The Wheat and the Darnel by Gerry Watts

The Wheat and the Darnel

by Gerry Watts

In Matthew 13, we have 7 parables of the kingdom that Jesus taught on the same day. These parables were the first ‘secret’ ones that He revealed. It is very significant that Matthew lists these seven parables, which, taken together as a whole, reveal some of the basic truths of the secrets of the kingdom. As many are aware, the number seven, in Scriptural numerology, stands for spiritual completion or fullness. So, here in Matthew, we have a complete package in itself of the kingdom secrets revealed through these seven parables.

We have already considered the first one, The Sower, and now we are going to consider the second one, which is often called The Wheat and the Weeds (or Tares). These two parables lay the foundation for the others that follow, so, like the first, we shall be considering this second one in quite some detail. This parable is only recorded in Matthew’s account, in Matthew 13:24-30, with Jesus’ interpretation given in verses 36-43.

‘He then tells them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of the heavens is likened to a man sowing ideal seed in his own field. Yet while the men are sleeping, his enemy came and sowed darnel among the grain, and went away. Now when the wheat produced its fruit, the darnel also appeared. Now the servants of the householder came to him and said, ‘Lord, didn’t you sow ideal seed in your field? Then where did the darnel come from?’ He said to them, ‘A man, an enemy, did this.’

The servants said, ‘Do you want us to go and pull out the darnel?’ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘otherwise, as you are pulling up the darnel, you may also be uprooting the grain with it at the same time. Let both grow up together until the harvest, and in the season of the harvest I shall say to the reapers, ‘First reap the darnel and bind them into bundles to burn them, yet gather the grain into my barn.’ ” ’

(Matthew 13:24-30 FT)

One of the keys to understanding the real meaning of this parable is the mention of darnel. Now most versions render the Greek word zizanion here as weeds or tares. The Keyword Concordance of the CV says that this Greek word, along with the Arabic word zawan, literally means bearded-darnel. Strong’s Concordance also confirms that zizanion means darnel. This is a poisonous kind of rye grass that looks just like wheat until the ear appears. This is the key to the parable – darnel looks like wheat for a time until the harvest, when the fruit should appear in the ear. But only the wheat will produce fruit, as the darnel is a poisonous weed that is only fit for burning up.

In fact, some botanists would say that this darnel is basically degenerated wheat, that is, wheat that doesn’t produce the grain. Darnel is widely known to have poisonous properties that are believed by some to be caused by a fungus. When ingested, darnel causes severe symptoms similar to drunkenness. Darnel is seen as a farmer’s enemy, along with thorns and thistles, as they can hinder the growth of the crop, and the crafty practice of deliberately sowing darnel seed in a wheat field has been known from ancient times. All of this is a figure of those who are false and in gross error. They appear as though they will bear fruit, but in reality, they only produce poison, a fungus, that which causes others to become drunk in sin and error, and they are only fit for the fiery judgment of God.

The Keys

Now before we go any further with this, let us see how Jesus interpreted this parable to His disciples.

‘Then leaving the crowds, He entered into the house. His disciples come to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel of the field.” He answered them, saying, “He Who is sowing the ideal seed is the Son of Mankind. Now the field is the world. Now the ideal seed are the sons of the kingdom. Now the darnel are the sons of the wicked one. Now the enemy who sows them is the Adversary. Now the harvest is the end of the age. Now the reapers are messengers.

So even as the darnel is being reaped and burned in the fire, thus shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Mankind shall be dispatching His messengers, and they shall be pulling all the snares out of His kingdom and those doing lawlessness, and they shall be throwing them into the furnace of fire. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous be shining like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”’

(Matthew 13:36-43 FT)

Now Jesus gives us a number of keys not only as to how to interpret this parable, but He also gives us clues as to how to interpret a number of other parables as well, as we shall see later. The first two kingdom parables, the parable of the Sower, and the Wheat and the Darnel, are the only ones where we are given a clear interpretation of each by Jesus Himself. Yet these spiritual words can help us understand the rest of the parables as well. So we must remember what we have learned from each parable and then apply it to others where appropriate.

Now the facts of this parable are pretty simple really – and notice that the disciples rightly called it ‘the darnel of the field.’ The focus is on the darnel. It reveals the following: During Christ’s absence from this earth, while the kingdom of heaven is spiritual and invisible, He is sowing the ideal seed of the Word of truth into believer’s hearts through the Holy Spirit. As we learned from the Sower parable, those who receive the Word and continue in the Faith, bearing fruit to God, these are the true sons of the kingdom who are producing fruit, that is, the wheat (literally the good grain, which could actually refer to barley or wheat).

Separation of True and False

Yet at the same time, Satan the Adversary is also doing some sowing of his own. The darnel are those who are the sons of the wicked one, those who are lawless, those who lay traps or snares for others who are searching for truth. These are imposters, those who claim to belong to Christ, but by their fruits, they deny Him. They appear as wheat, that is, as genuine followers of Christ, but in reality, in their hearts, they do not know Him – they are darnel. But their end will be what their actions deserve. At the coming of Christ, all will be made manifest. There will be nothing hidden from the eyes of Him to Whom we must give an account. All will be revealed in the Day of the Lord.

Throughout the writings of the Apostles, there are warnings about those who are false, the darnel, and they were already rising up in the First Century – false apostles masquerading as ministers of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:13-15; Revelation 2:2); false prophets, particularly those performing false miracles (1 John 4:1; Matthew 24:24; Revelation 16:13-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:9); false teachers (2 Peter 2:1-3; 1 Timothy 4:1-2; 6:3-10); and false brethren, wolves in sheep’s clothing (2 Corinthians 11:26; Galatians 2:4-5; Acts 20:29-31; Matthew 7:15-23). This apostasy has only increased through the centuries, and the astounding thing today is that those who are going back to the original truth of the Scriptures are often viewed as the heretics, the false ones! Thankfully, the Lord will bring it all to light when He returns.

