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Harold

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It's important to understand that it's Lake of THE Fire, not just "Lake of Fire". A lot of people see "fire" and think of their fireplace, a forest fire or camp fire. But the important thing to note is that this is a special kind of fire, a "God fire" if you will. It's also metaphoric, like the furnace of affliction allegory. God is like a blacksmith molding us into a shape through fire, that is, we suffer temporary mental anguish in Sheol so we recognize our sins, to convince us to believe in Jesus Christ with faith alone. Faith alone is what saves us, no works salvation.

Christian Universalism is true, that is, Christ will save all people. Because everyone will believe in Christ Jesus with faith alone. You also mention repentance. Repentance means when a person acknowledges that they have sin, that is, they understand that they are sinners and the wages of sin is death, thus realizing their need for a saviour.



ISAIAH 54:7-8 "For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you," says the Lord your Redeemer.



Their graves, Sheol, the Lake of the Fire, is the temporary mental anguish people feel when they realize that they have these sins. It's like the guilt of finding out you did something bad. From God's perspective, imagine you're a father and you find your son was playing outside and jumped into a big puddle of mud, even when you told them not too, and now they're all dirty. Well, they can't go inside the house and track up all that mud, they have to go out to the bath house outside and clean themselves up!



The Lake of Fire is a metaphor for when a blacksmith heats up iron ingots in a furnace (of affliction) so it can be molded into a desired shape. A metaphor of course, since it's really our spirits that get heated up by these flames of guilt.



ISAIAH 48:10 See, I have refined you ... I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.



A person can only change and be purified by sin by believing in Christ by faith alone, not of any good works, not by following the commandments, or upholding the law. Because we can only gain glorified bodies like Christ if we first believe in Christ, otherwise our good works are like filthy rags to the Lord.



ISAIAH 45:22-24 "Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, `In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength.'"