A Place Of Weeping And Gnashing Of Teeth
Related Bible studies and books:
911; God’s Last Offer To The Church (book)
Elul, A Season Of Preparation and 40 Days Of Favor
Depopulating The Church
Stumbling Blocks
The Spirit Of Antichrist
Wholly Illumined No Dark Part
Worthless Men
Noah; A Sign Of The End
Contrary Winds
In a Chinese lady’s testimony that I recently heard as she spoke in a house church meeting, she told of her experience when, as she was kneeling in bed as a teenager, her spirit left her body and she saw glimpses of heaven and hell. Because of her frail condition, including numerous fainting spells, her family had treated her badly and she wanted to commit suicide.
One day, while crying out to God to take her life because of so much illness, her soul suddenly left her body and went to a very dark place. She thought, “I must be in hell,” but there was no fire and brimstone as she had heard since a young girl that was born into a Christian family, only darkness. She heard wailings but could not see anything. She then heard chains unlocking and a gate opened. There was some light inside revealing many people, so much in fact that she couldn’t see the ends of the crowd. She knew that they were all Christians and wondered why they were all here. Those inside were constantly crying. Their clothes were all grey, ripped, and ruined. Because of the Christians that were there she thought that there must not be any heaven or hell, that it was all a lie.
She then asked the Lord, “What is this place?” A voice suddenly said to her, “This is the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.” She replied, “Why are Christians in the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth?” The voice said, “These are those who believed in Jesus but did not repent.” “Unrepentant Christians are here?” she responded. “What about the unbelievers?” The voice then said, “Those who do not believe in Me go straight to hell.” She was then transported to hell and saw that the punishment of unbelievers was worse than that of the unrepentants. They were in torment. Fire burned through the person from the inside. Each time they were burned they screamed so painfully. Worms were crawling out of their bones and then crawled back in. She knew that they did not die. The people were in excruciating pain. She realized they were souls and then said that the suffering of the soul surpasses that of the body. If your soul left your body you would not feel any pain. We hurt because the soul is in the body. The tormented souls could not die. Though the outer darkness had weeping and gnashing of teeth it was still better then hell.
She then asked “Is there no heaven?” Immediately, she was in heaven. It had things similar to earth but was much more beautiful. When she said that she wanted to stay, to not leave, suddenly an angel came to her and said, “Your life only qualifies you to go to the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. Not heaven.” She then ended up coming back into her body.
The Lord had said to her, “After you go back, tell them your experience.” Once back her love for the Lord greatly increased. She started preaching the gospel to unbelievers because when she shared her experience to believers they couldn’t accept it. Even her mother didn’t believe her. A sister in church said she must be wrong. When she told those who never believed, unexpectedly, they all became believers. She preached all over and many became believers.
She was illiterate and wondered why God would use her. She then began to seek the Lord, asking Him to help her know how to read. After much prayer the Lord came to her one night in a dream and said, “Today I will teach you to read.” She woke up and could read the Bible, only the Bible. She couldn’t even read Christian books. God made sure that she would spend a lot of time in the Bible alone.
Her incredible testimony continued further, but I want to concentrate on what she described regarding the place of outer darkness where there was weeping and gnashing of teeth. She said that she heard a voice say it was a place where unrepentant Christians went to. So, in other words, it was a place where those who had once turned to the Lord with a repentant heart and had then turned away from Him in rebellion without repentance had been sent to when they died. Does this agree with the Bible? Let’s look at some verses and see whether or not they confirm what she said she saw and heard. (See the Bible studies Elul: A Season Of Preparation and 40 Days Of Favor, and Depopulating The Church.)
Matthew 8:5-13 – See the note below.
11 "I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven;
12 but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer [1857- exoteros- “exterior”] darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
NASU
Jesus declares this after hearing the faith of a centurion who had asked Him to heal his servant who was “lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented” (Matthew 8:6). The Greek for “tormented” is basanizo (bas-an-id'-zo) which means “to torture, to torment, to test (metals) by the touchstone.” (To see more regarding the touchstone see chapter eight called The Touchstone in my book 911; God’s Last Offer To The Church.)