So this judgment of separation between the true and the false not only applies to individuals at the end of the age, but it also includes all false doctrine that has crept into the teachings and creeds of Christendom through the centuries (see also 1 Corinthians 3:10-15). Everything that is truly false, everything that is poisonous, everything that is not in accord with righteousness and truth, shall be exposed and done away with in fiery judgment, for everything is manifested by the Light.

The Whole World

The effects of this are felt worldwide, as the field represents the whole world. Now notice here that the field belongs to Christ. We shall see from some of the other parables that Jesus gave His life for the sake of the whole world so that He could purchase the hidden treasure in the field – the true Church or Ecclesia of God. Yet the truth of the matter is that He purchased the entire world! The whole of humanity and the earth belongs to Him, for He has redeemed it. The whole world was originally His due to the rights of creation because He is its God and the Firstborn of all creation, yet He is also its Redeemer, having purchased it by His own blood, and through the resurrection, He is also Firstborn from among the dead.

So God has given us a double witness for Christ’s Ownership of the world in that 1) He is the Creator of ALL (Colossians 1:15-20; John 1:1-3), and 2) He is the Redeemer of ALL (Mark 10:45; 1 Timothy 2:3-6; Hebrews 9:12). So whether the Old Creation or the New, ALL belongs to Him, He is the Owner of ALL things.

So during this present administration of grace and the secrets of the kingdom, the enemy is trespassing in Christ’s field! Eventually, Satan will receive his judgment from God for stealing that which belongs to Christ by making sure that all things are given back to the Owner by complete restitution, as God’s Law demands (Leviticus 6:1-5), and he will also pay back double by being sold into God’s hands to then endure the Lake of Fire indefinitely until his sentence is complete (Exodus 22:3).

Anyhow, it is essential that these false believers, the darnel that looks like the wheat, are left to do their work until the end of the age, when Christ shall return. They are not to be pulled up beforehand as they serve a purpose in training the wheat to know good from evil. If the darnel is pulled up too soon, there’s no telling who the wheat really is! So as time passes, as each generation passes by, God is allowing more time for the wheat and darnel to grow. Each individual believer has to continue to bear fruit throughout his or her life to confirm their calling and choice, while on the other hand, those that are false impostors shall reveal this through their lack of fruit and lack of endurance in the truth. Everything shall be laid bare when Christ returns, and that which is of God shall remain.

Yet every year that passes is evidence of God’s mercy and patience in giving us all time to repent and bear fruit. Both must be allowed to grow.

“The Lord is not tardy as to the promise, as some are deeming tardiness, but is patient because of you, not intending any to perish, but all to make room for repentance.”

(2 Peter 3:9)

“Or are you despising the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, being ignorant that the kindness of God is leading you to repentance?”

(Romans 2:4)

“Wherefore, rather, brethren, endeavour through ideal acts to confirm your calling and choice; for, doing these things, you should under no circumstances be tripping at any time. For thus will be richly supplied to you the entrance into the eonian kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”

(2 Peter 1:10-11)

“So that, be not judging anything before the season, till the Lord should be coming, Who will also illuminate the hidden things of darkness and manifest the counsels of the hearts.”

(1 Corinthians 4:5)

The Harvest

At the end of the age, at the season of the harvest, He will send out His messengers (that is, His chosen angels or spirit beings) to gather the unrighteous darnel for judgment while harvesting the righteous wheat (Revelation 14:14-16). On that Day there will be a judgment of separation between the righteous believers and the unrighteous unbelievers (that is, the apostate pretenders). One shall be taken, while the other is left for judgment (Luke 17:26-37; Revelation 19:15, 21).

The parable of the Darnel, as well as the Net of Fish, are describing these judgments of separation, where the wicked are separated first to be thrown away, then the righteous are left to enter the kingdom. Yet take note that there are actually two Harvests at this time, a Good Harvest (i.e. the Good Grain) and a Bad Harvest (i.e. the Bad Darnel). Both are reaped or harvested at the same time. One is positive while the other is negative, depending on the viewpoint.

As we shall see later, the bad Harvest is often referred to as the Grape Harvest and the crushing of the grapes in the winepress of God's wrath. Yet the Great Harvest shall not occur until both are fully ripened at the end of this age. Then Christ will come to save His Body/Bride and to judge the rest through a judgment of separation. And His heavenly angels will play a large part in this process (cf. Revelation 14:14-20).

Who’s First – Wheat or Darnel?

Now some may wonder how the snatching away of the Body of Christ fits into this picture, as both Jesus and Paul clearly taught about this event. Well, the kingdom parables are not really concerned with the detailed chronology of the Day of the Lord. They are more concerned with teaching principles about righteousness and faith, and the basis of judgment to decide who are the true servants and who aren’t. The details of the end of the age are very brief within the parables.

Yet later in His ministry, Jesus did say that His chosen ones (that is, His brethren, the Bride Ecclesia, His servants, those who are watching and waiting for His return) will be gathered together with the help of His messengers to assemble with Him in the air on the Day He returns (Matthew 24:30-31). This is one of the first things that will happen on that Day. This event is likened to Noah and his family entering the ark before the judgment of the Flood occurred, as well as Lot leaving Sodom before the heavenly fire fell.

