Parables are accurately recorded, except for two: The parable of Lazarus was not from Jesus, but from the teachings of John the Baptist's disciples. The parable of the 10 virgins was falsely written around AD200, along with a false Jewish apocalyptic about the alleged return of another Jewish Messiah by Selta who was attached to the court of the emperor Caligula. But the Apostle John never became thus confused on the Second Coming of Jesus ! See John chapters 14-17

Thus, you are right to question this false parable of the 10 virgins. We do have Jesus' Spirit of Truth here perfectly guiding us into His ALL TRUTH OF GOD !

Peace and progress,
Brother Dave, a Jesusonian Christian Truthist
http://www.PureChristians.org/ Gospel enlarging website,
proclaiming worldwide the True Religion
OF JESUS and ABOUT JESUS and IN JESUS
Come and share !

Answer 6

Sandy, the question in my mind about the meaning of sleep here is that it is a parable. Most parables are giving a picture to represent something else. I've always been taught that the point of the parable was believers waiting for the return of our Bridegroom Jesus. I don't think sleep means death here. Once we die, according to Heb. 9:27 we are set for judgment. So if the virgins were all believers who had died, wouldn't they all be invited to the marriage supper? I guess I see it as a parable of life while waiting for the end of life here and the marriage to our Bridegroom. The foolish virgins were "religious", but not saved and the wise virgins were believers who remain faithful and prepared in this life for all God wants, until they are finally called back to God by death/rapture.

Personally speaking, I'm excited for all God has in store, here and there!!! Living or dying, I am Christ's and He is mine! I am so blessed by God and words don't ever seem to convey what I want to say about God's goodness to me and His faithfulness and REALITY in this life. I feel so sorry for those who don't know Him or have been turned off by one thing or another so that they miss out on knowing Jesus; it is so tragic!

Anyway, back to your question. It is a good one, I feel peace about my understanding of the parable; but I sure don't have a lock on all the truth. Thanks, LeslieAnn

Answer 7

Good question. I'm not sure slept here is referring to death. I think that it was a way of saying they waited a long time. Probably longer than expected and became weary and thus sleep. The section before talks about a good servant being watchful and ready. This parable was an illustration of that.
The main point is be ready. Don't get caught out of oil. You might miss the party.

Answer 8

Yes, saved possibly in the Millennium, but did not have enough truth (oil spirit) to overcome Satan.
Notice they went and bought in a time (Rev.13) when no one can buy or sell, lest they are marked or deceived.

They slept through the flood.

Rev 12:15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

The flood of lies which is going on right now. Out of his mouth (water) as a flood.

Rev 17:15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

Many are sleeping through the overspreading of abominations, or wings of deceit.

Dan 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Christ warned us.

Mar 13:14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:

The word "see" means perceive.

Many are sleeping waitng for Satan to appear playing God, when behind the scenes he is already here.

By the way, another EXCELLENT question. A rarity on this forum.

Answer 9

Many years ago on a Mission trip to India I had the privilege of seeing a real eastern Wedding like Jesus talked about. The images are alive still in my mind. It was like a moment in time that God directed.
The night was dark as there was no street lights in Calcutta. The noise was loud with all kinds of tambourines etc. The bride was coming with a huge crowd of people riding on a donkey. On his vest was money on a clothe. (His reward is with Him). As he approached the house of the bride all lit with candles and lights the bride came out to meet him with her friends and wedding party.
He dismounted from his horse and they all entered the house together.
In this story in Matt. 25 there is indication that those other virgins who did not enter only had knowledge but no actions.
They were not saved nor did they enter into the wedding of the bride. Knowledge of spiritual things without actions of following means nothing. Value is only in a change of life.
Lets get rid of the false idea that we are Christians by saying a little prayer of going through some religious ceremony of Baptism or other valuable sign. It only means reality if we are changed by the oil of the Holy Spirit changing us to hear the voice of the bride as He comes for us.

Answer 10

Though it is true that the Bible uses the metaphor of sleep to mean the physical cessation of life (as opposed to the permanent cessation of life in the Lake of Fire), it is not exclusive.

For instance, the following verses use 'sleep' to mean as we commonly use the term, to rest, repose in slumber (dreaming and snoring): Matthew 1:24, Mark 4:27, Luke 9:32, Luke 22:46, Acts 16:27, Acts 20:9.

Yet, there seems to be a third meaning associated with 'sleep', used in Romans 13:11, Ephesians 5:14 and 1 Thessalonians 5:6-7, that does not fit with the above two meanings.

Romans 13:11 -- And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
And,
Ephesians 5:14 -- Therefore He says: "Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light."

Here Paul is writing to the saints that they should wake up. Since it is not within the power of the saints to awaken from death, this must be referring to some other form of sleep from which they do have the power to awaken.

1 Thessalonians 5:6-7 -- Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.

In this verse, not only does the above apply, but we also have another metaphor that is being associated with the one of sleep to express the same idea -- Paul also refers to drunkenness and night. Night represents the spiritual darkness of this present evil age.

From these we can glean that Paul is referring to a spiritual unconsciousness -- that is, one who is not paying attention to his spiritual condition, and not pursuing the goal of the Kingdom of God with all diligence. That is, they have become lax to sin in their lives, not striving to overcome as they should.

Indeed, Christ's parable indicates that near the time of the end, ALL of his saints will be in this condition to one extent or another, because of the perceived delay in Christ's return (Matthew 25:5). In the same way that Peter, John and James could not endure the waiting as Christ prayed at the Mount of Olives (Luke 22:39-46). And therefore, Christ's instruction to them applies to us as well:
Then He said to them, "Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation."

Answer 11

'Sleeping' is the first death, the death of the physical body.

You are right about oil representing the Holy Spirit.
Therefore only five of the virgins were really saved.
For verse Mat 25:3 says "They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:"

Five of the virgins had no 'oil' therefore they had no Holy Spirit.

These verses are not concerning all the saved, but shows the saved (the virgins WITH oil) and the unsaved (the virgins WITHOUT oil).