Wise Virgins

In MATTHEW 25:1-13, Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to “ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went out to meet the bridegroom.” He described five as wise, who took oil as well as their lamps, but the other five were foolish because they took only their lamps and no oil. The foolish virgins were caught unprepared for the arrival of the bridegroom and lost their opportunity to be with him. Jesus ends the parable with a dire warning, “Watch, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” John Milton’s Sonnet IX offers advice “To A Virtuous Young Lady”:
Thy care is fix’d, and zealously attends
To fill thy odorous lamp with deeds of light,
And hope that reaps not shame. Therefore be sure,
Thou, when the bridegroom with his feastful friends
Passes to bliss at the mid hour of night,
Hast gain’d thy entrance, Virgin wise and pure.