There are four items that are going to be cast into the Lake of Fire, death, hell, fallen angels, and people. It is a singular place, set apart from all else, much as heaven is, to a degree, but that of course is a debatable subject, for “Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:21) So then, by default where we are is at least a part of heaven.
Not so with the last “catch-all,” if you will, the place where, as far as we are told, all evil will be condemned to spend all eternity. Have you noticed over the ages how when most people speak of these two final resting points of all souls, its either heaven or hell, how rarely the Lake of Fire is mentioned? I believe it’s because of those words, Lake of Fire, it does not infer an end point, but a continuance, fire consumes until the fuel available to it is removed, but this fire will continue forever.
Hell can be imagined in ways that fire cannot, it can be seen as an almost void place, cavernous is what most people see in their minds I think, because of verses life, “The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.” (Prov. 15:24) And “I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength.” (Psalm 88:4) describing it as someplace under the ground that we all walk on. Where it actually is geographically is immaterial and matters about as much as exactly where heaven is, or where the Throne of God is, what matters is that you will be in one of those two places.
There are perhaps thousands of books written about heaven, and nearly all are meant to encourage people, to offer a glimpse into the place where those who have been born-again will spend eternity, yet it is immaterial as to its location, where Christ is, is where we will be, and that is what matters. Not so with the Lake of Fire, where it is, is where it will always be, and there is no escape from it.
Death as a personal entity is not spoken of much in the Scriptures, there is the reference of the Angel of Death, (Exo. 12:23) but as an individual, say like the Holy Spirit, there is very little said about, we will call this entity “him.” He will be cast into the Lake of Fire, “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” (Rev. 20:14) What gets placed forever in that place “Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched,” (Mark 9:44) is an abomination to God, evil, wicked, loathsome, and what is placed there will never be removed.
But one must wonder about hell itself being cast into that great lake of eternal pain, if indeed hell is a place, a holding facility, as it were, for a short time for those that are heading to the Lake of Fire, why would a non-sentient entity, a created thing with no eternal soul be thrown into this place of eternal suffering? One may as well ask if Korah’s tent and personal property are still in hell. (Numb. 16:32-33)
Much of what has been written in this short letter to you today is conjecture, questions that in this life will not be answered, yet they serve a purpose, they allow us to contemplate God and His ways. “Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.” (Prov. 2:5) And that is the purpose of man, to glorify God, and to do so, one must contemplate Him. “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33) Yet we try, for we desire to know Him better each day.
The Lake of Fire is real, it is out there somewhere right now, waiting, empty, eternally burning. The important part is that you know people that if they die today, they will die in their sins, and they will go to that place for all eternity, so the only real question that can be answered in this short letter is this, what are you doing about that?
