Parable Of Ten Virgins by Monica Miller-Ruhl 
“THEN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 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. “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. (Matt 25:1-13, NKJV)
This is an incredibly fascinating parable that has earned a wide variety of interpretations and applications. The vast majority, however, would agree that the oil in the lamp represents having an inner reservoir of Holy Spirit reality. Our focus here is on the oil. If we are not filled with the oil of the Spirit, we will not survive the chaos and calamities of the last days.
All ten virgins had oil in their lamps, but the five wise virgins brought an extra vessel of oil with them. This was because the wise virgins had anticipated that the return of the bridegroom might possibly be delayed beyond their expectations. The foolish virgins made the fatal assumption the bridegroom’s return would be sooner than later. They were confident that they didn’t need extra oil; they thought their lamp held enough oil to sustain them until the bridegroom’s coming…(portion omitted)
The oil of authentic relationship is bought at the cost of investing time and energy in the secret place. The foolish will allow urgent matters of the moment to pull them away from the secret place after having a minimal filling. The wise will stay and continue to be filled with oil until their hearts are energized by their love relationship with Jesus.
When their foolishness becomes obvious, the foolish will turn to the wise and say, “Give us some of your oil”. They will recognize the wise have a depth in God that they never took the time and energy to cultivate…(portion omitted)
When the bridegroom delays His return, the virgins are overtaken with heartsickness because of deferred hope (Proverbs 13:12). Heartsickness will cause them to sleep from sorrow (Luke 22:45). The bridegroom’s delay has a way of distinguishing between the foolish and the wise. It reveals those who had developed their own personal history of a living relationship with the bridegroom…(portion omitted) (Excerpts from: Secrets of the Secret Place by Bob Sorge).
The message that is constant in my heart for those of you who have heard me teach is: get oil in the Secret Place! All true daily ministry flows from that reality. The parable of the ten virgins is a prophetic message to us individually and corporately. We must love Truth—Jesus Christ and be transfigured by the beholding of Him in the power of the Holy Spirit.
I encourage you to begin today with making the eternal Lamb of God a daily priority relationally, rising with the SON and then again setting with the SON in an undistracted placeuntil you have experienced a breakthrough into an open heaven and are visited by the Bread of Life. The importance of this cannot be overstated and the reality of it is reflected by our commitment to keeping first love, first love.
Monica Miller-Ruhl www.globaldestinyministry.com 9/22/15
Pictured: Monica with hubby Pastor Bill Ruhl
