“The wicked is banished in his wickedness, but the righteous has a refuge in his death” (Proverbs 14:32).
Other than death, few royal punishments are more severe than being driven into exile and permanently banned from residing in the land ruled by the monarch. Adam and Eve were banished by God from the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:23-24). The murderer Cain was expelled from his homeland and had to dwell as a fugitive and vagabond in the land of Nod (literally, “Wandering”) (Gen. 4:12-16). The intense distress Cain felt caused him to declare, “My punishment is greater than I can bear!” (Gen. 4:13).
God created Gehenna as the place of everlasting punishment for the devil and his angels (Mat. 25:41). When the king of the universe has executed His just and final punishment upon all sin and wickedness, the lake which burns with fire and brimstone—the second death (Rev. 20:14; 21:8)—will be the wicked’s unending and inescapable place of exile. The wicked will be banished in his wickedness, and there will be no going back. What a horrific truth to contemplate!
The righteous, however, will not be banished by God; they will have a refuge from God’s final expression of His holy wrath. What a blessed refuge that will be.
