Every Christian has a responsibility before the Lord in these two aspects—life and service. After the Lord’s ascension and before His second coming, the responsibility He leaves with us during the time He allows us to remain on earth is only of these two aspects—life and work. Hence, the word regarding the church in Matthew 24 and 25 is mainly concerning our responsibility in these two aspects. Concerning the aspect of life, we need to be watchful and prepared; concerning the aspect of work, we need to be faithful. To be watchful and prepared is to be filled with the Holy Spirit and mature in life that we may expect the Lord’s appearing; to be faithful means to fulfill the stewardship that the Lord has apportioned to us. The word concerning the church in chapter 24 is clearly related to the believers who are living, but the word in chapter 25 is clearly related to the believers who die before the Lord returns. Matthew 24:32-44 speaks concerning being watchful and prepared in life; verses 45 through 51 speak concerning being faithful in service and work. The section concerning being faithful is related to those who will be alive when the Lord returns; the section concerning being watchful in life also is related to those who are alive when the Lord returns.
The believers spoken of in chapter 25 are those who will die before the Lord returns. Verses 1 through 13 speak of the ten virgins and their watchfulness and preparation in life. Verse 5 says, “While the bridegroom delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.” Sleep here signifies death. Hence, this section refers to the dead saints. The parable of the slaves in verses 14 through 30 concerns the matter of faithfulness, which is also related to the dead believers. The slaves in chapter 24 are still alive when the master comes; however, although the slaves in chapter 25 are not said to have died, they have already finished their work when the master comes to settle accounts with them “after a long time” (v. 19). A long time signifies the entire church age; this indicates that they will already be dead when the Lord returns.
Hence, chapters 24 and 25 both concern watchfulness and preparation in life and faithfulness in work. The difference is that the former concerns the saints who will be living when the Lord returns, whereas the latter concerns the saints who will have died. From this we can see that life and work clearly are the two aspects of a Christian’s responsibility. Both chapters mention watchfulness and preparation first, and then faithfulness. This shows that the first aspect of a Christian’s responsibility is related to life. One must first be watchful and prepared in order to be mature in life and be filled with the Holy Spirit; then one can be faithful in work.
In the aspect of life a believer’s status in relation to Christ is that of a virgin who loves Him and lives for Him; in the aspect of work the status of the believer is that of a slave whom He bought to serve Him (25:1, 14). To be a virgin is a matter of loving the Lord; to be a slave is a matter of serving the Lord. To love the Lord is a matter of life; to serve the Lord is a matter of work. For the growth in life one must begin with love and must be like a virgin who loves her bridegroom. Only when we have such a love can we mature in life. Similarly, only when we serve faithfully can we fulfill our duty in the work. To be virgins means to be single and pure, not being occupied or defiled by anything. In the aspect of life we must keep our status as virgins. A virgin is different from a woman and is even farther removed from an adulterous woman. A woman is occupied by something legitimate; an adulterous woman is occupied by something illegitimate. A virgin, on the contrary, is pure and not occupied by any person, matter, or thing. In the aspect of life, we should all be virgins.
Virgins do not have any anxieties on the earth; their hearts are toward Christ, the Bridegroom. This is our position and status in life. As to our condition, like the virgins in the parable, we should be taking our lamps with us, which indicates that although we are in a dark age with darkness all around us, we have the testimony of light, the light that shines in darkness. When we contact a proper believer, we will sense the light in him; every place where he is, is bright because he takes his lamp with him. Some believers, however, are no different from the unbelievers, because they do not take their lamps with them. The light of the lamp comes from oil, and the oil is held in the vessel. This oil signifies the indwelling Holy Spirit. It signifies not the Spirit poured on the believers outwardly but the indwelling Holy Spirit who causes the believers to shine. The Spirit of Christ is related to our responsibility in the aspect of life, not in the aspect of service. Virgins are undefiled; this should be our position and condition in life. As soon as we love something other than the Lord, we immediately lose our position as virgins. Our proper condition is that of taking our lamps, having oil in our lamps, and shining.
The way of the virgins is to go forth from where they are, to go out of the world (v. 1b). Christians who are fallen either linger or look back. However, all Christians who are proper in life are those who go out; Christians are a group of people who go out. Although others are going into the world, we are going out of the world. Our condition is one of taking our lamp with us, and our way is one of going out of the world. We proceed in the direction opposite to that of the people in the world. The reason we go out of the world is that the One whom we love is not in the world.
