“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself..."
This is a reference to all men who are dead in their sins. All of us, everyone who is in Christ, hear the voice of Christ and live.
"And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!"
This is a reference to the place in Hell for the unrighteous. People who die outside of Christ (where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth) will be kept in Hell. Then, at the end of age, Hell (with everyone held by that spirit) will be cast into the Lake of Fire and destroyed.
The Rich Man in Hell
"In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’"
Note: he is in torment and in agony in the fire. Abraham rejects his request and says "And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’"
This is why there is weeping and agony for those who are shut out e.g. for those who do not accept Christ on this side of the first death: they can see the reality they rejected. The water is the Word and now, after their first death, they are kept in a place that is utterly dry and untouched by the word. Even in their lost existence on earth they benefited from the grace of God (Who causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust) but they counted it as luck, or hard work, or man's will, or entitlement, or science, etc. Seeing this great chasm, they wail and cry out. And this continues until they are thrown into the Lake of Fire. This is the righteous punishment for those who turned their backs on the Living God and remained enemies of the gospel.
This is a reference to all men who are dead in their sins. All of us, everyone who is in Christ, hear the voice of Christ and live.
"And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!"
This is a reference to the place in Hell for the unrighteous. People who die outside of Christ (where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth) will be kept in Hell. Then, at the end of age, Hell (with everyone held by that spirit) will be cast into the Lake of Fire and destroyed.
The Rich Man in Hell
"In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’"
Note: he is in torment and in agony in the fire. Abraham rejects his request and says "And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’"
This is why there is weeping and agony for those who are shut out e.g. for those who do not accept Christ on this side of the first death: they can see the reality they rejected. The water is the Word and now, after their first death, they are kept in a place that is utterly dry and untouched by the word. Even in their lost existence on earth they benefited from the grace of God (Who causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust) but they counted it as luck, or hard work, or man's will, or entitlement, or science, etc. Seeing this great chasm, they wail and cry out. And this continues until they are thrown into the Lake of Fire. This is the righteous punishment for those who turned their backs on the Living God and remained enemies of the gospel.
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