Parable about the virgins. Why did the wise virgins not give oil to the foolish in the parable of the ten virgins? After all, Christianity is about loving your neighbor.

The parable of the ten virgins is one of the parables of Jesus Christ, given in the Gospel of Matthew

“Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins who, taking their lamps, went out to meet the bridegroom. Of these, five were wise and five were foolish. The foolish, taking their lamps, did not take oil with them. The wise, along with their lamps, took oil in their vessels.

But at midnight there was a cry: behold, the bridegroom is coming, go out to meet him. Then all the virgins got up and adjusted their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, Give us your oil, for our lamps are going out. And the wise answered: so that there is no shortage for us and for you, it is better to go to the sellers and buy for yourself. When they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the doors were shut; Then the other virgins also come and say: Lord! God! open to us. And he answered and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.” Watch therefore, for you do not know the day or the hour when the Son of Man is coming."

(Matthew 25:1-13)

Christ depicted his second coming here under the image, well known to the Jews, of the coming of the groom to the bride's house during the wedding ritual. According to an ancient Eastern custom, after an agreement, the groom goes, accompanied by relatives and friends, to the house of the bride, who is waiting for him in her best outfit, surrounded by her friends. The wedding celebration usually took place at night, so the bridesmaids met the groom with burning lamps and, since the time of the groom's arrival was not exactly known, those who were waiting stocked up on oil in case it burns out in the lamps. The bride, with her face covered with a thick veil, the groom and all participants in the celebration with singing and music went to the groom's house. The doors were closed, a marriage contract was signed, “blessings” were pronounced in honor of the bride and groom, the bride opened her face and the wedding feast began, which lasted seven days if the girl was getting married, or three days if the widow was leaving.

Artist Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow

The wedding feast symbolizes in this parable the Kingdom of Heaven, where believers will be united with the Lord in blessed eternal life. Waiting for the bridegroom means the whole earthly life of a person, the purpose of which is to prepare oneself for a meeting with the Lord. The closed doors of the bridal chamber, which did not allow latecomers to the bridegroom, mean human death, after which there is no repentance and correction.

The Wise Virgins (Les vierges sages) Artist James Tissot

According to the explanation of St. John Chrysostom, Christ led the believers entering the Kingdom of Heaven under the image of virgins, extolling virginity - not only bodily chastity, but mainly spiritual, true confession of the Christian Faith and life according to the Faith, as opposed to heresy, theomachism and neglect in regarding the salvation of his soul. “The lamp,” says St. John Chrysostom, “Christ calls here the gift of virginity, the purity of holiness, and the oil is philanthropy, mercy, help to the poor.” Oil in Holy Scripture usually serves as an image of the Holy Spirit, and in this parable, burning oil means the spiritual burning of believers, blessed by the Holy Spirit of God, giving them His rich gifts: faith, love, mercy, and others, expressed in the Christian life of believers, in particular, in love and helping others. The great righteous St. Seraphim of Sarov explains the parable of the ten virgins clearly and convincingly. The main idea of ​​the Monk Seraphim is to understand the goal of the Christian life as "acquisition of the grace of the All-Holy Spirit", which he expressed in a wonderful conversation with the merchant N. Motovilov.

Artist Jacopo Tintoretto

“In the parable of the wise and foolish virgins,” St. Seraphim says to his interlocutor, “when the holy fools did not have oil, it is said: “Go buy it at the marketplace.” But when they bought, the doors to the bridal chamber were already closed, and they could not enter it. Some say that the lack of oil among holy fools marks a lack of good deeds in them for life. This understanding is not entirely correct. What is their lack of good deeds when they, though holy fools, are still called virgins? After all, virginity is the highest virtue, as a state equal to the angels, and could serve as a substitute, in itself, for all other virtues ...

I, poor Seraphim, think that they lacked the grace of the All-Holy Spirit of God. While doing virtue, these virgins, due to their spiritual folly, believed that this was only a Christian thing, to do only virtues. We, de, will do virtues and so, de, and we did the work of God, but before they received the grace of the Spirit of God, whether they achieved it, they didn’t care. About such and such ways of life, based only on the creation of virtues, without a thorough test, whether they bring and how much they bring, the grace of the Spirit of God, and it is said in the patristic books: “There is another way. seeming good in the beginning, but its ends are in the depths of hell.”

Artist Francken, Hieronymus the Younger - Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins 1616

Not every “good deed”, according to the teachings of St. Seraphim, has spiritual value, but only those “good deeds” that are done in the name of Christ are valuable. In fact, it is easy to imagine (and often happens) that good deeds are done by unbelievers. But the Apostle Paul said about them: “If I give away all my possessions and give my body to be burned, but I do not have love, it does not profit me at all” (1 Cor. 13: 3).

Further, in order to clarify his idea of ​​true goodness, St. Seraphim says: “Anthony the Great in his letters to monks speaks of such virgins: “Many monks and virgins have no idea about the differences in the wills that operate in a person, and do not know that three wills operate in us: the first is the will of God, all-perfect and all-saving; the second - one's own, human, that is, if not pernicious, then not saving, but the third will, enemy, completely pernicious. And it is this third, hostile will that teaches a person either not to do any virtues, or to do them out of vanity, or for good alone, and not for the sake of Christ.

Artist Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow

The second - our own will, teaches us to do everything to please our lusts, and even as an enemy, teaches us to do good for the sake of good, not paying attention to the grace that it acquires. The first one - the will of God and all-saving - consists only in doing good only for the acquisition of the Holy Spirit, as an eternal treasure, inexhaustible and incapable of being fully and worthy of appreciation.

It is this, this acquisition of the Holy Spirit, that is actually called the oil that the holy fools did not have... For this they are called holy fools, because they forgot about the necessary fruit of virtue, about the grace of the Holy Spirit, without which there is no salvation for anyone and it cannot be, for “every soul is alive in the Holy Spirit” ... This is the oil in the lamps of the wise virgins, which could burn brightly and for a long time, and those virgins with these burning lamps could wait for the Bridegroom who came to midnight, and enter with Him into the palace of joy. The holy fools, who saw that their lamps were fading, although they went to the marketplace to buy oil, did not have time to return in time, for the doors were already closed.

Wise and Foolish Virgins Painter Peter Joseph von Cornelius, c. 1813

From the parable of the ten virgins it follows quite clearly that the justification of a person, both at a private judgment (after death) and at the general Last Judgment, will be only his earthly life in God, according to the precepts of Christ and, therefore, consonant with the Kingdom of Heaven. All the same, "formal" Christians, living out of contact with God and neglecting their salvation, are preparing for themselves the fate of the outcasts. “No one ascends to heaven living cool,” teaches St. Isaac of Syria.

Neither formal faith, without living according to the commandments of Christ (Luke 6:46; James 1:22; Rom. 2:13), nor prophecy in the name of Christ, or many miracles performed in His Name, as can be seen from the words of the Savior (Matt. 7 : 21-23), are not sufficient to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. “Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ, that is not His,” says the Apostle Paul (Rom. 8: 9) and it will be natural to hear the words of the Son of God: “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you” (Matt. 25: 12)

All material is taken from open sources

“Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins who, having taken their lamps, went out to meet the bridegroom; of them, five were wise and five were foolish; the foolish, having taken their lamps, took no oil with them, but the wise took oil with their lamps. in vessels, their

There is hardly another parable in the entire Bible that could more accurately describe the state of this community. As with the ten virgins, you can all be divided into two groups. Some of you, I believe, are wise, and some, alas, are foolish. Like the ten virgins, you all declare your faith. However, some have the gift of the Holy Spirit, and some do not yet. And the day is not far off when you will be separated from each other. Those who are truly saved will enter with Christ, the rest will be forever excommunicated. At the moment, I can only cite three facts.

