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Introduction: What Does the Bible Says About Hell Fire?
This subject on the
existence of a place of suffering called Hell is very important to consider. It
shows there is consequence for sinning against God and not accepting His
provision of Salvation from sin through Jesus Christ. Contrary to popular belief that Hell is whatever suffering man
goes through on earth, the word of God teaches that this is an actual place of
existence. To understand the Bible’s teaching about this place, I will suggest
you use the King James Version of the Bible to read the several
scriptures listed below describing what Hell is.
Written by
A.T Omoyele
Click on the
links below to explore this subject
Hell: A Real Place of Existence
b) Hell is both a physical and spiritual world
c) Consciousness in Hell
e) Occupants of Hell have Incomplete Bodies
Characteristic
of Hell
d)
Hell is a
temporary place of suffering
c)
Hell is a place
of Destruction & eternal Damnation
a)
Man is given the
choice not to end up in Hell
b)
God have power
to cast into Hell
c)
Hell will
accommodate all kinds of sinners
a)
Hell was
opposite to Paradise
b)
Jesus soul
wasn't Left in Hell
a)
The devil would
end up in Hell
b)
Angels reserved
in chain for Hell
a)
Wicked nations
turned into Hell
b)
Death and Hell
give up the dead
Location of Hell
In Proverbs 15 verse 24,
Hell is beneath in the earth. It is described as a place of suffering for
sinners in the lower part of the earth according to Psalm 63 vs 9.
“Lower parts” means the centre of the Earth. This is the same as Hell which is
deep from Job 11 verse 8. The reference “deep” would normally be used
relative to the earth. Amos 9 verse 2, says one has to dig to get into
Hell. Digging could only be done into the earth. In conclusion, hell is located
deep inside the earth. Hell is described as
“the pit” in Isaiah 14 vs 15; Ezekiel 31 vs 16. Read also Psalm
28 verse 1; 55 verse 23; 88 verse 4; 143 verse 7; Proverbs 1 verse 12; Isaiah
38 verse 18; Ezekiel 32 verse 18, Revelation 9 verses 1 & 2; 11 verse 7; 20
verse 3.
The sequence is physical
death on earth first and then the lost soul descends down into hell (Psalm
55 verse 15). There is an entrance into Hell through a gate at its mouth (Matthew
16 verse 18). And this mouth of Hell automatically opens to swallow up the
soul of the sinner after death. And
every time this opening occurs, the inhabitants of hell are stirred up (Isaiah
14 verse 9).
Hell is both a physical and
spiritual world
The Bible reveals three
types of worlds or place of existence for created beings. While two of these worlds are both spiritual
and physical, the third is just a physical world. A sphere of existence is
physical if the occupants can use their sense of smell, taste, see, feel and
hear to relate to this world.
However a spiritual world
goes beyond the elements of the physical world. The elements of existence in
the physical world on Earth, mirrors the experiences of those in Heaven or Hell
at a lower state. For example, the inhabitants of heaven eat food out of
pleasure usually prompted by desire or wish (and not through the sensation of
hunger) and whether this food is taken on a daily basis or not does not affect
the purpose of existence in that world, In the case of those on earth, eating
is usually prompted by hunger. Eating or not would affect a person's state of
existence on earth.
On the side of Hell, an
inhabitant will suffer terribly from thirst day and night and yet this does not
discontinue existence or affect the purpose of that person living in that
world. But if someone on earth
experience that level of thirst, he or she would be unable to exist on earth.
Depending on the world where
an individual exists, this person's senses can experience good or bad, joy or
happiness and peace or unrest. Both Heaven and Hell reflects the extremes of
sensation that could be enjoyed or suffered on earth. Experiences in Heaven are
the extremes of anything good that could be enjoyed on earth. The experiences
in Hell are the extremes of all bad things that could be suffered on earth. In
other words all good things that happens to an individual on earth have their
source in Heaven, while all evils and bad things that happens on earth have
their sources from Hell
Consciousness in Hell
Heaven and Hell are both
spiritual and material world where the
inhabitants are subject to consciousness of their existence just as on earth,
but on a higher level. For example, while on earth, the level of human consciousness
of his existence or reasons for his creation is limited by time, knowledge,
memory in his brain etc.
