seeking God

What are the wise virgins? What are the foolish virgins?

Relevant Words of God:

In the past, people have made predictions of “five wise virgins, five foolish virgins”; although the prediction is not accurate, it is not entirely wrong, so I can give you some explanation. Five wise virgins and five foolish virgins certainly do not both represent the number of people, nor do they represent one type of people respectively. Five wise virgins mean the number of people, five foolish virgins represent one type of people, but these two things are not the firstborn sons, they represent creation. This is the reason why they have been asked to prepare oil in the last days. (The creation does not possess My quality; if they want to make wise ones then they need to prepare oil, and thus they need to be equipped with My words.) The five wise virgins represent My sons and My people among the humans that I created. Addressing them[a] “virgins” is because although they are born on earth, they are still gained by Me; one can say they have become holy, so they are called “virgins.” The aforementioned “five” represents the number of My sons and My people that I have predestined. “Five foolish virgins” refers to the service-doers. They do service for Me without placing the slightest degree of importance on life, only pursuing external things (because they do not have My quality, no matter what they do it is an external thing), and they are unable to be My capable helpers, so they are called “foolish virgins.” The aforementioned “five” represents Satan, and their being called[b] “virgins” means that they have been conquered by Me and are able to do service for Me, but this kind of person is not holy, so they are called service-doers.

from “The One Hundred and Sixteenth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Today, all those who follow the present words of God are in the stream of the Holy Spirit; those who are strangers to the words of God today are outside of the stream of the Holy Spirit, and such people are not commended by God. … “Following the work of the Holy Spirit” means understanding the will of God today, being able to act in accordance with the present requirements of God, being able to obey and follow the God of today, and entering in accordance with the newest utterances of God. Only this is someone who follows the work of the Holy Spirit and is in the stream of the Holy Spirit. Such people are not only capable of receiving God’s praise and seeing God, but can also know God’s disposition from the latest work of God, and can know man’s conceptions and disobedience, and man’s nature and substance, from His latest work; furthermore, they are able to gradually achieve changes in their disposition during their service. Only people such as this are those who are able to gain God, and who have genuinely found the true way. Those who are eliminated by the work of the Holy Spirit are people who are incapable of following the latest work of God, and who rebel against the latest work of God. That such people openly oppose God is because God has done new work, and because the image of God is not the same as that in their conceptions—as a result of which they openly oppose God and pass judgment upon God, leading to their loathing and rejection by God. Possessing the knowledge of the latest work of God is no easy matter, but if people can intentionally obey the work of God and seek the work of God, then they will have the chance to see God, and will have the chance to gain the newest guidance of the Holy Spirit. Those who intentionally oppose the work of God cannot receive the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit or the guidance of God; thus, whether or not people can receive the latest work of God depends on the grace of God, it depends on their pursuit, and it depends on their intentions.

All who are able to obey the present utterances of the Holy Spirit are blessed. It does not matter how they used to be, or how the Holy Spirit used to work within them—those who have gained the latest work are the most blessed, and those who are unable to follow the latest work today are eliminated. God wants those who are able to accept the new light, and He wants those who accept and know His latest work. Why is it said that you must be a chaste virgin? A chaste virgin is able to seek the work of the Holy Spirit and understand the new things, and moreover, able to put aside old conceptions, and obey the work of God today. This group of people, who accept the newest work of today, were predestined by God before the ages, and are the most blessed of people. You hear the voice of God directly, and behold the appearance of God, and so, throughout heaven and earth, and throughout the ages, none have been more blessed than you, this group of people.

from “Know the Newest Work of God and Follow the Footsteps of God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Those who belong to Satan do not understand the words of God, and those who belong to God can hear the voice of God. All those who realize and understand the words I speak are the ones who will be saved, and bear testimony to God; all those who do not understand the words that I speak cannot bear testimony to God, and are the ones who will be eliminated.

from “Knowing the Three Stages of God’s Work Is the Path to Knowing God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