Now Paul was given further information in regard to this event revealing that the trumpet call of God, the shout of command from Christ as the Chief Messenger, will raise the dead in Christ first, and then the living ones will be supernaturally changed and then snatched away, and both groups shall be gathered together in clouds to form the armies of Christ in the air with the messengers of God (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; 1 Corinthians 15:51-53; Revelation 19:7-8, 14).

Now this doesn’t contradict the details in the parable of the Darnel, although it may appear that way on the surface. The parable is focusing on the fact that the Darnel will be separated from the Grain, and the Darnel will receive the fire of God's judgment first, before the righteous will shine in the kingdom, when it is established in all its fullness and glory. That is to say, the judgment of the Day of the Lord, which will include the 'Great White Throne' Judgment, has to occur first to separate the good from the bad.

The sons of the kingdom will then enter the kingdom of their Father, to shine out as a source of blessing to the rest of creation, like the Sun itself. On the other hand, the sons of darkness will enter the Gehenna of fire where there will ultimately be weeping and gnashing of teeth due to the spiritual torment and frustration of those who will not be allowed into the kingdom for the ages to come. At the Second Coming of Christ, all those who do not belong to Him will perish in the fiery wrath of God, which will be the final great judgment upon this Old Creation, at which time the present heavens and earth shall pass away, and in its place, a New Creation shall arise.

Now the day of the Lord will be arriving as a thief, in which the heavens shall be passing by with a booming noise, yet the elements shall be dissolved by combustion, and the earth and the works in it shall be found. At these all, then, dissolving, to what manner of men must you belong in holy behavior and devoutness, hoping for and hurrying the presence of God's day, because of which the heavens, being on fire, will be dissolved, and the elements decompose by combustion! Yet we, according to His promises, are hoping for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness is dwelling.

(2 Peter 3:10-13 CV)

Then the resurrection of all mankind shall occur followed by the Great Judgment Day. Then a different figurative fire, the Lake of fire, shall be the age-abiding destiny of the Darnel and the Chaff in the age of the New Creation.

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.

Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.

(Revelation 20:11-21:1 NIV)

John the Baptist

John the Baptist had said something to the religious leaders about this fiery judgment while he was baptising the people in the Jordan River, preparing the people for the coming of the King Messiah.

“Who warns you to be fleeing from the coming indignation? Produce fruit worthy of repentance, then. And don’t presume to be saying among yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as a father,’ for I am saying to you that God is able to raise children to Abraham out of these stones. Yet already the axe is lying at the root of the trees. Every tree which is not producing ideal fruit is hewn down and thrown into the fire…

...He (Christ) will be baptizing you in Holy Spirit and fire, Whose winnowing shovel is in His hand, and He will be scouring His threshing floor, and will be gathering His grain into His barn, yet the chaff He will be burning up with unextinguished fire.”

(Matthew 3:7-12 FT; also Luke 3:7-9, 16-17)

John was warning the religious leaders, and the people, of the coming Day of the Lord, the Day of Indignation or Wrath, in which Christ will judge Israel and the world with a baptism of fire that will destroy the wicked unbelievers and hypocrites. Only those who produce fruit will be saved for the kingdom, while all others will be thrown into the fire. Those of Israel are warned not to rely on their racial lineage, for the flesh will not save them, and God has the power to raise up children of Abraham to fulfill the promises from out of the inanimate creation, such as stones! So don’t rely on the flesh and religious rituals to save you!

John also likens Jesus to a farmer who uses a large winnowing shovel to separate the grains of wheat from the useless chaff at harvest time. This would take place on a threshing floor, a raised piece of ground made for this purpose, and the shovel would be used to throw the reaped grains into the air after they’d been threshed, after which, the heavy grains would fall back down, while the lighter elements of grass (and any missed darnel), the chaff, would blow away in the breeze. The chaff would then be gathered and burned, while the grain is stored in a barn.

Also, both John and Jesus taught that everyone is figured as a fruit tree that either produces good, ideal fruit, or bad, obnoxious fruit. Jesus taught the following when warning the people of false prophets who appeared like the real thing.

“You shall be recognising them from their fruits. They are not culling grapes from thorns, nor figs from star thistles. Thus every good tree is producing ideal fruit, yet the rotten tree is producing noxious fruit. A good tree cannot bear noxious fruit, neither is a rotten tree producing ideal fruit. Every tree not producing ideal fruit is hewn down and thrown into the fire. Consequently, from their fruits you shall surely be recognising them.”

(Matthew 7:16-20 FT)

Yet even now, disciples of Christ are being winnowed and threshed by the fire of God's Holy Spirit to prepare God's Sons for rulership.

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."

(John 15:1-2 NIV)

The Good Fruit

All of this confirms John’s words that the axe is already at the root of the trees, and those who do not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. But what is the ideal fruit of the good tree, the fruit of repentance? It is the fruit of the Spirit, particularly love, grace, peace and righteousness.

“Now the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control…”

(Galatians 5:22-23)

“…(for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth)…”

(Ephesians 5:9)

“He who is loving his brother is remaining in the light, and there is no snare in him.”

(1 John 1:10)

“…the peaceable fruit of righteousness…”

(Hebrews 12:11)

“…filled with the fruit of righteousness that is through Jesus Christ…”

(Philippians 1:11)

“Now the wisdom from above is first, indeed, pure, thereupon peaceable, lenient, compliant, bulging with mercy and good fruits, undiscriminating, unfeigned. Now the fruit of righteousness is being sown in peace for those making peace.”

(James 3:17-18)

Those who truly follow God and His Son will ultimately remain in these things and will continue to produce this kind of fruit in some measure or another – whether a 30, 60 or 100 fold harvest. All those who do not produce this fruit of the Spirit, no matter what they may lay claim to in the flesh, will ultimately be cut down and thrown into the age-enduring fire of judgment.

