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Revelation 20:15 New King James Version (NKJV)
15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
lake of fire.
The final hell, the place of eternal punishment for all unrepentant rebels, angelic or human (cf. 20:10, 15). The NT says much of eternal punishment (cf. 14:10, 11; Matt. 13:40–42; 25:41; Mark 9:43–48; Luke 3:17; 12:47, 48).
The warning is stern, and true. The “lake of fire” is the destination for anyone who has not received Christ as their Lord and Savior; who has not been born again. Instead of having the reward of having an eternal future in the presence of our Lord, an eternity of suffering is the reward. The statement of Christ, as to our need to be “born again,” to be born “from above,” is found in John 3:3, as follows:
John 3:3 New King James Version (NKJV)
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
When a person has been born again, he or she immediately has the Spirit of God dwelling within their spirit.
John 14:16-17 New King James Version (NKJV)
16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
When we have the Spirit of God dwelling within our spirit, we are prompted by His Spirit (the Spirit of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit) prompting us to righteousness in our lives, as follows:
John 16:8-11 New King James Version (NKJV)
8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
The Spiritual indwelling affects only those whom have the Spirit of God dwelling within their spirits, as follows:
1 Corinthians 2:14 New King James Version (NKJV)
14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
As we look around our cities, states and nations, it is easy to determine those who do not have God’s Holy Spirit dwelling within their spirits. For someone to continually vote for political parties who support the abortion, butchering, of unborn babies, it is proof that the Spirit of God does not live within their spirit. For someone to continually vote for political parties who support the marriage of men to men, and women to women, it is proof that such a person does not have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within their spirits. Those who pursue a life of lawlessness, such as rioting, show that they do not have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within their spirit.
There is coming a day when our Lord Jesus will catch up, and carry away to Heaven, all of those in the world which have been born again, those who have His Spirit dwelling within their spirit, those who have accepted Him, “Jesus, the Christ,” as their Lord and Savior, as follows: (the rapture of the church)
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 New King James Version (NKJV)
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
When all of the believers in Christ are “raptured,” caught up with Christ and carried out of this world, only those who have not been “born again” (born from above), will remain on this Earth. Those people will have no understanding of Spiritual things. They will not have the prompting of the Holy Spirit to live righteously, as we see in John 16:8-11. When the only people who are left in this world are those who do not have the Spirit of God dwelling within their spirits, and are not prompted to live lives of righteousness, there will be an abandonment to lawlessness all around the world. No citizens of our countries will have been born again. No leaders of our countries will have been born again. Our world will resemble lifestyles that are discussed, as follows:
Judges 21:25 New King James Version (NKJV)
25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
When the catching up the believers in Christ takes place, all born again believers in Christ will have been taken out of this world. None of the remaining people, those which have not been born again, will have any relationship with God. The only kings that will reside on Earth will be kings who have no resemblance to Jesus, who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16). No one will be drawn to a lifestyle of righteousness, but only to their own ungodly desires.
The video of this post shows large-scale rioting. Such worldwide lawlessness will be present in all corners of our world after God’s born again believers in Christ are caught up and taken away. With the absence of believers in Christ, the message of Christ will not be preached until the 144,000 Jewish missionaries are dispatched with that ministry (Revelation 7 and 14). Those who die, without having been born again, without having accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, as Messiah, have the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:15) as their eternal reward. Consider the following discussion of The Lake Of Fire, which is “the final Hell.” Consider your relationship with God. Have you been “born again;” born from above?
Lake Of Fire – Hell – Sheol – Hades – Gehenna – Tartarus – Torments
Hell is a word that is used to relate to states of concious punishment until the final Hell occurs, where punishment exists for all eternity for the wicked/unbelievers. In the OT, Sheol also refers to the grave.
Sheol – Old Testament – The place of all of the dead; the grave, consciousness of occupants.
Hades – New Testament – The concious state of the wicked dead.
Bosom Of Abraham – New Testament – The conscious state of the righteous dead; the Presence of God.
Scripture notes come from the MacArthur Study Bible on Biblegateway.com
The Lake Of Fire – The Final Hell – The Eternal Place Of Punishment For Unbelievers
Revelation 19:20 New King James Version (NKJV)
20 Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.
