“The Sleeping Virgin”
Among William Branham's many teachings that he led people to believe were Biblical truth and inspired by God were the ones he taught on “the sleeping virgin.”
According to him, the teachings provide the true meaning and interpretation of the parable Jesus Christ told about the “five foolish” and “five wise” virgins in Matthew 25:1-13, which can be read here.
When speaking of the parable, William Branham made it known that people should not put their own “interpretation on it”, as follows,
“Now, many times, people put their own interpretation. But we try the very best that we can, not to put any human interpretation on it. Just read It like It is, and say, “That’s the way It is.”
And then I’ve always noticed, if you’ll take just what He said, it’ll make everything dovetail just exactly right in the Scripture.” “The Patmos Vision” (60-1204E).
From the above, it is evident that he believed that if he could show how “everything” dovetailed “exactly right in the Scripture” then his interpretation of it was right and of God.
Did his “sleeping virgin” teachings “dovetail just exactly right in the Scripture”?
Because the entire parable of the “ten virgins” is in symbol form and the Scriptures do not explain what it means, it is not possible to know what all of the different symbols in it signify. Thus, the precise meaning of the parable is unknown and only subjective interpretations can be made of its significance.
Simply stated, there is nothing for a full interpretation to “dovetail” or tie into, despite William Branham's claims that, “if you’ll take just what He said, it’ll make everything dovetail just exactly right in the Scripture.”
Although “oil” is widely accepted as a symbol of the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures and very well could be what Jesus was referring to in the parable, there certainly is insufficient basis to safely conclude that is, in fact, what it signifies.
Moreover, there certainly is nothing in the Scriptures to support William Branham's claims below that the “foolish virgins” (or “sleeping virgin” as he called them) are, in fact, “great church organizations”,
“Now, you remember, the Bible said that the sleeping virgin…when the cry went out, 'Behold, the Bridegroom coming,' the coming of the Lord, the preaching of the Word. And then what happened? 'The time is at hand, atomic bombs and everything ready,' the preachers running in the streets and begin to scream the Message.
And as soon as they do, the big church then, the sleeping virgin, said, 'Ah, well, we been Presbyterian a long time, maybe we would study and find out. Yes, you know, I believe we do need the Holy Ghost.' And they’re writing pamphlets and everything about It now, starting out. And they said, 'Would you give us some of It?' And they said, 'No, we just got enough for ourself.'
So when they went to get the Holy Ghost, went to pray up, like the churches, the big fine churches are doing today, the organizations. When they went to get the Oil, the Bridegroom came. So they’re trying to get It right now, great churches, organizations, great international meetings about It in the—in the organized churches, saying, 'We got to get back to the Pentecostal Blessing. We got to have divine healers in the church. We got to have speakers with tongues. We got to have interpreters of tongues. We got to have all these spiritual gifts in our church, and we’re just going to have to start meetings and start doing it.' They’re getting councils, started to do it. While they’re gone to do that, it’s at that very time that the Bridegroom come and got those who had the Oil in their lamps, and went away.
Then they come, and what happened? They were cast into outer darkness (the Great Tribulation period) where there’ll be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, while the Bride is in Heaven. Oh, my!” “The Laodicean Church Age” (60-1211E).
Not only are his claims that the “church organizations” are the “sleeping virgin” wholly unfounded and unsupported by the Scripture, but so are his claims that the “sleeping virgin” (“church organizations”) is cast into outer darkness (the Great Tribulation period) where there’ll be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.
There is, in fact, no reference anywhere in the Bible to the “foolish” or “sleeping” virgins being “cast into outer darkness where there’ll be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.” (The only Scripture about “wailing and gnashing of teeth” is in found in Matthew 13:38-42 here, and that is only in reference to the “tares” who will be “gathered and burned.”)
In addition, there is no Scripture that speaks of “sleeping” or “foolish” virgins going into the “Great Tribulation.” In fact, the only verse about “virgins” in the Apocalypse (where the Great Tribulation is mentioned) is found in Revelation 14:4 and simply states,
“These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.”
