What About The Lake Of Fire?

“We rely on the living God, who is the Savior of All”

– I Tim 4:10.

Somewhere towards the end of the book of Revelations, there is this event or this destination or this “thing” called “the lake of fire”.

We bring it up because there are a lot of Christians out there who come up with plenty of excuses NOT to believe that God is the Savior of all.

And so they say “What about the Lake of Fire”???

They bring this up as if to say, this “lake of fire” business proves that God is not the savior of all. But hold on…

What do we know about this “Lake of fire”?

First of all, the lake of fire is only mentioned in this one place… in the book of Revelation. It’s not discussed anywhere else.

Plus, it is NEVER called “hell”.

(Note: the word English word “hell” could be a reference to the Greek word “hades” – which literally means “unseen” – or, “hell” could be a reference to the Greek word “gehenna” – which was a place just outside Jerusalem, where they would burn the city trash, a garbage heap, full of compost worms. And they would burn some of the trash to keep the smell down. Plus “gehenna” was where they would toss the bodies of dead criminals-as a dishonorable burial.

Finally, “hell” could be a reference to a place called in Greek: “Tartarus” – mentioned only one time in the bible, so we don’t know much about the word (Tartarus) itself. But in the bible, the “lake of fire” is never called “hell”.

Some folks INFER that it’s “hell” but we don’t want to rely on INFERENCES, we want to see the bigger picture. And our main point is that “God is the savior of all”!!! So, let’s continue:)

Again: There are those who INFER that the lake of fire is “hell”… but the bible never calls it that.

In the plain language of the bible, the Lake of Fire IS the second death. – Not “hell”… but the 2^nd death.

What is death?

Death is the opposite of life. It’s not “another form of life”. It’s the OPPOSITE of life.

Death is the wages of sin.

Even as in Adam, all die… (I Cor 15:20-28)

How long is “death”?

Is it permanent?

Is it “eternal”? (Note: the word “eternal” is an English word and is not really in the bible. The biblical word is AION or OLAM… a long period of time, but never refers to something endless. As proof, Jonah was said to be in the belly of the whale 3 days and 3 nights, but was also said to be in the whale’s belly “forever”.)

By all appearances, death would seem to be a permanent state. Except for one little thing… Christ rose from the dead. And… except for the promise that “In Christ, All Will be Vivified.” (I COR 15:20-28)

THIS is the core message of the evangel; that Christ rose from the dead. And that his death and resurrection is what effects all of creation. And in a good way.

Death, and the dying (mortal) condition seems to effect everyone and every thing we do, say, and think.

We all want to live, right? Even if our lives are somewhat miserable, we all want to live.

No one wants to die the first time, so we can pretty well assume that no one wants “the second death.”

The Book of Revelation is a fascinating book of prophecy, allegory, metaphors, figures of speech, epic story-telling, and insight into the doings of God and Christ.

However, the Book of Revelation is actually short-sighted when it comes to the Ultimate Revelation of God’s Eonian Purpose. (Ref: Ephesians 3:11)

John, who wrote the book of Revelation, never saw the ultimate “end” of God’s purpose… John closed his book with the 4 enemies of God still hanging around.

NOTE: The four enemies of God, mentioned in Paul’s writings: I Cor 15:20-28, are…

• Rulership
• Authority
• Power
• And the last enemy to be abolished: death.

 

Now, as far as a satisfying look into the future, John’s Book of Revelation is a thrill ride (to be sure), but it falls short of giving you any real glimpse into God’s Purpose.

God’s purpose is to be “all in all” (I COR 15:28).

In the book of Revelation, God is shown to be all in some, and some in all, but Paul reveals that in the final chapter, God will be “all in all.” This is good news.

The Lake of Fire is the 2^nd death. But death’s power, death’s grip, is shown to be fleeting in that “Christ is the firstborn of those who sleep.” Christ’s resurrection is the first crack in the wall (so to speak). But he’s not the only one to come back, those who are Christ’s will be raise also, at his return. But that’s not all. One day “the end” will come. The “end” of what? The end of the vivification of all!!!

You see, “Even as in Adam, all die, so in Christ, all will be made alive.” But not so fast, Christ is the firstfruit… then those who are Christ’s at his return, THEN COMES THE END of the death’s fearful grip, when Christ abolishes all rule, all power, and all authority, (including his own rule, power, and authority). And finally, the last enemy to be abolished is DEATH. And if DEATH (the wages of sin) is abolished, NO ONE can remain death, dying or mortal in any way.

What about The Lake Of Fire? Well… It’s a little more serious than a deadly earthquake, a little more widespread in scope than a killer storm. Or a world war.

But the truth is: God is the savior of all mankind, especially, but not exclusively of believers.

The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ guarantees the eventual end, the abolition of death.

The lake of fire may be a serious event, but the resurrection of Christ is a more serious event. The Lake of Fire does not effect all, but the resurrection of Christ does effect all.

God is the savior of all. Death’s grip is slipping. Those who die a 2^nd time in the lake of fire, will one day, find that all are to be reconciled by the blood of the cross (COL 1:20).

The outlook looks grim, but it makes the salvation look even more dramatic.

Grace to you.
Linwood Austin