And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
At the close of the age the angels will separate the wicked from the righteous and just, casting the wicked into a furnace of fire where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth in anguish. The net that gathers them is the preaching of the gospel, which draws both good and evil people into the church where they remain together until its work is complete. Destiny is then fixed forever by character rather than profession or church position, with the righteous gathered to safety while rebels are purged from among the loyal and true. It stands as a clear warning to consider whether one will stand acquitted before Christ's judgment seat with no stain on character.
Net Parable Context
The net is the preaching of the gospel, which gathers both good and evil people into the church, and when the work of the gospel is complete judgment makes the separation. At the end of the world the angels separate the wicked from the just and cast the wicked into the fire, where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth, so a person's character and not church position or profession determines destiny. The mixed catch is not fully separated until the Judgment, so until then unconsecrated and world-loving people may remain among professed followers of Christ, and the church contains both the vile and the precious. The wheat and tares remain together until the harvest, and their presence together does not cancel the final judgment or the gathering of the wheat into God's storehouse.
The fishing catch sorted on shore into good fish and bad illustrates this final separation in terms familiar to fisher listeners. Christ's parable of the fishing net is one of the familiar images from daily life through which He taught immortal spiritual truths. Ordinary experiences can point to spiritual realities and keep those realities in mind.
Good and bad people coexist in the church on earth until they are separated, and managing this condition requires Christ's wisdom. The church on earth holds both kinds together, the good and the bad, just as wheat grows with tares and vessels of gold and silver stand with vessels of wood and earth in a great house, the precious with the vile. The sorting takes time because character must develop before people's true qualities can be known, and this is applied to choosing church officers, whose fitness should be carefully considered before they are appointed. God sees the distinction between the good and the bad gathered by the net when it is drawn, and those who have discernment see it also. The good may be poor, illiterate, obscure and unknown, without wealth or much education and not knowing from week to week where their bread will come from, but if they love Jesus, pray earnestly, walk reverently before God, and seek by humble prayer to know and do His will, their prayers are heard, the hiding of God's power is with them, their influence is saving and will be felt throughout eternity, their light does not flicker and go out but shines wherever they go, they reveal the likeness of Christ by watching to see how they can be a blessing to others, and by them Christ is glorified and His kingdom advanced.
Final Separation Punishment
At the end of the world, at the close of the age, angels separate the wicked from the righteous and just. This is the final separation and punishment of the wicked, stated plainly as their fate. The fishing net's catch sorted on shore into good fish and bad pictures this work in terms familiar from daily life.
Those thus separated are cast into the furnace of fire, where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth. There they suffer anguish. At the harvest the wicked are removed while the good and righteous are separated from them and gathered to safety. They are gathered into God's storehouse, so that rebels are purged from among the loyal and true.
Good and evil remain together until the gospel's work is complete, and the mixed catch gathered by the gospel net is not fully separated until the Judgment. Until then unconsecrated and world-loving people may remain among professed followers. Not all the wicked will turn to God. There is no probation after the judgment, for each class's destiny is then fixed forever.
A person's character, not church position or profession, determines destiny in that separation. This separation takes place in due time as the work of the third angel's message closes. Some are converted to the theory of truth while not converted to God, joining the church without joining the Lord, with hearts unrenewed by divine grace. In time they develop their true character and are known by their fruits, bearing only thorns and briers instead of godliness, temperance, patience, kindness, love and charity, dishonoring God, becoming a stumbling block to unbelievers and a trial to believers. In the day of final reckoning those who profess to keep God's commandments while their lives contradict their profession will give an account and be weighed in the balances of the sanctuary and found wanting.
Warning and Present Application
Matthew 13:50 belongs to a chapter that is a clear warning about the future destiny of humanity. It calls every reader to heed Christ's teaching and to consider whether he will stand acquitted before Christ's judgment seat, with no stain upon his character. At the end of the world the angels will separate the wicked from the righteous and cast the wicked into the fire, where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth, and this gives the final separation and punishment of the wicked.
