I really am puzzled. It seems to me that even though it is a parable there must be some connection to the marriage of the lamb. How does anyone get there without a proper wedding garment? Awaiting further understanding.
According to Ken's interpretation, Gad relates an account of a pre-Tribulation judgment where Satan accuses the Raptured saints of sin, and a figure that is clearly Jesus commands him to be silent. At the end of this judgment, Satan is given the reprobates to do as he likes with them, which he does (probably during the Tribulation). To answer your question, if Satan is present at the granting of eternal life to the Bride, according to Gad, might he also be present as an unwelcome guest at the wedding supper of the Lamb? We know that Satan will be bound for a thousand years during the Millennial Kingdom, and the guest who comes without wedding clothes is taken and bound and carried out. Without more to go on, we can only guess, but it's possible the accounts of Satan being bound and the uninvited wedding guest being bound may refer to the same event. Does that make sense?
Well, here's a thought: the parables in Matthew and Luke are about wedding guests, not about the bride. Let's consider the other option, that this wedding feast is just after the Second Coming, so it's on earth, and the survivors of Israel are invited. It's a little confusing that Jesus speaks of it as the kingdom of Heaven, but there may be a merging or continuation of that Kingdom when He returns to earth with His bride. Who might sneak in with the repentant remnant and the surviving and believing Gentiles? A mortal who had not yet been judged. Then we have to consider if the wedding feast is perhaps the Feast of Tabernacles, and if the judgment comes after the feast. A further reading of the Song of Songs may be a good choice for study, and the lovely article below cast light on the subject and may be helpful. There's definitely more digging to be done. It's been a very busy week so I haven't had time yet, but I am very interested in what this parable means. Thank you for asking about it.
Tammrae: Thank you! This was encouraging. Let me explain why. 5-6 years ago a friend challenged my ignorance of the scriptures that relate to the Lord’s second coming. He was correct. I was ignorant. Like many I thought the issue was fraught with confusion and speculation and so was reluctant to immerse myself in a topic for which there were no definitive answers. At least that is what I had been told - often by persons for whom I had respect. But - I had been challenged, so I dove in.
I set some ground rules for myself. 1) I would search both the old an new testaments for any scriptures that related to the second coming and underline them in red. 2) I would totally ignore anything anybody else had written or said. No podcast, no books, no conferences, no preachers. I wanted to be sure that the only data I permitted to influence me was only that which came from scripture. Since I had some biblical knowledge, I cannot claim I was entirely successful, but that was my goal.
Truthfully, I expected that when I had completed my study I would be confused. That’s what I had been told. But I did honestly ask the Lord to give me insight and understanding as he had done for Daniel.
The most amazing thing happened. Right before my eyes a beautiful mosaic began to unfold. Even as I write just now, it causes chills up and down my spine. From Ezra to Revelation the detailed and never contradictory picture that takes shape is miraculous. I have always had confidence in the word of God, but this experience has multiplied it ten fold. I will be grateful from now to eternity.
Back to your Substack. As I read it I understood that your understanding meshes perfectly (in great detail) with the understanding I have been given. I rarely talk with anyone about these issues. Most are not interested, so it is very encouraging for me to discover a “like mind” taught by the same Spirit.
Thank you so much for sharing your profoundly beautiful experience with the Scriptures and Holy Spirit to give you understanding. What an amazing discipline, and such riches as your reward. I'm so glad that we see a similar picture and perfect narrative. Blessings on your walk, sister!
I have wondered, too. So I pulled up every reference to "gnashing" in BLB. Six are in Matthew and one is in Luke. The context beginning in Matt. 21 is Jesus entering Jerusalem and going to the Temple, where He is questioned by the chief priests and elders. He tells many parables and the one you cite is among them. All the prior parables from ch. 21 are directed at the spiritual leaders of Judah, so I tend to think this one is, too.*
The most important part is the removal of the intruder. There are two judgments for the wicked--the lake of fire, and "perdition" which is variously translated "cut off" or "perished," destroyed like a smashed clay pot. The Greek word for "outer" in "outer darkness" is exoteros, meaning outside or off the earth. It sounds like space to me, not Gehenna, which is the lake of fire located southwest of Mt. Zion, where the refuse of the Temple sacrifices were once thrown, where children are sacrificed to Molech, and which will become a valley of slaughter and a wilderness refuge forever (Isaiah 34). That's not the fate of the wrongly dressed wedding guest. He is cast into outer darkness from "the kingdom of Heaven." Out into space, where there is no light...?
