5.
Our God Is A Consuming Fire
In
several English Bibles, most notably the King James Version, the Hebrew word sheol and the Greek words hades, tartarus and gehenna are most
often translated with the English word hell,
which, to most people, immediately conjures up visions of the lost being
eternally tormented in flames of fire that will never, ever go out. However, it
has been shown that sheol and hades have the exact same meaning and
refer to the unseen, and tartarus refers to something similar,
the imperceptible. The unseen refers to the dead who know
nothing whatsoever (Ecclesiastes 9.5-6) and has nothing whatsoever to do with
man’s hell created in the image of a
god of man’s own making. Tartarus
refers to messengers who are kept in imperceptible bonds for the judging of
the great day, that is, the chastening judging (2 Peter 2.4; Jude 6). Although tartarus has something to do with
judgment, it is not presented in any sense as an eternal (forever and ever)
dungeon of torment.
The
Greek word gehenna is used in
reference to judgment and is most often associated with fire, the gehenna of fire. The gehenna of fire and the lake of fire are similar in that
they both involve fire and both are for the purpose of judgment. However, as
shown latter, neither represents an eternal torture chamber that man has
created and called hell.
Now,
before looking at the whole matter of judgment by fire and the meaning of the gehenna of fire and the lake of fire, there are eight
foundational truths that must be stressed if we are to properly understand
these terms as presented in Scripture.
First
the soulish, then the spiritual.
First, Paul reinforces the principle that the spiritual
does not come first.
Thus also is the resurrection of the dead. It is
sown in corruption; it is roused in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor; it is
roused in glory. It is sown in infirmity; it is roused in power. It is sown a
soulish body; it is roused a spiritual body. If there is a soulish body, there
is a spiritual also. Thus it is written also, The first man, Adam, “became a
living soul:” the last Adam a vivifying Spirit. But not first the spiritual, but the soulish [natural, physical], thereupon the spiritual. The first
man was out of the earth, soilish; the second Man is the Lord out of heaven. (1
Corinthians 15.42-47 CV
[ALT, ASV, KJV, LITV (natural); GW, ISV (physical)])
God’s
order in relation to mankind is first the soulish and then the spiritual. The
Greek word psuchikos is translated soulish, natural or physical,
depending on the translation. Given the root of the word, soulish is probably the better translation. In any case, it conveys
the natural side of mankind as a living soul, which relates best to the
physical or material world. The soul apparently refers to the consciousness,
feelings and desires of man as he lives in a physical world.
In
Scripture, fire can be seen in the same way. We see fire first in the natural
or physical realm and then in the spiritual realm. Since we live in a material
world, all of us know what fire is in the physical sense. Fire consumes material
objects and reduces them to ashes and vapors. Throughout what follows, this
kind of fire is referred to as physical
fire.
The
first mention of fire in Scripture is in reference to the judgment of God of
two morally corrupt cities.
Then the LORD rained upon
We
can only assume that the fire that reigned down out of heaven on
However,
in Scripture, we must look beyond the physical fire and discern its spiritual
meaning. For example, Jude tells us that the destruction of
As Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in
like manner to these committing
ultra-prostitution, and coming away after other flesh, are lying before us,
a specimen [example], experiencing the
justice of fire eonian. (Jude 7 CV [most translations])
It
is obvious in reading Scripture that fire does not always represent a physical
fire, for it is often used in a figurative or symbolic way to explain or point
to a spiritual principle. As with most of Scripture, we should not focus on the
outward, physical manifestations of things (i.e., a physical fire), but rather
on the symbolic or spiritual meaning of things. We need to see the meaning of
what could be called spiritual fire.
Some examples will serve to make the point.
In
his announcement of the arrival of the Messiah of Israel, John the baptist
declared: He will be baptizing you in
holy spirit and fire (Matthew 3.11 CV), which refers
to burning up the chaff or all that is corrupt. We see another reference to
spiritual fire in Acts when the tongues
as if of fire descended on the infant ecclesia, and they were filled with holy spirit, and they all began to speak in
different known languages, as given to each by the spirit (Acts 2.1-4 CV). We can experience a fiery
trial, which refers to a very difficult situation designed to try or test
our faith by fire (James 1.2; 1 Peter 1.6-7; 2 Peter 4.12). In his
The
fact of the matter is that the most prevalent use of the word fire in Scripture is in reference to the
judgment of God, based on His divine law of righteousness and justice. After
all, the foundation of His kingdom is righteousness and justice (Psalm 33.5;
89.14; 97.2). This is taken up later as we look at the lake of fire, which is
the last mention of fire in Scripture. This fire will not consume human flesh;
it will only consume acts or works based on their quality or character as
judged according to God’s law. We could say that it will be fire that will
emanate from the spiritual realm, for God
is spirit.
(The rest of the dead do not live until the
thousand years should be finished.) This is the former [first] resurrection. …
And death and the unseen were cast into the
lake of fire. This is the second death—the
lake of fire. And if anyone was not found written in the scroll of life, he
was cast into the lake of fire.
(Revelation 20.5, 14-15 CV
[most translations])
The
heaven-hell preaching of our day holds that this fire is a physical fire that
somehow torments but does not consume human bodies. However, as stressed
throughout what follows, God is spirit,
and this fire is of the spiritual realm, not the physical, as we know it. In
similar fashion, the lake of fire must
be seen as a unique type of fire emanating in the spirit realm based on God’s
law, with the purpose of consuming all moral corruption and dead works.
In
other words, whenever we read of fire in Scripture, we need to see beyond the
obvious into the spiritual to see what the fire symbolizes or signifies. Even
the physical fire that killed the inhabitants of
Jesus’
words are spirit and life.
Second, Jesus told His disciples that the words that He
spoke were spirit and life.
The Spirit is that which is vivifying. The flesh is
not benefiting anything. The
declarations which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. (John 6.63
CV)
“The Spirit is the One giving life; the flesh does not
accomplish [or, benefit] anything. The words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life!” (John 6.63 ALT)
Jesus’
words or declarations are not to be taken lightly as simply words, as if He
were a great philosopher, scholar, teacher, or even a theologian; and they are
not to be interpreted as pertaining to the physical or natural, as man sees it.
All that Jesus spoke and that is recorded in Scripture must be viewed as
spiritual words that are intended to give life to the hearer, not death. The
flesh, which refers to the soulish man, does not benefit anything and, as such,
cannot lead one to true life. It is only that which is spiritual that truly
matters. Thus, if we are to understand Jesus’ words, then we must discern or
know them in spirit.
Paul
explained this to the Corinthians who were exercising spiritual gifts and, yet,
were walking according to the flesh. Even with the gifts, they were
unspiritual. Instead of growing up in Christ as spiritual people, they were
remaining as babes or children not able to ingest solid food, that is,
spiritual food that gives life.
But we did not receive the spirit of the world, but the
Spirit, the [One] from God, so that we should know the [things] having been
graciously given to us by God; which [things] also we speak, not in words
taught by human wisdom, but in [words] taught by the Holy Spirit, interpreting
spiritual [things] by spiritual [words] [or, combining spiritual [ideas] with
spiritual [words]]. But a natural [or, unspiritual] person does not receive
the [things] of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he is
not able to know [them], because they are spiritually examined. (1 Corinthians
2.12-14 ALT)
So,
to understand Jesus’ words, which are spirit and life, we must be able to
combine spiritual ideas with
spiritual words, or spiritual
with spiritual. This may seem to be an obvious point, but given the
gross distortion of Jesus’ words about gehenna
and other passages about God’s judgment of all mankind, it appears that some,
perhaps many, who preach and teach Scripture, have failed to combine spiritual with spiritual; but rather, they have remained in the physical realm in
the interpretation of Scripture. Case in point: an eternal dungeon of fire and
worms that continually tortures billions upon billions of living people, whom God created with the intention of them being in
His image, is seen by many as a physical judgment that torments both body and
soul. That this eternal hell is not to be found in Scripture adds to the horror
of such teaching. But more importantly, if Jesus’ words are spirit and life,
then how can we take His words about gehenna,
in particular, and make them into something strictly physical, which ultimately
leads to eternal torture? As shown later, there is a component of the physical
in His words because the physical comes first, but His words pertain to spirit
and life.
God
is spirit.
Third, it makes perfect sense that Jesus spoke words
that are spirit because His Father is spirit, and all that He spoke and did
came forth from His heavenly Father, who sent Him to this earth to die for our
sin. In speaking to the Samaritan woman, Jesus clearly declared this truth in
relation to worship.
“But coming is the hour, and now is, when the true
worshipers will be worshiping the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father
also is seeking such to be worshiping Him. God
is spirit, and those who are worshiping Him must be worshiping in spirit
and truth.” (John 4.23-24 CV)
Since
God is spirit, it only follows that all things pertaining to God and His
dealing with mankind must be seen and understood in spirit. If we want to know life, then we must know the spirit
because the spirit gives life (John 6.63). If we want to know truth, then we
must receive it from the spirit of truth, which leads to the next point.
The
spirit of truth.
Fourth, it is only through the spirit of truth that we will
come into the truth of God’s word.
“And I shall be asking the Father, and He will be
giving you another consoler, that it, indeed, may be with you for the eon―the spirit of truth,
which the world can not get, for it is not beholding it, neither is knowing it.
Yet you know it, for it is remaining with you and will be in you.” (John
14.16-17 CV)
“Now, whenever the consoler which I shall be
sending you from the Father may be coming, the
spirit of truth which is going out from the Father, that will be testifying
concerning Me.” (John 15.26 CV)
Yet whenever that may be coming―the spirit of truth―it will be guiding you into all the
truth, for it will not be speaking from itself, but whatsoever it should be
hearing will it be speaking, and of what is coming will it be informing you.
(John 16.13 CV)
When
Jesus ascended back to His Father’s throne, as proof of His glorification (John
7.39), the spirit of truth was sent to the earth to teach the ecclesia that was
breathed upon on the day of Pentecost. Thank God, the spirit of truth has
remained with God’s people since that day, and this spirit is available to all
of us to lead us into all spiritual truth through God’s completed word known as
the sacred Scriptures, both of the Hebrew and the Greek. If we want to know the
truth that sets us free, then we must know it in spirit, for truth is joined with spirit. It is spirit and truth. Simply, in our understanding
the truth, we must move beyond the mindset of the physical realm and into the
mind of Christ that is spiritual.
The
truth sets you free.
Fifth, spiritual truth is what sets us free. There are
many types of so-called truths in the world today and even throughout
Christendom, but none of these truths have the capacity to free us from bondage
and death. Only one type of truth will truly set us free, and that is God’s
word, which Jesus declared is truth (John 17.17).
At His speaking these things, many believe in Him.
Jesus, then, said to the Jews who have believed Him, “If ever you should be remaining in My word, you are truly My
disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will be making you free.”
They answered Him, “The seed of Abraham are we, and we have never been slaves
of anyone. How are you saying that ‘You shall be becoming free’?” Jesus answered
them, “Verily, verily, I am saying to you that everyone who is doing sin, is a
slave of sin. Now the slave is not remaining
in the house for the eon. The son is
remaining for the eon. If ever, then, the Son should be making you free, you
will be really free.” (John 8.30-36 CV)
Some
of the Jews that were listening to Jesus believed His word, but many did not
believe. They were in bondage to sin, even though they were of the
Dear
brethren, this matter of the truth setting us free may seem out of place in a
discussion of the gehenna of fire and
the lake of fire, but it is just the
opposite; it is of the utmost importance. Truth sets people free; it does not
place them in further bondage and fear. Most of all, it does not place billions
of people in an endless state of torture and torment while a relatively small
number of people enjoy an endless state of bliss. Man’s hell might strike fear in the hearts of people and scare some
into accepting Christ in some measure, but it is not the truth that sets people
free and leads them into spirit and life. Fear never sets anyone free; it only
leads to greater bondage.
God
is love.
Sixth, the truth that sets one free is that God is love.
The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. (1 John 4.8 NASB)
We have come to know and have believed the love which God
has for us. God is love, and the one
who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (1 John 4.16 NASB)
The
good news is not about being saved out of some demented place of fire and
worms, but about the God who loves
the world and gave His only-begotten Son (John 3.16) to free us from death and
give us life. He is the Resurrection and the Life. Consider the following
verses, and may the spirit of truth reveal to your heart that God is love and
that His love extends to all mankind.
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our
Savior; Who will have all men to be
saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2.3-4 KJV)
For therefore we both labor and suffer reproach, because
we trust in the living God, who is the
Savior of all men, especially of those that believe. (1 Timothy 4.10 KJV)
Yet all is of God, Who conciliates us to Himself through
Christ, and is giving us the dispensation of the conciliation, how that God was in Christ, conciliating the world
to Himself, not reckoning their offenses to them, and placing in us the
word of the conciliation. (2 Corinthians 5.18-19 CV)
For in Him the entire complement delights to dwell,
and through Him to reconcile all to Him
(making peace through the blood of His
cross), through Him, whether those
on the earth or those in the heavens. (Colossians 1.19-20 CV)
Love
your enemies.
