11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no respite (no pause, no intermission, no rest, no peace) day or night--these who pay homage to the beast and to his image and whoever receives the stamp of his name upon him.
This is a great place to go and study the Truth about Hell. Many will use verse 11 to teach that people who are sent to Hell will suffer for all of eternity, because our Father had it written that “the smoke of their torment ascends forever.” This teaching is false and once our Father teaches you the Truth about Hell, it will remove a great deal of fear and dread that so many in religion try and place on us.
Hell is very real. In Revelation it is called the Lake of Fire. Death and Hades will be thrown into it, Revelation 20:14. The angels that rebelled will be thrown into it, 2 Peter 2:4. The anti-christ and the false prophet will be thrown into it and those who take the mark of the beast will be thrown into it. The Bible is very clear about these. But here is the thing, just because the smoke rises forever, does that mean that the people who are thrown into it suffer forever? Here are some verses that address it.
Then I heard a mighty voice from the throne and I perceived its distinct words, saying, See! The abode of God is with men, and He will live (encamp, tent) among them; and they shall be His people, and God shall personally be with them and be their God. God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither shall there be anguish (sorrow and mourning) nor grief nor pain any more, for the old conditions and the former order of things have passed away. Revelation 21:1-4
But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs [that is consumed in smoke] and as the glory of the pastures. They shall vanish; like smoke shall they consume away. Psalm 37:20
FOR BEHOLD, the day comes that shall burn like an oven, and all the proud and arrogant, yes, and all that do wickedly and are lawless, shall be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. Malachi 4:1
And you shall tread down the lawless and wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, says the Lord of hosts. Malachi 4:3
Behold, they are like stubble; the fire consumes them. They cannot even deliver themselves from the power of the flame [much less deliver the nation]. There is no coal for warming or fire before which to sit! Isaiah 47:14
As the cloud is consumed and vanishes away, so he who goes down to Sheol (the place of the dead) shall come up no more. Job 7:9
Drought and heat consume the snow waters; so does Sheol (the place of the dead) those who have sinned. Job 24:19
Such people will pay the penalty and suffer the punishment of everlasting ruin (destruction and perdition) and eternal exclusion and banishment from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 2 Thessalonians 1:9
There is a Hell and our Father tells us that some people will be thrown into it. My hope is that it is only one person as Jesus alluded to in His parable of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, Matthew 22:11 and John 17:12. The things and people that are thrown into the Lake of Fire cannot suffer forever because our Father does away with all suffering when He comes. Their punishment is eternal, these people can not come back into being, that is why the smoke of Hell is eternal. Those who are cast into the Lake of Fire are eternally cast out of the presence of the Lord, Who is omnipotent, so they have to just cease to be, or our Lord would not be omnipotent. So there is a Hell and the punishment is eternal, but the idea of the people who are thrown into it being eternally aware and tormented does not fit with the scriptures about Hell. Nor does it fit with what we have ever seen from our Lord, Who alone holds the Keys of Hell, Revelation 1:18, and Who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, Hebrews 13:8.
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