1. God's children are wise, the rest are foolish (v. 2).

Those of you who are God's children are truly wise. Firstly, it is not about worldly wisdom. We renounce such wisdom: “Look, brethren, who you are called: not many of you are wise according to the flesh, not many strong, not many noble; but God chose the foolishness of the world to shame the wise” (1 Corinthians 1:26,27) ; "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God" (1 Corinthians 3:19); "I praise Thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them to babes" (Matt. 11:25); "Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings You have arranged praise" (Ps. 8:3). There are not many among those who have an unusually deep mind, there are not many among the learned, there are not many among those who have worldly wisdom, which allows them to succeed in worldly affairs.

They often stand aside, and God chooses a little child who knows nothing of the world, or takes a peasant who follows his plow and brings him to glory. Why? Let no one boast and say, "My wisdom has saved me." Secondly, only God's children, the only ones in the whole world, are wise.

They see things in their true light. Those of you who only call yourselves Christians do not see things in their true light.

You have a wrong idea about time: you do not see that time is the eve of eternity. You don't see how short it is, that seventy years - a human age - is just a moment. You do not see how fast it flies: like a fast ship, like an eagle for prey. You do not see that it is irreversible and that every moment is priceless, that this is the time for conversion, the only time. If you understood this, you would not spend it on feigned piety. And the one who is Christ's sees time in the true light.

You don't see yourself in your true light. You have never understood what it means to be by nature children of wrath. You have never noticed those monstrous mountains of sin that have perched above your soul. You have never seen lust entangle your soul. You have not seen that deep volcano of burning lust that is in your chest. Only those who are Christ's see all this in its true light.

You don't see the grace of God, you never understood its value. You know the price of human mercy and therefore disguise yourself as professing Christianity. But you do not know the price of God's mercy, otherwise you would run to Christ. He who is Christ's knows what God's mercy is.

God's children do not rely on knowledge.

The hypocrites always rely on their knowledge. Whatever you tell them will not be news to them. They answer: "I know it." Tell them about sin, about Christ, about the coming judgment - they will still think that they will be saved thanks to their knowledge. However, knowledge did not tell them that they should rely on Christ, pray and leave their sins. But you children of God are not content with knowledge. You not only know and testify of Christ, but you do what He says. You have turned your back on idols. Only you are wise.

God's child lives, thinking about the eternal.

The hypocrite lives with the thought of earthly things. This is all that Judas lived for, if for some time he managed to pass for a true disciple, maintain a decent appearance, and if, indulging his own lusts, he could appear to be a believer and a true apostle. He tried to keep this mask to the end. So Demas tried in this life to deceive Paul - to pretend to be a brother. Alas, how many of you are just as unreasonable! You live with the idea of ​​how to keep for some time the appearance of a Christian, although you know that you live in sin and will soon be exposed to the world. Only he is truly wise who lives thinking about the eternal. And when the time comes to die, you will regret that you did not live the same way as he did.

God's child is like God.

Only God is wise. In Him is every source of supreme wisdom. God is light, and there is no darkness in Him. To become like Him means to become truly wise. Those who come to Christ become like God. You have His Spirit within you, and you are being changed in His image. You have one will with God. You agree with the purposes of God in this world. His joy is your joy. And those who pretend to confess are not at all like God. They do not want to have such a resemblance and do not strive for it.

2. The wise and the foolish are alike in many ways (vv. 3, 4).

The girls were similar in many ways. The human eye can't tell the difference between them. Probably all the virgins were dressed in white, and their faces were all beautiful and pretty. Each of the ten carried a burning silver lamp, gleaming and polished. Moreover, it seems that all the virgins were striving for the same goal - they went out to meet the groom. And only in one they differed. The foolish took no oil with them, but the wise, along with their lamps, took oil in their vessels. And to this day the same difference exists between those who profess and the children of God.

A person will not see the difference between them in many ways.

You take part in the same ordinances.

Both are listening to the same pastor, sitting on the same bench. You come together to the house of God. Sing the same psalms. Your voices merge into one chorus, and no one but God can distinguish the voice of a hypocrite from the voice of a wise virgin. Both those and others stand up for prayer, and both have the same reverent look. You listen to the same sermons. Sometimes both are equally excited. You are all embraced by a sense of community, but no one can say whether it is like the morning dew, or whether it is the dew of the Spirit, whether it is a spiritual community or a spiritual one. Together you come to the table of the Lord and pass the bread and the cup from hand to hand. Oh, how sad to think that many in this congregation are but foolish virgins who will be separated forever.

Both of them speak the same language.

God's children speak the language of Canaan. However, those who profess to pretend can learn to imitate him, so much so that no one will notice the difference. They talk about being convicted of sin, revival, enlightenment, seeking Christ, accepting Christ, covenanting with Christ, and finding peace. But at the same time, their hearts are far from God, and they love pleasures more than God. Oh, how sad to think that many tongues that have often spoken of Christ, regeneration, and the Holy Spirit will need a drop of water to cool him in a burning lake.

Both of them say the same prayers. The need to pray is one of the main characteristics of God's children: "Look, he is praying." He loves to pray. But even in this they imitate those who feign to confess, who bear the name as if they were alive, but dead. Often they will pray in secret passionately and sensually, often they will pray in front of people with great zeal and pathos. However, they live in sin all the time and know it. Alas, how sad that many of those whose voices have often been heard in prayer will still begin to cry out: "Lord, Lord, open to us," crying out to mountains and rocks to hide from the wrath of the Lord and the Lamb!

Outwardly, both of them behave the same way.

The surest sign of God's children is their desire not to sin. They shun old friends and old ways, they walk in the Lord. But even this can be imitated by foolish virgins. They went out to meet their Lord. For a while they avoid old sins, rush from work to God's house, seek the company of God's children, perhaps try to save others, showing great zeal in this. What a pity that many of those who now keep the company of the godly will soon depart from them and associate with demons and the wicked!

3. There is a difference: foolish virgins have no oil in their vessels.

Often the Spirit has to contend with those who make false confessions. So it was in the days of Noah, when He wrestled

so that people would leave their sins and enter the ark (Gen. 6:3). So it was with Israel in the wilderness: "But they rebelled and grieved the Holy Spirit" (Isaiah 63:10). And even at the time when Stephen lived: "You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, as your fathers, so are you" (Acts 7:51). On the pages of the Bible, in ministry, merciful and sending grief, He fights with you, as a man would fight. He fights to get you to leave your sins and run to Christ. Most of you have felt that Spirit fought them in one way or another, if not in all possible ways. But still,

They are not taught by the Spirit.

All who are saved are taught by the Spirit - "all are taught by God." Without this, not a single person will come to Christ, for his soul is dead. He teaches us while we are sinners - then He glorifies Christ.

The spirit does not dwell in them.

The Spirit dwells in all believers in Christ (John 7:37-39).

First, how seal:"In Him ... having believed in Him, they were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise" (Eph. 1:13). The heart is wax, the Holy Spirit is a seal, and the image of Christ is an impression. He softens the heart and sets a seal. But unlike other seals, He does not disappear, but remains in place.