The Bad Fruit

The rotten fruit is the fruit of the flesh, which leads to death.

“For even as you present your members as slaves to Uncleanness and to Lawlessness for lawlessness…For when you were slaves of Sin…What fruit, then, had you, then? – of which you are now ashamed, for, indeed, the consummation of those things is death.”

(Romans 6:19-21)

“Now the works of the flesh are apparent, which are adultery, prostitution, uncleanness, wantonness, idolatry, enchantment, enmities, strife, jealousies, furies, factions, dissensions, sects, envies, murders, drunkennesses, revelries, and the like of these, which, I am predicting to you, according as I predicted also, that those committing such things shall not be enjoying the allotment of the kingdom of God.”

(Galatians 5:19-21)

The judgment of fire mentioned above has a special application to those lawless ones who will be living at the end of the age, when Christ returns with His holy messengers in flaming fire. All those who have died in previous generations will not experience this aspect of the Day of the Lord, yet we are also told that 'every eye will see Him,' and this is because all mankind shall be raised to receive their sentence at the Great White Throne Judgment.

“…the unveiling of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His powerful messengers, in flaming fire, dealing out vengeance to those who are not acquainted with God and those who are not obeying the evangel of our Lord Jesus Christ – who shall incur the justice of eonian extermination from the face of the Lord, and from the glory of His strength…”

(2 Thessalonians 1:7-9)

Look, he is coming with the clouds,
      and every eye will see him,
   even those who pierced him;
      and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.

(Revelation 1:7 NIV)

“Every plant which is not planted by My heavenly Father shall be uprooted…Woe to the world because of snares! For it is a necessity for snares to be coming. Moreover, woe to that man through whom the snare is coming! Now, if your hand or your foot is snaring you, strike it off and cast it from you. Is it ideal for you to be entering into life maimed or lame, or, having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the eonian fire?…to be cast into the Gehenna of fire?”

(Matthew 15:13; 18:7-9)

These are solemn words! Jesus is saying metaphorically here that if there is a weakness of the flesh that causes you to be bearing obnoxious fruit, or put another way, that which is becoming a snare or trap for others, leading you or others into sin and wickedness, you should cut it off! It is better to go without certain things in this life and then enter the life of the kingdom, rather than to try and hold on to the things of the flesh, and then be severely judged at the return of Christ and be thrown into the eonian fire of extermination, the fire of Gehenna!

He who tries to save his own soul will lose it, but he who loses his soul (gives up fleshly indulgence and the self-life) in this life for the sake of righteousness and truth will ultimately save it and will enjoy the life of the kingdom. Even if we were to briefly gain the whole world through sin in this life, it is nothing compared to losing or forfeiting our souls in the kingdom.

But what is this fire? Is it the traditional Hell? Let’s take a look at this important, yet grossly misunderstood, subject.

Gehenna, the Rubbish Dump

Firstly, it needs to be said that 'hell' is not a scriptural word. This may come as a surprise to many, but it’s true and anyone can check this out for themselves. As well as being used for hades (literally the unseen or imperceptible), hell has also been used for two other Greek words - Gehenna and Tartarus. The most used of these two words is Gehenna.

When people say that Jesus was the one who spoke the most about hell, He was in fact referring to Gehenna. This word stems from the Hebrew meaning ‘ravine of Hinnom.’ The valley of Hinnom was on the south-western side of Jerusalem, and it had been used as a place of child sacrifice in ancient Israel, where they sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire to the idol Moloch. This was an abomination to God. And the ‘hell-fire doctrine’ is also an abomination to God, portraying Him as a barbaric idol of the nations who will burn His creatures in eternal fire! Nothing could be further from the truth!

Anyhow, later, Gehenna became the city's incinerator for dead carcasses of criminals and other garbage, which was continuously kept burning, and the parts which were not burning were consumed by maggots (worms). It also became known as Topheth meaning abomination. (See also 2 Kings 23:10; Isaiah 30:33 and Jeremiah 19). This became the meaning and purpose of the Hinnom Valley or Gehenna – an unclean rubbish dump.

Even under the Law, which had very severe penalties for those who transgressed God’s commands, burning in fire was not one of the penalties. There were instances where those who had been stoned to death for certain sins, primarily sexual sins, were to have their bodies burned or cremated instead of a decent burial, as a sign of shame and contempt (Leviticus 20 14; 21:9), but this was not being burned alive in fire. In fact, God reveals how much He detests this practice of being burned alive when He showed His contempt for the rituals of the Ammonites, whereby they would sacrifice their sons and daughters in the fire to their idol Moloch (also known as Molech or Milcom). He specifically commanded that the Israelites must not do the same thing (Leviticus 18:21, 24-28; 20:1-5; Jeremiah 32:35; 1 Kings 11:5, 33).

The Fire of God

Yet even the instances where God destroyed people with spiritual fire, such as Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, this fire was not natural fire that burns up the flesh. These guys still had their priestly tunics on them when their bodies were taken away for burial (Leviticus 10:2-5). God is a consuming fire, and His supernatural, spiritual fire can destroy without touching the physical flesh at all, though, as in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah, it can also destroy like natural fire, leaving things smoking like a furnace (Genesis 19:24-28).

Yet it is interesting to note from this account in Genesis, that Lot’s wife, who hesitated and took time to look back at Sodom while they were escaping, after they were specifically told not to hang about (i.e. she wanted to go back), was not burned up by the fire that fell from above, but instead, she became a pillar of salt! What actually happened chemically, we don’t know, but somehow after her sudden death, her body immediately changed into some kind of salt, which may have had something to do with the sulphur. This linking of fire, sulphur and salt is very significant, as we shall see.