These
verses, and many more, speak volumes of God
is love. Our Father tells us to love our enemies and pray for them (Matthew
5.44). And yet, theologians have created a hell in which God will supposedly
torment His enemies forever and ever without any chance of reprieve. Think
about it! How can God tell us to love our enemies, and yet He hates His
enemies, which by the count of some theologians is on the order of 55 billion
people that have existed on this planet since day six of the restoration. God
is love means God loves His enemies, and He will eventually bring them into
reconciliation with Himself because
He
will judge His enemies, but He will not destroy or exterminate them forever.
The fact of the matter is that He will judge all mankind, including us who
believe, which leads to the next point.
The
God of love is a consuming fire.
Wherefore,
accepting an unshakable kingdom, we
may have grace through which we may be offering divine service in a way well
pleasing to God, with piety and dread, for
our God is also a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12.28-29 CV)
Seventh, God is a
consuming fire. The Greek word for consuming is katanalisko, which means “to utterly consume.” Of note is the fact
that this is an intensified form of its root word analisko, which is used only once in Greek Scripture, as recorded in
this verse. In other words, God alone is a consuming fire, and He alone will
utterly consume all that needs to be consumed to bring all mankind into the
glory of His kingdom.
Now, some might think that God is love is a contradiction to God is a consuming fire. After all, most people view fire in a
negative way because of its destructive power. To make matters worse, the whole
unscriptural notion of an eternal hell of fire that torments human flesh
without any relief adds to the apparent contradiction.
I have heard it stated many times over the airwaves that
Scripture has more to say about God’s justice (i.e., His need for a hell to
burn, toast and torment people) than it does about God is love. In other words, according to the heaven-hell
preaching, God’s righteous indignation with His enemies trumps His very
essence, which is love. As the thinking goes, God must mete out justice in an
eternal hell; otherwise, He is not a just God. I have even heard some declare
that God’s love demands that there be a hell. Never mind, that the god created
by those who hold such views is worse than the terrorists of our day who know
nothing of love.
I believe with my whole heart that we have lost the true
meaning of the good news of Jesus Christ. Peace, love and reconciliation have
been replaced with war, hate and punishment. I wish I could shout from every
pulpit in Christendom that there is absolutely no contradiction in God is love, God is spirit and God is a
consuming fire. Fire is not a bad thing, and in fact, it is quite good and
essential in bringing about the purpose of the eons, especially for the
eventual salvation of all mankind.
Physical fire is the process of combustion or burning,
which entirely consumes or dissolves matter into ash or vapor. In Scripture, fire is associated with God’s judgment
or cleansing, both in a physical and spiritual sense, or a literal and
figurative or symbolic sense. Fire is quick and decisive, and so is God’s
judgment, especially when the kingdom is in view. For example,
Since God is spirit, and God is a consuming fire, it
follows that God works in the realm of spirit and that His consuming fire is
one of spirit. Again, we could call it His spiritual
fire or fire in spirit.
God’s fire in
spirit will consume all the dross, all the dead works of the flesh that cannot
enter the coming eons. However, God’s fire will not consume all the good or, we
could say, all that has been formed of Christ in the individual. The purpose of
God’s consuming fire is to conform us into the image (character) of His Son,
not to destroy us. If we saw how vital God’s spiritual fire is to our destiny in Christ, we would embrace it as
something good, even though it might be great anguish or torment for some of us
when we enter into it. Notice that it is a spiritual
fire; it is not physical fire as we know in our world today. God is spirit and
is love, and His fire must be spiritual in nature, driven by His love for all.
Chastening in the day of judging.
Eighth, God must
judge all mankind, but it is not for destruction; it is for restoration and
restitution of all the wrongs. On what basis must He judge? What standard will
He use? It must be based upon His divine law. Sin is lawlessness, so the only
way to judge sin is by the law, for without the law we would never know what
sin is in the first place. We are not justified by the work of the law, but our
faith will be judged by our works done by faith (James 2.14-26).
God judges by His law, which is His word, the entire Bible
and what He speaks to our hearts by His spirit for us to obey. This is taken up
in more detail in the discussion of the lake of fire, but it is important to
keep this principle in mind as we go forward.
The end from the beginning.
God
has revealed the end from the beginning, and He is working all things toward
His end (Isaiah 46.10). Nothing that has happened, is happening and will happen
in this world is outside the purpose and plan of God, and everything that
happens is driving toward God’s end for mankind and His entire creation. In a
world full of evil, I realize that this is almost beyond our capacity to grasp.
How could everything, even the evil we see and experience all around us and in
our lives, be part of God’s plan to bring about His purpose? As much as it
might not set well with the doctrines of men, Scripture tells us that God is
the creator of evil (Isaiah 45.7), and since this is so, we must conclude that
all evil has a purpose in the working out of God’s plan.
However,
if God created evil, then why does it seem to us that He is so harsh in
judging? When we study the history of
Obviously,
God’s ways are not our ways. His wisdom and judgments are not our wisdom and
judgments. Nevertheless, God has told us the end from the beginning. So what is
the end? It is explained in one word: Glory! God’s purpose for all mankind is
glory, starting with the many sons who will be led into glory (Hebrews 2.10;
Colossians 1.27) and consummating with the heavenly city that will come down
out of heaven having the glory from God (Revelation 21.10).
Life
and glory.
What
is glory? Glory is when everything in God’s creation is as He intended it to be
from before the beginning of the eons. It is God’s purpose to transform all
mankind from Adam to the last human born on earth into the image of His Beloved
Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the image of the invisible God, so that His
God and Father may be All in all.
For
me, this explains everything. As painful as evil and death are, and as painful
as judgment might be to many, even the fury of God, these are merely momentary
light afflictions compared to the glory to come when there is no more evil, no
more death, no more mourning, no more clamor, no more misery. In that day, the
former things will pass away, and the One sitting on the throne will be making
all new (see Revelation 21.4-5).
God
allows every human to go through some form of suffering, fiery trial,
discipline and evil because these, and many more hardships, are needed to
bring us all through to His end. Even the ones who seem to be filled with evil
and who are brought into severe judgment, even unto death, are in the purpose
of God to be saved in the end. From our perspective, death is a great enemy,
and even though God hates death, as we do, He nevertheless sees the end and
knows that it is all leading to life. Death is a means to His end and He sees
beyond death to life. After all, what is death to the God of the living
(Matthew 22.32)? What is death to God who has brought forth victory over sin
and death through His Son, who is the Resurrection and the Life?
So,
when mankind experiences judgment and death, God sees the life that will ultimately
come forth for all mankind, even if it comes forth for many at the consummation
of the eons. We may not understand why God has chosen to do it this way; but He
is God and who of us can question His wisdom?
It
is unfortunate that the doctrines of men have created such havoc in understanding
the judgment of God, as if He is an angry God who is determined to punish
mankind with an eternal hell, because we are unable to do what we were never
capable of doing in the first place, that is, save ourselves. God is the Savior
of all mankind, and He wills that all
mankind be saved, even though His judging may seem severe at times. His judging
is for chastening, not for an eternal hell.
The Lord is acquainted with the rescue of the
devout out of trial, yet is keeping the
unjust for chastening in the day of judging, yet specially those going
after the flesh in defiling lust and despising lordship. (2 Peter 2.9-10 CV)
Most
translations use the word punishment
and others use the word tormented,
but this is unfortunate, for this makes judgment penal in nature rather than
corrective. This is interpretative bias to bolster man’s doctrine of a
never-ending punishment in a physical fire. Penal judgment is designed to mete
out punishment on the perpetrator but not to correct or restore the person.
In
the Greek, the word kolasis is concordantly translated as chastening, which means “to chasten with a view to amendment, in
contrast to punishment which is penal” (also used in Matthew 25.46; Acts
4.21; 2 Peter 2.4; 1 John 4.18). In other words, chastening has a purpose, and that purpose is to correct and to
purify the one who is suffering through the chastening. However, punishment aims to satisfy the one who
is inflicting the punishment. For example, before he met the risen Christ on
the road to
Let
it be indelibly written on our hearts that God’s judgment is to settle accounts
to bring forth the highest and most pure form of righteousness and justice. It
is not to penalize or to destroy but to restore. This is the fruit of love.
Oh,
how different is the heart of God and His love toward mankind! The unjust are
kept for chastening, not for destruction or for an eternal hell. May your eyes
be opened to this truth!
These eight truths are not the only ones; six others are
taken up later. However, with eight of fourteen truths in mind, we can consider
the various forms of judgment by fire found in Scripture, starting with the gehenna
of fire from the perspective of the apostate nation of Israel [the Jew
first (Romans 1.16)].
The
gehenna of fire.
According to many preachers today, the word gehenna is simply the expression used for the eternal punishment of
the lost; it is man’s hell. This theme is reinforced in the book Paradise Lost (1667), in which the
author Milton wrote: “The pleasant Valy of Hinnom, Tophet thence and black
Gehenna call’d, the Type of hell.” Of course, this is not Scripture, but it
should not surprise anyone that some of what is believed in various circles of
Christendom has come from other sources.
As if to prove the point, as I was editing this particular chapter, I turned
on the television to watch a well-known, national pastor preach. His message
was on hope, but he started by discussing the hopelessness of many in the world
today. It was not long before he proceeded to talk about hell. Someone had
asked him if hell existed because the questioner had heard very little preached
on hell lately. The pastor answered that there most assuredly is a hell, and
then he proceeded to quote from Dante’s Inferno and to describe a cartoon he
had seen about Satan standing at the entrance to a large cavern with flames of
fire inside, which portrayed hell. This was the pastor’s proof that hell
exists; he did not present one single Scripture to back up his claim. I rest my
case!
Another preacher was asked if he believed in hell and whether unbelievers go to hell. He very quickly declared something like this: “Jesus spoke
more on hell than anyone; therefore,
I believe what Jesus taught. Hell is
real and the lost go there, for this is what Jesus taught.” Really, did Jesus
actually teach this? Granted, Jesus spoke on this subject more than anyone
else. In fact, Jesus was the only one who really spoke on this subject. Except
for the epistle of James, one will search in vain for any specific use by the
apostles of the word gehenna—or hell, for that matter.
In Greek Scripture, the word gehenna
is discovered in twelve verses, eleven of which are directly attributed to
Jesus’ speaking in Matthew (5.22, 29, 30; 10.28; 18.9; 23.15, 33), Mark (9.43,
45, 47) and Luke (12.5). The twelfth one
is found in the book of James (3.6). Following are three verses for reference
purposes.
Yet I am saying to
you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to the judging.
Yet whoever may be saying to his brother, ‘Raka!’ shall be liable to the Sanhedrin.
Yet whoever may be saying, ‘Stupid!’ shall be liable to the Gehenna of fire. (Matthew 5.22 CV)
“And do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill
the soul; but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in gehenna.” (Matthew 10.28 WNT)
And if your eye is causing you to fall into sin, tear it
out and away with it; it is better for you to enter into Life with only one
eye, than to remain in possession of two eyes but be thrown into the Gehenna of fire. (Matthew 18.9 WNT)
Gehenna does not
refer to a place of torment where the lost [1]
go upon or in death. Anyone with a
clear mind and a basic understanding of salvation by grace through faith should
immediately see why gehenna is not
for the lost. We are saved by a pure act of the grace of God apart from any
work or merit on our part. Sinners can do nothing but believe what Another has done for them. And yet, when
Jesus referred to the gehenna of fire He often joined it with
a work.
We are saved on the basis of grace through faith, apart
from any work. Paul wrote: We are reckoning a man to be justified by faith apart from works of law (Romans 3.28 CV). If it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace
(Romans 11.6 NASB). For in grace, through faith, are you saved, and
this is not out of you; it is God’s approach present, not of works, lest anyone should be boasting (Ephesians 2.8-9 CV). Even our faith to believe does not come from us; it is the faith
of Christ that saves us, for He is the Inaugurator and Perfecter of faith
(Hebrews 12.2 CV). Paul wrote: I live by faith, the faith of the Son of God
(Galatians 2.20 DNT).
It is perfectly clear that works do not under any
circumstance enter into salvation by grace. In other words, unbelievers are
never saved by their works; they can do nothing to be saved except to believe
what Christ did for mankind. Even their faith is a gift of God.
However, a study of Jesus’ use of the word gehenna immediately reveals that He told
those listening that they could do something to avoid gehenna. If people are told to cut out their offending eye or to
cut off their offending hand, is this not a work? Can you imagine telling
people that if they want to be saved, they must gouge out their eye or cut off
their hand? Do you see the absurdity of such a demand? Hardly anyone, except
perhaps the most desperate or demented, would ever be saved. Of course, this is
figurative language to convey a spiritual lesson. Remember, Jesus’ words are spirit and life.
