<p>25:10&nbsp;<em>And while they went away to buy</em>- There seems no reason to think that the Bridegroom would have rejected them because their lamp was not burning. They could have just gone along anywhere, motivated by the joy that comes from love. But they were too convinced by their need to&nbsp;<em>appear</em>&nbsp;ready externally. I have spoken elsewhere of a collapsing of time as we understand it in the period around the Lord&rsquo;s return and judgment. But let us not think that such collapsing of time only means that what would otherwise take a long time actually takes a short time. It may be that what is in fact a very short time feels like much longer. Thus we read here of the rejected as foolish virgins going to get oil, and it taking so long that the door was shut and they were eternally outside the marriage. In time as we know it, this may just be a momentary desire to have been more filled with the Spirit in the day of opportunity. But the whole process of realising this will&nbsp;<em>feel</em>&nbsp;to them as if it takes a long time to work out.</p><p><em>The bridegroom came- and they that were ready</em>- &ldquo;You- be also ready&rdquo; (24:44) uses the same word. This parable is the definition of what &lsquo;readiness&rsquo; means. The wise virgins were hardly ready. They fell asleep when they should have stayed awake; and they recognized that they didn&rsquo;t really have enough oil. They hadn&rsquo;t calculated the day nor hour of their Lord&rsquo;s return. They were &lsquo;ready&rsquo; only in the sense that they wanted above all to be with their Lord, and this sense was far stronger than their deep awareness of their own shameful unpreparedness. But this is what &lsquo;readiness&rsquo; is about.&nbsp;<br /><em>Went in with Him</em>&nbsp;<em>to the wedding</em>- This is another hint that the faithful come with Jesus to judgment. See Digression&nbsp;<em>With Jesus to Judgment</em>. The Lord entering into the wedding feast is the exact picture of His coming in judgment (22:11 &ldquo;the King&nbsp;<em>came in</em>&rdquo; s.w. &ldquo;went in&rdquo;). But in that same parable, we &lsquo;come in&rsquo; to the wedding feast at our response to the Gospel in this life (22:12 s.w.). The nature of our initial response is highly significant. &ldquo;Went in&rdquo; translates the same Greek word found in 24:38: &ldquo;Noah&nbsp;<em>entered into</em>&nbsp;the ark&rdquo;. The next comment that &ldquo;the door was shut&rdquo; continues that allusion to the ark.</p><p><em>Went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut-</em>&nbsp;The very same words are used in Lk. 11:7 concerning how although the door is shut in this life, yet it can be opened by prayer and beseeching. We as sinners are condemned here and now, the door is shut- but we can repent and pray, and the door shall be opened. But like the shutting of the door of the ark, once this is done at the day of judgment, it is too late. Now is the day to change the verdict, then will be too late.</p>