68. Those who choose to remain connected to God will live forever in the fire of His life-giving glory.
The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: “Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?” Those who walk righteously and speak what is right. {Isaiah 33:14-15}
A lot of people have this idea of hell that it involves being alive forever in an everlasting fire. And, actually, the Bible doesn’t disagree that there will be such a place, but it says the righteous will be there, not the wicked. The above passage from Isaiah 33 confirms what the Bible shows elsewhere in imagery—that God is a consuming fire. And the sinners are terrified; they want to know just who will be able to live in the midst of this everlasting burning! The answer comes back: those who walk righteously and speak what is right.
It is those who have not hardened their hearts, those who remain connected to God, who will live forever in the fire of His life-giving glory. There is evidence of this all over Scripture, from the face of Moses which glowed so brightly after he had spent time with God to Malachi’s assertion that the righteous will frolic in the fire like baby cows released from their stalls to the description of the new Jerusalem which depicts God as its only source of heat and light.
God is a consuming fire, and all those who love Him will live forever in the fire of His life-giving glory. So maybe you’d better double-check the destination you’re headed for, because all those who will be living forever in the flames are those who love God!
If you want to dig deeper—
Isaiah 33:14-16
Malachi 4:1-3
Hebrews 12:29
Revelation 21:23