Residents of the Lake of Fire

Rev 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

Rev 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

In this marvelous portion of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, the holy spirit records the wondrous sight of new heavens and new earth and new Jerusalem. This is indeed the pinnacle of the redemption plan of God (all else – including the life on earth, etc are just temporary structures before the grand plan of God is revealed). The lord kindly reassures of the eternity in Glory and says – in v 5 – that these words are True and Faithful. Then He promises that the ones who overcome shall be the inheritors of all things, and his promise of eternal godship and sonship. (Rev 21:7)

Then we see the exact standard of God. These are times when we should realize the things that the lord loves and what he hates. In the pristine pure new heavens and new Jerusalem, there is no space for anything corruptible. The holyspirit warns that the people who possess one or more of the qualities will find their way into the eternal lake of fire (which is the second death). For a more detailed look at the same, I include below an excerpt from the Amplified Version of the new testament.

Rev 21:8 (AMP) But as for the cowards and the ignoble and the contemptible and the cravenly lacking in courage and the cowardly submissive, and as for the unbelieving and faithless, and as for the depraved and defiled with abominations, and as for murderers and the lewd and adulterous and the practicers of magic arts and the idolaters (those who give supreme devotion to anyone or anything other than God) and all liars (those who knowingly convey untruth by word or deed)--[all of these shall have] their part in the lake that blazes with fire and brimstone. This is the second death.(6)

It is to our benefit to introspect if we be found with any or all of these despicable qualities. Those who introspect and cleanse themselves with the blood of Jesus urgently will be able to spend eternity in the glory of God and others will have their part in the lake of fire (this is the reality whether we like it or not). We also see that God’s view regarding the “grossness” of Sin is different from our diluted human perspective.

For example, If I were to throw someone in a lake of fire, I may have given that punishment to the abominable, murderers, whoremongers (to what I consider to be a higher degree of sin). But look at the mind of God which reserves this extreme eternal punishment to all these categories of sinners. (For in the eyes of God All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God – Rom 3:23)

1. Cowards : Those who fear men or the world system more than God
2. Unbelieving : plain old unbelief – lack of trust in God – lack of faith in his eternal promises
3. Abominable : Depraved and defiled with abominations – a real picture of the current times indeed
4. Murderers : Good old-fashioned killers and the ones who mentally kill their brothers through gossip or anger
5. Whoremongers : Lewd and adulterous generation – Can we stop pointing to others and look at the thoughts ? God sees all thoughts (Jer 17:10)
6. Sorcerers : practitioners and admirers of dark arts and magic (harry potter, anyone ? divination ? palm reading ?)
7. Idolators : the breakers of the first commandment – those who give their supreme devotion to anything or anyone other than the one true living god
8. All Liars : let the holyspirit guide us to this truth –  This really touched my heart – how do I purify myself of this ?

Let the truth settle into our hearts and bring us back to repentance so that we be counted amongst the overcomers and not the partakers of the lake of fire. 

God bless us!