In essence, Jesus was saying they needed to clean up their act to enter eonian
life, which refers to life in the oncoming eons and not immortal life. But what sinner can do this to be saved?
What about calling someone stupid? Can you imagine
preaching to an unbeliever that he must not call someone stupid if he wants to
be saved? The unbeliever needs to hear that Christ died for our sins
according to the scriptures, and that He was entombed, and that He has been
roused the third day according to the scriptures (1 Corinthians 15.3-4 CV).
Yet, some use the gehenna
verses to preach on what they call hell,
which is most often likened to an eternal torture chamber. However, when He
made these statements about the gehenna
of fire, Jesus did not have the unbelieving gentiles in view. He spoke
directly to His Jewish brethren or, more specifically, the nation of
The background.
It is essential to see that every Greek text in which the
word gehenna is used was directed
toward Jews, with a view to entering the
The issue is who will be found worthy to enter the coming
kingdom, to enter into eonian life
during the millennial reign of Christ. Some will not be found worthy and will
find themselves excluded from this time by remaining among the dead, but this
does not exclude them from one day putting on immortality after the second
resurrection. Others will find themselves on the outskirts of the governmental
and bridal affairs of the kingdom. Instead of ruling, they will be ruled over.
Instead of enjoying an allotment in the kingdom, they will be shut out. Instead
of enjoying the bridal wedding feast and marriage to the Lamb, they will be
estranged. They will be the ones who will be in outer darkness weeping and
gnashing their teeth over their loss (Matthew 8.11-12; Luke 13.24-30).
The unbelieving gentiles (nations), apart from Christ,
cannot stray, for they are simply lost for the eons. They will not be raised up
in the first resurrection, for their destiny is the second resurrection and the
judgment of the lake of fire.
Now, with this background, let us consider four points,
keeping in mind that first the physical and then the spiritual.
A garbage dump.
First, when He spoke of the gehenna of fire, Jesus referred to
something that most Jews, particularly the devout ones, living in
Essentially, gehenna referred
to a big garbage dump south of
The
Second, the location of this
garbage dump also had meaning in the history of the nation of
Gehenna refers to the
According to Joshua, the valley was south of
In the history of
King Josiah, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all
his soul and with all his might (2 King 23.25 NASB), defiled the high
places, so that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire
for Molech (2 Kings 23.10 NASB).
There were two other events that occurred in this valley. The army of
Sennacherib (185,000 men) was killed there and their bodies were consumed by
fire. Also, idolatrous Jews were slaughtered by the Babylonians in this valley.
Their bodies could not be buried, so they were preyed upon by scavengers.
Perhaps, the word of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah the prophet
gives the best understanding of the matter of gehenna. Jeremiah was sent
to speak against the apostasy of
“For the sons of
Please take special note of the fact that the Lord referred to their
dead bodies as food for the birds and the beasts. This was not a place of
torment for so-called living souls but
a place of death for the dead.
Later,
in Jeremiah 18.11, the prophet was told to speak to the men of
“So now then, speak
to the men of
The
remainder of the chapter speaks to their rebellion against God and explains why
they will be judged. In chapter 19, Jeremiah introduces the ultimate destiny of
the city of
Thus says the LORD, “Go
and buy a potter’s earthenware jar, and take some of the elders of the
people and some of the senior priests. Then go out to the valley of Ben-hinnom, which is by the entrance of the potsherd
gate, and proclaim there the words that I tell you, and say, ‘Hear the word of
the LORD, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: thus says the LORD of
hosts, the God of Israel, “Behold I am about to bring a calamity upon this
place, at which the ears of everyone that hears of it will tingle. Because they
have forsaken Me and have made this an alien place and have burned sacrifices
in it to other gods, that neither they nor their forefathers nor the kings of
Judah had ever known, and because they have filled this place with the blood of
the innocent and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the
fire as burnt offerings to Baal, a thing which I never commanded or spoke of,
nor did it ever enter My mind; therefore, behold, days are coming,” declares
the LORD, “when this place will no
longer be called Topheth or the valley of Ben-hinnom, but rather the valley of
Slaughter.” (Jeremiah 19.1-6 NASB)
Jeremiah
was commanded to buy a potter’s earthenware jar and go out to the
“Then you
are to break the jar in the sight of the men who accompany you and say to them,
‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Just so will I break this people and this city,
even as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot again be repaired; and they
will bury in Topheth because there is no other place for burial. This is how I
will treat this place and its inhabitants,” declares the LORD, “so as to
make this city like Topheth. The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the
kings of Judah will be defiled like the
place Topheth, because of all the houses on whose rooftops they burned
sacrifices to all the heavenly host and poured out drink offerings to other
gods.’” Then Jeremiah came from Topheth, where the LORD had sent him to
prophesy; and he stood in the court of the LORD’S house and said to all the
people: “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am about to bring on this city and all its towns the entire
calamity that I have declared against it, because they have stiffened their
necks so as not to heed My words.’” (Jeremiah 19.10-15 NASB)
Once
an old jar is broken it is of no further value because it cannot be repaired.
According to the word of the Lord through Jeremiah, there is only one place to
dispose of the broken jar and that is in Topheth. In other words,
Now,
this presents a problem because the ancient city has been rebuilt by some
counts at least nine times, and there is a modern-day
If we are to hold Scripture as the truth, then we must also hold that
even the modern-day
Thus, taking all together of what has been presented so far, the most
significant fact is that the valley of Hinnom
involved the death of God’s people of the nation of Israel, not the heathen
nations; and when Jesus spoke of gehenna,
He spoke to His disciples and the Jews, not to the gentiles (the nations). In
the context of
When He walked among the Jews of that day, Jesus put His finger on the
pulse of the condition of the people and, in particular, the religious leaders,
the Pharisees and the scribes. They were in danger of the gehenna of fire because they had sunk to a low moral state in
which they, as ones called of God through the fathers, refused to believe His
word, which led them to profanely demand the death of God’s Son, their Messiah,
the very One who came to save them.
Again, Jesus’ words are spirit and He was pointing to more than a
physical death; the nation of
Corpses of mortals.
Third,
to the Jews who knew the sacred Scriptures of the prophets, Jesus’ warning must
have been clear; it was not a hidden secret like the parables. They knew the
meaning from their history and with their eyes as they saw the fire and smoke
of this garbage dump on the south side of
Jesus undoubtedly had
Isaiah the prophet in mind when He spoke of gehenna.
And it will come to be, as often as the new moon
comes in its monthly time, and as often as the sabbath comes in its sabbath
cycle, all flesh shall come to worship before Me in Jerusalem, says Yahweh. And they will go forth and see the corpses of
the mortals who transgressed against Me, for their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched,
and they will become a repulsion to all flesh. (Isaiah 66.23-24 CV).
A fire that is
unquenched means it will do its job fully and completely. Worms are also found
in garbage dumps, for they feed off organic matter. Both will outlast the
flesh, for their purpose is to consume all flesh. Notice that the fire and
worms are associated with the consumption of corpses, which means the person is
dead and not alive in some fiery
torment. He prophesied of the corpses of
mortals, ones who are not beyond death. This should dispel any notion that the gehenna of fire is a living hell, as
held by so much of Christendom. Contextually, Isaiah prophesied of the fate of
apostates that are denied entrance into the Messianic kingdom. The fact of the
matter is they are dead.
There are other
Scriptures that refer to various judgments of mortals that result in suffering
and physical death.
John the baptist
appeared on the scene heralding the kingdom, and he pointed to a day when
Christ will burn up the chaff.
“Whose winnowing
shovel is in His hand, and He will be scouring His threshing floor, and will be
gathering His grain into His barn, yet the chaff will He be burning up with unextinguished fire.”
(Matthew 3.12 CV)
Jesus later added to His
disciples’ understanding. In the parables of the secrets of the kingdom of the
heavens, Jesus explained to His disciples that all snares and lawless ones must
be removed out of His kingdom, as executed by God’s messengers (angels).
The Son of Mankind
shall be dispatching His messengers, and they shall be culling out of His
kingdom all the snares and those doing lawlessness, and they shall be casting
them into a furnace of fire. There
shall be lamentation and gnashing of
teeth. (Matthew 13.41-42 CV)
In this case, the furnace of fire is the wrath of God
poured out on them. As judgment comes upon them, they will be in great anguish
over what they are experiencing and over their impending doom. Until they die
(not after they die), there is much lamentation
and gnashing of teeth.
This is why it would be
better to be maimed and enter the kingdom than remain intact and suffer the
fury of God. If they did not heed Jesus’ warning, they too would find
themselves counted among the snares, lawless ones and stumbling blocks in the gehenna of fire. They would not be
exempt from such judgment just because they are sons of the kingdom. This is
why they were exhorted to seek first the kingdom and its righteousness, and to
have a righteousness that exceeded that of the scribes and Pharisees.
Thus, the gehenna of fire refers to a death
sentence, which is rightly referred to as the capital punishment of the
kingdom. Those who receive a verdict of death do not receive a proper burial;
rather, their dead bodies remain on the ground and are consumed as if they were
garbage or refuse. Those whose bodies are decayed and burned in this fashion
will be judged at the great white throne and will not participate in the first
resurrection that leads to eonian life.
Clearly, Jesus was not
only looking back nor was He merely looking at the condition in that day; He
was also pointing to the days ahead for the unbelieving, apostate Jews. In 70
AD, all they held to in
Although there are obvious physical aspects of the gehenna of fire, we again need to be
reminded that the physical is followed by the spiritual, and it is no exception
with the gehenna of fire. Jesus’
words are spirit. Apostasy always leads to a death in the spiritual sense as
well. As a nation,
Eonian,
unextinguished fire.
Fourth, the gehenna
of fire is associated with the eons and not with eternity, contrary to the
King James Version rendering of everlasting. The more exact rendering is eonian, which means that the gehenna of fire involves the eons, not
eternity.
Now, if your hand or your foot is snaring you,
strike it off and cast it from you. Is it ideal for you to be entering into
life maimed or lame, or, having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the fire eonian? “And if your eye is
snaring you, wrench it out and cast it from you. Is it ideal for you to be
entering into life one-eyed, or, having two eyes, to be cast into the gehenna of fire?” (Matthew 18.8-9 CV)
Another
passage in Mark’s gospel is often used to argue that gehenna is eternal in nature.
And if your hand should ever be snaring you, strike
it off. It is ideal for you to be entering into life maimed, rather than,
having two hands, to come away into Gehenna,
into the unextinguished fire. (Mark 9.43 CV)
The
King James states that it will never be quenched. The same argument applies as
to the fire eonian. Just because
something is unquenchable does not mean that it will never go out. It simply
means that it is a judgment that must run its course, and no one will be able
to stop it.
A
similar word is discovered in Matthew: The chaff will He be burning up with unextinguished fire (Matthew 3.12 CV). Many translations use the term unquenchable
fire, but this is not the best rendering. It is unextinguished, meaning the
fire will continue without interruption until all that is being burned is
burned up. Once it starts, no one or nothing can stop it. Thus, it will burn
until the chaff is consumed completely.
Besides,
we discover a similar word in Jeremiah when the Lord Jehovah rebuked idolatrous
Israel: Therefore thus saith the Lord
Jehovah: Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place;
upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit
of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall
not be quenched (Jeremiah 7.20 DNT).
Surely,
this fire did its complete work and has long ago burned itself out. This means that it was
not an eternal, never-ending fire, for today there is no sign of this fire in
the modern state of
Now,
beginning with Pentecost, many responded to Peter’s call to the sons of
A consuming fire.
For this reason, [since we are] receiving an unshakable
kingdom, let us be having grace, through which we are sacredly serving God in
an acceptable manner, with reverence and godly fear. For indeed our God [is] a consuming fire [or, [is] as
to His essence consuming fire]. [Exod 24:17; Deut 4:24] (Hebrews 12.28-29 ALT)
The writer to the Hebrews declared that our God is a consuming fire; something
the Hebrews of that era understood all too well, for fire had played a major
role in their history. Their beginning as a people can be traced back to when
the Lord appeared to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3.2; Acts 7.31). The Lord
also appeared on
Contextually, the Hebrews epistle refers to the Messianic
kingdom. The unshakable kingdom refers to when Christ takes the scepter of the
kingdom over this earth. This kingdom shall have no consummation (end) and, as
such, is unshakable (Luke 1.33). Shakable kingdoms can be destroyed, but this
one will not pass away (Daniel 7.14); therefore, it is unshakable.
