“THE TEN VIRGINS,” Part 1 (Another Look)
Unlike many of our Lord’s parables this one is placed and fixed by the word “then.” Taken in connection with the preceding Chapter (Chapter 24), it is fixed as belonging to the last generation of the church living when the Lord comes. The kingdom of heaven is a term applicable to the church, which, from its establishment at Pentecost has always been God’s kingdom in which He is King and over which his will is law. True, in the future it will be “set up” and then it will be more generally recognized by mankind but even now we are really his kingdom; and when it has nearly finished its course in the world – “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom.”
The name virgin means chaste, pure; in the parable ten are made to represent a larger company of chaste ones in the church. The conditions of this parable have been fulfilled by the church of our day. At any other period as well as the last, the church might have been properly represented by virgins of any number, but of no other than the last could it be said: “They took their lamps and went forth to meet the Bridegroom,” because not until the nineteenth century has the “lamp” (“Thy word is a lamp“) been in the hands of the virgins – the church, to give them light on the subject of the Bridegroom’s coming (presence).
During the three and a halftimes or 1260 years of Papal supremacy, ending A.D. 1798, these two witnesses (the old and new testaments) had been clothed in the sackcloth of a dead (Latin) language, but since that time it has been taken up by bible and tract societies and scattered over the world by the millions. And it is since this book has been thus among the virgins that its teaching of the coming kingdom and coming Bridegroom has begun to contradict the assumptions of Papacy – that it was his kingdom and its Pope his vicegerent.
Just at a proper time (the “due time”) then, as the word of God had begun to circulate freely, comes what is commonly known as the Miller movement. It was a movement among Christian people of all denominations, principally Methodists and Baptists, a general awakening, and included many of the best people in all of the churches. Mr. William Miller, a very Godly man, (a Baptist) was the prime mover in this country, though simultaneously Wolf and others were calling attention to the same subject in Europe and Asia; the real movement, however, was in our own land.
But the parable mentions a going forth to meet, and etc.
What does this signify?
This is another evidence of our stage of the church, (the Seventh or Laodicean stage) for although the bible had always taught the “second coming of Christ,” yet it had been understood in so general a way that none were able to settle upon any definite time and say – then he will come; consequently there could be no such going forth to meet him, as is demanded by the parable.
“And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom, go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps (searched the Scriptures, specifically those prophecies concerning the coming of the Lord).” Matt 25:6,7
Now the case is changed, William Miller’s attention is attracted to and riveted upon the prophecies.
He reads: “Unto 2300 days and the sanctuary shall be cleansed.” He counts and finds that it would end in A.D. 1843 or 1844.
He erroneously supposes the earth to be the sanctuary and expects its cleansing to be by literal fire. He, though a calm deliberate man, could not forbear to tell his fellows that so read the prophecies, and so he believed. It spread rapidly, among old and young alike, and many virgins after examining with the lamp, were convinced that the word taught them to expect the coming of their Bridegroom in A.D. 1844; and on the strength of this faith, they went forth to meet him. In going they walked by faith, not by sight, but they did what the virgins never had done before, because never before had the word, or lamp led them to thus definitely expect him. (We believe him to have erred both in what the sanctuary is and what the fire is.)
Five of the virgins were wise and five were foolish. Of those who went forth, some were actuated by excitement, and carried along with the occasion, but others – the wise – not only had the zeal of the moment, but it was backed by a deep, heartfelt desire and spiritual yearning for the bridegroom’s presence. “While the Bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.” Their expectations of the coming of the bridegroom, and burning of the world, met with disappointment.
He “tarried,” and they slept. That is to say, they dreamed all sorts of foolish things, and various times for His coming, as illustrated by the various fanciful and fanatical views held by them during many years succeeding.
At midnight, or during the night (the Greek word is not definite, like ours), there was a cry made: “Behold, the Bridegroom; go you out to meet Him.”
Who made the cry is a matter of no consequence. The cry was made before morning too; i.e., the announcement and preaching that the bridegroom was due to be here in A.D. 1874, was made, as is well known by many of our readers. (We understand that morning began to dawn in A.D. 1873, where the 6,000 years from Adam ended.)
It was made first among the Second Advent denomination.
The evidences from scripture that the 6,000 years would end and the morning dawn in 1873, and that, with the morning the Bridegroom was due, was preached upon by a brother of very marked ability as a prophetic student, who also published a series of articles on the subject in the leading paper of that denomination, (“The World’s Crisis“) as well as afterward in a pamphlet, and finally as a monthly paper called “The Midnight Cry.”
The message attracted general attention from the people of that denomination, so that in a few issues its circulation ran up to 15,000, or more than all other papers devoted to the subject of the Second Advent together (In our day with modern methods of communications this might seem like nothing, but in the late 1800’s this was an amazing feat). This, we believe, fulfilled this parable, not that Adventist people alone are virgins, but they were the part of the company that were at that time looking for the bridegroom, but asleep and unconscious as to the time of His coming.
The difficulty with our Adventist friends is that many still hold to the erroneous thought held by those during the Miller movement i.e., that the earth is to be destroyed by literal fire, and that the appearance of our Lord is to be a visible appearing, this contrary to the teaching of the Scriptures which teach of an invisible return, seen only by the few, the wise virgins who are awake, and by or through whose eyes, the eyes of their understanding having been opened; the scriptures enlightened them to the invisible presence of our Lord.
Continued with next post.
For more on the 2300 Days of Daniel please see: