Hell, Where the Unbelieving Dead Spend an Eternity in Fire and Brimstone – The Second Death
The Unbelieving Dead: Who are these who are called “the rest of the dead”? About this there is no question. They are the unbelievers of all ages. (Luke 16:19-31), demonstrates that after death they exist in Hades. They will be brought out of Hades and judged, then cast alive into the lake of fire, which is the second death Second Death (Rev. 20:14). Since these unbelievers are not resurrected to life but to death, a state of separation from God, they are referred to as having part in the “second death”. The second resurrection, is a resurrection to death.
Hell is a biblical term for the place of those who are eternally lost. The two Greek words used for “hell” in the New Testament are Hades and Gehenna. The temporary holding place is Hades, while Gehenna refers to the final “penitentiary” for lost souls. The lake of fire is synonymous with Gehenna, which differs from Hades in that Gehenna is a place where there are degrees of suffering. Thus, the final hell will differ depending on one’s evil deeds and the number of times he rejected Christ (Rom. 2:5; Matthew 11:23-24; 23:14).
Hades was the place where the souls and the spirits of all humans went until the Cross. Sheol (Old Testament), and Hades (New Testament), are one and the same. In Sheol or Hades there were two compartments, one for the wicked, and the other for the righteous. One for suffering, and the other for comfort. The area of comfort was known as Paradise or “Abraham’s Bosom” (Luke 16:22-23).
The thief on the cross went to Paradise, as promised by Christ (Luke 23:43). This is where Christ went upon His death, (Eph. 4:8-10), releasing and transporting the entire righteous dead into the “third heaven” (of 2 Corinthians 12:2). That is why Paradise is referred to as “up” (Rev. 2:7, Cor. 12:4). So presently, the comfort side of Hades (Paradise), has been emptied by Him who has the keys of death and hell. Keys of Hell and of Death (Revelation 1:18).
Of course, the suffering side of Hades still teems with the wicked, as the unregenerate continue to die day by day and are added to its population. They have joined the rich man (of Luke 16:23), and will not come out again until Judgment Day, when they will meet Christ at their trial and be transferred to the final penitentiary of lost souls, Gehenna (Rev. 20:13-14). Christ describes Hades eleven times in the New Testament (Matthew 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:22-23; Acts 2:27, 31; Rev. 1:18; 6:8; 20:13-14).
The lake of fire, or Gehenna, is the final place of punishment and torment for all those who reject Christ (Rev. 19:20; 20:10, 14-15). Those consigned there are all whose names are not found in the book of life Book of Life (also see Rev. 10:15). Including worshipers of Antichrist and the False Prophet (Rev. 19:20; 20:10), the devil (Rev. 20:10, Matthew 24:42), and the devil’s angels (Matthew 25:41; Rev. 19:20; 20:10). They are all forever separated from God (2 Thess. 1:9).
The lake of fire is described in Scripture as a place “where their worm dieth not” (Mark 9:44), as a place of outer “darkness” (Matthew 8:12), as a place of “everlasting fire” (Matt. 18:8), where “the smoke of their torment ascendeth” (Rev. 14:11), and where the “second death occurs” (eternal separation from God), in “fire and brimstone” (see Rev. 21:8).
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