“Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Have you understood all these things?” (Matthew 13:47-51)
What does the 'net' symbolize in Jesus' analogy?
Here Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a net let down to catch fish. Why a net? A net symbolizes the effort that the Supreme Being makes to bring us back to Him.In more practical terms, the net descends at the death of the physical body. Every physical body will die. At the time of death the soul, the spirit-person, will leave the physical body and ascend into the realm of the spirit.
It is here that our consciousness and activities during this lifetime are accounted for. This moment, also characterized as "judgment day" is compared by Jesus to the fishermen sorting out the fish.
Notice that the "bad" fish are "thrown away" in Jesus' parable. What does "thrown away" mean?
Since the fishermen are on the shore, it means the fish are thrown back into the water.
This is particularly important because Jesus then compares the fishermen separating the fish with angels who will separate the "wicked from the righteous."
The concept of the fish being "thrown away" in Jesus' analogy means those fish were thrown back into the water. In the same way, those who have not attempted to develop a more spiritual, loving consciousness, and growing closer to God will need more development. This means we will be tossed back into the physical world to continue learning.
The problem with this theory is: Where do all the people go who die before this "apocalypse" arrives? To cover this “end of the age” interpretation, ecclesiastical teachers and their institutions have conjured a speculative concept called “purgatory.” This concept assumes that people will just wait in a limbo state after they die, waiting for the “end of the age.”
This would mean, of course, that billions upon billions of people have been waiting in this limbo state for thousands of years (all the way back to the dawning of man?). This ridiculous postulation means that trillions of people are hanging out in this purgatory state, all waiting to be judged and waiting for the "second coming." What are they doing all this time? Is it like a big Cocoon movie or something? Does this really make sense? And where did Jesus (or any prophet) say this?
This concept of purgatory is simply speculation based upon mistranslated and misinterpreted text. The word "age" is translated from the Greek word αἰών (aiōn), which means, according to the lexicon: "period of time, age."
The "age" that Jesus is speaking of is the "age" related to the lifespan of those he is speaking to. What other "age" could he be speaking of? Isn't he speaking personally to people regarding their spiritual welfare? Certainly, Jesus is not a historian, speaking in terms of a certain future event in time, an event that would occur outside the timeframe of those he was speaking to.
Thus, the “end of the age” Jesus spoke of relates to that day each physical body dies. Each of our bodies have an “age” right? And there is a day and time when each body dies, right? At this point, it is the end of our aging, right? So it is merely logical to conclude that the “end of the age” for each of us is the day each of our bodies dies.
The event of bodily death is common to each of us. Every body must die. Therefore, each of us shares a common event: our bodies will die, and they will cease to age, and thus this is the "end of the age."
Jesus makes it clear in his statement that we are judged for our lifetimes and the angels will separate the "wicked from the righteous."
The word "righteous" comes from the Greek word δίκαιος (dikaios), which means "observing divine laws" according to the lexicon. The essence of "divine laws" according to Jesus and Moses is to love the Supreme Being with all our hearts and love others.
This means the body we wear today is a different body we wore five years ago. What is constant? We still exist, yet our body is constantly changing composition. What remains unchanged is the living spirit - the person - the soul - who temporarily occupies the physical body for a temporary period of time (“the age”).
God knows that we will only be happy when we re-establish our loving relationship with Him. The net symbolizes His process of bringing us out of the physical world and bringing those who want to return to Him back home.
The kingdom of heaven is about our relationship with God. The word "kingdom" is translated from the Greek word βασιλεία (basileia), meaning "royal power, kingship, dominion, rule; not to be confused with an actual kingdom but rather the right or authority to rule over a kingdom."
Jesus is not referring to a physical location. He is referring to a particular consciousness. The consciousness of loving and serving the Supreme Being.
In this case, Jesus describes how the angels will treat the "wicked." He says they will, "throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
What does this mean from a practical standpoint?
How will the 'angels come and separate the wicked'?
