I really appreciate your thorough presentation concerning the Lake of Fire. However, I would like to know the difference between those written in the Lambs book of Life and those who will enter the Lake of Fire. Isnt it unfair to those who enter the Lake of Fire if "All" are saved by the blood of Christ (which I do believe) . It seems that they will still suffer for a while for never having the privilege to hear the gospel while the church wont have to suffer. Am I wrong?
Thanks
Shane
Dear Shane:
No, God is not "unfair." You are still looking at the lake of fire as some kind of a dungion of torture in real fire. It is JUDGMENT, not solely punishment. And Jesus plainly has told us that it is according to the magnitude of one's crimes. "Many stripes versus few stripes."
We too go through the fire of God's spiritual judgment: Jugement is upon the house of God NOW (I Pet. 4:17 and Heb. 12:29). It isn't pleasant, but it is not total torture either. There are two aspects of Judgment: [1] We must be purged of our old carnal sinful attitudes, and [2] we must then grow spiritually by godly living and produce spiritual fruit (Gal. 5:22-25).
The Church only partially sees the need for these in those called in this life, but is totally blind to the fact that Judgment produces the same thing in the Resurrection to Judgment. They think that "grace" is merely a noun that does it all for us rather than grace being a verb that does it all IN us and THROUGH us (by the Spirit of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross). God is ABLE to make us holy and righteous through His work in us and He is likewise able to do the same for the rest of humanity in Judgment. We blaspheme if we suggest that God either does not want to save humanity or that He is unable.
God be with you,
Ray
