Transcription
The lake of fire: a place of eternal torture and torment in fire? What a horrific and terrifying idea this is in the Bible. But is that what the Apostle John is actually talking about, or are we victims of a mistranslation of the Bible? For most Christians and most people in general, including most pastors, this will be the first time you understand these passages. The actual word picture used in these passages has been completely lost in the translation, simply because the translators are not metallurgists. Are you curious? Please keep listening.
What is the lake of fire in the Bible? The lake of fire is the most controversial and misunderstood concept in the Bible. Most modern Bible translations read something like this: “The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are also. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelations 20:10). Contrary to what the original Greek readers of this passage would have seen, most modern Bible translations depict the lake of fire as the most terrifying place imaginable—a realm of eternal torture in fire. The problem is, the Apostle John is not talking about a lake at all, but a tiny pool of molten metal called a crucible.
This word picture that John is using is nothing new to John. In the book of Proverbs 17:3, it says, “The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart.” King Solomon had already used this imagery of God testing the heart and using the word picture of a crucible—the refining of precious metals. The lake of fire with sulfur is the image of an ancient gold refining process—literally a crucible of molten gold with sulfur added to eliminate the impurities. This understanding is confirmed in Revelation 3:18: “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire.” Christ Himself uses the image of gold refined by fire when rebuking the church in Laodicea for being neither hot nor cold. The lake of fire was never meant to be understood as an actual lake or realm of punishment in literal fire. Rather, the lake of fire is merely the word picture of the gold refiner’s crucible—the process of purifying gold.
Understanding the imagery of the Greek words behind these passages brings the text to life. The Greek word translated as “lake” literally means a pond, large or small depending on the context. This is the Greek word *limne*, which is coming from the root word *limne*, and this is coming from the idea of a pond, large or small. This could mean a lake depending on the context, or at least a large pond. But the New Testament writers actually distinguished between a large body of water and something small like a pond by using the Greek word *thalassa*. The Sea of Galilee in Mark 6:48—a lake—is *thalassa*. So the context is everything, and in the context of the passage, the lake of fire is the image of a tiny pond of molten metal, as we would see in the refiner’s crucible—not a lake filled with fire. Only a psychopath would torture people literally in fire for all eternity. Most certainly, God, who is love, would not do such a thing, nor would it even come to His mind.
So what is this imagery of fire and sulfur in these passages? Sulfur, also known as brimstone, has been used in the refining of metals since ancient times. Gold refining by sulfurization is even still done by the United States Mint. Sulfur is highly reactive, and by adding small amounts of sulfur into the crucible, unwanted metals are transformed into sulfides, such as iron sulfide or copper sulfide. This reaction will even flash and smoke. The gold itself is resistant to this reaction and will settle to the bottom in a more purified form, since the other metals, now trapped as sulfides, float to the top. The ancients would not have understood the chemistry behind this process, but they most certainly would have understood the results: pure gold.
But what about being tormented in fire? Well, the Greek word translated as “torment” is actually the word “touchstone.” This is the Greek word *basanios*, which comes from the Greek root word *basanous*, which is originally a black silicon-based stone used as a touchstone to test the purity of precious metals like silver and gold. The Greek word *basanios* is also where we get the word basalt, a type of rock that was used for making touchstones in the ancient world. The Apostle John is using this word in its very literal original meaning: the testing of gold. John’s use of the word “touchstone” absolutely confirms that the lake of fire is the word picture of the gold refiner’s crucible—not a giant lake, but a gold refiner’s crucible. A touchstone was used in ancient times to check the purity of gold, and it is still used by jewelers today. By striking a line of gold on the touchstone, the color that is produced reveals the level of purity in the gold. That is the meaning of the word “tormented” in modern Bibles: a process for testing the purity of gold. An additional test for assaying the gold can be performed as well by applying an acid to that line of gold on the touchstone. The non-gold elements will react and even smoke, the same as when you put sulfur in the crucible. If there are a lot of impurities in that gold, the jeweler is going to see a little puff of smoke and some bubbling come off that touchstone, which is actually hydrogen gas from the chemical reaction.