Second, how witness:"This very Spirit testifies with our spirit" (Rom. 8:16). The spirit of adoption, crying out in our heart: "Abba, Father," is the Spirit-witness. When a soul becomes a member of God's family as a child of God, it is set free.

Third, how pledge:"Deposit of the Spirit in our hearts" (2 Corinthians 1:22). A small reminder of the full reward. The Holy Spirit in the heart is a piece of heaven, the beginning of everything. Oh my friends, don't be deceived! Don't tell me that during this or that sermon you felt rebuked and gained freedom in prayer. But have you changed? Has your heart been renewed? Are you on your way to heaven? Is there oil in your vessels along with the lamps?

Lecture 2

"And as the bridegroom slowed down, then everyone dozed off and fell asleep"

It is impossible to find a parable that would tremble and awaken more than this one. Last time I showed you that: firstly, only God's children are truly wise, and those who pretend to confess are really foolish. Only God's children see things in their true light. They live with the thought of the eternal, in accordance with God's will. Secondly, wise and foolish virgins seem similar in many ways: they participate in the same sacraments, speak the same language, say the same prayers, and outwardly behave the same way. Thirdly, what is the difference between them, we will consider today - some have the Holy Spirit, others do not.

1. The groom slowed down.

During the memorable Last Supper, the Savior, talking with his disciples, said: "Soon you will not see Me, and soon you will see Me again; for I am going to the Father" (John 16:16). And again, John in Revelation 16:15 hears Him say, "Behold, I come like a thief; blessed is he who watches and keeps his garments, lest they go naked, and they will not see his shame." His last words, which seemed to John of delightful beauty heavenly music: "Behold, I come quickly" and "Yes, I come quickly." Many of the early Christians seem to have thought that he would come in their day.

This is why Paul warned in 2 Thessalonians that a backsliding must occur first. And we see that in the days when Peter lived, scoffers used to say, "Where is the promise of His coming?" Since then, century after century has passed, and He never came. Now it becomes clear the meaning of the words: "The bridegroom slowed down." Undoubtedly He desires to come: "To me is directed his desire." It will be a day of gladness in His heart, a wedding day. Those who love Christ will rejoice at His appearance. And like John they will exclaim, "Yes, come, Lord Jesus." And yet, He lingers. Why?

He doesn't want anyone to die."The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise, as some count slowness; but he is longsuffering towards us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).

That is why He is slow: He is slow to anger. Sometimes, watching how blatantly vicious acts are committed, my heart trembles. And then I think about what it's like for the Lord to see all this - all the evil done in the world, yet He is holding back. Oh, what an example of restraint, long-suffering and compassion He shows us! Therefore He hesitates: He has compassion for the lowliest, He waits long before coming.

To fully collect the number of His own, the elect.

At this time, Christ is gathering a people among the Gentiles. He builds the majestic temple of the Lord, adding stone to stone. He cannot come until this work is completed. When everything is done, He will come and lay the last stone on the roof with exclamations: "Grace, grace to you." He told Paul to stay and preach in Corinth, "For I have many people in this city." That's the same reason he tells his servants to stay and keep preaching, because he still has a lot of people. When He comes, those who are ready will enter with Him into the wedding feast, and the doors will be shut. Undoubtedly, many are chosen, many are those whom the Father gave Him before the foundation of the world, while nature slept. He waits for them to gather. When the last of the elect are gathered, then He will come.

To test the grace of his people.

Many of the graces inherent in God's people can be developed during times of tribulation. There is a plant in the garden that the gardener tramples underfoot to make it grow better. So it is with many of the graces of God's people—they grow better in trials.

Faith in His word. The world says, "Where is the promise of His coming? Nothing has changed." Everything that is seen testifies against it. Can you see the invisible world? This is what is missing: "We look not at the visible, but at the invisible." So that's one of the reasons the bridegroom tarries: to let faith grow.

The ability to be patient with opponents. If now He would come and avenge our enemies for us, then we would lose the opportunity to forgive insults and endure reproach in His Name. We must be conformed to His death, therefore He is patient with us.

Compassion for souls. This trait was the most remarkable in the character of Christ. She made Him come down from the throne of glory, she made Him cry on the Mount of Olives. In this we must become like Him. Now is the time when we can become like Him in this. When Christ comes, we will greet Him with cries of "Righteous and true are Your ways, King of saints," and the enemies will be cast down at His feet. So don't be surprised that Jesus lingers.

2. The dream of the virgins: "everyone dozed off and fell asleep."

There are several interpretations of these words. I have no doubt that the simplest interpretation is the true one: before the coming of Christ, all Christian churches will fall into a deep slumber. The Bible says that not only hypocrites, but also true believers fall asleep. So we see the apostles sleeping on the Mount of Transfiguration, and then in Gethsemane, and Paul calls out to the Romans: "The hour has come for us to wake up from sleep."

How do Christians sleep?

Their eyes begin to close. When sinners first came to Christ, their eyes were wide open - they saw the transience of time, that it was but a moment; they saw that everything in the world is vanity; they saw the excessive depravity of sin. They saw that they were completely entangled in sins, like demons, and they were surprised that they had not yet gone to hell. They saw Christ in all His majesty, fullness and glory. And now all this has ceased to be clear, as if it appeared to the gaze of a sleeping person. Everything external is hidden - the soul no longer sees the transience of time, the vanity of the world, the abomination of sin and the glory of Christ.

The ear does not hear His knock. Once the ear of a Christian heard His voice. Among a thousand voices, it heard the voice of Christ, strong and beautiful. Now the soul does not seem to hear: "I threw off my tunic, how can I put it on again? I washed my feet, how can I dirty them?"

A sleeping Christian sees dreams. The soul meets idols, useless fantasies. Awakening for the first time, the soul asked: "Why do I need idols?" But now, when Christ and everything spiritual is hidden, the soul again approaches worthless idols. And this leads, firstly, to dead in prayer. How pleasing is prayer to the heart of the believer! This is a great opportunity to approach the throne, pour out your soul, put an end to separation and open yourself to God. But now the prayer is absolutely meaningless, the heart has no desire, there is no free access to the throne. Secondly, it appears spirit of fear. Now a sense of guilt lies on the conscience, a person is oppressed by the thought that he has offended God, and a spirit of slavery arises. Third, the believer stop being afraid of sin. Once upon a time, the fear of sin kept a person from committing vicious deeds, so it was with Joseph: "How can I do this great evil?" Now he is familiar with sin firsthand.

How hypocrites sleep.

They forget all their convictions. They once felt clear and deep convictions of sin, but now they have lost them. They began to sin openly and drowned their convictions. They quenched the Spirit.

They cease to rejoice in what is from God. Those whose hearts are symbolized by stony ground received the Word with joy—it was a flash of joy. There is something in the Word that stirs their imagination: either eloquence, or vivid mental images. Or they, in the hope of being converted, flatter themselves and rejoice when they hear him. But soon it disappears.

They stop praying. For a long time they prayed with great feeling. Whether under the influence of reproofs, or as a result of explanations, or with unjustified hope, or for others to see, they prayed willingly. Now they pray less often. "Everyone fell asleep and fell asleep." The reasons are different: we spent time in the company, we wanted to sleep, we lost interest, but the result is the same - gradually the habit of praying disappears.

