The Book of Revelation is a vision that the Apostle John had when he was exiled by the Roman Government to the prison island called Patmos. Left on that island for dead, Jesus came to John, and showed him things to come. One of the greatest parts of this Book (and all parts are wonderful) is when John looked into Paradise, the Kingdom of God. What did John see there?

Revelation 21:1-7 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

The Bible Begins And Ends With Paradise

The Bible begins with Adam and Eve in a perfect Paradise called Eden, a place on this earth. But Adam’s sin brought corruption to this entire world. Every person born of Adam, every plant reproduced from that time, every animal, every creature, even the bacteria unseen – all things became corrupted by Adam’s sin. The bad news of the Scripture is:

Romans 5:12 … by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned

Everything poisonous, deadly, pain creating, harmful, hurtful came into this present world with Adam’s sin. Not only did Adam bring spiritual death on himself and his descendants, he brought corruption into the animal world. God told Adam, “Cursed is the ground of earth because of what you did. You will labor and sorrow because of this curse all the days of your life. The ground will bring forth thorns and thistles – and you’ll have to labor in the field to be fed” (paraphrase of Genesis 3:17-19). Adam’s sin brought what Darwin erroneously called “The survival of the fittest” into what had previously been the Garden of God. Blood was spilled in Eden because of Adam’s sin. The Scripture says that the animal kingdom itself groans, waiting for the end of sin’s reign on this earth. We read:

Romans 8:19-24 (ESV) … the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved.

The world itself now groans under the misery
of sin and corruption.

But once God completes His Church, once the saved are gathered into Heaven, at the end of time God will create a new heaven and a new earth. This is a reference not to the Heaven where God is, but the heavens or the atmosphere around this earth. God will recreate this world, and all that is in it. Sin will be eradicated. God will put a New Jerusalem on the earth, a place where God the Son will rule and reign over this planet. When that happens there will be no more tears, nor suffering, nor death. Jesus upon the Throne, ruling from the New Jerusalem, will decree “I make all things new”. Jesus is the “Alpha and Omega” (Revelation 22:13-16) Who will live with us on this new earth forever.

What a day that will be,
When my Jesus I shall see;
And I look upon His face,
The One who saved me by His grace.
When He takes me by the hand,
And leads me through the Promised Land;
What a day, glorious day that will be!

Not All Will Enter Heaven, Nor The New Paradise

But then – we come to a glaring stop! Right after talking about this wonderful restored Eden on earth, the Apostle records these words:

Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Not everyone will be in the New Jerusalem, nor on the restored earth. Some will reject the Alpha and Omega. Some will reject the Gospel of salvation, and continue living their lives in darkness. When He walked this earth, Jesus said:

John 3:17-20 (ESV) … God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

Many have heard the Gospel since Jesus died on Calvary, but many reject it, for to be saved is to turn from darkness to light. Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows Me will NOT walk in darkness, but will have the LIGHT of life” (John 8:12).

Those who reject Jesus as Christ AND Lord, as Messiah AND God, will NOT enter Paradise.

When Adam sinned, both he and Eve were cast out of Paradise. “God drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life” (Genesis 3:24).

The unrepentant sinner will not be in Heaven, nor in the recreated Paradise of the New Jerusalem. Where will the unrepentant sinner be? John is quite specific:

Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death

Here we see eight categories of unrepentant sinners that will not be in glory with Jesus, but will be cast into “the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone”. We are introduced to this horrible lake in Revelation 20 at the Great White Throne of God. This the Throne that every unbeliever will one day stand before. When an unbeliever dies rejecting Jesus, that unbeliever immediately goes to a place called hades or hell. Our Lord Jesus believed in this place of torment. In Luke Chapter 16 Jesus spoke of a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. When the beggar died, he was “carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom”. All believers go to that place of faith. But the “rich man died, and IN HELL lifted up his eyes, being in TORMENTS” (Luke 16:23). The rich man was not annihilated. He felt torment, and knew what a horrible place he was in. The rich man was in HELL, the Greek ᾅδης háidēs, {pronounced hah’-dace}. He could not leave that place, nor could anyone come to him to give him relief.

Hades is a horrible place. It is a prison of fire, a prison where the sinner, rejecting the light of Christ, stays until the
Great White Throne Judgment.

At that Great White Throne the dead, small or great, stand before God to be judged. I believe they stand before the Jesus that they rejected in this life. Jesus said, “The Father judges no one, but has given ALL JUDGMENT to the Son” (John 5:22, ESV). Those who stand before the Lord Jesus to be judged will have their works exposed as sinful. None will escape. “Death and HELL (háidēs, Hades) deliver up the dead which were in them” (Revelation 20:13). All unbelievers stand before Jesus. The Bible says:

Revelation 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Who Will Be Consigned To The Lake Of Fire?

