Jamieson, Faussett, and Brown
Bible Commentary
Interesting commentary. Thanks!! My only comment would be that this "oil", whatever it is, is something that the wise virgins COULD HAVE shared with the five foolish virgins. You can do that with "knowledge" and "special understanding", but not with inward, individual grace.
Also, this oil was not for anointing, but for their lamps which provided LIGHT. God's word is a "lamp" per the scriptures. It guides us. But we must look to it with interest in order for it to shine. The light can not guide us if we don't read it.
Thus the Bible, like a lamp, needs to be read in order to provide light. In this scenario, the foolish virgins were only willing to read certain parts, the parts they liked. This was good. It got them so far. But the wise virgins were interested in EVERYTHING that was there in scripture. That extra interest was the extra oil that kept their lamps burning until it was time for the Messiah to arrive. They needed that extra oil, therefore, in order to find the light they needed which was in the secret things of scripture; the prophetic prophecies, the Bible's chronology for the last days, the typology in scripture of sacred things. This is what gave them the extra light to find the Messiah in time.
Finally, even if this sense of "grace" were the oil, it turns out that the foolish virgins did attain this degree of "grace" or whatever eventually. They were told to go "buy oil from those that sold it" which they apparently did. But when they arrived, apparently lamps burning bright, it still didn't matter. It didn't get them into the kingdom. So there is a TIMING factor involved here too. It's not get excited about the Bible after the Messiah arrives, but BEFORE he does.
When Armageddon is bearing down on us, for instance, I'm sure plenty of individuals will then have plenty of time to be fully focussed and devoted to every aspect of scripture there is, between the lines, above the lines, below the lines and in every other way. Which is good, but....the time for that "extra oil" of interest was BEFORE the Messiah arrives, not after.
If I may make another comparison. Remember Jesus said: "If you're lukewarm, I will vomit you out of my mouth?" Those foolish virgins were like lukewarm water. They were not intensely hot or refreshingly cold. They only had a mild interest. They only wanted to do a few of the requirements and leave others alone. That attitude offended the Christ and he rejects them.
Bottom line, Christ is looking for those who really care about these things and who make it a priority. Those are the ones who he wants in his kingdom. Those who go the extra mile, who graduate to understanding the deep things and get into the MEAT of scripture. Those running with full heart....not those who want to pace themselves when winning the race is the goal.
That's how I'm seeing it.
So ultimately, if someone is not into all that prophecy and stuff. Fine. God gives different gifts in different men and everyone aren't given the edge in the prophecy department. Fine. But why discourage those who have this gift? Why judge them for their Biblical enthusiasm and tell them they should focus more on THIS LIFE? Instead, we should encourage them and LISTEN to them, should we not? We can test for what they say is truth in scripture or not, but shouldn't we be listening?
Canon
