FIRE FROM HEAVEN

Then the words of the prophet are fulfilled: "The Lord is angry with all the nations and all their armies. He has condemned them to destruction" (Isa. 34:2). "On the wicked He will rain [put] fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot" (Ps. 11:6, NIV).SRme 1.1873

Fire comes down from God out of heaven. The earth is broken up. Nature's weapons, hidden deep inside the earth, spring forth. Flames of fire burst from every opening. The very rocks are on fire. The day has come when the earth "shall burn as an oven" (Mal. 4:1). "The elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare" (2 Peter 3:10, NIV). Hell "has been made ready for the king. Its fire pit has been made deep and wide, with an abundance of fire and wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of burning sulfur, sets it ablaze" (Isa. 30:33, NIV).SRme 1.1874

The earth's surface seems the same as a large boiling lake of fire. It is the time of the judgment and the complete destruction of ungodly people. It is "the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion" (Isa. 34:8).SRme 1.1875

Some of the wicked people are destroyed in a moment. Other wicked people suffer many days. All are punished according to their deeds. The sins of the righteous people have been put on Satan. Satan is the creator of evil, so he must suffer not only for his own rebellion but for all the sins he has caused God's people to do. Satan's punishment is to be much greater than the punishment of the people he has deceived. After all the people who believed Satan's deceptions have died, Satan will still be alive to continue suffering. In the cleansing flames the wicked people are at last destroyed, root and branch [completely]. Satan is the root, his followers the branches. The justice of God is satisfied, and the redeemed and all the holy angels say with a loud voice, Amen.SRme 1.1876

While the earth is on fire from God's justice, the righteous people are safe inside the Holy City. The second death has no power on the people who had part in the first resurrection. (Read Rev. 20:6.) God is to the wicked a fire that completely destroys them, but He is to His people both a sun and a shield. (Ps. 84:11)SRme 1.1877