After saying He would come and heal him, the centurion said to Jesus, “Lord, I am not worthy for you to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” Jesus replied to those who were following Him, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.” He then made the following statement in the verses above.
Jesus spoke to these Jewish people, the chosen ones, of the many who would “come from east and west and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” They would become His followers while those who were the “sons of the kingdom” would be cast out from His kingdom into “the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth,” just as the Chinese lady had testified. The outsiders would enter in while the insiderswere thrown out.
Jesus is saying that those who are His (i.e. Christians), but do not have faith like this Gentile centurion, will be cast out into the outer darkness. You cannot be cast out from that which you are not a part of. You are either a son or daughter of the devil (John 8:44) or a son or daughter of God. The Greek interpreted in this passage as “sons” is defined as “kinship, a descendant, one of the posterity of anyone.” It’s the same Greek word used in Matthew 1:20 where the angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David…”
Luke 13:22-30 – This is Luke’s account that uses the same reference to what Jesus said in Matthew 8:11-12 above. The question presented to Jesus in this passage had to do with how many were being saved. Jesus then proceeded to exhort them, and us, to “Strive to enter through the narrow door.” The Greek for “strive” is agonizomai (ag-o-nid'-zom-ahee). It means “to struggle, literally (to compete for a prize [1 Cor. 9:25]), figuratively (to contend with an adversary), to endeavor with strenuous zeal, strife, to obtain something” (see the Bible study Contrary Winds). The evildoers in the church are those who do not contend against evil, they do not struggle against sin but rather indulge in it, they do evil, without repentance, presuming on the goodness of God, and will therefore go to the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.
22 And He was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem.
23 And someone said to Him, "Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?" And He said to them,
24 "Strive [75] to enter through the narrow door [see Matthew 7:13-14]; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
25 "Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, 'Lord, open up to us!' then He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know where [the place] you are from [belong to].' [This relates to the place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Look at Zephaniah 1:8 which speaks of those who clothed themselves with foreign garments. One of the definitions for “foreign” in Hebrew is “unknown.”]
26 "Then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets';
27 and He will say, 'I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.' [see Jer. 23:14]
28 "In that place [the “where” place of verse 25 and 27] there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out.
29 "And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God.
30 "And behold, some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last."
NASU
NT:75 agonizomai (ag-o-nid'-zom-ahee)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from NT:73; to struggle, literally (to compete for a prize), figuratively (to contend with an adversary), or genitive case (to endeavor to accomplish something):
KJV - fight, labor fervently, strive.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
1. to enter a contest; contend in the gymnastic games (1 Cor. 9:25)
2. universally, to contend with adversaries, fight
3. figuratively to contend, struggle, with difficulties and dangers antagonistic to the gospel
4. to endeavor with strenuous zeal, strife, to obtain something; followed by an infinitive (Luke 13:24)
Matthew 13:36-43 – See the note below.
36 Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field."
37 And He said, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,
38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one;
39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.
40 "So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age.
41 "The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks [4625], and those who commit lawlessness [Matthew 7:23; see my Bible study called Stumbling Blocks.]
42 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
43 "Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
NASU
NT:4625 skandalon (skan'-dal-on) ("scandal")
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
probably from a derivative of NT:2578; a trap-stick (bent sapling), i.e. snare (figuratively, cause of displeasure or sin):
KJV - occasion to fall (of stumbling), offence, thing that offends, stumblingblock.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
NT:4625
a. properly, the movable stick or tricker ("trigger") of a trap, trap-stick; a trap, snare; any impediment
placed in the way and causing one to stumble or fall (Romans 9:33)
b. metaphorically, any person or thing by which one is ("entrapped") drawn into error or sin
1. of persons (Matthew 13:41)
2. of things (Romans 14:13)
[4625] skandalon - originally was "the name of the part of a trap to which the bait is attached, hence, the trap or snare itself, as in Romans 11:9, RV, 'stumblingblock,' quoted from Psalm 69:22, and in Rev. 2:14, for Balaam's device was rather a trap for Israel than a stumblingblock to them, and in Matthew 16:23, for in Peter's words the Lord perceived a snare laid for Him by Satan.
