The parable is to teach believers to be ready by watching and praying and living a life worthy of his sudden appearing.
The bride of the bridegroom is not in the parable.
The virgins are young women who are not yet married who are friends of the bridegroom, in a Jewish wedding custom scenario.
The illustration does not require identifying the bride or talking about how the church is the bride of Christ. That is adding a level of information that Jesus was not trying to discuss at this time.
His point was not to think that you can wait to the last minute when the Lord comes back and get right before you experience the judgments that will be poured out at that time, and be shut out of eternal life and the everlasting kingdom.
Too much is made of oil, and virgins, and brides, and doors. The theological concept is to watch and pray and live ready. Don't fall for the deception that you can get ready when you see the Lord coming. Too late.
If anything the illustration should be, If you have to have your light shining to enter in, and if Doing the Word of God is wise and being a hearer only is foolish, and having your light shining is letting men see your good works so that they may Glorify God then, be wise and be doing good works now, and don't think you can start doing good works at the last minute when the voice of the Archangel announces the rapture of the church. Or something similar to that kind of interpretation.
I think the efforts to apply allegorical meanings and insist on finding the bride in a parable that does not need to include the bride simply because other scriptures refer to the church as the bride is utter confusion.
The bride of the bridegroom is not in the parable.
The virgins are young women who are not yet married who are friends of the bridegroom, in a Jewish wedding custom scenario.
The illustration does not require identifying the bride or talking about how the church is the bride of Christ. That is adding a level of information that Jesus was not trying to discuss at this time.
His point was not to think that you can wait to the last minute when the Lord comes back and get right before you experience the judgments that will be poured out at that time, and be shut out of eternal life and the everlasting kingdom.
Too much is made of oil, and virgins, and brides, and doors. The theological concept is to watch and pray and live ready. Don't fall for the deception that you can get ready when you see the Lord coming. Too late.
If anything the illustration should be, If you have to have your light shining to enter in, and if Doing the Word of God is wise and being a hearer only is foolish, and having your light shining is letting men see your good works so that they may Glorify God then, be wise and be doing good works now, and don't think you can start doing good works at the last minute when the voice of the Archangel announces the rapture of the church. Or something similar to that kind of interpretation.
I think the efforts to apply allegorical meanings and insist on finding the bride in a parable that does not need to include the bride simply because other scriptures refer to the church as the bride is utter confusion.
Thank you.