The most frequently asked question at present is: Who are the foolish virgins? Before we consider the foolish virgins in Mat 25, we should first and foremost be concerned about being part of the wise virgins.

As is well-known, chapter 24 precedes the parable of the ten virgins in chapter 25. I ask all of you to conscientiously and prayerfully read Mat 24. There we also find mention of the last phase in which we are now living: of wars, famines, and earthquakes; also that false Christs and false prophets shall arise who will perform great signs and wonders that, if it were possible, would deceive the very elect. However, by the grace of God, this is not possible! Then follows the admonition from our Lord: “Behold, I have told you before.” He also said that the Return of the Son of Man will be “as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west …” – not over the span of weeks or years. After that, our Lord referred to the fig tree; already in the Old Testament Israel had been likened to a fig tree in Hos 9:10: “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh …” (Mat 24:32). The people of Israel have returned home from more than 150 countries (Isa 14:1; Jer 31:10; Eze 36:24; Lk 21:29). The State of Israel exists since 1948. There are once again nearly 17 million Jews on earth, as before the Holocaust.

Again the Lord said, “So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” (v. 33). And the Lord continued and spoke of His Return: that then two will be in one bed (Lk 17:34) and two will be in the field (Mat 24:40); the one will be taken and the other will be left. Once more He emphasized, “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.” And, as a final warning, He said, “Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” “Be ye ready!” For they who will be ready shall go in to the marriage supper! Everything that the Lord foretold in this chapter is coming to fulfillment before our eyes, with Israel, in the Middle East, and worldwide.

In Mat 24:45-47 it is about the giving out of the food until His Return. The Lord Himself asked the question: “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?” We know that man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God (Mat 4:4; Deu 8:3). God promised to send a famine to hear His words (Amos 8:11). Has the table of the Lord ever been as richly prepared as it is now? Is not the same spiritual food also being given out today by all of the ministering brethren? The Scripture is most certainly being fulfilled before our eyes.

Of course, the Lord had to also speak of an evil servant in the last verses of Mat 24:48-51. But it has always been like that. First God sends His servants who proclaim His Word, and then self-appointed men appear who present their own interpretations to the people, but who cannot report of a divine calling and sending. With God, the fact remains: Without a calling there is no commission, and no commission is without a calling. In Mat 13:34-43 our Lord spoke of the good seed, which He himself sowed, and that the enemy immediately followed and sowed the evil seed. And both sprouted up: The good seed are the children of God, and the others are the children of the evil one. There is no country on earth where the true message of the Word was not brought first. Only afterward was the evil seed of interpretations sown.

In Mat 25 our Lord continued, “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.” Everybody must become aware of the fact that, directly after Mat 24, it states in chapter 25:1: “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins …” Not before and not afterward, but then, at the time when everything that belongs to it comes to pass from chapter 24 and when the true food is given out, the parable of the ten virgins shall be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God. The sound of the message is growing ever louder: “Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.”

At first, all virgins go on their way. With their lamps in their hands, they go out to meet the Bridegroom. But the wise ones go all the way to the end. They bring along their vessels filled with oil. All of them fell asleep and all of them woke up when at midnight the call rang out, “Behold, the bridegroom cometh.” All virgins woke up; all of them trimmed their lamps, but in the decisive moment, the lamps – the light – of the foolish extinguished, and while they went to buy oil, the Bridegroom came. The wise go in to the marriage supper and the door is shut. The foolish arrive too late and cry, “Lord, Lord open to us.” But then the incomprehensible reply is given: “Verily I say unto you, I know you not.” Immediately afterward is this serious admonition: “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” (v. 12). Let us reflect upon it once more: At the beginning, when the call goes forth, they are virgins who go out to meet the Bridegroom, and, at the end, the foolish cry before the closed door, “Lord, Lord open to us.”

The foolish whose lamps extinguish have the light initially; they experience their calling out but not the preparation (Rev 19:7). The Spirit of God leads into all truth and obedience. And only the ones who allow themselves to be guided into all truth by the Spirit of God are the true children of God (Rom 8:14). The wise also take along the vessels with oil. What the Prophet Elijah said back then still holds true today: “The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.” (1 Kgs 17:14). They have the bread of life and the fullness of the Spirit and will receive the full blessing of the latter rain. “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.” (Jas 5:7). The wise virgins form the Bride; they will reach the goal at the Return of the Bridegroom. The wise virgins believe absolutely every Word of God. Through the final ministry, they are directly connected to God, Who brings His Work to completion. They reject every interpretation and do not allow themselves to be seduced (2 Cor 11). Not the beginning, but only the end will be crowned.

