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.
Lamps
One way we know that these ten maidens were all true Believers was that they were all called virgins (see my previous post). But another way we know their confession of faith was true was in the fact that they all had lamps. So, what is a lamp? Before we dive into the symbolism, let’s look at what it is literally: an object that illuminates light. In our present day, a lamp is a device we plug into the wall that electricity lights. But in Jesus’ day, no electricity was found, so oil was used to light lamps. So, oil was necessary to make light and the lamp was necessary to hold the oil. Read that sentence again: oil was necessary to make light and the lamp was necessary to hold the oil. Now let’s take that literal definition and look at what Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount:
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)
Jesus tells us in this passage that we are all lights or lamps made to shine and give glory to God. That’s the present state of Believers: shining lamps. But all mankind has a lamp, whether shining or not. When we were born, we were given a lamp in our heart, but it was dark and without any ember (Luke 1:79; John 1:5; Acts 26:18). But when you said, “Yes” to Jesus, you were given a spark & your lamp blazed to life! 2 Corinthians 4:6 says, “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” God breathed HIMSELF into our dark, dead sprits. Our God is the Flame. He is the Consuming Fire (Heb. 12:29)! In fact, the literal translation of Song of Songs 8:6 says of Love,“…for love is as strong as death….Its flames are flames of fire, the very flame of Yahweh” (see also Lk. 3:16, Acts 2:3)! When we say, “Yes” to Christ, the Spirit breathes upon us and the fire of God brings our spirit out of darkness and into light in an instant! Colossians 1:13 says, “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love…”; in other words, you are no longer in darkness but now in the light! As 1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light”.
So now that all Believers have received a light in our lamp, Jesus says in Matthew 5:14-16, let it shine! Don’t hide your testimony! Let everyone see the work of God in your life and let that change give Him glory. So, we can metaphorically say a Believer's lamp is the testimony or the witness of the work of Jesus in our life. But there is another aspect of the light in a lamp and it is actually quite obvious: light helps us see. Without light, we stumble about in darkness. So, I believe the lamp represents:
1) Our Witness in this World
2) Our Ability to See in the Darkness
So, how does this apply to the 10 virgins? In the hour before Christ’s return, the church must guard her witness as compromise crouches at her door and the church must guard her ability to see as darkness increases in the earth. No matter who you are, our natural tendency is for our light to grow dim in an hour of trial. For some believers, the hour of trial effects your witness/testimony. The disappointment of your experience or the questions or the unanswered prayers cause you to throw in the proverbial towel of faith in God. Your life takes a drastic turn from pure trust in Christ and before long, your light has grown dim. Maybe you return to old habits from which Jesus set you free. Maybe your former lifestyle creeps into your present and you choose to do what you use to, simply due to your disappointment in God, thereby tarnishing your testimony among the lost. You’re not alone in this temptation, friend. Most Believers will be faced with what we call a “Crisis of Faith.” It’s that hour of temptation when we all must wrestle with the pain of something so great that we doubt what we believe and want to return to what we knew before: a life without perceived false hope. If we are tempted with this today, imagine what it will be like when the hour grows so dark that Jesus says, “No one on earth would survive it if I didn’t cut it short (Matt.2422)?”
We actually see this happening right now in the church at an alarming pace, especially in the movement called “Deconstruction.” All over social-media and even in book stores, former Christians are proudly and loudly proclaiming that they are walking away from their faith in what they are calling a deconstruction of their beliefs. In fact, I hesitate to listen to many modern worship bands/leaders apart from examing what they truly believe, for I am finding that far too many are faltering in the ancient tenants of Christianity. Now, to a certain extent, allowing The Lord to tear down false beliefs is a wonderful reason why He allows trials in our lives. But for far too many Believers, their faith was not deeply rooted in TRUE SOUND doctrine and, now that the trial has passed, they are left walking away altogether from orthodox Christianity. Do not be deceived, reader: the Deconstruction movement is burgeoning quickly and is influencing a generation. Far too many lamps are fading and encouraging others to enter the dark.
