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Revelation 20:10 says that the Devil will be cast into "the lake of fire" and "tormented day and night for ever and ever." (King James Version) If the Devil were to be tortured for all eternity, God would have to preserve him alive, but the Bible says that Jesus will "destroy him." (Hebrews 2:14, KJ) The symbolic fiery lake represents "the second death." (Revelation 21:8) This is not the death first mentioned in the Bible — death because of Adam's sin — death from which one may be released by a resurrection. (1 Corinthians 15:21, 22) Because the Bible does not say that "the lake of fire" would release those in it, "the second death" must mean another kind of death, an irreversible one.
In what sense are those in "the lake of fire" tormented eternally? At times, "to torment" can mean "to restrain" someone. Once when Jesus confronted the demons, they cried out: "Art thou come hither to torment us [restrain us in the abyss] before the time?" (Matthew 8:29; Luke 8:30, 31; KJ) So all of those in "the lake" will suffer the "torment" of everlasting restraint, or "the second death."
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