Part 20 Christian Universalism is the Answer YES Part 7
What happens in the Lake of fire?
Will people be sent there? Yes
What’s this, I thought everybody was going to be saved?
Yes that is right, but all unbelievers, past through the lake of fire, they spent a period of time there. However the lake of fire is no picnic.
“The teaching concerning the lake of fire does not appear anywhere in Scripture except in the book of Revelation where it is spoken of in the following passages: Rev. 14:10-11; 19:20; 20:10; 20:13-15 and 21:8. This last passage definitely states, "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolators, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." There should be no question remaining as to the certainty of this lake of fire; neither should there be any doubt as to the awful consequence of having to be cast into it. These Scriptures with their dreadful foreboding should be a fearful warning to all unthinking and foolish people who, because of their love for the world, the flesh, and the devil, have dared to ask why we should serve God now if all are going to be saved eventually."
From http://www.savior-of-all.com/lakeoffire.html The Savior of the World series by J. Preston Eby
The passage in the Bible certainly covers a large group, and includes everyone that has not be saved, while they where alive.
Revelation 20:12 and I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and scrolls were opened, and another scroll was opened, which is that of the life, and the dead were judged out of the things written in the scrolls--according to their works;
Rev 20:13 and the sea did give up those dead in it, and the death and the hades did give up the dead in them, and they were judged, each one according to their works;
Rev 20:14 and the death and the hades were cast to the lake of the fire--this is the second death;
Rev 20:15 and if any one was not found written in the scroll of the life, he was cast to the lake of the fire.
Here we see that anyone not found written in the scroll of life is to be cast into the lake of fire.
What about other passages which are not in Revelation on this:
Matthew 7:15 `But, take heed of the false prophets, who come unto you in sheep's clothing, and inwardly are ravening wolves.
Mat 7:16 From their fruits ye shall know them; do men gather from thorns grapes? or from thistles figs?
Mat 7:17 so every good tree doth yield good fruits, but the bad tree doth yield evil fruits.
Mat 7:18 A good tree is not able to yield evil fruits, nor a bad tree to yield good fruits.
Mat 7:19 Every tree not yielding good fruit is cut down and is cast to fire:
Mat 7:20 therefore from their fruits ye shall know them.
Here we see the Bad Trees can not yield good fruits. In other words a bad person can not do good works, and therefore will not receive a reward. There bad fruit (or works) will be burnt up. This bad fruit is the wood, hay, and stubble in 1Corinthians 3:12-15 that is burnt up. Good Trees (believers), yield good fruits, that is the gold, silver, and precious stones, mentioned in 1Corinthians 3:12-15. Believers are the good tress, they do good works and they are rewarded. Notice also that the bad tress are “cast to fire”. A tree “not yielding good fruit”, is a bad tree, therefore these are the trees (or people), cast to fire. That is the Lake of Fire.
Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also to those on the left hand, Go ye from me, the cursed, to the fire, the age-during, that hath been prepared for the Devil and his messengers;
Here Jesus is talking, and he says a certain group of people will go to the fire, this of course is the same fire as in Revelation, it is the lake of Fire.
Matthew 25:45 `Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say to you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of these, the least, ye did it not to me.
Mat 25:46 And these shall go away to punishment age-during, but the righteous to life age-during.' {YLT}
Here Jesus is talking about the same group, and this group is to be punished, however as we noted before it only lasts an age. This group goes to the lake of fire for this age only. The righteous get life during this period while the others are punished during this period. I already pointed out that the righteous get to live during a certain age, but after the ages they live forever.
"...And, being indignant, his lord gives him up to the tormentors (jailers) till he may pay all he is owing him. Thus shall My heavenly Father also be doing to you, if each one should not be pardoning his brother, from your hearts." (Matthew 18:34-35)
In the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant in Matthew 18:21-35, Jesus said that the unmerciful and unforgiving servant was angrily turned over to the jailers by his master until he should pay back all he owed. He went on to say, 'This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.'….…..This parable is describing something of the future judgment of God in which the unmerciful, unforgiving person shall receive age-abiding chastening in torment under the indignation of God until he has paid for his wicked acts, for we shall all be judged in accordance with our acts, whether good or bad. This is not eternal or everlasting - it will come to an end one day, otherwise it is not just!” From http://www.purposeoflife.org.uk/hell%20doc.htm
Here it is again, the Heaven Father (God), gives up people to the tormentors, but it does not last forever.
Are People Asleep in the Lake of Fire Like the First death?
There are those who view and teach that people in the lake of Fire are a sleep.
