What is the Outer Darkness? - Bob Wilkin

[eoniansage]

Salvation is a gift. The Kingdom is a reward. No confusion at all. Robert Govett wrote on this 150 years ago.

[kevinhicks]

Praise the lord! I spent a long time reading chapter 25 trying to discern it but just couldn’t so instead I trusted that over time the lord would reveal it to me. And here I am at this video! I love you Lord!!

[darrelhicks]

Psalms 118:8) It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man

[Anteater]

There is only darkness where there is no light.

[craigs]

That's a BIG AMEN Brother Bob! WELL SAID.

[christcrucified]

Right on brother. I agree 100%. Isaiah 60 as well as Revelation chapter 21:24 both show that many people will be "saved" from eternal damnation who do not qualify to live in the New Jerusalem and rule with Christ on His throne. The New Jerusalem is the light of the world. It is much brighter there than in any of the nations of the new earth. It is just like the Sun for the new Earth. That is why the Bible says there will be no need for a sun. The Bible talks about our current existence as being in great darkness. We have a sun that is very far away from us. We have shadows everywhere. Even on our brightest day, it is dark here compared to heaven or even compared to getting closer to the Sun. Saul of Tarsus saw Jesus and said his face was brighter than the Sun. Saul was in such "darkness" here that the light blinded his eyes. The outer darkness refers to those who do not qualify to go to the marriage supper. They are those who will go through the great tribulation as well as those who were unfaithful servants of the Lord. He's not going to throw them in an eternal lake of fire, but they will not qualify to rule with Him for eternity. Rather, they will be ruled over by the faithful overcomers who qualified to sit with Him on His throne. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth which means there will be deep regret because they are disqualified from dwelling in the New Jerusalem and ruling with Christ forevermore. They will not be part of the bride of Christ nor part of His ruling body. They will live in the nations of the New Earth and be ruled over by the ones who did qualify. Isaiah 60 makes this very plain. Isaiah even promised Israel that their rebellious children who had died would be part of the nations of the new earth. They will not live in the New Jerusalem but they will bring treasures to it and visit it.

[SetAside]

Finally, someone gets it!  This guy nailed it.

[acatssoftnose]

So we willing discipline ourselves and each other to become confident before Christ when he appears? How could we ever be before him without shame? We're imperfect creatures.

I thought our confidence was in Christ such that we wouldn't have to experience it on that day?

[cindygroves]

This is the one thing I don't agree with Bob Wilkin about. Isn't the Church (The whole body of Christ) the bride of Christ? So how can part of the bride be not allowed into the wedding?

[wtom]

The outer darkness is NOT hell! The outer darkness refers to the outside area of the banquet hall where unfaithful Christians are excluded from the special joys and special privileges that faithful Christians will be entitled to. In the parable of the Wedding Banquet, faithful, and enduring Christians in this life will celebrate their privilege of RULING and REIGNING with Christ and the joys that come with it in the banquet hall.

A parent may have children that are obedient and well behaved and at the same time have other children in the family that are disobedient, and ill behaved. A special celebration party is coming up where the parent will hand out special and favorite toys and privileges to the ones that have been obedient and well behaved, but the disobedient and ill behaved ones will be excluded from this celebration party and will be banished to their rooms. You can just imagine the response of the disobedient and ill behaved children when they see what kinds of toys and privileges are granted, but they have no part in it. 

The same principle applies in regards to the outer darkness. The outer darkness, again, is NOT talking about hell or the Lake of Fire. It is simply an area within the Kingdom of heaven where the unfaithful, disobedient, and carnal Christians are banned from special joys and privileges that they otherwise could have had part in had they lived their lives on earth in faithfulness, endurance, perseverance, and obedience.  Their eternal salvation is not the issue here. 

People who teach false doctrine like Calvinism, Lordship Salvation, Arminianism, or any works based gospel will of course interpret the "outer darkness" as hell, or the Lake of Fire which in reality is not. 

[lykedady]

I was in outter darkness before. I must have lived and died before previously. I died and immediately knew that i was dead and it wasnt good. I was alone in a black void. It was terrible. I had no body but i was conscious. I couldnt see anything. Even if i had a hand i couldnt see it. Alone in a dark void. I knew that i was dead. So i cried out to God! God please give me another chance! I had no mouth so i thought this. Before i completed that thought, I was coming out of my moms womb. I seen light i was being born. At around age 7 or 8 i remember inspecting my new body and saying to myself, ” hey, not bad.” I am now 46 years old and I have felt God and God has shown me that he is real throughout my life. This is not fiction or a dream. It was real.

[gordonmarshall]

Outer darkness is absolutely horrifying, I've experienced it as a born again christian. Please don't go there, the fear is unbearable. You have to experience it before you can make comments.

[janeroberson]

There is light within a believer in Christ and darkness in one who doesn't believe in Christ.

[colleenc]

It's a literal place! Either separate from or part of hell.

[graceandtruth]

I believe Outer Darkness and Hell are two different things. If there is an unquenchable fire, it won't be dark.

[evalsoftserver]

I experienced Something similar, I olny Told one person Since I had this Dream about 2 decades ago, I was going through intense physic pain having been involved in a near fatal situation, I was sleeping then suddenly I felt like I was in the Blackness of space my Conscience was seperared from, everything Infinitely expanding in, Space and Time and was stretched out and There was Nowhere, I was floating into a Infinitely expanding time and space and I couldn't locate myself as exsisting in any place, I was asleep for about 3 hours but the Experience felt like millions of years was passing by .I thought I was dead or dying the most terrifying experience in my entire life to this day.After this dream I didn't trust no one and I was Angry at God for terrifying me.I still have no explanation for this dream, A Jehovah's witnesses told me that it was the Devil that gave you this dream

[ianthomasyoung]

The Lake of Fire is called the Second Death, in to which Hell and Death are thrown. When is outer darkness called the Second Death? It is not.

[johnpatmos]

Myself and another member have died, gone to the Void and returned to our bodies, resurrected. I think we experienced what Matthew calls the Outer Darkness. We call it The Void. It is a real place...eternal darkness. I wish everyone could know.

[gallantentry]

I don't agree with this teaching either. It rings of legalism!
Bob says that we must be faithful to remain in the light (not be cast into the darkness).
Galatians 2:20 clearly says that we live by the faithfulness of Christ.

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith 'OF' the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

If the believer is ashamed o himself is wrongly focusing on the self and not Christ which would imply some form of legalism and self righteousness. 

I would urge all believers to stop living with self focus and live by Christ's faithfulness. 
We ARE the righteousness of God in Christ! (Romans 10:3)

[TheMorning_Son]

I actually don't agree with him on this one. I actually believe pastor Rokser gives the correct meaning on these passages. .his 5 part video series dealing with outer darkness is on here.