The Parable of the Ten Virgins

I had a reader ask me:

I have tried to find a statement or quote about the parable of the 10 virgins that says the parable is about endowed members of the church.  [Some General Authorities] say it has to do with members, not necessarily endowed.  On the web there are a few folks who say this is about endowed members, but don't back it up with a reference.  Any thoughts?

This was my response.  

I once wrote about the connection between this parable and the temple.  It was a commentary on an article by Elder Robbins in the June 2007 Ensign entitled “Oil in our Lamps.”

Elder Robbins, as well as other General Authorities such as Elder McConkie, have said the ten virgins represent all members of the church.  Elder Robbins makes a comparison that those without oil are like those who do not have a temple recommend, and are therefore not permitted into the bridegroom’s home (the temple).  Those with oil are those members with temple recommends, and can and do enter the bridegroom’s home (the temple).

So, if you take what Elder Robbins says as a starting point, it is possible that all ten virgins are endowed members, but those foolish five either do not have a temple recommend or do not attend the temple.  What is clear is that it matters not if one is endowed, if they do not keep a current temple recommend, are temple worthy, and attend the temple, they will not be ready when the bridegroom comes and will not enter in with him.  They are no better off than not having been endowed.  Only those who keep oil in their lamps, worthily keep a current temple recommend and attend, will be ready.

In the Church, I think many believe that once we are endowed in the temple all is said and done, we’ve reached the goal, and gained a certain irrevocable exalted status.  But the power that comes from the temple comes in keeping a current temple recommend, staying temple worthy, and attending the temple.  Being endowed once doesn’t bring that power.  We need to keep our passport current.  Once expired, it does us no good.  The five foolish virgins without oil had oil in their lamps at one point (it was “going out” as the Greek says), but once it was gone, having had it before didn’t help them when the bridegroom arrived.

Let us have oil in our lamps when the Savior comes again.

Does the Parable of the Ten Virgins Represent Endowed Members Only?

Woodcut. Author unknown. From "The book of pictures and parables, fables." Oxford University. 1859.

One of our readers, Walt, emailed me a link to a fable that is intriguing.  It is entitled “The Wolf, The Goat, And The Kid,” and was originally penned by the popular 17th century French poet and fabulist Jean de la Fontaine.

THE WOLF, THE GOAT, AND THE KID
by Jean de la Fontaine

As went the goat her pendent dugs to fill,
And browse the herbage of a distant hill,
She latched her door, and bid,
With matron care, her kid; --
‘My daughter, as you live,
This portal don’t undo
To any creature who
This watchword does not give:
“Deuce take the wolf and all his race!”‘
The wolf was passing near the place
By chance, and heard the words with pleasure,
And laid them up as useful treasure;
And, hardly need we mention,
Escaped the goat’s attention.
No sooner did he see
The matron off, than he,
With hypocritic tone and face,
Cried out before the place,
‘Deuce take the wolf and all his race!’
Not doubting thus to gain admission.
The kid, not void of all suspicion,
Peer’d through a crack, and cried,
‘Show me white paw before
You ask me to undo the door.’
The wolf could not, if he had died,
For wolves have no connection
With paws of that complexion.
So, much surprised, our gormandizer
Retired to fast till he was wiser.

How would the kid have been undone
Had she but trusted to the word
The wolf by chance had overheard!
Two sureties better are than one;
And caution’s worth its cost,
Though sometimes seeming lost.

Comments?

The Wolf, The Goat, And The Kid

Some of the best studies of the early Christian practice of baptism for the dead have come from Hugh Nibley and John A. Tvedtnes. Both of these LDS scholars have written extensively on the topic. I hope to analyze some of their excellent work and provide examples of the practice of baptism for the dead which have been discovered in many different apocryphal and pseudepigraphal texts.

