The Lake of Fire

I'm not a believer in hellfire theology. I think it's been used as a tool of control and fear. But I do believe in consequences.

John's image of death being cast into the lake of fire, of the final separation of good and evil - I think what matters is that evil doesn't survive. Not punishment as torture, but separation. The final elimination of what destroys.

I can hold that without believing in an eternal torture chamber. Destruction is real. Consequences are real. But they're not forever. They're the end of something, not an eternal prison.

I'm teaching my kids that sin matters because it destroys us, not because God enjoys punishing. And the final judgment is about God finally, fully, permanently separating from what corrupts. That's not vindictive. That's mercy.