Something to
think about -
“Is not
My word like fire?” declares the Lord, “and like
a hammer which shatters a rock?”
Jer 23:29
“They have lied about the LORD and said:
“He will not do anything; harm will not come to us;
we will not see sword or famine.
The prophets are but wind,
for the word is not in them.
So let their own predictions befall them.”
Therefore this is what the LORD God of Hosts says:
“Because you have spoken this word,
I will make My words a fire in your mouth
and this people the wood it consumes.
God’s word
is the “fire” that judges. (John 12:48) But also, when we think of “hell”, Gehenna,
and being thrown into it, did God create the “fiery” hell spoken of in the
Bible?
“Now if
we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct
their entire body as well. 4 Look at the ships
also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still
directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. 5 So
also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts
of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! 6 And the
tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is
set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and
sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire
by [d]hell.
“hell” –
Gehenna. God didn’t create hell. It is the creation of wickedness, of Satan. Whatever “word” we hold on our tongue will
either judge us as righteous according to God’s word, or condemned, according
to the adversary’s words. (Isa 59:3; 30:27) “Torment” suffered by those who are
thrown in the symbolic “lake of fire”, (because “fire” symbolizes either
righteous or wicked words) is not literal in the account in Luke 16:19-31. The rich man said, ‘Father Abraham, have
mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water
and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’ The man
was in agony over the condemnation against him by the word of God in Jesus
Christ. If he was consumed in a literal
lake of fire, he would not be asking for only his tongue to be quenched. God’s judgment, which is like “fire”, IS
unquenchable. That man's final judgment can never be put out, reversed. (Mark 9:43)
I don’t see
in the scriptures where it says “eternal torment” by literal fire. I see that the symbolic “smoke” of their
torment goes up forever and ever, and they will have no rest - no entering into
the eternal Sabbath rest of God. (Rev
14:10-11; Heb 3:10-11) The legacy of the wicked, the symbolic smoke resulting
in fiery judgment left behind, will never be forgotten.
The judgment
of God’s word has always been retribution for one’s wicked acts. If they used
the “fire” of Satan’s word against another, then they also will suffer under
the same flame kindled by the Destroyer.
Rev 18:6 - Pay
her back even as she has paid, and give back to her double
according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much
for her.
Jesus is the
Author of life, Satan offers death and destruction…as the Destroyer. Acts 3:15; John 10:9; Rev 9:11; Prov 27:20; Job
26:6; Gen 3:4
