Matthew 25:6 says, “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.”
This is no time to be without oil in your lamp. My dad told of a time when he was a boy, sleeping upstairs, that an old bachelor neighbor would knock on the door in the middle of the night and say, “Got any ‘cole ole’?” He said it was a pitiful sound. He wondered if he was afraid of the dark.
The lamps that Jesus spoke of were small and made out of clay—they looked similar to a tiny tea pot. They held little oil, so they needed to be refilled often. Let’s consider for a few moments the warning Jesus was giving in the parable of the ten virgins and their lamps (Matthew 25:1-13). In the preceding chapter Jesus gave many details about His coming back and the end times, in answer to the disciple’s question in verse 3. He continued on with the parable explaining what the Kingdom of Heaven would be like in the end times.
It is interesting that all ten virgins are use to describe the Kingdom of Heaven. They are called “wise,’’ and “foolish.” How would we distinguish the wise and foolish today? First they were all wise enough to get into the kingdom by making a covenant with Jesus at the cross. Being born again, they were “in Christ,” (Romans 8:1). Though Christ had not yet died on the cross when He gave this parable (it being a parable about the last days), He was still calling people to believe on Him. All ten virgins believed on Him. They all went forth to meet the bridegroom. John 3:16 says, “…that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” There is nothing we can do to be the sacrifice for our sins. “In the New Testament, ‘believe’ comes from the Greek verb pisteou, which means far more than intellectual agreement” (from AI Overview). It goes on to say that this belief brings one to a commitment or a covenant relationship. The covenant takes two parties. Jesus keeps His part of the covenant.
Our part of the covenant is to keep on believing. This is where the Holy Spirit comes in. Again in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Many people want to believe in no condemnation because they are in Christ Jesus. They claim that nothing can take them out of this state. They ignore that their part of the equation is to walk after the Spirit.
In the parable the oil in the lamps, “that gave light in darkness,” represents the Spirit. We as little “lamps,” need to be filled continually. If we find ourselves walking after the flesh, our vessel empty, we had best quickly repent, turn around, and get back in step with the Spirit. The Bridegroom could be coming any moment, maybe as a thief in the night. It will be too late to beg for oil when we hear THE MIDNIGHT CRY!
