LWB Newsletter - Questions & Answers

“(1) Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. (2) And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. (3) They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: (4) But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. (5) While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. (6) And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. (7) Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. (8) And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. (9) But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. (10) And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. (11) Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. (12) But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. (13) Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” [Matthew 25:1-13]

Watch the ten virgins that went out. Five... All of them virgins. Five of them were foolish; five had oil in their lamps. What is the Oil? The Holy Spirit. See? That's right. They were all virgins, lived good, clean lives. You say, "Well, brother, I don't go to dances; I don't go to shows." That's just the moral things. Unless there has been a supernatural... Not because you shouted, not because you spoke with tongues, not because you jumped up-and-down, not because you did this; but something supernatural has happened in here that's changed you and put you a sealed love in God. You're anchored. That's right. [Israel And The Church, Jeffersonville, IN 53-0327]

Here they go, moving down there. One of the writers said that God was in that Pillar of Fire, "And He looked down through with angry eyes." And said, "When He did, the Red Sea got scared and begin to move back, and Israel passed through on dry land." Never even got their feet muddy. Well, these guys come along, said, "We're just as human as they are, and we worship the same as they do, so we'll do it." And when they got out there, they found out they couldn't make it. And that's what's going to happen one of these days, brother, when the separating time comes. And to you, you lukewarm church member, that you're trying to impersonate Christianity, one of these days you're going to try to follow that Holy Ghost band, and you'll find out your wheels will come off out yonder in the muddy somewhere. That's right. There--there was ten virgins went to meet the Lord, five of them were wise, and five foolish. Put Oil in your lamp, trim her bright, one of these days they're going up. And there was weeping and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. [Israel And The Church, Jeffersonville, IN 53-0327]

Moses, when he turned aside, looked at the bush, God was going to send him, but before Moses knew, he said, "Show me Your glory." You know, sometimes when God does things, He does it in such a funny way, an odd way, peculiar way to the people of this world, it seems foolish to the carnal mind. How that God does things so--so simple, it just confuses the carnal mind. For instance, the virgin birth, and many things that's yet got the carnal mind all broke up. They don't know what to think about it. But God does it. Just like when John the Baptist came. Why, the Scripture said, when the inauguration of Jesus down there, at the river that day, that the... "All the high places would be made low and the low places brought high. And the--the leaves all clapped their hands, and the mountains skipped like little lambs." Just think of it. And what was it? An old woodsman type of a preacher, with the beard out over his face, like a fuzzy worm, and a big piece of sheepskin wrapped around him, standing on the muddy banks of Jordan, preaching repentance. Amen. (No fine, dressed lace, silks, and satins and whatever it was.) [Witnesses, Phoenix, AZ 54-0303]

Noah was a type that was carried over like the sleeping virgin. But Enoch was translated just before the tribulation struck. And Enoch was took up, and was found not, because God took him: the type of the going forth of the church. And Noah watched him. When he seen Enoch go, he knew it was time to enter the ark, for to be carried through the tribulation. The Bible said there was ten virgins went out to meet the bridegroom, and five were wise; five were foolish. And they were all virgins, every one of them. But five was wise. And they had oil in their lamp. And they went out to meet the bridegroom. And the bridegroom came. And the ones that had oil, went in. See, the translation, going with the Bridegroom. But those who were left behind, they come and wanted in too just like those who come and knocked on the door of the ark. "Noah, let us in." But God closed the door. No, friend of mine, one of these days God's going to give you your final call, then the door's going to be closed between mercy, and judgment. Don't be left out. Get in now while you can. Don't pay no attention to what the world says. Get into Christ, for those that are in Christ will God bring with Him. See? [The Lamb's Book Of Life, Jeffersonville, IN 56-0603]

You know there were virgins that went out to meet Him. And five were still virgins, but were foolish virgins that didn't keep oil in their lamps. And though they were virgins, just the same as the others, they were not permitted to the wedding supper. So far be it, from any people here tonight, to be included, so they'd be excluded, from the presence of the Lord, included in that group of the virgins with no oil in their lamps. [Handwriting On The Wall, Greenville, SC 58-0618]

How many of you, all perhaps, have read of the virgins? Some were wise and some were foolish. "Virgin" means "purity." They were all good people, every one of them virgin, sanctified vessels of God. But those who had oil in their lamps went in. And the others was left out. They were all virgins, every one, people that you couldn't put your finger on for anything wrong. They everyone believed in the coming of the Lord. They were ready to go meet Him, but some of them let their oil go out. Don't let that be your case. Keep oil in your lamp. Oil is the Spirit, the Holy Spirit. Never let it drain from you. When you feel your love dying away, your sincerity to Christ, and to the--the cause, quickly go to Him Who has the Fountain of Oil and buy for yourself a filling of the Holy Spirit. Our nation gone, morally corrupted and ruined, our politics corrupted and gone, our leaders... O God, what could we do about it? You can put a good man in, and he comes out a crook. There's only One we can bring now, that's the Lord Jesus. Let's make ready for His coming. [The Sudden Secret Going Away Of The Church, Jeffersonville, IN 58-1012]