It is important to understand that the state of
consciousness of man while on earth is not as perfect as those of the two
spiritual worlds earlier mentioned. This is as a result of the fall of man.
This fall exposes man to degradation of his senses. And as a result man is
incapable of the productivity he is designed to achieve on earth including the
full utilisation of his 5 senses. A good example is the human brain of which
man only uses about 10 percent.
In comparism, in the two
spiritual worlds man senses would be fully active. In Heaven, man's senses
would be fully active towards good productivity. However in Hell, man's senses
would be fully active to suffer maximal eternal punishment meted out to all
sinners who rejects Jesus Christ. The sorrow of Hell involves the inhabitant's
ability to remember perfectly all opportunities wasted to respond to salvation
through Jesus Christ. Also it is possible to sustain sensation of pain from the
intensity of the heat of Hell without let up or death. This is impossible on
earth where this type of feeling cannot be sustained over a similar length of
time as a result of the body succumbing to degradation of death and
decomposition.
In Heaven or Hell, a
person's senses becomes more sharper
Hell is the Second Death
From Revelation 19 verse 20,
a human being that was physically alive in his natural human body was thrown
into a part of Hell known as the lake fire. Normally the transition from life
on earth and into Hell is through death. But sometime it is possible by-pass
death by literally moving from existence on earth into Hell as in the case of
the antichrist and the false prophet. In Number 16 verses 29 - 34, Moses
describes this experience as uncommon death. Common death is the death which
all human beings bound for either heaven or hell will experience on earth. This
is the same as physical death which is the transition point to eternity.
But the uncommon death Moses
talked about is the same as the second death in hell fire. This type of death
is to be suffered in the pit of Hell. The Bible describes this as the second
death (Revelation 20 verse 14; 21 verse 8). Just as the antichrist and the
false prophet, Korah, Dathan and Abiram descended into Hell alive where their
bodies were later destroyed.
Occupants of Hell have
Incomplete Bodies
While Hell is a spiritual
world, it can accommodate the bodies of human beings (i.e as it once was on
earth) temporarily until the body is destroyed. When an individual dies on
earth, his or her body, soul and actual spirit being of that person goes to
Hell. This is no doubt the reason why Jesus Christ said that the whole body of
a sinner would initially go to Hell, but after a while would be destroyed in Matthew
5 verse 30. Also from Matthew 10 verse 28, the Bible specifically says the
body alongside the soul would be destroyed in Hell. In other words, the sequence is the body is killed or dies and
decays on earth, but it is later destroyed in Hell (read Luke 12 verses 4 - 5,
John 10 verse 10).
The souls and spirits in Hell are encapsulated
in a suit. This suit is a body, but which is incomplete because it is eternally
degraded and continuously eaten up by worms of Hell. The worms of Hell cannot
eat a soul or spirit of a personality. So there has to be a form of body for
those in Hell through which they will constantly experience pain and agony. Now
this body must not be confused with the body that those in Hell will eventually
be given to suffer after their souls in Hell are thrown into the Lake of fire.
This truth about occupants
in Hell suffering in spiritual bodies must not be confused with the fact that
human beings leave their physical body on earth before burial. The best way to
understand this truth revealed by Jesus Christ from this passage is to accept
that for everything physical that happens on earth, there is a similar event
which takes place in the spirit world. In this case, just as a body on earth
becomes lifeless and later decay in the physical world, so does that same body
appears in the spirit world of Hell to suffer eternal degradation.
A place molten Fire
Hell burns with fire (Matthew
5 verse 22). .
