The second death: lake of fire

Revelation 20:6 "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."

This verse tells us that whosoever is NOT part of the first resurrection, the second death will have power over him. There are dispensational teachings out there that compartmentalizes out a group of saints which they coined "tribulation saints", and these saints according to them are not part of the first resurrection. However, the Bible is clear that there will only be two resurrections, as in:

Acts 24:15 "And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust."

The first resurrection is the resurrection of the just, and the second resurrection is the resurrection of the unjust. These are the only two resurrections taught in the Bible: a man is either resurrected as a just man, or he will be resurrected as an unjust man.

There are no multiple resurrections spaced out over a period of time. However, it is not the intention of this article to preach against dispensationalism. Today, I would like to share something about the second death.

Revelation 20:12-15 "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

By definition, the second death means that there was a first death. This passage of scripture tells us that God will judge the dead according to their works.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 "¶ Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."

God shall bring every work into judgment. The works of every man are recorded separately in the books of each person, the dead - small and great, who shall all stand before God. Notice that God shall judge them according to “another book” - the book of life (v. 12). Recall the words of the LORD Jesus Christ:

John 12:48 "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day."

He said in this verse “the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in THE LAST DAY.” Those that have rejected the words of the LORD in the 66 books of the Holy Bible shall have the same words judge them in “the last day”.

John 11:23-24 "Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. 24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day."

According to this verse, “the last day” is the day of the resurrection.

Revelation 20:5-6 "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."

Therefore, the people that hath no part in the first resurrection, the same have already been judged and reserved for the resurrection of the unjust, which will happen a thousand years after “the last day”. This is the day when the dead - great and small, shall be judged according to their works by the book of life.

Revelation 20:15 "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

Whosoever was not found written in the book of life shall be cast into the lake of fire, and this is the second death according to Revelation 20:14. We know from Genesis 3 that the first death came as a result of the original sin:

Genesis 3:6 "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food [lust of the flesh], and that it was pleasant to the eyes [lust of the eyes], and a tree to be desired to make one wise [pride of life], she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat."

In Genesis 3, man took from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which God had commanded him not to do so. When man turned away from God's commandment to sin against him, his eyes were opened to 3 things:

1. the lust of the flesh;

2. lust of the eyes; and

3. the pride of life.

These 3 things were the reason why man walked away from God's wisdom and turned unto his own wisdom. The chapter and verse number of Genesis 3:6 bears the pattern of 3 6s, or the number 6-6-6. Also count: 1+2+3+...36 = 666. There are 3 things in the original sin and they are laid out in their exact order in:

1 John 2:16 "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." [33 words]

Notice there are 33 words in this verse, and 33 is a reference to both Jesus Christ as well as the "man of sin" (2 Thessalonians 2:3).

Revelation 13:18 "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six."

The number of the beast is six hundred threescore and six (666). This number is found 3 times in the King James Bible (1 Kings 10:14; Ezra 2:13; Revelation 13:18). This phrase "the beast" is found 33 times in the New Testament, and it is also found 54 times in 46 verses in the entire King James Bible. The number of the beast is also the number of a man. While 46 is the number of chromosomes in a man, 54 is (3 x 3 x 3) + (3 x 3 x 3) bears the pattern of the number 666.

Genesis 2:16-17 "And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."

In the first book of the Holy Bible (Genesis), God commanded man that he should not take from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Man sinned against God when he took from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and as a result, death came upon man and all of God's creation. This was God's judgment and the first death.

Revelation 14:9-10 "And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:"

In last book of the Holy Bible (Revelation), God again commanded man that he should not receive the mark of the beast, and if any man were to receive a mark in their right hand or in the forehead, then he would be burned in the lake of fire for eternity. This would be the second death. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the mark of the beast is similar in the sense that they are both literal things that a man can receive in his body:

1. tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a tree that Adam ate and it brought forth the first death;

2. mark of the beast is a mark that man will receive in the right hand or in the forehead and it will bring forth the second death.

Both things will bring forth the judgment of death upon man. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil has brought forth the first death, and the mark of the beast will bring forth the second death. Since the fall of man in Genesis 3, he has been working to undo the judgment of God so that he will die no more.

Revelation 9:5-6 "And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. 6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them."

The Bible tells us in verse 6 that the days will come when man shall seek death, and shall not find it. He has a desire to die, but death shall flee from him. The context of this verse is after man has received the mark of the beast. So, one of the things that the mark of the beast will do, is to alter the genetics of man so that he will no longer die.

Genesis 3:22 "¶ And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:"

The mark of the beast will be man's solution to the curse of death, and the substitute of God's solution (tree of life) i.e. the mark of the beast will be a tree of life unto the unjust so that he can live for ever. Because his physical body will not die, the soul of a man will remain married to the old man in him for ever. The soul is what Christ came to redeem, and if the old man will not die, then the soul cannot be redeemed. God can longer avail his mercy to man, and man can only die the second death — to be cast into the lake of fire to be burn for ever and ever.

Isaiah 66:22-24 "For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. 24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh."

According to Revelation 14:10, transgressors shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. Isaiah tells us that “their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched”. The same words are also found in:

Mark 9:44 “Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”

Mark 9:46 “Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”

Mark 9:48 “Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”

These verses tells us that the souls of men will be cast into hell, where they dieth not, and neither shall the fire be quenched. Hell is like the lake of fire on earth.

Revelation 20:14 "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death."

But at the resurrection of the unjust, hell itself would also be cast into the lake of fire together with whosoever not found written in the book of life. Their carcases will continue to burn in the lake of fire while their soul lives on, and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.