Once we leave our physical body at the time of death, each of us is sorted according to our consciousness and activities carried out during our lifetimes, just as the fishermen sorted the fish in Jesus' parable: "Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away."The concept of the fish being "thrown away" in Jesus' analogy means those fish were thrown back into the water. In the same way, those who have not attempted to develop a more spiritual, loving consciousness, and growing closer to God will need more development. This means we will be tossed back into the physical world to continue learning.
Yes, this physical world is set up for learning. We are each given a physical body that is equipt for experiencing physical pleasure and physical pain. This accompanies a mind that can experience psychological pleasure and psychological pain.
This physical world is designed as a place of consequences. This means consequences that reflect not only what effects we have had on others, (“as you sow, so shall you reap”) but also to our level of learning.
For example, a person may have committed a wrong against someone else and feels very sorry. They regret what they did. Such a person may still suffer consequences for that action. But the consequences will also be relative to the degree of learning they have experienced.
The purpose of consequences is not punitive. It is rehabilitative. A person who has empathy and understands the harm they have done and feels sorry, the consequences will reflect that.
But a person who commits a wrong against someone and does not feel they have done anything wrong will typically receive the brunt of the consequences. That is because they need to not only learn what they did was wrong. They will also need to learn what it was like bearing the brunt of what harm they caused to someone else.
This can also occur to some degree within many legal systems, as judges and juries will also take into account the remorse of the person on trial.
This is similar to the way consequences work on the physical world because this is a place designed by God to help us to grow spiritually - which means learning about love and how to love others. This is preparation for learning to redevelop our loving relationship with God.
If we have utilized our life to grow spiritually, then according to Jesus, we may not be "thrown away" - which means being put back into the physical world to begin another lifetime of learning.
What about the 'gnashing of teeth and weeping'?
What is the physics of this? The body is dead. The teeth are decomposing. How can decomposing teeth gnash? The eyes also decompose so there can be no weeping.The only way for this to occur is if the spirit-person is given a new body, complete with teeth that can “gnash” and eyes that can “weep.”
After the death of this body, the self-centered soul will be put back into another physical body in new circumstances. And what might those circumstances be? They will be specifically supplied in the form of a unique physical body and environment - designed precisely to learn certain lessons and face consequences for choices made in a previous lifetime.
This also answers that question posed by many about why there is suffering in the world. Why are some born into situations where they are subject to starvation, war, and rape, while others are born into wealthy families in relatively safe regions? Why are some born into healthy bodies and others born into sick or deformed bodies? Does this mean that God is not fair - they ask?
The Supreme Being is certainly fair. Those who are born into hellish situations are experiencing the consequences of what they inflicted upon others. They are experiencing suffering precisely as they caused others to suffer.
The Supreme Being set up a perfect system. We get put into precisely the situations we created for others when we had a choice. This is the true definition of "reaping what we have sown." This also allows the state of "gnashing of teeth and weeping" that Jesus is describing.
Each of us who occupies a physical body is living in a relative degree of hell, depending upon our consciousness and consequences from past activities. Our body is designed to teach us specific lessons. And whatever our body's physical suffering, it is caused by our previous choices and/or the lessons we need to learn.
But we are always offered a way out of this hellish dimension. This is Jesus' point.
Should we choose to use our lifetimes to re-develop our relationship with the Supreme Being, we will be like the "good fish" of Jesus' parable.
After the death of this body, the self-centered soul will be put back into another physical body in new circumstances. And what might those circumstances be? They will be specifically supplied in the form of a unique physical body and environment - designed precisely to learn certain lessons and face consequences for choices made in a previous lifetime.
This also answers that question posed by many about why there is suffering in the world. Why are some born into situations where they are subject to starvation, war, and rape, while others are born into wealthy families in relatively safe regions? Why are some born into healthy bodies and others born into sick or deformed bodies? Does this mean that God is not fair - they ask?
The Supreme Being is certainly fair. Those who are born into hellish situations are experiencing the consequences of what they inflicted upon others. They are experiencing suffering precisely as they caused others to suffer.
The Supreme Being set up a perfect system. We get put into precisely the situations we created for others when we had a choice. This is the true definition of "reaping what we have sown." This also allows the state of "gnashing of teeth and weeping" that Jesus is describing.