From Deuteronomy 32 verse
22, the bible says the foundation of the mountains is set on fire. This
passage no doubt corroborates the teaching that hell is in the earth out of
which liquid fire forms the mountains. There is a region within Hell where
there is flow of liquid fire. This liquid fire or molten magma occasionally
burst forth onto the surface of the earth in the form of volcanoes to form
mountains. The Bible says that this fire burns with Brimstone which is the same
as sulphur in Revelation 14 verse 10
The Heat of Hell is compared
to a furnace. Certain parts of Hell are compared to furnace where the heat is
many times more than the average heat of an ordinary burning fire. This is the
sort of heat that melts rocks and other metals found inside the earth.
Also while pointing out the
necessity of living right, Jesus Christ used the fire to describe ultimate end
of a tree that doesn't bring forth fruit. The word "tree" is symbolic
of every human being (Matthew 3 verse 10; Matthew 7 verse 19; John 15 verse 6)
In Matthew 3 verse 12;
13 verse 38 - 42, the fire of Hell is unquenchable. In other words, the
fire of Hell is everlasting. Jesus Christ mention this when he pointed out that
the chaff (symbolic of all sinners) will be burnt up by unquenchable fire (also
read Revelation 14 verse 11, Matthew 18 verses 8 & 9; 25
verse 41, Mark 9 verses 43-48)
The Bible says that the
smoke of the torments of those who ends up in Hell ascends forever. While it
may be in comprehensible for the human mind to accept this truth, one just
simply have to accept this word of God (Revelation 14 verse 11)
Hell is never full up
According to Proverbs 27
verse 20, Hell is never full up because it is ever accommodating mankind.
Since the fall of human beings through Adam, sinful men have always ended up in
hell. Majority of adult human beings that dies at any given point ends up in
Hell. Jesus Christ pointed this out saying the way that leads to everlasting
destruction have a lot of people going through it (Matthew 7 verses 13 - 14).
The only way to escape Hell is through Jesus Christ. Of the billions of people
on earth, only couple of tens or hundreds of millions of human being have truly
committed their lives to Jesus Christ. This is less than 8.3% of mankind's
population. So it is possible to understand why Hell would never be full. Hell
wasn't originally prepared for human beings. However since mankind's fall,
sinners have always gone into Hell.
Chambers of Hell
In Proverbs 7 verse 27, Hell
has different chambers or compartment of sufferings. The Bible describes each
compartment as chamber of death. The degree of suffering differs from chamber to
chamber.
Another section or chamber
of Hell is called the bottomless pit (Isaiah 14 verse 15, Revelation 20 verse 1- 3). This
section of Hell is reserved for the punishment of some fallen angels or demons
including Satan. In the future, they would be thrown into this part of Hell and
temporarily sealed in while Jesus Christ and all His saints reign on earth
during Christ’s millennial kingdom on earth. Until that time in the future,
Satan can access the bottomless pit as often as he wishes to do evil. This is
where God initially threw the devil into after he rebelled in heaven according
to Isaiah 14 verses 12 - 15, Ezekiel 31 verse 16. He comes out of
this bottomless to cause mayhem and havoc on earth from time to time. The Bible
says that during the future Great Tribulation, Satan and his demons would
perpetrate evil on earth from the bottomless pit and then later would be sealed
in for 1000 years (Revelation 9 verses 1 – 12; 11 verse 7; 17 verse 8)
Also Hell is shaped into
different parts. One of the parts is known as the belly of Hell. Just as the
human body has different parts including the belly so does Hell. "Belly of
Hell" is not just used figuratively in Jonah 2 verse 2, but is an
actual part of Hell. Eyewitness account of Hell also confirms this is true.
In II Thessalonians 1
verse 7 - 9, there is a region in Hell that is a flaming fire. Unlike
liquid fire, this section actually flames. And it is design for all those that
deliberate choose to ignore God’s offer of salvation through Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 24 verse 22 also describe another
section of the pit (or Hell) as a prison where souls are imprisoned just as
they would on earth. There are souls in this prison I Peter 3 verse 19.
After Jesus Christ’s death, He went inside the earth to talk to these souls. Ephesians
4 verse 9. This prison is also situated at the bottomless pit where Satan
and his demons would eventually end up Revelation 20 verses 3 & 7.
