Fire Falls on the Multitude Around the Holy CityBible World
20:14Revelation 20:14
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
At the close of the thousand years after Christ's second advent the wicked dead are raised in the second resurrection to stand before the great white throne, where the books including the book of life are opened and every person is judged according to works, and death and hell giving up their dead are cast with all not found in the book of life into the lake of fire. Death and hell mean death and the grave, and their being thrown into the lake of fire means their hold is loosed and their power ended forever. The lake of fire is the second death, the complete burning up of Satan, his angels, and all the wicked by fire from God out of heaven, where they perish and become as though they had not been, suffering only while life remains in them with duration measured according to deeds so that some are quickly destroyed while others suffer longer and Satan longest, not endless torment. That same fire that destroys the wicked cleanses the earth of moral corruption as water cleansed it in the Flood, leaving the universe clear for God to make all things new and give the earth made new to the saints. Christ is the sure refuge from the pangs of the last death, bearing sins as substitute to pluck people from the fire, so all should now repent, trust and flee to Him, humble the heart and forsake sin while mercy lingers, for God wants none to suffer the second death but all to have everlasting life.
Judgment Scene and Timing
The casting of death and hell into the lake of fire takes place at the close of the thousand years after Christ's second advent, which is the second death. At that time the wicked dead are called forth from the dust in the second resurrection to receive their reward and suffer the second death. One whose body has turned to dust, like Thomas Paine, will then be raised to suffer it, after hearing the King's final sentence and having final judgment executed upon him. Until that resurrection at the end of the one thousand years the wicked dead remain mouldering in the dust and are not exalted in heaven, so the claim that a wicked man is now in heaven is a satanic lie to hide the truth. By that denial Satan pretends that wicked infidels are already exalted in heaven, erasing all difference between the holy and the vile.
The sea and death and hell give up their dead, and the dead small and great stand before God to be judged out of the books according to their works. This is the close of the great white throne judgment, from which earth and heaven flee as all the dead stand before Him and time with its burden of record passes into eternity. In that scene the pure and holy are gathered around the throne, pictured as the redeemed singing thanks for salvation and for grace to overcome sin, while those who work iniquity are rejected by Christ. Death and hell themselves, having delivered up their dead, are then thrown into the lake of fire, which is the second death. The record of each life and each year, unknown now, will then be revealed, as a warning to heed every word God sends now.
The judgment is set with the books opened, including the book of life, and the dead are judged according to the things written in the books. Every man is judged according to works and according to the record of deeds, after the dead are raised before God. That great and solemn day of God is just upon us and soon to come, while people hurrying to and fro with business in the cities give no thought to it, so everyone should live with reference to that great coming day. God then discerns between him that serves Him and him that serves Him not.
Whosoever is not found written in the book of life is cast into the lake of fire along with death and hell. All not found written in the book of life share that final destruction called the second death. This closing reckoning decides every case, for every person accepts Christ and the truth or Satan, the first great rebel, apostate, robber, murderer and chief of liars, and those who accept Satan identify their interests with him and all the disloyal.
That closing scene of this earth's history was foreshadowed by the judgment hall in Jerusalem, when the whole world is brought up for trial before the great white throne to account for rejecting Jesus Christ, God's own messenger to the world. The solemn reckoning will be for nailing to the cross One who came as a living epistle of the law, who lived the law of God's government and was an expression of God's character, and all who now reject God's law crucify the Son of God afresh and identify themselves with those who crucified Him on Calvary between two thieves. The world is not improving but evil men and seducers grow worse until God goes out of His place to punish the world for iniquity, and the death of Christ shows the changeless character of the great moral standard of righteousness by which judgment is made. It is the great day of final decision, for which calling and election must now be made sure and eternal life sought now by those who would not face it in confusion, when each person's case is reviewed, names are read, and deeds are weighed before Christ ceases pleading. Those ashamed of Christ are then disowned and appointed to destruction, while those who follow Him are counted worthy of everlasting life.
Meaning of Death Hell Lake
Death and hell mean death and the grave, and their giving up the dead is their losing hold over the dead when the dead are raised to be judged according to works and the record of deeds, including the graves of those who persisted in sin until death. After the dead small and great stand before God and are judged out of the books, death and the grave themselves are cast into the lake of fire. Anyone not recorded in the book of life is cast there with them.
