{"id":825,"date":"2010-04-12T08:00:50","date_gmt":"2010-04-12T14:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.returningking.com\/?p=825"},"modified":"2010-04-12T08:00:50","modified_gmt":"2010-04-12T14:00:50","slug":"the-spirit-world-chapter-nine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/returningking.com\/?p=825","title":{"rendered":"The Spirit World: Chapter Nine (Lake of Fire)"},"content":{"rendered":"
This entry is part 11 of 23 in the series The Spirit World<\/a><\/div>

The Lake of Fire<\/h1>\n

(This is a continuation of The Spirit World book series<\/a>. This post assumes the prerequisite reading of earlier posts in the series.)<\/p>\n

\"\"The phrases describing the “lake of fire” occur four times in scripture, each in the book of Revelation.\u00a0 Being a phrase of several very common terms, the “lake of fire” is a simple representation of this group categorically.\u00a0 The phrase is rendered as the “lake of fire and burning sulfur,” with slight variances, in three places, and simply “lake of fire” in the fourth.\u00a0 Variances are slight throughout numerous translations, with each yielding the same essence, “lake of fire.”\u00a0 Because there are only four references to this phrase, each one will be examined in this section.<\/p>\n

To make short work of it, the lake of fire is the correct realm of the dead to be equated with the modern English definition of “Hell.”\u00a0 The deductions below will conclude that this location is indeed the eternal, burning hopeless abode of the condemned of mankind.\u00a0 This place, indeed, is Hell.<\/p>\n

The Texts<\/h5>\n

Rev 19:20 (NIV)<\/strong>
\nBut the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. (lit. lake burning with fire & brimstone [sulfur])<\/p>\n

Rev 20:10 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n\u00a0And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.<\/p>\n

Rev 20:14-15 (NIV)<\/strong>
\nThen death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15\u00a0If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.<\/p>\n

Rev 21:8 (NIV)<\/strong>
\nBut the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars–their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” (lit. lake burning with fire & brimstone [sulfer])<\/p>\n

Deductions<\/h5>\n

The first deduction concerning the lake of fire is that it is a place for both angelic and human beings.\u00a0 Revelation 19 notes,<\/p>\n

Revelation 19:20 (NIV) <\/strong>
\n20 <\/sup>\u2026 the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.<\/p>\n

In this text, “the two of them” are cast alive into the lake of fire, referring to the beast and the false prophet.\u00a0 The false prophet is an unrighteous angelic being, or a demon.\u00a0 John refers to him as “a beast” in Revelation 13:11.<\/p>\n

Revelation 13:11 (NIV) <\/strong>
\n11 <\/sup>Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon.<\/p>\n

That the false prophet is a demon is simply deducted from the fact that he is not a man.\u00a0 He does not come about from humanity, but appears “out of the earth” in John’s vision.\u00a0 Likewise, the book of Revelation notes qualities of the beast which are inconsistent with human power and abilities.\u00a0 As such, the false prophet can easily be understood to be a demonic angel.<\/p>\n

The other beast, noted simply as “the beast” in Revelation 19 is the person of Antichrist.\u00a0 Antichrist is a bit trickier to relegate into a status.\u00a0 It is the author’s conclusion that Antichrist is a hybrid man\/demon beast.\u00a0 The author’s book, “The Return of The King” explains this deduction in great detail from scripture.\u00a0 While some may designate the Antichrist as merely a man, it is unnecessary to establish his nature for the purposes of this study, for there are other examples of both man and angelic creatures being delivered to the lake of fire.<\/p>\n

Of those other examples, Revelation 20 affirms another demonic angel who is thrown into the lake of fire.<\/p>\n

Revelation 20:10 (NIV) <\/strong>
\n10 <\/sup>And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.<\/p>\n

The devil himself is also cast into this lake of burning sulfur.\u00a0 Satan is a cherub, the highest created order of angels.\u00a0 As such, he is another example of demonic entry into the lake of fire, demonstrating that angelic beings exist in this location, which separates it in nature from Sheol\/Hades.\u00a0 Hades\/Sheol is never noted in scripture to contain a demonic being.\u00a0 It is for humanity only.\u00a0 Yet, the lake of fire contains both men and angels.<\/p>\n

Concerning men in the lake of fire, Revelation 20 notes clearly a human constituency to exist in this abode.<\/p>\n

Revelation 20:14 (NIV) <\/strong>
\n14 <\/sup>Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.<\/p>\n

This text, observed earlier, is the final destination of Hades\/Sheol, once again demonstrating that Hades\/Sheol is not<\/em> synonymous with the lake of fire, or Hell.\u00a0 Hades is temporary in nature, being relegated at this point to another abode.\u00a0 Those of Hades, at the end of history, are moved uniformly to this new container of the lake of fire.<\/p>\n

Lastly, Revelation 21 also demonstrates the existence of men in the lake of fire.<\/p>\n

Revelation 21:8 (NIV) <\/strong>
\n8 <\/sup>But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars–their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”<\/p>\n

