I became a Christian in 1977 after my freshman year of college, around 46 years ago. For over 30 years, I believed that the Lake of Fire was a literal place and the destiny of all of those who never believed that Jesus is the Son of God. A little over 10 years ago, I was led by the Spirit to reconsider my long-held viewpoint, and now my opinions regarding the Lake of Fire have changed. Of course, being that I am a finite being, I will continue to put all of my opinions to the test of the Spirit and the Word.
Currently, I believe that the Lake of Fire is an apocalyptic image of the wrath of God, not a literal place. Today’s study builds on last week’s study regarding the wrath of God. The term “Lake of Fire” is found only in the Book of Revelation, which has many examples of apocalyptic language. Apocalyptic language uses other-worldly images to teach the reader higher spiritual realities. A “lake of fire” is an other-worldly image. Personally, I have never seen a literal lake of fire (meaning a lake which combines both the elements of water and fire). Generally, apocalyptic images should not be understood literally. For example, at Revelation 12:3, Satan (the deceiver of the whole world) was described as a “great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his head were seven crowns.”
Does the reader believe that Revelation 12:3 provides a literal picture of Satan? The Greek word drakōn is defined as both a “dragon and fabulous kind of serpent.”[1] At Revelation 12:9, the great dragon is also called “the old serpent called the devil.” Revelation’s apocalyptic image of Satan has Old Testament roots. At Isaiah 27:1, we read, “On that day the Lord will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, with His fierce and great and mighty sword, even Leviathan the twisted serpent; and He [the Lord] will kill the dragon who lives in the sea.”
In the above verse, Isaiah connected several Old Testament Biblical images for the purpose of describing Satan and his agents. The Hebrew noun livyāṯān is defined as a “serpent sea monster.”[2] At Isaiah 27:1, both Satan and the enemies of Israel (like Assyria or Babylon) are referred to as sea monsters. In the above verse, the Hebrew noun nāḥāš is actually used four times. Nāḥāš is defined as a “serpent or snake.”[3]
At Revelation 12:3, we learn that Satan is pictured as having “seven heads, and ten horns, and on his heads were seven crowns.” Symbolically, the 7 heads of the dragon represented the fullness of creaturely authority. The 10 horns were symbolic for maximum creaturely power, and the 7 crowns were symbolic for the fullness of creaturely splendor. If you agree that Satan is not literally a dragon with 7 heads and 10 horns, are you willing to consider that the Lake of Fire may not be a literal place?
The Biblical image of fire is often associated with the wrath of God. As discussed last week, God’s wrath (or anger) communicates God’s strong disapproval and displeasure, but God’s wrath (unlike human wrath) has no irrationality or imbalance.
In my opinion, there is an equivalency between the image of the “Lake of Fire” and the idea of “eternal fire” and “eternal punishment” mentioned at Matthew 25:31-46. There will be lasting consequences for the disobedient and hard of heart. As you might recall, at Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus spoke of His Final Judgment. Matthew 25:32 states, “And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, but the goats on the left.” As previously discussed, the “goats” served as an image of being self-willed and stubborn. In contrast, Jesus said that “the sheep listen to his voice” (John 10:3).
Jesus promised that those on His right, the “sheep,” were going to inherit the Kingdom of God (Matt. 25:34). On the other hand, the “goats” were going to inherit eternal punishment, which in my opinion, means the loss of future blessings and the loss of sharing in the rule of Christ (a/k/a inheriting the Kingdom of God). There will be lasting consequences for human hard-heartedness.
Interestingly, as explained by Jesus, the inheritors responded favorably to the agents and emissaries of the King. To respond favorably to the King’s agents was equivalent to responding favorably to the King. When Jesus sent out His Apostles to preach the Kingdom, He said, “And whoever does not receive you nor listen to your words, as you leave that house or city, shake the dust off your feet” (Matt. 10:14). Then Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment, than for that city” (Matt. 10:15). Jesus made it clear to His audience that He works through His agents (meaning His disciples and Apostles). How people respond to the agents of Jesus is judiciously equivalent to how they respond to Jesus.