The call to be well-pleasing with piety and dread (fear)
speaks of the righteous standard placed on entering the kingdom. Dread is a
form of fear, for it is a deep feeling of apprehension. But who is to be
apprehensive? Is it not the apostate? Read Hebrews and you will discover the
many warnings (e.g., Hebrews 2.3; 3.12; 4.1-3; 6.1-8; 10.26-27) about failing
to enter the impending inhabited earth,
that is, the next eon on earth (Hebrews 2.5 CV). If the
Hebrew believers fell away from the faith (apostasy) by returning to the old
covenant where there was a continual sacrifice for sin, and thus trampling
under foot the sacrifice of Christ, they would have a fearful expectation of
judgment and the fury of a fire that will consume the adversaries (10.26-27).
The phrase for our
God is also a consuming fire speaks to the righteous and just judgment of
God. The reason for proper behavior is so that God’s people will not come under
the severe judgment of God that would disqualify them from entering the
unshakable kingdom in the oncoming eon.
What are we to conclude from these verses? They are a
warning against apostasy. The Hebrew believers were being exhorted not to
neglect so great a salvation and to hold fast firm until the end, not turning from
the faith (back to the old covenant) and the expectation of the inhabitable
world to come (e.g., see Hebrews 2.3, 5; 3.12-14). One could imagine that the
Hebrews of that day about 2,000 years ago were much like Peter and the other
disciples who, after listening to Jesus teach on entering the kingdom, were
astonished and cried out: “Then who can
be saved?” [i.e., delivered into the coming
How does God make the impossible possible? One way He does
it is through discipline.
Discipline.
And you have forgotten completely the encouragement which reasons
with you as with sons [and daughters], “My son [fig., child, and in verses 6-7]
stop thinking lightly of [the] discipline of [the] LORD, and stop becoming
discouraged when being corrected by Him. “For whom [the] LORD loves He
disciplines, and He scourges [fig., punishes] every son whom He receives.”
[Prov 3:11,12] It is for discipline
[that] you endure. God deals with you as with sons [and daughters]; for what
son is [there] whom a father does not discipline? But if you are without
discipline, of which all have become sharers, then you are illegitimate
children and not sons [and daughters]. Furthermore, we indeed have had
fathers of our flesh [fig., earthly fathers] [as] discipliners, and we were
respecting [them]; will we not much rather be subjected to the Father of
spirits, and we will live? For they indeed were disciplining [us] for a few
days [fig., a short while] according to the [thing] seeming good to them, but
He for [our] advantage, for [us] be sharers of His holiness. Now indeed, all
discipline for the present does not seem to be joyful, but painful; but
afterwards it yields [the] peaceful [or, free from worry] fruit of
righteousness to the ones having been trained by it. For this reason brace up
the having been weakened hands and the having been paralyzed knees, [Isaiah
35:3] and make straight paths for your feet, so that the lame [person] shall
not be turned aside [or, the lame [limb] shall not be dislocated], but rather
shall be healed. [Prov 4:26] (Hebrews 12.5-13 ALT)
Notice that the discipline of the Lord is for sonship, holiness and
even for healing. Discipline is both physical and spiritual. Healing should not
be restricted to merely a physical healing but also to a spiritual one. God
does not bring healing immediately to all infirmities. Timothy and Trophimus
are good examples (1 Timothy 5.23; 2 Timothy 4.20). Some bodily weaknesses have
spiritual value and are not removed at all because they are for the glory of
God, such as in the case of Paul (2 Corinthians 12.7-10). Some weaknesses are
disciplinary in nature and require recognition and repentance of sin. And yet,
some weaknesses are simply the result of wear and tear on our bodies of
humiliation that are given a maximum of 120 years. Finally, as we will see,
some weaknesses lead to premature death. In God’s mercy, He might allow for the
early death of His own, so that the person will not be judged with the unjust
world. It is better to be chastened by God in this life than to face His
indignation as if an unbeliever (see Luke 12.36).
Handed over to Satan.
It might seem strange to us, but sometimes the Lord allows His people
to be handed over to Satan to sift the person, as if sifting wheat, for the
purpose of chastening. The first example of such a sifting occurred with Job,
who the Lord allowed to be tested by the fire of trial through the activities
of Satan. In the New Testament, the best example of such testing by fire is
that of Peter.
“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed
for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned
again, strengthen your brothers.” But he said to Him, “Lord, with You I am
ready to go both to prison and to death!” And He said, “I say to you, Peter,
the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know
Me.” (Luke 22.31-34 NASB)
We must assume that Satan was granted permission to sift him, for
Peter did deny knowing the Lord a short time later. But what was the result of
that sifting? Surely, Satan sought to destroy Peter, but Jesus prayed that his
faith may not fail. In spite of his failure, Peter was fully restored and went
on to be a pillar of the Pentecostal ecclesia. Before He ascended to His
Father’s throne for the last time, Jesus appeared to His disciples on the shore
while they were out on the lake fishing. When he realized it was the Lord
cooking some fish on shore, Peter jumped into the water to rush to see his
Master. At this time, Jesus commanded Peter to tend and shepherd His people, as
signified by lambs and sheep (see John 21). Peter’s faith was strengthened, not
destroyed.
To Peter, the sifting must have seemed like a fierce fire (as he later
wrote, a fiery trial) that tormented his soul. After all, denying knowing the
One who called him to follow Him must have reached into the very gut of Peter
and caused deep anguish and remorse. Why was this necessary for Peter to
experience? It was so that he would see of what he was made. He had to see how
strong his flesh was and, consequently, how dependent he had to be on the
spirit of God. We could say that it broke Peter in a good way, which is the way
God intends discipline and chastening
judging to work. This is clearly seen in the way that Peter answered Jesus’
question about loving Him.
When, then, they
lunch, Jesus is saying to Simon Peter, “Simon
of John, are you loving Me more than these?” He is saying to Him, “Yes,
Lord, Thou art aware that I am fond of Thee!” He is saying to him, “Graze My
lambkins!” He is saying to him again a second time, “Simon of John, are you loving Me?” He is saying to Him, “Yes,
Lord, Thou art aware that I am fond of Thee!” He is saying to him, “Shepherd My
sheep!” He is saying to him the third time, “Simon of John, are you fond of Me?” Peter was sorry that He said
to him the third time “Are you fond of Me?” and he is saying to Him, “Lord,
Thou art aware of all things! Thou knowest that I am fond of Thee.” And Jesus
is saying to him, “Graze My little sheep!” (John 21.15-17 CV)
Notice that Peter could
not say that he loved the Lord; he was fond of Him. Twice the Lord asked him if
he loved Him. The Greek word for love
that Jesus used is agapaō, which
is the love attributed to God. It is a deep love that is associated with
self-less sacrifice, an unconditional love. However, Peter could not use this
word; instead, he used the Greek word phileo,
which refers to a personal attachment to another. In other words, Peter could
not say that he had that deep love for Jesus that he knew Jesus had for him. He
had seen the weakness of his love for Jesus in his denial of knowing Him. All
Peter could acknowledge was that he had a personal attachment to Him, a
fondness for Him. Finally, Jesus met Peter on his ground and asked if he was
fond of Him, to which Peter answered yes. What compassion and love we sense in
this story, as Jesus reached out to His disciple that had been in the fire, so
to speak, and had suffered deep sorrow. Perhaps it is no coincidence that
Peter’s denial occurred while he was in a courtyard warming himself (Mark
14.67), presumably by a fire, and his restoration occurred as Jesus sat before
a fire.
Later, through Paul, the apostle of the nations, we see the hand of
discipline being applied as Paul dealt with sin in the ecclesia. In one case, a
man was in sin with his father’s wife, which was something that even the
unbelievers did not do in that day. In another case, two men were blaspheming.
It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as
does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. … I have decided to deliver such a one to
Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. (1
Corinthians 5.1, 5 NASB)
This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in
accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you
fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have
rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. Among these are Hymenaeus
and Alexander, whom I have handed over
to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme. (1 Timothy 1.18-20 NASB)
In each case, Paul handed them over to Satan with one purpose in mind,
so that they might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. In other words, Paul
was willing to allow them to be sifted like wheat, even to go through a fire
so-to-speak while in their bodies of death, so that at the future judgment of
God they will be saved, even if it is yet so as through fire. The spiritual
principle is that it is best to be dealt with in this life and be changed than
to face the fire of God on judgment day.
We are not told whether Hymenaeus or Alexander changed their ways, but
we are given an indication that the man who sinned with his father’s wife did
repent and change his ways.
For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to
you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you
might know the love which I have
especially for you. But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not
to me, but in some degree—in order not to say too much—to all of you.
Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the
majority, so that on the contrary you
should rather forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed
by excessive sorrow. Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. (2
Corinthians 2.4-8 NASB)
Paul turned such a one over to Satan, so that he might be restored out
of love. The sifting produced the result for which it was intended. It produced
great sorrow in the one who had sinned, and Paul encouraged the brethren to
reach out to him in love. He had been separated from the others, and keeping
him outside the fold served no purpose other than to overwhelm him with a
sorrow that he could not bear. Chastisement or discipline is always for the
purpose of restoration, and this is always done out of love. Reaffirm your love for him reveals the
true outcome of all discipline, no matter how severe it might be.
Is this not the very heart of God
is love? It most assuredly is!
Some have died.
Now, Scripture clearly reveals that there are varying degrees of
discipline and judgment meted out to God’s people. In some cases, judgment can
lead to physical death, as revealed through John the apostle.
If anyone sees his brother [fig., fellow believer] sinning
a sin not [leading] to death, he will ask, and He will give to him life, to the
ones sinning [a sin] not [leading] to death. [There] is sin [leading] to death; not concerning that [sin] am I saying that
he should urgently ask. (1 John 5.16 ALT)
I have no doubt that when he wrote these words, John
thought back on the day that he witnessed Ananias and Sapphira drop dead for lying
to the Holy Spirit.
But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a
piece of property, and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s
full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet.
But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy
Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained
unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under
your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You
have not lied to men but to God.” And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last;
and great fear came over all who heard of it. (Acts 5.1-5 NASB)
In that day, the apostles held the keys to the kingdom
(Matthew 16.19), which meant that if they retained the sin of any, then they
could be brought into judgment in that day.
And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said
to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, their sins
have been forgiven them; if you retain
the sins of any, they have been retained.” (John 20.22-23 NASB)
This is apparently what happened in the case of this
couple. Their sin disqualified them from participating in the power and work of
the Holy Spirit as the ecclesia grew from a few to thousands.
In writing to the believing Jews who were called, beloved
in God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ, Jude exhorted them to be merciful to
others, in particular, the ones who were in danger of falling away from the
truth.
And to those,
indeed, who are doubting, be merciful, yet
others be saving, snatching them out of the fire, yet to others be merciful
with fear, hating even the tunic spotted by the flesh. Now to Him Who is able
to guard you from tripping, and to stand you flawless in sight of His glory, in
exultation, to the only God, our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be
glory, majesty, might and authority before the entire eon, now, as well as for
all the eons. Amen! (Jude 22-25 CV)
Obviously, Jude was not referring to a physical fire but a
figurative one. It seems that believers were in danger of a type of gehenna of fire judgment that would lead
to their premature death, which is clearly seen in a similar passage from the
epistle written by James.
My brethren, if
anyone among you should be led astray from the way of the truth, and someone
should be turning him back, let him know that he who turns back a sinner out of the deception of his way will be
saving his soul from death and will be covering a multitude of sins. (James
5.19-20 CV)
Saving a soul from death must refer to saving one’s life
from death, for a soul that has returned to the unseen, which is what death is
to the soul, can only return if the body has died as well. How does one save
his soul from such a death? It is by receiving the implanted word within him.
For this reason, you yourselves having put aside all
filthiness [fig., moral uncleanness] and abundance of evil, in humility receive
the implanted word [within you],
which is able to save your souls. (James 1.21 ALT )
Just as Jesus’ words are spirit and life so is the entire
word of God, which is the law of God. It is through this word that we save our
souls, and ultimately our lives, from being brought into chastening that could
lead to death.
During our present eon, believers called out from among the nations,
joined to Christ as the ecclesia, which is His body, are not exempt from the
judgment of God. They too can experience something similar to the gehenna of fire of the Lord in this
day and die prematurely, for judgment begins with the house of God (1 Peter
4.17). If we believe in Jesus, then we are not exempt from the judgment of God
and His spiritual fire (Romans 14.10; 1 Corinthians 3.13-15; 2 Corinthians
5.10).
Paul wrote to the Corinthians, an ecclesia that was operating in the
gifts of the spirit and yet was not spiritual, to warn them about the manner in
which they were taking the Lord’s Supper together and how they were not rightly
judging themselves.
So then, whoever eats this bread or drinks the cup of the
Lord unworthily [or, in a careless manner], he will be guilty of the body of
the Lord and blood of the Lord. But let a person be examining himself, and in
this manner let him be eating of the bread and let him be drinking of the cup.