Revelation
1 verse 18 shows
there is a key to hell. There cannot be a key without a doorway. Satan used
to have this key. But Jesus Christ took it from him after Christ descended into
Hell
Hell is a temporary place of
suffering
Hell is not a permanent
place according to Revelation 20 verses 11 - 15. It would itself be cast
into the lake of fire. This would happen after sinners of all ages are called
out of Hell to be judged by Jesus Christ. Once judged, each occupant of Hell
will be given a new complete body designed to suffer excruciating eternal fire
of the Lake of fire
Hell follows death
Revelation 6 verse 8 shows the sequence of
entrance into Hell. One has to die first before ending up in Hell. During the
great tribulation on earth, many people would die during a great war after the
“kings of the North and South” invade Israel and fights the Antichrist. Daniel
11 verses 40 - 45
A place sorrow and death
Hell is a place eternal
sorrow and death II Samuel 22 verse 6, Psalm 18 verse 5. David said from
the above passage that when he went through his period of pain and suffering it
was like experiencing the sorrows of Hell. Coupled with sorrow is the ever pain
and consciousness of death Proverbs 9 verse 18. It is a place of excruciating and constant
sorrow Psalm 116 verse 3. It is such a horrible place that Jesus Christ
warns to avoid it all cost Matthew 5 verse 29
A place of Destruction and
Eternal Damnation
Also hell is a place of
destruction Job 26 verse 6. Jesus Christ specifically used the word
“destruction” to describe the work of the devil which usually culminates in a
soul ending up in Hell as a result of rejecting Jesus Christ on earth John
10 verse 10. This destruction is not that which leads to purgatory or
extermination into oblivion, but the destruction in hell is that which results
in constant agony and suffering in a conscious state of existence. Those in
hell experience eternal corruption Psalm 16 verse 10. Hell is a place
without hope. It is a place of doom Matthew 23 verse 33
Man is given the choice not
to end
up in Hell
In Proverbs 15 verse 24
Man has the choice to avoid Hell. This choice has to be made while that
individual is alive on earth because after death is judgement Hebrews 9
verse 27. Those who make this choice are regarded by God as wise. The Bible
says a wise person is an individual who fears the Lord in Proverbs 9 verse
10. Before the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, those who fear God
would obey the Law of Moses in order to escape Hell fire in Luke 16 verse 27
- 31. After Christ’s death and resurrection, those who fear the Lord would
put their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation from hell. It is only God’s
correction to mankind found in the Bible that can deliver a soul from hell.
This is why God raises up ministers of the gospel to bring sinners back to God
with the preaching of repentance (Proverbs 23 verse 14)
God have power to cast into
Hell
God created Hellfire for
Satan and his fallen angels and not for humans. Even though Hell is inconsonant
with the atmosphere of God's presence, yet God is in charge of who goes to or
not to Hell Proverbs 15 verse 11. He has the key to Hell. This key was
taken from Satan after Jesus Christ died on the cross Revelation 1 verse 18;
9 verse 1; 20 verse 1. God has the power to cast the human soul into Hell.
And this is why Jesus Christ warned to fear God so as not to end up in Hell Luke
12 verse 5.
Hell will accommodate all kinds
of sinners
Revelation 21 verse 8 shows that Hell fire is for
all kinds of sinners that have ever lived on earth. The degree of suffering in
Hell is in accordance with a person's lifestyle of sin while on earth.
Hell was opposite to Paradise
Before the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ, Hell had two compartments. One was Hell fire or
place of suffering, and the other was Paradise or a place of peace and
happiness. Both compartments were opposite each other and separated by a gulf.
Read Luke 16 verses 23-31. After Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection,
He led the occupants of paradise into Heaven and Paradise became empty.
Paradise was a temporary place for the people of God, just as Hell is a
temporary place for people to suffer.
