The Lake of Fire

2006-9-20 04:21:00

Here are the final verses to the chapter:

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

We have two entities here cast into the lake of fire. The first is the Beast and the second, the false prophet. To understand their situation we must first examine the lake of fire.

Most believe that the lake of fire and brimstone is "hell" which the wicked will enter after death, but notice that the Beast and false prophet were not dead when they enter the lake, but "alive."  If they are alive then the lake of fire must be here among the living.

The word "fire" is from the Greek PUR which can be translated as "fire, fiery, or lightening."  The word indicates a display of light and is a symbol of enlightenment.

"Burn" is from KAIO which means "to set on fire," or "to consume."

"Brimstone" is an interesting word. It comes from THEION which is the neuter of THEIOS which in turn comes from THEOS. THEIOS is interpreted as "Godlike" or "divine," and THEOS is "God."

John is telling us that the Beast, and the false prophet are to be cast into a situation where they encounter fire or light (disciples filled with light and love) burning with "brimstone" (the God within).

In this situation the Beast and the false prophet will eventually be destroyed and those governed by inner light will dominate in their place. All the sons of men will eventually become the Sons of God even as Jesus said:

Even so it is not the will of Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.  Matthew 18:14

The lights, or the birds of heaven, will thus consume the flesh of the Beast so he no longer has a body of mindless followers in which to dominate. When unjust authority looses its hold on humanity the Beast is naturally cast into the lake of fire where even he will see the error of his ways.

The false prophet represents those powers that support the wrong use of authority. These are the intellects who proclaim the authority of the Beast must not be questioned or such a rebel will suffer and be punished to the full extent of the law. Those who support the unjust authority of the Beast are in every field - science, law, education, medicine, unions, religion, politics, etc.

Let me just give one example of how the false prophet works:

Back in the late Seventies we had a family doctor who seemed like an intelligent, sincere fellow and dabbled a little in natural medicine but was no fanatic by any means. Overall he was pretty much an establishment team player.

One day he criticized another doctor's diagnosis. This other doctor happened to have a lot of authority in the hospital and trumped up a charge against our doctor and had him barred from the hospital. Since this was the only hospital in town it was a great inconvenience for our doctor and he was barely able to eke out a living. Nevertheless, we continued to go to him because he was the best doctor in town.

This doctor who used the unjust authority of the Beast to bar our doctor from the hospital was as part of the great body of supporters of the powers-that-be that make up the body of the false prophet.

What then are the miracles that give believability to the false prophet?

In medicine, for instance, there are many things controlled by unjust authorities which people consider to be miraculous: heart and organ transplants, radiation treatments, miracle drugs, surgery and numerous other items. If anyone challenges any of these treatments he is seen as a quack and the Beast goes after him. Many natural healers who have done no harm have gotten longer jail sentences for defying the Beast than rapists and murderers.

The Beast and the false prophet are alive and performing miracles in many other fields. There are numerous miracles in science and the false prophets claim authority over such miracles and seek to destroy anyone who poses a threat to their position.

The modern automobile is a miracle, but many of those who have sought to dethrone its current status with better engines or cleaner fuels have found themselves on the outside looking in.

Anyone who defies the status quo ideas on global warming is labeled as a crackpot.

Scientists who do not accept the Big Bang are ostracized.

Those who want to place higher intelligence or spiritual substance in any deduction are laughed out of their jobs.

Thus does the false prophet manifest in every field of life.

And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.  Revelation 19:21

The remnant are the supporters of unjust authority. When truth is revealed with such clarity that neither the Beast, the false prophet or even the rank and file can deny or negate then the sword of truth cuts through all illusion and the body of supporters (the flesh) are consumed by the lights of the earth and no longer are a base for the Beast and the false prophet.

Here are the next verses:

1   And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

2   And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

3   And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Revelation 20:1-3

I have found power in the mysteries of thought.
Euripides (484 BC - 406 BC), 438 B.C.