For the one eating and drinking unworthily [or, in a careless manner], eats and
drinks judgment to himself, not discerning [or, correctly judging] the body of the
Lord. For this reason, many among you
[are] sick [or, weak] and infirm [or, ill], and many are fallen asleep [fig.,
have died]. For if we had discerned [or, correctly judged] ourselves, we
would not have been judged. But being
judged by the Lord, we are disciplined [or, chastened], so that we shall not be
condemned with the world. (1 Corinthians 11.27-32 ALT)
Because they were not discerning themselves (seeing their true
condition), the Lord had to chastise them, so that they would not be condemned
with the world. In other words, they would not have to appear at the great
white throne judgment and appear with the unjust. It was His love for them that
led the Lord to chasten them. But notice how He chastened them for their lack
of discernment. They were sick, infirm and some had died. Undoubtedly, they
opened themselves up to the powers of darkness, as allowed by the Lord, and it
led to all sorts of physical infirmities, some of which led to death.
This is something that should cause all of us to consider in light of
what might be going on in our own midst in this evil day. If many in our midst
are sick and some have died years before one would expect them to naturally die
(i.e., prematurely), then we need to seek the Lord to inquire the reason,
specifically to see if we are being chastened. However, these deaths are not
premature to God who works all according to the counsel of His will (Ephesians
1.11).
The fiery trials.
Another facet of the discipline manifested through fire is what is
called fiery trials. All the apostles
of Christ entered into what is called the
sufferings of Christ, and this suffering came from the hand of the world or
of the unbelieving Jews. Peter called them fiery
trials.
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you,
as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are
partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye
may be glad also with exceeding joy. (1 Peter 4.12-13 KJV)
James reaffirmed Peter’s word as he exhorted the twelve
tribes of believing Jews that were scattered abroad in the known world.
Reckon it nothing but joy, my brethren, whenever you find
yourselves hedged in by various trials.
(James 1.2 WNT)
As presented by Peter, the word fiery is used in the figurative sense. When God’s people are hedged
in by various trials, even trials that seem quite strange, it seems as if they
are in the midst of a fire that will consume them. The counsel from these men
of long ago is to rejoice when we find ourselves in such trials.
Of all the apostles, it seems that Paul suffered the most
as he was constantly
buffeted or tossed about by a messenger of Satan (2 Corinthians 12.7). Many
people debate the nature of Paul’s thorn in the flesh, but it is very apparent
that he was constantly berated and persecuted by the unbelieving Jews. Even so,
Paul was able to look beyond flesh and blood to see that the real battle is not
with people but with the spiritual forces of wickedness among the celestials
that energize people and nations.
Put on the panoply of God, to enable you to stand
up to the stratagems of the Adversary, for it is not ours to wrestle with blood
and flesh, but with the sovereignties, with the authorities, with the world-mights
of this darkness, with the spiritual forces of wickedness among the celestials. (Ephesians 6.11-12 CV)
If we find ourselves in fiery trials, we can be assured
that the agitator behind the trial is some spiritual force of wickedness.
However, we are not to fear such trials; but to put on the panoply of God and
fight the good fight of the faith, running the race until we reach the finish
line (see 2 Timothy 4.6-8). This is God’s way of entrance into His kingdom for
all who love Him.
Paul truly experienced the sufferings of Christ, even to
the point of seeking to enter into His sufferings (Philippians 3.10), for he
saw that at the judgment seat of God everyone’s works will be tested by fire.
Spiritual judgment of works.
As a reminder, God is spirit, and His judgment must be viewed
primarily as a spiritual judgment of His people. His spiritual fire is not a
physical fire; but a spiritual one that is meant to purge and purify, that is,
to remove all the impurities and dross in the life of His people and, ultimately,
in all mankind. For those of us who believe in Jesus in this eon, all that is
of Christ in our lives will remain, but the rest must go. How else will any of
us be sharers in His holiness? How else will any of us be perfect as our
heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5.48)? How else will any of us be pure as
our Lord is pure (1 John 3.3)? How else will any of us truly know the love of
God for us? Again, Paul has given us a
word on this matter in his first epistle to the Corinthians.
Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver,
precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man’s work shall be made manifest:
for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what
sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall
receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but
he himself shall be saved; yet so as by
fire. (1 Corinthians 3.12-15 KJV)
We know that we all must appear before the judgment seat
or bema of Christ to give account for what we have done in the body, both good
and bad (2 Corinthians 5.10), and, as presented by Paul, fire will be involved
in this judgment. In the day that we
stand face to face with the Lord, we will be judged by the very fire of God;
that which is of gold, silver and precious stone will be purified, and that
which is of wood, hay and stubble will be consumed. Notice that even our works
of the character of gold, silver and precious stone must be purified. These
materials represent good works done while in the body, but they too must be
refined in the fire of God. We see a similar word from Christ as He walks among
the ecclesia of the Laodiceans and exhorts them over their lukewarm condition. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire (Revelation 3.18 KJV). The fiery trials are designed to try the gold and make
it even more precious.
No
one of mankind is exempt from the fire of God. It is in the fire of God in spirit that we are made like the Son of
God. It is in the lake of fire that
the rest of mankind will be reconciled to God. The fire of God is not meant to
destroy but to perfect, purify and restore. Oh, the love of God!
Before
proceeding to the lake of fire, it is probably best to lay down the remaining
six of the fourteen spirituals principles discussed in this chapter. Without
doubt, there are many more that could be added, but these are the most germane
to what I see regarding our God is a consuming fire. At this point, they will
be listed without explanation.
Ninth, the lake of fire is a spiritual lake of fire that
comes out from the throne of God as a river of fire that engulfs mankind
standing before the throne.
Tenth, God judges by His spiritual law, His word (law), which
is like a fire.
Eleventh, the royal law is love.
Twelfth, the saints will judge the world for the purpose
of establishing righteousness and justice according to His law
Thirteenth, the judging is for a season, not for eternity.
Fourteenth, the judging is for chastening and restitution,
not for punishment.
The
lake of fire.
This
leads to the last mention of fire in Scripture, and it refers to the lake of fire. In Scripture, we
discover the phrase the second death
(Revelation 2.11; 20.6, 14; 21.8) and the phrase the lake of fire (Revelation 19.20; 20.10, 14, 15) occurring exclusively
in the Revelation.
Right
from the start, we need to be clear that neither phrase is associated with the
modern-day concept of hell. Many
preachers might refer to the lake of fire
as hell, keeping in line with a pagan idea of a fiery lake of physical fire in which the wicked are
tormented mercilessly and endlessly; their souls tormented without any relief.
If we are to be open to what Scripture teaches on the matter, then we must
discard any thought of hell as preached today from the pulpits of Christendom.
The
conclusion of the matter is that, for mankind, the lake of fire means that all their dead and wicked works will be brought into what is called the second death. We must look at this
death as a second-type of death; that is, it is not physical death of the body.
I believe those who are brought to life in the second resurrection will not die
a physical death again; however, they are not immortal at this point.
Their
works will pass through the fire of God to be consumed. If there are any good
works, then these too must pass through the fire to be purified. This is all in
accord with what Paul taught the Corinthians about being saved, yet so as
through fire. All mankind will ultimately be saved, but their works of the
flesh must pass through the lake of fire,
for the purpose of chastening and restoring.
For
most of mankind the lake of fire
comes into view as they are resurrected from the state of physical death (first
type of death), and they appear before a great white throne.
And I perceived a great white throne, and Him Who is sitting upon it, from Whose
face earth and heaven fled, and no place was found for them. And I perceived the
dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. And the scrolls were
opened. And another scroll was opened which is the scroll of life. And the dead were judged by that which is
written in the scrolls in accord
with their acts. And the sea gives up the dead in it, and death and the
unseen give up the dead in them. And they were condemned, each in accord with
their acts. And death and the unseen
were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death–the lake of fire. And
if anyone was not found written in the scroll of life, he was cast into the
lake of fire. (Revelation 20.11-15 CV)
With
the completion of the 1,000-year reign of Christ, the adversary will be cast
into the lake of fire, the second
heaven and earth will pass away in combustion (cleansed, purged), and a great
white throne will be set. All the dead who were not resurrected 1,000 years
earlier and those who died during the previous millennium will be resurrected
and come to life. John tells us in regard to the commencement of the
millennial kingdom: The rest of the dead
do not live until the thousand years should be finished. The wicked from
Cain down through the ages will appear before God’s throne to be judged, not on
the basis of Adam’s imputed sin paid for at
Remember
that God’s plan is to save all mankind, and this will be done in progressive
stages in the oncoming eons.
Just
imagine the scene: The heavens and the earth have fled before the One sitting
on the throne. The Lord of all will appear sitting on His throne in all His
splendor and majesty. The size of this great white throne, which means it is no
small throne, and the power of its appearance are what the great and the small
will see. It is also white, which means it is absolutely holy, perfect and
pure. Looking upon the Lord and His throne will be a sight that will cause even
the most hardened heart to quake and fall down in worship. The judgments that
come from His throne will be exact and righteous. The scrolls that are opened
will be conclusive and absolute. There will be no defense at that moment, for
the books are the last word in the matter.
Death
will be cast into the lake of fire,
which is a figure of speech denoting a guarantee that no one standing there
will be able to retreat back to the place of physical death and avoid what is
to come upon them. They must face the
lake of fire. With this, all whose names are not written in the scroll of
life will be cast into the lake of fire.
Those whose names are written in the scroll will not be cast in but will be
saved, yet so as through fire, and will receive immortal life.
Physical
death (first death) will not have resolved anything for the unjust; they merely
will have been in the unseen, which did nothing to purge and cleanse them. The
unseen has no effect on the unjust. On the other hand, fire is a purifying
agent, and so is sulfur, which in our day is used in medicines to kill
bacteria. In other words, fire and sulfur are good things.
By
contrast, those justified by faith in our present eon, are cleansed and
purified while in bodies of humiliation. They are disciplined as sons. It is
better to be chastened in this day than to fall into the hand of the living God
in the oncoming eons. This is the great advantage for those called and chosen
to reign with Christ and the first to truly enter His kingdom. The principle is
that through many tribulations we must enter the
The lake of fire will purge and cleanse all the works or acts of
man; no dross will remain. The fact of the matter is that it will kill all the
imperfections, the wickedness, the evil, the sin; anything else that has stood
opposed to godliness and righteousness. This is what is meant by the second
death. It is a type of death, the second type of death, which contrasts it
from the first type of death. The first death pertains to the physical body,
and the second death pertains to works and acts, or we could say, it is based
on what comes forth from the character of the person, the sinful flesh.
Consequently, the second type of death is of the spiritual realm rather than
the physical realm.
One
vital point that is often overlooked is that Scripture does not state that the
humans cast into the lake of fire
will be tortured, and it definitely does not state that they will be in torment
for eternity. Read Revelation
20.11-15 to see if any mention is made of such a thing. You will not find it.
It says that they will be condemned, which means that they will receive an
adverse judgment, one that must be remedied in fire.
Now,
before proceeding to the remaining principles, we need to be reminded of three
principles already presented. God is
spirit; consequently, His judgments are spiritual in nature. God is a consuming fire; consequently,
His fire must consume in the spiritual sense. God is love; consequently, He loves the world and gave His only-begotten
Son as the Savior of all mankind, especially of believers, but not exclusively
of believers. This last principle alone ensures the eventual salvation of all
mankind. Because so many today adamantly reject the restoration and reconciliation
of all, let us be reminded of a few Scriptures, as given to us through Paul.
Life
for all.
For since, in fact, through a man came death,
through a Man, also, comes the resurrection of the dead. For even as, in Adam,
all are dying, thus also, in Christ,
shall all be vivified. (1 Corinthians 15.21-22 CV)
Yet each in his own class: the Firstfruit, Christ; thereupon those who are Christ’s in His
presence; thereafter the consummation, whenever He may be giving up the
kingdom to His God and Father, whenever He should be nullifying all sovereignty
and all authority and power. For He must be reigning until He should be placing
all His enemies under His feet. The last
enemy is being abolished: death. For He subjects all under His feet. Now whenever
He may be saying that all is subject, it is evident that it is outside of Him
Who subjects all to Him. Now, whenever all may be subjected to Him, then the
Son Himself also shall be subjected to Him Who subjects all to Him, that God
may be All in all.) (1 Corinthians 15.23-28 CV)
Consequently, then, as it was through one offense
for all mankind for condemnation, thus also it is through one just award for
all mankind for life’s justifying. For even as, through the disobedience of the
one man, the many were constituted sinners, thus also, through the obedience of the One, the many shall be constituted
just. (Romans 5.18-19 CV)
Paul’s
use of the word many might lead some
to think that there are exclusions to all mankind being constituted just and all
being vivified or made alive. We know that death
passed through into all mankind, on which all sinned (Romans 5.12 CV), which means that all mankind are subject to death, even believers.