Is there a difference between sleeping Christians and sleeping hypocrites? Yes, and big. The pious still have oil in their vessels, the hypocrites do not. I do not at all call on the pious to sleep, on the contrary, the hour has already come to wake up from sleep. But I can't help but notice how different the sleep of some is from that of others. First, the pious will awaken from their sleep. Sleeping is both sinful and dangerous, but not fatal. But the hypocrite is unlikely to ever wake up. Cases of hardened-hearted hypocrites are the rarest in the world. Secondly, although the sleep of the pious is not pleasing to God, yet they do not fall under His curse. And the hypocrite can oversleep until he ends up in hell.

3. Coming of the Bridegroom.

Time.

Christ will come in the middle of the night, at a time when they are not expected. Throughout the Bible we find confirmation of this: "No one knows about that day and hour, not even the angels in heaven, but only My Father alone"; "Watch therefore, for you do not know the day or the hour in which the Son of Man is coming." The advent is compared to lightning: "For as lightning comes from the east and is visible even to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." What can frighten with its suddenness more than lightning! First, an eerie silence, black storm clouds cover the sky, and then - a bright flash of light from east to west. This will be His coming. "For when they say, 'Peace and security, then sudden destruction will overtake them, just as childbirth befalls a woman in her womb, and they will not escape.' Like a thief in the middle of the night: 'The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.'" This is a comparison appropriate for two reasons.

1) The time is not known. If the thief is going to break into the house, he does not report the time of his arrival. He approaches imperceptibly. If the owner of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have been awake and would not have let his house be broken into. This will be the coming of the Bridegroom: "You do not know the day or the hour in which the Son of Man will come."

2) The thief comes when everyone is resting. When the whole family has gone to rest, when the owner of the house has locked and bolted the doors, when all the candles have been extinguished, and the eyelids have closed, then a thief comes, breaks the bolts, and enters. This will be the coming of the Savior. Jesus will come when the world has fallen into slumber.

Some of you will say, "We will certainly guess the time of his coming." Now, if the truth is simple, it's that you won't know the day or the hour, "At what hour you think not, the Son of Man will come." If I went up to each one of you and asked, "Do you think the Son of Man will come tonight?" You would all answer, "I don't think so." And it is precisely at such an hour that He will come. You are ready?

Word to unbelievers.

some of you lives dishonestly. In buying and selling, some of you may be using lighter weights and incorrect weights, or otherwise deceiving your fellow man. Oh, how awful if Christ would come and find you like this! No wonder it is said that people will buy and sell when He comes.

someone constantly doing works of darkness. Perhaps you say, "The darkness will surely cover me." “I looked out the window of my house, through my bars, and saw among the inexperienced, I noticed among the young people an unreasonable young man, crossing the square near the corner of her and walking along the road to her house, at dusk, in the evening of the day, in the darkness of the night and in the gloom ". Some of you do things that are embarrassing to even talk about. You will find yourself in a terrible situation when His holy face appears.

some of you suppresses accusations. Like Agrippa, you almost convinced yourself of the need to become a Christian. Like Felix, you feel fear and say, "When I find the time...". Some drown out reproofs with fun, worldly pleasures, saying: "A lot of time before my death, I will have time." What will you do if there is a scream at midnight? There will be no time for prayer, no time for the Bible, no time for conversion. "But at midnight there was a cry."

Lecture 3

"But at midnight there was a cry: "Behold, the bridegroom is coming, go out to meet him." Then all those virgins got up and adjusted their lamps. The foolish said to the wise: "Give us your oil, because our lamps are going out." : "so that there is no shortage both for us and for you, it is better to go to the sellers and buy yourself"

There is something moving about that cry at midnight: "Behold, the bridegroom comes." This day will terrify even the children of God.

First, all sudden changes scare us. For many people, even a sudden burst of joy turned out to be deadly. How joyful this cry will be for us when we hear that all our temptations and worries are over, that sin will no longer reign in this world!

Secondly, the fate of our wicked friends will be terrible. We all have unbelieving friends we pray for. This cry will be the death knell for their souls. And yet, no matter what, that day will be a day of joy. In Mat. 24:32 it is compared to summer. It will be summer for the soul - winter will pass. "But for you who revere my name, the Sun of righteousness will rise, and healing in its rays" (Mal. 4:2). "And as at the dawn of the morning, at the rising of the sun in a cloudless sky" (2 Sam. 23:4). "He will descend like rain on a mowed meadow, like drops watering the earth" (Ps.72:6).

But the most important thing is that the cry "The Bridegroom is coming" will revive the drooping hearts of His chosen ones. He will remind us of the time when He chose us for Himself, the time of love, when He proposed to us and said, "Do not be with another; I will also be for you." The One who loved us and died for us promised to return and take us to Himself: "Behold, the bridegroom comes." Just think, dear friends, will this be a time of sadness for you, or a time of joy? And for you, carefree sinner? Pay attention to the following facts.

1. Opening:"Our lamps go out."

Often a dry wick burns with a bright flame for some time. So hypocrites often manage to pretend to be believers to the very end. Often this becomes demonstrative and obvious. Many things could awaken the hypocrites.

What happens to them becomes the subject of sermons. Often the God-guided pastor describes their situation exactly. Often the Word almost reaches their conscience. We say in such cases, "This man is sure to take the Word home." So no, it somehow disappears.

They become witnesses to the conversion of others. Often hypocrites see how others around them undergo changes as a result of salvation. They see how those convicted of sin, lying in the dust, came to Christ, were filled with joy and live a new life, conquering the world. This could open their eyes to see the emptiness and falsity of their open statements about the alleged changes that have happened to them.

Someone's death. It is unlikely that hypocrites remain indifferent, seeing the death of other people. Death takes off all the masks, because it calls the soul to appear before the Tester of the heart. Feigned denunciations, feigned grace, words of feigned piety will not help now. Often, watching the hypocrites standing at the coffin of the dead, I thought that they would certainly be converted. But this is not so, often they "burn" to the last.

They carry the name as if they are alive and do not want to lose it. They have publicly declared that they believe, and now they do not want to back down. The pastor and the deacons liked it, pious people began to respect them - so they do not want to give up all this. So Judas was for a long time considered a true disciple, and he managed to maintain such a reputation until the very end.

Often they deceive themselves. They have some degree of inner enlightenment and knowledge, which they mistake for grace. They have an air of piety, pray in secret and in the presence of their family, and thus deceive not only others but also themselves. But at the coming of Christ, their lamps will go out. "Our lamps go out." No more bright flames, no more sparks. Why?

There is no grace inside their heart.

Their lamps went out because they had no oil. For some time they burned like a dry wick, often even with a bright flame, but soon the flame subsides and goes out for lack of oil. That's what happens with hypocrites. There is no source of the oil of grace within their heart. The Spirit of God often descends upon them, but does not dwell within. So it was with Balaam. His eyes were open, he saw the great joy of God's people and even wanted his soul to die the death of the righteous (Numbers 23:10). But there was no oil in his vessel, and his lamp went out. So it was with Saul. "God gave him a different heart" and "the Spirit of God came upon him" (1 Sam. 10:9,10). But there was no oil in his lamp, and the Spirit, which makes it possible to cleave to Christ, did not stay gracefully inside - therefore, his lamp went out.

