There are some who are so enamored of their personal theory that the lake of fire and the second death are some sort of divine reform/training school for human beings that, even if you were to show them the literal lake of fire, they would not believe it.
The law of the metaphor is a beautiful thing in that, whenever we find a metaphor in Scripture (or anywhere else), we can be certain that the two nouns that make up the metaphor are literal. EVERY TIME. As God would have it, Revelation 20:14 ("This is the second death, the lake of fire") is provably a metaphor. Thus, the lake of fire is literal (yes, it is a literal lake of fire) and the second death
is literal (yes, no one will be found alive in the second death.)
But again, these things just won't matter to some people. They are too proud of their own opinions.
One of these people is Phil Scranton, a
friend of mine who has written a book on the lake of fire in which he stubbornly insists (law of language be damned; Scriptural laws of interpretation be damned; flawed premises be damned) that the lake of fire will be a wonderful learning experience for millions of people. In fact, even parents who failed as parents on earth will get an opportunity to re-raise their failed children in the lake of fire!
The most sickening aspect of Phil's belief is the human supposition that God is not able to judge human beings who have not lived for a long time (young children and aborted babies are included in this group). To solve this twisted, self-invented problem, Mr. Scranton twists and re-invents the lake of fire until it becomes a place where these short-lived individuals can go on and live extended lives so that God is finally able to
properly judge them.
Phil's book was based on a report by a Hollander named Oosterhaus, which was passed on to another Hollander named Fred Niemeyer, which was then passed on to Phil Scranton, who made hay of it—that is, until the hay is incinerated at the dais of Christ.
Until that time, it is my honor to demolish this God-defiling, death-glorifying theory.
To all who have ears to hear, the lake of fire is exactly what God says it is: the second death. And death is exactly what God says it is: the opposite of life. As God is so clear on these matters, what
strange power compels humans to fight Him every step of the way? 1) FALSE IDEAS CONCERNING THE JUDGMENTS OF GOD, 2) IGNORANCE OF THE DEFINITION OF DEATH, 3) IGNORANCE OF LINGUISTIC LAWS, 4) ASSUMPTIONS CONCERNING THE USE OF SULPHUR, 5) IGNORANCE CONCERNING THE TIMING OF THE ABOLITION OF DEATH, AND 6) THE MISTAKEN BELIEF THAT DEATH IS A PUNISHMENT FOR SIN.
