the door is closed behind them. When the foolish ones finally make it back to the banquet, they find themselves shut out of the festivities. They pound on the door to be admitted, but, alas, it is too late. Compounding the tragedy, when the bridegroom peers out at the forlorn latecomers, he curiously tells them he does not even recognize their faces, and the door to the banquet they were waiting for remains permanently locked. Most scholars agree that this parable, like the previous one, is intended