Often during the rainy season, water floods the fields where there is no spring or source. At first there is a lot of water - whole lakes that seem big and deep, but with the advent of summer they dry up and disappear. So it is with the hypocrites in this congregation. The Spirit has been poured out on many of you, as it was on Balaam and Saul. Your eyes were opened, you experienced deep convictions and wondrous discoveries, you passionately longed for Christ and everything spiritual. But the work of the Spirit of God has not been done on you, otherwise you would have come and cleaved to Jesus.

Alas, your lamps will go out, leaving you in the darkness of darkness.

Dear friends, examine your hearts to see if they have undergone a deep, real work of grace. Remember what is said about the man who built his house on the rock: he dug, dug deep, and laid his foundation on the rock. Not every change is evidence of true conversion and salvation. With regard to many, the words are true: "They turned, but not to the Most High" (Hos. 7:16). If you have not been converted and believed, then you should not be content with being cultured and educated. Culture and upbringing will not replace conversion and will not help you on that great day.

They must come before Christ.

It is easy to seem like a Christian in the eyes of people: "Man looks at the face, but the Lord looks at the heart." As long as the hypocrites only need to pretend in front of people, it is easy for them to maintain this appearance. They can talk, read and pray as if they were God's children. But when the cry is heard, "Behold, the bridegroom comes," they will know that they must stand before Christ, who searches the hearts. When Jesse brought his seven sons, Samuel looked at Eliab and said, "Surely, this is His anointed before the Lord." But God answered: "... I rejected it, I do not look like a man looks; for a man looks at the face, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Sam. 16:6,7).

Oh brothers! Many of you are not afraid to stand before people, although you know that you are deprived of grace, unborn again and living in sin. Without shame or fear, you participate in the sacraments. But when Christ comes, your lamp will go out, and you will not be able to bear the gaze of His holy eyes. Pray for your interest in Christ now so that later, at His coming, you can stand before the Son of Man.

2. Desperate request:"give us your oil, for our lamps are going out."

Then the hypocrites will see the difference between themselves and the pious. Their lamps will go out, while the lamps of the truly pious will burn brightly. Now the hypocrites think that they are no worse than others. They think they are no different from God's people. But in that day they will see that there is a great gulf between them.

They will understand what a blessing it is to have oil in their lamps. Now many of you do not see the need for grace. You don't understand that having grace in your heart would make you happier. You prefer to remain as you are. But on that day you will cry out, "Give us your oil." On that day you will see that the pious are at peace. They will remain steadfast as the entire universe collapses. The blood of Christ that has washed their conscience will give them inner peace. You will see the joy on their faces as they hear the cry and footsteps of the approaching Bridegroom. You will hear their songs of praise as they greet their Lord and Redeemer. These days, the godly are poor and despised, often in trouble, having to start each day in humility, and you are unwilling to join them. But on that day they will become like precious stones adorning the crown, and will be like the king's children.

They will turn to the pious with a request. These days the hypocrites despise the pious and would hardly ask them for anything. When a truly godly person warns you or gives you advice, you are offended. But on that day you will be in despair and consider it lucky to turn to anyone. On that day, you will be glad to turn to godly friends and pastors. You who marveled at people going to talk to the priests, you who made fun of the truly pious and ridiculed them, will say: "Give us your oil."

Today the pastor and godly friends are knocking on your doors, imploring you to take the oil of grace into your hearts. But on that day, shouting, "Give us your oil, for our lamps are going out," you will knock on their doors.

Oh, keep striving for grace, for on that terrible day even the hypocrites will want to have it!

3. Disappointment:"So that there is no shortage for us and for you."

It is not in their power to give grace. It is pleasing to God that the pious serve Him as tools, but they are not given to be sources of grace: "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave increase" (1 Corinthians 3:6). Rachel said to Jacob: "Give me children; otherwise, I die. Jacob was angry with Rachel and said: am I the God who did not give you the fruit of the womb?" (Gen. 30:1-2). Man does not command grace. Those who accepted Christ "were born not of blood, nor of the desire of the flesh, nor of the desire of a man, but of God" (John 1:13). Therefore, it is useless to seek means of obtaining saving grace for your soul. The ax does not cut without the woodcutter's hand. A pitcher in which water is carried is not a well. In that day it will be useless to speak to God's children. Come to Jesus now.

They don't have any extra. And the righteous are saved with difficulty. Every child of God receives just the right amount of grace to carry him to heaven. Even now, the child of God feels that he has nothing superfluous. He doesn't have much of the Holy Spirit to help him pray, grieve over sins, and love Christ. During temptation, the believer seems to have no Holy Spirit at all. His need to receive is much greater than his ability to give. And in that solemn hour of the coming of Christ, he will understand that he has nothing superfluous.

Oh, dear brothers, go and buy yourself! If you know you don't have grace, go before the cry goes to Jesus and take grace. Neither the saints nor the pastor can give it to you. All our sources are in Christ. In Him the Spirit dwells immeasurably. Lord, make their hearts run to You!

Lecture 4

“When they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the doors were closed. Then other virgins also come and say: “Lord! Lord, open to us." And he answered them, "Truly, I say to you, I do not know you." Therefore, watch, because you do not know the day or the hour in which the Son of Man will come"

Matt.25:10-13

1. Who is ready?

Not everyone is ready. This parable shows that not all who call themselves Christians are ready. It seemed that even the foolish virgins were ready. They had clothes, lamps, wicks and flames - but they were not ready. Many of you come to the house of God, participate in the sacraments, openly declare that you are concerned about the soul - but you are not ready. Not all who are troubled are ready to stand before the Bridegroom. The foolish virgins were also troubled. Their hearts beat violently. They went to buy - their cry was loud and mournful, perhaps they shed bitter tears. But they weren't ready. Many of you are worried - going to buy. When you seek the Lord, your cheeks are wet with tears, but you are not ready. If you have to die tonight or Christ comes, you will not be ready. Who is ready then?

Those who have wedding attire.

This is stated in Revelation 19:7,8: "And His wife prepared herself. And it was given to her to put on fine linen, clean and bright; and the linen is the righteousness of the saints." And also in Psalm 44:10,14: "The queen stood at Your right hand in gold of Ophir", "All the glory of the daughter of the King is inside; her clothes are sewn with gold." And in Matthew 22:11 we see that the first thing that struck the King was the absence of a wedding garment on one man. The wedding garment symbolizes God's righteousness - the garment of Jesus thrown over the soul - imputed righteousness.

This is the first thing necessary to be ready to meet the Divine Bridegroom. Have you ever been shown your own absolute disgust - that you are all unclean, evil and vicious? Have you made a glorious discovery about how the righteousness of Christ is credited to us? Are you covered in the Blood and white robe of the Lord Jesus? Then you are ready.

But make no mistake.

This is not something that, once put on us, then needs some addition. This fine linen was given to us once and for all. The one who thinks that first Christ is our righteousness, and then - our own holiness is mistaken. Christ is our righteousness to the end. In heaven, our wedding garment will be only the blood-washed garment of Christ. It must be granted to us for every day, for every moment. Blessed is the soul that every day sees its own baseness and every day takes this garment to cover its nakedness.

Those that have a new heart.

Can two people carry on a dialogue without mutual consent? It is impossible for two souls to be happy together if they like exactly opposite things. It resembles two oxen harnessed to the same yoke and pulling in different directions. From this flows the profound wisdom of Christ's commandment forbidding God's children to be related to the world. What does light have in common with darkness? All this applies to the bride of Christ: she must be of one mind with Him if she is to enter with Him into the wedding feast.

