The Lake of Fire

The two of them [anti-Christ and false prophet] were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. (Revelation 19:20, NIV 1984).

My Musings – “The fiery lake of burning sulfur” is mentioned only in Revelation (19:20; 20:10, 14, 15; 21:8), but its terrible nature is abundantly clear. It is described as a lake of fire or lake of burning Sulphur into which are cast:

The Anti-Christ and His False Prophet:  After they are defeated by Christ (Revelation 19:20).

Satan – After his last rebellion that follows the millennium, to “be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10, NIV 1984).

Death and Hades – Forever conquered, “thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.” (Revelation 20:14, NIV 1984).

The Lost – “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:14–15, NIV 1984).

It is called the second death (born once die twice, born twice die once), for it is the ultimate separation from God beyond the resurrection and final judgment.  The lake of fire is probably the same place that Jesus calls Gehenna (“hell [Gehenna], where the fire never goes out.” Mark 9:43, NIV 1984.), the outer darkness (“outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 22:13, NIV 1984.), and the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (“Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Matthew 25:41, NIV 1984).

Whatever the image or name, they all point to a place of eternal torment and separation from God where the unrepentant will suffer forever.  From this description it is evident that Hell and the Lake of Fire are synonymous.

The Greek word Gehenna is used in several New Testament passages to designate the fiery place for punishment of sinners and is often translated “hell” or “the fires of hell.” Gehenna is a transliteration from the Hebrew of the Old Testament, valley of Hinnom or the “valley of the son of Hinnom,” which was a ravine on the south side of Jerusalem (the same valley as Tophet, one of the possible sites for the battle of Armageddon described above).

This valley was the center of idol worship in which children were burned by fire as an offering to the heathen god Molech (2 Chronicles 28:3; 33:6). In the time of King Josiah, it had become a place of abomination, polluted by dead men’s bones, the filth of Jerusalem (2 Kings 23:10–14) and by the garbage dumped there. A fire burned continuously in this valley. It thus became a symbol of the unending fires of hell where the lost are consumed in torment, a symbol of the judgment to be imposed on the idolatrous and disobedient (Jeremiah 7:31–34; 32:35).

Hell has three striking characteristics.

Only the Wicked – Only the wicked are cast into Hell (see list above).

Not Until Final Judgment – The wicked are sent to Hell after the final judgment at the end of time.

Eternal, Not Temporary – Hell involves eternal torment. “Where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'” (Mark 9:47–48, NIV 1984).

Another Greek word used to designate Hell is Tartarus, a classical word for the place of eternal punishment. Peter used the word Tartarus to describe the place (Abyss) where fallen angels were thrown: “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 2:4, NIV 1984).

Hell is variously described as a furnace of fire, eternal fire, eternal punishment (Matthew 13:42, 50; 25:41, 46); outer darkness, the place of weeping and torment (Matthew 8:12); eternal sin (Mark 3:29); the wrath of God (Romans 2:5); everlasting separation from the Lord, never to see the glory of his power (2 Thessalonians 1:9); the bottomless pit (Revelation 9:1, 11); continuous torment (Revelation 14:10, 11); the lake of fire, the second death (Revelation 21:8); a place prepared for the devil and his demons (Matthew 25:41).

The foregoing designations clearly show that the state of those in Hell is one of eternal duration.   Other expressions that indicate that the final state of the wicked is eternal are: “burn with unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:12, NIV 1984); “to the unquenchable fire … where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:43, 48, NIV 1984); there is sin which “will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come” (Matthew 12:32, NIV 1984).

When Scripture is understood properly, there is no hint anywhere of the termination of the terrible state of unbelievers in Hell. Their doom does not end. There is a solemn finality about their miserable condition. Significantly, the most descriptive and conclusive utterances about Hell come from the lips of Jesus. 

A summary of all the Scripture that speaks about Hell indicates that there is the loss and absence of all good, and the misery and torment of an evil conscience. The most terrifying aspect is the complete and deserved separation from God and from all that is pure, holy, and beautiful. In addition, there is the awareness of being under the wrath of God and of enduring the curse of a righteous sentence because of one’s sins that were consciously and voluntarily committed, as well as the conscious and voluntary rejection of Jesus.

My Advice – Forever is a long time. Constant torment means no relief. All the time aware that it could have been avoided. We throw the term “Hell” around quite casually (not very concerned) these days, but there is nothing casual about it. It should be very concerning to all. But its reality is often dismissed.

Even if the reality were remote, forever and constant should make one seriously consider Christ’s offer of forgiveness. Don’t dismiss it, don’t put it off. “Understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So, you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Mathew 24:43–44, NIV 1984). One must come to Him before He comes for them and it is too late.

Resources:

Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (p. 1299). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (p. 952-954). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

Lemke, W. E., & Powell, M. A. (2011). hell. In M. A. Powell (Ed.), The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (Revised and Updated) (Third Edition., p. 373). New York: HarperCollins.

Carpenter, E. E., & Comfort, P. W. (2000). In Holman treasury of key Bible words: 200 Greek and 200 Hebrew words defined and explained (p. 303). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

Seal, D. (2012, 2013, 2014). Hell. In J. D. Barry, L. Wentz, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair-Wolcott, R. Klippenstein, D. Bomar, … D. R. Brown (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.