"In the NT skandalon is always used metaphorically, and ordinarily of anything that arouses prejudice, or becomes a hindrance to others, or causes them to fall by the way. Sometimes the hindrance is in itself good, and those stumbled by it are the wicked."
From Notes on Galatians, by Hogg and Vine, p. 262:
Thus it is used (a) of Christ in Romans 9:33, "(a rock) of offense"; so 1 Peter 2:8; 1 Cor. 1:23 (KJV and RV, "stumblingblock"), and of His cross, Galatians 5:11 (RV, ditto); of the "table" provided by God for Israel, Romans 11:9 (see above); (b) of that which is evil, e. g., Matthew 13:41, RV, "things that cause stumbling" (KJV, "things that offend"), lit., "all stumblingblocks"; 18:7, RV, "occasions of stumbling" and "occasion"; Luke 17:1 (ditto); Romans 14:13, RV, "an occasion of falling" (KJV, "an occasion to fall"), said of such a use of Christian liberty as proves a hindrance to another; 16:17, RV, "occasions of stumbling," said of the teaching of things contrary to sound doctrine; 1 John 2:10, "occasion of stumbling," of the absence of this in the case of one who loves his brother and thereby abides in the light. Love, then, is the best safeguard against the woes pronounced by the Lord upon those who cause others to stumble. See FALL, B, Note (3). Cf. the Sept. in Hosea 4:17, "Ephraim partaking with idols hath laid stumblingblocks in his own path."
(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
NT:458 anomia (an-om-ee'-ah)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from NT:459; illegality, i.e. violation of law or (genitive case) wickedness:
KJV - iniquity, transgress (-ion of) the law, unrighteousness.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
1. properly, the condition of one without law -- either because ignorant of it, or because violating it
2. contempt and violation of law, iniquity, wickedness (Matthew 23:28)
In this passage, Jesus explains His parable of the tares among wheat which He told previously in verses 24-30 to His disciples. While certain men were sleeping, representing the church that is sleeping, an enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat. Our enemy, the devil, does this in the church whenever God’s people are not awake and watchful.
Tares are actually a weed that resemble wheat. As young plants they are indistinguishable. The only way to tell the difference is when they mature which is in the spring. The tares lack substance but wheat is heavy when it bears fruit (grain) causing it to bend in a bowed, humble like appearance. A tare, on the other hand, stands straight up in somewhat of a proud looking position.
When the servants asked the landowner if they should pull the tares up he said to wait until the harvest lest while gathering the tares they uprooted the wheat with them. This is because they both share the same root. He then said, “Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.’”
After He left the crowd the disciples asked Him for an explanation. Disciples do the same thing today. They are the ones who also ask for explanations from the Lord, desiring to clearly understand the truth, while others in the crowd are content with surface knowledge.
Jesus says that at the end of this age His angels will be sent forth to “gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks and those who commit lawlessness.” The Greek for “stumbling blocks” is skandalon (skan'-dal-on) which means “properly, the movable stick or tricker ("trigger") of a trap, trap-stick; a trap, snare; any impediment placed in the way and causing one to stumble or fall.” Metaphorically it refers to “any person or thing by which one is entrapped, drawn into error or sin.” The Greek definition for “lawlessness” is “the condition of one without law, either because ignorant of it, or because violating it.”
Within these two words we understand who is being described as being gathered out of the Lord’s kingdom. The sons of the evil one, the tares who were sown among the wheat by the devil while His people, Christians, were sleeping are the stumbling blocks that, through their doctrines of demons, have become an impediment placed in the way of other Christians. When their lies are accepted as truth it will cause them to stumble or fall away. Through undetected deception resulting from their dullness of heart, they step into the trap of the devil’s lies. In order to trip up or cause to fall the wheat of God’s people, the devil plants seeds of doubt as to what God has said, just as he did with Eve in the Garden of Eden. Having been willingly drawn into error or sin they then, without fear of consequence, become “doers of iniquity,” practicing lawlessness without repentance.
