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| When the earth and the heaven fled away!!! |
Rev 20
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Some observations:
i. The passage describes the general judgment at the last day:
- it will be the end of the present world as we know it... "the earth and the heaven fled away."- eternity proper will begin.
- The state of changelessness will dawn and the elect shall enter into their eternal inheritance..."To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."
ii. The whole of humanity stands before the great white throne:
- all those whose names were written in the book of life (that is the reason the book of life is mentioned twice), together with all the rest of the human race.
iii. And death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them:
- at the command of Him who holds the keys of hell and of death, Rev 1:18. The fact that Christ holds the keys of hell and of death should be of great comfort to the redeemed; hell MUST surrender all that belongs to Christ for their glorification on judgment day.
- hell would be emptied of all its prisoners then. NONE would be found in hell anymore.
- So, hell is not eternal but will end at the general resurrection; it is everlasting, it lasts as long as time!
iv. Both death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.
- The purpose and intent of this statement are to comfort the children of God, i.e. death and hell shall be permanently separated from, and shall never trouble, God's children anymore.
- None of those whose names were written in the book of life will be in the lake of fire. Death and hell were absolutely and completely removed from them at their resurrection to eternal glory.
- Hell (emptied of the dead) was cast into the lake of fire. Therefore, hell and the lake of fire are DISTINCT. The former remains up to the time of the general resurrection only, the latter is the beginning of, and unto eternity.
v. Whosoever whose names were not written in the book of life were cast into the lake of fire.
- The corollary: whosoever whose name were written in the book of life entered into their glorious inheritance of eternal blessedness AFTER the general resurrection.
- Christ came to redeem all those whose names are in His book of life from the lake of fire. Christ DID NOT redeem them from hell; this explains why He so solemnly warned them of the reality of hell, and exhorted them to take drastic measures to save themselves from hell.
- "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."
- Christ's redemptive work eternally saved His people from the eternal lake of fire. It is a work most assuredly finished, and accomplished its goal. That explains why Christ never once warned His disciples against the lake of fire.
- But He did repeatedly, in the most solemn manner, warned the disciples of the reality and danger of hell, and do by all means to avoid it.
- But He did repeatedly, in the most solemn manner, warned the disciples of the reality and danger of hell, and do by all means to avoid it.
But the devil has deceived the Christian churches to believe and teach that there is no hell for God's people before their resurrection to glory DESPITE the HARD fact that Christ so solemnly warned His disciples against the reality of hell between physical death and resurrection to glory.
Eternity will begin at the resurrection to glory; eternity is a state of changeless perfection in every sense. Before eternity, extraordinary changes will still occur, for example...
1Cor 15:42-44 "So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body."
Just some thoughts on this passage... Think about it.
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Until it is raised, it remains in the state in which it was sown, corruption, It is subject to change at the day of the general resurrection, unto incorruption.
Until it is raised, it remains in the state in which it was sown, corruption, It is subject to change at the day of the general resurrection, unto incorruption.
That hell is eternal is a popular myth! A day will come when hell shall surrender up every captive in it; it shall be empty; it becomes redundant; it has served its purpose. However, the lake of fire, after the general resurrection is eternal!.