Their being thrown into the lake of fire is their own destruction and end, so that death and the grave are ended and death's power ends. The fire that consumes them is God's final cleansing of the earth from moral corruption, as water destroyed the old world in Noah's day, and no human means can quench it. The same fire that destroys the wicked purifies the earth.
The lake of fire is the second death. It follows the close of the great white throne judgment, when earth and heaven flee and time with its burden of record passes into eternity and each life and year is revealed. There the sea and death and hell give up their dead, the books are opened including the book of life, every person is judged according to works, and death and hell with everyone not found written in the book of life are thrown into the lake of fire. That final destruction is followed by great praise in heaven to the Lord God Omnipotent, and it is a warning to heed every word God sends now.
The second death is not merely the temporal first death that all people experience, but the final death of the wicked after resurrection and punishment. It is the opposite of everlasting life, for the wicked do not receive immortal life but are destroyed and become as though they had not been. It is death without hope of a resurrection, suffered as the penalty of sin by the disobedient who made void God's law after the test is over and mercy and probation are ended, when God in straight justice gives to every man as his works have been. Its duration and intensity vary according to deeds, yet it ends in hopeless eternal oblivion, not endless torment, revealing God's infinite love and justice combined and working for the good of the universe and of the rebellious sinner.
Nature of Final Punishment
The second death is the complete burning up together of Satan, his angels, and all the wicked, great and mighty and noble and poor and miserable, by fire from God out of heaven. The same fire that destroys them purifies the earth and leaves the universe clear for God to make all things new. The final execution of judgment on the wicked takes place at that second death, not through earlier judgments or the seven last plagues.
Punishment is measured according to the deeds done in the body, with duration and intensity varying so that some are quickly destroyed while others suffer longer, some many days consuming. Suffering lasts only while life remains in them, with all sense of suffering remaining just as long as any portion of them is unconsumed. The worm of life does not die and their fire is not quenched as long as there is the least particle for it to prey upon, and no human means can quench that fire of final cleansing from moral corruption.
Satan and his angels suffer long, and Satan suffers longest, bearing not only the weight and punishment of his own sins but the sins of all the redeemed host placed upon him and the guilt for the ruin of the souls he caused. When Satan and all the wicked host are consumed, the justice of God is satisfied. Then all the angelic host and all the redeemed saints say with a loud voice, Amen.
After the second resurrection Satan and those who joined his rebellion perish together, and after their acknowledgment of God’s righteousness their cases are forever settled with no further probation. The second death is final annihilation, not endless torment, and is the opposite of everlasting life, not merely the temporal first death that all people experience. After being raised and receiving the penalty for sins, the wicked perish and become as though they had not been, sinking into hopeless, eternal oblivion without receiving immortal life, and their death is everlasting.
The teaching of an eternally burning hell in which the lost suffer without end is a cruel and terrifying misrepresentation of God that distorts His character and causes despair. Those who held that error taught that the lost would suffer in the lake of fire without end, crying out after ages of torment only to be answered that their suffering continued through all eternity.
Who Suffers Second Death
The second death in the lake of fire is the final punishment after judgment for those who persist in sin without repentance, share the fate of Satan and evil angels, and are separated forever from God, the holy angels, and the redeemed. It falls on those who remain in bondage to sin and reject truth and Christ, and on the disobedient who make void the law of God, which is the foundation of His government in heaven and earth. After the test is over, when all have taken sides for or against the law and the season of mercy and probation is ended, God acts in straight justice to give to every man as his works have been, some the reward of well doing and others the reward of evil deeds. That uncompromising penalty of death without hope of a resurrection reveals infinite love and justice combined, working for the good of the universe and for the good of the rebellious sinner, while their deeds are exposed and punished before the assembled universe, so that continued sin leaves this world's sorrow and suffering as the only heaven the sinner will enjoy.
