Then] i.e. in the period immediately before the Second Advent. The kingdom of heaven] i.e. the Church on earth. Unto ten virgins] The ten virgins are not simply Christians, but good Christians; not all the baptised, but those who make some attempt to act up to their Christian profession. The number ten represents the whole number of those who are apparently good Christians. It is chosen because among the Jews it was a complete number. Ten Jews constituted a congregation. Which took their lamps] RM 'torches,' i.e. their Christian profession. The 'lamps' are all that is outward in the life of professing Christians, as the oil is all that is inward. To meet the bridegroom] All Christian life is a going out to meet the bridegroom, i.e. a preparation for the second coming of Christ.
In the parable the wedding is supposed to take place at night. The bridegroom, accompanied by his friends, goes in procession to the bride's house to fetch her home to his. On the return journey the virgins, the friends of the bride, are supposed to join the procession, and to enter with her into the bridegroom's house, where, in accordance with Jewish custom, the wedding feast was held. The customs of the Jews with regard to weddings differed little from those of the Greeks and Romans, or of modern Oriental nations, who invariably celebrate weddings at night. The marriage of Christ with His Church is represented in the parable as taking place in the world to come, the betrothal having taken place in this world.