The fact that the translators have divided the Bible into chapters is often very easy. We can find things quickly by mentioning the chapter and verse. But sometimes it can also be an obstacle and that is the case here. A new chapter begins with the parable of the five wise and five foolish virgins, but it is still the same speech from the Lord, for He only ends His words in Matthew 26:1.
Matthew 25
1 Then the kingdom of heaven will be compared to ten virgins…
then
Then, at that time, the Kingdom of Heaven will be equal to ten virgins. So this parable should not be taken out of context and applied to any time. That’s how it is usually done. The gist would then be that ‘we’ are the ten virgins and must keep our lamp burning. But it is not about our time, but about the period just before the end of the aeon, when the future aeon is very near.
chronologically
Nor can we relate this passage to a period such as the great tribulation. We would not ignore the chronological clues that the Lord mentions in His talk. The word tote, which is translated here as (if) then, runs like a common thread through Matthew 24 and 25 and appears no fewer than 16 times in these two chapters. We would follow these chronological directions because it is the chronological backbone of this talk (Matt.24:9,10,14,16,21,23,30,40; Matt.25:1,7,31,34,37,41,44,45). Matthew 24 and 25 is a chronological account!
but of that day and hour no one knows
The parable of the five wise and five foolish virgins still deals with the issue of the end of the aeon and how no one knows the day and its hour (24:36). It will be as in the days of Noah (24:37). There will be no awareness of His coming and when the moment comes, it will overtake most, just as it did when the flood came (24:39). Unbelievers will be taken away and believers will be left on earth (24:40-41), where then the Kingdom begins, the aeon to come.
This is illustrated in the parable of the two servants (24:45-51), but also in the parable of the five wise and five foolish virgins, which follows.
Earlier in Matthew 24 we read the call to watchfulness several times.
Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord comes (24:42)
Therefore, be ready also, for at an hour when you do not think so, the Son of Man comes (24:44)
And we find a similar appeal at the end of the parable of the five wise and five foolish virgins, which forms the conclusion to the parable.
Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour (25:13)