Lake of Fire

The lake of fire is the term used in Revelation for the eschatological place of ultimate and eternal judgment on the wicked. It appears five times in Revelation (19:20; 20:10, 14, 15; 21:8). Death and Hades are cast into it (20:14), identifying it as the final destination beyond the temporary realm of the dead. The beast and false prophet are thrown into it alive at Christ's return (19:20); Satan is cast into it after the millennium (20:10); and at the last judgment, all whose names are not found in the book of life are cast into it (20:15). Revelation 20:14 explicitly identifies the lake of fire as 'the second death' — a phrase appearing in Jewish apocalyptic tradition (Targums) for the eschatological death of the wicked.

The lake of fire draws on OT images of divine judgment: the burning sulfur of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:24), the 'fire and brimstone' of prophetic judgment (Ezek. 38:22; Isa. 30:33), and Gehenna — the Valley of Hinnom south of Jerusalem where child sacrifice to Moloch was practiced, which became a metaphor for the place of punishment (Jer. 7:31-32; 2 Kings 23:10). Jesus's use of Gehenna (Matt. 5:22; 10:28; Mark 9:43-48) and Paul's references to 'everlasting destruction' (2 Thess. 1:9) contribute to the tradition that Revelation crystallizes in the lake of fire image. The phrase 'tormented day and night forever and ever' (Rev. 20:10) describing the devil, beast, and false prophet has been central to the debate between eternal conscious punishment and annihilationism in Christian eschatology.