<p>25:46&nbsp;<em>And these shall go away into eternal punishment; but the righteous into eternal life-&nbsp;</em>After the pattern of Cain and Adam (Gen. 3:24; 4:14), and also the idea of the wicked being&nbsp;<em>cast&nbsp;</em>into the darkness of condemnation, it seems that the rejected will be forcibly driven away. Cain was driven out from the faces, the presence of the land of Eden, where the Lord's presence was (Gen. 4:14). Presumably this driving out was done by the Angels. We are left to imagine the ultimate tragedy of Cain going forth from the presence of the Lord (Gen. 4:16 s.w. &quot;face&quot; 4:14), and the rejected 'going away into...' (Mt. 25:46). The tragedy of rejection is well reflected in the way the Lord speaks of how &quot;great was the fall&quot; of the poorly built house (Mt. 7:27). We are invited to see worthy and unworthy walking away from the throne&nbsp;<em>into&nbsp;</em>different futures. The sheep will enter&nbsp;<em>into</em>&nbsp;the city (Rev. 22:14),&nbsp;<em>into</em>&nbsp;the temple (Rev. 15:8),<em>&nbsp;into</em>&nbsp;their rest (Heb. 4:11),&nbsp;<em>into</em>&nbsp;the Kingdom (Acts 14:22; Jn. 3:5; Lk. 18:24; Mt. 18:3);<em>&nbsp;into</em>&nbsp;life (Mk. 9:45; Mt. 18:9;&nbsp;19:17);&nbsp;<em>into&nbsp;</em>the joy of Christ (Mt. 25:23).</p><p>The rejected going away into... (Mt. 25:46) is only a reflection of the position they themselves adopted in their lives. They thought that they could flee away from the judgments of God (Rom. 2:3 Gk.)- and so they will flee from His judgment seat, although so, so unwillingly. The man who refuses to immediately respond to the Lord's call to service says that he must first&nbsp;<em>go away&nbsp;</em>from the Lord and bury his father (Mt. 8:21); the young man&nbsp;<em>went away&nbsp;</em>in sorrow (Mt. 19:22); people hear the Gospel and then&nbsp;<em>go away&nbsp;</em>to all their petty businesses of this life (Mt. 22:5). Those who couldn't handle the demanding Lord&nbsp;<em>went away</em> from Him (Jn. 6:66); and Judas&nbsp;<em>went away&nbsp;</em>of himself to hang himself (Mt. 27:5). He condemned himself. These are all the same words as in Mt. 25:46- those who of their own choice went away from the Lord now, although that isn't maybe how they saw it, will then go away from Him into condemnation. This point is made even within Mt. 25. The foolish virgins&nbsp;<em>went away&nbsp;</em>to buy oil- they didn't want to immediately go to their Lord (:10); the one talent man&nbsp;<em>went away</em>&nbsp;and buried his talent (:18,25). And then at judgment day they again&nbsp;<em>go away from</em>&nbsp;the Lord (:46). Their going away from the Lord is simply being confirmed by Him.</p>