Jesus soul wasn't Left in Hell
From the book of Acts 2
verses 27 & 31, after Jesus Christ’s death on the cross, He descended
first into Hell inside the earth Ephesians 4 verse 8 - 10. He did not go to Hell to suffer the
corruption of all eternally lost souls, but rather to save those held captives
inside Paradise. Jesus Christ liberated this group of people and led them out
into Heaven after Christ’s resurrection. Read Matthew 27 verse 50 – 53.
The devil would end up in Hell
Revelation 20 verse 10 shows the final destination
of the devil and all his angels. While God initially created Hell for the devil
and his angels, they have not being suffering in Hell for the last 6000 years
of Man's existence on earth. Their time would come at the end of this present
world. This is why some demons asked Jesus Christ if He would torment them
before their time (Matthew 8 verse 29-31). When their time of judgement
starts, they would suffer just as any other inhabitant of Hell suffers.
Fallen Angels reserved in chain
for Hell
The Bible quite pointed out
that Hell was prepared for the devils and his angels Matthew 25 verse 41; II
Peter 2 verse 4. After some of angels of God first sinned, Hell fire was
immediately prepared for them to suffer eternal punishment.
In the Bible there are two divisions of fallen
angels. Those who are not suffering and those who are presently suffering in
Hell.
A lot of these angels are
presently not suffering. Their time of suffering in Hell would come in the
future. In the mean time, these fallen angels (also known as demons) have
access to earth, heavens (or space outside the earth) and Hell. The scripture
reveals this from the account of Satan when he told God that he walked to and fro
on earth Job 1 verse 7. This passage shows that Satan along with some of
the fallen angels are presently free to move about to carry out their nefarious
activities on earth.
On earth, these demons (i.e those lower in rank) causes all kinds
of evil such as sicknesses, death and so on. If they are allowed, they are fond
of possessing the bodies of both humans and animals alike Matthew 8 verse 28
- 32.
These demons (also lower in rank) torments human
beings that goes to hell. But they themselves do not experience this torment
yet.
In the heavens (or space
outside the earth), those fallen angels who are higher ranked in the realm of
the kingdom of darkness works alongside Satan to control affairs on earth.
These are the demonic angels apostle Paul described as Principalities, rulers
and powers of darkness (Ephesians 6 verse 12; 2 verse 2 ). These sets of
fallen angels operate from the air (or the heavens, but not the heavens of
God). From here, they control nations and everything that affects human
existence on earth (Read Daniel chapter 10). At the prayers of the
children of God (such as Daniel in Daniel 10 verse 13), God's holy
angels (or those who didn't sin with Satan) engage in regular fights with these
fallen angels and overcome the fallen angels. The Bible says that in the
future, all fallen angels would be thrown out of their habitation in the
heavens where they have taken up residence for thousands of years (Read Revelation
12 verse 7 - 10).
These fallen angels which
operates in the air also regularly accuses believers to God (Revelation 12
verses 9 & 10). Once in a while they participates in meeting involving
God's holy angels as described in Job 1 verse 6. The term the "sons
of God" is a reference to spiritual beings or angels and not just humans.
These holy angels appeared before God and Satan was present in this gathering
to accuse Job to God.
During the 7 years great
tribulation on earth, all higher ranked fallen angels along with Satan would be
cast to the earth. Just before this happens all lower ranked demonic fallen
angels would be released out of Hell to torment human beings on earth (Revelation
9 verses 1-11)
And then during the millennial reign of Jesus
Christ on earth, all fallen angels irrespective of their rank would be sealed
up in the bottomless pit to prevent them deceiving and tormenting human beings
on the face of the earth. It is from here that they would all eventually end up
in the lake of fire where they would be tormented forever and ever.