It should be noted that at the end of his life, many of the Apostle Paul’s students abandoned him and others were antagonistic toward him. His students did not persevere in their walk of faith. At 2 Timothy 4:10, Paul wrote, “[F]or Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.” At 2 Timothy 4:14, Paul wrote, “Alexander, the coppersmith did me great harm, the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.” At II Timothy 4:16, Paul wrote, “At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be accounted against them.” On the other hand, Paul wrote, “The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains; but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me” (2 Tim. 1:16-17).
In my opinion, if we over-literalize the image of the Lake of Fire, we will be blinded to many important doctrines taught by the Apostles and disciples of Christ. For example, if we believe that the Lake of Fire is a literal lake and the ultimate destiny of only those who never believed, we will be blinded to the reality that the Lake of Fire can also impact disobedient believers. The New Testament often warned believers of the dangers associated with falling away from one’s walk of faith (Luke 8:13; I Tim. 4:1; Heb. 2:1). We believers need to be reminded that “our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29). Further, at Mark 9:49, we read, “For everyone will be salted with fire.” All of us have been salted by God’s fire at one time or another.
As previously discussed, in my opinion, the Book of Life records the names of the faithful servants of God. The name of every believer is initially recorded in the Book of Life. Having one’s name removed from the Book of Life symbolizes that a particular believer is no longer considered by God to be a faithful servant. At Revelation 20:15, we read, “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the Lake of Fire.” This is a picture of unfaithful believers being impacted by the wrath of God and of not inheriting the Kingdom of God. At Revelation 21:8, we read, [T]he cowardly, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and sexually 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.” If we fall away from our walk of faith, we will experience the wrath of God (a/k/a Lake of Fire). Additionally, if we are born again and then fall away from our walk of faith, we will also experience the second death (meaning we are insensitive to the voice of God). In other words, we are no longer functioning as Jesus’s sheep that hear His voice.
Finally, and most importantly, if we over-literalize the Lake of Fire, we are blinded to the Endstate actually taught by Scripture. As repeated at Romans 14:11 and Philippians 2:10, Isaiah 45:22-24 states as follows:
Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out from My mouth in righteousness and will not turn back, that to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance. They will say of Me, ‘Only in the Lord are righteousness and strength.’ People will come to Him, and all who are angry at Him will be put to shame.
On many occasions, the Bible informs us that God’s enemies will be made a footstool for His feet (Ps. 110:1; Luke 20:43; Acts 2:35; Heb. 1:13; 10:13). At Philippians 3:21, we read that God has the power to subdue all things to Himself. God has provided us with some incredible examples of His power to subordinate humans to Himself. At Daniel 4:28- 37, God turned King Nebuchadnezzar into a wild animal, wherein he lost his humanity and ate grass for seven years. When Nebuchadnezzar finally acknowledged and blessed God, his reason returned, and Nebuchadnezzar “blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever” (Dan. 4:34). Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “praise, exalt, and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just; and He is able to humble those who walk in pride” (Dan. 4:37).
Apparently, many of us have the imagination to see billions of humans residing in an eternal and literal Lake of Fire, but very few have the imagination to see every knee bowing and every mouth praising God (Isa. 45:23; Rom. 14:11; Phil. 2:10). In summary, the Lake of Fire means that there will be lasting negative consequences for the disobedient and hard of heart (whether believer or unbeliever). Such will not inherit the Kingdom of God, and they will not participate in the rule of Christ. The hard of heart will definitely miss out on many blessings and rewards, but in my opinion, a literal Lake of Fire is not in their future.
[1] “G1404 – drakōn – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (nasb20).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 21 Dec, 2023. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1404/nasb20/mgnt/0-1/>.
[2] “H3882 – livyāṯān – Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon (nasb20).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 21 Dec, 2023. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3882/nasb20/wlc/0-1/>.
[3] “H5175 – nāḥāš – Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon (nasb20).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 21 Dec, 2023. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h5175/nasb20/wlc/0-1/>.