Paul refers to these unrepentant violators of God’s law in 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2. He said the return of Christ will not occur until the “apostasy,” the great falling away from the faith, the defection from truth comes first and the man of lawlessness (same Greek word Jesus used in Matthew 13:41) is revealed. He also calls him “the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.” (2 Thess. 2:3-4) The self-exalting among God’s people that oppose God, which is the spirit of antichrist (see the Bible study The Spirit Of Antichrist), have taken their seat on God’s throne within them, the temple of His body, and will be thrown into the furnace of fire where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
In Matthew, chapter five, Jesus said to His disciples,
“If your right eye makes you stumble [4624 from 4625 above], tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble [4624], cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.”
(Matthew 5:29-30/NASU)
This is how serious it is to deal, as a Christian, with sin. This principle of Jesus applies to the corporate body as well as each of us individually. Certain body parts within the corporate body of Christ that will not repent and are causing others to stumble must be removed for the sake of the rest.
Once these “dark parts” in the body of Christ have been removed, the righteous ones that are allowed to remain will then be able to “shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” (See Luke 11:33-36, and the Bible study Wholly Illumined No Dark Part for more revelation regarding this.)
Matthew 13:47-50 – In this teaching of Jesus, He continues to describe to His disciples what the kingdom of heaven is like. He again tells what will happen at the end of the age. Reinforcing what He just told them in the above verses, He speaks of the removal of the wicked from among (“in the middle or midst of”) the righteous, and their being thrown into the furnace of fire where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind;
48 and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad [“corrupt, rotten, putrid, unfit for use, worthless”] they threw away [1854 – “out, without, out of doors”; from ek, a word that denotes origin, the point where the action or motion proceeds from].
49 "So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among [an adjective denoting “in the middle or midst”] the righteous,
50 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
NASU
Matthew 22:1-14 – See the note below.
1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying,
2 "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.
3 "And he sent out his slaves to call [2564] those who had been invited [2564] to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come.
4 "Again he sent out other slaves saying, 'Tell those who have been invited [2564], "Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready [see Matthew 25:10]; come to the wedding feast."'
5 "But they paid no attention [272] and went their way [565], one to his own farm, another to his business,
6 and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them.
7 "But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire.
8 "Then he said to his slaves, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited [2564] were not worthy [which means they are “worthless”; see Matthew 13:48 above definition for “bad”, Matthew 25:24-30 below, and the Bible study Worthless Men].
9 'Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite [2564] to the wedding feast.'
10 "Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.
11 "But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes [see Rev. 19:7-9 for an understanding of what the wedding clothes represent],
12 and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?' And the man was speechless.
13 "Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
14 "For many are called [2822], but few are chosen [1588]."
NASU
NT:2564 kaleo (kal-eh'-o)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
akin to the base of NT:2753; to "call" (properly, aloud, but used in a variety of applications, dir. or otherwise):
KJV - bid, call (forth), (whose, whose sur-) name (was [called]).
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
NT:2564
1. to call
a. to call aloud, utter in a loud voice (Hebrews 3:13)
b. like the Latin voco equivalent to to invite
a. properly: eis tous gamous (Matthew 22:3,9)
b. metaphorically: to invite one, eis ti, to something (1 Thess. 2:12)
2. to call i. e. to name, call by name
a. to give a name to (Matthew 10:25)
b. Passive kaloumai with the predicate nominative to be called, i. e. to bear a name or title
c. kaloo tina, with an accusative of the predicate or a title of honor, to salute one by a name
(Matthew 23:9)
NT:272 ameleo (am-el-eh'-o)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from NT:1 (as a negative particle) and NT:3199; to be careless of:
KJV - make light of, neglect, be negligent, no regard.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
from the alpha privative and meloo to care for); very common in secular authors; to be careless of, to neglect: tinos (Heb. 2:3; 8:9; 1 Tim. 4:14; 2 Peter 1:12), not caring for what had just been said (A.V., they made light of it)), Matthew 22:5.
