What is the Lake of Fire? Many people think it is Hell, but it isn’t. God throws Hell into the Lake of Fire in Revelation 20:14, just before he throws unbelievers and lawless Christians into it in verse 15. How do I know Christians are thrown into the fiery lake? Because only people whose names are not found written in the Book of Life are thrown into the lake according to Revelation 20:15 and God warns Christians in Revelation 3:5 that their names may be blotted out of that book if they do not overcome. Thus some Christians’ names will not be found in the book and they will, therefore, be cast into the Lake of Fire. Will they then burn in torment forever? What is this Lake of Fire?
We first catch a glimpse of it in the fifth book of the Bible where Moses says, “The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.” (Deuteronomy 33:2 KJV) We find it again in Daniel, “I beheld till the thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and its wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.” (Daniel 7:9-10 KJ2000)
These two verses describe God and his law in a very interesting way. Both his law and presence reveal themselves as fire. John the Baptist warned us that Jesus came to baptize us with fire. Will we willingly be baptized in that fire now, or will we wait until God forces us into it?
Hebrews says, “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14 KJ2000) No one will see the LORD unless he possesses holiness. No one. Our literal holiness will come upon us at the time of the first resurrection which is also called the transfiguration, glorification, or rapture. But, until then we can maintain a legal standing before God of holiness by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. This is how we stay clean before him now, not by the literal sacrifice and blood of bulls and goats, but by the one-time sacrifice of Jesus who shed his pure blood for our sins.
Yet, many Christians today cannot continue in purity before God because they cannot repent. They have cast aside and disregarded God’s royal law. So, they no longer possess a standard by which to judge sin. For them sin no longer exists. Their gospel led them into lawlessness and then to a state of perpetual uncleaness. If they continue in lawlessness, they cannot overcome the world and their names will be blotted out of the Book of Life. In this condition they will not possess the holiness by which they become qualified to enter into God’s presence and behold him face to face.
For this reason God “casts” them into the Lake of Fire. Here they are “burned” with the judgments of God’s Law until such time as they repent and confess that God’s way is good. Is this a literal burning of their flesh? I doubt it. Are they “burned” forever in God’s judgment? I doubt it. Sooner or later their dross (sin) shall all be burned away and they will gleam bright as the precious metal God created them to be. It just takes longer with them than with God’s firsfruits who partake of the first resurrection.