Imagine that some of you who have an old heart are about to enter with Christ into the wedding feast. Your heart is hostile to God, you hate the people of God, Sunday is a bore for you, and you are a slave to various lusts and pleasures. Picture this: the Lamb in the midst of the throne is leading you, and God is wiping tears from your eyes. But you hate God and the Lamb. Can you be happy there? There is no one there but God's children - brothers and sisters (psalm-singing hypocrites, as you used to call them) - can you be happy with them? What about eternal Sunday? My most vivid representation of heaven is eternal Sunday with Christ. Will you be happy? Can you like it? My friends, in no way will anything unclean enter there, and no one given over to abomination and lies. If you are still not born again, you are not ready.

Those whose lamps are in perfect order.

While the wise virgins slept, they were not ready. True, they were wearing wedding clothes, and there was oil in the lamps, although the light from them was dim - their eyes were closed. But when they heard the cry, they got up and put the lamps in order - now they are ready to meet the Bridegroom and enter with Him. Not all children of God are ready. Is the apostate ready, the one who has just taken on the soul the guilt that has remained unwashed; the one who has been guilty for a long time, but he is in no hurry to the Source; he who has turned his back on the house of God and his face on his idol? Is the idolater ready - the one who once loved Christ, and now put an idol in His place, having fallen into the net of pernicious passion? Is that soul ready, which has left its first love and has grown cold towards everything that is from God? Was Solomon ready when his heart was carried away by many wives? Or Peter when he denied his Lord?

Learn, dear friends, to awaken the grace that is in you. Awaken your faith in Jesus, your love for Him and for the saints, so that you will be ready. Watch, abide in that which is of God. Keep your eyes open for the glory to come.

2. What reward awaits those who are ready:"and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast."

Christ recognizes them as his own.

Christ will take them with Him, bring them to the Father and say, "Behold, I am, and the children whom You have given Me." These are the ones for whom I died, prayed, for whom I reigned.” At present, Christ does not openly declare those whom he acknowledges as His people and does not distinguish between them and the hypocrites.

The world does not know them. The sun shines on both the evil and the good. Worldly people think we are just like them. The saints do not know us. Often they doubt us. Often, even the children of God undeservedly suspect each other. They, they say, have not experienced this or that, or they do not have this or that sign of God's children.

Often we do not know ourselves. When we sin, and there is a powerful war of corruption going on inside, grace hides somewhere deep in the soul: "Can I consider myself a child of God?"

But in that day Christ will recognize us as His own - thus will forever put an end to all doubt. Then the world that has laughed at us will know of Christ's love for us and will regret that it did not choose its lot with us. The saints will see that we, like them, are Christ's, and will no longer be suspicious of us. And we will stop doubting ourselves: then there will be no more deadness, impermanence, corruption, darkness, sin. Christ confesses our name before His Father. He will say, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you."

Saints will be with Christ:"Come in with him."

The greatest joy for the believer in this world is to feel the presence of Christ - invisible, intangible, inaudible, and yet the real presence of the invisible Savior. This is what gives pleasure when we secretly pray, listen to sermons and participate in the sacraments - we meet with the Lord: "I have always seen the Lord before me, for he is at my right hand; I will not be shaken."

Often Jesus hides His face and we get worried. We are looking for the One we love with all our hearts, but He is gone. We go to look for Him, but we do not find Him. Missing the invisible God is, at best, only semi-bliss. Imagine a husband and wife separated by many seas. It is nice to receive letters, other news of love, or to meet a friend who has seen him in full health. But all this will not replace his presence. Therefore, we yearn for the Lord in His absence.

But when He comes, we will be with Him. "Fullness of joy is before Your face; blessedness is in Your right hand forever" (Ps. 16:11). Here we have drops and glimpses of joy. Christ cannot be happy without us. We are His Body. If even one of God's children were missing, He would be incomplete. We are His fullness. Therefore, He prays: "Father, whom You have given Me, I want them to be with Me where I am, that they may see My glory which You have given Me" (John 17:24).

We cannot be happy without Christ. Once in a golden city with pearly gates, hymns, a throne, palm trees and angels, we will still say: "Where is the God-man who died for me? Where is the Angel who redeemed me from all evil? Where is Jesus? Where is His pierced side?". "We shall see His face." The Lamb Himself will shine for us. We will stand with the Lamb on Mount Zion. From now on, we will be inseparable.

3. The fate of the hypocrites:"the doors are closed."

The door that Christ opened remains wide open for a long time, but it, too, will finally close. When Christ comes, the door will slam shut. Now the door is open and we have been sent to invite you in. Soon it will close, and then you will not be able to enter. So it was during the flood. For one hundred and twenty years the doors of the ark stood wide open. Noah went out and preached everywhere, inviting people to come in. Spirit fought with people. But they only laughed when they heard about the coming flood. Finally, this day has come. Noah entered, and the Lord shut him up. The doors closed. The flood began and carried away all the people. The same will happen to many who are here. Now the doors are wide open. Jesus says, "I am the Door; whoever enters through Me will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture." Christ does not say, "I was" or "I will be the door," but "I am the Door." Currently, anyone can enter. But soon Christ will come suddenly - like a thief in the night, like a snare, like the pain of childbirth befalling a woman in the womb - and you will not be able to escape. Enter through the narrow gate.

They pleaded, "Lord, Lord, open to us." Nowadays, hypocrites do not pray, and if they do, it is insincere. Their prayers are cold, lifeless and dull, but in that day they will scream without any pretense. Now many of you are ashamed to show diligence in caring for the soul - to cry, to pray, to approach the pastor. On that day you will lose all shame - you will weep, wail, and run to Christ in the agony of the spirit. Christ is looking for many of you today - He "came to seek and save that which was lost." He, like a shepherd, is looking for one lost sheep. He stands at your door and knocks: "To you people, I call: Turn, turn! Sinner, sinner, open to Me."

On that day it will be the other way around. It is you who will seek the Savior, and you will not find Him. It will be you who will stand at His door and knock, you will raise your voice and cry out, "Lord, Lord, open to me." What a spectacle this coming will present on that day! Those who do not come to the house of God - carefree and sinful gray-haired old men and women, young people who love entertainment, children who live without Christ - everything will be very serious for you all that day. Will this not serve as a reproach to those who do not pray or pray dryly, dully and lifelessly? You will pray on the day when it is too late. Why don't you anticipate that fear and start praying now?

They were disappointed. The Lord replied, "I don't know you." Christ openly acknowledges His people: "Them I know." He recognizes the poor, despised believers. Even though the world did not know them, Christ will recognize them. In that day, He will not pass even one of them. But with foolish virgins who have no oil in their lamps, everything will be otherwise, Christ does not acknowledge them. Oh, how terrible it will be for those whom Christ will deny before His Father and the holy angels!

"Watch therefore, for you do not know the day or the hour in which the Son of Man is coming." Keep true grace in your hearts, that Christ be your righteousness, that your soul be alive.

