Posted by Elana Janson on November 01, 2019 at 05:03:11:
In Reply to: Re: The midnight cry posted by Susanne on October 30, 2019 at 14:03:05:
The buying and selling of the oil in the parable of the ten virgins
A midnight cry
It is a midnight cry. In other words it is a time of symbolic spiritual darkness.
In contrast to this the Biblical meaning of the oil lamp.
The flame burning from oil the symbol of the presence of God at night.
Ex 27:20
And thou shall command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.
In front of the shielding curtain (that shielded the ark in the tabernacle) Aaron and his sons were to keep the lamps burning all night. The oil lamps were lit every evening.
The wise virgins
The flame of faith had to be kept alive
I believe the wise virgins took the extra oil in their vessels because they knew that in the time of spiritual darkness God would want the flame of faith to be kept burning. In other words they had a spiritual knowledge.
They heard the midnight cry, but still they did not know how long it would take and they wanted to be prepared.
Kings and priests
In Scripture the kings and priests were anointed with oil.
1 Samuel 16:13-14 King James Version (KJV)
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.
The kings and priests were anointed with oil for by doing this it was believed that the Spirit of God was with that king or priest. In other words there was a communication between that person and God. That person believed in God, prayed to God and understood what God wanted through studying the Scriptures. There was obedience to the Will of God. I must add to this a knowledge and belief in the greatness of God.
I therefore believe that the five wise virgins realised spiritual values. They realised a communication with God to be essential.
The wise virgins had a sense of perseverance and spiritual discernment
The buying and selling
I believe it is not so much about the buying and the selling (except perhaps that in the end time most things can be bought in the shops), but the unawareness of the foolish virgins to understand the necessity of making provision that the flame of their faith remains burning in the time of the spiritual darkness that is to descend upon the earth in the end time before the Return of the Christ.
Now, through the understanding of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, God makes us aware of His greatness. God has always known what will happen in 2019. He is ever present and directing the nations with a rod of iron (Rev 12:5).
The parable of the ten virgins makes us aware of the importance of keeping the focus on our knowledge of God, keeping the flame of communication with God alive through prayer and our lamps burning. Seeking the forgiveness of sin and identifying Good from Evil. We must keep a spiritual flame burning through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The parable rings so true at this point in time