Study 11: Smoke Ascending Forever -- Answer Key¶
Revelation 14:9-11 and 19:3 -- What Does the Imagery Mean?
A Note on How to Study
Throughout this series, we distinguish between what the Bible explicitly says and what people infer from the Bible. These are not the same thing.
- Explicit: You can point to a verse and quote it. The text directly says this.
- Inference: Someone claims the Bible teaches something, but no single verse says it. They have drawn a conclusion -- possibly a good one, possibly not -- but the conclusion itself is not in the text.
This distinction is critical in this study. Revelation 14:10-11 is one of the most frequently cited passages in the eternal torment debate. Before deciding what it means, we need to examine where its imagery comes from.
Section A: The OT Source -- Isaiah 34 on Edom¶
1. Read Isaiah 34:9-10. What happens to Edom's land? What does the text say about the fire and the smoke?
Edom's streams are turned to pitch and its dust to brimstone. The fire is "not quenched night nor day" and "the smoke thereof shall go up for ever." This is the OT passage that Revelation 14:11 draws its "smoke ascending for ever" formula from.
"And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever." -- Isaiah 34:9-10
2. Now read Isaiah 34:11-14. After the "smoke ascending for ever" and "not quenched night nor day" language of verse 10, what creatures inhabit the same territory? Can animals live in a place where fire is still burning?
Cormorants, bitterns, owls, ravens, wild goats, and other creatures inhabit the territory. Animals cannot dwell in a place where fire is actively burning. The text itself demonstrates that the "smoke ascending for ever" formula does not describe perpetual combustion -- it describes permanent desolation.
"But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it." -- Isaiah 34:11
3. Isaiah 34:14 says the screech owl "shall rest there" in the land whose fire was "not quenched night nor day." What does it tell you that an animal rests in a place described with "forever fire" language?
The animal rests where the fire burned. The fire completed its destructive work and went out. The "forever" fire language describes the permanent result of judgment -- irreversible desolation -- not a flame that never ceases. The owl's rest is proof that the fire is finished.
"The screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest." -- Isaiah 34:14
4. Is the fire of Edom's judgment still burning today? What does the "smoke ascending for ever" formula describe -- a fire that never stops, or a destruction whose results are permanent?
Edom is not still burning. The formula describes a destruction whose results are permanent. The strongest "forever" language in the OT is applied to a judgment that has demonstrably ended as an active process. The desolation remains; the fire does not.
Section B: The First Fire and Brimstone -- Sodom¶
5. Read Genesis 19:24-25. What did God rain upon Sodom and Gomorrah? What was the result -- does the text say the cities were tormented or overthrown?
God rained brimstone and fire. The text says He "overthrew those cities" -- destruction vocabulary, not torment vocabulary. This is the first fire-and-brimstone judgment in Scripture, and it establishes the paradigm: fire and brimstone destroy.
"Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; and he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities." -- Genesis 19:24-25
6. Read Genesis 19:28. Abraham looked toward Sodom and saw "the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace." Was this smoke from an ongoing fire, or from a completed destruction?
Abraham observed ascending smoke from a completed destruction. The cities had already been overthrown. The smoke was evidence of what had happened -- the aftermath of judgment, not an ongoing process.
"And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace." -- Genesis 19:28
7. Read Jude 1:7. Sodom and Gomorrah suffered "the vengeance of eternal fire" and are "set forth for an example." Are those cities still burning? What kind of "example" is Sodom -- an example of ongoing torment, or an example of completed destruction?
Sodom is not still burning. Jude calls the fire "eternal" even though it went out long ago. The cities are an example of completed destruction -- the fire was "eternal" in its effect (permanent destruction), not in its duration (the fire stopped). This is the same pattern as Isaiah 34.
"Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." -- Jude 1:7
8. Read 2 Peter 2:6. Peter says God turned Sodom and Gomorrah "into ashes" as "an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly." What is the end product -- ashes or ongoing fire?
Ashes. Peter describes the result as ashes -- complete consumption. This is what the fire-and-brimstone paradigm produces: total destruction. The cities are held up as an example of what happens to the ungodly, and the example is ashes, not ongoing torment.
