28 “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth there when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being cast out. Jesus is calling us to be the light of the world. Revelation 21 specifically says that “there was no longer any sea.” The ocean is no more in heaven. If I ascend to heaven, you are there! 88) He equates the King’s observation of the guests at the banquet to the Bema seat where Christ judges the believers for their good works. He says that scholars must abandon their stock phrase hermeneutic because “the sons of the kingdom” are clearly believers in Matthew 13:38, but they say that the “sons of the kingdom” in Matthew 8:12 are Israelites. Most Christian readers identify the “outer darkness” as a description of hell. The Lamb of God is the light of the world. Christians believe in heaven because they believe the Bible, which clearly speaks of heaven. Because of the numerous places “gnashing of teeth” is used, perhaps it would be accurate to say that “gnashing of teeth” is the central phrase because of its emphasis on the effect of separation from God, and the other phrases, “outer darkness,” “fire and brimestone” and the “place with the hypocrites” are descriptive of the location. Again, in keeping with the contrast in the context, this has to refer to ethnic Israel. In heaven, there is no darkness at all. Part of the problem is that most come to this passage with a very well-developed eschatology. If we want to make this a bema seat judgment evaluating Christian works, then it is the Bridegroom (Christ) who should be doing the judging. It is this author’s contention that those who hold to this view have a certain agenda that distorts their exegesis. 13 “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”. The contrasts can perhaps be seen easier in the following table: Those from the east and the west (Gentiles). "As It Is (In Heaven)" from our new album 'let there be light'' recorded live at ‪Hillsong Conference in Sydney, Australia. The context of our passage is a salvation context. 1. I’m saying that the man never made any pretense of believing. There Are 3 Heavens. Because Israel did not believe Jesus was the Messiah, they were not going to be at the banquet with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. There is not envy or greed in heaven to turn a person’s head away. On Earth, there is hatred to harden a person’s heart or darken their soul. ... At the church, he listened to music and words of hope and love. Please also opt me in for Exclusive Offers from Beliefnet’s Partners, From time to time you will also receive Special Offers from our partners. The light of the world is Jesus.' Hodges never explains this statement, but this is no argument against “outer darkness” being a reference to hell in our passage. Matt 20:13, and 26:50). There is, however, eventually a permanent end to mourning. Most teach that the “outer darkness” is hell. What Does it Really Mean to 'Reap What You Sow? Although these are speaking of the present heaven , this shows that even now, Christians in heaven are living within time. Check out Heavenly Sunlight (There's No Darkness in Heaven) by The Wonder Kids on Amazon Music. 43 “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. How else is he going to tell the story? And the wedding clothes must be our own which is against the cultural norm where the host provides them. We have to force our advanced eschatological scheme to fit the details (and they don’t fit because the evaluation of Christians is being done by the king—not the son as Scripture teaches). Revelation 6:10-11 has Christians in heaven asking God “how long” will it be before Christ’s judgment on the wicked. There is no fire and brimstone on the King’s handsome estate…”6. These next two passages come from Matthew 13 where Jesus is telling several salvation parables. They thought they would get into the kingdom because of their relationship to Abraham and because of their observance of the law, which Jesus exposed as non-existent in the Sermon on the Mount. For example, Zane Hodges in his book, Grace in Eclipse, says that those who show up at the banquet are all Christians who made it into heaven (p. 87), but participating in the banquet is only the privilege of those who have faithfully carried out their obligations as Christians while on earth. As such, the ocean as it is on Earth, as dangerous as it is beautiful, would not exist in heaven. Until every bit of it is acknowledged and brought to the light, it will not be transformed. Heaven is said to be perfect in every way, so why would things that brought you joy during your Earthly life be excluded from your life in heaven? Most have tried to live a good life and they think their good deeds outweigh their bad deeds. The return of Christ will involve a judgment in which those who have demonstrated such faith will enter and assume greater responsibilities in the kingdom, while those who do not have faith will be excluded from the kingdom to experience the wrath of God along with the hypocrites. — Lamentations 3:44 “I call, I cling, I want — and there is no One to answer… Where I try to raise my thoughts to Heaven — there is such convicting emptiness that those very … I’m not going to attempt to solve this debate in this paper, but you must recognize that when one lays either one of those theological grids over our passage, different interpretations result. Those do not exist in heaven. So as we study the passages in question, remember who was hearing these parables and witnessing the miracles and what they would have understood Jesus to be saying. No other Scripture teaches that any member of the Church won’t take part in the marriage feast. Luke 15:7 notes that there is rejoicing in heaven when one sinner repents. There it does refer to believers. Life as we know it Ain't what it was This isn't living I know this because I lived like a champion The envy of me I only live Vicariously A Hodges says, providing wedding garments for guests “seems not to have been the custom in those days,” But, unless Gower, who has no axe to grind, is just plain wrong, wedding clothes were often provided by wealthy hosts.7 If this is true, then it may be that the man who showed up at the marriage feast without the proper attire refused to wear those provided. . (II Enoch 7:1-3) He quickly realized there was a solution to his problems. Q. The Lamb of God is the light of both the world and heaven above because of our Savior's matchless love.. The descriptions of worship include successive actions, such as falling down at God’s throne and casting crowns before him (Revelation 4:10). If the meaning of the phrase is debated, we should not take a meaning for “outer darkness” that has no support elsewhere. Therefore we have to look at the context. The day and the night are both the same. When people go to heaven, there is no grief. That is, the Word of God comes down from heaven (out of the darkness) and provides life and light to man, so that man may live (walk) in that light. Jesus Christ has claimed the heavenly saints as his own priceless jewels. Shining down upon little boys and girls. In heaven, there is no darkness at all. In all of the other ten parables the subject is how one enters the kingdom. But I’m convinced that the proper argument against those views is that the man was not saved in the first place. More than I could ever imagine or be willing to see. As such, there is no more need for the “greater and lesser lights.” It seems saddening to think that there will not be sunsets or full moons in heaven, but there is a stunning silver lining. 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