The living of a virgin is to go forth to meet the bridegroom (v. 1b). Only by our meeting Him can we be raptured by Him. The Lord’s coming to take us depends on our meeting Him. Our going forth is for us to meet the Bridegroom. The world cannot draw us, because we have a lovelier object before us. Toward the Christ whom we love, we are virgins, and we are not asleep but are waiting and taking our lamps. A Christian who truly fulfills his duty and responsibility in life will be in this condition.
The ten virgins are divided into two groups, with five in each group (v. 2). This does not mean that exactly half of the believers are foolish and the other half are prudent; it simply means that each believer is in one of two categories. Five is the number of responsibility. We have five fingers on each hand, showing that five is the number for bearing responsibility. Five is composed of four plus one, as illustrated by our five fingers; four fingers belong to one group, and to these four the thumb is added. With four fingers and a thumb, man can do many things. Four is the number of the creature (Rev. 4:6), and one is the number of the Creator (1 Cor. 8:6). The creatures plus the Creator are able to bear the responsibility in doing things. This means that whether or not we are mature in life is not God’s responsibility. Because God has already been added to us, we alone are accountable for our immaturity in life.
The distinction between the foolish and the prudent virgins is related to their having oil in their vessels. The prudent have oil in their vessels, but the foolish do not (vv. 3-4). To have oil in one’s vessel is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. However, in order to receive the filling of the Holy Spirit, one must pay a price (v. 9). Those who love their fame, position, parents, wife, or money or who care only for themselves cannot obtain oil by being filled with the Holy Spirit. In order to be filled with the Holy Spirit, one must love the Lord above all. In other words, one must be willing to despise and forsake all things as a price for the Lord’s sake (Phil. 3:7-8). Today we should give up all things, not wastefully but for the purpose of gaining Christ. In this way, we will definitely buy the oil and be filled with the Holy Spirit. If a brother loves fame, position, and money, there will be no room in him for the Holy Spirit. However, if he spends all that he has, his vessel will be emptied out to allow for the filling of the oil, the Holy Spirit.
The foolish virgins do not signify the unsaved. Both the prudent and the foolish in the parable are virgins, and they all take their lamps to go forth to meet the bridegroom (vv. 1-3). Therefore, the foolish virgins are not unsaved but are only foolish. They are foolish because they have not paid the price that they should have paid in order to receive the Holy Spirit. To be foolish is to not recognize what is truly precious but to instead treasure something else and thereby abandon the Holy Spirit. We can be prudent only by forsaking everything else that we treasure and being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Because the bridegroom delays, these virgins become drowsy and sleep (v. 5). To be drowsy is to become sick; to sleep is to die. In human life, there is birth, aging, illness, and death. That the virgins become drowsy and sleep has nothing to do with watchfulness, because even the prudent ones sleep. At midnight there is a cry, which signifies the voice of the archangel at the Lord’s coming (1 Thes. 4:16). All the virgins then arise, which signifies that they are resurrected (Matt. 25:7). At that time the prudent are mature, but the foolish are not; thus, the foolish ask the prudent for some oil (v. 8). However, spiritual life cannot be borrowed; the life that we have is sufficient only for ourselves. The foolish must go to buy oil for themselves (v. 9). This means that even after being resurrected, Christians must still deal with the matter of the filling of the Holy Spirit and the maturity of life; otherwise, they will not be gathered into the Lord’s “barn” (13:30).
It is not until Revelation 14 that the seed sown in Matthew 13 has ripened and is reaped. All the dead and immature saints cannot be gathered into the barn after they die; they must first be worked on until they are ripe. Christians must become ripe, for they are God’s harvest. If they are not ripe, God cannot gather them into His barn. Therefore, even after resurrection, they still need to ripen in order for the Lord to receive them. After the five foolish virgins were resurrected, they still had to go to buy oil. Although they eventually obtained the oil, the door was already shut, and they could not partake of the wedding feast (25:10). The virgins who mature early can partake of the wedding feast; those who mature later will not be allowed to partake of the wedding feast. Rather, they will be punished, and they will weep and gnash their teeth in the outer darkness.
In Matthew 25:12 the bridegroom said to the foolish virgins, “I do not know you.” This does not mean that they are not saved but that the Lord will not recognize them or allow them to have a part in the wedding feast. This will be a punishment to them. However, the Lord’s not recognizing them will be only dispensational, just as erasing a believer’s name out of the book of life, which is spoken of in Revelation 3:5, applies only to the kingdom age. The foolish are saved, and their names are in the book of life; however, because they will have no part in the marriage feast during the kingdom age, their names will be erased for a time. The marriage feast will be a celebration for a thousand years, but for the foolish it will be a time of punishment. This is the reason the Lord charged us to watch and be ready (Matt. 25:13; 24:44). This is the requirement and the warning in the aspect of life.
