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Study 12: Tormented Forever

Revelation 20:10 -- Who Are the Subjects?

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 especially important in this study. Revelation 20:10 is one of the most frequently cited verses in support of eternal conscious torment. But who exactly does the verse describe? And what vocabulary does the passage use when it turns to human beings?

Section A: Who Are the Three Subjects?

  1. Read Revelation 20:10. The verse names three subjects who are "tormented day and night for ever and ever." Who are they?

  2. Read Revelation 12:9 and Revelation 20:2. The devil is identified as the dragon, that old serpent, and Satan. Is the devil a human being?

  3. Read Revelation 13:1-2. The beast rises from the sea, has seven heads and ten horns, and receives its power from the dragon. Is this a description of a literal human being?

  4. Read Revelation 17:8. The beast "was, and is not, and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition." Could this description apply to a literal human person?

  5. Read Revelation 19:20. The false prophet is identified as the entity that "wrought miracles before" the beast -- the second beast of Revelation 13:11-17. Is the false prophet of Revelation a literal human being, or a symbolic apocalyptic figure?

Section B: What Happens to Humans in the Same Passage?

  1. Read Revelation 20:9. When fire comes down on the human armies surrounding the holy city, what word does the text use? Are they "tormented" or "devoured"?

  2. Read Revelation 20:14-15. When humans who are not found in the book of life are cast into the lake of fire, what term does the text use to identify their fate? Does the text add "tormented day and night for ever and ever" to their description?

  3. Read Revelation 21:8. Eight categories of human wicked are listed -- the fearful, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, whoremongers, sorcerers, idolaters, and liars. What does the text call their fate in the lake of fire?

  4. Read Revelation 19:20-21. In verse 20, the beast and false prophet are cast "alive" into the lake of fire. In verse 21, what happens to the human remnant? What is the difference in vocabulary?

Section C: The Vocabulary Pattern

  1. Look at the vocabulary the passage uses for each group:

    • Devil, beast, false prophet (Rev 20:10): ___
    • Human armies (Rev 20:9): ___
    • Humans cast into the lake (Rev 20:14-15; 21:8): ___

    Does the text use the same word for all three groups, or different words for different subjects?

  2. The "tormented day and night for ever and ever" formula appears in Revelation 20:10. Search the rest of the Bible. Is this formula ever applied to human beings anywhere in Scripture?

  3. Read Matthew 25:41. Jesus says the everlasting fire was "prepared for" whom? Was it originally prepared for human beings?

Section D: What Does "Basanizo" Mean?

  1. The Greek word behind "tormented" in Revelation 20:10 is basanizo (G928). It appears 12 times in the New Testament. Read the following non-judgment uses:

    • Matthew 8:6 -- a servant "grievously tormented" (sick with palsy)
    • Matthew 14:24 -- a ship "tossed" by waves
    • Mark 6:48 -- disciples "toiling" at rowing
    • 2 Peter 2:8 -- Lot "vexed" his righteous soul
    • Revelation 12:2 -- a woman "pained" in childbirth

    Based on these uses, does basanizo always mean "eternal torment," or does it have a wider range of meaning?

  2. Read Revelation 9:5. Here basanizo is used with an explicit time limit: five months. What does this tell you about whether the word inherently means "eternal"?

Section E: Outside Revelation

  1. Outside the book of Revelation, what vocabulary does the New Testament use for the final fate of human wicked? Look at these passages:

    • Matthew 10:28 -- "destroy" (apollymi)
    • John 3:16 -- "perish" (apollymi)
    • Romans 6:23 -- "death" (thanatos)
    • 2 Thessalonians 1:9 -- "everlasting destruction" (olethros)
    • Philippians 3:19 -- "destruction" (apoleia)

    Is the vocabulary destruction/death or torment?

  2. Does any epistle, any Gospel, or any Old Testament passage use basanizo or basanismos for the final fate of generic human wicked?

Explicit or Inference?

For each statement below, decide: Does the Bible explicitly say this (you can point to a verse), or is it an inference (a conclusion someone draws that no verse directly states)?

A. "Revelation 20:10 names three subjects for 'tormented day and night for ever and ever': the devil, the beast, and the false prophet." - [ ] Explicit -- the Bible says this - [ ] Inference -- someone concluded this

B. "The 'tormented for ever and ever' formula applies to all unsaved human beings who enter the lake of fire." - [ ] Explicit -- the Bible says this - [ ] Inference -- someone concluded this

C. "When humans enter the lake of fire (Rev 20:14-15; 21:8), the text's own term for their fate is 'the second death.'" - [ ] Explicit -- the Bible says this - [ ] Inference -- someone concluded this

D. "Because the devil, beast, and false prophet are tormented in the lake of fire, and humans are also cast into the lake of fire, humans must experience the same torment." - [ ] Explicit -- the Bible says this - [ ] Inference -- someone concluded this

E. "The text uses different vocabulary for different subjects: 'tormented' for the devil/beast/false prophet, 'devoured' for human armies, and 'second death' for humans in the lake." - [ ] Explicit -- the Bible says this - [ ] Inference -- someone concluded this