>I'm curious to understand the alternate take you have on this. If you have verses which you believe convey the information differently, I would like to hear.

There are so many verses that it's going to be quite lengthy, but I believe it's worth the effort.
All the references you cited indeed show that the (church as one body), which is the bride of Christ, will be married to one husband, which is Christ. One of the key verses you give is “for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ”. So that is the bride, singular, and my point is, in no reference whatever the Christians as individuals were said to be multiple virgins that would marry Christ, instead you see all references by Paul talking about the bride as one body, in one unity. Therefore I said the one person that is not mentioned in the parable of the 10 virgins is the bride, and the reason why the bride is not mentioned is (not because the 10 virgins would mystically be transformed into one bride during the wedding), because the bride is already ready and is already with the bridegroom, while the 10 virgins where still outside waiting for their call. The parable is not about the bride (the church), but about individuals which are here represented by 10 virgins. To correctly identify the character of the virgins we have to look at the immediate context of the parable to see what Christ was actually talking about. So the chapter preceding the parables is Matthew 24:

Mat 24:2-3: And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

So it was a specific question of the disciples about the events that would foreshadow the second coming of Christ and the end of the world. So Jesus answered their question and gave different information regarding this matter, and now we need to keep in mind that we are talking about the end of the world, not the practical Christian life that we live on a day to day basis:

Mat 24:6-8: And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.

See how these famous quotes preceed the end, but are not the end in itself.

Mat 24:13-22: But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

This is the setting where we find in the following chapter as part of this explanation the two parables, the 10 virgins and the servants. The situation is a fixed and definite time period, referred to by Daniel in the Old Testament as the abomination of desolation. The context is a Jewish context, it speaks about Jews that are in great tribulation and that have to endure to the end.

Mat 25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. Then… so that means at the end of the tribulation time. And the parable of the servants: Mat 25:14 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.

Now the church (the bride of Christ) is going to leave this world at the beginning of the tribulation. This is the rapture. So after Revelation 3:22 you don’t find the church mentioned anymore, but you find a detailed description about the time of the tribulation, exactly the same time period the disciples asked Jesus about in Matthew 24, and about which Jesus gave the parable of the 10 virgins and the servants. And in this description, we will find the virgins and the servants mentioned again:

Rev 14:1-4: And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

Rev 7:2-4 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

So there is a group identified in the book of revelation, which are 144000 Jews, and they are described as virgins in Rev 14 and servants in Rev 7. Just like in the two parables of Jesus. And where are they coming from? Rev 7:13-17 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

And in Revelation 14 we read more about the nature of the people that did not make it (the 5 unwise virgins if you will): Rev 14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

So those jews in the tribulation that did worship the beast, as to say they fell into temptation, are the group of people that were kept outside the door. Remember all that time, we don’t hear anything about the church, the bride of Christ, because that is the church that is already with Christ. In the Bible, fornication symbolizes the alliance of false doctrine under a religious organization. It is a one world givernment under Rome if you will:

Rev 18:1-3 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

So the kings of the world did not lie in bed with a woman, that is only a picture, what it’s saying is they signed peace treaties and trade agreements with that religious-political organization and because of that these countries got very rich. But before they can do that they have to fix that Euro problem first, I wonder how that is going to work out.

Then we have the marriage supper in Revelation 19 and we can identify the wife, which is going to marry the lamb, and on the other hand we see those, that are called unto the marriage supper of the lamb. These are two different groups of people, the church is the bride, the ones that are called just came out of the great tribulation and are called his servants in this context.

Rev 19:1-17 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;

Here you can clearly see that the servants which come out of the tribulation, the ten virgins of the parable that Jesus described to answer the question of the disciples how it is going to be at the end of the world and his second coming, are going to meet the bridegroom, they are called unto the marriage to attend the ceremony. But! When Christ enters the scene, there is another group, which is with him already in heaven, which are the armies which were in heaven following him upon white horses, this is the bride he is going to marry. This is the church. See how the church, the bride is clothed in fine linen, white and clean, and the armies which were in heaven as well are clothed in fine linene, white and clean, that is the bride.

Therefore I strongly object that anyone would use the parable of the 10 virgins or the parable of the servants to apply to the Christian who is now living by faith, saved by grace through faith, and that not of works of righteousness. Martin Luther has clearly identified the error of works salvation and therefore has left the Roman Catholic church. If we go back and teach that we are saved by works (trimming our lambs and buying oil), and only if we “endure to the end”, we can as well go back to the Roman church.