Revelation 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
What could be good about the lake of fire? There is a blessing. The fire is eluded to in the old and new testaments, a fire of eternal retribution. Jesus taught more on that than heaven. He taught of the dangers of it.
Notice that John says a lake not the lake of fire burning with brimstone. This means John saw it. He saw it and lived to tell about it.
It's a fact. The lake of fire does exist. Now, not in the future. It won't be created all of a sudden; it's not in the planning. IT IS NOW as written and described. It was prepared for the devil and his angels when Lucifer (the devil) was cast out of heaven with one-third of the angels for their rebellion against God. As sure as there is a heaven and hell, there is a lake of fire. It's not false or a parable. John saw a lake of fire. It is not what we perceive; it's how it is and it won't be altered. There is a lake burning filled with molten sulfur that churns and moves like boiling stew cooking on high. As awful as hell is with the darkness and agony, it pales in comparison to the horrible lake of fire. When I read about it, it makes me not want to read about it.
What goes in never comes out–it cannot come out. It never dies and never burns up. It burns and burns and burns. Hell has an ending with the judgment and is then cast into the lake of fire. It is perpetual and doesn't change. It's as bad as bad can get.
Chapter 20:10 writes that the devil was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. The devil runs to and fro over the earth and uses any means he can to deceive; he seems to have free run of the world, the neighborhood, the family–we can't get rid of him now, but he's going to be grabbed and cast into the lake of fire. The time will come when we will be devil free.
Chapter 14:8 says Babylon will fall. This is the satanic name for the world system, the system of evil, and it has tried to keep every generation since the fall without Jesus so they can die and go to the lake of fire with him. Satan hates God and hates humanity. We get so caught up in our few minutes of living, our mortality. By in large we'll have 50, 60, 70, 100 years at most. One day you may be like the rich man and open your eyes in hell; then you will go to the lake of fire. All the wicked will hit the lake of fire and it will be sealed up. There will be no more world like there is now. The devil can't live and the evil machines of death and the grave also will be cast into it. God will sweep them up with his "janitor angels." There will be no trash in heaven–no litter there. The devil will not mess up heaven. It will be a holy city of perfection, devil free and free of the corruptness of all our messes. There will be rest from our tribulations.
Trust God and leave all this mess behind. Death, hell and the grave will be emptied and cast from their temporary place of torment into the lake of fire. There will be no use for hell then. We choose our perspective. We can waste life and die lost or look at how it is and get away from it.
You don't have to go there. Before the foundation of the world a lamb was slain. We look back to the cross and find our salvation. From Adam to Jesus those who died in faith were looking for Calvary and did not go to hell. NO ONE HAS TO GO TO THE LAKE OF FIRE. You can put up with Satan and the mess of this world, but the saved don't have to go there. This is our patience, our motivation to continue in Jesus. The lost do have to go. Reach out to God. If there was ever a place to miss, I want to miss the lake of fire.
We're too close to heaven. We need to give this a fresh look. We need to pray for others. Fix up anything that needs to be fixed. The occupation of the lake of fire is too close.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 