Now there's another question here that was given me last evening: “Brother Branham, are the five foolish virgins of Matthew 25 counted as the Gentile remnant? I understand that the five foolish virgins were saved but have to go through the great tribulation period. Is this correct? If so, what will be their final destination? Could they be the sheep which are divided from the goats in Matthew 25:33 and 34?” Pretty good theologian according to what I... [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]... think it too, that they are the remnant, the sleeping virgin is the remnant spoke of in Revelation; of the woman's seed that keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. A woman will take a--a piece of goods and lay it down; well, now, that is what she's cutting her... or takes her pattern and lays anywhere she desires, which way she's going to cut that. And then what she has left over is called the remnant, but she chooses to cut it from a certain place by her own free thinking. But what's left over is called the remnant. Now, if you'll notice, there were five foolish and five wise virgins; all of them was virgins, made out of the same material. But, by election, God chose His Bride by election before the foundation of the world, put their names on the Lamb's Book of Life slain before the foundation of the world; before the world ever began, God in His mind, being infinite. And we use the word sometime, is "predestination," but it's a sure hanger in this church age that we live in. It was certainly a great thing used in the days of the martyrs, 'cause they certainly believed it. But it's got away from It now, to the legalist ideas, the legalist teaching in the church which come... Which was a good thing, because all of it had gone Calvanistic in England till they didn't even have revivals anymore, and John Wesley come along preaching the Arminian doctrine which balanced it up. God will always balance it up. So then the foolish virgin was the one who did not have oil in their lamps, that I believe that was cast out into outer darkness where there'll be weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. And if you'll compare that, or your footnotes, it'll run it right back again to the great tribulation. And I think they're the ones who stays back and goes through the great tribulation. And quite a lesson there, if we had time to go into it. If you... [The Patmos Vision, Jeffersonville, IN 60-1204E]

Now I want just to ask you something. I'm speaking to you lukewarm church. Ten virgins went out to meet the Lord, five of them was wise, five foolish; as we took this morning, that grafted tree. Now, remember, as they went out to meet God... Now watch, the Bible said, "The books were opened." Daniel 7:9, "The books were opened." That's the book of the sinner. "And another book was opened." Who came with Him? The Church from the Rapture. Oh! "Tens of thousands times thousands times thousands of thousands came with Him and ministered to Him," His wife, the Bride. Oh, glory! His wife came with Him, the Church. Judgment was set, and the books were opened. And another book was opened, which was the sleeping virgin, and every man was judged thus from the book. You'll be asked to give a reason why you didn't, and then what then? You know better now, you know better. You might not have knowed It before, but you do now. See? Where if this righteous will scarcely be saved, where will that sinner and ungodly person appear? The one who rejects, knows better and then rejects It. Where will they appear? His feet like brass, Divine judgment. [The Patmos Vision, Jeffersonville, IN 60-1204E]

It's going to be a wonderful day, some morn, some of these times. To show you that the resurrection's going to be universal, "There'll be two in a field, and I'll take one; and two in the bed, and I'll take one." See, it'll be a night one place, and daylight on the other side of the earth; be a universal resurrection, that Rapture. The trumpet of God shall sound, and every one of these, of this little church here, here, here, and even that little bunch that went through there, and come out here, here, here. When that virgin, that virgin when she seen in the seventh watch that... Now, you'll remember, there were seven virgins. Is that right? Or, I mean, five virgins went out... Ten virgins went out to meet the Lord, five was wise and five was foolish. Is that right? And now, in the watches though, there was seven watches. And at the end of the seventh watch (some slept from this watch, this one, this one, this one, and that,... ), the seventh watch, there was a voice went out, "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet Him." And they rose and trimmed their lamps. And all these others rose down through here. Oh, won't that be a wonderful time! [The Smyrnaean Church Age, Jeffersonville, IN 60-1206]

Now watch, they... both of them were "virgins." Now let me get this. Here, let's takes these two right here. This is a virgin and this is a virgin, this was a foolish virgin and this was a wise virgin, but both of them are virgins. Now if you'll take that name virgin and run it down, it means--it means "holy, clean, sanctified." The word sanctified comes from the word "sainted," which mean, "clean." Like the Hebrew word... Now, that's a Greek word, sanctify means "clean." Now, the Hebrew word is make "holy." See? And ours is "clean." Now, they take the three words, like each word has the same meaning but it's spoke different, like the--the word "clean, holy, sanctified," all three the same word. [The Ten Virgins, and The 144,000 Jews, Jeffersonville, IN 60-1211M]

Bible References: Matthew 21:1-13

[Answer provided by Bro. Ken Andes, Minister, Lynden, Washington, USA]