Some Teach That The foolish virgins Must Have Had Some Oil for Their Lamps to Light Up at All and What the Actually Lacked Was Extra Oil. Is This True
No. That is not true. The parable draws a sharp line: some had oil; some did not.
Scriptural explanation:
- “They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them” (Matthew 25:3). The wise “took oil in their vessels with their lamps” (Matthew 25:4). That’s the Spirit-supplied life within.
- When the cry came, the foolish said, “Our lamps are going out,” and they tried to borrow and then went to buy (Matthew 25:8-10). If they had the Oil, they wouldn’t need to borrow or buy at midnight.
Simple clarifying logic:
- The lamp is the outward profession; the oil is the Holy Spirit. You can trim a wick and get a momentary flare, but without oil there is no lasting light. That’s why their lamps went out at the crisis.
- The text never says “some” oil or “only lacked extra.” It says they took no oil with them, while the wise had a supply in their vessels. Either you have the indwelling Oil or you don’t—you cannot borrow it, and you cannot rush out to purchase it when the Door is opening.
Short reinforcement:
Now notice, the shut door proves it: those without Oil were not ready. It’s not a matter of “not enough extra,” but of not having the Spirit’s supply when the Bridegroom came.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Believest thou this?
53-0906A §32
Now, this time, just before the coming of the Lord Jesus, they had men... The church had got down to a place till it was very few that was looking for it. Just unconcerned, about like they are today. But God always has had a remnant of people who believed him. And one of them was a man named Zacharias and his wife named Elisabeth. They were righteous people, walking in all the laws and keeping all the statutes and commandments of God. And then down at the temple, Zacharias' part there was to burn incense. While the...
The Seal of God and the Mark of the Beast, part 1
61-0216 §57
You get an old lamp all ... to where the carbon gets on the lamp wick, it'll smoke your lamp all up. That's what's the matter with us. We got too much carbon on the lamp, too much carbon. The fire can't draw right. It can't get enough air from the bottom. What we need is a good breathing spell---a good breath, fresh breath from heaven of the baptism of the Holy Ghost over again; and the Holy Spirit working in the church with signs and wonders following---the true seal of God. Not say, "Well, I'll go to the Assembli...
Be certain of God
59-0412A §29
Then she goes and gets the oil. The oil represents the Spirit. That's why we anoint with oil; it represents the Spirit. And she put the oil and the meal together and begin to prepare it. And when the Spirit and the Word gets together, something's going to take place! She was at the end. So she got the Word and the Spirit and begin to mix it together. Now it's ready for baking. She goes out in the yard to pick up two sticks. Did you notice the Bible said, "Two sticks?" Now in the old days... Jimmy, I guess we've don...
The unwelcomed Christ
55-1002 §34
Now, the next thing: the Palestinian sun, the direct rays of there, makes a real hot and blisters the face. And they had oil that they would anoint. And the next man, when he come into a little place, why, they would anoint you, your hands, give you some oil, and you'd rub that---put it on your neck and around your face like that, and it was soothing. Now, oil will get old in a few days; we know that. But they had some sort of a little bean, that comes out of Arabia, like a rose when it's done, and there's a little...
Questions and Answers, Part 4
64-0830E §67
QUESTION: Where are the foolish virgins during the millennium? In the millennium they're in the grave. "The rest of the dead live not for a thousand years.