Matthew 25:41

Matthew 25:41. Accursed. ‘Of my Father' (Matthew 25:34) is omitted, for though the curse comes from God, it is through their own fault

Which is prepared; ‘from the foundation of the world' is not added, but for the devil and his angels, prepared for him as a devil (his personal existence being evidently assumed). All these differences show that God is ever merciful, and that the punishment on those ‘accursed' is a just one, that they go to torment prepared for the devil and his angels, because they have prepared themselves for it That the word eternal means never-ending, scarcely admits of a doubt; it is used in Matthew 25:46 of the life of the righteous (see below). The word fire may not be literal, but whatever the punishment previous to the general judgment, after that the bodies of the wicked, then raised, shall partake in it; and this is not obscurely hinted here.

Matthew 25:42-43. For. The evidence of their state of heart follows. Only sins of omission are mentioned; the absence of good works, the destitution of love, or the dominion of selfishness is sufficient, even without positive crimes, to exclude from heaven.