The phrase outer darkness is used only in Matthew 8:12, Matt. 22:13, and Matt. 25:30. There is a possible allusion to the outer darkness found in three other verses:  2 Peter 2:4; 2:17; Jude 6.  Outer darkness is the place where the “sons of the kingdom will be cast,” (Matt. 8:12) where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 22:13; 25:30).  It appears that the darkness itself is a place of judgment as is further illustrated by 2 Pet. 2:4, 2 Pet. 2:17, and Jude 6.  Other verses where weeping and gnashing of teeth are mentioned include references to being thrown into the furnace of fire (Matt. 13:42, 50) along with the hypocrites (Matt. 24:51).  So, the outer darkness is a place of judgment and condemnation as well as suffering.  Nothing in the contexts of these verses tells us whether or not people are annihilated. However, when we look at Jude 6-7, which contains the phrase “kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day,” there is the implication of eternal conscious torment. See the article Annihilationism and Jude 6-7, angels and the wicked undergoing punishment of eternal fire.

• “An expression occurring only in Matthew (8:12; 22:13; 25:30), describing the future state of those who because of their unfaithfulness have been denied entrance into the brightly lit banquet hall that symbolizes the joy of the Kingdom. In Jewish literature “darkness” was associated with the place of eternal punishment (cf. 12En 103:5–8: “Woe to you, ye sinners, when ye have died, … and into darkness and chains and a burning flame where there is grievous judgement shall your spirits enter; and the great judgement shall be for all the generations of the world …” [APOT, II, 275]; for rabbinical references, see SB, IV, 1075–83), and Jesus was apparently using it in the same sense.”¹Bromiley, Geoffrey W., ed. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised. Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1979–1988.
• “A phrase that appears only in Matthew to depict the future of those who do not choose to be part of the kingdom of God (Matt 8:12; 22:13; 25:30). Outer darkness seems to symbolize pain, death, and separation from all that is good—including God and His chosen one, Jesus (compare Luke 16:19–31). Similar phrases occur in Jewish literature (e.g., 1 Enoch 103:7–8).”²Barry, John D., David Bomar, Derek R. Brown, Rachel Klippenstein, Douglas Mangum, Carrie Sinclair Wolcott, Lazarus Wentz, Elliot Ritzema, and Wendy Widder, eds. The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016.

Outer Darkness

1. Matthew 8:12, “but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
2. Matthew 22:13, “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”
3. Matthew 25:30, “Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Darkness

• 2 Peter 2:4, “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;”
• 2 Peter 2:17, “These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved.”
• Jude 6, “And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day,”