Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
The worm that does not die and the fire that is not quenched warn of the final destruction of the wicked, picturing a judgment that cannot be stopped or turned aside. It falls on those who cling to sin and refuse to yield to God, who refuse the gift of Christ and His forgiveness and grace and refuse entire obedience to God's law. It is for those who cherish sin and sinful attributes, who permit themselves to be grafted into Satan, and who persist in sin to the end.
The unquenched fire is God's presence consuming sin, so that if a person refuses to be separated from sin that same presence consumes the person with it. It is also God's wrath abiding upon the unrepentant as the sure consequence of sin for those who will not enter into Christ's suffering. The undying worm and unquenched fire are the inner experience of the punished, the sting of remorse and despair and hatred and bitterness against God felt when punished for transgression. Too late the sinner sees that sin is the transgression of God's law and realizes the soul is cut off from God.
The verse describes the second death, when fire from God out of heaven falls upon all the wicked together, great and small. The worm not dying and the fire not being quenched mean that as long as the least particle remains unconsumed all sense of suffering remains, so some are quickly destroyed while others suffer longer, each punished according to the deeds done in the body. Satan and his angels suffer longest, with Satan bearing also the sins of the redeemed and the ruin he caused. The unquenchable fire preys until there is nothing left to prey upon, then Satan and all the wicked host are fully consumed and die in soul and body, destroying every unrepentant sinner and satisfying justice.
The worm that does not die and the fire that is not quenched warn of the final destruction of the wicked, picturing a judgment that cannot be stopped or turned aside. It falls on those who cling to sin and refuse to yield to God, who refuse the gift of Christ and His forgiveness and grace and refuse entire obedience to God's law. It is for those who cherish sin and sinful attributes, who permit themselves to be grafted into Satan, and who persist in sin to the end.
The unquenched fire is God's presence consuming sin, so that if a person refuses to be separated from sin that same presence consumes the person with it. It is also God's wrath abiding upon the unrepentant as the sure consequence of sin for those who will not enter into Christ's suffering. The undying worm and unquenched fire are the inner experience of the punished, the sting of remorse and despair and hatred and bitterness against God felt when punished for transgression. Too late the sinner sees that sin is the transgression of God's law and realizes the soul is cut off from God.
The verse describes the second death, when fire from God out of heaven falls upon all the wicked together, great and small. The worm not dying and the fire not being quenched mean that as long as the least particle remains unconsumed all sense of suffering remains, so some are quickly destroyed while others suffer longer, each punished according to the deeds done in the body. Satan and his angels suffer longest, with Satan bearing also the sins of the redeemed and the ruin he caused. The unquenchable fire preys until there is nothing left to prey upon, then Satan and all the wicked host are fully consumed and die in soul and body, destroying every unrepentant sinner and satisfying justice.