The proof is that we all die; no one lives forever in bodies of death, which is
what all of us occupy, regardless of whether we believe or not (Romans 7.24).
When he wrote of Adam plus the many, Paul referred to all humans that have
proceeded from the loins of Adam, which encompasses all mankind. Thus, Adam and
the many equal all mankind; Christ plus the many equal all mankind. We cannot
have Adam and the many include all mankind, and then have Christ plus the many
only include believers. Christ died for all, and He will give life to all, not
all at the same time, but all eventually (thereafter
the consummation), the testimony in its own eras.
For there is one God, and one Mediator of God and
mankind, a Man, Christ Jesus, Who is giving Himself a correspondent Ransom for
all (the testimony in its own eras)….
(1 Timothy 2.5-6 CV)
Rather
than react with disdain and scorn to those of us who hold such a view, it
should bring out the praises of God, just as it did in Paul.
O, the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the
knowledge of God! How inscrutable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!
or, who knew the mind of the Lord? or, who became His adviser? or, who gives to
Him first, and it will be repaid Him? seeing that out of Him and through Him
and for Him is all: to Him be the glory for the eons! Amen! (Romans 11.33-36 CV)
We
need to be reminded that the verse before these declares that God locks up all together in stubbornness,
that He should be merciful to all (Romans 11.32 CV). Why does God lock all up in stubbornness, so that He should be
merciful to all? The answer is quite straightforward, if we are willing to let
it be so.
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our
Savior; Who will have all men to be
saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2.3-4 KJV)
The
reason is that God will have all men to be saved. It does not say that He
wishes all men to be saved, or that He hopes all men will be saved. The word
declares that God will have all men
to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. Let us praise God for
His marvelous love and for His Son who laid down His life out of love for all
mankind.
Although
this might seem to be a bit of a diversion from the topic; actually, it is
essential to our understanding of the true nature and purpose of the lake of
fire.
A
spiritual lake of fire.
The
ninth principle states that the lake of fire is a fire in spirit, a spiritual fire, as opposed to a literal, physical fire. No human
body can live in a physical fire, for it will consume not only the flesh but
the bones. Further, it cannot be a physical fire that is meant to torture the
soul either, for what soul could endure endless torture. Since the body and the
soul are intimately joined, eventually the tormented soul would lead to the
death of the body. John, the beloved apostle, has given us the principle that you may prosper and be in good health, just
as your soul prospers (3 John 2 NASB).
A
physical fire will kill anyone cast into it. If the lake of fire were a fire in the physical sense, then it would
be used to annihilate most of mankind, for according to some people billions
are destined for the lake of fire. Of
what value would the lake of fire be
in the judgment of God? Of what value would it be to God to raise the dead, to
reveal their wicked ways, and then to destroy them. What kind of justice would
this be? It would seem that God merely wants one more chance to speak His mind
to billions that He created to be in His image and from which His Son’s death
was unable to save them. Don’t believe this lie for a millisecond!
Further,
the lake of fire must be a spiritual
fire because Satan, a spirit, will be cast into the lake as well. As far as we
know, a spirit cannot die and is not affected by fire. Of what value would it
be to throw a spirit being into a physical fire that would have no affect on
it? A spirit must be dealt with in a spiritual manner.
I
know that this suggestion might be met with disdain by some, but I offer it
only as food for thought. What if Satan is not even an individual spirit
entity; but rather, something entirely different that is beyond our human
comprehension? After all, if the whole concept of an evil serpent was created
by God who is spirit, perhaps what He created is entirely different from
anything that we can understand with our minds of flesh. Also, perhaps this
evil entity will one day be totally annihilated. After all, evil will be no
more beyond the eons. Just a thought!
As
an aside, this reminds me that some people believe that there will be two
parallel universes, one which is good and one which is evil. The evil one is
for all who will be cast out of the presence of God, that is, cast into hell. According to this thinking, hell simply is outside the presence of
God. If this were true, which it is not, then how will God ever be All in all?
This means that God would not be the Supreme of all His creation and that the
cross of
It
is important to keep in mind that the works or acts of the person are to be
judged, not the physical body of the person. Who can see acts or capture them
in the physical sense? When mankind appears before the great white throne, the
acts will have been long gone, but God will bring them back into view. Just as
John was in spirit on the isle of Patmos and saw the Unveiling of Christ, so
will all mankind in spirit in the presence of the living Almighty God see all
their dead works or acts in the light of the One who died for them.
If
all mankind is to be saved, then the second death refers to a death of a nature
other than a physical death of the person. So, to what does the second death
refer? It has to refer to the one thing that the fire is used to judge, and
that is the works or acts. In other words, the acts are brought into the place
of death; they are consumed by the fire of God, and in the process, the person
is purified of all the dross and wickedness of his life, notably his immoral,
unrighteous, sinful character. The very things in his character that can never
stand before a holy and righteous God will be purged by the fire of God, so
that when the process is completed, he (i.e., all mankind) will be able to
stand before God, holy and without blemish.
As
a side note, those who conquer through the love of Christ, though they might
die, especially as martyrs, will not have a part in the second death
(Revelation 2.11). They will rise in the first resurrection. How does one
conquer? Because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their
testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death
(Revelation 12.11 NASB). Although not stated, we can assume that
believers that do not conquer will have a part in the second death, which means
that they will appear before the great white throne to be judged through the
lake of fire (or perhaps, a part of it).
Knowing
that the lake of fire is spiritual in nature helps in our understanding, but it
leaves us with a question: What does the fire represent? This is answered in
the tenth principle.
The
fire is the spiritual law of God.
The
tenth principle states that the
fire represents the spiritual law of God. God judges by His law, which is
spiritual. His word is law, and it is like a fire, a fiery law. A few
Scriptures make the point for us.
For we know that the
law is spiritual…. (Romans 7.14 KJV)
“Is not My word
like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock?”
(Jeremiah 23.29 NASB)
The voice of the LORD hews out flames of fire. (Psalm 29.7 NASB)
“Out of the heavens He let you hear His voice to
discipline you; and on earth He let you
see His great fire, and you heard
His words [commands, law] from the
midst of the fire.” (Deuteronomy 4.36 NASB [added by
writer])
From his right hand went a fiery law for them…. (Deuteronomy 33.2 KJV)
Isaiah
intimates that judgment is a spiritual matter and relates it to burning, which
represents fire.
When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters
of
A
river and a lake of fire.
Now
to understand this matter of the law, we need to see that both Daniel and John
were given vision of the great white throne.
“I kept looking until thrones were set up, and the Ancient
of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow and the hair of His head
like pure wool. His throne was ablaze
with flames, its wheels were a burning fire. “A river of fire was flowing and coming out from before Him;
thousands upon thousands were attending Him, and myriads upon myriads were
standing before Him; the court sat, and the books were opened. (Daniel 7.9-10 NASB)
Then I saw a great
white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven
fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and
the small, standing before the throne,
and books were opened; and another
book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the
things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea
gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which
were in them; and they were judged,
every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were
thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written
in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation
20.11-15 NASB)
Daniel
was given a picture of the throne and Who sat upon it. He was shown thousands
attending to the Ancient of Days and myriads upon myriads standing before the
One on the throne. Clearly this is a judicial scene, for the court sat. In
other words, it is a scene of the divine court room in which judgments will be
made. The King is seated, and from His throne come forth judgments.
In
our day, a judge sits upon a bench and makes judgments of guilt by applying
what is written in the books of law that he is sworn to uphold. In Daniel’s
vision, books were opened, which refer to the law by which the court will judge
the myriads standing before the Ancient of Days.
John’s
vision reveals who are summoned to appear before the court of God. They are the
great and the small that were not included in the first resurrection. They are
standing before the throne to be judged according to their works.
There
are many comparisons that could be made of the two visions, but we must confine
this discussion to the fire. Daniel saw the throne itself ablaze with fire,
along with a river of fire flowing from the throne, and John saw a lake of
fire. Putting the two visions together reveals that the source of the fire is
the throne. In fact, the throne is ablaze with fire, which speaks of the law
emanating from God Himself.
We
could say that the fire flows from the throne as a river, which grows into a
lake. Interestingly, the English definition of a lake includes this: “A
place where a river widens out greatly.” It seems that we are given a
picture of a river of fire that widens out so greatly that it engulfs the
myriads upon myriads standing before the throne.
Signifies
the law.
The Revelation was given to John to signify, that is, to symbolize something spiritual that must be
understood spiritual to spiritual.
The Unveiling of Jesus Christ, which God gives to Him,
to show to His slaves what must occur swiftly; and He signifies it, dispatching through His messenger to His slave
John, who testifies to the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ,
whatever he perceived. (Revelation 1.1 CV)
The
word signify means “to be a sign or
indication of, to show or make known by signs, words, etc.” The Revelation of Jesus Christ is a
vision of many signs that must be understood in spirit, as John came to be in
spirit in the Lord’s day. Thus, the
river that becomes a lake of fire must be seen in spirit and not through our
carnal mind that wants to make it into a literal, physical lake of torture.
Now,
what does the fire signify? It signifies the law of God that emanates from His
throne. How else can a judge rule unless he has law upon which to judge? If
there are no laws, then his decisions would be open to subjectivity and capriciousness,
which means “subject to change abruptly and without reason, erratic and unpredictable.”
Unfortunately, we see all too much of this type of judging throughout the world
today. The judicial system of man can be without reason. But with God this
cannot be so because the foundation of His kingdom is righteousness and
justice. Every determination made in the court of God is right and just, and it
is applied uniformly to all, for God shows no partiality (Acts 10.34).
Many
see the books opened in John’s vision as a record of the lives, specifically
the works or acts, of each one standing there. This might seem plausible except
that in a court of law, the law books are opened to adjudicate the matter, that
is, to determine the nature of the matter based on the law of the land. In the
case of Daniel’s vision, the books refer to the law of God, which we could call
God’s absolute and universal law. The books being opened signify that God’s judgment will be based on His law, not on man’s
law.
In
the kingdoms of the world, kings have often been the law of the land. Whatever
the king declared was the law. As the saying goes, “the king is the law.” This
meant that there were no written laws of the land that bound the king; he could
do whatever and whenever he wanted. If he was an unrighteous king, then
unrighteous law would come forth from his throne, often dependent on his mood
or whim.
Interestingly,
the
If
God does not have absolute law by which He judges, then on what basis will He
judge? Further, if He does not have such law, then all who are judged could
rightfully accuse God of being arbitrary and unjust.
What
is the law of God?
But
what is the law of God? On one level, the word of God (Scripture) is filled
with the law of God. In fact, it is the law of God. On a primal level, it all
began with Moses and the Ten Commandments, which is the basis for all the rest
of the laws and commands. The foundation of the law given to Moses is the royal
law of love, which is taken up as the eleventh principle. On a personal level,
the law is whatever the spirit of the Lord commands us to do according to His
word. On a much higher level, the law is contained in Christ Himself. When the
Son of God came to this earth, He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets
(Matthew 5.17). As we are led by His spirit, we walk in His law.
Many
who have been saved by the grace of God seem to view the law with disdain, as
if it does not matter anymore; they have thrown it out, thinking that it
applied to the Jews and therefore has no application today. Many equate the law
with the religious system called Judaism and all the trappings of its
institution, including the Talmud, which is nothing but the traditions of men
and not the inspired law of God.
Many
might retort: We are under grace and not under the law! Yes, we are under
grace, but this does not negate the fact that God has a righteous standard by
which He judges all mankind. Do we think for a minute that believers who are
saved by the grace of God are not under law as well? If we are not, then on
what basis are we to please our Lord? Paul exhorts us to walk as children of
light.
For you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in
the Lord; walk as children of Light
(for the fruit of the Light consists in all
goodness and righteousness and truth), trying
to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful
deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to
speak of the things which are done by them in secret. (Ephesians 5.8-12 NASB)
How
are we to learn what is pleasing to the Lord if we do not know His absolute
standards laid down in His law, which leads to goodness and righteousness?
On
what basis will the Lord judge our works for good or bad? There has to be some
basis upon which He judges; otherwise, the judgment seat of Christ will be as
capricious as man’s courts are today. How will we be made to know what works
are good and what are bad? There must be some righteous standard by which He
will judge. How else will mankind know what sin is?
All
have sinned and by the law is the knowledge of sin (Romans 3.20, 23). We are
under grace; but what is the purpose of grace if it is not to lead us to obey
God and follow His commands. After all, grace is the enabling power of God to
do what we are not capable of doing. But with grace we are enabled to be
obedient.
When
the Lord walked on this earth with His disciples, He referred to His word (logos)
and the need to keep His word and His commandments.
“If anyone loves Me, he
will keep My word….” (John 14.23 NASB)
“If you love Me,
you will keep My commandments.”
