Becoming a Wise Virgin
(week 21/06)
Olubi Johnson
Matthew 25:1-13 NKJV: Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbe and slept. 6 And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming go out to meet him!’ 7 “Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 “But the wise answe, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 “And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 “But he answe and said, ‘Assuly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
Here, the Lord Jesus reveals to us that in this end-time of His coming to the church in glory and power the church will have 3 companies of Christians: the watchmen, that cry at mid-night the virgins: both wise and foolish and the harlot Babylon church.
The watchmen are the prophets in the church who are crying and warning the church in this ‘midnight’ hour: the transition between 2 days: the day of before the manifestation of the glory of God and the day of the manifestation of the glory of God that the bridegroom: the Lord Jesus is coming to His church in glory and power to begin the marriage supper of the Lamb: a spiritual feast of the wisdom of God that starts on the earth and culminates in a celebration in heaven after the rapture (Rev 19.1-9).
Isaiah 62:6-7 NKJV: I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem they shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent, 7 And give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
Isaiah 62:1-3 NKJV: For Zion‘s sake I will not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem‘s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns. 2 The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD will name. 3 You shall also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
The virgins are the honest Christians in the church who respond to the prophetic call and begin to prepare to meet the bridegroom in this end-time.
The harlot Babylon Christians are those who reject this message of perfection by developing the love of God, because of the dishonesty of .their hearts they are not virgins anymore as they have committed spiritual adultery and fornication with the spirit of Babylon.
However, among the virgins some are wise and some are foolish.
As the bridegroom tarried: the manifestation of the glory of God seemed to be delayed since 1948 (which marks the beginning of the last generation (Mt. 24.32-34) that sees the restoration of natural Israel (the fig tree: Joel 1.7 & Hos. 9.10) as a geopolitical nation) during the latter rain and healing revival when God began to reveal the truth of the end-time manifestation of the sons of God, the virgins fell asleep: they lost their awareness and consciousness of this truth.
However, the watchmen: the prophetic intercessory ministry did not fall asleep!
So we are now very close to ‘midnight’: the time just before the manifestation of the glory and the watchmen are crying or sounding the alarm (Joel. 2.1-11) that the bridegroom is coming.
In fact’ this midnight cry will not be the prophetic voice alone as it has been all these years but in addition it’s confirmation by the manifestation of the glory of God through a first of first fruits breaker company (Mic. 2.13) this will cause all the virgins who have been sleeping to awake.
As the virgins awake, the foolish see that they do not have oil in their vessels and the oil in their lamps is being diminished.
The lamp represents the born-again human spirit:
Proverbs 20:27 NKJV: The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD,
The vessel represents the physical body:
2 Corinthians 4:7 NKJV: But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
At this transition or ‘midnight‘ hour, you need to have oil not just in your lamp but in your vessel if you are to enter into the feast with bridegroom and so manifest the glory of God in this hour.
How do you get oil in your vessel?
By praying regularly (daily, weekly, monthly: see our book ‘A Practical Guide to prayer’ for more details) in the spirit with all types of prayer that will cause the life of God to be injected into the physical body from the spirit:
Romans 8:11, 26 NIV: And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.
It is the virgins who have been praying in this manner as a habit or will start now: if you can put oil in your vessel before the bridegroom comes you will become a wise virgin that will enter into the marriage with the bride groom and so manifest the glory of God in this end-time.
It is instructive to note that the time when the bridegroom comes and door is shut will not be the same time for everyone: it will depend on your individual day of visitation by the Lord determined by when you heard the message of perfection.
For those who heard earlier their time of visitation would be earlier and for those who heard later their time of visitation would be later: so that God in His righteousness will give everybody the same amount of time to put oil in their vessels.
Acts 10:34 NKJV: Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality.
However, once the first of the firstfruits company manifest the glory: the door is shut for them and this will signify the ‘midnight hour’. For others their day of visitation will come after this ‘midnight hour’ depending on when they first heard the message of perfection and the glory of God for the end-time church.
The foolish virgins who do not have oil in their vessels by the time the bridegroom comes to them: their day of visitation in this day of the Lord, will not be able to enter feast: because they would never had had intimacy with the Lord in prayer.
However, if after the glory is in manifestation: when the door is shut they are importunate (Lu. 11.5-8) in following after those that have manifested the glory, by knocking on the shut door and asking them to borrow them 3 loaves: revelation of love, righteousness by faith and justice: the weightier matters of the law (Mt. 23.23) they will be able to partake of the glory to a limited degree with a borrowed anointing but they will never be able to grow into the fulness of Christ themselves.
The foolish virgins who are not importunate and other Christians: the harlot Babylon church, who rejected (Mt. 22.1-8) this prophetic message of the perfection of the church by developing to perfection: maturity the love of God, will never partake of the marriage supper of the Lamb. They may go to heaven if they repent, but they will suffer loss: their works of wood, hay and stubble will be burnt up and they will be saved only as by fire (1 Cor. 3.10-15).
This is the price of being a foolish virgin or harlot Christian: so become a wise virgin now as the bridegroom will come any time now!