The gospel net gathers both good and bad, and the wheat and tares remain together until the harvest, but their being together does not cancel the final judgment or the gathering of the wheat into God's storehouse. Their gathering together does not make efforts to save people futile, for at the harvest the wicked are removed while the righteous are gathered to safety. The presence of bad among those reached by the gospel is no reason to neglect efforts to save people, and the presence of unsuitable fish is no reason to reject the whole work. The net's gathering of both good and bad applies to a revival that may include both genuine work and fanaticism, and the presence of bad elements does not justify rejecting the whole work. The Lord alone knows who truly belongs to Him, and the presence of bad fish among the good does not mean the whole church is false.
When the gospel net is drawn it gathers both good and bad, and God sees the distinction between them, and those who have discernment see it also. The good may be poor, illiterate, obscure and unknown, without wealth or much education and not knowing from week to week where their bread will come from. Yet if they love Jesus, pray earnestly, walk reverently before God, and seek by humble prayer to know and do His will, their prayers are heard and the hiding of God's power is with them. Their influence is saving and will be felt throughout eternity, their light does not flicker and go out but shines wherever they go. They reveal the likeness of Christ by watching to see how they can be a blessing to others, and by them Christ is glorified and His kingdom advanced.
The sorting takes time because character must develop before people's true qualities can be known, and from this is drawn the principle that fitness for office should be carefully considered before appointment. The gospel net of Matthew 13:47-50 is now being cast into the sea in medical missionary work, gathering of all kinds both good and bad. This gathering work among the lower classes is in God's order, entering the large unfenced open common of the Lord's vineyard, with men and women called to act their part as coworkers with Christ. Those rescued and brought to the feet of Jesus are to give all the energies of their being to labor as ministers of mercy for perishing souls.
The work after Christ does not cast the net only for the most objectionable class, but effort is to be made for both classes. More earnest and decided labor is to be given for those who have ability and talents, because these if converted will become channels of light. The enemy sows tares among the wheat and will continue to do it, and this hinders many who judge the truth by looking at the lowly ones who connect with the people of God. Teachers are to learn to use the gospel net with close meshes, meaning Scripture applied so its meaning is easily discerned and clear. Drawing in the net means coming right to the point, communicating knowledge so others can grasp it, speaking with deep feeling that impresses hearts, and urging students to surrender themselves to God to save them with fear, pulling them out of the fire. The parable's fishing image continues to apply to the work of gathering people to the truth, while its ending shows the wicked cast into fire.
At the close of the age the angels will separate the wicked from the righteous and just, casting the wicked into a furnace of fire where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth in anguish. The net that gathers them is the preaching of the gospel, which draws both good and evil people into the church where they remain together until its work is complete. Destiny is then fixed forever by character rather than profession or church position, with the righteous gathered to safety while rebels are purged from among the loyal and true. It stands as a clear warning to consider whether one will stand acquitted before Christ's judgment seat with no stain on character.
Net Parable Context
The net is the preaching of the gospel, which gathers both good and evil people into the church, and when the work of the gospel is complete judgment makes the separation. At the end of the world the angels separate the wicked from the just and cast the wicked into the fire, where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth, so a person's character and not church position or profession determines destiny. The mixed catch is not fully separated until the Judgment, so until then unconsecrated and world-loving people may remain among professed followers of Christ, and the church contains both the vile and the precious. The wheat and tares remain together until the harvest, and their presence together does not cancel the final judgment or the gathering of the wheat into God's storehouse.
The fishing catch sorted on shore into good fish and bad illustrates this final separation in terms familiar to fisher listeners. Christ's parable of the fishing net is one of the familiar images from daily life through which He taught immortal spiritual truths. Ordinary experiences can point to spiritual realities and keep those realities in mind.
Good and bad people coexist in the church on earth until they are separated, and managing this condition requires Christ's wisdom. The church on earth holds both kinds together, the good and the bad, just as wheat grows with tares and vessels of gold and silver stand with vessels of wood and earth in a great house, the precious with the vile. The sorting takes time because character must develop before people's true qualities can be known, and this is applied to choosing church officers, whose fitness should be carefully considered before they are appointed. God sees the distinction between the good and the bad gathered by the net when it is drawn, and those who have discernment see it also. The good may be poor, illiterate, obscure and unknown, without wealth or much education and not knowing from week to week where their bread will come from, but if they love Jesus, pray earnestly, walk reverently before God, and seek by humble prayer to know and do His will, their prayers are heard, the hiding of God's power is with them, their influence is saving and will be felt throughout eternity, their light does not flicker and go out but shines wherever they go, they reveal the likeness of Christ by watching to see how they can be a blessing to others, and by them Christ is glorified and His kingdom advanced.