(John 14.15 NASB)
It is the spirit which gives Life. The flesh confers no
benefit whatever. The words I have
spoken to you are spirit and are Life. (John 6.63 WNT)
In
other words, we are to heed His word and obey it. And to do this, we take His
words and discern them spiritual to
spiritual. Our carnal flesh is of no benefit to us. Only that which is in spirit is of any benefit to us. This
is what was actually demanded of the ancient sons of
When
He appeared to the sons of
“Out of the heavens He let you hear His voice to discipline
you; and on earth He let you see His
great fire, and you heard His words
from the midst of the fire.” (Deuteronomy 4.36 NASB)
David, the Psalmist, declared that fire came forth from
the mouth of the Lord to devour.
Then the earth shook and quaked; and the foundations of
the mountains were trembling and were shaken, because He was angry. Smoke went
up out of His nostrils, and fire from
His mouth devoured; coals were kindled by it. (Psalm 18.7-8 NASB)
What is consumed?
This poses the question: What is destroyed, devoured or
shattered by His word like fire? Again, let us be reminded that first the
physical, then the spiritual. Surely, there are many examples of physical fire
going forth to destroy or devour; but, spiritually speaking, My word like fire is sent forth to
devour all unrighteousness and injustice, for the foundation of His throne is
righteousness and justice. This is the river of fire that engulfs the myriads upon
myriads in the lake of fire. It is the word of the Lord, His absolute law, that
goes forth to devour all unrighteousness and injustice that is represented by
the works or deeds of the ones standing before the judgment seat of God.
“For the LORD your God
is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” (Deuteronomy 4.24 NASB)
God must consume all that is not of the character of His
kingdom. The word fire in Hebrew
means “the strong devourer or consumer.” When Moses used this word, he was not
referring to God consuming the physical flesh of man. This is what the sons of
“And when you heard the voice from the midst of the
darkness, while the mountain was burning
with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your
elders. You said, ‘Behold, the LORD our God has shown us His glory and His
greatness, and we have heard His voice
from the midst of the fire; we have seen today that God speaks with man,
yet he lives. Now then why should we
die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the LORD our
God any longer, then we will die. For who is there of all flesh who has heard
the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have,
and lived?’” (Deuteronomy 5.23-26 NASB)
By their own admission they acknowledged that God could
speak to man and live; that is, his flesh would not be consumed. But fear and
doubt gripped them, and they believed this great fire would indeed devour their
flesh, and they would die physically. They had no view or expectation of a
spiritual death or of their works of the flesh being devoured; this did not
even enter into their minds. They feared for their physical life because they
were a carnal people.
The purpose of God’s fire is to devour mankind’s
uncircumcised flesh, which speaks of man’s carnal, fleshly nature, not his physical
body. God disciplines for sonship, which requires being in the image of His
Son. Yet, it is no different in our day, for many believers think just like the
ancient Israelites, especially those who see the lake of fire as a living hell,
a torturous punishment of human flesh that either never ends or leads to total
annihilation of the person and, in either case, is forever and ever.
Clements
of
Consider Psalm 1 and note that it is the way of the wicked
that will perish. It does not state that the wicked will perish. What are the
ways? They are the unrighteous works or deeds that must be judged by the
spiritual fire of God.
For
the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. (Psalm 1.6 NASB)
For all who have believed during the Pentecostal Age, the
fire of God is a baptism in fire with the purpose of destroying sinful flesh,
to free all from the bondage of the flesh. We must not fear this fire but
embrace it, for it is the only way to come into the depths of the love of God
in Christ Jesus.
Let it be declared again: God seeks and, in fact, demands
righteousness and justice. Isaiah 26.9 tells us that when the earth experiences His judgments, the inhabitants of the world
learn righteousness. Burning billions of people to a pile of ashes or
tormenting them in their physical bodies is not teaching them righteousness,
for it is strictly punishment with no learning or correction involved.
People of God, it is time for us to wake up to the truth
of Scripture and the heart of love that God has for all mankind.
Consider this: When all mankind is purified through the
fire of God, sin will be no more, and when sin is no more, death itself must be
abolished, for sin reigns in death.
All scripture is inspired.
Before moving on, we need to be clear regarding the importance
of the law.
Paul reminds us that all scripture is inspired by God, and
is beneficial for teaching, for exposure, for correction, for discipline in
righteousness, that the man of God may be equipped, fitted out for every good
act (2 Timothy 3.16 CV).
There are many Scriptures that refer to the law. It is not
my intent to present a thorough review of these many references, but there are
a few worth highlighting.
The Psalms begin with the law, for it is the way to yield
fruit.
But his delight is
in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will
be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in
its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.
(Psalm 1.2-3 NASB)
Doing the will of God is an act of obedience to the law of
God. Notice that the law is a heart matter.
I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart. (Psalm 40.8 NASB)
The law is perfect and restores the soul.
The law of the LORD
is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making
wise the simple. (Psalm 19.7 NASB)
Being saved or delivered into the coming kingdom is
through the law of God.
I long for Your salvation, O LORD, and Your law is my delight. (Psalm 119.174 NASB)
Do
we want to know the truth that sets us free? Then, we need to know the law of
God.
Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your law is truth. (Psalm 119.142 NASB)
Entering eonian life is about becoming a son of God, a son
of the kingdom, even becoming a son of the resurrection. If we keep or obey the
law of God, we will be maturing as sons of God who will enter into the joy of
the oncoming eons.
He who
keeps the law is a discerning son, but he who is a companion of
gluttons humiliates his father. (Proverbs 28.7 NASB)
Why
is there no vision amongst God’s people today? Because His people have
abandoned the law of God! If we want vision, then we must obey His law. We are
not obeying His law, so we lack vision in a day in which we desperately need
vision.
Her gates have sunk into the ground, He has destroyed and
broken her bars. Her king and her princes are among the nations; the law is no more. Also, her prophets find no vision from the LORD.
(Lamentations 2.9 NASB)
Why
is violence so rampant and justice so perverted in our day? Because the law of
God is ignored!
Therefore the law
is ignored and justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the
righteous; therefore justice comes out
perverted. (Habakkuk 1.4 NASB)
Why
is the law made for the unrighteous? Because the law will be the standard by
which God will judge lawlessness and immorality!
But we know that the
law is good, if a man use it
lawfully; knowing this, that the law
is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for
the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers
and murderers of mothers, for manslayers…. (1 Timothy 1.8-9 KJV)
Finally, the law is holy, just, good and spiritual.
Wherefore the law
is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was then that which
is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin,
working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might
become exceeding sinful. For we know that the
law is spiritual: but I am carnal [of flesh], sold under sin [bondage to
sin]. (Romans 7.12-14 KJV [NASB])
Love
is the greatest law.
The
eleventh principle states that
the foundation of the law is love; the royal law is love.
We
know that the foundation of all the commandments is love, and as we apply these
in spirit, we begin to see that there
are spiritual laws that transcend even these (read Matthew 5-7). But they all
come back to love and what God commands us to do, and what He speaks to our
hearts to obey in order to manifest His love in this earth.
Love
sums up all the commandments.
And He said to him, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH
ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND. This is the great and foremost commandment.
The second is like it, YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. On these
two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22.37-40 NASB)
Love
is the ultimate law of God, for it is the foundation of the Law and the
Prophets. Everything will be judged for how much love was manifested. All
mankind will be judged by their works of love, for love is the fulfillment of
the law.
Love does no wrong to a neighbor;
therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans
13.10 NASB)
Because
of its relationship to all of God’s law, love grows cold and ceases among
lawbreakers; they become lawless. When there is lawlessness (i.e., one acts
apart from God’s law), there is no love.
What
is a sign that lawlessness is taking hold? Governments have to issue more laws
to deal with the lawlessness. What do we see happening in the
Many false prophets will rise up and lead multitudes
astray; and because of the prevalent
disregard of God’s law the love of the great majority will grow cold; but
those who stand firm to the End shall be saved. (Matthew 24.11-13 WNT)
This
particular translation truly captures the heart of the matter. A rampant
disregard of God’s law leads to the loss of love. When we meet someone who
seems to lack love, we call such a person coldhearted.
Their love has grown cold; it is rigid and lacking in warmth, and it is
tantamount to being dead!
So
the law of God and love are inseparable. Break the law (i.e., become lawless),
then love grows cold and dies. Become loveless (i.e., not laying down your life
for one another), then you are breaking God’s law and you are a lawbreaker
(i.e., a lawless one).
James
called the commandment to love the royal law.
If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF,” you
are doing well. (James 2.8 NASB)
The Greek word for royal
is basilikos, which means “belonging
to (or befitting) the sovereign; the king’s.” This law belongs to the King, the
Sovereign of all. The Greek word for love is agapaō, which is the verb form of the love that is attributed
to God. We are commanded to love our neighbors unconditionally as we love
ourselves unconditionally.
Jesus
Himself has given us the commandment to love.
“If you love Me,
you will keep My commandments.”
(John 14.15 NASB)
“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father
will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My
words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent
Me.” (John 14.23-24 NASB)
“This is My
commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater
love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” (John
15.12-13 NASB)
Consider
Jesus’ progression of thought. First, He tells His disciples to keep His
commandments out of love for Him. Then, He defines His commandments as His
word. Those who keep His word (commandments) will be loved by the Father. So
now we have a reciprocal love. Love Me, keep My word and My Father will love
you in turn. Finally, love itself is the commandment of Jesus to His disciples.
His commandment to us is to love one another as He has loved us.
In his first epistle,
John, the apostle of love, wrote: This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ,
and love one another, just as He
commanded us (1 John 3.23 NASB).
Faith
(trust in the Son) and love (love of the Son) go hand-in-hand.
Paul,
the striving apostle, reinforced all that John wrote on the matter, for he
encouraged brethren to pursue love and faith, and he looked for it in them and
commended them when he saw or heard of it in their midst (e.g., Ephesians 1.15;
3.17; Colossians 1.14; 1 Thessalonians 3.6; 5.8; 2 Thessalonians 1.3). Paul
referred to it is as the faith and love
in Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 1.14 CV).
Consequently,
works of love according to the royal law are what will survive the spiritual
fire of God. All other works will be judged according to the law of love, and
they will come short of the glory of God and be brought into the second death.
Before
moving on, there is one more thought on the law and grace! Grace gives us the
ability or enabling to obey the law of God. It isn’t a matter of do’s and
don’ts; rather, it is a matter of life and intuitively knowing the good to do
out of sacrificial, unconditional love. It
is not legalism. It is liberty. There is no life in do’s and don’ts. Life
is in love, for love knows what to do without hesitation or comparison or
compromise!
Further,
the law does not mean that we return to animal sacrifices, circumcision and
other physical demands. We must learn to apply the law spiritual to spiritual,
which means we apply it from the perspective of Christ and the new covenant.
This requires spiritual discernment and a heart response to the Lord.
When
the word of the Lord goes forth from His throne of righteousness, it will be
His law going forth to the myriads upon myriads standing before His throne. His
righteous and just standard will flow like a river from His throne and will
engulf all lost humanity in a lake of righteousness that will devour, like a
consuming fire, all unrighteousness of the flesh committed by every person.
They will be bathed in the righteousness of God; their unbelief will be
overwhelmed with the love of God; and God’s laws will be written upon their
hearts and on their minds, so that they will reach God’s end. Some indication
of this is given in the new covenant.
Laws
written upon their hearts and on their minds.
And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after
saying, “THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS
THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR
HEART, AND ON THEIR MIND I WILL WRITE THEM,” He then says, “AND THEIR SINS
AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.” (Hebrews 10.15-17 NASB)
During our present wicked eon, those who believe are being
brought into the new covenant. Those of us who have been given the faith of the
Son of God to believe have also been given an earnest of the spirit of God (2
Corinthians 1.22; 5.5; Ephesians 1.14), which means that we have been given a
taste of what is to come, but we are not there yet. We have not entered into
the full promise of God in His Son and this involves a full anointing of the
Holy Spirit (glorified, spiritual bodies); therefore, we only have an earnest
of the spirit in this eon. We wait for the completion of this eon and the
presence of our Lord Jesus. In the above verse, the Holy Spirit testifies to us
that after those days (after this eon), the Lord will put His laws upon our
heart and on our mind. Today, we must read His word and apply it to our life
and our actions by the power of the spirit of God. This is why we must walk by
the spirit (Galatians 5.25). But even this is only an earnest of what it will
be like for true believers in the oncoming eons.
If this is so according to God’s word, then could this
point to God’s desire for all mankind at the consummation of the eons? Perhaps
so! I believe Jesus has given us the final word on the matter.
“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the
Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you,
until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass
from the Law until all is accomplished.”
(Matthew 5.17-18 NASB)
Until all
is accomplished is the word of the Lord. In other words, a day will come
when all will be accomplished and even the law as we know it will not be
needed, for it will be written on the heart and in the mind of all.