God's holy law is the only unerring standard by which every soul is judged and the fitness of every character for heaven is decided, so that each is justified or condemned according to obedience or disrespect and disregard of His requirements. Doing God's will means obeying His commandments with eternal interests placed first and no trifling with the soul's salvation, for no one can trample His law with impunity. On the last great day the wicked are convicted before that standard of righteousness, seeing that their deeds came from depraved characters and helped carry on the rebellion begun in heaven, whereas the law they rejected would, if obeyed, have preserved happiness and peace and produced holy character. That closing trial of the whole world before the great white throne to account for rejecting Jesus Christ, God's own messenger, was foreshadowed by the judgment hall in Jerusalem, where every person accepts Christ and the truth or Satan the first great rebel, apostate, robber, murderer and chief of liars, identifying interests with him and all the disloyal and turning from the Son of the infinite God. The solemn reckoning is for nailing to the cross One who came as a living epistle of the law, who lived the law of God's government and was an expression of God's character, so that all who now reject God's law crucify the Son of God afresh and identify with those who crucified Him on Calvary between two thieves, in a world not improving but with evil men growing worse until God punishes iniquity, with the death of Christ showing the changeless character of the great moral standard of righteousness by which judgment is made.
Knowingly breaking the commandment against labor on the seventh-day Sabbath is a grave offense whose full and final penalty is the second death. Under the Mosaic law the offender was liable to death, yet physical death was not all, and God will not take such a transgressor of His holy law to heaven, but one not deemed worthy to live must suffer the second death when death and the grave are ended by being cast into the lake of fire. That rejection of God's law, especially disregard for the Sabbath, is joined with idolatrous worship and brings God's retributive judgments in the reckoning of the unrepentant.
Oppressive slave-masters suffer the second, most awful death that satisfies the justice of God after enduring the seven last plagues and coming up in the second resurrection, after which the wrath of God is appeased. The master must answer for the soul of his slave kept in ignorance and degradation knowing nothing of God or the Bible, with the sins of the slave visited upon the master. The ignorant slaves themselves are not taken to heaven nor made to suffer that death, but a compassionate God in mercy leaves them as though they had not been.
Adultery and transgression of God's law beyond physical death bring everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord as the second death. The stoning to death commanded under Moses is done away, but the penalty is not done away. Secret acts are chronicled in heaven and judged by the Word of God, and if the transgressor does not heartily repent he will die the second death.
Those who for the sake of this present life transgress the law of God after light has been given, who from fear of persecution by worshippers at false shrines leave Christ for the great apostate, will in the day when all transgressors are destroyed be bound up with Satan to suffer the second death and perish with the enemy of God, whereas a true child of God with hopes of eternal life centered in Christ will never be induced by such persecution to separate from Christ. The apostate churches trampling upon the Word of God and transgressing His holy law, discarding the law of Jehovah for the inventions of man to cause oppression and suffering, exalting phantoms while eternal realities are nothing to them, are passing through a dark tunnel ending in the first death and the second death. Deceived, deluded, blind, not knowing what spirit they are of, they hasten forward under the vast tide of human will and human passion to things they did not dream of.
One who knowingly neglects God's duties and opportunities, wastes entrusted abilities, and persists without repentance is preparing for that final punishment, and only repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ will keep him from perishing in sin. Mere profession is nothing, and having a name registered upon church books on earth does not mean the name is in the book of life. Youth who serve themselves while professing to be servants of Christ, who do not know experimental religion, will soon realize that the lake of fire as the portion of the transgressor is theirs unless the spell upon them is broken.
Those who share in the first resurrection are free from the second death. The righteous rise in the first resurrection and rest in their graves until then, while the wicked rise in the second resurrection after the thousand years. Christ's death and resurrection make eternal life possible for sinners through repentance and faith in Him.
Cleansing and New Creation
After the dead are raised and judged according to their works, death and the grave are cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death. That final destruction by fire cleanses the earth of the evil brought by Satan and of moral corruption, just as the water of the Flood destroyed the old world in Noah's day. It is part of God's final cleansing, and no human means can quench it.
The same fire that consumes the wicked purifies the earth, ending death's power in the second death. The devil, his angels, and all the wicked are burned up, leaving the universe clear, and God makes all things new. The earth is then made new as the saints' inheritance. This execution of the final judgment on the wicked takes place at the second death, not through earlier judgments or the seven last plagues.
