Since God claims that “the wages of sin is death”, and “as you sow, so shall you reap” then it must be clearly demonstrated that the punishment (reaping) comes as a result of following the way of sin. Remember, that Satan claims that his way is actually better. If God were to personally administer the punishment, by the direct use of His almighty power, then it would not be clear that the end result was caused by sin. Satan would simply claim that he was about to succeed and the Lord stepped in and squashed it before it had a chance. “That is cheating!” he would say.
It would be much like the boy who was playing a board game with his friends, and when it became clear that he was going to lose, he flipped the board over, scattering the pieces everywhere. Nobody would call the action of the little boy “righteous”. And so if God were also to follow a similar course, it would leave the charges against God’s government unanswered.
Hence the “lake of fire”, mentioned in the book of Revelation 
as the final end of the wicked, must be the natural consequence of departing from the Lord and not a divinely-appointed auto-da-fe designed to strike fear into the watchers. It will be the final proof that all those who hate the Lord “love death”. It will finally prove that only “in Christ” do all things “consist” (or hold together). Without Him there to constantly uphold all things, the very elements break apart and dissolve.
This final destruction takes place just after the final judgement, when the books are opened (Revelation 20:12-15): all the wicked see where God has only and ever tried to save them; they see that their end is what they themselves have chosen…a consequence of their own rejection of His love. They sowed to the wind and reaped the whirlwind (Hosea 8:7).
When they see this evidence, they realize that they are without excuse. And all bow down and confess that Christ is Lord (Isaiah 45:23, Revelation 5:13, Romans 14:11, Philippians 2:10)…that the way of Christ, which was faith and obedience to God’s eternal laws and character, is the only way of life. This will be the final evidence in the battle between Satan and Christ. All will admit that Christ is the victor—not because they are frightened or compelled to, but because they see the evidence, and can only admit that it is so.
This is an entirely different view of hell than the traditional one. But it makes sense, and increases admiration of God. Jesus Christ, and His way, is “lifted up” and the beauty of that revelation draws us to Him.
Naturally, there are many questions to be answered concerning God’s apparent behaviour, especially in the Old Testament, where it appears that He did use violence to overcome or punish the wicked. But there are some very impressive answers to these difficulties which shed much light on God’s character. I will not give them now, but simply point you to a book that gives a more full treatment of the subject: Behold Your God.
We should never forget that when Jesus Christ came as a man, He came to represent the Father, yet very few recognised that revelation, even though they were students of the Old Testament. It is very easy to misread God’s actions. Christ did not, so we do not have to either.
