God’s governmental judgment upon all rebellious creatures will include His judgment of the demons. Revelation 20:13, a verse related to the judgment at the great white throne (Rev. 20:11-15), indicates this. “The sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged everyone according to their works.” Since the dead unbelievers who were drowned in the sea are included among those in Hades, the dead given up by the sea must be another category of beings. They should be the spirits of the living beings of the pre-Adamic age, the demons in this age (Matt. 8:31-32; 12:43). In Message Two of the Life-study of Genesis we pointed out that in the pre-Adamic age there were some living beings with spirits. After God’s judgment upon Satan and those who followed him in his rebellion, these beings became demons, and the sea became their dwelling place. For this reason, the demons caused the swine to rush into the sea (Matt. 8:31-32). Therefore, the sea will give up all the demons, who will then be judged at the great white throne.
Revelation 20:12 says, “I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by the things which were written in the books, according to their works.” The word “standing” here indicates that the dead have been resurrected. This is the resurrection of the dead unbelievers, the resurrection of judgment, after the millennium (John 5:28-29; 1 Cor. 15:23-24). The unbelieving dead will be judged according to the things written in the books, which are the record of the works, the deeds, of the unbelievers. The other book that is open, the book of life, is the record of the names of the believers (Rev. 13:8; 17:8; Luke 10:20). All that the unbelievers have said and done is written in the books, and the unbelievers will be judged according to the things written.
Revelation 20:15 tells us, “If anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.” The perishing unbelievers will be judged according to the books, which are a record of their works, but they will be cast into the lake of fire according to the book of life. This indicates that they will be condemned by the Lord because of their evil deeds, but they will perish because of their unbelief, not having their names written in the book of life. Not believing in the Lord is the unique sin that causes people to perish (John 16:9).
The lake of fire has been prepared for the Devil and his angels. Since the unbelievers follow the Devil, they share the Devil’s judgment (John 16:11) and will become joint-partakers of the Devil’s eternal torment. The demons, also having followed the Devil, will share the same destiny.
Revelation 21:8 says, “The fearful and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and fornicators and sorcerers and idolaters and all the false, their part shall be in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Here we have eight categories of people who will perish in the lake of fire, the second death.
Due to the fall and the entering in of sin, every man must die once (Heb. 9:27). This first death, however, is not the final settlement. All the dead will be resurrected and pass through the judgment of the great white throne at the close of the millennium, that is, at the conclusion of the old heaven and old earth, except those who through faith in the Lord Jesus have been recorded in the book of life. As a result of this judgment, they will all be cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death as the final settlement (Rev. 20:11-15). Hence, the second death is God’s dealing with man after man’s resurrection.
Referring to the New Jerusalem, Revelation 22:15 says, “Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the fornicators and the murderers and the idolaters and everyone who loves and makes a lie.” “Outside” means outside the city, where the lake of fire keeps all the perished sinners. All the filthy, sinful persons will be cast into the lake of fire, the universal “trash can.”
Revelation 14:9-11 says, “Another, a third angel, followed them, saying with a loud voice, If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also shall drink of the wine of the fury of God which is mixed undiluted in the cup of His wrath; and he will be tormented in fire and brimstone before the holy angels and before the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” These verses speak of the judgment executed upon those who, during the great tribulation, refuse to obey the eternal gospel, which will be preached by an angel (v. 7). Instead of fearing God and worshipping Him, they will worship Antichrist and his image. As a result, they will be tormented in fire and brimstone. The fire and brimstone mentioned in verse 10 refer to the fire and brimstone in the lake of fire (Rev. 19:20; 20:10, 14). Those who worship the beast and his image and receive the mark of his name will be eternally tormented and have no rest day and night.
At this point, I would like to say a word concerning the relationship between Revelation 14:9-11 and Matthew 25:41, both of which refer to the judgment to be executed upon the nations after the Lord’s coming back. At the end of the church age, Antichrist will rise up to be the last Caesar of the kingdom of the restored Roman Empire. He will pretend to be kind toward the Jews and will make a covenant with them for seven years (the last of the seventy weeks spoken of in Daniel 9:24-27), promising them the freedom to worship God. However, after three and a half years, he will break this covenant and begin to persecute the Jews and the Christians. He will seek to destroy any kind of religion, he will set himself up as the unique object of worship (2 Thes. 2:4), and he will compel everyone to worship him. This will mark the beginning of the great tribulation (Matt. 24:21), which will be the last three and a half years of this age.
During the great tribulation, an angel will preach the eternal gospel (Rev. 14:6-7), warning people to fear God and worship Him and not to follow Antichrist nor to worship him or his image. The people will also be warned not to persecute God’s two peoples—the Jews and the Christians. The eternal gospel, which will be preached by an angel, is different from the gospel of grace, which we are preaching today. The gospel of grace tells people to repent and to receive Christ, whereas the eternal gospel tells people to fear God and worship Him and not to follow Antichrist. Many will obey this gospel. They will not worship Antichrist or his image, and they will help the persecuted Jews and Christians, the Lord’s brothers (Matt. 25:34-40). Others, however, will follow Antichrist. Those who are part of his armies will be destroyed when the Lord with His army of overcomers comes to fight against Antichrist and his armies (Rev. 19:19-21). After the Lord casts Antichrist and the false prophet into the lake of fire, He will sit on His throne of glory in Jerusalem and judge the nations (Matt. 25:31-32) according to the eternal gospel. The “sheep,” those who obeyed the eternal gospel, will enter into the millennial kingdom to be the nations as its people. The “goats,” those who did not obey the eternal gospel but followed Antichrist, will perish in the lake of fire.
God’s governmental judgment upon all His rebellious creatures will be for eternal perdition to be tormented in fire and brimstone forever. Fire burns and brimstone chokes. The lake of fire that burns with brimstone is unquenchable. God’s rebellious creatures will perish in the lake of fire, suffering eternal perdition.
In the first death, the soul and the spirit are separated from the body and, in the case of unbelievers, are kept in the suffering section of Hades (Luke 16:22-24). In the second death, the soul and spirit of the unbelievers, after being rejoined to the body in resurrection, will be cast with the body into the lake of fire. This means that an unbeliever’s whole being—spirit, soul, and body—will perish in eternal torment in the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:14 says, “Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.” Death will be the last enemy destroyed by the Lord (1 Cor. 15:26). Immediately after the fall of man, God began His work to abolish sin and death. This work has been progressing through the Old and New Testament ages and is still in progress today. When sin is done away at the end of the old creation and when its source, Satan, is cast into the lake of fire, death will then be abolished. It will be cast into the lake of fire with Hades, its power, after the last and final judgment at the great white throne.
The Greek word translated “Hades” means “not to be seen,” the invisible, and refers to the subterranean abode of the dead. Hades, the equivalent of Sheol in the Old Testament, has two sections: the section of torment and the section of comfort (Luke 16:23-26).
Even death and Hades will be judged and cast into the lake of fire because they are two weapons or tools used by the authority of death, Satan, to capture people. God hates them and will put them into the lake of fire, which is the second death. Since death, Hades, and the lake of fire are of the same category, they will be put together by the almighty Lord.
God’s governmental judgment upon all His rebellious creatures will clear up the universe for the new heaven and new earth to come in. This judgment will be completed by the end of Revelation 20. Therefore, Revelation 21 opens with these words: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and the sea is no more.” Now that all negative things have been swept by God’s judgment into the lake of fire, the way is clear for the new heaven and new earth to appear.