Forever and Ever!
Revelation 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Time that never ends
I have been thinking about how long forever and ever is. It is time that never ends. Sometimes we say eternity is where there is no time but forever and ever is described in terms of time in the Bible. It is continues day and night forever and ever. We may not be able to grasp the idea that there is time with no beginning, but we have to believe that there is a future that goes on forever and ever. Where we are in that future and whether we consciously endure that time may be the subject of philosophical debate. But after we die things continue. They do go on and the Bible says that they go on forever and ever.
Enduring the pain of the Lake of Fire
When I go to the dentist, I have to play a mental game in order to handle all the drilling and scraping and such. I think about how nice it will be when it is all over. I tell myself that in an hour or two, the pain will be gone and I will have teeth that are clean and/or filled. Recently, I had a tooth capped. I didn’t look forward to that appointment, but I kept telling myself that it would feel so good when I could eat on that side of my mouth again. But when it comes to those who are cast into the Lake of Fire, there is no “other side”. There is nothing to which they can look forward. The pain and agony isn’t going to be for a little while, or even a long while and then be over. It will be forever and ever. It will be worse than the winter of 2013-2014. This is the winter that won’t quit. Every week, I tell myself that this should be the end of the really bad weather and then the weather gets worse. But Spring will come. It always has and I am sure that this year will be no different. But there is no Spring time to anticipate in the Lake of Fire where the beast, the false prophet and the devil are ultimately cast. If we read our passage for this week in it’s entirely, this is also the place where everyone whose names are not found in the book of life are cast as well.
God’s list of names
I think that most who study the Bible agree that God has a list of the names of those who have trusted Christ as their Savior. They are the ones whose names are written in the book of life. Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:19, “Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: the Lord knows those who are His."
God knows His own. The unsaved dead are judged according to their works in Revelation 20. Anyone who is judged based on their own works will fail the judgment because God has already judged those works in Romans 3:23. There He says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. A true Christian is judged based on the finished work of Christ Who died for the ungodly according to Romans 5:6. It is interesting that believers do not appear to be present in Revelation 20 at this Great White Throne judgment. We read of no one being saved here. And the unsaved dead will not find their names in that all important book that is opened here.
Risk taking
I am a risk avoider, not a risk taker. One of the reasons I listened to the Gospel and wanted to be saved is because that forever and ever for the unsaved dead provided no light at the end of the tunnel. I know people who shake their fist in the face of God and seem to dare Him to judge them according to His standards. I know others who carelessly assume that they don’t need to worry because everything will work out in the end. But when I think of the prophecies that came true when the Lord was born, was crucified and was raised from the dead, I am not about to bet against the message of the Bible. All of those prophecies were written 400 years before the events happened and many detailed ones were written in the Psalms about a 1000 years before the events happened. Remember, I am a risk avoider; and on this issue of avoiding the Lake of Fire, I want to make sure that I have followed the instructions God has given us to avoid eternal calamity. And as I understand the Bible it all boils down to faith in the Bible and thus faith in what God says about His Son.
Eternal bliss or eternal wrath?
The nice part about being saved is that we do have light at the end of the tunnel. No matter what this life holds for us, at the end of it lies eternal bliss with the Lord and it will be forever and ever. If you are reading this, please make sure your name is in the Lamb’s Book of Life. You can’t afford to be wrong forever and ever.
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the week of March 2, 2014