While thoughts like these are understandable given the fact that
many of us have heard over and over again that "hell is a place
of weeping and gnashing of teeth", they should also alert us to
just how much our assumptions can get in the way of true
Biblical interpretation. That "those in hell weep and
gnash their teeth" IS an assumption can even be difficult for
some to realize. As I have stated above, the phrase
"weeping and gnashing of teeth" is never said to
take place in "hell". But the assumptions which would make this
"furnace of fire" into "hell" run even deeper. Nothing in
Matthew 13 is said about these being "the souls" of those who
weep and gnash their teeth, and nothing is said about this
taking place "eternally". These are ALL assumptions although
those who hold such views can rarely ever see them as such.
The reference to the "furnace of fire" in Matthew 13:42 occurs
in Jesus' interpretation of the parable of the Wheat and the
Tares:
Then Jesus sent
the multitude away, and went into the house: and his
disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable
of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them,
He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is
the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom;
but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy
that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end
of the age; and the reapers are the angels. As
therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so
shall it be in the end of this age.
The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall
gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them
which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of
fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Matt 13:36-42
Jesus also immediately gives the parable of
the drag-net expressing the same thoughts:
Again, the kingdom
of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea,
and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they
drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into
vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at
the end of the age: the angels shall come forth, and sever
the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the
furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and
gnashing of teeth. Matt 13:47-50
There are two very important features of each
of these accounts which we need to take notice of:
In both cases the events are described as
taking place at the
close of the age in which we currently live, and in
both it is said that the angels separate the unjust from
among the just.
Correct interpretation of any passage can
only be obtained by a careful comparison of scripture with other
scripture. To properly discern the correct meaning of the events
described we must look carefully into Jesus' teaching concerning
the events to occur at the close of this age, and
not just assume that the "fire" here is "hell".
As most would admit, no more detailed account
of the events which will close this age is to be found than
those in the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew; for it is here
Jesus' disciples expressly asked him:
Tell us, when
shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy
coming, and of the end of the age?
Matt 24:3
We should expect then to see parables; For in
both cases, Matthew 13, and 24, Jesus is explaining to his
disciples the events which are to take place at the end of
the age in which we currently live.
Therefore, we must ask ourselves; is their anything in the fair
interpretation of the twenty-fourth Chapter of Matthew which
would correspond with those events described in the parables of
Chapter thirteen? Can we locate the separation of the wicked
from among the just, as well as the 'weeping and gnashing of
teeth'?
Yes we certainly can, although decades of
incorrect interpretation have clouded the minds of many:
But as the days of
Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For
as in the days that were before the flood they were eating
and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day
that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood
came, and
took them
(the wicked)
all away; so
shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall
two be in the field; the one shall be
taken
(the wicked),
and the
other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one
shall be
taken
(the wicked),
and the
other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not
what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the
goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would
come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his
house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready:
for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath
made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due
season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he
cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he
shall make him ruler over all his goods. But and if that
evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his
coming; And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to
eat and drink with the drunken;
The lord of that
servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and
in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him
asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites
(Gk. hupokrites- a pretender, a counterfeit):
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
(Matt. 24:32-51 emphasis and words in parentheses are mine)
Here we see a parallel, in that we have
described for us this same separation of the wicked from among
the just, the same as we see in Chapter 13 although many have
wrongfully applied this passage to the "rapture" of the church.
An interpretation which would seek to make the ones "taken" into
those "raptured" can only be made by completely disregarding the
context of this passage.
Notice carefully:
But as the days of
Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man
be.
So, in what follows, Jesus is describing a
parallel between the two events; the days of Noah, and his
coming. This parallel can be illustrated in the following
table:
End of Noah's
Age Before Flood |
End of Current
Age |
But as the days
of Noe were |
so shall also
the coming of the Son of man be. |
For as in the
days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying
and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark |
Then shall two
be in the field, Two women shall be grinding at the mill |
And knew not
until the flood came, and took them (the wicked) all
away |
the one shall be
taken (the wicked), and the other left |
The ones "taken" are clearly the wicked in
both the case of the flood, and the end time events which Jesus
is describing. We can also find further scriptural
evidence that the ones being "taken" here are the wicked, and
not the saints in the "rapture". By comparing this passage from
Matthew 24 with its parallel in Luke 17, we can see again that
this passage simply cannot be describing the "rapture":
I tell you, on
that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken
and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain
together; one will be taken and the other left." "Where,
Lord?" they asked. He replied, "Where there is a dead body,
there the vultures will gather." Luke 17:34-37
The disciples question "where Lord?" can only properly be
interpreted as "where are these taken Lord?". There would be absolutely no point
in asking "where are the others left?" as the Lord expressly says that they are
left "in the bed", "grinding at the mill" etc.
Jesus answers "Where there is a dead body, there the
vultures will gather." This is where the wicked are "taken"; to a place of
dead bodies, and vultures. To attempt to make Jesus' answer apply to the
"rapture" borders on the absurd.
We see that in three separate passages which speak of the end
of the age, each one specifically mentions this separation of the wicked from
among the just. As the flood took the wicked away at the end of the
previous age, so shall the wicked be taken in judgment at the end of this age.
The nature of these wicked is also shown to be the same in both
Matthew 13 and 24. Notice that as the 'tares', or counterfeit
wheat in Matthew 13 are burned, it is the hypocrites, or
pretenders, which undergo judgment in Matthew 24 as well:
Mathew 13 |
Mathew 24 |
As therefore
the tares (or fakes) are gathered and burned in the fire; so
shall it be in the end of this age. The Son of man shall send forth his
angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend,
and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire. |
And shall cut
him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites
(Gk.
hupokrites- a pretender, a counterfeit) |
Continuing our comparison, we see that the
reaction of the wicked to the judgment of God is also the same:
Mathew 13 |
Mathew 24 |
And shall cast
them into the furnace of fire:
there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Matt 13:50 |
The lord of
that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an
hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint
him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing
of teeth.
Matt 24:50-51 |
That these are all parallel accounts of
events which are to take place at the end of the current age, I
do not feel anyone can reasonably deny. However, it is
important that we consider ALL the scriptural evidence regarding
these sober warnings to arrive at the truth, and not just make
assumptions as to their application. This parallel is
summarized in the following table:
End of the Age Events From Matthew 13
So shall it be at the end of the age.
|
End of the Age Events From Mathew 24 and Luke 17
What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the age |
The angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just
(Matt. 13) |
Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken (the wicked), and
the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall
be taken (the wicked), and the other left. (Matt 24)
|
The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of
his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity (Matt 13)
|
I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be
taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one
will be taken and the other left." (Luke 17)
|
And shall cast
them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of
teeth. (Matt 13) |
And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the
hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matt 24)
"Where, Lord?" they asked. He replied, "Where there is a dead body,
there the vultures will gather." (Luke 17)
|
So, the following information regarding these events has
emerged:
1) In the end of the current age there is to be a great
separation of the unjust from among the just. Jesus likens this event to a
harvest. This gathering of the wicked out from among the just is prominently
mentioned in all of these passages.
2) Angels are sent forth to sever the unjust from among the
just. The just remain in the earth.
3) The wicked are taken to a place which our Lord designates
as a "furnace of fire", the "portion with the hypocrites", and one of "vultures"
and "carcasses".
4) In the place described the wicked will experience "weeping
and gnashing of teeth".
|