The Strand Study Bible

MATTHEW MATTHEW fail to answer the question, “If all the saved are raptured and given glorified bodies before the Millennium begins and all the unsaved are excluded from the Kingdom, where do the people in non-glorified bodies come from to populate the Millennium ( Lk 17:27-28 )? 25:41 b Hell was prepared for Satan and his demons; it was never intended for man. If a man goes to Hell, he does so by his own admission ( Gen 4:7 , Psa 9:17 , Jn 3:17 -18,36, Acts 1:25 and Rom 10:13). Robert Farrar Capon in The Parables of Judgment notes: Thus, while the sentence he pronounces on those who will not let go is indeed a judgment, it describes and mourns their condition more than it prescribes and gloats over their fate. 1552

…Jesus says, stamping a lover’s furious foot: “Why won’t you come? Why won’t you let me draw you? Why do you insist on loving the darkness when you’re already standing in the light? How can you not know the things that belong to your peace?” (Luke 19:42). And therefore Hell ( apoleia , destruction–the ultimate destination of overloaded camels and fatheaded finders of the wide road of success) is as real as it is unnecessary and as eternal (so it seems, God help us) as the Love that will not let go even of those who won’t stop hanging on to the successes that are destroying them. It is a perpetual Mexican standoff between the Loser who has won it all and the Winners who cannot stand the thought of losing. It is, in short, hell . For hell, ultimately, is not the place of punishment for sinners; sinners are not punished at all; they go straight to heaven just for saying yes to grace. Hell is simply the nowhere that is the only thing left for those who will not accept their acceptance by grace–who will not believe that at three o’clock on a Friday afternoon, free for nothing, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world actually declared he never intended to count sins in the first place. 8

25:42 Dr. James P. Gills in Exceeding Gratitude for the Creator’s Plan notes:

We often refer to two types of sin: sins of commission –what we do –and sins of omission –what we fail to do. 9 Sins of omission ( I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat ), not sins of commission (heinous deeds of violence, like murder, rape, etc.), are chosen as indicative of one’s spiritual state. Just because we aren’t doing “bad things” doesn’t mean we are doing “good things.” We ought never to assume that the absence of “doing bad” must mean we are doing well. It’s not only what we “don’t do” that pleases God, but what we “do” do that pleases Him. Charles Stanley in Confronting Casual Christianity notes: Believers sin far more against the Lord by what they fail to do rather than what they do. We grapple more with the sins of omission rather than commission. 10 Apathy, indifference, and a lack of concern are all first cousins to complacency ( Zeph 1:12 a ). Parable #41 is aimed at both believers (Mt 25:31-40) and unbelievers (Mt 25:41-46) who have a desire to please God, but never do . The character flaw – Assuming that pleasing God is only about not doing “bad” things . It’s not only what we aren’t doing that pleases the Lord, but what we are doing. A faith that pleases God is a faith that is about “what not to do” as well as “what to do” (Heb 11:6). 25:46 Sadly, these same people who survived “hell on earth” (The Great Tribulation - Jere 30:5-8 and Dan 12:1) will end up in “Hell” ( everlasting punishment ) for all eternity, for they chose to worship the creature (Rev 13:1-4) over the Creator (Rev 14:9-11).

1 The Pulpit Commentary . Grand Rapids, MI, Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1950. Print. 2 Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry’s Commentary , Old Tappan, NJ, Fleming H. Revell Co., Vol. Print. 3 Falwell, Jerry. Liberty Bible Commentary , Nashville, TN, Thomas Nelson Pub., 1983. Print. 4 Richards, Lawrence O. Bible Reader’s Companion , Colorado Springs, CO, Cook Communications, 1991,2004. Print. 5 The New Testament and Wycliffe Bible Commentary . NY, NY, The Iversen Associates, 1971. Print. 6 Ironside, H.A. Notes on Matthew , New York, NY, Loizeaux Brothers, 1948. Print. 7 Smith, Oswald J. The Marvels Of Grace . London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott. 1955. Print. 8 Capon, Robert Farrar. The Parables of Judgment , Grand Rapids, MI, Eerdmans Pub., 1989. Print. 9 Gills, James P. Exceeding Gratitude for the Creator’s Plan , Lake Mary, FLA, A Strang Co., 2007. Print. 10 Stanley, Charles. Confronting Casual Christianity , Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Pub. 1985. Print.