Final Separation Punishment
At the end of the world, at the close of the age, angels separate the wicked from the righteous and just. This is the final separation and punishment of the wicked, stated plainly as their fate. The fishing net's catch sorted on shore into good fish and bad pictures this work in terms familiar from daily life.
Those thus separated are cast into the furnace of fire, where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth. There they suffer anguish. At the harvest the wicked are removed while the good and righteous are separated from them and gathered to safety. They are gathered into God's storehouse, so that rebels are purged from among the loyal and true.
Good and evil remain together until the gospel's work is complete, and the mixed catch gathered by the gospel net is not fully separated until the Judgment. Until then unconsecrated and world-loving people may remain among professed followers. Not all the wicked will turn to God. There is no probation after the judgment, for each class's destiny is then fixed forever.
A person's character, not church position or profession, determines destiny in that separation. This separation takes place in due time as the work of the third angel's message closes. Some are converted to the theory of truth while not converted to God, joining the church without joining the Lord, with hearts unrenewed by divine grace. In time they develop their true character and are known by their fruits, bearing only thorns and briers instead of godliness, temperance, patience, kindness, love and charity, dishonoring God, becoming a stumbling block to unbelievers and a trial to believers. In the day of final reckoning those who profess to keep God's commandments while their lives contradict their profession will give an account and be weighed in the balances of the sanctuary and found wanting.
Warning and Present Application
Matthew 13:50 belongs to a chapter that is a clear warning about the future destiny of humanity. It calls every reader to heed Christ's teaching and to consider whether he will stand acquitted before Christ's judgment seat, with no stain upon his character. At the end of the world the angels will separate the wicked from the righteous and cast the wicked into the fire, where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth, and this gives the final separation and punishment of the wicked.
The gospel net gathers both good and bad, and the wheat and tares remain together until the harvest, but their being together does not cancel the final judgment or the gathering of the wheat into God's storehouse. Their gathering together does not make efforts to save people futile, for at the harvest the wicked are removed while the righteous are gathered to safety. The presence of bad among those reached by the gospel is no reason to neglect efforts to save people, and the presence of unsuitable fish is no reason to reject the whole work. The net's gathering of both good and bad applies to a revival that may include both genuine work and fanaticism, and the presence of bad elements does not justify rejecting the whole work. The Lord alone knows who truly belongs to Him, and the presence of bad fish among the good does not mean the whole church is false.
When the gospel net is drawn it gathers both good and bad, and God sees the distinction between them, and those who have discernment see it also. The good may be poor, illiterate, obscure and unknown, without wealth or much education and not knowing from week to week where their bread will come from. Yet if they love Jesus, pray earnestly, walk reverently before God, and seek by humble prayer to know and do His will, their prayers are heard and the hiding of God's power is with them. Their influence is saving and will be felt throughout eternity, their light does not flicker and go out but shines wherever they go. They reveal the likeness of Christ by watching to see how they can be a blessing to others, and by them Christ is glorified and His kingdom advanced.
The sorting takes time because character must develop before people's true qualities can be known, and from this is drawn the principle that fitness for office should be carefully considered before appointment. The gospel net of Matthew 13:47-50 is now being cast into the sea in medical missionary work, gathering of all kinds both good and bad. This gathering work among the lower classes is in God's order, entering the large unfenced open common of the Lord's vineyard, with men and women called to act their part as coworkers with Christ. Those rescued and brought to the feet of Jesus are to give all the energies of their being to labor as ministers of mercy for perishing souls.
The work after Christ does not cast the net only for the most objectionable class, but effort is to be made for both classes. More earnest and decided labor is to be given for those who have ability and talents, because these if converted will become channels of light. The enemy sows tares among the wheat and will continue to do it, and this hinders many who judge the truth by looking at the lowly ones who connect with the people of God. Teachers are to learn to use the gospel net with close meshes, meaning Scripture applied so its meaning is easily discerned and clear. Drawing in the net means coming right to the point, communicating knowledge so others can grasp it, speaking with deep feeling that impresses hearts, and urging students to surrender themselves to God to save them with fear, pulling them out of the fire. The parable's fishing image continues to apply to the work of gathering people to the truth, while its ending shows the wicked cast into fire.