Moses also saw this same fire of God burning in a desert bush, yet the bush did not burn up (Exodus 3:2-3). Natural fire needs certain physical elements, which it will then consume so that it can keep burning, but spiritual fire is altogether different. It is the supernatural fire of God that can give life or destroy it – without having to literally burn anything.

Going back to our subject, here is what Jesus had to say about Gehenna.

"It is ideal for you to be entering into the kingdom of God one-eyed, rather than, having two eyes, to be cast into the Gehenna of fire, where their worm is not deceasing and the fire is not going out. For everyone will be salted with fire, and every sacrifice will be salted with salt...Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another."

In Mark 9:42-49, quoted above, Jesus is using the symbol of Gehenna to describe the coming judgment of the powerful Day of the Lord's indignation, when He will be unveiled from heaven in flaming fire, dealing out vengeance on the wicked (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). This accords with the prophecy in Isaiah 66:22-24.

"...all mankind will come and bow down before Me," says Yahweh. "And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against Me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind."

(NIV)

"Wheresoever the corpse shall be, there will the vultures be gathered."

(Matthew 24:28; also Revelation 19:17-21)

In light of the New Testament, these prophecies, especially the Isaiah text, are to be understood figuratively or spiritually when applied to the judgment in the age to come.

The Fire of the Law

So on the one level, the Gehenna of fire was a natural fire, an incinerator, indicative of shame and contempt. In most of the instances where the word Gehenna is used in the New Testament, it is describing the judgment of the Day of the Lord. But on another level, it is describing the figurative fire of God's Law working out its righteousness and justice. Jesus said that everyone shall be salted with fire. This is the fire of the Divine Law destroying sin. The fire may be figurative, but it is very real. It is a spiritual fire, on the highest level, because the law itself is spiritual (Romans 7:14).

"Is not My word like fire," declares Yahweh, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?"

(Jeremiah 23:29 NIV)

“For He will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap.”

(Malachi 3:2 NIV)

“...and His eyes as a flame of fire”

(Revelation 1:15)

Now if anyone is building on this foundation gold and silver, precious stones, wood, grass, straw, each one's work will become apparent, for the Day will make it evident, for it is being revealed by fire. And the fire, it will be testing each one's work - what kind it is.

(1 Corinthians 3:12-13)

...being sorrowed by various trials, that the testing of your faith, much more precious than gold which is perishing, yet, being tested by fire, may be found for applause and glory and honour at the unveiling of Jesus Christ...

(1 Peter 1:7)

These few scriptures will suffice to show that the ultimate fire of God is His righteous Law. Not only will everyone be salted with fire, but Jesus also said that every sacrifice will be salted with salt. Now we all know that common salt is a preservative and an antiseptic, and it is also a seasoning for food. In the Law of Moses, every grain offering, also termed a sacrifice, had to be seasoned with salt (Leviticus 2:13). The salt represents the goodness of God's Law and character. Jesus said that His followers are to be the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13). We are to be living sacrifices, burnt offerings with a pleasing aroma, salted with the salt of goodness, grace and peace, consumed by the righteous fire of God’s Spirit.

“...present your bodies a sacrifice, living, holy, well pleasing to God, your logical divine service...”

(Romans 12:1-2; also Ephesians 5:2 and Philippians 4:18)

“...offer up spiritual sacrifices, most acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

(1 Peter 2:5)

“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt...”

(Colossians 4:6 NIV)

"Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another."

(Mark 9:50)

But before we can truly have salt in ourselves, we need to be salted with the fire of God's Truth. The disciples received this baptism of fire at Pentecost at the coming of the Holy Spirit. The presence of God as a consuming fire was represented in the flames of fire that rested upon each of them (Acts 2:1-4). The giving of the Law at Sinai was begun in the Hebrew month of Sivan, when God appeared to Israel on the mountain as a fire and spoke to them, instilling them with fear at the sight and sound of His Glory (Exodus 19:1-2, 16-19; 20:18-20). Yet at Pentecost, in the month of Sivan of 33 AD, this same fire of God came to dwell within the disciples of Jesus who were gathered at the temple courts, the house of God, waiting for the power from on high (Acts 1:8; 2:1-4).

This pentecostal fire, though, as opposed to the fire of Sinai, was in accord with the New Covenant that brings life, and not in accord with the Old Covenant that brings death. The pouring out of the spiritual blessings of this New Covenant was due to the recent Sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, Who fulfilled all the old types and shadows of the Old Covenant rituals.

Eternal Punishment or Eonian Chastening?

Now over time, through a distortion of the truth foisted upon the people by the powers of Christendom, and aided by faulty translations of the Bible, Gehenna and its ‘eternal’ fire became synonymous with the ‘eternal hell of the Lake of Fire’ mentioned in the book of Revelation (Revelation 20:10, 13-15). In Revelation it states that all the wicked and unbelieving are cast into this Fire after the Great White Throne Judgment of ALL humanity. They are not found written in the Book of Life and so therefore they will not be given age-abiding life in the kingdom of God.

Jesus is ultimately describing this judgment in Matthew 25:31-46 in the parable of the Sheep and the Goats, which we shall consider in more detail later in the book. His brethren, the Bride/Body of Christ, are already with Him. This is because they have already experienced the special First Resurrection and Transformation at the return of Christ, as we learn from Revelation 20 and other prophecies. Then all the nations are gathered before Him for judgment.

They are judged in accordance with their acts as to whether they have shown acts of loving kindness to His brethren or not. Those who have shown basic love and kindness to the servants of God are called the righteous sheep, and they are accepted into the kingdom and given eonian life. The rest are the unrighteous goats, and they are cursed and thrown into the eonian Lake of Fire, which was originally prepared for the Adversary and his messengers.

