A 1974 JBL article by Karl Donfried explores some of the allegorical elements of the parable of the virgins in Matthew 25. He points out that the “door” is an important motif for Matthew:

“This is an important theme for Matthew. On the eschatological day, Jesus will stand at the door (24:33) and will admit those properly prepared (Matt 25:10; 7:21). That entrance through the door is not easy is vividly stressed in 7:13-14: ‘Enter by the narrow door; for the door is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter it are many. For the door is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.’ It is exactly because entrance through the door is not automatic, as we have already had occasion to note, and involves doing the will of the Father, that Matthew is so critical of the false piety (6:5-6) represented by the Pharisees: ‘But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you shut the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither enter yourselves, nor allow those who would enter to go in’ (Matt 23:13). Why? Because ‘they preach, but do not practice’ (Matt 23:3).”

Oil and lamps likewise are thematically important in the gospel:

“We have noted above the critical importance of the lamp/oil symbol in Matthew 25. Although this is the only Matthean reference to the oil, there are several significant references to lamps and light which are compatible with our suggestion that the ‘oil’ in Matthew 25 refers to nothing other than ‘good deeds,’ viz., doing the will of the Father. Central among these references is Matt 5:14-16: ‘You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light (AXato7rE) to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.’ Why does one ‘light a lamp’? So that one’s good works will give glory to the Father. When this is not the case, when one’s righteousness does not exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, then that person ‘will never enter the kingdom of heaven’ (5:20). Similarly the ten virgins lit up their lamps before the bridegroom, but in the case of the five foolish virgins their oil, their kala erga , as not sufficient. When the real test of their oil, their kala erga , arrived, the result was similar to the house built on a sandy foundation: it was found to be inadequate.”

Oddly, he thinks that the sleep of the virgins (25:5) is death: “in all those places where Matthewu ses the verb, egeiro independently of his sources he is referring to a real rising from physical death (9:25; 10:8; 16:21 and 17:9). It is likely that he intends it to be so understood in 25:7. If this is the case, it makes it overwhelmingly probable that for Matthew katheudo in 13:25 and 25:5 can only mean ‘death,’ in contrast to Mark 5:39, where ‘sleeping’ is contrasted to ‘death.’ From the overall context of Matthew’s Gospel, then, it is likely that the symbolic language of Matt 25:5-7 refers to the death and resurrection of the virgins. Matthew may be suggesting to his congregation that even if some will die before the delayed parousia comes, they had better not let that factor lead them to believe that the final entrance-criteriain to the kingdom had become less rigorous.”

This is intriguing. Those who died as martyrs in the first century are “raised up” to sit on thrones (Revelation 20). But what could Matthew mean by saying that the wise virgins were able to trim their wicks and refill their oil after their resurrection? And what could he mean by the markets where the foolish virgins go for oil? That leaves quite an opportunity for the virgins to change their fate at the time of resurrection. So, not physical resurrection.

But a resurrection. The sleeping disciples of Matthew 26 might help out here. Jesus tells them to watch and wait, and rebukes them for becoming drowsy and sleeping, being incapable of watching one hour. They haven’t taken the warnings of the Olivet Discourse very closely to heart. But the similarity of the exhortation to watch in Matthew 24-25 andMatthew 26 hints that we might also be looking at other parallels. Is the sudden arrival of Judas (like a thief in the night? at midnight?) in the garden one type of the “coming of the Son of Man”? The disciples’ sleeping and rising is a kind of death and resurrection; they are not eager and vigilant, and suddenly they have to face the parousia of the Son of Man unprepared. They are not full of the Spirit’s oil, or ready to let their light shine before men; Peter at least is full of blood-wrath instead. When they should be raised to follow Jesus to His nuptial cross, they are unprepared.

So it will be when the Son of Man comes at the end of the age. Time and delay will dull the disciples of Jesus, and they won’t be busy doing the works He assigned them, or increasing the talents He left with them. Their energy will fade and die. They will lie down and sleep. Then persecution will come - the cruciform parousia - and they will be called to respond with the light of the Spirit, the light of the good works of Jesus. Some will not be ready for that. Then the Son of Man will come as the Bridegroom ready for His Bride; and some won’t be ready for that either.