The Parable of the Ten Virgins
"When that time comes, the kingdom of heaven will be like ten young women who took their oil lamps and went out to meet the groom on his wedding day. Five of these women were foolish, and five were wise. The foolish ones brought their lamps but forgot to bring extra oil with them. The wise ones, however, brought bottles of oil along with their lamps. The groom was much later than expected, so all ten women grew tired and fell asleep while they waited. Then at midnight, someone shouted, 'The groom is coming! Come out to meet him!' All the women woke up and began preparing their lamps for the procession. The foolish women realized their lamps were running out of oil, so they asked the wise women, 'Please give us some of your oil—our lamps are going out!' But the wise women answered, 'No, we can't share with you, because then there won't be enough oil for any of us. You'll have to go find someone who sells oil and buy your own.' While the foolish women hurried away to buy oil, the groom arrived. The women who were ready with their lamps burning bright went with him into the wedding celebration, and the door was locked behind them. Later, when the other women finally returned, they stood outside calling, 'Sir, sir, please open the door for us!' But the groom called back to them, 'I'm telling you the truth—I don't know who you are.' So stay alert and be ready, because you don't know what day or what time this will happen."
The Parable of the Talents
Jesus told them this story: "A wealthy man was preparing to leave on a long journey. Before he left, he called his servants together and gave them his money to manage while he was away. He gave one servant five bags of gold, another servant two bags of gold, and a third servant one bag of gold. He gave each servant an amount that matched their abilities. Then he departed on his journey. The servant who received five bags of gold immediately went to work with the money. He invested it wisely and earned five more bags of gold. In the same way, the servant who had been given two bags of gold worked hard and earned two more bags. But the servant who received one bag of gold went out, dug a hole in the ground, and buried his master's money to keep it safe. After a long time, the master returned home and called his servants to give an account of what they had done with his money. The servant who had received five bags of gold came forward and brought five additional bags with him. 'Master,' he said, 'you gave me five bags of gold to manage. Look, I have earned five more bags for you.' His master was delighted. 'Excellent work, my good and faithful servant!' he said. 'You have proven trustworthy in handling this amount, so I will put you in charge of much more. Come and share in your master's happiness!' Next, the servant who had received two bags of gold came forward and said, 'Master, you gave me two bags of gold to manage. Look, I have earned two more bags for you.' His master gave him the same response: 'Excellent work, my good and faithful servant! You have proven trustworthy in handling this amount, so I will put you in charge of much more. Come and share in your master's happiness!' Finally, the servant who had received one bag of gold came forward and said, 'Master, I knew you were a tough man who expects profits even when you haven't planted anything and harvests crops from fields you haven't worked. I was afraid of you, so I went and hid your gold in the ground where it would be safe. Here it is—I'm returning exactly what belongs to you.' But his master was furious. 'You wicked and lazy servant!' he replied. 'So you knew that I expect profits even when I haven't invested the seed money, and that I harvest where I haven't done the work? If you knew this about me, then you should have at least put my money in the bank so it could earn interest. Then when I returned, I would have gotten back my original amount plus more.' The master then ordered, 'Take the bag of gold away from him and give it to the servant who has ten bags. For everyone who uses what they have been given will receive more, and they will have plenty. But those who do nothing with what they've been given will lose even that. Now throw this useless servant outside into the darkness, where there will be crying and grinding of teeth in anguish.'"
The Final Judgment
When the Son of Man comes in all his glory, with all the angels accompanying him, he will sit on his glorious throne. Every nation will be brought together in front of him, and he will separate all the people from one another just like a shepherd separates sheep from goats. He will put the sheep on his right side and the goats on his left side. Then the King will speak to those on his right: "Come here, you who have my Father's blessing. Take ownership of the kingdom that has been prepared for you since the world was created. When I was hungry, you fed me. When I was thirsty, you gave me water. When I was a foreigner with nowhere to go, you welcomed me into your home. When I had no clothes, you gave me something to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me. When I was locked up in prison, you came to see me." The people who had done what was right will respond in surprise: "Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and give you food? When did we see you thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you as a stranger and welcome you in? When did we see you without clothes and give you something to wear? When did we see you sick or in prison and come to visit you?" The King will answer them: "I'm telling you the truth—whenever you did any of these things for even the most unimportant of my people, you were doing it for me." Then he will turn to those on his left and say: "Get away from me, you who are under a curse. Go into the fire that burns forever, which was prepared for the devil and his demons. When I was hungry, you didn't feed me. When I was thirsty, you didn't give me anything to drink. When I was a stranger, you didn't welcome me. When I had no clothes, you didn't give me any. When I was sick and in prison, you didn't visit me." These people will also respond: "Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or as a stranger or without clothes or sick or in prison, and fail to help you?" Then the King will answer them: "I'm telling you the truth—whenever you failed to do these things for even one of the least important people, you failed to do them for me." These people will go away to be punished forever, but those who did what was right will go to live forever.