Revelation 20:14 And Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire. {LEB}
In other words because the second death is the Lake of Fire, just like the first death people are asleep. However this is totally incorrect, there is no reason for it to be describe as a Lake of Fire if it is like the first death. What is the point of the Bible describing it as “the lake burning with fire and sulphur {Brimstone}” {Revelation 21:8}. There is no need for it to be burning with fire and brimstone if people are asleep.
Revelation 14:9-10 And another, a third messenger, follows them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone is worshiping the wild beast and its image, and is getting an emblem on his forehead or on his hand, he, also, is drinking of the wine of the fury of God, blended undiluted in the cup of His indignation, and he shall be tormented (basanizo) in fire and sulphur {Brimstone} in the sight of the holy messengers and in the sight of the Lambkin." {CLV}
This informs us that those who worship the beast will be torment in fire and brimstone, that is they will be torment in the Lake of Fire that is “burning with fire and brimstone.” Clearly those in the Lake of Fire are not asleep for they are being torment in fire and sulphur. Not actually burnt for here it tells us it torments.
Revelation 14:11 And the fumes of their torment are ascending for the eons of the eons. And they are having no rest day and night, those worshiping the wild beast and its image, and if anyone is getting the emblem of its name." {CLV}
Those torment in the fire, that is those in the lake of fire, will Have NO REST day and night. That is NOT only will they not be asleep they will NOT be able to rest at all.
Basanizo: The purity of gold or silver is tested by the touchstone, a black siliceous stone. Those who are impure will be tested in the fire and the sulphur. When the individuals are tested in the fire the impurities will show, and the impurities will be taken out by the fire and the sulphur.
But What actually happens in the Lake of fire?
I touch on this briefly above, now to cover it more in depth.
Lets go back to J. Preston Eby, to get his take on it.
“Because of the gross misunderstanding of almost all people concerning the lake of fire, I would like to draw your attention to three words found in the passage quoted above. "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which BURNS with FIRE and BRIMSTONE: which is the second death." The word BURN means combustion, or to consume. To consume does not mean to annihilate, for there is no such thing as annihilation in the absolute sense. When fire consumes a log in your fireplace it does not destroy any of the elements within the log, it merely changes their form. Combustion is the process by which chemicals combine to form new chemicals. For example: a tree might be cut down, sawed into fire wood, and burned. When the wood is burning the heat causes the chemicals of which the wood is composed to vaporize, mixing with the oxygen in the air to form new chemicals, including water and the gas carbon dioxide. So what was formerly a tree is no longer identified as the form of a tree, but the substance thereof is now simply CHANGED into a DIFFERENT FORM and exists in its new form within the atmosphere as water, carbon dioxide, etc. Thus, to bum, means to CHANGE. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that fire does not burn down; it always burns up; it seeks the highest level. And all that it consumes "goes up in smoke," to exist in a new form in a higher dimension. Even if you take a pan of water and place it over a fire, before long the water will take on the property of the fire and will begin to go up in steam. To burn means to CHANGE, and the change is always UPWARD in its motion.
FIRE is the heat and light that you feel and see when something burns. It takes heat to start a fire, but once the fire is started it produces heat that keeps the process going. Thus, fire is really HEAT and LIGHT.
In my study of the lake that burns with fire and brimstone I was very much helped and impressed by the understanding given by Charles Pridgeon and I would like to quote from his scholarly work on the subject of BRIMSTONE. He says: "The Lake of Fire and Brimstone signifies a fire burning with brimstone; the word 'brimstone' or sulphur defines the character of the fire. The Greek word THEION translated 'brimstone' is exactly the same word THEION which means 'divine.' Sulphur was sacred to the deity among the ancient Greeks; and was used to fumigate, to purify, and to cleanse and consecrate to the deity; for this purpose they burned it in their incense. In Homer's Iliad (16:228), one is spoken of as purifying a goblet with fire and brimstone. The verb derived from THEION is THEIOO, which means to hallow, to make divine, or to dedicate to a god (See Liddell and Scott Greek-English Lexicon, 1897 Edition). To any Greek, or any trained in the Greek language, a 'lake of fire and brimstone' would mean a 'lake of divine purification.' The idea of judgment need not be excluded. Divine purification and divine consecration are the plain meaning in ancient Greek. In the ordinary explanation, this fundamental meaning of the word is entirely left out, and nothing but eternal torment is associated with it" -end quote.
