What does it mean that hell is referred to as a lake of fire?

Answer

The lake of fire is a term used in only a few verses near the end of the book of Revelation (Revelation 19:20; Revelation 20:10, 14, 15; 21:8). Jesus refers to Gehenna/hell several times (Matthew 10:28; Mark 9:43; Luke 12:5), as well as an “outer darkness” (Matthew 8:12; Matthew 22:13). These all appear to be different references to the same concept. Hell, the lake of fire, and outer darkness are all terms describing the final destination of those who reject Christ. It is a state of complete separation from God, eternal and unavoidable.

According to the Bible, the lake of fire is the “second death.” This is the ultimate consequence of sin, which is to be completely severed from God. The lake of fire will be a place of everlasting suffering and anguish. Scripture indicates that every person whose name is not written in the Book of Life will be thrown into the lake of fire «And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.», (Revelation 20:15). The lake of fire will also be the destiny of the beast and the false prophet from the end times «And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. », (Revelation 19:20), as well as Satan himself «And the devil that deceived them was cast into tThe lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. », (Revelation 20:10). The Bible indicates that both death and Hades—the temporary destination of the unsaved dead—will also be cast into the lake of fire «And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. », (Revelation 20:14).

Even though hell is described using terminology such as fire and flame, it is not meant to be thought of as only a physical place. Hell is described as a place of “torment,” not “torture,” initially intended for purely spiritual beings «Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: », (Matthew 25:41). In fact, the worst aspect of hell is an eternity of conscious, guilty, shameful separation from God and all forms of goodness. In that sense, hell is far worse than a literal inferno; a purely physical hell is actually not as terrible as what the Bible describes.

In other words, the Bible tells us what hell is “like,” using symbols such as the lake of fire. But Scripture does not tell us too much about what hell “is,” in direct terms.

Fire is often used as a symbol of God’s judgment. The symbolism stems from real-life examples of God’s use of fire to punish the wicked—the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah «Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; », (Genesis 19:24), for example, and the destruction of Elijah’s enemies «And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let

Fire came down from heaven and consumed you and your fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. », (2 Kings 1:12). Prophets often described God with a stream of fire coming from His throne, a symbol of His holy punishment of sin (e.g., Daniel 7:10; Isaiah 30:33). The fact that the destiny of those who reject God is described as a “lake of fire” speaks to how serious the judgment is. When God finally abolishes sin and death, all sinners will be condemned to the worst possible fate, described in the Bible using the most horrific terms.