NT:565 aperchomai (ap-erkh'-om-ahee)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from NT:575 and NT:2064; to go off (i.e. depart), aside (i.e. apart) or behind (i.e. follow), literally or figuratively:
KJV - come, depart, go (aside, away, back, out, ... ways), pass away, be past.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
to go away (from a place), to depart
1. properly,
a. absolutely (Matthew 13:25)
b. with specification of the place into which, or of the person to whom or from whom one departs
(Matthew 5:30) to follow his party, follow him as a leader (Mark 1:20)
2. tropically: of departing evils and sufferings (Mark 1:42)
NT:2822 kletos (klay-tos')
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from the same as NT:2821; invited, i.e. appointed, or (specifically) a saint:
KJV - called.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
called, invited
a. invited (by God in the proclamation of the gospel) to obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God
through Christ (Romans 8:28)
b. called to (the discharge of) some office (Romans 1:1)
NT:1588 eklektos (ek-lek-tos')
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from NT:1586; select; by implication, favorite:
KJV - chosen, elect.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
picked out, chosen
1. chosen by God,
a. to obtain salvation through Christ
b. The Messiah is called preeminently as appointed by God to the most exalted office conceivable
(Luke 23:35)
c. Angels are called eklektoi, as those whom God has chosen out from other created beings to be peculiarly associated with him, and his highest ministers in governing the universe (1 Tim. 5:21)
2. universally, choice, select (2 John 1,13)
In the parable of the wedding feast, Jesus again refers to what the kingdom of God is like, comparing it to a wedding feast. The son whom the wedding is for is Himself. Everything has been ready in this day. Many of those who received the Lord’s invitation have now gone “their way.” These are Christians (i.e. salvation invitation receivers) that have turned aside to go their way, they have forsaken the Lord for another. Through careless neglect in their Christian walk, taking lightly the call of God to continue following Him after turning, the King of kings will be enraged and they will be destroyed.
Also, those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb, but took lightly the seriousness of putting on the acceptable wedding clothes for the occasion and were thereby unprepared, are bound hand and foot and thrown out into the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. As in the Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 13:22-30 passages above, both those who ignored the call to come for their way, as well as those who were improperly dressed will become the insiders who become outsiders, and the highways and byways outsiders will become the insiders.
In Luke’s passage of this teaching by Jesus he adds that the master, after the master became angry because of the excuses of the invited ones and told them to invite the highways and byways people, that he then said, “For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.” (Luke 14:24) Many in the church who had the right to come through their receiving of the King’s invitation will, like the foolish virgins, not be allowed entrance into the marriage supper of the Lamb.
Matthew 24:37-51 – In this passage, which is one more teaching of Jesus’, He starts by comparing His return with the way it was during the days of Noah (see the Bible study Noah; A Sign Of The End). He then exhorts us to “be on the alert,” cautious and awake, so as to be ready, prepared and spiritually watching.
Jesus then compares the faithful and sensible slave with the evil slave. The faithful and sensible slave is giving food/nourishment to His household at “the proper time,” which means “the right time, the opportune or seasonable time.” How many ministers are preaching everything but what applies to today?
The evil slave does not guard their heart but begins to live in rebellion against the will of God. When the master returns, who is Christ, He will cut the evil slave “in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” The Greek for “place” is defined as “a division or share, a part due or assigned to anyone.” This is the share of the pretenders.
37 "For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.
38 "For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
40 "Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.
41 "Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.
42 "Therefore be on the alert [1127], for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
43 "But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert [1127] and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
44 "For this reason you also must be ready [2092]; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
45 "Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food [“nourishment”] at the proper time [2540]? [KJV – “…meat in due season.”]
46 "Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.
