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Parable of the Ten Virgins


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One day Jesus told a story about a wedding feast. Let's learn something about Jewish traditions before we hear the story.

The Jewish marriage took place in three stages over a long period of time. When the couple was still very young, an Engagement was arranged by the parents, sometimes with the help of a "matchmaker".

Second, there was a Betrothal ceremony held at the bride's house. The couple exchanged vows and the groom gave the bride presents. This period lasted for a year or two, but the bride continued to live with her parents. During this time the bride was said to be "betrothed" or "espoused" to the young man.

The Marriage Supper came next. It usually happened at night. The groom and his friends came to the bride's house. She would be wearing a thick veil. She and her friends would accompany the groom and his friends to his father's house or maybe a larger hall where the festivities would take place. A contract was signed.

The bride and groom would spend time together, then the bride would remain by herself for seven days. At the end of the week, the bride would return to the group, remove her veil so that everyone could see her. If the young woman had never been married, the feast would last for seven days. If she were a widow remarrying, it would last for three days.

In the story Jesus told, the ten virgins were waiting for the bridegroom to come. Possibly they were already at the hall where the bridegroom was bringing his bride. It was nighttime and they all had lamps with oil in them, and the lamps were burning brightly.

They waited and waited. Still the wedding party had not arrived. As it got later, they began to get drowsy, and one by one they fell asleep.

Then they heard someone calling, "Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him."

They began to get up, but some of the lamps began going out.

Five of the girls were prepared for just such an event. They had planned ahead and anticipated the delay. They had extra oil to add to their lamps. They were wise to make this preparation.

The five foolish girls had no extra oil. They wanted to borrow some from the wise girls, but they refused. They said there might not be enough for all of them. They urged the girls to go and buy some oil from someone who had it for sale.

The girls left to go find a merchant who would sell them oil.

While they were gone, the bridegroom arrived and the five wise girls and the rest of the wedding party went inside. The door was shut.

The five foolish girls came back. They shouted for someone to open the door for them, but sadly there was no way for them to enter. The bridegroom replied, "I tell you the truth. I don't know you."

There are many ideas about the meaning of this parable. But one idea seems to be very clear; we need to live our lives in such a way that we are always ready for the Lord's return or for the end of our lives.

Read the story in Spanish La Parábola de las Diez Vírgenes

Read the story in Amharic Amharic Story Link

What does this story
mean to me?

This parable teaches us to always be prepared. The foolish girls brought oil in their lamps, but they didn't think ahead and bring extra oil.

Are you going to have a test at school? Don't wait until the last minute to prepare for it. Study ahead of time and you won't have to "cram" to get the knowledge in your head.

Do you have a memory verse to learn? Don't delay studying until the morning you are recite it. Work on it every day, and it will become a part of you. You may even be able to recall it years later!

You can read about the Parable of the Ten Virgins in the Bible in
Matthew 25:1-13

Memory Verse

You also must be ready because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Luke 12:40 (NIV)

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Complete Bible Resources at Garden of Praise

Song The Wise and Foolish Virgins

Another Song of The Wise and Foolish Virgins

Memory Puzzle Parable of the Ten Virgins

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English Bible Activities Select story #228 in the list for activities to accompany this Bible story.

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Page Comments
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2012-04-02
The True Meaning of this Parable is:

First thing to understand this parable you need the spirit of the Living God.

The Parable of Ten Virgins represent a believer of Christ those five who were wise have kept their oil while waiting for the bride groom. Oil represents as the Holy Spirit of God while waiting for their bridegroom (Rapture)they have worked out their salvation with fear and trembling Phil. 2:12 by maintaining the Holy Spirit to keep burning in their hearts while the five those who were foolish were become complacent in their faith meaning they had compromised themselves in the world.They sinned and transgressed the commandments of God and their lamps had run out of oil because the Holy spirit has grieved ( Ephesians 4:30 )The holy spirit is sensitive it can pick up and discern wickedness and the spirit of God would grieve once a believer sins against the commandment of God( Reference Acts Chapter 5 Ananias and Sapphira. In James 4:4 - If any a man chooses to be a friend of this world you would become an enemy of God. Jesus said in John Chapter 3:5 -Except a man be born of water and the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God.The Conclusion of this Parable is that the 5 foolish virgins were left behind in the rapture( Matthew Chapter 24:34-42)......Keep the Holy spirit of God continue burning in your hearts that is our passport in heaven in Romans Chapter 8:9 -A man without the spirit of Christ He does not belong to Christ.......How to obtain the Holy Spirit Peter said in Acts 2:38 Repent and be Baptized everyone of you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and You shall receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit. Read the life of Cornelius Acts Chapter 10 He is not yet saved but the angel of the Lord instructed him how to get saved.May God bless You......The most important of all is the Holy Spirit of God.......... Edit By Nick from Philippines......
nick
2012-02-20
I am a Sunday School teacher of 25 years and this is by far the best training material I have seen- because they are short, to the point, scriptural and very interactive which is KEY to learning and maintaining interest. The variation of interactive tools such as word scramble, puzzles, fill in the blank are just awesome. Developing a lesson is so time consuming, now all I have to do is prepare and teach. The children love them because they know its not going to be a lot of the teacher lecturing. Thank you for your hard work in developing these short training sessions and doing so accurately. Steve Slusser
Steve Slusser
2011-11-04
Thank you for what you are doing!
J Wallace - The Bahamas
2011-10-09
2011-9-10 I really enjoy this site and use many printables for our Superchurch class on Sundays! Thank You for having this available to use as a valuable resource.
Yvette
2010-08-31
it was a nice story.
alisha
2009-10-04
The grace of the lord be upon this world. May the lord bless the initiatives to this cite. I found wisdom and understanding of the word of God.I found my beautiful short but powerful memory verse: Luke 12:40" You also must be ready for the son of man will come an hour while you do not expect him"
Emili Lydia Nadula
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