19:20 beast was captured, and…the false prophet. In an instant, the world’s armies are without their leaders. The beast is Antichrist (see notes on 13:1–8); the false prophet is his religious cohort (see notes on 13:11–17). cast alive. The bodies of the beast and the false prophet will be transformed, and they will be banished directly to the lake of fire (Dan. 7:11)—the first of countless millions of unregenerate men (20:15) and fallen angels (cf. Matt. 25:41) to arrive in that dreadful place. That these two still appear there 1,000 years later (20:10) refutes the false doctrine of annihilationism (cf. 14:11; Is. 66:24; Matt. 25:41; Mark 9:48; Luke 3:17; 2 Thess. 1:9). lake of fire. The final hell, the place of eternal punishment for all unrepentant rebels, angelic or human (cf. 20:10, 15). The NT says much of eternal punishment (cf. 14:10, 11; Matt. 13:40–42; 25:41; Mark 9:43–48; Luke 3:17; 12:47, 48). fire…brimstone. See note on 9:17. These two are frequently associated with divine judgment (14:10; 20:10; 21:8; Gen. 19:24; Ps. 11:6; Is. 30:33; Ezek. 38:22; Luke 17:29).
Revelation 20:15 New King James Version (NKJV)
15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Matthew 25:46 New King James Version (NKJV) – Place Of Eternal Punishment; Great White Throne Judgment, for unbelievers. (Revelation 20:15)
46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
25:46 everlasting punishment…eternal life. The same Gr. word is used in both instances. The punishment of the wicked is as never-ending as the bliss of the righteous. The wicked are not given a second chance, nor are they annihilated. The punishment of the wicked dead is described throughout Scripture as “everlasting fire” (v. 41); “unquenchable fire” (3:12); “shame and everlasting contempt” (Dan. 12:2); a place where “their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:44–49); a place of “torments” and “flame” (Luke 16:23, 24); “everlasting destruction” (2 Thess. 1:9); a place of torment with “fire and brimstone” where “the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever” (Rev. 14:10, 11); and a “lake of fire and brimstone” where the wicked are “tormented day and night forever and ever” (Rev. 20:10). Here Jesus indicates that the punishment itself is everlasting—not merely the smoke and flames. The wicked are forever subject to the fury and the wrath of God. They consciously suffer shame and contempt and the assaults of an accusing conscience—along with the fiery wrath of an offended deity—for all of eternity. Even hell will acknowledge the perfect justice of God (Ps. 76:10); those who are there will know that their punishment is just and that they alone are to blame (cf. Deut. 32:3–5).
James 3:6 New King James Version (NKJV)
6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.
hell. See note on Matt. 25:46. A translation of the Gr. word gehenna (or valley of Hinnom). In Christ’s time this valley that lay SW of Jerusalem’s walls served as the city dump and was known for its constantly burning fire. Jesus used that place to symbolize the eternal place of punishment and torment (cf. Mark 9:43, 45). To James “hell” conjures up not just the place but the satanic host that will some day inherit it—they use the tongue as a tool for evil.
HELL, place of the dead
Matthew 5:22 New King James Version (NKJV)
22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.
5:22 hell. A reference to the Hinnom Valley, SW of Jerusalem. Ahaz and Manasseh permitted human sacrifices there during their reigns (2 Chr. 28:3; 33:6), and therefore it was called “The Valley of Slaughter” (Jer. 19:6). In Jesus’ day, it was a garbage dump where fires burned continually and was thus an apt symbol of eternal fire.
Matthew 10:28 New King James Version (NKJV)
28 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 hell.
10:28 fear Him. God is the one who destroys in hell. Cf. Luke 12:5. Persecutors can only harm the body.
