Lake of Fire
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The phrase "lake of fire" is found in the Book of Revelation, which is the last book in the Bible. The same image occurs also in some later Christian writings.
An Old Testament source for the image of the "lake of fire" lies in Genesis 19:24, where, as in the Book of Revelation, the fire is associated with brimstone.
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[edit] "Lake of fire" in the Book of Revelation
The phrase appears in four verses of this book:
- 19:20: And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet ... These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. (RSV)
- 20:10: and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (RSV)
- 20:14-15: Then Death and Hades "Hell" were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire; and if any one's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (RSV)
Revelation 19-20 thus says that the beast,[1] the false prophet,[2] the devil, Death, Hades, and all those whose names are not found written in the book of life are thrown into the lake of fire.
According to verse 20:10, the devil, the beast and the false prophet will be tormented forever. Death and Hades, if taken literally, could also be spoken of as tortured if they are demons or other satanic beings. [3]
[edit] "Lake of unquenchable fire" in the third century
Hippolytus of Rome (d. 235) pictured Hades, the abode of the dead, as containing "a lake of unquenchable fire" at the edge of which the unrighteous "shudder in horror at the expectation of the future judgment, (as if they were) already feeling the power of their punishment", while the righteous "are brought to a locality full of light" (called the Bosom of Abraham), "enjoying always the contemplation of the blessings which are in their view, and delighting themselves with the expectation of others ever new" [4]
[edit] "Sea of fire" in the twentieth century
The Portuguese visionary Lúcia Santos reported that Our Lady of Fatima had given her a vision of Hell as a sea of fire:
- "Our Lady showed us a great sea of fire which seemed to be under the earth. Plunged in this fire were demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, floating about in the conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames that issued from within themselves together with great clouds of smoke, now falling back on every side like sparks in a huge fire, without weight or equilibrium, and amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear."[5]
[edit] Interpretation
The third-century writing explicitly states that the "lake of unquenchable fire" is the eternal destiny of the unrighteous,[6] who, while awaiting execution of the judgement upon them, are tortured in the abode of the dead (Hades) by the vision of their doom.[7] This corresponds to the common picture of hell as a place of eternal torment in fire, and many interpret not only Hippolytus's "lake of fire" but also that in the Book of Revelation in this way.[8]
Jehovah's Witnesses interpret the "lake of fire" of the Book of Revelation as referring to a complete and definitive annihilation of those cast into it.[9]
The twentieth-century account of the "sea of fire" excludes the notion of annihilation and is considered by its author to be a picture of hell.
[edit] References
- ^ See Revelation 11:7; 13:1-4; 13:11-18; 14:9-11; 15:2; 16:2; 16:10-13; 17:3-17; 19:19-20; 20:4; 20:10
- ^ See Revelation 16:13; 19:20; 20:10
- ^ "'The lake of fire' appears as a place of punishment, of perpetual torment, not of annihilation (20:10). The beast (19:20); the pseudo-prophet (19:20; 20:10); the devil (20:10); the wicked of varying description (20:15; 21:8), are cast into it. When the same is affirmed of death and Hades (20:14), it is doubtful whether this is meant as a mere figure for the cessation of these two evils personified, or has a more realistic background in the existence of two demon-powers so named (compare Isaiah 25:8; 1 Corinthians 15:26,54; 2 Esdras 7:31)" (The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. III:1822).
- ^ Against Plato, On the Cause of the Universe, 1
- ^ Fatima In Lucia's Own Words, Lucia de Jesus (1995), The Ravengate Press, pp. 101, 104
- ^ "To the lovers of iniquity shall be given eternal punishment. And the fire which is unquenchable and without end awaits these latter" (Against Plato, On the Cause of the Universe, 3).
- ^ Against Plato, On the Cause of the Universe, 1
- ^ Is there an actual place called "Hell"?; The Lake of Fire; Forerunner Commentary; etc.
- ^ What Really Is Hell?
"Lake of Fire" song by The Meat Puppets