Matthew 13 shows the progression of the church, and chapters 24 and 25 show the kind of life we should have and the responsibility we should bear. The present age is the nighttime when the Lord has departed from us. The sun has set, and the morning has not yet come.
In the parable of the virgins in Matthew 25, there are two kinds of oil. The oil in the lamp is the regenerating Holy Spirit, and the oil in the vessel is the indwelling Holy Spirit. The similarity between the five prudent virgins and the five foolish ones is that all of them are virgins, all take their lamps, and all go forth to meet the bridegroom. Moreover, all their lamps are lighted, for the foolish said, “Our lamps are going out” (v. 8). However, the difference is that the prudent have oil in their vessels, but the foolish do not. All of them have been regenerated, but the prudent have the filling of the indwelling Spirit, whereas the foolish do not.
Concerning the believers’ responsibility, chapter 24 speaks regarding the living believers. This is because in relation to the aspect of life, this portion says that two men will be in the field and two women will be grinding at the mill; in both cases, one will be taken and one will be left (vv. 40-41). Moreover, in relation to the aspect of work, this portion says that the faithful and prudent slave gives food to the master’s household at the proper time and that while the evil slave is beating his fellow slaves, the master will come (vv. 45, 49-50). Therefore, it is obvious that these are living believers. Chapter 25 speaks concerning the dead believers, because in the aspect of life they are virgins who became drowsy and slept, which means that they became sick and died. It is not until the Lord comes that they will arise to meet Him; this indicates that they will be resurrected (vv. 5-7). In the aspect of work they are slaves who have finished their work; it is not until the Lord comes that He will settle accounts with them (vv. 14-30).
The number of saints mentioned in chapter 24 is fewer than that in chapter 25. Concerning the aspect of life, chapter 24 mentions two men and two women, but chapter 25 mentions ten virgins; concerning the aspect of work, chapter 24 mentions two slaves, but chapter 25 speaks of three categories of slaves. The number mentioned in chapter 25 is greater because when the Lord comes, there will be more saints who will have died than saints who will still be living.
Concerning the aspect of life, both chapters indicate that we need to watch and be ready (24:42-44; 25:13); concerning the aspect of work, they both say that we need to be faithful (24:45; 25:21, 23). With respect to the believers’ responsibility in life, chapter 25 says that our position and condition should be that of virgins, our situation should be that of taking our lamps, our way should be that of going out of the world, and our living should be that of meeting the Bridegroom. It also says that we must pay attention to the filling of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Chapter 24 says that two men will be in the field and two women will be grinding at the mill, which indicates that it is in our daily living that we must be like virgins who take their lamps and go forth to meet the bridegroom. Both working in the field and grinding at the mill are matters of daily living. What the Lord meant is that we need to take our lamps and go forth to meet the Bridegroom as virgins, not only while we are preaching and speaking messages but also in our ordinary daily living.
These two portions regarding life and responsibility in Matthew 24 and 25 need to be viewed together. In other words, the saints should have the living described in chapter 24 and the status, condition, and way described in chapter 25. Both portions show that when the Lord comes to take us, it will not be that two of us are praying and one is taken and the other is left, nor will it be that two men are preaching and one is taken and the other is left. Rather, it will be while we are living an ordinary daily life of working in the field or grinding at the mill that some will be taken. Those who will be taken are the prudent ones, and those who will be left are the foolish. The difference is not that one works in the field and the other grinds at the mill; the difference is that one is filled with the indwelling Spirit and the other is not.
The Lord is truly wise. He did not say that the men will be preaching and the women praying; instead, He said that the men will be in the field and the women will be grinding at the mill. This indicates that we will either be taken or be left behind in our ordinary living. Moreover, the Lord did not say that two men will be watching movies and one is taken and one is left; nor did He say that two women will be dancing and one is taken and one is left. What the Lord said is related to our livelihood on the earth. Working in the field and grinding at the mill are to take care of our daily necessities. Chapter 25 speaks of the spiritual condition a believer should have, and chapter 24 reveals the kind of daily living in which this spiritual condition should be manifested, that is, in the kind of work one does for his existence.