Each of us who occupies a physical body is living in a relative degree of hell, depending upon our consciousness and consequences from past activities. Our body is designed to teach us specific lessons. And whatever our body's physical suffering, it is caused by our previous choices and/or the lessons we need to learn.
But we are always offered a way out of this hellish dimension. This is Jesus' point.
Should we choose to use our lifetimes to re-develop our relationship with the Supreme Being, we will be like the "good fish" of Jesus' parable.
What does the 'end of the age' mean?
What does Jesus mean by the “end of the age”? Many have speculated a point in time in the future where the world ends and everyone is judged and sent to their respective places. This "apocalypse" scenario has been predicted by preachers and priests for centuries yet the end of the world has not come yet. Were they lying to us?The problem with this theory is: Where do all the people go who die before this "apocalypse" arrives? To cover this “end of the age” interpretation, ecclesiastical teachers and their institutions have conjured a speculative concept called “purgatory.” This concept assumes that people will just wait in a limbo state after they die, waiting for the “end of the age.”
This would mean, of course, that billions upon billions of people have been waiting in this limbo state for thousands of years (all the way back to the dawning of man?). This ridiculous postulation means that trillions of people are hanging out in this purgatory state, all waiting to be judged and waiting for the "second coming." What are they doing all this time? Is it like a big Cocoon movie or something? Does this really make sense? And where did Jesus (or any prophet) say this?
This concept of purgatory is simply speculation based upon mistranslated and misinterpreted text. The word "age" is translated from the Greek word αἰών (aiōn), which means, according to the lexicon: "period of time, age."
The "age" that Jesus is speaking of is the "age" related to the lifespan of those he is speaking to. What other "age" could he be speaking of? Isn't he speaking personally to people regarding their spiritual welfare? Certainly, Jesus is not a historian, speaking in terms of a certain future event in time, an event that would occur outside the timeframe of those he was speaking to.
Thus, the “end of the age” Jesus spoke of relates to that day each physical body dies. Each of our bodies have an “age” right? And there is a day and time when each body dies, right? At this point, it is the end of our aging, right? So it is merely logical to conclude that the “end of the age” for each of us is the day each of our bodies dies.
The event of bodily death is common to each of us. Every body must die. Therefore, each of us shares a common event: our bodies will die, and they will cease to age, and thus this is the "end of the age."
What takes place upon our leaving the body at the time of death? This has been confirmed among thousands of cases of clinical death: Once a person's body clinically dies, the person floats above the body, watching it as it lies at the deathbed.
The word "righteous" comes from the Greek word δίκαιος (dikaios), which means "observing divine laws" according to the lexicon. The essence of "divine laws" according to Jesus and Moses is to love the Supreme Being with all our hearts and love others.
At the time of our body's death (the "end of the age") we will be able to leave this hellish dimension and return to the spiritual dimension. We will be carried back home by the angels into the loving arms of God, Who has been patiently awaiting our return to Him.
Why has this been misunderstood?
The key reason Jesus' statement has been misinterpreted is because of a lack of understanding regarding our identity. This is the key essence of Jesus' teachings:"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul." (Matthew 10:27)Jesus is clear: bodies do not dance on graves, nor do they wait in purgatory. They decompose. This is verified scientifically simply by digging up a buried body. In fact, during the body's lifetime, every molecule in our body is recycled at least every five years (also scientifically established).
“Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” (Matthew 8:22)
"The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." (Matthew 25:42 and Mark 14:39)
"But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him." (Luke 12:5)
This means the body we wear today is a different body we wore five years ago. What is constant? We still exist, yet our body is constantly changing composition. What remains unchanged is the living spirit - the person - the soul - who temporarily occupies the physical body for a temporary period of time (“the age”).
The kingdom of heaven is about our relationship with God. The word "kingdom" is translated from the Greek word βασιλεία (basileia), meaning "royal power, kingship, dominion, rule; not to be confused with an actual kingdom but rather the right or authority to rule over a kingdom."
Jesus is not referring to a physical location. He is referring to a particular consciousness. The consciousness of loving and serving the Supreme Being.