The Shepherd of Hermas

The first text we’ll look at is called the Shepherd of Hermas (also called the Pastor of Hermas). This was a very popular work in early Christianity, and several early Christians considered it scripture with other New Testament texts, combining them into the same canon. It was written in Rome in the second century, and was written in Greek, though a Latin translation was also soon made. Two English translations are now available for reading online at Early Christian Writings, here, and here. If you’re up to it, you can also read the Greek directly.

The text is composed of five visions, twelve mandates, and ten parables. These apocalypses are given to Hermas, a former slave or freedman, who is said to have been the brother of Pope Pius, bishop of Rome. Some believe it is this same Hermas who is the author of the Shepherd of Hermas.

The part of the text that is of interest to us here is from Parable (or Similitude) 9. In this parable, the “Angel of repentance” in the form of a shepherd, comes to teach Hermas concerning the church. The church is compared to the building of a tower, the stones representing faithful members of the church, similar to Paul’s description of the church as one body made up of many members in 1 Corinthians 12, or as a household in Ephesians 2. This vision also has many parallels with Lehi’s vision of the tree of life in 1 Nephi 8, with only certain souls becoming part of the tower while others are cast away from it, wander into forbidden paths, and are lost. Similarities could also be pointed out in the allegory of the olive tree from Jacob 5.

Temple Imagery

Parable 9 is full of temple imagery, the tower being referred to as “the Church” but also as “house of God.” Chapter 2 of Parable 9 describes this tower in more detail, being built upon a large white rectangular rock. This rock had a glittering gate cut out of it, and was guarded round about by twelve virgins dressed in linen robes. Chapter 3 introduces six men who come to oversee the construction of the building, with a multitude of other men. An interesting detail states, “Now the virgins had spread out their hands, as if about to receive something from the men.” The work commences in building the tower out of stones. Some stones are commanded to “ascend out of a certain pit” to go into building the tower. They are carried by the virgins, who stoop down under the stones, and take them through the gate, to the men building the tower. Chapter 4 continues that other stones came up out of the pit to join the tower, all the while being carried only by the guarding virgins through the gate to the tower, it being inefficacious unless “they be carried through the gate by the hands of the virgins.” Chapter 5 speaks of Hermas again, who asks the angel what is meant by all these symbols in the vision. He is told that eventually the meaning will be made known to him.

Chapter 12 begins to recount the symbolism of the different objects in the vision. The rock and the gate represent the Son of God. The conversation on the gate is insightful, being a required entrance to the tower:

“And why is the gate new, sir?” I said. “Because,” he answered, “He became manifest in the last days of the dispensation: for this reason the gate was made new, that they who are to be saved by it might enter into the kingdom of God. You saw,” he said, “that those stones which came in through the gate were used for the building of the tower, and that those which did not come, were again thrown back to their own place? “I saw, sir,” I replied. “In like manner,” he continued, “no one shall enter into the kingdom of God unless he receive His holy name. For if you desire to enter into a city, and that city is surrounded by a wall, and has but one gate, can you enter into that city save through the gate which it has?” “Why, how can it be otherwise, sir?” I said. “If, then, you cannot enter into the city except through its gate, so, in like manner, a man cannot otherwise enter into the kingdom of God than by the name of His beloved Son. You saw,” he added, “the multitude who were building the tower?” “I saw them, sir,” I said. “Those,” he said, “are all glorious angels, and by them accordingly is the Lord surrounded. And the gate is the Son of God. This is the one entrance to the Lord. In no other way, then, shall any one enter in to Him except through His Son. You saw,” he continued, “the six men, and the tail and glorious man in the midst of them, who walked round the tower, and rejected the stones from the building? “I saw him, sir,” I answered. “The glorious man,” he said, “is the Son of God, and those six glorious angels are those who support Him on the right hand and on the left. None of these glorious angels,” he continued, “will enter in unto God apart from Him. Whosoever does not receive His name, shall not enter into the kingdom of God.”