The most frequently asked question at present is: Who are the foolish virgins? Before we consider the foolish virgins in Mat 25, we should first and foremost be concerned about being part of the wise virgins.

As is well-known, chapter 24 precedes the parable of the ten virgins in chapter 25. I ask all of you to conscientiously and prayerfully read Mat 24. There we also find mention of the last phase in which we are now living: of wars, famines, and earthquakes; also that false Christs and false prophets shall arise who will perform great signs and wonders that, if it were possible, would deceive the very elect. However, by the grace of God, this is not possible! Then follows the admonition from our Lord: “Behold, I have told you before.” He also said that the Return of the Son of Man will be “as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west …” – not over the span of weeks or years. After that, our Lord referred to the fig tree; already in the Old Testament Israel had been likened to a fig tree in Hos 9:10: “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh …” (Mat 24:32). The people of Israel have returned home from more than 150 countries (Isa 14:1; Jer 31:10; Eze 36:24; Lk 21:29). The State of Israel exists since 1948. There are once again nearly 17 million Jews on earth, as before the Holocaust.

Again the Lord said, “So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” (v. 33). And the Lord continued and spoke of His Return: that then two will be in one bed (Lk 17:34) and two will be in the field (Mat 24:40); the one will be taken and the other will be left. Once more He emphasized, “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.” And, as a final warning, He said, “Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” “Be ye ready!” For they who will be ready shall go in to the marriage supper! Everything that the Lord foretold in this chapter is coming to fulfillment before our eyes, with Israel, in the Middle East, and worldwide.

In Mat 24:45-47 it is about the giving out of the food until His Return. The Lord Himself asked the question: “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?” We know that man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God (Mat 4:4; Deu 8:3). God promised to send a famine to hear His words (Amos 8:11). Has the table of the Lord ever been as richly prepared as it is now? Is not the same spiritual food also being given out today by all of the ministering brethren? The Scripture is most certainly being fulfilled before our eyes.

Of course, the Lord had to also speak of an evil servant in the last verses of Mat 24:48-51. But it has always been like that. First God sends His servants who proclaim His Word, and then self-appointed men appear who present their own interpretations to the people, but who cannot report of a divine calling and sending. With God, the fact remains: Without a calling there is no commission, and no commission is without a calling. In Mat 13:34-43 our Lord spoke of the good seed, which He himself sowed, and that the enemy immediately followed and sowed the evil seed. And both sprouted up: The good seed are the children of God, and the others are the children of the evil one. There is no country on earth where the true message of the Word was not brought first. Only afterward was the evil seed of interpretations sown.

In Mat 25 our Lord continued, “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.” Everybody must become aware of the fact that, directly after Mat 24, it states in chapter 25:1: “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins …” Not before and not afterward, but then, at the time when everything that belongs to it comes to pass from chapter 24 and when the true food is given out, the parable of the ten virgins shall be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God. The sound of the message is growing ever louder: “Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.”

At first, all virgins go on their way. With their lamps in their hands, they go out to meet the Bridegroom. But the wise ones go all the way to the end. They bring along their vessels filled with oil. All of them fell asleep and all of them woke up when at midnight the call rang out, “Behold, the bridegroom cometh.” All virgins woke up; all of them trimmed their lamps, but in the decisive moment, the lamps – the light – of the foolish extinguished, and while they went to buy oil, the Bridegroom came. The wise go in to the marriage supper and the door is shut. The foolish arrive too late and cry, “Lord, Lord open to us.” But then the incomprehensible reply is given: “Verily I say unto you, I know you not.” Immediately afterward is this serious admonition: “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” (v. 12). Let us reflect upon it once more: At the beginning, when the call goes forth, they are virgins who go out to meet the Bridegroom, and, at the end, the foolish cry before the closed door, “Lord, Lord open to us.”

The foolish whose lamps extinguish have the light initially; they experience their calling out but not the preparation (Rev 19:7). The Spirit of God leads into all truth and obedience. And only the ones who allow themselves to be guided into all truth by the Spirit of God are the true children of God (Rom 8:14). The wise also take along the vessels with oil. What the Prophet Elijah said back then still holds true today: “The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.” (1 Kgs 17:14). They have the bread of life and the fullness of the Spirit and will receive the full blessing of the latter rain. “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.” (Jas 5:7). The wise virgins form the Bride; they will reach the goal at the Return of the Bridegroom. The wise virgins believe absolutely every Word of God. Through the final ministry, they are directly connected to God, Who brings His Work to completion. They reject every interpretation and do not allow themselves to be seduced (2 Cor 11). Not the beginning, but only the end will be crowned.