I realize that the above thoughts define the subject very briefly, but let us summarize the meanings thus: BURN means combustion; to change the form of. FIRE means heat and light. BRIMSTONE means divine. Putting these three together can we not see that the lake burning with fire and brimstone is, actually, DIVINE HEAT AND LIGHT PRODUCING A CHANGE! Is such a process eternal? All the laws of nature shout that it is not! More than 2500 years ago the Holy Spirit warned the wicked inhabitants of Jerusalem that God would kindle a fire at Jerusalem's gates which would devour her palaces. "But if you will not hearken unto Me ... then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not he quenched" (Jer. 17:27). Did not God say this fire "shall NOT BE QUENCHED?" This prophecy was fulfilled and the fire did occur a few years later and it did destroy all the houses of Jerusalem (Jer. 52:13). Since God said no person or thing would "quench" this fire, did that mean that it would burn for ever? Since it accomplished the work it was sent to do, and since it is NOT BURNING TODAY, it obviously went out by itself after accomplishing its purpose! Unquenchable fire is not eternal fire - it is simply fire that cannot be put out until it has consumed or changed everything it is possible for it to change! It then simply goes out, for there is nothing more to burn. Yet I hear the preachers ranting and raving about poor souls being cast into bell fire where "their worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched" and this, we are told, means eternal, unending torment. How foolish, illogical, and deceptive! Such a view contradicts the plain meaning of the term "unquenchable" and its use in the Word of God.”………. From http://www.savior-of-all.com/lakeoffire.html The Savior of the World series
So we see that this is a 'lake of divine purification’, all unbelievers go though purification. At last we final know what happens in the lake of fire.
“The final work of God in this world will be the destruction of the world (order) by penal fire. That will change all things. That will melt all the elements, so that no man can tell you where his original grab was. It will burn up all the governments, institutions, systems, and fruitage of the carnal mind. It will melt all the customs, cultures, traditions, and practices of society and make of this earth a new earth wherein dwells righteousness. Every man's work will eventually be tested in this fire. The fire will try every man's work of what sort it is. If you and I build into our walls wood, hay, and stubble, that fire will find it out, and the wall will come tumbling down. When God turns on the HEAT, the BLAZING LIGHT OF HIS SPIRIT AND WORD - some things begin to change! The fire is never sent to destroy the PERSON, but to purge out all that hinders and separates him from his God, to consume the pride, arrogance, hostility, defiance, and rebellion of the flesh, the carnal mind, that He might then be wooed and drawn by the Holy Spirit unto the Father of Spirits and live.” From http://www.savior-of-all.com/lakeoffire.html
God will destroy sin, rebellion and death in the Lake of Fire. Death, sin and rebellion will be no more.
“The time is coming, praise His name! when God's Kingdom shall be All in All, and there shall be neither sin, nor sinners, nor death....
It is clear that God does not destroy men in the lake of fire, nowhere does it say that, for that would be a contradiction of terms. How can you destroy death by creating death? How can you abolish death by bringing men under the power of eternal death from which there is no escape?
Oh, no, it is not men who are destroyed in the lake of fire - it is SIN and DEATH......"And the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" (I Cor. 15:26). Thus, the lake of fire is nothing more nor less than THE DEATH OF DEATH!” From http://www.savior-of-all.com/lakeoffire.html
A quote from Purpose of Life website:
“Mark 9:49 For everyone will be salted with fire, and every sacrifice will be salted with salt
Not only will everyone be salted with fire, but Jesus also said that every sacrifice will be salted with salt. Now we all know that salt is a preservative and an antiseptic, and it is also a seasoning for food. In the law of Moses, every grain offering, also termed a sacrifice, had to be seasoned with salt (Leviticus 2:13). The salt represents the goodness of God's Law and character. Jesus said that His followers are to be the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13). We are to be living sacrifices, salted with the salt of goodness, grace and peace.
...present your bodies a sacrifice, living, holy, well pleasing to God, your logical divine service... (Romans 12:1-2)
...offer up spiritual sacrifices, most acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:5)
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt... (Colossians 4:6 NIV)
"Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another." (Mark 9:50)”
From http://www.purposeoflife.org.uk/hell%20doc.htm
Notice here again that it is everyone, and it is done by fire…..
Now lets look at the fact that it calls this place a LAKE:
“The vision of Revelation is full of spiritual signs and symbols which are deeply rooted in the Hebrew Scriptures, especially as it relates to the Temple services. Outside the Temple of Solomon was the brazen Sea. This was a huge bowl of water for the priests to wash themselves for their ceremonial cleansing (1 Kings 7:23-26; 2 Chronicles 4:6). Now in the New Testament we read about the Sea of Galilee, which is really a Lake. It is describing a huge expanse of water. So we can already see that the Lake of Fire is related to the brazen Sea as a means of cleansing or purification……
We've already established earlier that the fire of God is His Law, His justice, His righteousness. The Greek word for fire is pur from which we get such words as purify and purge. Natural fire has this effect on materials that can stand the test of fire, such as gold and silver. These metals can be purified by fire to get rid of all the dross, the unwanted, impure alloys. So we have two witnesses, from nature and Scripture, to show us that fire cleanses and purifies, and so does water. In the Lake of Fire we have the picture of both in a powerful, figurative image.”
