Matthäus 24:15

PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS. (Mat 25:1-13) Then--at the time referred to at the close of the preceding chapter, the time of the Lord's Second Coming to reward His faithful servants and take vengeance on the faithless. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom--This supplies a key to the parable, whose object is, in the main, the same as that of the last parable--to illustrate the vigilant and expectant attitude of faith, in respect of which believers are described as "they that look for Him" (Heb 9:28), and "love His appearing" (Ti2 4:8). In the last parable it was that of servants waiting for their absent Lord; in this it is that of virgin attendants on a Bride, whose duty it was to go forth at night with lamps, and be ready on the appearance of the Bridegroom to conduct the Bride to his house, and go in with him to the marriage. This entire and beautiful change of figure brings out the lesson of the former parable in quite a new light. But let it be observed that, just as in the parable of the Marriage Supper, so in this--the Bride does not come into view at all in this parable; the Virgins and the Bridegroom holding forth all the intended instruction: nor could believers be represented both as Bride and Bridal Attendants without incongruity.

24:15 Daniel . . . spoke about a profaning or desolating of the Temple (see Dan 8:13; 9:27; 11:31; 12:11). • the sacrilegious object that causes desecration: Attempts to identify a specific fulfillment include: (1) a false priest assuming the priesthood (see Josephus, War 4.3.6-10); (2) the presence of unlawful images of God or humans, or certain humans themselves (such as Antiochus Epiphanes, Caligula, Vespasian, or Titus) who were not to be allowed within the Temple precincts (see Josephus, War 4.4.1–4.7.1); (3) the presence of the antichrist in the Temple (cp. 1 Maccabees 1:54-64; 2 Maccabees 8:17). • Reader, pay attention! This covert statement reflects a special bond between writer and reader, based on a shared understanding that the events being described fulfill the prophecies of Dan 9, 11, and 12.