For other Believers, the hour of trial doesn’t lead to an absolute crisis of faith, but it does leave them feeling like they are groping in the darkness, seemingly void of any understanding of God’s hand in the current situation. These are the Believers who are rooted enough in His word to not walk away from saving faith, but they have not understood the multi-faceted nature of God expressed in scripture, so when trouble comes that is God-ordained, they stumble. In The West, we have been taught that God is the God of Love but only a rare few have been introduced to Him as Justice-giver, Judge, King, Sovereign over all creation…and these are aspects of His nature that, if we do not understand, will leave us questioning when He displays them in full force.
This is why we must wrestle now with the god of our own making verses the True God revealed in scripture. Will we be able to serve Him in wholehearted obedience when our world violently falls apart? Or will our lamp grow dim because we never settled in our hearts that He is Lord no matter the circumstance? Like Job, will we be able to say when we are hanging on to life by a thread, “Though He slay me, yet I will hope in Him,” (Job 13:15)? This is one way we get oil, Beloveds: we wrestle with the aspects of God’s nature that offend us – his justice, his timing, his wrath. Yes, we wrestle with it by reading and studying these truths in His word and we do not run away until it is settled in our hearts that He is Good even when we don’t understand His ways. Do it today, Beloved Ones, before the days of trouble come (Eccl. 12:1-2).
Before I close, I would be remise if I did not lead our minds to what Jesus said about lamps in the book of Revelation. In John’s recording of this vision, we find Jesus standing among lamps. Jesus clearly tells John that, metaphorically, the lamps represent the churches He is addressing (Rev. 1:10-20). In other words, every congregation/church had a Lamp. This shows us that, corporately, as one part of the church body goes, so goes the whole. Each local congregation has its own culture: some good and some bad, some rock solid and some built on sand. In John’s revelation, we see Jesus walking among these lamps, looking for light to shine – for His fruit to be evident above fruit of our own making (Rev. 2:1). Why is He doing this? Because He is Judge (Ps. 98:9; Matt. 25:31-32; John 5:22.). In fact, scripture plainly tells us that Jesus will judge the secrets of man’s heart (Rom. 2:16). He will ultimately do it in the Day of Judgement when we stand before Him at the end of time as we know it; but He is also looking today…He searches our hearts now in order that we may be made ready for THAT Day.
And what did Jesus find among the Lamps/Churches in Revelation? Only a couple received a good report. Some, in fact, received tragic reports due to the fact that they had very little light in their lamps. Many thought they were shining bright and doing much in His name, but Jesus had another point of view. To the growing church in Ephesus, he said, “You’ve left your first-love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent” (Rev. 2:5).
What did Jesus mean by, “I will remove your lampstand”? From what we’ve learned about lamps, we see that Jesus is plainly saying, “I will remove your witness and influence in this world. You will have zero effect and therefore, zero reward attached to all your services, all your programs, and all your efforts in ministry.” He may even be saying, “You will be left groping in darkness, not understanding true relationship with Me when the day of trouble comes.” Why? Because they had left pure love for Him. Do you see how kind Jesus is to warn them? He doesn’t want to remove their influence, but He cannot allow them to grow a church that looks successful but isn’t actually rooted in pure love for Him. If He didn’t warn them, then every convert would think success equals busy activity apart from intimacy with Him. If he did not warn them, they could falsly believe that successful programs and larger buildings and 'anointed worship' and prophetic words were equal to Kingdom success. If he did not warn them, then they could stumble forever and be lost.
What scares me about this verse is this question: did removing their lamp actually mean closing their doors? Or was Jesus saying that without repentance, the church would continue on in false success and not even know its true influence was gone? This is a call to every congregation: the church in this age must re-evaluate our modes and models of ministry, making certain that our corporate Lamp is burning by HIS standards and not our own. We must wrestle with, not only God’s nature individually, but wrestle with our man-made ideas of what success in the church looks like to Jesus. We must wrestle with it, Beloveds, or we may lose our lamps and not even know it.
Reflect: One way to get oil is to wrestle with the “hard truths” found in scripture. Study, in His presence, the things you find difficult to understand regarding His nature and regarding doctrine. This takes time. It is a journey – so do not rush it. Surround yourself with mature believers who will be with you in the process; people you can trust with the hard questions as you seek out truth.
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