Until then, the law written on the heart and mind of the
saints of God is an integral part of God achieving the purpose of the eons.
Those who are called and chosen in this eon to be part of the body of Christ
and the bride of the Lamb are destined to be His complement in summing up or
heading up all in the heavens and on the earth, until He has subjected all to
Himself, that He might be all in all.
Saints
will judge the world.
The twelfth
principle states that the saints will judge the world for the purpose
of establishing righteousness and justice according to His law.
Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are
you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more
matters of this life? (1 Corinthians 6.2-3 NASB)
It is hard to imagine that ones who were once sinners just
like the rest of mankind will be called upon to judge the world and angels (messengers).
[2]
Believers are from the same stock as the rest of mankind. Think about it before
your pride makes your head swell!
But how will the saints be able to judge the world and the
angels? Are there any amongst us today that could say we are qualified? Surely,
there is no one who has the wisdom or even the full depth of knowledge of God’s
law to do such a thing. We would fail, even though we have the spirit of God
within. Besides, who knows enough about the angels and the celestial realm to
know where to start in judging them?
The answer to the question is found in the Hebrews verses
about the new covenant. Again, the law will be written on our heart and in our
mind. In other words, it will be part of who we are. We won’t have to look it
up in books, for it will flow out of us as naturally as we breathe.
Now, here is the part that will amaze you. The saints will
be the ones who will administer the judgment of God through the lake of fire.
And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from
Seir unto them; he shined forth from
In a prophetic view of judgment, it is revealed that the
fiery law goes forth from the Lord’s right hand, which signifies authority and
power. But also notice who is in the right hand of the Lord. His saints are in
His hand, and they are the ones who will judge the people according to His
fiery law. Judging should not be seen as one sitting on a bench to condemn but
as one who works to restore. They will be called upon to teach mankind
righteousness and justice until each and every human is brought out of outer
darkness and into the
Thus, to recap what has been presented so far. As
signified by the river of fire, the absolute law of God will go forth from His
throne to engulf all that are standing before the throne and whose name is not
recorded in the book of life. In the eon that follows (God’s day), they will be
engulfed in the righteous standard of God to be purged and cleansed of all
unrighteousness. What is being cast into the lake, if it is not to be engulfed
in it? But this is not for punishment, but rather for correction; that is,
they must be taught righteousness and justice and make restitution for their
wicked deeds (discussed in what follows). They will be engulfed in the
righteousness of God. Can you think of any other way to cleanse one from all unrighteousness?
The saints will be the administrators of this judgment for the eon.
At night my soul longs for You, indeed, my spirit within
me seeks You diligently; for when the earth experiences Your judgments the inhabitants of the world learn
righteousness. (Isaiah 26.9 NASB)
This is the longing cry of the conquerors of Christ who
are called and chosen to lead the nations into the righteous and just
At this point, I am sure that there are many questions
raised in the mind of the reader. I realize that our carnal minds crave to have
every single question that comes to mind answered in matters such as this. We
must realize that we all see through a glass darkly and that there always will
be unanswered questions, or even certain matters that might seem contrary to
the overall understanding. We must not let this be a cause for rejecting what
has been presented so far. What it should do is cause us to seek for the truth
ever more diligently. Let us be as Isaiah and, by our spirit within us, seek
the Lord diligently.
For
a time, not for eternity.
This
leads to another question: What will this judgment be like for those cast into
God’s spiritual fire? We are not told!
We can only imagine or speculate that it will be some form of torment or
deep anguish for those cast into this fire as they experience all the waste of
their unrighteous and ungodly lives contrasted with the purity of the life of
the Son of God. It could be a deep pain within the very being of the person
that will not be very pleasant, to say the least. Just think of what it would
be like to see all the missed opportunities because you did not love. In the
same vein, consider what it would be like to experience all the pain that you
caused others in your life (lack of love), or all the evil things that were
done in your life (lack of love), as if they were all turned on you.
The
thirteenth principle states
that they will not experience torture, and it will not be forever and ever. It
will be for a time or a season, but the time will not be wasted as the love of
God pursues their cold hearts to win them through His divine love.
For His anger is but for
a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; weeping may last for the night, but
a shout of joy comes in the morning. (Psalm 30.5 NASB)
Even the commandments given through Moses indicate that
there is a limit to any action on God’s part.
“You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD
your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the
children, on the third and the fourth
generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to
thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” (Exodus 20.5-6 NASB)
Judgment for the iniquity of the father’s is limited to
the third and fourth generations. Consequently, there is no indication of
eternal punishment in the commandments. But notice that it is the Lord’s heart to
show lovingkindness to thousands, especially to those who love Him and keep His
commandments.
What
are we to conclude? I don’t know about you; but, as for me, I conclude that a
new day is coming for all mankind, even if it takes thousands of years.
Laws
of restitution.
Finally, the fourteenth
principle states that judging is for chastening and restitution, not
for punishment, and definitely not for torture. If restitution is the goal, then
by definition the chastening is only for a season and not forever. What purpose
would chastening serve if it never ended?
Again, Origen (180-253
AD) wrote: “They are purged with the “wise fire” or made to pay in prison every debt up to the last farthing . . . to
cleanse them from the evils committed in their error . . . Thus they are delivered from all the filth
and blood with which they had been defiled….”
The spiritual lake of fire is designed to judge in this
fashion, and when restitution has been completed, the person will be released
from the chastening judging.
One
proof that all chastening will be for a season and not for eternity is discovered
in the laws of restitution that were given to the nation of
Now, one could argue
over the severity of some of these judgments, but the point we must see is that
the
absolute worst punishment under the law was physical death. There was
an end to it, even if it was death, and there was no torture in some hellhole
with no way out. If the Lord instituted these laws with His chosen nation, do
we honestly believe that He has changed His approach in dealing with all
mankind? I doubt it! Jesus
Christ, yesterday and to-day the same, and to the ages (Hebrews
13.8 YLT).
Turning to the New Testament, we discover that Jesus
Himself reinforced the concept of restitution and that chastisement is only for a time. As a
reminder, in the case of the gehenna of
fire, the worst case is death, never endless torture. As a further
reminder, as the Lamb of God, Jesus paid the price or wages of sin for us, and
even He did not go to a hellhole for eternity. He simply was in death for three
days, but death could not hold the Righteous One.
Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art in the
way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the
judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say
unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. (Matthew 5.25-26 KJV)
And, being indignant, his lord gives him up to the tormentors [the
inquisitors] 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 CV
[YLT])
Torment.
Two
translations of this last passage are presented because several translations
use the word torturers rather than tormentors or inquisitors, which are more appropriate words. In the Greek, the
word is basanizō, which is the
same word used in other places to speak of torment, including torment of the
soul. Following the concordant method of translation, the word basanizō, which appears twelve
times in Greek Scripture, should be translated with the word torment. Looking at all the verses
containing the word torment is quite
instructive.
Now at His entering into
Jesus
healed a boy who was in torment as a paralytic. Note that Jesus did not leave
this gentile boy in torment but instead delivered him.
And at His coming to the other side, to the country
of the Gergesenes, two demoniacs meet Him, who were coming out of the tombs,
very ferocious, so that no one is strong enough to be passing by through that
road. And lo! they cry, saying, “What is it to us and to Thee, Son of God! Didst
Thou come here to torment us before the season?” (Matthew 8.28-29 CV; also Mark 5.6-7; Luke 8.27-28)
The
demonic spirits knew that Jesus is the Son of God and that He had authority
over them. Note that the demons had an expectation of being tormented at a
future time or season, which refers to a distinct portion of time having
special characteristics, an era or a period of time. A season is not eternity.
Also, take note that the Lord delivered the person who was possessed by the
unclean spirits.
And perceiving them tormented in rowing, for the wind was contrary to them, about the
fourth watch of the night He is coming toward them, walking on the sea. And He
wanted to pass them by. (Mark 6.48 CV)
The
disciples were in torment as they fought to row their boat in heavy wind. Jesus
showed up by walking on the sea and then calming it. He alone can and will end
the torment of mankind as it struggles with the trials of life. The disciples
were delivered out of their torment by the Lord.
Could
this account be a type of Christ delivering all mankind out of torment,
particularly those that will be cast into the lake of fire? The disciples were
on the
And rescues the just man, Lot, harried by the
behavior of the dissolute in their wantonness (for the just man dwelling among
them, in observing and hearing from day to day, tormented his just soul by their lawless acts)…. (2 Peter 2.7-8 CV)
Lot
was tormented in his soul over lawless acts being committed in
Have
you ever been led into a torment of your soul? I have, and I can report that it
is a most unpleasant experience. You seem to come to the end of yourself, and
there is no way out but by the grace of God. It is like sitting in the bottom
of a barrel, and the only way out is up. Praise God for experiencing such a
torment in this life. It is for our own good, for it is training us for the age
to come.
And it was granted to them, not that they should be
killing them, but that they shall be
tormented five months; and their torment is as the torment of a scorpion,
whenever it should be striking a man. (Revelation 9.5 CV)
According
to the
And those dwelling on the earth are rejoicing over them
and are making merry, and will be sending approach presents to one another,
seeing that these two prophets torment
those dwelling on the earth. (Revelation 11.20 CV)
In
John’s vision, God raises up two witnesses in the likeness of the prophets
Enoch, Moses, Elijah and John the baptist. They prophesy 1,260 days and have
authority to lock heaven, so that rain is withheld, to turn water into blood
and to smite the land with calamity, as often as they will. If anyone wants to
injure them, fire issues out of their mouth to devour their enemies (see
Revelation 11.5). This is an example of the figurative use of the word fire. They do not literally have fire
coming out of their mouths like some dragon. It is the voice of the Lord hewing
out flames of fire (Psalm 29.7), the fire of His word. Note that their torment
of earth dwellers only lasts for their time of witness.
And a great sign was seen in heaven: a woman
clothed with the sun, and the moon underneath her feet, and on her head a
wreath of twelve stars. And being pregnant, she is crying, travailing and tormented to be bringing forth.
(Revelation 12.1-2 CV)
Later
in the Patmos vision, a woman, which is a symbol of the true
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
in fire and sulphur in the sight of the holy messengers and in the sight of
the Lambkin. 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.” (Revelation 14.9-11 CV)
According
to John, all who accept the mark of the beast and worship its image suffer the
fury of God. Until they die, they are in torment due to the severity of God’s
indignation. But notice that it is the fumes of their torment that ascends for
the eons of the eons. This is symbolic language to signify that there is a
remembrance of this time for the eons of the eons. Their torment occurred due
to the indignation of God, and it ends in their death; but the remembrance of
this time lingers until the consummation of the eons.
And the Adversary who is deceiving them was cast
into the lake of fire and sulphur, where the wild beast and where the false
prophet are also. And they shall be
tormented day and night for the eons of the eons. (Revelation 20.10 CV)
Likewise,
the Adversary, Satan, and the demonized wild beast and the false prophet are
tormented for the eons of the eons. Note that they are the only ones that
Scripture says are tormented for the eons.
A
new heaven and a new earth come into view with the lake of fire. In that
glorious day, God makes all new, and there is no more death, all to the praise,
honor and glory of God and His Son. However, I believe that no more death
applies to the new Jerusalem and not to that which is outside on the new earth.
It is not correct to believe that the lake of fire disappears with the new
heaven and earth. We must keep in mind that the law of God’s righteousness will
continue its chastening work for those who were raised but only to mortality.
The One who sits on the throne declared to John that these ones will have a
part in the lake of fire, which puts them outside the new Jerusalem, but
evidently on the new earth (Revelation 21.8, 27; 22.15).
Conclusion.
In
conclusion, the gehenna of fire and the lake of fire refer to the judgment
of God of all apostasy, idolatry, and everything opposed to godliness and righteousness,
and everything opposed to the character of His Son, and every work of sinful
flesh. God’s judgment of mankind is through the fire of His absolute law.
However, the good news is that out of the ashes of the fire of judgment will
rise a new creation fully in the image of God’s Son. This new creation will
begin with the ecclesia, which is the body of Christ. But a day will come when
all mankind will enter into the joy of salvation when God is All in all in all mankind.
The
traditions of men are like set concrete; they are hard to break up. Perhaps,
what has been presented in this chapter has served as a chisel to begin
breaking away the traditional view of hell and has served to provide a better
perspective of our God who is a consuming fire.
Let
us give praise, honor and glory to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
who is working out all things according to His purpose of the eons. Amen!
[1] The word lost
refers to those who will be excluded from being part of the eons of the eons
due to their unbelief. The lost will appear at the great white throne judgment
and will suffer the second death. The word does not imply that they are lost
forever, for they are lost only for
the eons.
[2] The Greek word translated as angel is literally messenger.
I have often wondered if the ones that the saints will judge will be the human
messengers (pastors, preachers, etc.) that have attempted to teach God’s people
the word of God. Just a thought! A scary one at that!