Chapter 13 tells us the symbolism of the virgins, and particularly of being vested with certain symbolic clothing, the same clothing with which Christ is vested:

“And these virgins, who are they?” “They are holy spirits, and men cannot otherwise be found in the kingdom of God unless these have put their clothing upon them: for if you receive the name only, and do not receive from them the clothing, they are of no advantage to you. For these virgins are the powers of the Son of God. If you bear His name but possess not His power, it will be in vain that you bear His name. Those stones,” he continued, “which you saw rejected bore His name, but did not put on the clothing of the virgins.” “Of what nature is their clothing, sir?” I asked. “Their very names,” he said, “are their clothing. Every one who bears the name of the Son of God, ought to bear the names also of these; for the Son Himself bears the names of these virgins. As many stones,” he continued, “as you saw [come into the building of the tower through the hands ] of these virgins, and remaining, have been clothed with their strength. For this reason you see that the tower became of one stone with the rock. So also they who have believed on the Lord through His Son, and are clothed with these spirits, shall become one spirit, one body, and the colour of their garments shall be one. And the dwelling of such as bear the names of the virgins is in the tower.”

The Seal of Baptism

Chapter 16 begins to tell how those stones, even having been clothed in the right “spirits,” were required to receive a “seal” before they could unite themselves to the tower:

“Why, sir,” I said, “did these stones ascend out of the pit, and be applied to the building of the tower, after having borne these spirits? “They were obliged,” he answered, “to ascend through water in order that they might be made alive; for, unless they laid aside the deadness of their life, they could not in any other way enter into the kingdom of God. Accordingly, those also who fell asleep received the seal of the Son of God. For,” he continued, “before a man bears the name of the Son of God he is dead; but when he receives the seal he lays aside his deadness, and obtains life. The seal, then, is the water: they descend into the water dead, and they arise alive. And to them, accordingly, was this seal preached, and they made use of it that they might enter into the kingdom of God.”

The required seal was, of course, baptism by immersion in water. It is enlightening that baptism is here called a “seal.” Hermas then asks a very interesting question:

“Why, sir,” I asked, “did the forty stones also ascend with them out of the pit, having already received the seal?“

There were some stones, faithful members of the church, that had already received the seal of baptism, and yet they were ascending from the pit as well, with the others. Why were they in the pit? The Shepherd enlightens Hermas:

“Because,” saith he, “these, the apostles and the teachers who preached the name of the Son of God, after they had fallen asleep in the power and faith of the Son of God, preached also to them that had fallen asleep before them, and themselves gave unto them the seal of the preaching. Therefore they went down with them into the water, and came up again. But these went down alive [and again came up alive]; whereas the others that had fallen asleep before them went down dead and came up alive. So by their means they were quickened into life, and came to the full knowledge of the name of the Son of God. For this cause also they came up with them, and were fitted with them into the building of the tower and were builded with them, without being shaped; for they fell asleep in righteousness and in great purity. Only they had not this seal. Thou hast then the interpretation of these things also.”

These stones represented teachers who, after having “fallen asleep” or died, were sent to preach the name of the Son of God to those who had “fallen asleep before them,” and to thereafter give them the seal of baptism. These who had died before them were righteous and pure people, but they had not received the seal of baptism during life. They therefore received the gospel after having died, and were baptized, a required seal for entrance into the kingdom of God.

Hugh Nibley explained that this could have only been an earthly ordinance of the living for the dead because of the requirement of physical water in the ordinance:

What is perfectly clear is that the apostles while they were still living performed an ordinance--the earthly ordinance of baptism in water--which concerned the welfare of those who had already died. That it was an earthly baptism which could only be performed with water is emphatically stated in the sentences immediately preceding those cited . . .

Clement of Alexandria

This passage from The Shepherd of Hermas is cited by Clement of Alexandria, a respected early Church Father who lived at the end of the second century, who gives a commentary on Christ and his apostles preaching to the dead and their subsequent baptism:

Wherefore the Lord preached the Gospel to those in Hades. . . .

