Being rejected from the Wedding Party is associated with “darkness outside” of the various aspects of the wedding and its aftermath!
The Wedding Party is not going to be made up of believers who are religious, legalistic, or hypocritical, but believers who have labored to genuinely partake of Christ’s Life, become overcomers, and thus, produce the “fruit of righteousness.” These believers are not perfect, but they will be “qualified” (axios G514) to enter that second gate.
To review, Jesus spoke the parable of the Wedding Feast in Matthew chapter 22:
11 “But when the King came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a Wedding garment.
12 So He said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a Wedding garment?’ And he was speechless.
13 Then the King said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
“ For everyone is invited to enter in, but few respond in excellence.”
The issue is not salvation, it is disqualification or lack of sanctification, required for the Wedding ceremony.
Jesus used this same term “outer darkness” in the parable of the Talents. This parable was spoken right after the parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins. Both deal with believers who are in different places relative to sanctification. The issue has to do with what you have done with the opportunity afforded you by FATHER.
The servants went out and gathered together all they found, both good and bad (Strong’s #4190, poneros), meaning “hurtful in influence but not in character” (it’s the same word as “wicked” in the Parable of the Talents). It means a person who lacks the qualities he should possess, that is to say, he is not worthy.
The king in the above parable tells His servants to bid all to come to the feast. All who were invited not only responded, but also came and the feast was furnished with guests. This does not include unbelievers and the King would not address the man as “friend”. The issue had to do with whether or not the man had an appropriate Wedding garment. This man had not strived nor labored for good works, nor had he become an overcomer. He had not been faithful, obedient, or enduring. He had not persevered in a life of Spirit-led good works. Therefore, he was “cast out” and thrown into the “outer darkness.”
The “darkness outside” specifies the location of the darkness. It’s not general darkness, it’s the darkness outside. “Outer darkness” does not mean eternal condemnation, hell, or Hades, but simply exclusion from the realm (Strong’s #932, basillis) in which the faithful enter. In this verse, it means a region of darkness outside a region of light. It’s an area immediately outside the festivities associated to the King’s Presence.
Jesus spoke of Christians walking in darkness in Luke chapter 11:
33 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light.
34 The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.
35 Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.
36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”
Isaiah wrote by THE SPIRIT in Isaiah chapter 50:
10 “Who among you fears the LORD? Who obeys the voice of His Servant? Who walks in darkness And has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD And rely upon his God.”
Jesus spoke in John chapter 8:
12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
Our lights grow brighter as we mature in Christ and become fully led by THE SPIRIT. Our priorities shift from worldly to Spiritual, from the temporary to the long-term. We focus on what and who is important to FATHER, not self-serving activities.
These writings are meant to encourage us to not only be invited to the Wedding ceremony, but be fully acceptable with proper attire!