Topical Studies
Fire, Cleansing Properties of
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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2 Corinthians 11:2 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Being the one who wrote about the fruit of the Spirit and the works of the flesh, Paul understood the difference between carnal and godly jealousy. What was Paul's motive for teaching and guiding the church? What was the object of his jealousy? Was he hoarding this little group for himself or keeping enough people in his group to support his lifestyle and agenda? The various definitions of the Greek word zeloo (often translated as "affect," "covet," "desire," "envy," "jealous," or "zealous") provided by Vine's Dictionary of New Testament Words give us some insights: "to seek or desire eagerly," "to desire to have," "to take a warm interest in," "to seek zealously." From this perspective, we see that Paul's motives were virtuous. He was eagerly desirous to do everything in his God-given power to present the church to Christ as a chaste virgin! He was closely watching over these people with godly jealousy. Notice, Paul was not jealous of these people but for them, and maybe that is part of our misunderstanding of godly jealousy. God has no reason to be jealous of us or anything else, but He certainly has a burning desire for us! Has something ever caught our interest so much and fired a yearning for it that we could not rest until that desire was satisfied? These two ideas, jealousy and consuming fire, have something in common, as Deuteronomy 4:24 suggests: Our jealous God is a consuming fire! This is one of God's attributes of which we might at first be afraid, as the author of Hebrews points out (Hebrews 12:29). When we think of fire, chances are we first think of being burned or consumed. Yet, fire can also be used as a purifier, and it can sure feel good on a cold winter morning. Many people can sit and watch a fire in the hearth for hours, listening to the soothing crackle and pop of the wood and enjoying its warmth. A fire is a beautiful sight. It contains many different shades of red, orange, and yellow flowing together, and if it gets hot enough, one can see deep shades of blue in it as well. The coals or the burning embers seem as if they are pulsating with heat and energy all the while they are slowly being consumed and their energy dissipating. Yet, recall the burning bush where God commissioned Moses to lead His people out of slavery (Exodus 3:2). It was totally enveloped in fire, yet it was not destroyed. As long as God was in it, the energy never diminished! The sight was so brilliant in depicting God's glory that Moses dropped to his knees and bowed to the ground. This event demonstrates that godly jealousy comes first, and it issues in fire! What, then, is the motive and object of God's jealousy? In seeking to reproduce Himself, God is preparing a bride for His Son. The practice of parents' choosing their children's spouses is not common in our Western world, but many of us wish our children were so likeminded with us that they would totally trust us with their happiness for the rest of their lives. Jesus trusts His Father because He knows that He is a jealous God, and His jealousy is directed toward Him and the perfecting of His bride, the church. The Father desires that we be given a spirit body and be filled with His mind and power. He is eager to give us His only companion in wedlock, bestowing on us His Family name and making us heirs of His mighty Kingdom! On the other hand, Satan begins very early in our lives to plant seeds of carnal jealousy, never missing a chance to tempt us to react according to his evil spirit. The sin of jealousy begins in our minds, and if it is not eliminated, it will inhibit God's Spirit from dominating our thinking. The two cannot dwell together.
Ronny H. Graham
The Jealousy of God
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Revelation 20:10 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Before the explosion of modern translations, the final sentence of Revelation 20:10 roused no one's skepticism. But the newer versions bring out the fact that the verb here (basanisthesontai) is plural and is correctly rendered "they will be tormented." Who are "they"? Does this indeed include the Beast and False Prophet? Does God torment the wicked eternally? There are two ways to explain these questions: 1) The Bible denies any idea of men having an innate immortality. These wicked leaders of men in the last days will die and burn to ashes soon after being thrust into the Lake of Fire, their souls and bodies destroyed by Him who is able to do this in Gehenna fire (Matthew 10:28). This fact would exclude any human from being described as "tormented day and night forever and ever." The only group left is the fallen angels—Satan and his demons. Jesus says in Luke 20:36, "Nor can [a resurrected saint] die anymore, for they are equal to the angels." Created spirit beings, angels, cannot die! Earlier, Satan was bound in the bottomless pit, but after his subsequent rebellion, God decides that eternal torment in the Lake of Fire is a just punishment for one so evil. If men choose not to repent, God can mercifully snuff out their existence. Fallen angels, however, must live eternally with the consequences of their sins. But, one may counter, "the devil" in Revelation 20:10 is singular, and "they will be tormented" is plural. How is this reconciled? In this case, "the devil" is used in a figure of speech called metonymy. Technically, it is "the use of the name of one thing for that of another of which it is an attribute or with which it is associated." More simply, one part of a thing represents the whole. Thus, "the devil" represents in himself all of the group we call demons, devils, fallen angels, angels that sinned, etc. A parallel verse in Matthew 25:41 says that sinners will be cast into "the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels." This shows that the Lake of Fire's primary purpose is for the eternal torment of demons, but it will also be used as the means of execution for the wicked among humans. While men will be completely annihilated, the unkillable demons will simply suffer. 2) If we understand "they will be tormented" to include the Beast and the False Prophet, we must explain the phrase "forever and ever" (eis tous aionas ton aionon). Literally, this means "to the ages of the ages," and would seem to imply perpetuity. However, we must be careful with the word aion. Its range of meaning runs from "a space or period of time" to "a lifetime" to "an age" to "eternity." As in all such cases, the context must give the sense. Having rejected the immortality of the soul, we have no recourse but to understand aion here in the sense of "as long as conditions exist" or "as long as they live." Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words concurs: AION . . . signifies a period of indefinite duration, or time viewed in relation to what takes place in the period. . . . The phrases containing this word should not be rendered literally, but consistently with its sense of indefinite duration. (p. 43) Thus, the Beast and False Prophet will be tormented forever until they die, probably within a few minutes or a few hours. The demons, however, not able to die, will suffer torment without end, receiving a cruel fate that is just payment for their deceptions and murders throughout history.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Eternal Torment?
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Revelation 20:10 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
What effect does fire have upon a spirit? It does not say exactly here, but does this mean that God, who created these spirit beings, also knows a way to destroy them utterly? Perhaps. In the Bible, fire is pictured as the final curse. It is used in the sense of being the symbol of complete purging, so that when something passes through fire, it is then clean. It is interesting to think about the possible ramifications of this verse.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Image and Likeness of God (Part 3)
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Revelation 20:10 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Satan will be cast into the same conflagration that will destroy all incorrigible mortals. But since he is a spirit being, he will not be destroyed by the flames (see Luke 20:36). Notice that Satan himself will be in "hell fire." He will not play the role of torturing people as he is often represented by the doctrines of this world. Revelation 20:10 shows Satan himself is to be tormented unto the ages of the ages—"forever and ever"! His torment will last forever, but not this fire. It will last only as long as combustible material remains to be consumed. Satan's torment, however, will continue forever as a mental anguish resulting from seeing all that he has striven toward, worked for, plotted for, burned up as the earth is purified by fire!
What Is Hell?
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