Our friend Clyde Pilkington suggests that the lake of fire is a lake of love. This is not at all the truth of the context. In the context of Revelation chapter 20, the lake of fire is a judgment against those whose names are not written in the book of life. While God’s love certainly dictates all of His actions, it is important for us to speak and teach as the context speaks and teaches.

Those who teach God’s Word must be very careful where they place punctuation such as commas and quotation marks. Note the vast difference between:

a) The dead are resurrected. 
b) The “dead” are “resurrected.”

The first statement declares literal truth, the second (because of the quotation marks) declares that neither the death nor the resurrection are literal.

I may come across as nit-picky in this episode, but isn’t that what you count on me for? There are so many departures from truth these days that we must hold teachers to a high standard of clarity—myself included. Anyone even suggesting—either purposely or unwittingly—that the second death is not really death but rather a place of spiritual enlightenment, raises a red flag for me. I know it does the same for you.