The Kingdom of Heaven was once illustrated by a great wedding feast prepared by a bridegroom. Ten virgins, all hopeful attendees, gathered with their lamps to light their way to the celebration. While all ten of them were eager, only five of them were wise and brought extra oil for their lamps. The other five, unfortunately, lacked the foresight to do so.

As the bridegroom’s arrival took longer than expected, all ten virgins fell into slumber. At the stroke of midnight, a cry split the silent night air, heralding the arrival of the bridegroom. All ten virgins, wise and foolish alike, arose to trim their dying lamps. The foolish virgins, realizing their mistake, turned to the wise ones, pleading for some of their oil. However, the wise virgins knew that the supply they had could not sustain all of them. They advised the foolish ones to procure their oil from the market instead.

The foolish virgins, left with no choice, departed to purchase oil. However, during their absence, the bridegroom arrived and ushered those who were ready into the warm embrace of the feast, closing the doors behind him. The foolish virgins arrived later, knocking on the shut doors, pleading to be let in. But the bridegroom, albeit regretfully, stated that he did not recognize them, leaving them outside in the darkness.

Much like this story, there was a man who, before venturing to another country, left his goods to his servants based on their abilities. He gave five talents to one, two to another, and one to the last.

The one who received five talents immediately put them to use, trading with them and gaining another five. The one who received two did the same and likewise doubled his share. However, the servant who received only one talent, fearing his master’s hard nature, chose to hide his talent in the earth instead.

After much time had passed, their lord returned and called his servants to account for their actions. The servant who had received five talents proudly produced an additional five, to which his lord commended him, exclaiming, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” The same scene repeated with the servant who had received two talents.

The servant who received just one talent returned the same to his lord, reasoning his actions with the fear he had for his master. His lord, angered by his lack, labelled him as wicked and lazy. He declared that even his single talent should be taken from him and given to the servant with ten. Furthermore, the useless servant was thrown into the darkness outside.

In the end, when the glorified Son of Man descended with His angels, He gathered all nations before Him, akin to a shepherd separating his flock — the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.

The King blessed those on His right to inherit the Kingdom, stating that their merits lay in their acts of kindness — feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and the imprisoned. These righteous people were perplexed, wondering when they did such deeds for the King. The King then proclaimed that whatever they did for their fellow men, they did unto Him.

Then, the King turned to those on His left, cursing them to eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. He condemned them for ignoring Him during His moments of need. Similar to the righteous, these people were confused, asking when they denied help to the King. To this, the King stated that turning their backs on the needy was akin to turning their backs on Him.

Such is the way of the Kingdom of Heaven. The righteous, the kind, and the prepared shall be rewarded with eternal life, while those who disregard the needs of others and the Lord’s teachings will be condemned to eternal punishment.