From http://www.purposeoflife.org.uk/hell%20doc.htm
TORMENTED IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LAMB
But what about people being TORMENTED, does not the Bible say people are TORMENTED?, Yes it does. Now lets look at this, again I turn to “The Savior of the World series”
“The words torment, tormented, tormentors, and torments occur twenty-one times in the King James version, and all in the New Testament. Three of these are in connection with the lake of fire. Let me give you the quotations. "The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be TORMENTED WITH FIRE AND BRIMSTONE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE HOLY ANGELS (MESSENGERS) AND IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LAMB: and the smoke of their torment ascends up for ever and ever (Greek: unto the ages of the ages): and they have no rest day nor night..." (Rev. 14:10-11). "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever (Greek: unto the ages of the ages - see Part One of this series -'Just What Do You Mean ... ETERNITY!')" (Rev. 20:10).
Notice please, in both instances, the subjects are tormented with fire and brimstone, and we have previously established what the fire and brimstone are. But Rev. 14:10 sheds further light, those are also tormented by and through another agency, which in reality sums up and constitutes the fire and brimstone, and that agency is THE PRESENCE OF THE LAMB and the holy angels, or messengers. What an amazing divine paradox! The Lamb - precious embodiment of the very character of innocence, patience, meekness, gentleness, holiness, sacrifice, and redemption - being made TORMENT to men for whom He died! The very thought seems incongruous. You see, dear ones, IT IS NOT THE NATURE of a lamb to torture anyone. It is simply not in the nature of the lamb to want to hurt in any way. Really! What could a lamb do to torture anyone? It has no capability for such a thing. And so it is with the LAMB OF GOD! The Lamb of God has no desire, no ability to inflict torture in any way - His desire is entirely redemptive - that men might have life and have it more abundantly! I cannot imagine One with the nature of a lamb packing poor lost souls like brick into a kiln, standing there blowing the fires of hell through them for ever. Such a grotesque representation charges the blessed Redeemer with crimes more heartless than those of Adoph Eichmann.
Ah, the torment comes not from the Lamb. The torment lies within the bosoms of the tormented. The Scripture does not say that the Lamb torments them! If you think it does, you are mistaken. It states that THEY ARE TORMENTED IN THE PRESENCE of the Lamb. What a thought! TORMENTED IN THE PRESENCE. The Lamb is merely present. He does not torment. The condition is within themselves. Because they are wrong and sinful in nature, wicked in their hearts, selfish in their minds, and impure in their desires, they are CONDEMNED IN THEIR CONSCIENCES by the very PRESENCE of the pure, holy, sinless, selfless, sacrificing Lamb of God. Hell is at its fiercest when it sees heaven, and not till then. When these realize the presence, or the character of the Lamb, they are tortured in their consciences, for in the Light of the Lamb they see themselves for the wretched little devils they are. The very PRESENCE of TRUTH torments the deceitful and the liar. The very PRESENCE of HOLINESS torments the immoral and corrupt. The very PRESENCE of LOVE is torment to the mean and hateful. The PRESENCE of Him who is the PRINCE OF PEACE is torture to those who live by violence and the sword. The very PRESENCE of the LIFE OF THE LAMB is the most awful torment and torture to all the opposing forces, both deceiver and deceived, until all the deceit and hostility has been taken out of them, and they come to KNOW THE LORD. When these have been exposed for a sufficient time to the PRESENCE of the Lamb, the Lamb will overcome them; His love and power will conquer their hearts; the rebellion and waywardness will be taken from them and they will at last ENJOY the Presence of the Lamb!” From http://www.savior-of-all.com/lakeoffire.html The Savior of the World series
A Note on the colour of the Throne:
“It is also evident from Scripture that there is a place for God's vengeance to be made manifest, for He hates all wickedness and lawlessness, and all wrongs need to be put right. But we must remember that His throne of judgment is a white throne. He is a just and righteous Judge Who is also Love and Light. His Love for us ALL has already been expressed through the ministry and Sacrifice of His Son. Therefore, any destruction and anger of God upon humans must ultimately have a loving remedial effect in the New Creation, for He has the heart of a perfect Father, and all of humanity are His children whom He loves very much. He cannot remain angry 'forever,' and His heart will not be satisfied until every one of His stubborn children have been brought back into His loving arms.”
From http://www.purposeoflife.org.uk/hell%20doc.htm
Copyright © M J Farquharson 2006 & 2021