Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth

There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 24:51).

In the analogy that Jesus used to encourage us to be faithful in serving Him in His Kingdom on earth (the church), He spoke about the faithful servant and the unfaithful servant. The faithful servant is rewarded, the unfaithful servant is condemned, cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. This analogy is in reference to the judgment Jesus Christ will carry out when He returns in the 2nd coming. It is in the context of our service, or lack thereof, on earth until the Lord returns.

Again, follow the sequence of events yet to be fulfilled in this age. We are, at this time, waiting for the Lord Jesus to physically appear in the skies to take His church out of the earth. That’s called the rapture. Immediately following the rapture there will be a 7-year period of Tribulation in which Satan, through the Antichrist and False Prophet, will deceive the nations and attempt to kill all Jews and Christians and destroy everything that God has created. It will be like the 3rd Reich and Communist Russia and China all over again, but infinitely worse.

When the Tribulation has reached its climax (7 years), Jesus will physically return and throw the Antichrist and False Prophet into the Lake of Fire and kill all who follow them (Revelation 19:11-21). He will then imprison Satan and his demons in the abyss, set up His Kingdom on earth (the Millennial Kingdom), restore the earth to its original state, and reign for 1,000 years. After that 1,000 years has ended, Satan and his demons will be released from the abyss. They will mobilize against Jerusalem, the capital of the Millennial Kingdom, and will be immediately destroyed. The earth and the universe will then be destroyed, the ungodly and unrepentant people since the days of Adam will be resurrected from their place in hell, stand before the Great White Throne of God, judged, and thrown into the Lake of Fire. God will then create a new heaven, a new earth, and a new Jerusalem (Revelation 20 - 22).

What is the ‘weeping and gnashing of teeth’? It is a metaphor for suffering in hell and in the Lake of Fire. Those who are in hell right now are suffering unimaginable torment (Luke 16:19-25). They are there because they have unrepentantly disobeyed God (Old Testament) and rejected Jesus Christ (New Testament through the end of the Tribulation). They will be resurrected from hell, receive an eternal, resurrected physical body, be judged, and thrown into the Lake of Fire to suffer there forever. Again, the suffering of torment in hell now, and in the Lake of Fire forever, is beyond our comprehension. The only way Jesus could describe it so that we could understand it is continual ‘weeping and gnashing of teeth’ - the pain of suffering will be that horrific and more.

“Lord Jesus, help us to grasp the horror of hell so that we may do all we can to bear witness to others of this terrible place. May we tell everyone of Your power, grace, and mercy to save them from eternal damnation. To Your honor and glory, and to the salvation of the lost I ask, Amen.”

Pastor