When we study the scriptures on a subject,
we go by what the entire Word says, based upon the guiding of the Holy
Spirit. The Holy Spirit will lead us into ALL truth. That’s how it
works. (John 16:13, Jas 1:5)
We are surrounded by lots of false
teachings, and it is going to get worse as the last days move forward.
This is why being taught by the Holy Spirit is most important. (1 John
2:27)
Hell and/or the Lake of Fire according to
scripture seems to be two different places. There is a current holding
place called Hell, and a final destination which is the Lake of Fire.
Why two? Because after all is said and
done there will be a final judgement, and at some point God will create a
new Heaven and new Earth. Hell seems to be the containment for this
current creation, and the Lake of Fire is the containment for eternity,
after the last judgement and new creation.
The current containment of Hell along with death will be cast into the Lake of Fire, so nothing escapes. (Rev. 20:14)
This containment system seems to have been created for Satan and his angels.
At some point in the distant past, when
Satan fell and led a rebellion against God, which included angels and
all sort of spiritual beings, God created or “prepared” it for them.
(Matt. 25:41)
According to scripture, Satan and his
angels are not currently bound in Hell. We have verses showing Satan
visiting God’s throne room in Heaven and the angels battling each other.
We also have verses speaking of the demonic forces ruling and
influencing things on Earth. (The book of Job, The book of Zechariah, 2
Cor. 4:4, Eph. 2:2, Rev. 20:1-3, Dan. 10 )
There
are also scriptures that show that some fallen angels or beings are
bound in other places. We see that there is a place called the
Bottomless Pit. So, it seems that the true spiritual cosmology, involves
more than Heaven, Hell and Earth. The Bible doesn’t give us a lot of
info on these places and on the cosmology. I have my beliefs on them,
but let’s stick to Hell. (Rev. 20:1-3, Rev. 9:14)
Hell is eternal death. Death is
separation, not an end as we suppose. Hell/Lake of Fire is a place that
is separated from God for all eternity. It is a holding place for all
that is filthy, corrupt and wicked. It is a place for those who refuse
to be washed clean of Sin and Evil in the Blood of Jesus. Hell exists as
a containment for Sin. It is like a plague that corrupts us. God cannot
let Sin into Heaven or Paradise, or else death and pain and suffering
would contaminate all of eternity. (Rev. 1:5, Rev. 7:14, 1 John 1:7, Eph
2:13, Heb. 10:19)
Hell is best viewed as the garbage dump outside of an ancient walled city. This image gives the best picture.
Hell/The Lake of Fire is the garbage dump outside the City of God. Outside of Paradise.
When you read in the Old Testament about
lepers. This is a picture of the unsaved in Hell. They were living
corpses rotting away and stinking. They were contagious, and had to stay
away from others. They were forced to cover their face and yell
“Unclean!” any time an uninfected person approached. (Lev. 13:45)
Separation.
They were poor, and no one helped them
much. They dwelt in the garbage dump because they could get scraps, and
scavenge things thrown away, and people would leave stuff for them.
The dump stinks. It is where the dogs
dwelt eating scraps and fighting lepers. It’s the same in Hell/Lake of
Fire (Revelation 22:15) (Dogs in the ancient world were vermin and
tormentors. They were scavengers and thieves, who roamed in packs and
might even attack a child, or solitary person. It is not the view we
have of family pets. Course those family pets can turn feral.)
Jesus
described Hell as a place where “the fire is not quenched and the worm
dieth not.” He was quoting Isaiah. (Isa 66:22-24, Mark 9)
The fires of trash burning with filthy
smoke, choking the lungs and blocking the light. A place of darkness and
misery, without the love and joy and peace of God. A place where the
worms live forever eating the flesh, filth and corruption. (Matt. 25:30)
This is the basic picture of Hell. A garbage dump separated from God and all that is clean.
Jesus gives us a parable of the torment of
Hell. He speaks of the poor man Lazarus who basically was a homeless
man who lived outside a nameless rich man’s gate. The rich man ignored
Lazarus. He could have loved Him and helped Him. If the rich man really
knew God, he would have done what He could do to help the homeless man.
But, He did not. (Luke 16)
Both of them die.
The rich man is in Hell. Again, not
because he could earn His way into heaven by doing good deeds, but
because He never knew God. He never had a relationship with God. If He
had, then He would have had compassion. He would have felt conviction to
help Lazarus.
The rich man is thirsty in Hell and says
“Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the
tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in
this flame.”
