Matthew 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
We have seen in an earlier passage of scripture that all unbelievers on their day of judgement will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone which is called the second death. In the passage of scripture quoted above our Lord Jesus reveals to us that the lake of fire was always intended for Satan and his angels. God never intended that mankind should end up going there, but sadly most of mankind have chosen to follow after the prince of the power of the air and become sons of disobedience. And so they too will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone on that day to suffer for all eternity. Just like hell, the lake of fire has many different levels and therefore the same principle applies in that the lower one is cast into the lake the greater degree of torment that one will incur. And so we see that when the saints judge the unbelievers and Satan’s angels on that day, they will determine which level each one will be cast down to.
Luke 10:10-12 “But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, (11) ‘The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless, know this that the kingdom of God has come near you.' (12) But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city.”
As I have already mentioned, the lake of fire and brimstone will be similar to Hades from the point of view of having different levels to it and the lower the level in that lake the higher the degree of eternal punishment that will be incurred there. Our Lord Jesus confirmed this truth to us in the passage of scripture quoted above when He taught on the punishment that the unbelievers will incur on that day. In this passage our Lord taught us that for example, it will be more tolerable for the citizens of Sodom on their day of judgement than the citizens of Capernaum. The reason for that is because the citizens of Sodom will not be cast down to the same depth in the lake as the citizens of Capernaum. Clearly heaven views the rejection of the gospel as being more wicked than even the sins practiced by the citizens of Sodom, and thus those who reject the gospel will be deserving of the greater punishment.
Luke 11:24-26 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' (25) And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. (26) Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”
Even in Satan’s kingdom there are differing levels of wickedness among his angels or demons if you will. Our Lord Jesus revealed that truth to us in the passage of scripture quoted above when He spoke about Satan’s kingdom. For our Lord told us that this particular demon went and found seven other demons that were more wicked than himself. And so just as there are varying degrees of wickedness among Satan’s angels, so there are also varying degrees of wickedness among the sons of men. Based on the wickedness of the individual being judged the saints will pronounce on them their eternal judgement. We have already seen that Satan will be committed to the lowest pit of hell while he is locked up during the millennial reign of Christ. So it is plainly evident that he will be committed to the lowest level in the lake of fire for all eternity. And so his angels will also receive their respective judgements based on their wickedness revealed on that day.
Michael E.B. Maher
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