“Go from Me, you cursed, into the eonian fire...”

(Matthew 25:41)

“And these shall be coming away into eonian chastening...”

(25:46)

Now the majority of Bibles read ‘everlasting fire’ and ‘eternal punishment’ in the above verses of Matthew 25. But the Greek word aeonian (transliterated into English as eonian) does not mean unending, and the phrase ‘eons (ages) of the eons (ages)’ used in relation to the Lake of Fire in Revelation does not mean ‘forever and ever.’ For the correct translation of the words usually rendered eternal and forever and ever see The Concordant Version.

Also, the Greek word kolasis in verse 46 is describing chastening or discipline, not necessarily punishment. Chastening carries the thought of correction for the benefit of the one undergoing it. Punishment has more to do with the satisfaction of fulfilling the penal code.

So already we can see that these unrighteous ones are to receive chastening in a spiritual fire that was originally prepared for Satan, a spiritual being. It is described as eonian because this fire belongs to the eons (or ages) of time, beyond the horizon of time as we now know it. It is age-abiding, not eternal, so therefore it will end. God's justice has a time limit. This Lake of Fire is the ultimate Gehenna of Fire.

“the Lord...is keeping the unjust for chastening in the day of judging...”

(2 Peter 2:9)

This fire of chastening shall also apply to Satan and his messengers, for whom it was originally prepared.

“For if God spares not sinning messengers, but thrusting them into the gloomy caverns of Tartarus, gives them up to be kept for chastening judging...”

(2 Peter 2:4)

This text gives us the other Greek word usually mistranslated as hell - Tartarus. There are two other passages in the New Testament that seem to be related to this one (1 Peter 3:18-20 and Jude 6). In putting these scriptures together, we are told about a group of stubborn spirits or sinning messengers who are bound in a place called Tartarus because of their involvement in the early downfall of humanity, in the era before the Flood, but we are not told exactly what they did. It was to these spirits in jail that Christ went sometime after His resurrection to proclaim to them His victory and exaltation, mentioned in 1 Peter 3:19-20.

Jude 6 is the most revealing though:

'Besides, messengers who keep not their own sovereignty, but leave their own habitation, He has kept in imperceptible bonds under gloom for the judging of the great day.'

So from these scriptures we can see that some of these stubborn spirits abandoned their God-given position of sovereignty and their God-given home in the celestials, and sinned during the era before the Flood. This of course is an abomination to God, so they are confined with invisible chains in the gloomy caverns or jail of Tartarus until the day of their chastening judgment. Then they too will enter the eonian fire. But why is it called the Lake of Fire in the book of Revelation?

The Lake of Fire

The vision of Revelation is full of spiritual signs and symbols that are deeply rooted in the Hebrew Scriptures, especially as it relates to the Temple services. Outside the Temple of Solomon was the brazen Sea. This was a huge bowl of water for the priests to wash themselves for their ceremonial cleansing (1 Kings 7:23-26; 2 Chronicles 4:6). Now in the New Testament we read about the Sea of Galilee, which is really a Lake. It is describing a huge expanse of water. So we can already see that the Lake of Fire is related to the brazen Sea as a means of cleansing or purification. Now let us look at the fire element.

We've already established earlier that the fire of God is His Law, His justice, His righteousness. The Greek word for fire is pur from which we get such words as purify and purge. Natural fire has this effect on materials that can stand the test of fire, such as gold and silver. These metals can be purified by fire to get rid of all the dross, the unwanted, impure alloys. So we have two witnesses, from nature and Scripture, to show us that fire cleanses and purifies, and so does water. In the Lake of Fire we have the picture of both of these – fire and water - in a powerful, figurative image as a double witness.

In relation to this, the Lake of Fire is also described as ‘the Lake of Fire burning with sulphur (or brimstone)’ (Revelation 14:10; 19:20). Interestingly enough, the ancient Greeks used sulphur in the rituals of the gods as a symbol of divine cleansing. The Greek word used here for sulphur is theion which is the same word translated ‘divine,’ which comes from the Greek root word used for God or Deity. So even in the sulphur we have the picture of divine cleansing. Even within the ancient beliefs of the idolatrous nations there was the awareness that fire is a purifier.

But sadly, like the ‘hell-fire doctrine,’ they interpreted this truth in a fleshly, carnal manner, believing that literal, natural fire cleanses humans – hence they would sacrifice humans in fire to appease the gods! And tragically, the powers of Christendom also went on to imitate this horrific belief by burning people at the stake. Their reasoning must have been 'God's going to do this forever, so we might as well begin it now, and cleanse the heretics!'

In Daniel 7:9-10 we have another vision that is describing the final judgment scene given in Revelation. Here in Daniel the throne of God is described very graphically as a throne of fire with a River of Fire flowing out from before God. This is another figure for the Lake of Fire. It is describing the purifying, chastening judgments of God's Law during the final age. But this is not torture in a literal fire and it will not be unending. It will last until the consummation of the ages is complete, when death will be abolished and ALL will be saved, vivified and reconciled to God (1 Corinthians 15:22-28; Colossians 1:20).

In God's sight, the legal transaction for this glorious ultimate occurred in 33 AD when Christ became the ultimate once for all Sacrifice for ALL sin during His First Advent and mission. The price for Adam's initial sin, which then brought death and all other sin to the whole race, has been fully paid for. The mission has been accomplished, finished, paid in full (John 19:30; Colossians 2:14-15). Christ has purchased the whole field of the world and redeemed mankind, so that all belongs to Him, even those held in Death and Hades (Revelation 1:18). In this light, even now the ends of the ages, the conclusion and consummation of the ages, has already arrived (1 Corinthians 10:11; Hebrews 9:26; 1 Corinthians 15:24).