As time with its burden of record passes into eternity, the sea and death and hell give up their dead, and the dead small and great stand before God and are judged out of the books according to their works. Death and hell themselves are thrown into the lake of fire along with everyone not found written in the book of life. That final resurrection and judgment complete the triumph of Christ and His church and bring the destruction of Satan and his followers. It is followed by great praise in heaven to the Lord God Omnipotent, with the redeemed gathered before God singing thanks for salvation and for the grace that enabled them to overcome sin.
Warning and Salvation Call
The great and solemn day when judgment is set and the books are opened and the dead are judged from what is written in them is just upon us and soon to come, while people hurrying to and fro with business in the cities give no thought to it, so everyone should live with reference to that great coming day. At the close of the great white throne judgment earth and heaven flee away and all the dead stand before God to be judged out of the books according to works and out of the book of life, with death and hell giving up their dead and then being thrown into the lake of fire in final destruction called the second death for everyone not found written in the book of life, and since the record of each life and each year now unknown will then be revealed, every word God sends now is to be heeded. It is the great day of final decision for which those who have not made God their dependence and are not prepared will face confusion, and eternal life is the gift to be sought now by making calling and election sure.
Christ is the sure refuge from the pangs of the last death, and by His atoning blood and mediation those who repent and trust in Him and flee to Him may find pardon and safety, with no power able to remove them from His hands. He bears their sins as substitute and surety and through His redemption plucks them from the fire so they need not die that death. He redeemed the disgraceful fall and made it possible to give life to every human being who takes hold of His life, so that by being built up as God's building under His supervision and brought to Christ they can be saved.
The second death means suffering pangs together with the wicked, coming to those who voluntarily cast soul and body into the devil's hands and choose Satan to have them as his prey, and since Christ died to save sinners from it, choosing it makes His death for them vain. It is certain for the unrepentant, but it can be escaped now while Jesus pleads and mercy lingers by humbling the heart in contrition, ceasing to do evil, learning to do well, confessing sin and forsaking it, and setting heart and house in order before Satan gains complete control of soul, body, and spirit. God does not want any person to suffer that last death of pangs and destruction or to be in misery, but wants them to be happy and to have everlasting life in the kingdom of glory, to live through the ceaseless ages of eternity and to see God's face lighted up with His glory. The final punishment follows God's deliverance of His people through the time of earthly crisis, when the Lord comes to punish earth's inhabitants for their iniquity while those whose names are written in the book of life are delivered, even as evil men grow worse.
At the close of the thousand years after Christ's second advent the wicked dead are raised in the second resurrection to stand before the great white throne, where the books including the book of life are opened and every person is judged according to works, and death and hell giving up their dead are cast with all not found in the book of life into the lake of fire. Death and hell mean death and the grave, and their being thrown into the lake of fire means their hold is loosed and their power ended forever. The lake of fire is the second death, the complete burning up of Satan, his angels, and all the wicked by fire from God out of heaven, where they perish and become as though they had not been, suffering only while life remains in them with duration measured according to deeds so that some are quickly destroyed while others suffer longer and Satan longest, not endless torment. That same fire that destroys the wicked cleanses the earth of moral corruption as water cleansed it in the Flood, leaving the universe clear for God to make all things new and give the earth made new to the saints. Christ is the sure refuge from the pangs of the last death, bearing sins as substitute to pluck people from the fire, so all should now repent, trust and flee to Him, humble the heart and forsake sin while mercy lingers, for God wants none to suffer the second death but all to have everlasting life.
Judgment Scene and Timing
The casting of death and hell into the lake of fire takes place at the close of the thousand years after Christ's second advent, which is the second death. At that time the wicked dead are called forth from the dust in the second resurrection to receive their reward and suffer the second death. One whose body has turned to dust, like Thomas Paine, will then be raised to suffer it, after hearing the King's final sentence and having final judgment executed upon him. Until that resurrection at the end of the one thousand years the wicked dead remain mouldering in the dust and are not exalted in heaven, so the claim that a wicked man is now in heaven is a satanic lie to hide the truth. By that denial Satan pretends that wicked infidels are already exalted in heaven, erasing all difference between the holy and the vile.