For those fallen angels that
are presently suffering in Hell, the Bible says that they are chained down in
the darkness of Hell at the moment. These angels are described as actually
chained down (II Peter 2 verse 4). This verse shows that they are
restricted and limited unlike other fallen angels which operate in the air,
earth and Hell. These angels are chained down and suffering in hell because
they sinned against God. Superficial reading of this passage would appear to
refer to the initial sin of rebellion along with Satan and which later led to
their expulsion from heaven. However a look at Jude 1 verses 6 & 7
shows that this sin is another sin some of the fallen angels perpetrated. The
Bible says that they “kept not their first estate”. This first estate is God's
position on Angels relating sexually with human beings. In Jude 1 verse 7,
God forbids unnatural sex, whether it be sex between a man and man, woman and
woman, animals and humans. This is the reason why God destroyed Sodom and
Gomorrah. Now from this verse of scripture, God compares the sin of these
angels with the unnatural sexual perversions of Sodom and Gomorrah. These
fallen angels went after strange flesh or bodies of human women which were
unnatural for these angels to relate sexually to (which is the same as the
phrase “left their own habitation” among angelic beings to relate with the
habitation of human beings). The account of this unnatural sexual relationship
is documented in the book of Genesis 6 verses 1 & 2. The Bible's
reference to "sons of God" is to angelic beings and not humans. These
sons of God were not holy angels but some of the fallen angels. These angels
were able to mate with humans either because of their abilities to put on the
human form (Numbers 22 verse 31; Genesis chapters 18 & 19, i.e
Angels appearing as human beings) or as a result of their bodies consisting of
bones and flesh which can interact with the physical world (Luke 24 verses
39 & 40; Mark 12 verse 25).
Irrespective of which, these
angels had physical intimacy with human women thousands of years ago. The
result of this relationship were human beings with unusual physical features
(Read Genesis 6 verse 4). These human beings had flesh and blood like
all other normal beings, but they had strange physical features, such as six
fingers and toes and excessive height (Number 13 verse 33, II Samuel 21
verse 20).
It was never God's plan for
human beings to appear like this. And this is why God later instructed Israel
to destroy the descendant of these beings off the face of the earth. Angels’
violation of mankind happened during and after the flood of Noah. As a result
there were giants both before and after the flood of Noah (Genesis 6 verse 4)
The angels’ motivation for mating with the women
is to make it impossible for the promise of a saviour to become a reality. This
could only happen through pure race of human beings. The fallen angel’s
relationship with humans produced a generation of giants on earth also known as
the Anakims. These people were so big and tall that the children of Israel felt
they were grasshopper before the giants (Numbers 13 verse 33)
God was displeased with
this. And this is one of the reasons for destroying human beings with the flood
during the time of Noah (I Peter 3 verses 19 & 20). God also handed
judgement on these disobedient angels and reserved them in chains inside Hell
fire. And so ever since this time in history, these fallen angels have been
suffering in Hell.
Wicked nations turned into Hell
Hell
is the eternal dwelling place of all ungodly people and wicked nations in Psalm
9 verse 17. The word “wicked” does not just refer to someone committing
wicked acts but to all human beings that would not repent from their sins and
accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Also Hell is a region for the
dead that is capable of accommodating as many people as possible. The word
nation could be used to describe a group or class of people (in this case,
sinners. For example, the men of Sodom and Gomorrah), but it could also refer
to entire nations or generations of human beings that reject Christ’s offer of
salvation and whose number could run into tens or hundreds of millions of
people Matthew 11 verse 23. A good example of a large number of people
being turned into Hell at the same time is in the future Great tribulation
period on earth. During this period, millions of people would die in less than
3 1/2 years when the wars predicted in Revelation 6 verses 4 - 8 and Revelation
vs 9 verses 15 - 18 commences on the face of the earth. And then when Jesus
Christ judges the nation at His second coming, millions of people that would be
part of the goat nations wearing the mark of the BEAST would simultaneously be
thrown into the lake of fire (read Matthew 25 verses 31 - 46 and Revelation
14 verses 9 - 11). These passages are fulfilment of wicked nations being
cast into hell.