2 Peter 2:4 New King James Version (NKJV)
4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
cast them down to hell. Peter borrows a word from Greek mythology for hell, “tartarus.” The Greeks taught that tartarus was a place lower than Hades reserved for the most wicked of human beings, gods, and demons. The Jews eventually came to use this term to describe the place where fallen angels were sent. It defined for them the lowest hell, the deepest pit, the most terrible place of torture and eternal suffering. Jesus, in spirit, entered that place when His body was in the grave, and proclaimed triumph over the demons during the time between His death and resurrection (see notes on Col. 2:14; 1 Pet. 3:18, 19). chains of darkness. The demons feared going there and begged Jesus during His life on earth not to send them there (cf. Matt. 8:29; Luke 8:31). Not all demons are bound. Many roam the heavens and earth (cf. Rev. 12:7–9). Some are temporarily bound (see notes on Rev. 9:1–12). These were, because of their sin in Gen. 6, permanently bound in darkness. reserved for judgment. These permanently incarcerated demons are like prisoners who are incarcerated awaiting final sentencing. Tartarus is only temporary in the sense that in the day of judgment, the wicked angels confined there will be ultimately cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10).
HELL/HADES, hell, place of the wicked dead, for unbelievers (until the final, Great White Throne Judgment at Revelation 20:15). Notice that its residents experience consciousness and discomfort.
Matthew 11:23 New King James Version (NKJV) Hades
23 And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, “will be brought down to Hades;” for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
Shalt be brought down to hell: The statement here is an allusion to Isaiah 14:13, 15, where it is spoken of the king of Babylon and probably refers to Satan himself.
Luke 16:23 New King James Version (NKJV) Hades: Rich man had torment in Hades. Lazarus had comfort in the “Bosom of Abraham The Presence of God.”
23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
16:23 in Hades. The suggestion that a rich man would be excluded from heaven would have scandalized the Pharisees (see note on Matt. 19:24); especially galling was the idea that a beggar who ate scraps from his table was granted the place of honor next to Abraham. “Hades” was the Gr. term for the abode of the dead. In the LXX, it was used to translate the Heb. Sheol,which referred to the realm of the dead in general, without necessarily distinguishing between righteous or unrighteous souls. However, in NT usage, “Hades” always refers to the place of the wicked prior to final judgment in hell. The imagery Jesus used paralleled the common rabbinical idea that Sheol had two parts, one for the souls of the righteous and the other for the souls of the wicked—separated by an impassable gulf. But there is no reason to suppose, as some do, that “Abraham’s bosom” spoke of a temporary prison for the souls of OT saints, who were brought to heaven only after He had actually atoned for their sins. Scripture consistently teaches that the spirits of the righteous dead go immediately into the presence of God (cf. 23:43; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23). And the presence of Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration (9:30) belies the notion that they were confined in a compartment of Sheol until Christ finished His work.
Acts 2:27 New King James Version (NKJV)
27 For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
2:27 Hades. Cf. v. 31; see note on Luke 16:23. The NT equivalent of the OT grave or “sheol.” Though sometimes it identifies hell (Matt. 11:23), here it refers to the general place of the dead.
Acts 2:31 New King James Version (NKJV)
31 he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.
HELL/SHEOL: In OT, the place of the dead; the body in the grave; the soul in its conscious afterlife.
Genesis 37:35 New King James Version (NKJV)
35 And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, “For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.” Thus his father wept for him.
37:35 grave. This is the first OT use of this term for the abode of the dead (in 35:20 it is used to refer to an earthly burial plot). It is a general Hebrew term meaning the place of the dead (Sheol—used 65 times in the OT), referring to either the body in its decaying form or the soul in its conscious afterlife.
Job 7:9 New King James Version (NKJV)
9 As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, So he who goes down to the grave does not come up.
Psalm 49:15 New King James Version (NKJV)
15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, For He shall receive me.
Proverbs 15:11 New King James Version (NKJV)
11 Hell and Destruction are before the Lord; So how much more the hearts of the sons of men.
15:11 Hell and Destruction. Cf. 27:20. Hell or Sheol is the place of the dead (see note on 1:12). “Destruction” refers to the experience of external punishment. Cf. Job 26:6.
ALL THINGS NEW
As opposed to an eternity in the Lake of Fire, believers in Christ have a much different eternity awaiting them.
Revelation 21:1-7 New Living Translation (NLT)
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” 6 And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. 7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.
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Eternity 