In order to imprint as firmly as possible in the hearts of the disciples those great truths about which the Lord spoke to them, He told them two more instructive parables: about ten virgins and about talents. “These parables are similar to the former parable about the faithful and unfaithful servants who squandered the property of their master. All these parables, although in different ways, are directed towards the same goal: that we try to give alms and help our neighbor in everything we can, since otherwise it is impossible to be saved. But in those parables, in general, it speaks of every good deed that we should render to our neighbor. And in the parable of the virgins, in particular, it speaks of monetary alms. In that parable, a slave is condemned to torment who beats his comrades, drinks with drunkards, squanders and destroys his master's property; and in this one is the one who does not strive for the benefit of his neighbor and does not give generous alms to the poor from his property ”(St. John Chrysostom). THEN, on the great judgment day, when the Lord suddenly appears as a reprover of hypocrites and unbelievers, then He will subject those who believe in Him to the final test, and, depending on whether they pass this test or not, He will accept or reject them - already forever. Then LIKE THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN WILL BE, Christ's, which is on earth, TEN VIRGINS(at that decisive time, the same thing will happen to the members of the Church of Christ that happened to the ten virgins invited to the wedding feast), WHICH, TAKE YOUR LIGHTS, Went out to meet the Groom, i.e. prepared to meet the groom, who was supposed to come to the house of the father-in-law for his bride at night.

FIVE OF THEM WAS WISE, prudent, prudent, AND FIVE UNINTELLIGENT, improvident, reckless, uncaring. UNINTELLIGENT virgins, TAKE YOUR LIGHTS, their lamps, DO NOT TAKE OIL WITH YOU in reserve, so that if the groom slows down, their lamps do not go out; THE WISE, TOGETHER WITH YOUR LIGHTS, THEY TAKE OILS IN THEIR VESSELS. AND HOW THE GROOM SLOWED, then first ALL DROEPED, and then And firmly SLEEP. They were calm, believing that everything was ready for them to meet the groom at any moment. BUT one can imagine the anxiety of the foolish virgins and their extreme helplessness at the moment when AT MIDNIGHT from the street SCREAM guests accompanying the groom and crowds of people who loudly greeted the groom: HERE, THE GROOM IS COMING, GO OUT TO MEET HIM. THEN ALL THE VIRGINS STARTED UP AND ADJUSTED THEIR LIGHTS, which from soot already emitted a faint light. At the same time, the prudent virgins poured oil into their lamps, while the foolish ones had no oil in stock. In their extreme, foolish virgins turn to their friends: THE UNINTELLIGENT SAID TO THE WISE: GIVE US YOUR OIL, BECAUSE OUR LIGHTS GO OUT. But the time was too short, the wise hurried to straighten their lamps; to poor friends they give the only advice possible under such circumstances: AND THE WISE ANSWERED: we would gladly share with you, but this is not possible, SO THAT THERE IS NO SUFFICIENCY FOR BOTH US AND YOU, GO BETTER TO SELLERS AND BUY YOURSELF. There was nothing left for the foolish virgins to do; without lamps it was impossible to meet the bridegroom, and they went to buy oil. WHEN DID THEY GO TO BUY, THE GROOM HAS COME, AND READY maidens, whose rimmed lamps burned in their hands, ENTER WITH HIM TO THE MARRIAGE Feast the marriage feast has begun, AND THE DOORS SHUT UP. Meanwhile, the foolish virgins, having searched in vain for oil, for at midnight no one trades, returned to the doors of the bridal chamber with a plea - to forgive them for the lack of oil: AFTER THE OTHER VIRGINS COME, AND SAY calling through closed doors: GOD! GOD! OPEN TO US. They heard from inside the bridal chamber only the verdict of their rejection: HE SAID TO THEM IN ANSWER: TRULY I SAY TO YOU, I DO NOT KNOW YOU, do not recognize you as mine; because you were not among my bridesmaids. SO, stay awake, - the Lord concluded this parable, - watch, BECAUSE YOU DONT KNOW ANY DAY, NO HOUR, TO WHICH THE SON OF MAN WILL COME.

Always be ready to meet Him, for He will come suddenly - for those who live to see His coming - with all the glory of His Last Judgment, and for those who do not live in the body until this judgment day, He will come suddenly at the hour of death, after which will come judgment for the soul... This parable, like all others, was taken by our Savior directly from life and therefore should have made a particularly strong impression on the apostles. According to the Eastern custom, the groom, after an agreement, dressed for a festive occasion, accompanied by friends, went to the house of the bride, who, also in the best clothes, surrounded by her friends, was waiting for his arrival. Usually the celebration took place at night, and therefore the groom was met with lamps. Then the bride and groom, with all the participants in the celebration, with noisy jubilation, with singing and music, went to the groom's house, where the feast usually lasted up to seven days. Customs in the East have been preserved unchanged for thousands of years; travelers say that even now marriages are performed there with the same rites as in the time of Christ the Savior. “In one Hindu marriage, where I was,” says one missionary, “the groom visited his bride. At midnight, after two or three hours had been expected for his arrival, they announced his approach in almost evangelical words: “Behold, the bridegroom is coming, go out to meet him!” Everyone hurried to light their lamp, which they held in their hands, and take their place in the procession. Many lost their lamps and there was no time to look for them, because the procession was approaching the bride's house. The whole company went up to the porch, decorated and splendidly lit, where other relatives and friends in holiday clothes were waiting for them. The bridegroom, carried by his companions, was placed on a magnificent seat in the middle of the assembly. After a while, everyone entered the house, the doors of which were immediately closed and guards guarded them. I and others with me asked these guards in vain to let us in there. Never did the majestic parable of the Savior strike me more than at the moment when the doors were closed. Even the Old Testament prophets repeatedly used the image of marriage to express the close unity of God with the people of Israel. In the New Testament, the same image was often used by the Forerunner of Christ, and the Lord Himself, and the holy apostles. Therefore, in the parable, under the image of marriage - His union with believers in blessed eternity. “But why does the Lord in this parable represent not just any person, but precisely virgins? - St. Chrysostom asks and answers: - He exalted virginity when he said: “There are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven. Who can accommodate, let him accommodate" ().

Virginity, by its very nature, is a great thing; this is evident from the fact that, just as in the Old Testament it was not preserved even by saints and great men, so in the New it was not made a necessary law. Christ did not give a commandment about it, but left it to the will of the hearers. That is why Paul says: “Regarding virginity, I have no commandment from the Lord”(). I praise the one who keeps virginity, but I do not force the one who does not want to be a virgin, and I do not make advice a law. So, since virginity is a great thing, and many have a high idea about it, so that someone, keeping it, does not indulge in carelessness, as if he had already done everything, and so as not to neglect the rest, he cites this parable, which can convince in that those who have virginity and all other virtues, but who are strangers to works of mercy, are condemned together with adulterous people, and very justly: some are possessed by carnal passion, others by the love of money. But carnal passion and the love of money are not equal in strength; the first is stronger and more painful. Therefore, the weaker the enemy, the more unforgivable the virgins defeated by him. For this, Jesus Christ calls them holy fools; they, having accomplished a great feat, lost everything for not accomplishing a lesser one. However, virginity in this parable of Christ means not only bodily purity or chastity; in the spiritual sense, under the name of virginity, one should understand the confession of the pure Christian faith, on the contrary, heresy and apostasy can be likened to the violation of virginity. In this sense, the virgins in the parable mean all those Orthodox believers in the future to judge the living and the dead of our Lord Jesus Christ, all who are waiting for His coming and hoping to receive eternal life. But not all Orthodox believers live in accordance with the faith that they confess with their lips: some live according to the commandments of God and show their faith in good deeds: these are wise virgins; others remain Christians more in name than in soul, live carelessly, if they do any good, they do it without the participation of the heart; these virgins are holy fools, reckless. Oh, how many such half-Christians among us!.. That is the danger for them, that they think of themselves: “We are not just pagans, unbelievers in God, we believe in Orthodoxy, and we do something good: will the Lord reject us? There are many people worse than us.”... And in their carelessness, they indulge in spiritual slumber, forgetting that what he thinks to have will be taken away from the poor, and that small particle of the grace-filled gifts of God, which, by God’s mercy, has not yet been lost them... Their temple is built on the sand; the seed of the word of grace falls on their stony soil, and they end their lives in this spiritual insensitivity...