47 "Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
48 "But if that evil slave says in his heart, 'My master is not coming for a long time,'
49 and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards;
50 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know,
51 and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place [3313] with the hypocrites [5273- “an actor, pretender”]; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
NASU
NT:1127 gregoreuo (gray-gor-yoo'-o)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from NT:1453; to keep awake, i.e. watch (literally or figuratively):
KJV - be vigilant, wake, (be) watch (-ful).
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
1. properly (Matthew 24:43)
2. Metaphorically, to watch, i. e. give strict attention to, be cautious, active (Matthew 24:42)
NT:2092 hetoimos (het-oy'-mos)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from an old noun heteos (fitness); adjusted, i.e. ready:
KJV - prepared, (made) ready (-iness, to our hand).
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
prepared, ready
a. of things (Matthew 22:4,8)
b. of persons; ready, prepared: to do something (Acts 23:21)
NT:2540 kairos (kahee-ros')
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
of uncertain affinity; an occasion, i.e. set or proper time:
KJV - always, opportunity, (convenient, due) season, (due, short, while) time, a while. Compare NT:5550.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
1. due measure
2. a measure of time
a. universally, a fixed and definite time (Romans 13:11)
b. opportune or seasonable time (Acts 24:25)
c. the right time (Matthew 24:45)
d. a (limited) period of time (1 Cor. 7:29)
e. is equivalent to what time brings, the state of the times, the things and events of time (Luke 12:56)
NT:3313 meros (mer'-os)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from an obsolete but more primary form of meiromai (to get as a section or allotment); a division or share (literally or figuratively, in a wide application):
KJV - behalf, course, coast, craft, particular (+-ly), part (+-ly), piece, portion, respect, side, some sort (-what).
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
a part
1. a part due or assigned to one (Rev. 22:19)
2. one of the constituent parts of a whole
a. universally: in a context where the whole and its parts are distinguished (Luke 11:36)
b. any particular (1 Peter 4:16)
Matthew 25:24-30 – In Jesus’ parable of the talents He describes a “worthless slave” who is thrown out into the outer darkness. By definition of the Greek, “worthless” means “useless, good for nothing.” This useless, wicked, lazy slave had taken what he had received from his master and hid it in the ground. He did nothing with his one talent. (See the Bible study Worthless Men.)
24 "And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed.
25 'And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.'
26 "But his master answered and said to him, 'You wicked, lazy [“shrinking, irksome, sluggish”] slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed.
27 'Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.
28 'Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.'
29 "For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.
30 "Throw out the worthless [“useless, good for nothing”] slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
NASU
2 Peter 2:17-22 – See the note below.
17 These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved.
18 For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error,
19 promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.
20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.
21 For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them.
22 It has happened to them according to the true proverb, "A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT," and, "A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire."
NASU
In this chapter, Peter is describing false prophets who will infiltrate the church and “secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves” (2 Peter 2:1). First of all, they have been described by Peter as those who have denied “the Master who bought by them.” They are “accursed children; forsaking the right way, they have gone astray” (v.14-15). They are undeniably Christians who have turned away from following the Lord, as the last verses of this chapter describe (v.20-22, also see 2 Peter 3:14-18).
Peter says the “black darkness” has been reserved for them. The NKJV says “…for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.” Thayer’s Greek Lexicon defines the Greek for “black” as “the blackness of (i.e. the densest) darkness.” It seems to be saying that these false prophets that have led others astray in the church will be placed in the darkest place within the outer darkness.
Jude, which is very similar to 2 Peter 2, says in verses 12-13;
“These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.” (NASU)
Jude says these men for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever are “doubly dead, uprooted.” You cannot be twice dead unless you were originally dead in your sins and trespasses (Ephesians 2:1) and then made alive in Christ (Colossians 2:13), then reject the life of God, turning away from Him after receiving His invitation thereby becoming twice dead. Also, you cannot be uprooted unless you were first rooted in something. These are Christians that care for themselves and have no fear of God, “For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.” (Jude 11/NASU)
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