Brethren, find a few quiet minutes to peruse
the short exchanges below.
(*peruse: read (something), typically
thoroughly or carefully.)
-----------------
Leongsy
Matthew 25 KJT
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the
left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the
devil and his angels:
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying,
Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or
sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Sir. I am listening to Elder Yanathan's Landmarks sermon 6; around the
17th min, I definitely heard him say Matthew 25:41 is referring to the Lake of
Fire.
What do you think?
sing
I think that's a popular fable.
May the Lord bless you to use a bit of common
sense.
Please consider these few things:
ONE:
"everlasting" is carelessly
understood as eternal. Everlasting hell lasts as long as time lasts; it shall
be ended (emptied and become irrelevant) at the end of time. The lake of fire
is eternal - it shall be ushered in after the end of time, THAT IS, after the
general resurrection and the final judgment.
TWO:
Please ask and think through.
- Of whom does the righteous Judge require to
show those kind deeds to His people? Does He require those good works from
those dead in trespasses and sins? Or does He require such good works from His
redeemed people?
THREE:
Read the response in verse 25.
To whom will you attribute the response to
the righteous Judge's charges/censures? Is it a response from those dead in
trespasses and sins or from those who own the Judge as their Lord?
FOUR:
The three parables in Mt 25 have one, same
theme:
- The
ONE Bridegroom with BOTH wise and foolish virgins; BOTH are waiting for Him
- The ONE Master with BOTH the good/faithful
servants, and the wicked/slothful servants. BOTH are his OWN servants.
- ONE Shepherd who has BOTH sheep and goats
in His ONE Flock. BOTH are in His one flock - He separates them.
FIVE:
v46 And these shall go away into everlasting
punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Do a search on the usage of "life eternal." You will
discover the hard truth - life eternal is entered CONDITIONALLY through man's
works of righteousness. Take a look here:
Heaven is accessed solely and wholly on the
basis of Christ and His works alone.
And life eternal is not eternal life; and
entering life eternal is NOT entering heaven.
CONCLUSION
All the parables describe some harsh
realities ABOUT the kingdom of God...
- There are BOTH the wise and the foolish
virgins waiting for the Groom in the kingdom of God.
- There are BOTH the good/faithful servants
and the wicked/slothful servants of the Master in the kingdom of God
- There are BOTH the disciples who show
kindness to the least of the Judge's redeemed, and there are disciples who
don't, in the kingdom of God.
The immediate CONTEXT of the Mt 25 is the coming of the Bridegroom/
Master/Shepherd (the descriptions of the same Person, the Lord Jesus Christ) in
70AD to judge earthly theocratic Israel.
May the Lord help you understand. Amen.
Leongsy
Good. You should write a book on the History
of the Particular Baptists vs the Reformed Baptists and also include all those
incorrect interpretations of the Scriptures by the Deformed Reformed guys into
it, and then u give your correct interpretations, so that everyone may know the
truth.
sing
2 Timothy 2:15 KJT — Study to shew thyself
approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing
the word of truth.
Rightly dividing the word of truth is a WORK
with these great purposes:
- THYSELF be approved unto God,
- THYSELF needn't to be ashamed.
- THYSELF to be found faithful.
Rightly dividing the word of truth is NOT to
parade oneself; it's not to show the errors of others, unless they inquire or
dispute.
If anyone wants to know the truth, they just
need to have some common sense and be honest with what the text says.
Consider the above, and may our blessed Lord
grant you understanding.
Amen.