What do the lamps and the oil in the vessels signify? St. John Chrysostom says: “Lamps He calls here the very gift of virginity, the purity of holiness, and oil – philanthropy, mercy and help to the poor.” While we are alive, while death has not snatched us away, let us take the lamps of good deeds into our hands, so that the word of Christ will be fulfilled on us: “So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven”(). If we, in accordance with the Apostle James, call faith the body, and works the soul, then in this parable faith is a lamp, and good deeds are oil in vessels. And if, according to the Apostle Paul, we think that good deeds are only pleasing to God when they are animated by faith and love, then deeds are a lamp, and love and faith are the oil that nourishes it. Blessed Augustine says: “For wise virgins, true oil is humble love for God; for fools - untrue - this is human praise, which stops with the end of human life. The Bridegroom slowed down: by this the Lord intimately shows that His Second Coming cannot be expected in a short time. What does it mean: “.... everyone dozed off and fell asleep!”“This does not mean, according to the words of Bishop Michael, that at the Second Coming of Christ all Christians will fall asleep; turn out not to be awake, careless, cold towards faith, but only indicates the constant duty of Christians to be awake, to be ready to meet the Lord, or sleep means death here. "But at midnight there was a cry". This is the cry that the apostle Paul speaks of: "at the proclamation, at the voice of the Archangel and the trumpet of God"(), The Lord will “descend from heaven”, descend accompanied by Angels, friends of the Heavenly Bridegroom, leading with Him the bride - the triumphant saints of God, and awaiting greetings from the Church, still militant on earth. The cry was heard at midnight: the Jews believed that the Messiah would come suddenly, at midnight, just as their ancestors left Egypt at the midnight hour. Through this midnight, the suddenness of the day of the Lord, which will come like a "thief in the night," is very vividly depicted. If our own deeds are betrayed to us, then nothing can help us, even if they express their desire to do so. So the virgins refer to the impossibility... Blessed Abraham explained this when he said: “A great chasm has been established between us and you, so that those who want to cross from here to you cannot ...”. (). "Better go to the sellers and buy for yourself." Who are these sellers? Poor. Where are they? They are here, and only now you can find them, and not after. Therefore, do not waste your possessions on luxury and empty glory, because there you will need a lot of oil for you.

He who lights a candle for another does not exhaust the light of his own candle; but nothing can convey to another what is the inalienable property of his soul, cannot convey the kindness of his heart, purity of conscience, holiness ... Wise virgins do not imagine that they have any excess, which, as they themselves do not need , they could give back to others; happy are they if their own lamps burn so brightly that they can enter into the joy of the bridal chamber. "The words: “so that there is no shortage for you and for us” show that our labors here are very small in comparison with the retribution there” (St. Ephraim Sirin). Therefore, the teaching of Catholics about some supernatural merits of the saints of God is false. At the judgment of God "and... the righteous is scarcely saved"(). “The foolish virgins went to buy oil, but did not receive any benefit: this shows that even if we become the most philanthropic after death, this will not save us from torment. For them, even the most zeal was useless, because they were not here, but there they were already looking for sellers. So the rich man did not benefit when he became so philanthropic that he began to care for his relatives. The one who passed by him lying at the gate hastens to snatch from Gehenna those whom he no longer sees. But everything is already useless "(the words of St. Chrysostom) ... "And the doors closed"... What kind of doors? These are doors open for those who come from the east and west to lie down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven; this is the Door that says: "He who comes to Me I will not cast out". Now it is open, and then it will be locked forever. Murderers come and they are admitted, publicans and harlots come and are accepted, and the door is not closed for them, for Christ forgives all who repent. But what does he say next? "And the doors closed"... Nobody's remorse, nobody's prayer, nobody's sighs will be heard. The door is locked, which received David after adultery and homicide, not only did not reject Peter after his threefold denial, but also granted him the keys of the Kingdom ... The door is closed and a formidable voice is heard: “I don’t know you.” I reject you because you did not want to know Me, I will not accept such love that is not combined with mercy to My beloved: "depart from me, you workers of iniquity"()... The fate of the reckless virgins is decided forever and the doors will never be opened for them. “The kingdom of heaven, according to the expression of blessed Augustine, is a place where the enemy does not enter, and from where the friend does not come.” “After many efforts,” says St. Chrysostom, “after great labors, after fierce battles and victories over the strong inclinations of nature, the virgins, lowering their eyes in shame, departed with extinguished lamps ... Nothing darkens virginity so much as a lack of mercy.”

Warning us against such a fate, the Lord says: "....keep awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour". “You see,” says St. Chrysostom, “how often he repeats these words, showing that ignorance of the hour of death is good for us. Where are those now who lead a carefree life and threaten: “When we die, we will leave everything to the poor.” Let them hear these words and correct themselves. Many, having been abducted by sudden death, did not even have time to explain their will to their relatives. The day of death is unknown for everyone, for "He who promises forgiveness to the penitent did not promise tomorrow to the sinner". Therefore, let us often repeat in our hearts the touching hymn of the Church: “Behold, the Bridegroom is coming at midnight, and blessed is the servant, whom the vigilant will find; he is unworthy of the pack, he will find it when he is despondent: watch, then, my soul, lest you be weighed down with sleep, lest you be given over to death, and shut up the Kingdom outside, but rise, calling: Holy, Holy, Holy, Thou, God, have mercy on us the Mother of God!(Troparion of Holy Monday).

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

The Lord in the parable of the ten virgins compared the expectation of the Second Coming of the Son of Man with the expectation of the bridegroom going to the wedding feast.

« Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins who, taking their lamps, went out to meet the bridegroom. Of these, five were wise and five were foolish. The foolish, taking their lamps, took no oil with them. The wise, along with their lamps, took oil in their vessels. And, as the bridegroom slowed down, everyone dozed off and fell asleep. But at midnight there was a cry: behold, the bridegroom is coming, go out to meet him. Then all the virgins got up and adjusted their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, Give us your oil, for our lamps are going out. And the wise answered: so that there is no shortage for us and for you, it is better to go to the sellers and buy for yourself. And when they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the doors were shut; Then the other virgins also come and say: Lord! God! open to us. And he answered and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.» (Mt. 25.1-12).

“Marriage” in this parable means the coming Kingdom of God, “the Bridegroom” is Christ, “virgins” are people who are waiting for Christ; "oil" means the grace of God, which a person must acquire by faith and good deeds; “waiting for the bridegroom” is earthly human life, the purpose of which is a meeting with Christ. “Foolish virgins” are people who did not care about acquiring the grace of the Holy Spirit, therefore the Kingdom of God, like the doors of a bridal chamber, turned out to be closed to them.

The Lord again ends the parable with a call to be awake, “ because you do not know the day or the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”(Mt. 25.13).