The Second Death

But you may be asking, “The Lake of Fire is called the Second Death in Revelation 20:14, and death is a sleep.”

“And death and the unseen (hades) were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death - the lake of fire.”

So what does this mean? Well, bear in mind that the First Death, along with Hades, is metaphorically thrown into this fire as well. All of mankind are experiencing the First Death right now, which was passed on to us through Adam (Romans 5:12). But Jesus has paid the full price for Adam's sin so that one day, ALL MANKIND SHALL BE MADE ALIVE (1 Corinthians 15:22). Christ is the Saviour of ALL mankind and He will eventually save ALL mankind, but there is a process in which this shall occur. See Appendix: The Resurrection Order.

Yet even now, in a figurative sense, all who do not know Christ are dead in their sins. Paul reveals throughout his letters that sin and death are interconnected, that our present bodies of flesh and blood are mortal, that is, they are dying. Only those in Christ are given life by the Spirit of God. Everyone on this earth is born into slavery, slaving for the masters of Sin and Death, which in turn is under the jurisdiction of the spiritual adversary, Satan. Only believers in Christ are redeemed from this slavery to Sin and Death, and rescued from the jurisdiction of Satan, by becoming slaves of God through Christ instead.

Yet throughout Romans chapters 7 and 8, Paul talks of a death that we all experience while we are still alive! This is not a contradiction. He is telling us that our mortal flesh has a law at work within its members that causes sin and death to operate in us. This is the flesh that we have to put to death or crucify daily if we are to grow into Sons of God, that is, spiritually mature men and women of God. The Old Humanity breeds Death, and the New Humanity breeds Life.

So the Second Death is related to the First Death but they are not exactly the same. The First Death will no longer exist because it is thrown into the Lake of Fire, which is the Second Death, but all those who are not in Christ at that time (that is, those who are not written in the Scroll of Life) shall be raised and judged as the dead. They will not be granted immortality or age-abiding life at that time, so they will not be enjoying an allotment in the Kingdom of God. In relation to the true immortal Life of the New Humanity, they are figuratively dead!

The Second Death, the Lake of Fire, is describing the chastening judging of God for those who will have to serve their sentence in that final age in mortal bodies, being in the presence of God on the New Earth but not in the Kingdom itself, which is the New Jerusalem, the dwelling place of the Temple of God, the Bride/Body of Christ, the Church (Ecclesia) of God, who shall be ruling the earth as kings and priests after the order of Melchisedek. But unlike in this Old Creation, there will be no more doom or destruction, or the actual death state itself.

These things are being described symbolically in Revelation 21-22. These symbols are not essentially describing a physical locality (as is often taught) but they are describing a condition or state of being. The New Jerusalem is not so much a place but a state of being - that is, immortality; the kingdom of God. In the same way, the Lake of Fire is not so much a particular location but a state of being - that is, the Second Death; the judgment of God in continued mortality.

Even now, God dwells within a portion of sinful mankind by His Holy Spirit and He is conciliated to the whole of humanity in this Administration of Grace. All of this is possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit was given on the Day of Pentecost 33 AD, and the two loaves of bread made with yeast (or leaven) that were used on that day as a wave offering of the Firstfruits of the wheat harvest are a symbol of the true Christian Church, the Joint Body (Bread) of Christ, made up of leavened (sinful) Jews and Gentiles in whom God dwells by His Spirit (Leviticus 23:15-21; 1 Corinthians 5:8; 10:17).

In the final Age of the New Creation, the Holy of the Holies, the Age of the Ages, God shall dwell with ALL humanity, and grace and righteousness shall reign in life through the Man, Christ Jesus, and His Wife, the celestial Israel of God. The New Creation will bring Life to ALL, as the Old Creation brought Death to ALL. Now this is Good News!

Justice will be Done

Yet the majority of humanity will be outside the kingdom of God, as the peoples and nations on the New Earth, along with the Adversary and his messengers, for whom the eonian fire was initially prepared for (Matthew 25:41). All of these will be experiencing the Lake of Fire, which is the Second Death, the Gehenna of fire, where they shall be salted with the fire of God (Mark 9:47-49; Revelation 21:8; 22:15).

This is the best way, metaphorically speaking, to describe the chastening judging of unbelievers in that final age of consummation (Matthew 25:46; Daniel 12:2). There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth in this place of outer darkness, for the people shall be face to face with themselves before God in flesh and blood bodies, having to undergo the justice of God because they refused to be forgiven by the blood of the Lamb. They will pay back all they owe for they were unmerciful and unforgiving, and the measure they used shall be measured to them, and as they judged so will they be condemned, and by their words they will be convicted (Matthew 8:12; 13:42; 22:13; 25:30; 18:21-35; 12:36-37; 7:1-2).

They shall receive graded chastening after being judged in accordance with their acts in this life, in accordance with the Divine Law of God manifested at the universal court of the Great White Throne, which shall bring affliction and torment to their souls as they undergo the fiery justice of God until they also learn obedience to the King (Matthew 11:22, 24; 18:34-35; Romans 2:9). Christ and His saints, the kings of the earth, shall reign over them till all His enemies are under His authority, bringing healing to those who are injured by the Second Death (Revelation 2:26-28; 3:21; 22:2-5).

This whole process of the Consummation, that of bringing life to all, shall be complete at the very end of the ages, when the last enemy, Death, shall be completely abolished; when ALL those who have been experiencing the Second Death will have been given immortality also, and they shall be reconciled to God as Father, so that God may be ALL in ALL (1 Corinthians 15:24-28; Colossians 1:19-20). ALL creation shall bow before, and acclaim, Jesus Christ as Lord of all, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11; Revelation 5:13). Then Christ shall hand over the perfected kingdom to His Father.

