"Then
said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and
foot, and take him away, and cast (eject) him into
outer darkness; there
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. KJV
This is a difficult concept to
understand. But, it is not impossible.
I was thinking of something I told my
daughter a couple of years before she died... We were talking about what happens to people when they die.
I told her it is like "jumping from one world to the next."
That literally it would feel like closing your eyes and a split
second later you would be in a different world, even though in
reality, the time between the two could be 1000 years or more.
Little did I know that she would die in a car accident a couple
of years later. But I well remember that conversation.
The truth is, whether we die by growing
old, or due to an accident, or we perish from a fatal disease,
it is not over for us. In effect, we
can jump ship out of this world into
God's realm through a resurrection. We will all have to depart this world eventually. This
world seems like a permanent place, but it is far from it.
The earth changes
constantly. It is not at all like it was 1 million years ago.
And, this earth in time will change and change again and
eventually perish and God will roll it up like an old discarded
housecoat. He will change the heavens and the earth up,
just like you would change your shirt.
"You will roll them up like a robe; like a
garment they will be changed."
Scientists and astronomers are well aware
that in time, even our own sun will eventually explode and swallow up
the earth.
Hebrews 1:10-14 explains
the temporary nature of the earth and the heavens.
"In the beginning, O
Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are
the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they
will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a
robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the
same, and your years will never end."
NIV
This is a
difficult concept for human beings. This exact world as we
know it, will someday be dark and lifeless...it will perish, but
God will remain. The earth will wear
out like an old pair of jeans... It will be a place of
darkness...it will become the "outer
darkness" that Jesus spoke of. A lifeless dark world where
only the eternally
dead abide.
Matt 22:13 speaks of it. "Then
said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take
him away, and cast (eject) him into outer darkness; there
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. KJV
Because of this phrase, "cast him into
outer darkness", some teach that those cast into outer darkness
will be cast into outer space, but that is not what the word
darkness means...it simply means "shade, a shadow...darkness"---but
it does not
mean space. This same Greek word which is translated
darkness, is also translated shadow in the example where Peter's
shadow passed over some people waiting to be healed. So
evidently, it is certainly not talking about casting someone
into space.
The word "outer" here means exterior,
like the exterior of a house. ...ON THE OUTSIDE. Can one be on the outside of what God is doing?
Yes they can. What does this mean? To find the
answer to that. (So we can avoid doing it.) We first have to
understand the concept of resurrections. Through a
resurrection, we can be moved into another realm...to the inner
realm of God. For some it is assured at death, and for others,
their resurrection is their last chance to go inside God's
realm.
The word resurrection is mentioned 41
times in the New Testament. It is important to understand
this concept. It is a foundational teaching of Christ,
listed in Hebrews 6. It was the teaching of the early church
that was hated the most. They were killed for this belief,
thrown in jail, and beaten. It is for teaching the
resurrection of the dead that Paul was arrested. He said
in court, "Touching the
resurrection of the dead I am called in question by you this
day." Acts 24:21
KJV
Acts 4:1-3 says that this is the issue
that got the disciples thrown in jail. "And as they (the
disciples) spoke to the people, the priests, and the captain of
the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them,
Being grieved that they taught the
people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the
dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold (jail)
unto the next day: for it was
now eventide. KJV
The apostle John in the book of
Revelation explains that there are in fact, two resurrections. In
Chapter 20:5-6 he says, "Blessed and holy are those who
have part in the first resurrection. The second death
has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of
Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years."
From this we see, that obviously, the
first resurrection is a better one. It is to eternal life.
It is for people who have already committed themselves to God
and His government, they are already on the inside track with
God, and because of that, they will be made into eternal spirit
beings at the return of Christ to rule with him for a 1000
years. (The millennium) This is where some of the human
race will be moved into God's realm. At the return of
Christ, those that have God's Spirit and are converted will come
up in the first resurrection. And, obviously, if there is
a first resurrection, then there has to be a second one.
Revelation 20:12-15 describes it.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God;
and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is
the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things
which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and
death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them:
and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is
the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was
cast into the lake of fire. KJV
Everyone will be given a chance to be
on the inside of God's permanent Kingdom, but the only way to
get there is to go through the natural process of death that all
human beings experience. In the meantime, we live our
human life out the best that we can, we learn a few lessons and
when God is ready, we go to His realm. We literally jump from one world into
the next. But, I'm like everyone else, I'm not in any hurry to
go. I have a lot to learn yet.
For sure, when we die, we will
come up in one of 2 resurrections as spoken of by the Apostle
John in Revelation, and, since the
dead know not anything, when we close our eyes in death, it will
truly seem as if we have jumped from one world into the next---in
a split second...in the twinkling of an eye.
We will all have
our opportunity to come up inside of God's
realm. The best way is for a person to choose to live by God's system now,
and
when our natural death comes or Christ returns, we will get
a better deal from God...the first resurrection.
The rest will come up in the second resurrection and have the
opportunity to choose God's system
then. The only other alternative is to reject eternal
life and to be cast outside of God's realm into outer darkness,
which simply means to "permanently non-exist." God forbid.
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