Matt 22:2 NKJV "The kingdom of heaven" is a reference to the Rapture of the church and the 7 years in Heaven during the Tribulation. Therefore I wonder if the parable is about a Jew who appears to be Messianic, and is allowed to come up with the church until the Bema seat judgment, where we are judged on our deeds for the Kingdom, "whether good or bad." (2Cor 5:10) Perhaps this parable is a warning to Messianic Jews, to be sincere and truthful and not deal in deception, even if it wins souls for Christ. I can think of one prophecy teacher that might apply to, but there are several
*Another parable that mentions weeping and gnashing:
Matt 8:12 NKJV The "sons of the kingdom" clearly refers to the Jews.
In Luke 14, the same parable of the wedding feast is told, and it is followed by verses on the cost of being a disciple (everything, nothing held back), and ends with an enigmatic reference to what seems to be a contemporary proverb of the time: Can salt be made salty again?
GotQuestions.org says this: '4) Yet others think Jesus was referring to a saying of the time: “Can salt lose its saltiness?” It’s a rhetorical question because salt can’t become less salty. True disciples of Jesus cannot lose their saltiness. They are new creations and completely changed. Someone who is an imposter cannot become salty again. The imposters are to be “thrown out and trampled underfoot” because they have no effectiveness.'
So it seems an imposter might sneak into Heaven and be found out, and made an example of. That's what I get from it. Let me know what you think!
I really am puzzled. It seems to me that even though it is a parable there must be some connection to the marriage of the lamb. How does anyone get there without a proper wedding garment? Awaiting further understanding.
I had another thought on this today, after watching Ken Johnson's video on chapter 14 of the Book of Gad last week.
https://youtu.be/c6vElghmJ8Y
According to Ken's interpretation, Gad relates an account of a pre-Tribulation judgment where Satan accuses the Raptured saints of sin, and a figure that is clearly Jesus commands him to be silent. At the end of this judgment, Satan is given the reprobates to do as he likes with them, which he does (probably during the Tribulation). To answer your question, if Satan is present at the granting of eternal life to the Bride, according to Gad, might he also be present as an unwelcome guest at the wedding supper of the Lamb? We know that Satan will be bound for a thousand years during the Millennial Kingdom, and the guest who comes without wedding clothes is taken and bound and carried out. Without more to go on, we can only guess, but it's possible the accounts of Satan being bound and the uninvited wedding guest being bound may refer to the same event. Does that make sense?
Well, here's a thought: the parables in Matthew and Luke are about wedding guests, not about the bride. Let's consider the other option, that this wedding feast is just after the Second Coming, so it's on earth, and the survivors of Israel are invited. It's a little confusing that Jesus speaks of it as the kingdom of Heaven, but there may be a merging or continuation of that Kingdom when He returns to earth with His bride. Who might sneak in with the repentant remnant and the surviving and believing Gentiles? A mortal who had not yet been judged. Then we have to consider if the wedding feast is perhaps the Feast of Tabernacles, and if the judgment comes after the feast. A further reading of the Song of Songs may be a good choice for study, and the lovely article below cast light on the subject and may be helpful. There's definitely more digging to be done. It's been a very busy week so I haven't had time yet, but I am very interested in what this parable means. Thank you for asking about it.
https://free.messianicbible.com/feature/ancient-jewish-wedding-customs-and-yeshuas-second-coming/
Tammrae: Thank you! This was encouraging. Let me explain why. 5-6 years ago a friend challenged my ignorance of the scriptures that relate to the Lord’s second coming. He was correct. I was ignorant. Like many I thought the issue was fraught with confusion and speculation and so was reluctant to immerse myself in a topic for which there were no definitive answers. At least that is what I had been told - often by persons for whom I had respect. But - I had been challenged, so I dove in.
