What is the meaning of Matthew 13:42? And they will throw them • The verse picks up after Jesus says, “The Son of Man will send out His angels” (Matthew 13:41). • “They” refers to these angels executing the King’s judgment. • “Them” points to “all who practice lawlessness” (Matthew 13:41)—people who persistently reject Christ. • This is a real, future event, not a metaphor. Compare the separation in Matthew 25:32–33 and the final judgment scene in Revelation 20:11–15. into the fiery furnace • Jesus uses an image that every listener would know—an oven blazing hot like Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace (Daniel 3:19). • Scripture equates this furnace with the lake of fire: “If anyone was found whose name was not written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15). • The fire is eternal and punitive, not corrective (Mark 9:43–48; 2 Thessalonians 1:8–9). • It underscores God’s holiness—He must judge sin. where there will be weeping • “Weeping” pictures overwhelming sorrow and remorse. • Luke 13:28 echoes it: “There will be weeping… when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.” • The sorrow stems from irreversible loss—separation from God and His blessings forever. and gnashing of teeth • “Gnashing” conveys rage and anguish. • Matthew 8:12: “the sons of the kingdom will be cast into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” • Acts 7:54 shows people gnashing their teeth at Stephen—an image of furious opposition to truth. • In hell, the unrepentant will experience both pain and hardened hostility toward God. summary Matthew 13:42 is Jesus’ sober warning that at the final judgment His angels will cast every unrepentant sinner into the eternal lake of fire. There, conscious sorrow (“weeping”) and unrelenting anguish and hostility (“gnashing of teeth”) will continue forever. The verse calls us to thankfulness for His salvation and urgency in sharing the gospel while grace is still offered. |
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