In the parable of the ten virgins does this mean that some believers will be left behind to face the Tribulation? Does it mean some believers will not be prepared to go in the rapture of the Church?
I would like to show several passages of Scripture (and reference others) that will prove that ALL BELIEVERS will be Raptured and escape the coming Tribulation Period. We will start with looking at a few verses in the Parable of the Ten Virgins.
In Matthew 25:1-4, “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 the lamps.” This parable speaks of those who “profess to believe in Christ.” The WISE virgins represent TRUE BELIEVERS who have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them and thus they have the “POWER to be a LIGHT for Christ” (see John 14:15-17). The FOOLISH virgins represent MERE PROFESSORS who do not have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them and thus they have “no power to be a light for Christ.” If you read the whole parable (verses 1-13), you will see that the OIL IN THE LAMP is the key to making one ready for the Lord’s coming.
Now let’s look at Romans 8:8-9, “So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God DWELLS IN YOU. Now if anyone DOES NOT HAVE THE SPIRIT of Christ, he is not His.” These verses are simple and clear. The believer HAS the Spirit of God dwelling (living) in him and thus he BELONGS TO CHRIST. If the Spirit is not dwelling in someone they DO NOT BELONG TO CHRIST. This is exactly what we see pictured in the 10 virgins. The 5 WISE virgins had the oil in their vessels, which illustrates the Spirit living in believers which made them ready for the Lord’s return (the Rapture) because they “belong to Christ.” The 5 FOOLISH virgins had no oil in their vessels, which pictures the unbelievers who are not ready for the Lord’s coming because they do “not belong to Christ.”
Finally, let’s read 1 Corinthians 15:20-23, “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterwards THOSE WHO ARE CHRIST’S at His coming.” The subject in this chapter is the “resurrection of Christ” and the “resurrection of all believers when Christ comes.” How do we know that ALL BELIEVERS will be resurrected at the Rapture? Ah, because it says “those who are Christ’s.” We just read in Romans 8:8-9 that everyone who has the Holy Spirit dwelling them BELONG TO CHRIST. Those who are Christ’s are those who belong to Him! So, we conclude that ALL who belong to Christ (who are Christ’s) will have their bodies raised from the dead when He comes again in the Rapture. Some teach that only “spiritual believers” will be raised and that believers who are living carnal lives will be left behind to go through the Tribulation. But they fail to see that it is not the believer’s BEHAVIOR that makes them ready for the Lord’s coming; it is the simple fact that THEY BELONG TO CHRIST! And it is the Holy Spirit in them that marks them out as belonging to Christ.
I will end by exhorting us (believers) that considering the truth we’ve seen, we “should be letting our light shine for Christ” while we wait for Christ to come. We see this truth in Romans 13:11-12, “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. There let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us PUT ON THE ARMOR OF LIGHT” (see also Ephesians 5:8-14). As we have seen, we need the Holy Spirit to empower us to do this and we need to yield to Him to give us the power to be a light for Christ (see Ephesians 5:18). If we do not yield to His control, we will grieve Him but He will not leave us. We see this humbling truth in Ephesians 4:30, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by who you were SEALED FOR THE DAY OF REDEMPTION.” His presence in us SEALS us, which means it “MARKS us out as belonging to Christ” and thus we are assured that all believers are indeed ready for the Lord’s coming when He will Rapture us to glory (see John 14:2-3 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). (DO) (633.3)