Thrown into the Lake of Fire

This is another in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon. 

While followers of Jesus enjoy everlasting life in glorified bodies on a restored earth, the ultimate destiny of the wicked is the same habitation created for Satan and demons: gehenna.

It’s a place in English we call “hell,” and a place Jesus and the New Testament writers describe in various ways, among them: outer darkness (Matt. 8:12), the second death (Rev. 2:11; 20:14; 21:8), and the lake of fire (Rev. 19:20; 20:10, 14, 15; 21:8).

While the Hebrew term sheol and the Greek hades generally depict the temporary abode of the dead, gehennaand its associated terms describe the place of everlasting future punishment for those whose names are not written in the book of life (Rev. 20:15).

The term gehenna is derived from the Valley of Hinnom. Located southwest of Jerusalem, this steep, rocky valley is the scene of human sacrifices to pagan deities (2 Kings 23:10; 2 Chron. 28:3; 33:6). Jeremiah declares it the “Valley of Slaughter” (Jer. 7:31-34 ESV). To the Jewish mind, the images of fire and destruction become appropriate representations of the fate of idol worshipers.

Continue reading →

Armor for Spiritual Battle (Part 2)

The following excerpt is taken from What Every Christian Should Know About Satan. Order your copy in print, Kindle, or Audible versions here.

In the previous post, we began exploring the full armor of God — the offensive and defensive means of engaging in battle with the evil one. Now, we complete our review with the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit.

The helmet of salvation

The helmet, of course, protects the head. This is perhaps the most vital part of our bodies since it is the seat of thought and the core of action. In the first century, Roman soldiers wore helmets called galeae. These were fashioned out of bronze or iron, with leather or linen padding, hinged flaps to protect the jaws, a flange in back to shield the neck, and a crest of colored horsehair on top. Each helmet typically weighed 1.3 pounds. Some were fitted with visors to protect the face. 

Like a helmet, salvation – deliverance from Satan, sin, and death through a covenant relationship with Christ – is our most vital possession. The gift of everlasting life encompasses all that God has done, is doing, and will do for us. It stretches from eternity past in foreknowledge, election, and predestination into the present in regeneration, justification, and sanctification, and out into eternity future in glorification. Salvation is a finished work with ongoing benefits. Paul makes this clear in Romans 8:29-30 as he lays out the golden chain of redemption:

For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified. 

Continue reading →

Armor for Spiritual Battle (Part 1)

The following excerpt is taken from What Every Christian Should Know About Satan. Order your copy in print, Kindle, or Audible versions here.

In the previous post, we introduced God’s plan for engaging the evil one: the full armor of God. Now, let’s turn our attention to the individual pieces of armor. The order in which they are described generally is the order in which soldiers put them on. 

Truth like a belt

While many modern translations refer to “truth like a belt” (CSB) or “the belt of truth” (ESV, NIV), the KJV renders it, “having your loins girt about with truth.” Similarly, the NASB 1995 says, “having girded your loins with truth.” The latter understanding may be more to the point. 

Ancient warriors and athletes, like other people of the time, wore loose-fitting clothing, which needed to be gathered and secured before any physical activity could ensue. This was done in different ways and for different purposes (see 2 Kings 4:29; Luke 12:35-36; John 13:4-5). The metaphor of girding is used in Scripture because it describes the need to prepare oneself for the spiritual work ahead.

Continue reading →

Engaging the Evil One

The following excerpt is taken from What Every Christian Should Know About Satan. Order your copy in print, Kindle, or Audible versions here.

Throughout this study, we have explored various names and titles for the archenemy of mankind. Satan stands defiantly against God and God’s creatures. He appears as a beautiful and seductive “burning one” in Genesis 3. Then, across the pages of Scripture, we see his story unfold in nightmarish fashion as he slanders God, engages in hand-to-hand combat in the heavenly realms, and seeks to ruin the very beings God created as his imagers – namely, you and me. 

Often, the evil one is successful. But he wages war in a shrinking theater. First thrown out of heaven, then cast to earth, then confined to the abyss, he finally is banished to the lake of fire, a place God specifically prepares for him and his spirit saboteurs.

At every diabolical turn, the evil one finds himself set back on his heels. First, in the wake of Adam and Eve’s fall, Yahweh promises his human creatures a redeemer – the seed of woman – who is to crush the evil one’s head, although at great personal cost (Gen. 3:15). Next, God bars humans from the tree of life so they won’t be bound eternally in a fallen state (Gen. 3:22-24). 

Continue reading →

Glory in Restoration

This is another in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon. 

The glorified body of Jesus easily navigates a world still under the curse of sin. After his emergence from the tomb, Jesus eats, travels, speaks with befuddled eyewitnesses of his resurrection, passes through closed doors, transports himself instantly from one location to another, and finally launches from the Mount of Olives into heaven. 

Our resurrected bodies will have many of these same capabilities. Yet the redemptive work of God isn’t finished at our resurrection. The world in which we now live was not always cursed, nor will it always be cursed. A day is coming when our sovereign Lord makes all things new (Rev. 21:5).

We’ll explore the new heavens and earth in future columns. For now, let’s survey three New Testament passages that address the restoration of our bodies.

Continue reading →