“If anyone’s name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
– Revelation 20:15
I can’t really imagine a more sobering verse or picture in the Bible than Revelation 20:15, especially when you realize up in verse 10 of the same chapter that this lake of fire was described as a place of torment, day and night, forever and ever. This is something I’ve just been thinking about a lot recently, and I really don’t want to stop thinking about. Now with that said, it’s not a pleasant thing to think about. It’s not a good thing to dwell on in a sense, but the Bible clearly teaches, Jesus himself clearly teaches, that all who do not trust in Him as their life, for life in Him as Lord and Savior of their life when they die will be thrown into a lake of fire, a place of torment day and night forever and ever.
The urgency to Proclaim the Gospel
Every person will one day enter into everlasting life or eternal torment. May we urgently proclaim the gospel while we still can.
The Bible says, “forever and ever.” Think about that. “And ever” adds nothing to the meaning. Forever would have been sufficient, but it adds “and ever” just to make sure we don’t miss the point. Eternity is at stake with whether or not people believe in Jesus, trust in Jesus as their life, and so, I think it’s good for us to think often about this. Yes, to think often about the joys of heaven that await us and the joys of heaven that await all who trust in Jesus, but also to consider the horrors of hell that await all who do not trust in Jesus.
Revelation 20:15 Encourages Making Jesus Known
And to look around us and to see the people around us in this light, every single person you will look at today or tomorrow, every single person you will talk with, email with, see on social media, see on TV, wherever, every single person will either go to everlasting life or eternal torment. And the difference between those two is whether or not they trust in Jesus as their life, and so I just want to encourage us, urge us to live with urgency, to make Jesus known, this is the way, the truth, and the life, while we still have time.
God, I pray that today you help me to live with the urgency of eternity. Help me to see the people around me with the urgency of eternity, to share the gospel with urgency. God, I pray this for every single person who’s listening to this right now. Oh God, I pray that you’d help them to live with urgency, to share the gospel with people around them. God, we pray that you’d help us to warn people of coming judgment. It doesn’t feel very politically correct, it doesn’t feel very popular, but God, if it’s true, and your word says it’s true, then we pray you’d help us to warn people accordingly.
Revelation 20:15 Prays for Unbelievers to Trust in Jesus
Help us to live for what matters forever. God, please help us to live for what matters 10 billion years from now. To speak today what’s going to matter 10 billion years from now. Oh God, we pray that there would be people that we meet today and this week who would not be thrown into the lake of fire because they heard the good news of your grace from us this week, and they trusted in Jesus. God, please, please, please use us to share the gospel and to lead many people to eternal life. We pray that you’d spend our lives here toward that end. Help us not to be distracted from this eternally important purpose you have given to us while we are in this world. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