Do not [the Scriptures] show that the Lord preached the Gospel to those that perished in the flood, or rather had been chained, and to those kept “in ward and guard”? And it has been shown also, in the second book of the Stromata, that the apostles, following the Lord, preached the Gospel to those in Hades. For it was requisite, in my opinion, that as here, so also there, the best of the disciples should be imitators of the Master; so that He should bring to repentance those belonging to the Hebrews, and they the Gentiles; that is, those who had lived in righteousness according to the Law and Philosophy, who had ended life not perfectly, but sinfully. . . .

If, then, the Lord descended to Hades for no other end but to preach the Gospel, as He did descend; it was either to preach the Gospel to all or to the Hebrews only. If, accordingly, to all, then all who believe shall be saved, although they may be of the Gentiles, on making their profession there; since God’s punishments are saving and disciplinary, leading to conversion, and choosing rather the repentance thorn the death of a sinner; and especially since souls, although darkened by passions, when released from their bodies, are able to perceive more clearly, because of their being no longer obstructed by the paltry flesh.

If, then, He preached only to the Jews, who wanted the knowledge and faith of the Saviour, it is plain that, since God is no respecter of persons, the apostles also, as here, so there preached the Gospel to those of the heathen who were ready for conversion. And it is well said by the Shepherd, “They went down with them therefore into the water, and again ascended. But these descended alive, and again ascended alive. But those who had fallen asleep, descended dead, but ascended alive.” . . .

One righteous man, then, differs not, as righteous, from another righteous man, whether he be of the Law or a Greek. For God is not only Lord of the Jews, but of all men, and more nearly the Father of those who know Him. For if to live well and according to the law is to live, also to live rationally according to the law is to live; and those who lived rightly before the Law were classed under faith, and judged to be righteous, — it is evident that those, too, who were outside of the Law, having lived rightly, in consequence of the peculiar’ nature of the voice, though they are in Hades and in ward, on hearing the voice of the Lord, whether that of His own person or that acting through His apostles, with all speed turned and believed. . . .

So I think it is demonstrated that the God being good, and the Lord powerful, they save with a righteousness and equality which extend to all that turn to Him, whether here or elsewhere. For it is not here alone that the active power of God is beforehand, but it is everywhere and is always at work. . . . that they who heard and believed should be saved; and that those who believed not, after having heard, should bear witness, not having the excuse to allege, We have not heard.

What then? Did not the same dispensation obtain in Hades, so that even there, all the souls, on hearing the proclamation, might either exhibit repentance, or confess that their punishment was just, because they believed not? And it were the exercise of no ordinary arbitrariness, for those who had departed before the advent of the Lord (not having the Gospel preached to them, and having afforded no ground from themselves, in consequence of believing or not) to obtain either salvation or punishment. For it is not right that these should be condemned without trial, and that those alone who lived after the advent should have the advantage of the divine righteousness. But to all rational souls it was said from above, “Whatever one of you has done in ignorance, without clearly knowing God, if, on becoming conscious, he repent, all his sins will be forgiven him.” . . .

If, then, He preached the Gospel to those in the flesh that they might not be condemned unjustly, how is it conceivable that He did not for the same cause preach the Gospel to those who had departed this life before His advent?

The Vision of the Redemption of the Dead

This language is almost identical to that of the vision of President Joseph F. Smith in his vision of the redemption of the dead in D&C 138:

And as I wondered, my eyes were opened, and my understanding quickened, and I perceived that the Lord went not in person among the wicked and the disobedient who had rejected the truth, to teach them;

But behold, from among the righteous, he organized his forces and appointed messengers, clothed with power and authority, and commissioned them to go forth and carry the light of the gospel to them that were in darkness, even to all the spirits of men; and thus was the gospel preached to the dead.

And the chosen messengers went forth to declare the acceptable day of the Lord and proclaim liberty to the captives who were bound, even unto all who would repent of their sins and receive the gospel.

Thus was the gospel preached to those who had died in their sins, without a knowledge of the truth, or in transgression, having rejected the prophets.

