The Lake of Fire and God's Will for Man

The purpose of the Lake of Fire
The Lake of Fire is mentioned only in the book of Revelation.  Ask any Christian and their imaginations will come alive with ideas about the Lake of Fire.  But what exactly is this Lake of Fire or more importantly what is it's purpose?  Consider:

Revelation 19:20
20 And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.

Okay, we see here that the Beast and false prophet are cast into this lake of fire.  What else do we know:

Revelation 20:10
10 and the Devil, who is leading them astray, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where [are] the beast and the false prophet, and they shall be tormented day and night -- to the ages of the ages.

Here we see that the devil will be thrown into this lake of fire.  What else:

Revelation 21:8
8 But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Revelation 20:15
15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

From these two verses we can see that ANYONE (HUMANS) not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.  What else:

Revelation 20:14
14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

There you have it; ALL the verses that mention the Lake of Fire.  I left Revelation 20:14 until last because it gives us a link to understanding what this lake of fire is and its purpose.  John saw where DEATH was cast into the lake of fire.  This is important to know because another writer talks about death as well.  Consider:

1 Corinthians 15:25-26
25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death.

Paul tells us that Christ must reign until God has put ALL his enemies under his feet.  Paul then goes on to say that the LAST enemy will be death.  Paul makes sure to say the 'LAST' enemy because there are other enemies that will be abolished.  Who are the other enemies? John lists them in Revelation 19:20, 20:10, 21:8 and 21:15 (see above).  Altogether the enemies of God are those who REMAIN disobedient in this age. These enemies of God are all to be abolished as Paul says. So how does God abolish death?  John tells us how; God abolishes death by casting it into the Lake of Fire.  Now here is where the purpose of Lake of Fire is revealed.

John says that Death along with the enemies of God will be cast into the Lake of Fire, Paul says that death and the enemies of God will be abolished.  But what does abolish mean?

1 Corinthians 15:25-27
25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death. 27 For HE has put all things in SUBJECTION under His feet.

Paul tells us that the enemies of God will be abolished BY being SUBJECTED under the feet of Christ.  Okay, let's look at this:

John says ALL the enemies of God will be cast into the Lake of Fire.

Paul says ALL the enemies of God will be put in subjection under Christ's feet.

Therefore, we MUST conclude that the 'Lake of Fire' and 'Subjection under the feet of Christ' has to be the SAME thing.  So how do we find out what is the purpose of the Lake of Fire?  We discover its purpose when we understand the meaning of the word 'SUBJECT'.  The word subject in this passage is the Greek word 'hupotasso', and this word means, 'TO BRING UNDER CONTROL AND TO MAKE OBEDIENT'.  Now we can see the purpose of the lake of fire:

The Lake of Fire is a process used by God to bring ALL His enemies under control thus MAKING them obedient to Christ.

It is AT this point when ALL the enemies of God, that is, everyone not written into the book of life because of DISOBEDIENCE will be MADE OBEDIENT.  

Those chosen by God are made obedient NOW, but later ALL will be made obedient. (See post 'Everyone will be salted by Fire')
Posted by Bertram Mills at 1:10 PM
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Labels: Afterlife, Death, Savior of All

One God and ALSO One Lord and Savior His Son

1 CORINTHIANS 8:6 Yes, to us there is one God, and one God only, the Father, out of Whom all is. This One is quite separate and distinct from the Lord Jesus Christ, though, of course, there is a close relationship between them. The One is the Father, the other is the Son. The One is Supreme, the other is termed Sovereign (Col.1:18). But let us note this; the Lord Jesus Christ is Sovereign only because God, the Supreme One, has made Him so. Peter explained this to Israel when he stated most emphatically, as recorded in Acts 2:36, “Let all the house of Israel know certainly, then, that God makes Him Lord as well as Christ—this Jesus Whom you crucify.” Paul also tells us this (in Phil.2:9), “wherefore, also, God highly exalts Him, and graces Him with the name that is above every name, that in the name of Jesus every knee should be bowing, celestial and terrestrial and subterranean, and every tongue should be acclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord, for the glory of God, the Father.” What room is there here for the conception of the Trinity— three gods in one and one three, and all co-eternal and co-equal? (In none of the passages we have quoted is God’s holy Spirit even mentioned.) The doctrine of the Trinity, as generally understood, is a most pernicious one, and is yet another attempt by the Adversary to undermine the deity of God. The words Father and Son lose their meaning if the Father does not precede the Son, and if the Father is not greater than the Son. Jesus Himself said, “The Father is greater than I” (John 14:28), and spoke of the Father as His God (John 20:17). It is surprising how widespread this undermining doctrine has become, and how many believers it has deceived. We get into real difficulties whenever we use terms that are not in the Scriptures to describe scriptural matters. “Trinity” is a term invented by theologians; it has its origin in their creeds and finds expression in their hymns. We should be very wary of using terms which are unscriptural, and even more wary of building doctrines upon them. It is true that there is a Father and there is a Son and there is a holy Spirit, but they are not three Beings in one, still less are they one in three. The Father is God in absolute right; He was, is, and always will be, the Supreme. As such, He is entitled to the worship and adoration and affection of all. The Son is God in a relative sense only. He is “the only-begotten God” (John 1:18). As the Original of God’s creation (Rev.3:14), the Firstborn of every creature (Col.1:15), He appeared before creation “in the form of God” (Phil.2:6) so that He might reveal to creation the God Whose true Image He is. But invariably the Son is pointing to the Father, and directing that glory be given to Him. It is the Father, Who (subsequent to obedience of His Son on the cross) ordains that acclamation be given to Christ, when He highly exalts Him, and gives Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. It is clearly stated that this acclamation is “for the glory of God, the Father.” GOD’S HOLY SPIRIT The holy Spirit is not a god at all, but simply the power of God as manifested in His invisible, intangible operations. For example, it operated invisibly in order to bring about the conception of the babe Jesus (Matt.1:18). It operated, too, on the minds of the various ones chosen by God to write down His Word (2 Peter 1:21). Now it dwells in the hearts of God’s saints (1 Cor.3:16). It is never, in itself, an object of worship, but directs praise and acclamation to God and to His Son. The beautiful relationship which exists between the Father and the Son was most aptly expressed by Jesus, when He said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30), but this can by no means be used to support the theory of the Trinity, for later Jesus prayed that His disciples may also “be one, according as We are” (John 17:11), and later in the same chapter, “that they may all be one, according as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us” (v.21). Jesus always recognized the deity of His Father, and will always do so, for at the consummation He gives up the kingdom to His God and Father, and Himself is subject to the One Who has subjected all to Him, that God may be All in all (1 Cor.15:24-28). Let this disposition, which is in Christ Jesus, be in us also, and let us give all honor and glory to God, realizing and acknowledging that we can do nothing of ourselves. Thus may we subject ourselves to Him, that He may be All in us now. John H. Essex Part 1 Part 2 YOU ARE HERE Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6