Moreover, the word “tribulation” only appears in the Apocalypse in the following three verses and therein it is apparent that “virgins” are not identified as going into the “Great Tribulation”,
“Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” (Revelation 2:10)
“Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.” (Revelation 2:22)
(Note that the preceding two verses were directed only to the churches in Thyatira and Smyrna, respectively, as is evident in full context here.)
“And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:14)
For all of the above reasons alone, it is apparent that William Branham's “sleeping virgin” teachings did not “dovetail just exactly right in the Scripture.”
His “foolish/sleeping virgins” teachings did, in fact, originate from his own beliefs
and thoughts.
He admitted that his teachings about the foolish/sleeping virgins originated from his own beliefs and thoughts, as follows,
“So then the foolish virgin was the one who did not have oil in their lamps, that I believe that was cast out into outer darkness where there’ll be weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. And if you’ll compare that, or your footnotes, it’ll run it right back again to the great tribulation. And I think they’re the ones who stays back and goes through the great tribulation. And quite a lesson there, if we had time to go into it. If you…
Now, remember, I have said at the first, where when you hear the tapes, “These things is just according to the way I believe them to be right.” See? Now, if they’re wrong, I don’t—I don’t know they are. I…And I can only say what I believe. And I don’t mean to hurt anyone’s feelings.” “The Patmos Vision” (60-1204E).
He also admitted that the following ideas were his own thoughts about the “sleeping virgin”,
“Here’s what I think it’d be. I believe it’s a spirit, the sleeping virgin, confederation of church, Judaism on the rejecting of Christ, the Jews that rejected it, and Catholicism.”
“Thy House” (61-0808).
How far did William Branham extend his personal interpretation of Jesus Christ's parable about the “ten virgins”?
Not only did William Branham erroneously claim that the “church organizations” will be “cast into outer darkness” and go through the Great Tribulation period, but he claimed that the reason why that will happen to them is to purge them of their sins and as a consequence for rejecting his “message”, as follows,
“The first thing, was, that the sleeping virgin had to go through the Tribulation period for purification. She had to be purged of her sins of unbelief and rejecting the Message. This, she was done in the Tribulation period. We see they wind up over here in Revelation 7, between the 6th and 7th chapter here, that she had been purged, and she had been given her robes. Now, she is not the Bride.” “The Seventh Seal” (63-0324E).
William Branham not only claimed that the “sleeping virgin” (“church organizations”) would have to go through the Great Tribulation for “rejecting his message”, but he specifically claimed that Christ's second coming would take place “the very minute that outside denominational world begins to receive this Message”, as follows,
“He thinks the Pentecostal church... They had their picture in the paper the other day with some Catholic priests, standing blessing the Pentecostal businessman's breakfast or something, and things like that; which that's all right. But I wonder if the church really realizes with it is. It's a sign. When that sleeping virgin come and knocked at the gate, that's when she could not get in, for the Bride was gone. Don't you see? That's what I said about Brother David (See?), not nothing concerning his work, or his man--or about his reputation. And David's my brother, and one of the finest godly men that I know of.
But I just wondered how that he--he didn't pick that up, to realize the very minute that outside denominational world begins to receive this Message, that's exactly the hour He's coming. When they--when they went, the sleeping virgin realized she didn't have any oil in her lamp. And when she come to knock on the door to get it, that was exactly when the Bride went out, when the wise virgin left. That's right. They didn't get in. No.
And them organizations won't come in. They won't have the opportunity to, time the message gets around, the church will be gone. So if they're trying to get in right now, how close are we? When we see as it was in the days of Sodom, so shall it be in the coming of the Son of man. The very last message Abraham and his seed after him, we see every everything lays just at time. We've got need. It's time for action. It's not, "Wait till I go away in school and get me a Ph.D., or LL.D." It's get into the Gospel right now, preach. Yes. Get out there now. Now's the hour.” “Only Believe” (61-0427).
Conclusions:
Based on all of the above, it is apparent that neither God, nor the Holy Spirit ever revealed the actual meaning of Jesus Christ's parable about the “ten virgins” to William Branham.
Because his personal interpretation of it does not “dovetail just exactly right in the Scripture”, it remains as nothing more than a human interpretation and not of him taking “just what” Jesus Christ “said.”