These were taught faith in God, repentance from sin, vicarious baptism for the remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands,

And all other principles of the gospel that were necessary for them to know in order to qualify themselves that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

And so it was made known among the dead, both small and great, the unrighteous as well as the faithful, that redemption had been wrought through the sacrifice of the Son of God upon the cross. (D&C 138:29-35)

I beheld that the faithful elders of this dispensation, when they depart from mortal life, continue their labors in the preaching of the gospel of repentance and redemption, through the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son of God, among those who are in darkness and under the bondage of sin in the great world of the spirits of the dead.

The dead who repent will be redeemed, through obedience to the ordinances of the house of God,

And after they have paid the penalty of their transgressions, and are washed clean, shall receive a reward according to their works, for they are heirs of salvation. (D&C 138:57-59)

(Continued in Part 3)

Baptism for the Dead: An Erroneous Practice? – Part 2

Justin, a reader of Temple Study, brought to my attention that there may be more temple imagery in Matthew 25 than just the parable of the ten virgins. Indeed, the parable of the talents has some striking shadows and allusions to the temple too. In the same spirit Elder Robbins likened the parable of the ten virgins to our modern temple, let’s take a look at the parable of the talents “with the temple in mind”. There may be many interpretations of these parables. The parable of the talents has often been attributed to how we use the talents, skills and blessings we’ve been given of God on the earth. But when we think specifically of the temple, these are some of the things that come to my mind:

Coming to Know the Lord

The parable starts in verse 14:

For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.

The man, of course, represents the Lord. That Christ traveled into a “far country” is taught clearly in the scriptures, in that he condescended from his throne on high to come to this earth to work out the salvation of mankind (1 Nephi 11). Going from a sphere of flames of divine glory to the humble circumstances of the babe born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger (a feeding trough for animals) is quite a distance.

Christ came to “call” all of us to repentance, to follow Him, and to partake of the gift of eternal life. But as we noted yesterday, “many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). We will see why some are not chosen.

An Endowment

What is particularly intriguing here is that the Lord gave something to his servants as a means to test them (see also Abraham 3:25).

And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. (v. 15)

Christ entrusted some things to his servants that are very special, to see what they would do with them, termed “his goods” or “talents.” These goods or talents are not to be equated with “filthy lucre,” but are symbolic of something else of special significance, still physically given to his followers, disciples, or servants. That it was not the talents themselves that made them important, but what they represented, how they were kept, used, and returned to the Lord, will be seen in the next verses.

Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.
And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.
But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money. (v. 16-18)

The Gate of Heaven

Here comes the test. What did the disciples of Christ do with the goods that He had given them? A time of reckoning or judgment always comes. Did they do with the goods what was appropriate? Did they keep the covenant the Lord had made with them?

After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. (v. 19)

The Lord returned to his disciples, to receive the goods back which He had given them, and to test to see how they had used them.

And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. (v. 20-21)

The first disciple was true and faithful to the talents that he had been given of the Lord, and upon giving them back to the Lord was allowed into the Lord’s presence, the celestial kingdom, to be made a ruler, a king and a priest.

He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. (v. 22-23)

The second disciple was also true and faithful to those gifts and agreements that the Lord had given him, and to the extent that he was able, kept the covenant. Upon giving them to the Lord, the Lord allowed the servant to pass into the presence of God, to receive his exaltation.

The Unprofitable Servant

Then the third disciple arrives at the gate of the Lord to be tested.

Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. (v. 24-25)

This disciple was not true and faithful to the talents given him, and did not that which was appropriate with them. He broke the covenants, denied the gifts, defiled that which was holy. He allowed the temptations of the adversary to make him afraid and lose his faith. His use of the talent was not acceptable to the Lord.

His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. (v. 26-27)

This servant knew what he had to do. He had been given the same talents as the others. He knew the agreements and promises he had made with the Lord. He knew he should have kept the covenants. But he “would not” (Matt. 23:37; D&C 43:24). He went and digged a hole in the ground and hid the talent to safeguard it. Indeed, this servant reminds us of the rich man who stored his riches in barns, and when they were filled built greater barns to accumulate the goods which had been given him, and imparted them not with his neighbors (Luke 12:18).  Surely his retirement was going to be quite comfortable (Luke 12:19). But the Lord said,

Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. (Luke 12:20-21)

Judgment

Then comes the recompense.

Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (v. 28-30)

This servant was unprofitable. He did not those things he should have with the covenants which he had made with the Lord. Therefore, all the gifts that could have been his, indeed “all that the Father hath,” was taken from this servant and given to him who kept the covenant. He was rejected from that entrance into the presence of the Lord. Having the original talent to give back to the Lord at that heavenly gate was not enough, but it was how he had used it, and how he had kept the covenant that was associated with it. This cannot be stressed enough. The talent alone was meaningless without the covenant. The servant was damned, a full stop of progression in the eternities, forever blocked by “the angels who stand as sentinels”.

The temple imagery throughout this parable stands out to me like never before, but I had never made or read the connection previously.

Part 3 will be about the parable of the sheep and the goats.

Temple Imagery in the Parables of Matthew 25 – Part 2

In a recent June 2007 Ensign article entitled “Oil in Our Lamps” Elder Lynn G. Robbins of the Seventy wrote an excellent commentary on the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25 and its connection with our latter-day temple worship and worthiness. As Elder Robbins notes, one way to “liken [these parables] unto us” is to “study them with the temple in mind.” In the parable of the ten virgins Elder Robbins compared the following to the LDS temple:

• The virgins were to “meet the bridegroom” at the bridegroom’s house, which, since the Savior is the Bridegroom (D&C 33:17), is symbolic of our latter-day house of the Lord, or temple.
• As the marriage ceremony takes place in the bridegroom’s house to “teach about qualifying for the kingdom of heaven”, so does the sealing marriage ordinance in the temple today qualify us for entrance into the highest degree of the Lord’s celestial kingdom in heaven.
• The ten virgins represent members of the Church, some wise and some foolish, but all members of the Church.
• Those wise virgins with oil in their lamps were able to enter the bridegroom’s home. Likewise, church members who are worthy of and have a temple recommend are allowed into the temple.
• Constant effort had to be taken to ensure that oil was in the lamps in biblical times, as does our effort today to stay temple worthy.
• The virgins without oil in their lamps were not permitted into the house, as are church members without a temple recommend.
• Olive oil in the lamps is a symbol of purity, as is a temple recommend today a symbol of personal worthiness.
• The foolish virgins could not borrow oil from the lamps of the others. Today, a church member cannot loan a temple recommend to another.

Elder Robbins continues to discuss how the Bridegroom was the keeper of the door at the marriage supper, so is the Lord the literal “keeper of the gate” at the entrance to the celestial kingdom (2 Nephi 9:41), which entrance is also represented in the temple. Robbins notes that the Lord will “symbolically be checking recommends at the door to the kingdom of heaven,” but this checking will also be very literal, as endowed temple members will quickly recognize.

In a different but related parable, another requirement for participation in the marriage supper was the wedding garment. Elder Robbins directs us to Revelations for a description:

The marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready … arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. (Rev. 19:7-8)

Elder Robbins equates the wedding garment spoken of in the parable with the temple garment worn today as a “reminder of sacred temple covenants.” He then reminds us that “many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14), but adds Joseph Smith’s translation with the addition of “wherefore all do not have on the wedding garment.” In another place, Joseph taught:

For be assured, brethren, that the day is truly near when the Master of the house will rise up and shut the door, and none but such as have on a wedding garment will be permitted to enjoy a seat at the marriage supper!

The article concludes that we should consider these comparisons between the scripture parables and our participation in temple worship today, which should motivate us “to desire to be temple worthy.” And I would add, to attend often as well.

One may well ask, since the symbolism and references to the temple seem so clear and extensive, did the Lord have the temple in mind when he gave the parable?

Part 2 will be about the temple imagery in the parable of the talents.

Temple Imagery in the Parables of Matthew 25 – Part 1