[bearbear]

When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness he spoke scripture to him and Jesus in turn quoted scripture back. Jesus used the sword of the Spirit to fight Satan and used scripture to interpret scripture. A lot of scripture is already commentary on other scripture and it happens to be canonical. Knowing this let's revisit Luke 12:46.

Luke 12:46 (NIV)
The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers (apiston).

Millennial exclusionists will insist that this is referring to 1000 years of outer darkness but a plain reading will imply that the servant who became disobedient ends up where the other "apiston" (those without faith) are which is the lake of fire (Rev 21:8). To settle the debate, are there other passages of scripture that could provide commentary on this? Was the servant who became disobedient a fake believer hiding among true believers?

Millennial exclusionists will mostly agree that the parable of the tares and wheat in Matthew 13 refers to the saved and the unsaved because the tares are the seed of Satan and their final judgment is in the lake of fire, the fiery furnace. Lets take a look at how Jesus explains this parable:

Matthew 13:40-42
Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Notice Jesus says the angels will "gather out of his kingdom". These weeds were masquerading as members of his kingdom so well that Jesus implies it will be hard to tell them apart in Matthew 13:29 but Jesus says God will eventually remove and sort them out. Could these weeds masquerading as wheat be like the disobedient servants? If they were atheists and adherents of other religions who want nothing to do with Jesus, they would be easy to tell apart and wouldn't profess to be in God's kingdom.

Curiously Jesus uses this imagery again in the parable of the fishermen:

Matthew 13:47-50
“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. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Notice that the wicked are separated "from the righteous" again. The bad fish were hiding among the good fish and had to be removed from among them.

Jesus spoke in parables but Paul was more direct in 2 Cor 11:13-15

"For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds."

Satan's servants also "disguise themselves as servants of righteousness". If this is the case, man who is a judge of outward appearances (1 Sam 16:7) would likely be deceived regarding who is a true and false believer. Yet Paul suggests there is a way you can guess based on their "deeds". So the true test of a real or false Christian is based on the evidence of "their deeds". Paul repeats this again in Titus 1:16

"They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work."

Paul is simply paraphrasing Jesus' teachings on "you shall know them by their fruit".

Matthew 7:19
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Here it's not the fruit that is burned, but the tree. This is the context leading up to Matthew 7:21

"Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven"

Which other posters insist is referring to millennial exclusion, yet the context of Jesus teaching in Matthew 7 is centered on eternity.

Matthew 7:13-14
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

Millennial exclusionists will likely agree this other warning in Matthew 7 on the broad road leading to destruction refers to hell. Yet they will selectively jump through mental gymnastics to explain the other warnings as being temporary in nature. Reading the bible with this view becomes a confusing exercise where reliance on non-canonical commentary thereby becomes a necessity.