Death and Hell give up the dead
In Revelation 20 verse 13
Hell is a temporary place of suffering. A time would come in the future
when those in Hell would be let out to be judged by Jesus Christ at the Great
white throne judgement. While humans have been sufferings in Hell for the last
6000 years, most of the fallen angels have been roaming about to carry out
their nefarious acts on earth. However when the time of judgment starts, both
humans and fallen angels would appear before Christ and from the judgement they
would be thrown into the lake of fire, a place of eternal suffering unlike Hell
fire Revelation 20 verse 14 & 15
Saving souls
The book of Jude 1 verses
22 & 23 shows the centrality of the preaching of the gospel of Christ
to people's escaping Hell fire. The mandate of Jesus Christ to His followers
(or the Christian Church) shortly before He went back to Heaven is to go and
preach the gospel to every human being Mark 16 verse 15; Luke 24 verses 46 –
48; I Corinthian 9 verse 16. This is because without preaching the gospel
it is impossible for men and women to believe in Christ to obtain salvation
from Hell fire Romans 10 verses 14 – 17. This salvation from Hell fire
is for every one of the several billions of human beings that has been or will
been born on earth. Romans 10 verse 13.
Eternal deterrent to Sin
From Isaiah 66 verse 24,
it is clear that God has put in place a mechanism to prevent humans, angels or
any other being from sinning against God ever again. This last chapter in book
of Isaiah describes what happens during the regeneration of the earth. This is
the time after God would have exercised justice and judged all sinners that
ever lived on earth by condemning them to the eternal lake of fire. Read Matthew
19 verse 28, Revelation chapters 20 & 21. At this point in history,
every part of creations starts afresh with new generation of human beings born
onto earth. Reigning over these new generation of human beings would be
glorified beings (or all those who has been given new spiritual bodies after
the resurrection). These glorified beings which will be numbered in their
several millions (i.e in accordance to the numbers of all of God’s people
that ever lived on earth.) would rule over new generation of human beings
of the future regeneration whose number would become infinite as they would
have access to the tree of life which would prevent them from dying (Revelation
22 verse 2). This is in line with God's original plan before the fall of Adam
in the garden of Eden. Before the fall of Adam, God wanted man to live forever.
And the way to achieve this was to allow Man to eat from the tree of life.
However, since Adam later fell into sin, God had to keep man from eating from
the tree of life in his sinful state (Genesis 3 verses 22 - 24)
In order to prevent sin ever
affecting the new generation of human beings that will be on earth at this
point in human history, God will open up Hell fire (or the Lake of fire at
that time) to show everybody the consequence of sin which started with
Satan and his fallen angels and later by Man or the descendant of Adam. God in
His mercy would do this as He never create any of His creatures as Robot, but
as free moral beings that has a will to choose between good and evil. Because
there was not such deterrent some angels and human beings choose to sin against
God.
But during the regeneration,
God will allow everybody to see the consequence of sin according to Isaiah
66 verse 24. This is why there would never again be the occurrence of sin
which blighted God's creation until now.
People have often wondered
why a good God would allow eternal suffering in the lake of fire. The reason is
clear from this passage. God deliberately did this to make sure newer
generations sees the consequence of sin forever. And as a result, there would
never again be sin in eternity.
If God had either damned
those (angels and humans) who sins against him into extinction or punished them
for a few millions years, then there would never have been any eternal
deterrence for God's future creature to avoid sin. Just as Lucifer sinned
without any external influence because he was created as a free moral being, so
could any of the future creatures of God choose to fall into sin. Sinning
against God by any being does not necessarily need external help for God to
count it as sin. Satan and his angels were not tempted to sin, it was their
choice as free moral agent. Also during the millennial reign of Christ on
earth, when Satan and his angels would be bound in the bottomless pit, there
presence would not be felt on earth, yet human beings of that period would
still be required to seek salvation through Jesus Christ because sin would
still be in the heart of humans even without the presence of the devil.
Just as the punishment God
meted out on Lucifer (or Satan) and his angels kept in check other holy angels
of God so that none of them have again rebelled against God, so will the
opening of Hell fire keep in check God's future generation from ever sinning
against God for all eternity.