A river is defined as “a large natural flow of water.” A lake is defined as “a large area of water surrounded by land.” Both rivers and lakes are mentioned in the Bible, in prophecies referring to the future. If you are thinking of whether you want to go to the River or to the Lake in the future, it might be good to check out some descriptions of each.
The River
Then the angel showed me the River of The Water of Life,
as clear as crystal,
flowing from The Throne of God and of The Lamb
down the middle of the great street of the city …
Revelations 22:1-2
Jesus said,
“Whoever believes in Me,
as Scripture has said,
Rivers of Living Water will flow from within them.”
John 7:38
When the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side on the cross, they saw the evidence of The River of Living Water that flowed from within Him!
Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side wth a spear,
bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.
John 19:34
The Lake
In contrast to a river, a lake is contained. It is surrounded on every side by land or a manmade barrier. Review what Jesus said of the fate of those who did not believe in Him.
“The days will come upon you
when your enemies will build an embankment against you
and encircle you and hem you in on every side.”
Luke 19:43
Satan and his followers are going to the lake, but it won’t be for a fun outing. A Fire that never goes out will hem them in on every side. They are bound for the Lake of Fire.
Those whose names were not found in The Book of Life
were thrown into the firey lake.
Revelation 20:15
“But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile,
the murderers, the sexually immoral,
those who practice magic arts, the idolaters
and all liars —
they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
This is the second death.”
Revelation 21:8
If you have been waiting to see what will happen to satan, hear his sentence now. After a long eternity of being allowed to be with God in all His Glory, after an eternity of the possibility of returning to what God created him to be, after an eternity of his working against God in every way he could find, satan will discover a Truth he never considered. He is going to Hell, but he will not be in charge. There will be fire, but not as he saw fire on earth. He will see God, not as The One Who brings the fire, but as The Fire Himself. He will see THE FIRE that both refines and consumes!
And the devil, who deceived them,
was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur,
where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown.
They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Revelation 20:10
What would torment satan? Perhaps being in the Constant Presence of The Way, The Truth and The Life and realizing he had once been on The Way, he had once known a Great Truth before all the lies, and he had once had a Life quite different from the one he chose.
Perhaps torment for satan would be being in the Refining Fire of God and discovering when his evil covering was burned away, he was as he was in the beginning, with qualities of love, mercy and compassion. Having those qualities again and then seeing the effects of the life he had lived would be torment.
As the fire burned, perhaps satan would hear God speak every Word he had ever heard Him speak over and over and over again, its Truth now sinking in. Will satan ever reach a point of being refined enough for the torment to stop? Only God knows that. Only God knows the Plans He has for satan.
To listen to the author’s reading of Chapter Two of Section Seven of the book, If You Only Knew … Who I AM!, click the audio link below.
For information on how to order the book, visit the book web site at
http://www.christianreading.com/cjones