Outer Darkness: No Rehabilitation Center
February 5th, 2010 by David Dansker
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (Joh 8:12)
Chuck and Nancy Missler of Koinonia House ministries have found themselves having to respond to criticism regarding their take on the Outer Darkness mentioned three time in the book of Matthew. They have contended in the past that it is not representative of the condemnation, or the eternal state of those without Christ Jesus, the Lord. In an attempt to understand why they would take this view perhaps something can be learned from their reasoning. The Misslers seem to have inherited the fallacy of false dilemma on the topic from Charles Stanley; whom they reference among a few others holding the same interpretation. All of them proceed to their position by first discounting Outer Darkness as a representation of hell. Yet, the fact that the Outer Darkness is not a description of hell does not necessarily mean it must apply to something other than complete separation from God and Christ for all eternity. The Lake of Fire is not a description of hell either, but that does not mean people don’t end up there, or that it is not a place of eternal torment for those who reject Christ in this life (Rev 20:15).