The Stubborn Ones

Both Jesus, and Paul especially, make it clear that the unbelieving, unrighteous sons of stubbornness shall not enjoy the allotment of the kingdom. Instead, they shall experience the divine justice and indignation of God for eonian chastening in outer darkness.

"...God, Who will be paying each one in accord with his acts:...yet to those of faction, and stubborn, indeed, as to the truth, yet persuaded to injustice, indignation and fury, affliction and distress, on every human soul which is effecting evil..."

(Romans 2:8-9)

"...yet he who is stubborn as to the Son shall not be seeing life, but the indignation of God shall be remaining on him."

(John 3:36)

"And these shall be coming away into eonian chastening, yet the just into eonian life."

(Matthew 25:46)

"...And, being indignant, his lord gives him up to the tormentors (jailers) till he may pay all he is owing him. Thus shall My heavenly Father also be doing to you, if each one should not be pardoning his brother, from your hearts."

(Matthew 18:34-35)

"I am saying to you, 'I don't know you or where you come from! Withdraw from me, all workers of injustice!' There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you are seeing Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out."

(Luke 13:27-28)

"And you, being dead to your offences and sins, in which once you walked, in accord with the eon of this world, in accord with the chief of the jurisdiction of the air (or atmosphere), the spirit now operating in the sons of stubbornness..."

(Ephesians 2:1-2)

"For this you perceive, knowing that no paramour (or male prostitute) at all or unclean or greedy person, who is an idolater, has any enjoyment of the allotment in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one be seducing you with empty words, for because of these things the indignation of God is coming on the sons of stubbornness. Do not, then, become joint partakers with them, for you were once darkness, yet now you are light in the Lord."

(Ephesians 5:5-8)

"Deaden, then, your members that are on the earth: prostitution (or unlawful sexual acts), uncleanness, passion, evil desire and greed, which is idolatry, because of which the indignation of God is coming on the sons of stubbornness - among whom you also once walked, when you lived in these things."

(Colossians 3:5-7)

"Or are you not aware that the unjust shall not be enjoying the allotment of God's kingdom? Be not deceived. Neither paramours (male prostitutes), nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor catamites (homosexual paedophiles), nor sodomites (practicing homosexuals), nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards; no revilers (those who angrily wound with words or slander), no extortioners (swindlers) shall be enjoying the allotment of God's kingdom. And some of you were these, but you are bathed off, but you are hallowed, but you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

(1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

Now take special notice of this last text. You can't get much clearer than this! Yet tragically, not only is the world full of such things, the whole of Christendom has been, and continues to be, riddled with these things, particularly adulterers and homosexuals, the greedy, thieves and extortioners, including those who are raping the people of God with forced tithing and 'seed-faith gifts.' On the whole, this new Christianity has become a huge money-making machine serving man and money rather than God. People of God, as well as everyone else, be warned, from the words of the King Himself!

"To him who is thirsting I shall be giving of the spring of the water of life gratuitously. He who is conquering shall be enjoying this allotment, and I shall be a God to him and he shall be a son to Me. Yet the timid (or cowardly), and unbelievers, and the abominable, and murderers, and paramours, and enchanters, and idolaters, and all the false (hypocrites) - their part is in the lake burning with fire and sulphur, which is the second death...Outside (of the New Jerusalem, the kingdom of God) are curs, and enchanters, and paramours, and murderers, and idolaters, and everyone fabricating and fondling falsehood (liars and hypocrites)."

(Revelation 21:6-8; 22:15)

The Sons of the Kingdom

This should instill the fear of God into us all – and the fear of God is something that is severely lacking in the world, and especially within the Church. Arrogance, immaturity, irreverence, religious entertainment passing as the supernatural power of God, lies, deceit, trickery, swindling, the flaunting of the gifts of the Spirit like some kind of stage act, seeking the blessings of God with monetary gifts, etc, etc! The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10; 15:33), because while we are in these bodies of sinful flesh, we need the fear of God, which comes from knowing His awesome power and holiness, to keep us from sinning.

This was one of the reasons why God manifested His power to Israel and gave them the judgments of the Law (Exodus 20:20; Deuteronomy 6:13). Nevertheless, this positive, healthy, reverential fear should in turn lead to spiritual maturity, and then the knowledge of the love of God as our Father will cast out all fear of judging and condemnation as we manifest the character of God as His sons (1 John 4:17-18).

The original plan of God in relation to the nation of Israel was for them to be a holy nation, a special people, a kingdom of priests - and that plan is still yet to be fulfilled (Exodus 19:3-6). We now know from the New Testament that this special kingdom of royal priests goes beyond the faithful remnant of Israel itself, known as the Circumcision, the original Bride of Yahweh. It now includes all believers in Christ Jesus out of all nations, known as the Uncircumcision, the Complement of the nations (or fullness of the Gentiles), who together with the remnant from Israel form the Bride/Body of Christ, the Wife of the Lamb, the Ecclesia (or Church) of God. This Celestial Israel, the New Jerusalem, is the Kingdom of God, the kingdom of royal priests, who will rule the earth and the heavens and all nations in the future ages.

These are the Wheat, the sons of the kingdom, the ones who bear fruit to God. These are the Overcomers, the sons of God who will be manifested to the world at Christ's return.

I have taken the time to go into these things in quite some detail at this point so as to lay the groundwork for the rest of the parables. When it comes to explaining the rest of them in the following pages, the content will be somewhat briefer for the foundation has now been laid.

Copyright © Gerry Watts 2004; revised 2007

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