"And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly." -- 2 Peter 2:6
Section C: Malachi's Eschatological Fire¶
9. Read Malachi 4:1. How does this verse describe the wicked on the day that comes? What does "burn them up" mean? What is left -- root or branch?
The day "shall burn them up" and "shall leave them neither root nor branch." The wicked are consumed like stubble in an oven. Nothing remains -- no root (hidden, underground) and no branch (visible, above ground). Total consumption.
"For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch." -- Malachi 4:1
10. Read Malachi 4:3. What will the wicked become? Where will they be?
The wicked "shall be ashes under the soles of your feet." They have been reduced to ashes -- the end product of combustion. The righteous walk over them. This is the opposite of ongoing torment: the wicked no longer exist except as residue.
"And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts." -- Malachi 4:3
11. Malachi 4:1-3 is the OT's clearest eschatological fire-judgment passage. Does it describe the wicked as being tormented forever, or as being completely consumed?
Completely consumed. The passage describes the wicked as stubble burned up, leaving neither root nor branch, reduced to ashes. Every image points to total destruction with nothing remaining. There is no language of ongoing torment anywhere in this eschatological fire text.
Section D: Revelation 14:9-11¶
12. Read Revelation 14:10-11. What does this passage say about those who worship the beast? What imagery does it use?
Beast-worshippers will be "tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb." The smoke of their torment "ascendeth up for ever and ever" and they have "no rest day nor night." The passage uses fire-and-brimstone imagery, smoke-ascending language, and "no rest" language -- all of which have OT source texts.
"The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name." -- Revelation 14:10-11
13. The phrase "the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever" uses the same formula as Isaiah 34:10 ("the smoke thereof shall go up for ever"). Given what you learned in Section A about how this formula works in Isaiah 34, what might it mean in Revelation 14?
In Isaiah 34, the identical formula describes Edom's judgment -- a completed destruction followed by permanent desolation (animals dwell in the ruins). The fire went out; the desolation is permanent. If the formula means "permanent result of completed destruction" in its OT source, it may carry the same meaning in Revelation 14. The imagery comes from a passage about ended judgment, not ongoing combustion.
14. Rev 14:11 says the beast-worshippers have "no rest day nor night." Now read Revelation 4:8, where the four living creatures "rest not day and night" as they praise God. The same Greek word anapausis is used in both verses. Does "no rest day and night" in Rev 4:8 mean the living creatures praise God for all eternity without pause, or does it describe the continuous, uninterrupted nature of what they are doing?
In Rev 4:8, "rest not day and night" describes the continuous, uninterrupted nature of the living creatures' praise during its execution. The same word (anapausis) in the same book by the same author describes the character of an activity -- its uninterrupted quality -- not necessarily its eternal duration. This same-book context informs how "no rest day nor night" functions in Rev 14:11.
"And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." -- Revelation 4:8
Section E: Revelation 19:3 and Same-Book Context¶
15. Read Revelation 19:3. Whose smoke "rose up for ever and ever"? Now read Revelation 18:8, 10, 21. What happened to Babylon -- is she still burning, or was she "utterly burned," judged "in one hour," and "found no more at all"?
Babylon's smoke "rose up for ever and ever." But Babylon was already described as utterly destroyed: "she shall be utterly burned with fire" (18:8), her judgment came "in one hour" (18:10), and she was "thrown down, and shall be found no more at all" (18:21). The same "smoke for ever and ever" formula that appears in Rev 14:11 is applied to a completed destruction.
"And her smoke rose up for ever and ever." -- Revelation 19:3
"Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire." -- Revelation 18:8
"And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all." -- Revelation 18:21
16. The same "smoke for ever and ever" formula is used for Babylon in Rev 19:3 and for beast-worshippers in Rev 14:11. If the formula means "ongoing conscious torment" in Rev 14:11, what does it mean in Rev 19:3 for a city that has been utterly destroyed?
If "smoke for ever and ever" means ongoing conscious torment, then Babylon -- a symbolic city already described as utterly burned and "found no more at all" -- would also be experiencing ongoing conscious torment. But Babylon is destroyed. The same formula, same author, same book. Either the formula means "permanent result of completed destruction" in both places, or it means different things in different verses by the same author -- which requires explanation.
