THE SECOND COMING PART 3 - THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WICKED

The Second Coming | Part 3 - The Destruction of the Wicked


The beauty of divine justice is that it is always balanced with divine mercy. Scripture presents these two aspects of the multi-faceted divine nature:

Love

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He loveth not knoweth not know God; for God is love. (See 1 John 4:7, 8.)

Justice

"But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the Lord, which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight," says the Lord. (See Jeremiah 9:24.)



Cold justice unmingled with mercy is not truly just. Likewise, a weak mercy without justice to give it strength, is not truly merciful. It is in blending the two together that perfect justice is achieved. The perfect blending of divine Love and Justice is demonstrated even in the punishment of the wicked. God is a lover of freedom. He guarantees freedom of choice to all His created beings. Those who continue to side with the Great Rebel, Satan, will not be forcibly taken to Heaven against their will. Instead, they will receive their reward with Satan in the Lake of Fire. There is much misunderstanding about the punishment of the wicked in the Lake of Fire. Most people assume that the Lake of Fire spoken of in Scripture is a symbol for an eternally burning hell.

This belief is largely based on two verses in the New Testament:

“The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night . . . .” (Revelation 14:10, 11a, KJV)

The reference to “the smoke of their torment” ascending up “forever and ever” has led many to believe that the divine punishment for sin is to consign the soul to burn in hell forever and ever. However, this interpretation of the text is not consistent with the rest of the Bible. Scripture must always be its own interpreter. Only then can a true and consistent understanding of “hell” be found.

Few lies of Satan have done more damage or led to the loss of more souls than the lie that God punishes sinners in an eternally burning hell. It is not just that the sins committed in a single lifetime should be punished with eternal and unending torment. Even human justice is appalled at such injustice. This doctrine is a reflection of Satan’s character; not God’s. Multitudes have been led to reject the loving, merciful Creator when taught that divine justice makes such a demand.

Scripture teaches that the wages of sin is death, not eternal life in torment.

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:22, 23)

New Jerusalem Eternal life is a gift given only to the redeemed – those who, through repentance and forgiveness, have brought their lives into conformity to the divine law. All who persist in rebelling against the divine government receive sentence of eternal death. The ultimate punishment is death from which there is no resurrection. Even in human courts, death is viewed as the worst form of punishment fitting only the greatest crimes. “The smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever” is a reference to the fact that the lost are dead, not burning. A very hotly burning fire does not smoke. Only a fire that is about to go out, or that has already gone out, produces smoke.

When the millennium in heaven is over, God will move the New Jerusalem, the seat of the divine government, down to earth.

“And I John saw the holy city new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” (Revelation 21:2, 3)

The New Jerusalem is to be the eternal home of the redeemed. At that time, after the holy city has been brought to earth, the wicked dead will be raised back to life to receive their punishment on the earth. During the millennium in heaven, Satan and his evil angels have been bound to this earth. After the power of God raises the wicked, Satan goes forth to again tempt and deceive those who have rejected salvation.

“But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. . . . And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.” (Revelation 20:5, 7, Cool

During the millennium, all Satan has been able to do is to look with fear and foreboding to his ultimate destruction in the Lake of Fire. Once the wicked have been raised back to life, however, his hopes revive. He again deceives the nations of the earth, repeating to them his age-old lies. Satan presents himself to them as the rightful owner of the earth and the beautiful city, glistening in all its splendor before their very eyes. The vast, unnumbered multitudes of the wicked believe his lies and unite with him in one great, final battle. According to Scripture, the wicked, led on by Satan and his hosts of evil angels, surround the holy city and prepare to battle against it.

“And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone.” (Revelation 20:9, 10)

Earth on fire This last act of rebellion is cut short when God sends fire down from heaven. It does not spring up from hell, as many imagine. Rather, like the fire and brimstone that rained down on Sodom and Gomorrah of old, fire rains down out of heaven upon Satan and his followers and they are consumed.

“For the Lord shall rise up as in mount Perazim, He shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that He may do His work, His strange work; and bring to pass His act, His strange act.” (Isaiah 28:21)

To our merciful and loving Creator, punishment is a strange work. It is contrary to His very character. However, He will not force anyone to be saved against his will. All who persist in aligning themselves with the great rebel, Satan, will meet their destruction in the Lake of Fire with the leader they have chosen.

“For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

“But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings; . . . And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.” (Malachi 4:1-3)

Ashes are what are left after a fire has gone out. Satan, his evil angels, and all who have chosen to follow his leadership will be at last consumed in the Lake of Fire. No eternally burning hell will keep before the righteous the fearful consequences of sin.

“And God] shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.” (Revelation 21:4, 5)

After sin and sinners are destroyed, the long-held dream of the Father and the Son is realized with the recreation of the earth.

“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

“And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying . . .

“The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, . . . They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, saith the Lord.” (Isaiah 65:17-19, 25)

Millennium Timeline

The earth, cleansed by the Lake of Fire, recreated by the loving hand of Infinite Love, will be the eternal home of the saved and the seat of government in the Kingdom of Love.

“And the years of eternity, as they roll, will bring richer and still more glorious revelations of God and of Christ Jesus. As knowledge is progressive, so will love, reverence, and happiness increase. The more men learn of God, the greater will be their admiration of His character. As Christ opens before them the riches of redemption and the amazing achievements in the great controversy with Satan, the hearts of the ransomed thrill with more fervent devotion, and with more rapturous joy they sweep the harps of gold; and ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of voices unite to swell the mighty chorus of praise. . . .

“The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no more. The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation. From Him who created all, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love.” (E. White, The Great Controversy, p. 678.)

God is Love