Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh. vv.20-21
Read chapter 19
Misconceptions of "hell" are made a little more clearer in this chapter. Here we read of the lake of fire which is in Greek ten limnen tou puros, whereas another Greek word that people think of as hell is hades, yet these two are not the same for we see in chapter twenty that Hades is cast into the lake of fire (20:14). The Lake of Fire is the second death with no resurrection in view (Rev. 20:14). So what's the first death since all men are appointed to die once (Hebrews 9:27)? Hades, but this does not mean there's two "hells" as their descriptions don't match at all. (I'm not going to go deep into what hades is in this devotional but be sure to search it out or ask me later.) Even being cast into the lake of fire doesn't seem like one would be alive for long as they would be burned up pretty fast. It is the smoke that is everlasting, not the fire, and the smoke is the result that will never change (v.3).
Here we see the beast and the false prophet (two evils) cast alive into the lake of fire. Notice the word alive is added here where we never read of anyone in scripture going alive to "hell." In other words this is to show the difference of those cast there that are dead. Even the following verse emphasizes that the rest of their army are killed, so put to death first and then cast into the lake of fire. These were killed from the mouth of Christ, by His word, as Jesus has arrived on the scene sitting on a white horse with His armies (that are dressed in fine linen, not typical battle gear (v.14). Once Christ and his army arrives that's the end of these rebels.
What misconceptions of "hell" does this chapter make clearer or muddier for you?
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