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The Daily Word of Righteousness
Two Parables
At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. (Matthew 25:1—NIV)
With few exceptions, when the Lord spoke of people being punished at His appearing He was referring to His servants, the Christians. Two warnings helpful for us to consider are the parable of the ten virgins and the parable of the talents. They exhort us concerning the need for diligence during our discipleship.
The Sequence of Events
We can tell when the episode of the ten virgins is to take place by the three opening words: "At that time."
Moving backward to the twenty-fourth chapter we find the same three words.
At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. (Matthew 24:30—NIV)
As far as we can tell, the two parables we are discussing will take place at the coming of the Lord.
Notice the question asked by the disciples at the beginning of the twenty-fourth chapter of the Book of Matthew:
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3—NIV)
The twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew is the answer to their question about the coming of the Lord. The two parables at the beginning of chapter twenty-five take place at this time, according to our understanding.
"What will be the sign of your coming?"
It is interesting that the Greek term for "coming" is parousia, the same Greek word used exclusively in First and Second Thessalonians for "coming."
According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. (I Thessalonians 4:15—NIV)
"Till the coming of the Lord."
It seems the common usage of parousia in First and Second Thessalonians presents a real challenge to those who would seek to convince us that the fourth chapter of First Thessalonians is describing a special secret "rapture" that takes place prior to the historic coming of the Lord, described in the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew.
So we see that the episodes of the ten virgins and the talents take place at the parousia of the Lord, on the occasion of His historic return to the earth.
Let us point out the sequence of events.
Matthew 24:15-22 tells us of the great tribulation, or great distress as the New International Version refers to it. The great tribulation, according to Matthew, will take place after the Gospel of the Kingdom has been preached as a testimony to all nations, and just before the parousia of the Lord.
Immediately after the tribulation the historic coming, or parousia, of the Lord will take place. The great signs in the heavens will be given. These signs are as the fig tree putting forth leaves, telling us that summer (the coming of the Lord) is at hand.
To be continued.