When we were last together we were studying the Parable of the Wedding Feast (Matt. 22:1-14). We left off with the part that describes the end of the world, when the King (God) appears in the Wedding Hall to see the guests that have arrived to participate in the Marriage of the Lamb...Rev. 19:7. The King spots something out of place.
When the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment...Matt 22:11. We know the man is in Heaven, because he wandered into the Wedding Hall - so he must be wearing the Garment of Salvation. Why is this garment not enough to attend the Marriage of the Lamb? What did the King say to the man who is not properly attired for the Marriage of the Lamb?
So he said to him, "Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?" And he was speechless...Matt. 22:12. The man was shocked to find out that he needed a wedding garment in order to attend the Marriage of the Lamb! When he studied the Bible, while he lived on the earth, didn't he ever read the Parable of the Wedding Feast? Did he ever hear a pastor preach a sermon about a Wedding Garment, or that it is the reward Jesus brings with Him the day He returns?
Dear reader, did you ever hear a sermon preached on this subject? No, I didn't either. Before any of us stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ, at the end of the world, we must be prepared to participate in the Marriage of the Lamb. In this prophetic parable, Jesus calls it a Wedding Garment, while the Prophet Isaiah calls it the Robe of Righteousness...Is. 61.10. The Robe of Righteousness is worn over the Garment of Salvation.
In other words the garment is issued first - while we live on the earth. The robe is issued to us at the Judgment Seat of Christ. But, the issuance of the robe is contingent on the the house (work) we build for the Lord, while we live on the earth. We must make sure our house (work) does not burn up on that Day. Regarding that Day, the Apostle Paul said to believers about the foundation of salvation built by Christ...if anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward...if anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire...I Cor. 3:14-15.
Why did the King (God) call the man without a Wedding Garment - friend? The word friend in the original Greek language is hetairos meaning: clansman; tribe. By calling this man friend, God was acknowledging him as part of His heavenly family - tribe. But since he was not wearing a Wedding Garment he could not stay in the Wedding Hall and participate in the Marriage of the Lamb. What happens to this man?
Then the king said to the servants, "Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth?...Matt. 22:13. God called His servants (attendants) to bind him, hand and foot, remove him from the Wedding Hall, and cast him into Outer Darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth in this place called Outer Darkness, because this is the loss a believer will suffer when his house burns up at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
How do we define the symbolism - bind him hand and foot - in this verse? It symbolizes that when this believer stood before Jesus at the Great White Throne judgment, he did not present...the image of the heavenly Man...I Cor. 15:49. The house he built on the earth did not honor and glorify Jesus Christ, it honored and glorified himself. His mind was focused on worldly pleasures, rather than on the spiritual pleasures of the Lord. He wasted his life, squandering his talents, so he reflected the material world at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
I was told by pastors and Bible teachers that all three places in the Bible referring to outer darkness are defined as Hell, Hades, or Lake of Fire. In other words, damnation. When I finally looked up the original Greek language for these words, I found a different understanding.
The word outer is exoteros meaning: exterior. The word darkness is skotos meaning: obscurity; shadiness (darkness of error); adumbration (outline). Outer Darkness is a place on the exterior of Heaven, far away from the brightness of the Wedding Hall, where the Marriage of the Lamb takes place.
If a believer finds himself in Outer Darkness, rather than attending the Marriage of the Lamb there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth - sobbing and wailing - as he realizes, albeit too late, that he was not properly attired to enter the Wedding Hall. For many are called, but few are chosen...Matt. 22:14. This is the last verse of the Parable of the Wedding Feast. Born again believers in Christ are invited to attend the Marriage of the Lamb, but few are selected to enter the Wedding Hall.
It is obvious that the Wedding Hall is a significant location. According to the Old Testament, what does it symbolize? Stay tuned...
God's sheep question the doctrines of men...sheeple follow without question~~~
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