Q395 : Are the Ten Virgins in the Parable of Matthew 25 all Jews?

I've just listened to your series concerning Matthew 24-25^a.

I would ask you specifically about Matthew 25, where you explain this section about 10 virgins.

Does this passage concern people in the Tribulation time, and exactly is it applied only to Isreal where finally God will separate believing Israelis from unbelieving Israelis or maybe there will be also Gentiles?

I regularly listen to dr Andy Woods and he explains that Matthew 24-25 doesn't relate to the church at all. Those passages according to him relate to Israel in the Tribulation time.

I see you don't mention in Matthew 25 some information about Israel and Jews at that time.

Thanks a lot Tony for your explanation. God bless you and your ministry

A395 : by Tony Garland

Thanks for your question.

The first thing I would say is that Jews and Gentiles are both being saved during both the Church Age and the Tribulation. One should not make a hard distinction between Gentiles and Jews in either time period.

In a similar way that Jews are being saved today — and are members of the Body of Christ along with predominantly Gentiles, the Church — so too will Gentiles be saved along with Jews during the events immediately preceding the return of Jesus at the Second Coming.

The difference is not one of all Gentiles or all Jews—the difference is one of God’s emphasis. During the “Church Age” the emphasis is primarily on global evangelization resulting in the completion of the Church (the “fullness of the Gentiles” mentioned in Romans 11). During the Tribulation there is an emphasis on turning Israel back to faith in God.

This is why Matthew 24 and 25 (and aspects of the book of Revelation) have such a strong Jewish flavor and emphasis. But this is not to say that large numbers of Gentiles aren’t also saved during that period. The book of Revelation makes clear that many from all nations will also be saved during this period (for example, Rev. 7:9-13).

In summary, while I would agree that Matthew 24-25 has a focus on Israel pertaining to times leading up to the Second Coming I would also caution against reading Gentile salvation out of the events.

So I myself don’t take the virgins of Matthew 25 as being exclusively Jewish. I see the parable applying to all those who have an opportunity to believe during the times after the Church has departed at the Rapture and prior to the Second Coming which closes the Tribulation.

Blessings in Christ!