Answering a question on Quora:
In Matthew 25:30, what does gnashing of the teeth mean?
The Parable of the Talents begins in Matthew 25:14. The word gnashing appears at the parable's end, verse 30, describing hell as being a place of outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
This question brings out a point that most people miss. Most people focus on weeping as a sign of sorrow, regret, or pain. The term, gnashing of teeth, ought to turn that around.
The Bible usually defines its own terms. We can determine the meaning of gnashing from Acts 7. Shortly after the beginning of the Christian church, the religious authorities who ruled Jerusalem put Stephen, a deacon in the church, on trial for preaching that Jesus of Nazareth was Messiah. Stephen’s defense demonstrated his innocence and showed that the rulers were the guilty ones who had murdered Jesus.
This infuriated the rulers. It says in Acts 7:54, On hearing this, the members of the Sanhedrin were enraged, and they gnashed their teeth at him. Then they mobbed him, dragged him out of the city, and stoned him to death.
Literally, to gnash your teeth means to make a biting, chewing, or clenched motion with your jaw. My dad did this in his sleep. It was loud! We called it grinding his teeth. The same gesture, done in anger by the Jewish rulers, was probably like a dog baring his teeth, biting at the air, and making hostile growling noises.
So the lesson of this phrase in Matthew 25 is that hell is not merely a place of pain. It is also a place of rage. Those who hate God now will forever consume themselves with the same hate. Even if flames, darkness, or worms are metaphors, being locked into overwhelming grief and rage, consuming you from within without relief or escape, is a horror that should motivate any Christian to pray for, love, and share the gospel with everyone they meet.
Copyright 2020, Richard Wheeler. Free for non-remunerated use, but please give credit where credit is due.
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