You are not devout in facing the truth, much less do you yearn for the truth. You merely study blindly and wait nonchalantly. What can you gain from studying and waiting like this? Can you receive the personal guidance of God? If you cannot discern the utterances of God, how are you qualified to witness the appearance of God? Where God appears, there is the expression of the truth, and there is the voice of God. Only those who can accept the truth can hear the voice of God, and only such people are qualified to witness the appearance of God.

from “The Appearance of God Has Brought a New Age” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The return of Jesus is a great salvation for those who are capable of accepting the truth, but for those who are unable to accept the truth it is a sign of condemnation. You should choose your own path, and should not blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and reject the truth. You should not be an ignorant and arrogant person, but someone who obeys the guidance of the Holy Spirit and longs for and seeks the truth; only in this way will you benefit. I advise you to tread the path of belief in God with care. Do not jump to conclusions; what’s more, do not be casual and carefree in your belief in God. You should know that, at the very least, those who believe in God should be humble and reverential. Those who have heard the truth and yet turn their nose up at it are foolish and ignorant. Those who have heard the truth and yet carelessly jump to conclusions or condemn it are beset by arrogance. No one who believes in Jesus is qualified to curse or condemn others. You should all be someone who is rational and accepts the truth. Perhaps, having heard the way of truth and read the word of life, you believe that only one in 10,000 of these words are in line with your convictions and the Bible, and then you should continue to seek in that 10,000th of these words. I still advise you to be humble, to not be over-confident, and to not exalt yourself too highly. With your heart holding such meager reverence for God, you will gain greater light. If you carefully examine and repeatedly contemplate these words, you shall understand whether or not they are the truth, and whether or not they are life. Perhaps, having only read a few sentences, some people will blindly condemn these words, saying, “This is nothing more than some enlightenment of the Holy Spirit,” or, “This is a false Christ come to deceive people.” Those who say such things are blinded by ignorance! You understand too little of the work and wisdom of God, and I advise you to start again from scratch! You must not blindly condemn the words expressed by God because of the appearance of false Christs during the last days, and must not be someone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit because you fear deception. Would that not be a great pity? If, after much examination, you still believe that these words are not the truth, are not the way, and are not the expression of God, then you shall ultimately be punished, and be without blessings. If you cannot accept such truth spoken so plainly and so clearly, then are you not unfit for God’s salvation? Are you not someone who is not fortunate enough to return before the throne of God?

from “When You Behold the Spiritual Body of Jesus Will Be When God Has Made Anew Heaven and Earth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The Man’s Fellowship:

The so-called “wise virgins” represent those that can recognize God’s voice and hear the voice of the “Bridegroom” and who can therefore accept and submit to Christ, thereby taking home the practical God. And because the “foolish virgins” do not know the voice of the “Bridegroom” and cannot recognize God’s voice, they reject Christ. They still hope for the vague God, so they are abandoned and eliminated. So we can see that it is very difficult to accept Christ without real faith in believing in God. Those that refuse to accept Christ will miss the “wedding feast of the Beloved,” and they cannot be taken by the Lord back into their home in the kingdom of heaven, and they cannot enter the place that God has prepared for mankind. So, whether people can accept Christ of the last days and submit to His work is a crucial factor in deciding whether people succeed or fail in their faith in God.

from “Why the Religious World Has Always Resisted God While Serving Him” in Collection of Sermons—Supply for Life