The believer in Christ – the “workmanship of God” (Ephesians 2:10), the “Good Shepherd’s sheep who follow Him” (John 10:4) – will be eternally in a restored Eden called New Jerusalem. We will be on an earth without sin, an earth where there is no sin and no killing.

Isaiah 11:6-9 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

But unbelievers will not be there. Unbelievers are characterized as:

Revelation 21:8 But the fearful … shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone…

Word Study: “The fearful”, the Greek “δειλός deilós, {pronounced di-los’}” means “the faithless”. Jesus equated a surrender to fear as an outward expression of faithlessness or unbelief. The same word is used by Jesus when He was asleep on board a ship when a storm arose. The disciples “woke Jesus up, saying, “Lord, save us, we perish” (Matthew 8:25-26; also Mark 4:40). Jesus told them,

“Why are ye FEARFUL (deilós), O ye of little faith?”

There are times when we all experience fear, but to live in fear rather than faith is the action of an unbeliever. The Apostle John wrote in another place,

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

Those who are daily living “fearful” rather than faithfully may not be saved. The “fearful” will one day be in the Lake of Fire.

Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving

Unbelievers in Jesus will be in that Lake of Fire forever. The soul is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27; 9:6). Though man is a sinner, “God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

If a person rejects Jesus as the One Messiah, the Christ, and dies in a state of unbelief, that person will FIRST be cast into Hades then at the Great White Throne
into the Lake of Fire.

The Bible warns that to leave this life without Christ is to be in a state of condemnation.

Revelation 22:11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

Oh Beloved, do not leave this life unbelieving. Turn to Jesus. Today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2)!

Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable …

Word Study: The word “abominable” is the Greek βδελύσσω bdelýssō, {pronounced bdel-oos’-so}, which means “that which stinks, is disgusting, or detested by God – an abomination”. God told Israel:

Leviticus 18:29-30 For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. 30 Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.

What were the “abominations” that God said would not be among His people. Well, if you read Leviticus chapter 18, God is quite explicit.

Leviticus 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination (Hebrew תּוֹעֵבַה tôwʻêbah, {pronounced to-ay-baw’}, “that which is abominable, an abomination, morally repugnant”)

Many balk at this, saying, “Well, that was the OLD Testament. We are people of the NEW Testament. That’s true. But in the NEW Testament the Apostle says in

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NKJV) “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”

Those that are excluded from Paradise are sexual sinners, unbelievers, greedy people, drunkards, and those who harm others financially or physically. These are not the only abominations God speaks of. In the Book of Proverbs there are seven things listed as “an abomination to God” (Hebrewtôwʻêbah):

Proverbs 6:16-19 These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

Sexual sin is a violation of God’s design (for male and female He made them – Genesis 1:27). But pride, a false witness, killing an innocent, the wicked imaginations of the heart, the troublemaker, the one continually stirring up trouble – these are all abominations before God.

Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers…

Word Study: “Murderers” are those who, without justification, take a human life. Whether we punish the murderer or not in this life, God will punish them in the next. The word “whoremongers” is the Greek πόρνος pornos, which refers to “sexual sinners”. The Bible refers to sexual sins as homosexual, bestial, sexual intercourse with someone outside of marriage, or sexual intercourse that breaks the vows of marriage. Our Lord Jesus said:

Matthew 15:19-20 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: 20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

Sexual sins defile people. Those who are saved by faith in Christ step away from the darkness of sexual sin in order to walk with Jesus in the light of God’s Grace.

Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters…

Two words are used here to designate faith in anything BUT God. Those who are “sorcerers” (Greek pharmakeusin) are those who use drugs, portions, charms, or enchantments in order to invoke the spirit world to meet a need. God said of sorcery:

Deuteronomy 18:10-12 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. 11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord …

Those who reject Christ, and cling to the darkness doing those things which God has said are unacceptable in this life – they shall not enter Heaven, nor shall they be a part of God’s restored Eden, the New Jerusalem.

But no one has to have, as their final destination, the Lake of Fire that burns forever. Jesus calls whosoever will to come to Him, and receive Him as Christ and Lord. Jesus tells us as this wonderful Book of Revelation closes:

Revelation 22:14-17 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. 16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. 17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Heaven or hell, it is each person’s choice. Will you receive Jesus as Christ and Lord? Or will you cling to the darkness into eternity. The choice is entirely yours. May you make the right decision. Receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Do so this very day. Jesus Christ came to this earth to save sinners from their sins. Praise Him for it! Amen and Amen!