In the Bible, we read the following sobering words:

“But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)

For the casual reader, you might be content to know that all murderers shall be cast into the lake of burning fire and sulfur, but what about all liars? Would God really cast all liars into “the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death”?

Think.

Think.

You had better think about this, before you die.

If God were to cast all liars into the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death, then who would be left? Would anyone be left?

We know from Scripture that God can and desires to forgive us our sins. We know this from a passage like Luke 7:48, where Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.” For she had sought the forgiveness of God for her sins, and Jesus forgave her.^[1]

So then, if your sins are forgiven, then in God’s sight, they are no longer credited to you. They are forgiven. Why are they forgiven? They are forgiven, because Jesus took those sins upon himself, when he died at the cross. So then, it is possible to be forgiven of your sins.

Yet Revelation 21:8 (quoted previously) is chilling. It says that certain people —the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars— shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.

Who then are these? It should be obvious that these are they that remain unforgiven. They have never sought the forgiveness of God for their sins. They remain unforgiven. That is a terrible state to die in.

How then shall they die in this state? They shall die in this state for refusing to properly acknowledge who Jesus himself is. For Jesus said,

“I said therefore to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24)

Who then is he? The Bible (God’s word) makes it very clear. But you need to take the time to search it. You should at least take the time to search it before you die.

In that same chapter (John chapter 8), Jesus makes the following statement,

“Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into existence, I AM.” (John 8:58)

Now when Jesus spoke these words, it was around 30 AD. But Abraham himself lived around 2000 BC! And yet Jesus is claiming to have been in existence before Abraham. What could this mean?

The clue is given in that same sentence, where he says, “before Abraham came into existence, I AM.”

What is “I AM”?

Did you know that one of the names of God is “I AM”?

Moses lived from approximately 1393 BC to 1273 BC.^[2] One day, God spoke to Moses. We read,

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,” and he said, “You shall tell the children of Israel this: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:14)

I think you are getting the picture. Jesus used the same saying of himself that God used when he spoke to Moses. Is Jesus then God? Yes, but you may not know it. You may still be wondering who Jesus is. But Jesus, in John 8:58, makes it perfectly clear who is he. Anyone understanding his statement would immediately recognize that what he was saying was that he is God. And the Jews who were with him most certainly understood. Therefore, we read,

“Therefore they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus was hidden, and went out of the temple, having gone through the middle of them, and so passed by.” (John 8:59)

This was not the only time they picked up stones to stone him. They did so again, later. Let us read the passage and find out exactly why they wanted to stone him. It should be obvious already —it is because he claimed to be God — yet it is revealed perfectly in this passage, just in case you missed it.

Therefore Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of those works do you stone me?” The Jews answered him, “We do not stone you for a good work, but for blasphemy: because you, being a man, make yourself God.” (John 10:31-33)

It could not be any clearer. For you to miss this would have to mean that you are blind. Unfortunately, there are many blind people out there (but I hope you are not one of them).

The evidence is inescapable! Jesus is claiming to be God. OK. So now, that helps us to decipher what he was saying in John 8:24, quoted earlier. You will recall, in that verse, Jesus said,

“I said therefore to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24)

“Unless you believe that I am he?” Who is “he”? “He” is “God”.

Unless you believe that Jesus is God, you will perish in your sins.

Why is this important? It is important because, as the unbelieving Jews confessed,

“Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (See Mark 2:7)

They knew that, on an eternal level, only God could forgive sins. I may be able to forgive you a sin that you committed against me, but what about the sins you have committed against God? Can I grant you redemption? No, I cannot. Can I pardon your sins with which you have sinned against Almighty God? No, I certainly cannot! Only God can do that! The unbelieving Jews knew this! That is why when Jesus forgave the sins of a man, they responded,

“Why does this man speak blasphemies like that? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7)

You see, they did not believe that Jesus was God. And that was their trouble. He was, and he is. Yet many people today argue about this. In fact, there are some people who call themselves “Christian” who even argue about this. They are lying. They may not be thinking they are lying. But they are still lying to man, and to God, when they insist, against the Scriptures, that Jesus is not God! For he is, he always has been, and he always will be. He is not “the God who once was a man,” but rather, “the man who always was and always will be God.”

Does this make any sense?

Do you see that these people are lying when they say Jesus is not God? And all who say that Jesus is not God, they are lying. They may not intend to be lying. They may not consciously be lying. Yet the words they speak about who God is are not true. Therefore, they must readily confess (if they are truthful), that they are lying.

Who then are going to perish? Did we not read it already? For it says,

“But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)

Included in that group are the liars. The liars do not accept God’s forgiveness. The liars deny that Jesus is God. Instead, they want to throw stones at Jesus, and even kill him, and kill his disciples.

They will perish.

It is not because they cannot be forgiven that they will perish. For God eagerly desires to forgive them! Rather, it is precisely because they refuse to believe the truth, and so persist in believing the lie, that they are not saved.

The Bible puts it this way (read clearly):

“they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved” (see 2 Thessalonians 2:10).

The above quote is, in fact, part of a greater passage which talks about the man of sin (or the man of lawlessness), who will one day appear on the world stage, in order to deceive the world. This spirit (of antichrist) is already at work in the world, even as the Bible says.

“Children, it is the last hour, and just as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen, by which we know that it is the last hour.” (1 John 2:18, LEB)

You may have heard of the expression “the last days.” In the above passage, John (the writer) goes even further and calls this time period (meaning any time after Jesus came) “the last hour.” It is the last hour, meaning that you need to be ready now, as though it literally were the last hour, because you do not know the day, or the hour, of the Lord’s return, and so you need to be ready.

Why else might you need to be ready now? You need to be ready now, because even if Jesus were to delay coming back for another thousand years, you can never predict the day of your death. And after you die, what happens?

“Inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this, judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27)

You will die. We all die. Every person who has ever been born has died (except a few^[3]). You cannot escape it. And the Bible tells us that we will have to own up to all that we have done. How will we fare? Without a Savior, without someone to rescue us from the penalty of sin (which we all deserve to take), we will not make it.

Life is short. Be wise. Trust in the Savior today. His name is Jesus. He died for your sins on the cross. He did so so that you would not have take those sins upon yourself. For who could possibly bear such punishment and survive? There is only one, and his name is Jesus. This is the same one who said,

“Behold, I come quickly. My reward is with me, to repay to each man according to his work.” (Revelation 22:12)

What are you doing to serve Jesus? And, are you really ready for his return? For he is certainly coming quickly, as he said.

[1] This demonstrates that Jesus is God, for we read in the very next verse, ‘Those who sat at the table with him began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”’ (Luke 7:49) For they did not recognize Jesus as God. Thus, they were perplexed. But Jesus, in fact, being God, had that authority, and still has that authority today. ↩
[2] https://www.reference.com/world-view/did-moses-live-6c494f875476856a ↩
[3] Enoch was taken up by God without dying (see Genesis 5:24). So was Elijah (see 2 Kings 2:11). In the end times, when Jesus returns, there will also be many believers who will be taken up without dying. They will supernaturally receive glorified bodies, and live to be with Jesus — on the earth (see 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, 1 Corinthians 15:51-55, Revelation 21:1-3)! ↩