Therefore, the lake of fire is not a realm of eternal torture and fire. It’s the same word picture that King Solomon was using in Proverbs 17:3. The lake of fire is a metaphor of gold refining and not an actual place or lake at all. The Apostle John is using the abstract idea—a word picture—of a person being refined like gold, then tested, then refined again, with each cycle resulting in higher grades of purity. This word picture that John is using was not meant to be viewed as eternal torture or punishment, but rather it is the word picture of a process that has a goal and an end in mind, and that end is to bring out the goodness and purity of that person.
But doesn’t this passage say “forever and ever”? Well, yeah, if you’re reading the New American Standard or the NIV or the ESV or any of these translations where apparently the scholars don’t know how to read Greek. It says “forever and ever.” That phrase “forever and ever” is actually five Greek words: *eis tous aionas aionon*, which literally means “in the age of ages.” Another thing that you need to be aware of in these passages that changes the meaning of the passage is that modern Bible translations have dropped the Greek preposition *eis*, which means “in” or “in—,” and inserted “forever.” They literally drop the preposition that means “in” or “in—,” and inserted the word “forever.” So if you wanted to create a translation so an English reader could actually understand the passage, you would be reading “in the age of ages,” not “forever and ever.” But in the age of ages, and this applies to all these passages in the Book of Revelations translated as “forever.” For example, the passage says, “They will reign forever and ever,” is incorrect. The passage should actually read, “in the age of ages.” It’s not an eternity; it doesn’t exist. That’s simply not the context of these passages. Getting the preposition correct is critical to understanding it. It’s the difference between the idea of merely being somewhere and the idea of duration of time. In other words, the passage is telling us when this will happen, not specifically how long it will take. Just like World War II occurred in the 20th century but did not last through it. In other words, God is going to refine and test evildoers for as long as it takes, in the age of ages. This is to return them to the pure state in which they were originally created to be. God is not a loser. God is going to have His way in His creation, and He’s going to do this without violating anybody’s free will. The early church fathers called this the *apocatastasis*—the restoration of all people and all things by God to what He originally intended them to be. And God’s creation is very good.
So if we wanted to translate this passage about the lake of fire using the word pictures that John is actually using in the passage and bringing it out in English, the passage would read something like this: “The devil who deceived them was thrown into the refiner’s crucible with sulfur added, where the beast and the false prophet are also. They will be tested for purity day and night in the age of ages.” The idea going on there is that there’s an urgency in this transformation. God is actually going to even refine the devil himself. So the picture—the word picture—that John is using in these passages is not the picture of being tortured in fire forever and ever. The word picture is that of the gold refiner’s crucible—a process of purifying metal. This word picture of refining gold into a pure state is the picture of a process that has an end in mind.
Now, with that said, I do not want to over-soften the meaning of these passages. Those of us who believe in the doctrine of the Apocalypse—Universal salvation—are not teaching that God does not punish people, but rather we are teaching that God’s punishments are rooted in His nature of love and goodness. Remember, God isn’t just loving; He is love. And therefore, everything He is doing has this goal in mind—that He wants to transform people into the image of Christ, into the image of love and goodness that He created them to be. And this could be a very painful process if you choose to live a life of sin. God is going to correct you, and this could be painful, but it’s not going to be eternal. God will get you to where you need to be because that is what He created you to be. If we are careless and selfish and live a life without mercy towards others, we also will not receive mercy in equal measure—in equal measure. As believers in Christ, we are taught to be merciful because mercy triumphs over judgment. In other words, if we are merciful, God is going to be merciful. If we are not merciful, we are going to receive that same lack of mercy in equal measure—not in infinite measure, but in equal measure.
So from now on, when you read about the lake of fire in the Bible, remember the tiny refiner’s crucible with the molten gold inside. That is the imagery the Apostle John is actually using. The so-called lake of fire is a pot of gold. Far from being a place of eternal torture and fire, the lake of fire—the refiner’s crucible—is the picture of God refining His creation into pure gold. It is actually a beautiful picture of God’s love and goodness—that He wants His creation to be pure and holy, loving and merciful. Dear follower of Christ, be kind; repent from sin; love mercy; love your neighbor as yourself. Otherwise, the refiner’s crucible could be your destination as well. Sanctification is what a good and holy God insists upon. Thank you for listening, and God bless you. Bye-bye. [Music] [Music]