Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, the "exterior darkness" or outer darkness is a place referred to three times in the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and for ...

(8:12, 22:13, and 25:30) into which a person may be "cast out", and where there is "

weeping and gnashing of teeth Gnashing (חרק) of teeth (שנים) appears several times in the Old Testament, including three mentions in Psalms, one in Job and one in Lamentations. Lamentations says, of the Babylonian occupiers of Jerusalem, "שָֽׁרְקוּ֙ וַיַ� ...

". Generally, the outer darkness is thought to be

hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

; however, many Christians associate the outer darkness more generally as a place of separation from

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

or from the metaphorical "wedding banquet" that

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

is expected to have upon his

Second Coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messi ...

New Testament

The phrase first occurs in Jesus' comment concerning the faith of the Centurion of Capernaum: The use of the term ''exterior darkness'' is in

parable of the wedding feast The Parable of the Wedding Feast is one of the parables of Jesus and appears in the New Testament in Luke 14:7–14. It directly precedes the Parable of the Great Banquet in Luke 14:15–24.''Luke'' by Sharon H. Ringe 1995 page 195 In the Gospe ...

(also known as the parable of the marriage of the king's son). In this parable, a king arranged a wedding for his son, but the normal guests did not come; therefore, the king sent his servants to gather guests from off the street. One of these guests, however, appeared without the proper wedding attire. When the king asked, "Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment?" the man was silent (Matt 22:12); therefore, the king said: "Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen. (Matt. 22:13-14, D-R.) The third use occurs in the

parable of the talents The Parable of the Talents (also the Parable of the Minas) is one of the parables of Jesus. It appears in two of the synoptic, canonical gospels of the New Testament: * * Although the basic theme of each of these parables is essentially t ...

: "And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."(Matthew 25:30).

Interpretations

Protestantism

Both

Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (give ...

, who taught

soul sleep Christian mortalism is the Christian belief that the human soul is not naturally immortal and may include the belief that the soul is “sleeping” after death until the Resurrection of the Dead and the Last Judgment, a time known as the interm ...

till the

resurrection of the dead General resurrection or universal resurrection is the belief in a resurrection of the dead, or resurrection from the dead ( Koine: , ''anastasis onnekron''; literally: "standing up again of the dead") by which most or all people who have died ...

, and

Calvin Calvin may refer to: Names * Calvin (given name) ** Particularly Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States * Calvin (surname) ** Particularly John Calvin, theologian Places In the United States * Calvin, Arkansas, a hamlet * Calvi ...

, who taught the

immortal soul Christian mortalism is the Christian belief that the human soul is not naturally immortal and may include the belief that the soul is “sleeping” after death until the Resurrection of the Dead and the Last Judgment, a time known as the in ...

, considered the "outer darkness" references in Matthew to refer to the

last judgment The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

. Today, interpretation of these "outer darkness" verses are a subset of Protestant discussion on

and

annihilationism In Christianity, annihilationism (also known as extinctionism or destructionism) is the belief that after the Last Judgment, all unsaved human beings, all fallen angels (all of the damned) and Satan himself will be totally destroyed so as to not ...

. Other views include those of

Zane C. Hodges Zane Clark Hodges (June 15, 1932 – November 23, 2008) was an American pastor, seminary professor, and Bible scholar. Some of the views he is known for are these: *"Free Grace theology," a view that holds that eternal life is received as a fre ...

who controversially suggested that it represents a place for those who make it to

heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

based on their

faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people often ...

, but have failed to perform good works during their time on the earth.

Usage in the Latter Day Saint movement

In the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...

, "outer darkness" can refer to hell (the place where the spirits of the wicked reside after death but before the resurrection) or to the place where the sons of perdition will reside. The latter meaning is a place where the glory of God is completely absent, and is the place where

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...

and his angels will reside. Latter Day Saint beliefs on hell are connected with the movement's doctrines of the

plan of salvation The plan of salvation is a Christian concept regarding God's plan to save humanity from sin and its consequences. It occurs first in the New Testament, for example in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Mark, although some scholars consider ...

, the

degrees of glory In the Mormon theology and cosmology there are three degrees of glory (alternatively, kingdoms of glory) which are the ultimate, eternal dwelling place for nearly all who lived on earth after they are resurrected from the spirit world. Member ...

and the

telestial kingdom In the Mormon theology and cosmology there are three degrees of glory (alternatively, kingdoms of glory) which are the ultimate, eternal dwelling place for nearly all who lived on earth after they are resurrected from the spirit world. Member ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Outer Darkness Christian terminology Gospel of Matthew Hell (Christianity) New Testament words and phrases Latter Day Saint terms Parables of Jesus

New Testament

Interpretations

Protestantism

Usage in the Latter Day Saint movement

See also

References