I set some ground rules for myself. 1) I would search both the old an new testaments for any scriptures that related to the second coming and underline them in red. 2) I would totally ignore anything anybody else had written or said. No podcast, no books, no conferences, no preachers. I wanted to be sure that the only data I permitted to influence me was only that which came from scripture. Since I had some biblical knowledge, I cannot claim I was entirely successful, but that was my goal.
Truthfully, I expected that when I had completed my study I would be confused. That’s what I had been told. But I did honestly ask the Lord to give me insight and understanding as he had done for Daniel.
The most amazing thing happened. Right before my eyes a beautiful mosaic began to unfold. Even as I write just now, it causes chills up and down my spine. From Ezra to Revelation the detailed and never contradictory picture that takes shape is miraculous. I have always had confidence in the word of God, but this experience has multiplied it ten fold. I will be grateful from now to eternity.
Back to your Substack. As I read it I understood that your understanding meshes perfectly (in great detail) with the understanding I have been given. I rarely talk with anyone about these issues. Most are not interested, so it is very encouraging for me to discover a “like mind” taught by the same Spirit.
God bless you.
Thank you so much for sharing your profoundly beautiful experience with the Scriptures and Holy Spirit to give you understanding. What an amazing discipline, and such riches as your reward. I'm so glad that we see a similar picture and perfect narrative. Blessings on your walk, sister!
Tammrae. What are your thoughts about the meaning of Matthew 22:11-14? Thank you.
I have wondered, too. So I pulled up every reference to "gnashing" in BLB. Six are in Matthew and one is in Luke. The context beginning in Matt. 21 is Jesus entering Jerusalem and going to the Temple, where He is questioned by the chief priests and elders. He tells many parables and the one you cite is among them. All the prior parables from ch. 21 are directed at the spiritual leaders of Judah, so I tend to think this one is, too.*
The most important part is the removal of the intruder. There are two judgments for the wicked--the lake of fire, and "perdition" which is variously translated "cut off" or "perished," destroyed like a smashed clay pot. The Greek word for "outer" in "outer darkness" is exoteros, meaning outside or off the earth. It sounds like space to me, not Gehenna, which is the lake of fire located southwest of Mt. Zion, where the refuse of the Temple sacrifices were once thrown, where children are sacrificed to Molech, and which will become a valley of slaughter and a wilderness refuge forever (Isaiah 34). That's not the fate of the wrongly dressed wedding guest. He is cast into outer darkness from "the kingdom of Heaven." Out into space, where there is no light...?
Matt 22:2 NKJV "The kingdom of heaven" is a reference to the Rapture of the church and the 7 years in Heaven during the Tribulation. Therefore I wonder if the parable is about a Jew who appears to be Messianic, and is allowed to come up with the church until the Bema seat judgment, where we are judged on our deeds for the Kingdom, "whether good or bad." (2Cor 5:10) Perhaps this parable is a warning to Messianic Jews, to be sincere and truthful and not deal in deception, even if it wins souls for Christ. I can think of one prophecy teacher that might apply to, but there are several
*Another parable that mentions weeping and gnashing:
Matt 8:12 NKJV The "sons of the kingdom" clearly refers to the Jews.
In Luke 14, the same parable of the wedding feast is told, and it is followed by verses on the cost of being a disciple (everything, nothing held back), and ends with an enigmatic reference to what seems to be a contemporary proverb of the time: Can salt be made salty again?
GotQuestions.org says this: '4) Yet others think Jesus was referring to a saying of the time: “Can salt lose its saltiness?” It’s a rhetorical question because salt can’t become less salty. True disciples of Jesus cannot lose their saltiness. They are new creations and completely changed. Someone who is an imposter cannot become salty again. The imposters are to be “thrown out and trampled underfoot” because they have no effectiveness.'
So it seems an imposter might sneak into Heaven and be found out, and made an example of. That's what I get from it. Let me know what you think!
https://www.gotquestions.org/salt-of-the-earth.html