The Lord Jesus predicted in the Bible that at the time of His return there would be two types of people, He used wise virgins and foolish virgins as a parable for all of the believers in the Age of Grace: All who are able to hear the voice of God are wise virgins; all who are not able to hear the voice of God, who listen and still deny and do not believe it, these are the foolish virgins. Do you all think that the foolish virgins can be raptured? (No, they can’t.) So how can these foolish and wise virgins be revealed? By using the word of God. “There’s a book called The Word Appears in the Flesh, look at these words and see what you think, look over it.” After some ordinary believers finish reading it, they say, “Wow, such deep words, these words contain the truth.” “Read it again carefully.” “This is not something that a normal person can talk about, it seems like this has come from God.” “Read it again carefully.” “Wow, this is the voice of God, there’s no way these words come from a man!” You see, this person is blessed, they are a wise virgin. As for the foolish virgins, some are pastors, some are elders, some are preachers, and some are confused believers that only want to eat their fill. How do they feel after they finish reading the word of God? “Hmm, these words do not conform to my conceptions and imagination, I do not accept them.” And after carefully reading over them again: “Hmm, some of the words seem as if they are the truth, but that’s not possible, this could not be the work of God.” So once again it does not conform to their conceptions and imagination. After saying “Hmm” a few more times, they will say: “This is not the word of God, I cannot accept it. This is a counterfeit. A false Christ is trying to confuse people, do not believe it!” What kind of person is this? This is a Pharisee, a foolish virgin, right? How do the wise and foolish virgins get brought to the light? It is the word of God that brings them to light. It is the word of God in the last days that classifies and divides them into the categories they belong to, and then God will start to reward the good and punish the wicked.

from Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (Series 133)

Is it realistic or not for God to act like this today? It is realistic, as it confirms that which the Lord Jesus said in His parable about sheep and goats. How can sheep be separated from goats? This depends upon who recognizes the voice of God and accepts the return of the Lord Jesus. The Lord said, “For I was an hungered, and you gave me meat: I was thirsty, and you gave me drink: I was a stranger, and you took me in: Naked, and you clothed me: I was sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came to me.” These people are saved in the end while those who do not receive the Lord, who believe in the Lord but do not acknowledge Him, will be eliminated. Does this not point to the fact that today the whole religious world is not receiving God’s return? We who have received stand on one side, they stand on the other side. This is how the true believers are separated from the false believers, those who have received the Lord from those who have not, those who acknowledge the voice of God from those who do not. There is great wisdom behind God’s revealing men through the fact of His incarnation and this is what is called God’s omnipotence and His wisdom. One day when these people are protected and enter into the kingdom, if those religious personages and religious pastors make their accusations, how will God respond? He may reply by using the Lord Jesus’ prophetic parable of the five wise virgins and the five foolish virgins; well, how were they set apart? Those who heard the voice of the Bridegroom at midnight were wise, while those who did not hear Him were foolish. Therefore, when God incarnate expresses the word of God in the last days, the wise virgins will be those who hear the voice of God and acknowledge it, and the foolish virgins, those who will be eliminated, will be those who hear the voice of God but do not acknowledge it as the voice of God, as the word of God and refuse to accept. Does this not fulfill what the Lord Jesus said in these prophetic parables? The work of God reveals men to the utmost, the method of God’s work is the wisest. It is only through such work that God’s righteousness is revealed, God’s holiness is revealed, and God’s omnipotence is revealed.

from the fellowship from the above

Wise virgins can recognize the voice of the Lord, mainly because wise virgins are people that love the truth and seek the truth. They thirst for the appearance of God, that is why they are able to seek and investigate the coming of the Lord. They are able to distinguish the voice of the Lord. Since foolish virgins do not love the truth, they do not seek or investigate the coming of the Lord. All they can do is obstinately cling to the rules. Some of these people do not accept or investigate unless He is the Lord coming upon a cloud. Other people completely submit to the manipulations of the religious world’s pastors and elders. Whatever the pastors and elders say, they will listen and obey. They only believe in the Lord nominally, but actually, they follow and obey these pastors and elders. They themselves do not investigate the true way and they cannot distinguish the Lord’s voice. Some people are even more foolish. Since there are false Christs that appear in the last days, they do not seek the true Christ. Instead, they deny and condemn Him. Isn’t this not eating for fear of choking? This is also a manifestation of a foolish virgin.

from Answers to Screenplay Questions

Footnotes:

a. The original text omits “Addressing them.”

b. The original text omits “their being called.”

Read more: The Christians of The Church of Almighty God pray to the name of Almighty God.