The “virgins” being ten, a number representing perfection in earthly things, symbolize, as a class, all the Christians who are in line for or who profess to be in line for the heavenly kingdom in joint heirship with Jesus Christ.

There were five “discreet” virgins and five “foolish.” There being the same number of each denotes that all who started out had an equal opportunity and also indicates that there would not necessarily be more of one kind than another. The fact that five were “foolish” shows, however, that not all those setting out as “virgins” would prove worthy finally to be admitted to “the evening meal of the Lamb’s marriage.”​—Luke 12:35-38.