Reward for the Wicked, They will Perish
- And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
- The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,
- and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 2 Thess 2:8-10.
I like how NIV puts it:
- and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 2 Thess 2:8-10 NIV.
See who it is that perish; It is those who refuse to love the truth! They are the ones who are deceived by Satan.
In Revelation 19 we also see that all the wicked will be killed when Jesus comes:
- Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God,
- “that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.”
- And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.
- Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.
- And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. Revelation 19:17-21.
When Jesus comes again, we see that the beast and the false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire. We also see that the kings of the earth, its army and also all the wicked people of the earth will be slain by Jesus who sits on the horse having his sword proceeding out of His mouth. All the wicked are destroyed!
In Revelation 6 we see that all the wicked people, including the human army that said they were going to make war against God (as described in Revelation 19 above), are actually hiding in the caves and rocks as God approaches asking for the mountains and rocks to fall on them.
- And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
- And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
- For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? Revelation 6:15-17.
They cannot stand to even look at the face of God the Father nor can they look into the face of Jesus, the Lamb of God. They are asking to be killed before they are forced to see God!
In addition to the army, we can see that every bondman and every free man are calling for the rocks to fall on them. This includes all people!
- . . . Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.
- Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.
- A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD.
- Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.
- And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground. Jeremiah 25:29-33.
At the second coming of Jesus, He will kill the wicked. At that time, the slain of the LORD will be from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth and there will be no one left to lament over them. No one will be left to bury them and they will be left to lay on the ground. All will be dead. There will be no one left!