Topic
Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth
The phrase Jesus uses in several parables for the response of those shut out. Weeping conveys grief elsewhere in Scripture, and gnashing of teeth conveys anger.
Also called: gnashing of teeth, weeping and gnashing, wailing and gnashing of teeth
The phrase appears in parables with a fiery furnace and in parables with no fire at all, which points to a response at the moment of exclusion rather than to the experience of burning. In Luke the only place described is the house, and those outside are simply not admitted.
Gnashing of teeth elsewhere in Scripture signals rage. Job speaks of an adversary gnashing at him, the Psalms use it of enemies, and the council gnashed their teeth at Stephen. Weeping is the ordinary word for grief and lamentation.
No text says that the weeping and gnashing continues for ever. Conditionalism affirms that the response is real and conscious, and even if the phrase does describe pain rather than grief and anger, that is consistent with a judgment severe in every dimension.
What this is not
Terms in this dispute are routinely collapsed into one another. These distinctions are what keep the argument honest.
- A conscious response at the judgment is not the same as a conscious state without end.
- The phrase describes people being cast out; it is not a description of a place.
- It occurs with fire and without fire, so it is not a description of burning.
Principal passages
- Matthew 13:41-42
- Matthew 22:13Listed in the Scripture index
- Matthew 25:30Listed in the Scripture index
- Luke 13:28Listed in the Scripture index
- Psalms 112:10Listed in the Scripture index
Where this is argued in the case
- S06 Weeping, Gnashing of Teeth, and Outer DarknessWhat the two words mean in their other biblical occurrences, where the phrase is located in each parable, and why it appears with and without fire.
- S03 Revelation 20: The Lake of Fire and the Second DeathWhere the clause about unending torment sits in the passage, what the lake of fire does to Death and Hades, and how much weight the placement can carry.
- S23 The Day of JudgmentThe language of a day, and what it means for when full justice is administered.
Objections that turn on this
- S30 Is Annihilation Really Punishment?Two answers: finite experiences genuinely matter, and exclusion from eternal life is itself the ultimate loss.
Related topics
Sources for this topic
- Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth Do Not Indicate Eternal Torment. Rethinking Hell. 2018-11-28 View original of Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth Do Not Indicate Eternal Torment (opens in a new tab) Details
- Joseph Dear. The Bible Teaches Annihilationism. 1st edition, PDF version. 2016. approximately 590 pages View original of The Bible Teaches Annihilationism (opens in a new tab) Details
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