There is no water in Hell, it’s hot. He
sees Lazarus in Heaven/Paradise leaning against Abraham’s chest, and
makes this request. (There are teachings about Abraham’s Bosom and all
of that, which the Bible doesn’t really teach. In this parable it is
clear that Lazarus is leaning against Abraham the person, because
Abraham speaks. It is not a place. Locations do not speak. Any doctrines
on a place called Abraham’s Bosom are actually referring to Paradise or
Heaven. The place of the the righteous dead, where the saints go to be
with the Lord, and the other members of their family and saints who were
saved as well. Abraham and all the saints are there. The phrase
“Abraham’s Bosom” is actually poetic language for Heaven/Paradise.)
Abraham
tells the rich man that Lazarus cannot give him a drink because there
is a gulf between Hell and Paradise. They can see each other, but cannot
go there. Again separation and containment. Many ancient cultures had a
similar cosmology, because it is true. God told Adam, and the truth
went to Noah, and was taught to the people. Then it was confused at the
Tower of Babel, when people scattered globally with different languages
and different names for past events. But, the basic idea remains.
Because it’s true.
The rich man begs Abraham to send Lazarus
to warn his family, so they won’t go to Hell. But, Abraham says “They
have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay,
father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will
repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”
Abraham basically says, “They have God’s
Word.” But, the rich man knows his family won’t read it or learn of it.
He assumes his family would be shocked into turning to God if Lazarus
rose from the dead.
But, Abraham says, “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”
Basically, if they won’t believe the Word, they won’t believe anything, even if someone rose from the dead.
In case you missed it, this is a reference
to Jesus rising from the dead; and people still refuse to believe. Just
to be clear, a man named Lazarus also rose from the dead, and people
still refused to believe. (John 11, John 20)
So, that is Hell. But, what about the Lake of Fire?
In my best understanding, Hell is a
current spiritual place in the cosmology. It rests separated by a gulf
from Heaven/Paradise. (Luke 23:43, 2 Cor. 12:4, Rev. 2:7)
It is Spiritual. It is out there beyond the veil that separates us from spiritual things.
But, the Lake of Fire is material. It exists in the material world forever.
It seems that at some point, God creates a
new heaven and new earth. The city of God, and Paradise itself seems to
come to Earth and joins with Earth. There is no more Separation. Sin
has been contained. Death has been defeated. Everything is created new
and seems to go back to how it was before the fall of man and the
rebellion of Satan. (Heb. 11;16, Isa 65:17, Isa 66, Rev. 21, Rev. 22 )
The Lake of Fire is a place on Earth at
this future time. A material location, not a spiritual one. It rests
outside the City of God. It is the garbage dump, and containment place
for everything and everyone who refused to washed in the Blood and be
cleansed and healed of the Plague of Sin. Understand that sometime
before the final judgement everyone who is dead will be raised into
bodies that can never die. The dead currently have spiritual bodies.
These future bodies will allow us to either live forever in Paradise, or
live forever in Hell/Lake of Fire. (Rev. 20:12)
Why do I say this? Because it’s what God says, “ For
as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain
before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And
it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one
sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the
Lord. And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men
that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither
shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all
flesh.” (Isa 66:22-24)
After God creates a new heaven and new
earth. When His city comes to Earth and Paradise is here. The saints who
the Lord has saved, will gather together on a regular basis to worship
God. And part of that celebration, or after the worship service; people
will be able to go out and look at the Lake of Fire and see Satan, His
angels, and those who followed them in the Lake of Fire.
Now,
a Lake of Fire implies liquid fire. So, I personally believe that it is
like a volcano or magma. The City of God and Paradise Earth is near
enough to see it, but there is a separation or gulf. People will come
from all over the new Earth to worship, and see it.
So, let me tell you that our words and
current understanding cannot really explain this. There are gaps in what
the scriptures say and our ability to explain it. We have tried to give
a time line. But, from what I can tell, no timeline or explanation of
the events to come is totally perfect.
We are not supposed to “Intrude into things we have not seen.” (Col. 2:18)
That means that as humans who have never
traveled to spiritual realms, or seen glimpses of the future new
creation, we can only give limited knowledge and understanding.
I’ve tried to connect some dots. and clear
things up in order to get people to understand and get saved or have a
hope of the future. I am not going to say I have it all figured out in
such a way that I can teach it or prove it. I don’t.
This is a simple explanation of what I have learned so far. I hope it helps you in your studies.
Photo by Pexels/Eyez Heaven. Edited by Author
