Friday: Further Thought – Images From Marriage
Daily Lesson for Friday 18th of April 2025
Further Thought: Read John 2:1-11, Matthew 22:1-14, 2 Corinthians 11:1-5, and Matthew 25:1-13.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
Once you realize how much data is available in the rest of the Bible to help you broaden your understanding of prophecy, it can be tempting to over-apply it. Throughout the centuries, some Christians have emphasized the symbolism and imagery found in Bible stories to the point where they virtually begin to treat the historical narrative as a myth. While layers of meaning are to be found just about everywhere in Scripture, we must always remember that God has a way of taking real events that involve real people and using them to teach us things about His future interactions with the church.
The wedding feast in Cana, for example, may offer insights into the metaphor of marriage used by prophecy, but the wedding was a literal event. “The word of Christ supplied ample provision for the feast. So abundant is the provision of His grace to blot out the iniquities of men, and to renew and sustain the soul.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 149.
Or as she writes here: “ ‘The Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets.’ While ‘the secret things belong unto the Lord our God,’ ‘those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever.’ Amos 3:7; Deuteronomy 29:29. God has given these things to us, and His blessing will attend the reverent, prayerful study of the prophetic scriptures.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 234.
Discussion Questions
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I am commenting in regard to the second discussion question, especially the first aspect of it.
As we contemplate the parable of the ten virgins, remember that they all fell asleep waiting for the bridegroom to arrive. However, half of them were prepared with oil in their lamps. Perhaps the others thought the bride groom would return before nightfall and therefore didn't think to fill their lamps. Could it be that the bridegroom delayed his arrival because he knew that the bride wasn't ready? Maybe she had "cold feet."
Whatever the case, may we as both the bride (I realize that the bride isn't mentioned) and the bridesmaids, keep our lamps filled, get ready and staÿ ready while seeking for and helping others to be ready. May we desire to get this wedding of the bridegroom underway. One thing is certain, the bridegroom is eager to receive his bride, but, you can't have a wedding until the bride is ready. Jesus doesn't do "shotgun weddings."
Be ready for possible delay.
The parable actually says nothing about the bride at all; the virgins are not the bride. So I'm not sure your speculations are appropriate here.
We absolutely should be involved in working for God and sharing the gospel, but I don't really like it when the church obsesses over the delay and our part in causing it. It may very well be that is true, but focusing on it shifts our focus to ourselves and all the things we need to do so Jesus can come back. And that leads to criticizing those who appear to be holding it up in some way. It's not all that different from the Jews who believed Messiah would come when everyone kept the Sabbath perfectly.
Revelation 19, which we read earlier this week, tells us the bride makes herself ready (vs.7) but then immediately says that her wedding clothes were given to her (vs.8). The making ready according to this verse is putting on the righteousness of Jesus. He makes the bride ready. Of course, we must cooperate, but it's not our work.
Hello Christina! I see duality in the symbolism even though the bride isn't mentioned in the parable of the ten virgins. We as the church comprise the bride and yet those waiting for the Lord's returning for his bride are in type, the ten virgins. The symbols of both represent God's people at end time.
Perhaps the "bride" is holding up the show by her reluctance to wear the wedding clothes (Christ's Righteousness) provided by Jesus.
Hi Christina,
Thanks for the reminder to avoid the mistake of trying to make parables say more than intended.
(Think of the false teachings resulting from making the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus say more than the single message Christ intended.)
Each parable is generally
intended to carry a single message. In this parable the emphasis is on the lack of oil for the lamps, while the Bridegroom is delayed. The focus is on individual preparedness by having enough oil for a possible delay. If we recognize oil symbolizing the Holy Spirit who inspired the Scriptures, the meaning becomes clear. Only those who are thoroughly grounded in God's word through the indwelling Spirit will be ready for the Bridegroom when He comes. It is a personal matter, and no one can "borrow" from another.
The other legitimate point to note is that all 10 virgins were "asleep." The Bridegroom arrived unexpectedly, due to the delay. It was then that the lack of preparation was evident.
The time to prepare - the time to invite the Holy Spirit into our hearts to settle us into the truth He revealed in God's word - is now!
Yes, the parable of the Wedding Guest teaches us that no one can partake of the wedding feast without the supplied wedding robe of the righteousness of Christ.
But this parable focuses on our part to be prepared. We must "buy the oil." We must invite the Holy Spirit into our lives and me settled in the truth He reveals to us. Now.
Hi Inge - Please allow me to present a few questions in response to your reply to Christina.
I agree - yes, we must be prepared, but how do we become prepared?
And what would be that 'Truth' revealed by the Holy Spirit that, when 'buying' the oil, will be in our lives 'now'?
Is this Truth only encapsuled in the Scripture's parables, or does the Holy Spirit help us in our daily lives by reminding us about spiritual truth applicable in the circumstances we encounter?
Does the 'oil in the lamp' represent the Holy Spirit Himself, void of action, or does it represent the revealed, everlasting Truth applied by our new nature when engaging in the ongoing personal relationship with God and others through obedience to the Holy Spirit?
And, if so, how do we do that?
Hello Brigitte. Allow me to chime in if I may. The Holy Spirit empowers us to live the Christian life, to love God supremely, and our neighbor as ourselves. To receive the "oil" of the Holy Spirit we must surrender our lives to be used by God and for His glory. It will cost us everything, but it will gain us everything that matters. Not I, but Christ in me, is how we overcome, and how it works.
Tim, I like your comments regarding the 2nd thought question. The parable of the 10 virgins should be a sobering one for Seventh-day Adventists. Some deny the idea of a delay, thinking that the Lord will return at a predetermined time and all we need to do is to sit tight and wait. Today's 10 waiting virgins should be "looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God..." 2 Peter 3:12 We should all daily fill our lamps with the oil of the Holy Spirit through consistent Bible study and prayer, and then ask the Lord to show us opportunities to share our faith with others.
Ron, I totally agree with you. The temptation is for God’s people to sit and wait for it to happen. I think that mentality is represented by the foolish virgins. By sharing the light we have we lose nothing. By hoarding the light, or hiding it under a bushel, it slowly goes dark. Indeed we need a daily refilling or infilling of the "oil" of the Holy Spirit, not just to cast light on our path, but to lighten the path for others.
Every prophecy and every word spoken by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is imbued with the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit. Each is vital nourishment for the soul — nothing He has spoken can be dismissed as superfluous or redundant.
Again and again, through every word of wisdom and each revelation, the Spirit of God labors on behalf of mankind, drawing our attention to the essential call to learn to hear His voice in our heart. His voice is not like the clanging of cymbals or the din of a gong — it is Love itself, resonating within the depths of our hearts, transforming us from within - 1Cor.13:8-10; Matt.24:35.
To me, this is the greatest miracle of all: that God chose to enable us to hear His voice clearly and unmistakably, calling us to trust Him faithfully, obey Him willingly, and love Him wholeheartedly - learning to understand and speak the language of His Love as it reaches our heart.
It is important to discuss relevant topics about Jesus' life and how to be a better person, but today, we celebrate His death, the most important fact for all time and the Universe! Thanks, Jesus.