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Outer Darkness and Weeping
and Gnashing of Teeth is Not Hell?
Tony Evans taught in
his article
"Rewards For Christians," that the punishment Jesus promised for
the unprofitable servant in Matthew 25: 14-30 is not about hell:
But those
Christians who are unfaithful (Matt. 25:28-30) will have their
rewards taken from them and given to those who were faithful,
and, and they will be cast into "outer darkness," the
place where there shall be "weeping and gnashing of
teeth." The "outer darkness" described in this
passage is not a description of hell, but is likely a lesser status in God's kingdom.
Unfaithful Christians will see more diligent Christians rule and reign with
Christ. Seeing that they could have had much greater reward and prominence
in God's kingdom, these unfaithful stewards will weep and gnash their teeth in
deep remorse and regret." (p 1234)
Tony Evans stated that part of
heaven is hellish!
Just like in the phony "two books of
life" teaching, the unconditional eternal security teaching is being
forced onto scripture to the point of even taking verses that are obviously
about the judgment of hell for unfaithful Christians and turning them inside
out to make them mean the opposite of what they actually say.
Hell is not only a place of weeping and
gnashing of teeth, and tormenting flames, but it is also a place of blackness of
darkness. (See Jude 1:6, 13) God created hell for the devil and his
angels, and he had no problem making a place of fire and brimstone be a place of
blackness and darkness too.
Even though hell was created specifically for
the devil and his angels (demons) many, many more people will go there than will
go to heaven because they will not repent and believe the gospel and thus be
reconciled to God. Satan hates God with a passion, and also hates man, who
is made in the image of God, and thus wants to deceive as many as possible into
going to hell too.
What is really sobering is that he knows the
Bible means exactly what it says it means, and so one of his strategies is to
beguile God's people into thinking that God does not really mean what is written
in his word. Is it any wonder he works so hard to get Christians to follow
Eve's example and say, "Yea, hath God said?"
Weeping and gnashing of teeth has absolutely
no other meaning than what the Bible makes it out to be: weeping and being in
such excruciating pain that one's teeth are clenched (gnashed) together!
The place where this goes on is in hell, NOT heaven. (Please check the
five verses in the King James Bible where the phrase, "weeping and gnashing
of teeth" is used. None of these places refers to heaven or any part
of heaven: Matt. 8:12, 22:13, 24:51, 25:30, Lk 13:28)
There is no blackness in heaven and in fact,
it is so light that no candle or sun is needed: "And there shall be no
night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God
giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever." Rev. 22:5
I think it is blasphemous to take a verse with
phrases that clearly show it is referring to hell and to say that "this is
not a description of hell but is likely a description of a lesser status in
God's kingdom." Blasphemy is attributing to God that which is not
agreeable to his nature. Tony Evan's article attributes to God's kingdom
that which is not agreeable to its nature! Darkness, weeping, and gnashing
of teeth are being attributed to God's holy heaven where the Lord God himself
giveth them light, and where God shall wipe away all tears and there shall be no
more pain. (Rev. 21:4)
This will be for another article, but over and
over in the Holy Bible, believers are warned about what sins they can partake in
that will ensure they will not inherit the kingdom of God. Eternal life is
a hope as well as a present possession. We must endure to the end to be
saved.
Satan wants you to believe
that you do not have to obey Jesus Christ-- that as a son of God, you are as
sure of heaven as if you are already there! God's Word says "For as
many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." Rom. 8:14
Jesus Christ is not a minister of sin, although Satan and his teachers would
like you to believe that.
Christians will be cut off if they do
not continue in his goodness. (See Rom. 11:22) Believers are
commanded to behold both the goodness and the severity of God. This
parable of the unprofitable servant is a perfect example of the severity of God
because the servant (the believer) did not "continue is his goodness;"
instead, he buried his talent (did not serve God with the grace he was given)
and was cast into outer darkness.
In these perilous times of outright apostasy
we must be all the more diligent to take God at his Word. Satan wants us
to be deceived into thinking we cannot understand the Bible and we must have
some spiritual "authority" tell us what the Bible really means.
Whoever tells you the Bible does not mean what it says is not a spiritual
authority figure. The Bible is for you and for me to read and believe. We will answer for how we
have lived in light of God's Word, and we will not be permitted to hide under
the excuse that someone misled us, and expect God to not execute the judgment he
promised in His Holy Word. God will perform his Word, regardless of
whether we believe it or not. He is holding you and I responsible to read
and obey his written word.
We must not fall for today's
oft-repeated lie
that the blood of Jesus will continue to cleanse us from all sin even
if we do not walk in the light. God's Word is clear: "But
if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with
another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
1 John. 1:7
Tim LaHaye Says the
Unprofitable Servant is Not a True Disciple
P.S. Tim LaHaye has a different comment
on the the parable about the unprofitable servant: "The
fact that the latter man is called "wicked and slothful" and an
"unprofitable servant" (v. 30), who is cast into "outer
darkness," indicates that he is not a true disciple of his master.
(p 1042)
Tim LaHaye did not try to turn
hell into heaven, but he still forced upon scripture what is not there (he said
the servant was not a genuine disciple) in order to maintain consistency
with the unconditional eternal security doctrine. The lord called the
servant "wicked and slothful" because he did not obey. There is
no reason to believe that this servant was not a genuine servant. He was
a servant who was disobedient. We must not refuse to believe
scripture as written because it contradicts some doctrine we have been
taught. This is the way to be hardened to the truth.
I used to believe the
unconditional eternal security doctrine because when I was saved I was
immediately put under this teaching, as well as the pre-trib rapture teaching as
well. It took some time (and some
shock) for me to come to terms with the fact that I must take God at his
Word and just believe what is written. I had no internet at the time, and
God was leading me through the scriptures to see just what was written. I
could see that conditional eternal security is taught in scripture, but
not unconditional eternal security.
I could also see that you cannot work
your way to heaven, but you can definitely work your way into hell. Paul
called these works "works of the flesh" and he told believers
that if they do these things they will not inherit the kingdom of God.
"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: adultery,
fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred,
variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders,
drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have
also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the
kingdom of God." Gal. 5:19-21
"But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are
not under the law." Gal. 5:18 I do not want to be under the law, do
you? For the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. That
unprofitable servant was not led of the Spirit (he would not, by the grace of
God, use the talent he was given) and so he was put back under the law and he
was judged in accordance with the law. God's word is plain.
Return to:
False
Doctrines in Tim LaHaye's Writings
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