17. Read Revelation 20:9. When human enemies attack the camp of the saints, what happens to them? Does the text say they are tormented or devoured?
Fire came down from God out of heaven and "devoured" them. The word is katephagen -- destruction vocabulary. When Revelation describes human enemies facing divine fire, the word is "devoured," not "tormented."
"And fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them." -- Revelation 20:9
18. Read Revelation 20:14-15 and 21:8. When humans enter the lake of fire, what term does the text use -- "torment" or "second death"?
"Second death." Rev 21:8 explicitly defines the lake of fire and brimstone as "the second death." When humans enter the lake of fire, the identifying term is death -- not torment. The text uses death vocabulary for humans and reserves "torment" language for the devil, beast, and false prophet (Rev 20:10), the latter two being symbolic entities.
"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." -- Revelation 21:8
Explicit or Inference? -- Answers¶
A. "Isaiah 34:10 uses the 'smoke ascending for ever' and 'not quenched night nor day' formula for Edom's judgment, and Isaiah 34:11-17 describes animals dwelling in the desolated ruins afterward." - Explicit. Both statements are directly readable from the text of Isaiah 34. Verse 10 contains the smoke formula. Verses 11-17 describe the animals. No interpretation is required.
B. "The 'smoke ascending for ever' formula in Revelation 14:11 describes ongoing conscious eternal torment." - Inference. Rev 14:11 states the smoke ascends and uses "for ever and ever." The claim that this means ongoing conscious eternal torment is an interpretation of the imagery. The same formula in Isaiah 34:10 describes a judgment that ended (animals inhabit the ruins). The same formula in Rev 19:3 describes Babylon's completed destruction. Deciding that the formula means something different in Rev 14:11 requires choosing between readings.
C. "When humans enter the lake of fire (Rev 20:14-15; 21:8), the identifying term is 'second death,' not 'torment.'" - Explicit. Rev 21:8 says "the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." Rev 20:14 says "This is the second death." The text uses the term "second death" for humans in the lake of fire. This is directly quotable.
D. "The fire-and-brimstone imagery in Rev 14:10-11 describes the permanence and completeness of destruction, not ongoing torment." - Inference. This is a well-supported inference based on the OT source imagery (Isa 34:10; Gen 19:24-28; Mal 4:1-3), same-book context (basanismos for Babylon's completed destruction; same formula for destroyed Babylon), and the genre of Revelation (apocalyptic vision). But it is still an inference -- the passage does not explicitly state "this means completed destruction." The interpretation systematizes the evidence.
E. "The fate described for the devil, beast, and false prophet in Rev 20:10 ('tormented day and night for ever and ever') applies equally to all unsaved humans." - Inference. Rev 20:10 names three subjects: the devil, the beast, and the false prophet. The beast and false prophet are symbolic entities. The text does not state that all humans share this fate. The immediately preceding verse (20:9) uses "devoured" for humans. Verses 14-15 use "second death" for humans. Extending Rev 20:10 to all humans adds something the text does not say.
What the Bible Says vs. What People Say the Bible Teaches¶
| The Bible explicitly says... | People often claim the Bible teaches... |
|---|---|
| Isa 34:10 uses "smoke ascending for ever" for Edom; Isa 34:11-17 describes animals dwelling in the ruins | "Smoke ascending forever" means perpetual, ongoing combustion |
| Gen 19:24-25 says fire and brimstone "overthrew" Sodom; 2 Pet 2:6 says it produced "ashes" | Fire and brimstone describe ongoing torment |
| Mal 4:1-3 says the wicked are burned up like stubble, reduced to "ashes under the soles of your feet" | The wicked survive fire-judgment and are tormented endlessly |
| Rev 19:3 uses the same "smoke for ever and ever" formula for utterly destroyed Babylon | The formula must mean ongoing conscious torment in Rev 14:11 |
| Rev 4:8 uses the same "rest not day and night" for living creatures' praise | "No rest day nor night" proves eternal conscious suffering |
| Rev 20:9 says human enemies were "devoured"; Rev 21:8 defines the lake of fire as "the second death" | All humans in the lake of fire experience the same fate as the devil in Rev 20:10 |