WHAT HAPPENED TO SAUL
OF TARSUS IN THE
LAKE OF FIRE?What happened to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus? That is a question that has never fully been explained to us by the church. Lets take a close look at it.
Saul was a Pharisee. He was raised in the religious environment of his time, and he says of himself that he was, "Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, [of] the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless." (Philippians 3:5-6) He also claims that he was excelling beyond his fellow Jews, as to the Law. Galatians 1:13-4 says, "For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers." So what we have here is THE perfect example of the type of people Jesus called hypocrites, sons of the devil, whitewashed tombs, white on the outside but on the inside full of dead mens bones and everything unclean. In fact, of the Pharisees and scribes, there was no one Jesus seemed to be harder on. He called them vipers and liars and we know that out of jealousy and envy they plotted to kill Jesus.
So now we have Saul, strolling down the road to Damascus, with orders in his hands to capture and bring back in chains anyone he finds who call themselves Christian. The account of what happened to Saul is covered three times in the bible, each account adding a little more detail. This is the full account with all the details from all three; "Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, And as I journeyed, I came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about me a light from heaven: above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? [it is] hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do, for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Delivering thee from the people, and [from] the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, To open their eyes, [and] to turn [them] from darkness to light, and [from] the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me."
Quite the amazing experience, wouldn't you say? Now let us take a look at what Saul was like, in the words of the apostle Paul. He describes the way he was.
1 Timothy 1:13 : "Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did [it] ignorantly in unbelief."
1 Timothy 1:15 : "This [is] a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief."
So from Paul's own mouth we know that before his experience on the road to Damascus he was a blasphemer, persecutor, injurious to the church of Christ, ignorant, unbelieving, and the chief sinner of the world. Now consider what God says is the end of ALL who do these things."
Leviticus 24:16 "And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, [and] all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name [of the LORD], shall be put to death." Even Paul said, "For the wages of sin [is] death;..." (Romans 6:23)
Now what we have to understand is that God does not make exceptions, or go back on something He said. God said if you sin, you die. So did God all of a sudden change His mind in the New Testament? Nope. He can't change His mind. The one thing that it is impossible for God to do is lie. What I hope to bring to your mind is the fact that God killed Saul of Tarsus of the road to Damascus. He had to or He would have been violating His own commandments. I believe the reason the account of Paul's conversion is even in the bible is to teach us this mystery. Saul, of all people on earth, didn't deserve what Jesus did for him. From the Old Testament we read, "For the LORD thy God [is] a consuming fire, [even] a jealous God." (Deuteronomy 4:24) Ezekiel 1:27 describes the appearance of God, "And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about." That is the brightness that Saul saw on the road. That is the Fire of God, brighter than the sun in full strength. That is the fire which burns forever, that is everlasting. Saul, on the road to Damascus, had that fire poured full strength on him. You know another place in the bible that talks about that fire? Let me show you.
Revelation 21:8 "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." It is my position that the second death, the lake of fire, is the Fire of God. Read what it says. It says the unbelieving and all liars shall have their part in the lake of fire. Now go back to what Paul said in 1 Tim 1:13. He said he obtained mercy because he did what he did in unbelief. Rev 21:8 says that qualifies you for the lake of fire.
On the road to Damascus, Paul was baptized in the Lake of Fire. The result was that all the darkness in him was burned up and left as ashes under the soles of his feet. You see, I believe what Paul wrote to Timothy. Most Christians don't, but 1 Tim 4:10 says, "For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe." Here we have an example of God being the Saviour of an unbeliever, Saul. Specially, or chiefly for us believers because those that God pours out His fire on while they are still in their mortal bodies rule as kings in this life, and have the benefits of knowing God and preserving their souls into the world to come, among other blessings. Paul lost his soul on the road to Damascus, the soul he had that didn't know God, or His Son Jesus. It was dark and full of hatred and bitterness. By having that tormented soul burned up by the fire of God, he received a brand new soul, full of life and love. That is the result of God's Judgment upon Man.
I believe that will be the same result for everyone who is thrown into that fire, because as it is written, "God is no respecter of persons." Then what is written will be fulfilled, "For it is written, [As] I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." (Romans 14:11), and again, "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him (Jesus), and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and [things] under the earth; And [that] every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11), just like Paul did.
The end result is the entire race of Adam, from first to last, coming to the knowledge of God. God says that is what His Will is. 1 Timothy 2:3-4 says, "For this [is] good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth."
We Christians have a special place, for we were chosen before the foundation of the world, so that, "...in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in [his] kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:7) We will rule over the nations with Jesus, and I for one look forward to ruling over more than ashes. I will leave you with a very applicable quote from the bible.
"Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you." (Philippians 3:15) God bless. MF