Counsel #6 — Timeline
Picture: Counsel #6 — TimelineCFL 88.1
The final judgment of hell is yet future; no one is now in literal hell. At the second coming of Jesus, the living wicked are destroyed by the brightness of His coming (see 2 Thessalonians 2:8 NKJV). After the righteous live and reign in heaven with Christ for a thousand years, the Holy City descends to earth and the wicked are resurrected to receive their complete annihilation by the fires of hell (see Revelation 20:9).CFL 88.2
“If God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them unto chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment… then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment." 2 Peter 2:4, 9 NKJVCFL 88.3
“In the cleansing flames the wicked are at last destroyed, root and branch—Satan the root, his followers the branches…. While the earth is wrapped in the fire of God's vengeance, the righteous abide safely in the Holy City…. (Revelation 20:6.) While God is to the wicked a consuming fire, He is to His people both a sun and a shield. (Psalms 84:11.) Ellen White in The Story of Redemption, p. 429CFL 88.4
Reflect: How could you show Jesus today that you are grateful He endured the second death—separation from God; God’s judgment on sin—for you? CFL 88.5
