Hell Will Be Populated With Sons of the Kindgom

I’ve been meditating on Matthew 8:12:  “But the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness, in that place, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

It seems to me as I read the New Testament, those who are truly saved and become part of God’s kingdom do not go to hell. But here is a verse that seems to say the opposite.

If Jesus said, “the sons of the evil one shall be cast into outer darkness,” I would not have a problem. But Jesus uses the phrase, “sons of the kingdom.”

To be sure, Jesus is referencing Jews. Verse 11 indicates this: “Many shall come from the East and the West and recline at the table with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.” Therefore, “sons of the kingdom” is referencing covenantal Jews who are in some way in the kingdom.

To break it down further, “sons of the kingdom” in this passage must refer to those who are lost or without Christ. How else can it be said that they end up in hell?

But are “sons of the kingdom” used also as a reference to the lost? Yes it can. Remember back in Genesis 6, where it talks about demons cohabitating with women? In Genesis 6:2 it states, “the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.” No doubt, the phrase, “sons of God” is used here as a reference to demons.  Therefore, the term does not always point to true believers or godly creatures. Only the context can define this.

Moreover, in Matthew 13:24-30, Jesus tells of a parable about the kingdom of heaven being compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. Then one day an enemy came and sowed tares. Both the wheat and tares grew together.

It was mentioned to the landowner if he wanted his servants to remove the tares from the wheat. His reply is quite instructive: “No, lest while you gather up the tares, you may root up the wheat with them” (v. 29). Then he adds: “Allow them both to grow together until the harvest” (v. 30).

So in the present kingdom of God that is invisible and in its mystery form (v. 11), saved and unsaved sons grow together until the time of the harvest (i.e. judgment) and then God will do the separating.

That’s why I am not surprised when I hear how the world has so many who claim to be Christians.  When you bring together the saved and unsaved – both claiming to be Christians, you will have a huge number or percentage.

I am also cautious about the fact that it just isn’t easy to know who is saved and who isn’t. Sometimes the saved live and talk like they are lost and the lost live and talk like they are saved! Jesus said, “Let them both grow together!”  If only they understood this during the time of the Crusades and Inquisition.

So having established that the lost can also be identified as “sons of the kingdom,” it is not a problem to see them being cast into outer darkness.

Man may not know the true condition of a person’s heart, but God does. In the end, He will make the determination and there will be no mistake.