Parable of the Fishermen (the good & bad fish)

⁴⁷"Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish.

⁴⁸When 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.

⁴⁹This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous ⁵⁰and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."--(Matt 13:47-50)

    The fisherman puts his rig into the waters to find a catch.  Then, it yields a return of fish, some good and some bad.  There are requirements and qualifications for a fish to be considered "good".  Any fish that does not meet the qualifications is thrown out or destroyed.  Law enforcement (DNR) makes sure that only good fish are kept.  Bad fish like lamprey, which try to take life from other fish, are destroyed. 

    In the same way, God will send out his holy angels, who enforce His will, to gather the peoples of the nations.  The righteous will be taken to paradise with God; the wicked will be cast out with the Devil where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  This place for the wicked, the ones who used their time and resources for worthless, carnal and temporal concerns, is going to be a place of complete torment and pain.  It will be a fiery furnace of suffering.  As in the case of any fire, there is intense pain and burning that results.  It is a last and final punishment that will endure forever, because of the life of self-indulgence that a person has followed. 

The person who lives a selfish life follows the example of the "lamprey"--always wanting to know what's in it for him!  He seeks only to take life rather than give life.  He will be destroyed when he is caught because he has no regard for others!  Sure, the lamprey says that it loves it's prey.  It does all kinds of things to ensure that it doesn't lose grip from its prey, but it doesn't really love the trout, salmon or bass that it fights so desperately to destroy.  So is the sinner, he fights, steals and lies to get his own way and doesn't care what effect it will have on his friend, child, sister or neighbor.  The sinner is self-condemned by his own evil deeds.  He has rejected the true life found only through faith in the one true Son of God.  Now in the case of a lamprey, it can't do much to change, if it does it would die.  In the same way the sinner cannot do much to fix his broken and sinful character.  In a sense, he too must die and be born again through the power of God which only comes by faith in Jesus Christ.  Deny yourself, pick up your cross and truly follow Jesus, that his angels may find you ready and doing the will of God when they return.  God created you to serve, worship and honor Him!

Grace to all of you who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity and truth--Ephesians 6:24
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