In this text, men are noted categorically by their unrighteous standing.\u00a0 They are “the unbelieving,” which is the key description of these men.\u00a0 All who are unbelievers will find themselves in the lake of fire at this time.\u00a0 The additional sinful credentials of these people simply denote their unbelieving status.\u00a0 They are “the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars.”\u00a0 These are cast into the lake of fire by merit, however, of their unbelief.\u00a0 Had they believed upon Christ, their sins would be washed away and not counted against them.\u00a0 All who believe on Christ will be spared from the lake of fire, as Revelation 20 notes,<\/p>\n

Revelation 20:15 (NIV) <\/strong>
\n15 <\/sup>If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.<\/p>\n

Clearly, it is only those whose names are not in Christ’s book of life which are destroyed in the lake of fire.\u00a0 All others receive their redemption in this same chapter, as will be demonstrated later in this work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The next conclusion concerning the lake of fire is that it is an eternal location.\u00a0 Unlike Hades\/Sheol, which are temporary, the lake of fire is a place which will endure as the final and unending abode of the unrighteous.\u00a0 Revelation 20:10 states,<\/p>\n

Revelation 20:10 (NIV) <\/strong>
\n10 <\/sup>And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.<\/p>\n

The text goes so far as to state the term “ever” twice, to reinforce the eternal nature of the lake of fire.\u00a0 It is a place of utter hopelessness, as it endures for eternity.<\/p>\n

It should also be understood from this text that Satan is not the “warden” of Hell as bad jokes and theology alike seem to hint.\u00a0 Satan is an inmate in Hell, like all other beings placed there.\u00a0 This truth alone refutes several bad doctrines, such as the “punishment of Jesus in Hell” doctrine noted earlier.\u00a0 Word of Faith teachers assert that Satan personally extended blows to Jesus “in Hell” as Jesus was paying man’s sentence there.\u00a0 This is clearly outlandish in light of Revelation 20.\u00a0 Satan is not the proprietor of some netherworld business called “Hell.”\u00a0 He is to one day exist in punishment there, himself.\u00a0 Indeed, one may postulate that Satan<\/em> may be the recipient of many blows in that locality, as the entirety of human history dwells alongside of him in great torment which he personally instigated.\u00a0 Jesus further affirms Satan’s own punishment in hell as he notes in Matthew 25,<\/p>\n

Matthew 25:41 (NIV) <\/strong>
\n41 <\/sup>“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.<\/p>\n

As demonstrated in this chapter, “eternal fire” refers not to the fires of Abaddon, but of Hell.\u00a0 Abaddon is temporary, but the lake of fire is the eternal place of burning.\u00a0 Clearly, Jesus asserts that the destruction of Satan himself<\/em>, along with his angels is the designated purpose of the lake of fire.\u00a0 It was prepared for them to be punished in through all eternity.\u00a0 Yet, those who serve his purposes will join him in his punishment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A final conclusion concerning the lake of fire is that it is a place of both the spirit and<\/em> the body.\u00a0 While Sheol\/Hades is a locality of the spirit, only, the lake of fire is a place of both the body and the spirit.<\/p>\n

Returning to Revelation 20, the context of verse 14 is that of a global resurrection of the bodies of the unrighteous dead.\u00a0 The text reads,<\/p>\n

Revelation 20:13-14 (NIV) <\/strong>
\n13 <\/sup>The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14 <\/sup>Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.<\/p>\n

Of important note are the physical bodies being involved in this future punishment.\u00a0 The sea gives up it’s dead, and death and Hades give up theirs.\u00a0 The sea, of course, refers to the bodies of those unrighteous men who were lost at sea at the time of their demise, leaving their remains in the ocean.\u00a0 Death, refers to the natural, physical state of the dead; the body.\u00a0 Hades, of course, refers to man’s spirit in prison in that spiritual container.\u00a0 Thus, the bodies and the spirits of mankind are reunited prior to the advent of the lake of fire.\u00a0 And in that location, man in his full unity, body and spirit, will endure a torturous eternity.<\/p>\n

While the lake of fire is well described in these four texts, another New Testament term brings further clarity to the deductions of this chapter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n
\"image\"<\/a><\/td>\nThe Spirit World series will continue weekly until the entire book is published online. If, however, you enjoy this series and do not wish to wait, you can purchase the paperback version of The Spirit World here<\/a>.<\/p>\n


<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n


<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This entry is part 11 of 23 in the series The Spirit World<\/a><\/div>

The Lake of Fire (This is a continuation of The Spirit World book series. This post assumes the prerequisite reading of earlier posts in the series.) The phrases describing the “lake of fire” occur four times in scripture, each in the book of Revelation.\u00a0 Being a phrase of several very common terms, the “lake of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16,19],"tags":[84,97,118],"series":[217],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/returningking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/returningking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/returningking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/returningking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/returningking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/returningking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/returningking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/returningking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/returningking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=825"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/returningking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fseries&post=825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}