I received a very encouraging email from South Korea, the site of the winter Olympics this year.

My name is DS and I currently reside in Korea.

I have known GES since 2003 and I have been an avid reader of all the articles in GES.

When I was struggling with my assurance of salvation and prayed to God, God has answered me by leading me to GES.

I am very grateful for your service to the Lord.

Recently, I was reading your book Tough Texts, and I came across the parable of ten virgins and the parable of sheep and goats.

It’s my understanding from the reading that these two parables are talking about the people who go through the time of tribulation.

I read that five foolish virgins are believers who were not prepared for the Lord’s return during the tribulation so when the Lord came, they could not join the feast (i.e. not commended). On the other hand, in the parable of sheep and goats, all the sheep (believers) are commended for their service to the Lord by showing kindness to His brethren.

What I cannot understand is that how can all the sheep (believers who survived the tribulation) are commended by the Lord whereas another parable says that some virgins (also believers who survived the tribulation) are not included in the commendation? How can I align this apparent discrepancy?

Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Great question. Actually, I’ve never been asked about that. But the answer is fairly simple.

First, it is important to see that these two accounts deal with different types of saints. Matthew 25:1-13 deals with Jewish believers from the Tribulation. Matthew 25:31-46 mentions Jewish believers (“these, My brethren”), but it focuses on the judgment of Gentile believers who survive the Tribulation.

Second, while it seems possible in the Parable of the Ten Virgins that the five unfaithful virgins survive the Tribulation, that is very unlikely. In Matt 24:13 the Lord said, “He who endures to the end [of the Tribulation] will be saved [= will survive it, see Matt 25:22].” Thus if the five foolish virgins are judged unworthy for commendation, then it seems highly unlikely that they could have been said to have endured to the end (2 Tim 2:12; Rev 2:26). And if they did not endure to the end, then God did not deliver their lives.

I think we should understand that the five foolish virgins die sometime during the second half of the Tribulation. Lacking sufficient spiritual reserves/strength, the Lord takes them before the end.

Only enduring believers will survive the Tribulation. So that when the Lord delivers Israel at Armageddon, He will also deliver enduring Gentile believers as well. At no point in world history have 100% of believers been faithful. But that will be true at the very end of the Tribulation.

By the way, I do not see Matt 25:31-46, the judgment of the sheep and the goats, as a parable. I see it as prophetic truth. This is what will occur after the Tribulation.