The sea and death and hell give up their dead, and the dead small and great stand before God to be judged out of the books according to their works. This is the close of the great white throne judgment, from which earth and heaven flee as all the dead stand before Him and time with its burden of record passes into eternity. In that scene the pure and holy are gathered around the throne, pictured as the redeemed singing thanks for salvation and for grace to overcome sin, while those who work iniquity are rejected by Christ. Death and hell themselves, having delivered up their dead, are then thrown into the lake of fire, which is the second death. The record of each life and each year, unknown now, will then be revealed, as a warning to heed every word God sends now.
The judgment is set with the books opened, including the book of life, and the dead are judged according to the things written in the books. Every man is judged according to works and according to the record of deeds, after the dead are raised before God. That great and solemn day of God is just upon us and soon to come, while people hurrying to and fro with business in the cities give no thought to it, so everyone should live with reference to that great coming day. God then discerns between him that serves Him and him that serves Him not.
Whosoever is not found written in the book of life is cast into the lake of fire along with death and hell. All not found written in the book of life share that final destruction called the second death. This closing reckoning decides every case, for every person accepts Christ and the truth or Satan, the first great rebel, apostate, robber, murderer and chief of liars, and those who accept Satan identify their interests with him and all the disloyal.
That closing scene of this earth's history was foreshadowed by the judgment hall in Jerusalem, when the whole world is brought up for trial before the great white throne to account for rejecting Jesus Christ, God's own messenger to the world. The solemn reckoning will be for nailing to the cross One who came as a living epistle of the law, who lived the law of God's government and was an expression of God's character, and all who now reject God's law crucify the Son of God afresh and identify themselves with those who crucified Him on Calvary between two thieves. The world is not improving but evil men and seducers grow worse until God goes out of His place to punish the world for iniquity, and the death of Christ shows the changeless character of the great moral standard of righteousness by which judgment is made. It is the great day of final decision, for which calling and election must now be made sure and eternal life sought now by those who would not face it in confusion, when each person's case is reviewed, names are read, and deeds are weighed before Christ ceases pleading. Those ashamed of Christ are then disowned and appointed to destruction, while those who follow Him are counted worthy of everlasting life.
Meaning of Death Hell Lake
Death and hell mean death and the grave, and their giving up the dead is their losing hold over the dead when the dead are raised to be judged according to works and the record of deeds, including the graves of those who persisted in sin until death. After the dead small and great stand before God and are judged out of the books, death and the grave themselves are cast into the lake of fire. Anyone not recorded in the book of life is cast there with them.
Their being thrown into the lake of fire is their own destruction and end, so that death and the grave are ended and death's power ends. The fire that consumes them is God's final cleansing of the earth from moral corruption, as water destroyed the old world in Noah's day, and no human means can quench it. The same fire that destroys the wicked purifies the earth.
The lake of fire is the second death. It follows the close of the great white throne judgment, when earth and heaven flee and time with its burden of record passes into eternity and each life and year is revealed. There the sea and death and hell give up their dead, the books are opened including the book of life, every person is judged according to works, and death and hell with everyone not found written in the book of life are thrown into the lake of fire. That final destruction is followed by great praise in heaven to the Lord God Omnipotent, and it is a warning to heed every word God sends now.
The second death is not merely the temporal first death that all people experience, but the final death of the wicked after resurrection and punishment. It is the opposite of everlasting life, for the wicked do not receive immortal life but are destroyed and become as though they had not been. It is death without hope of a resurrection, suffered as the penalty of sin by the disobedient who made void God's law after the test is over and mercy and probation are ended, when God in straight justice gives to every man as his works have been. Its duration and intensity vary according to deeds, yet it ends in hopeless eternal oblivion, not endless torment, revealing God's infinite love and justice combined and working for the good of the universe and of the rebellious sinner.
Nature of Final Punishment
The second death is the complete burning up together of Satan, his angels, and all the wicked, great and mighty and noble and poor and miserable, by fire from God out of heaven. The same fire that destroys them purifies the earth and leaves the universe clear for God to make all things new. The final execution of judgment on the wicked takes place at that second death, not through earlier judgments or the seven last plagues.
Punishment is measured according to the deeds done in the body, with duration and intensity varying so that some are quickly destroyed while others suffer longer, some many days consuming. Suffering lasts only while life remains in them, with all sense of suffering remaining just as long as any portion of them is unconsumed. The worm of life does not die and their fire is not quenched as long as there is the least particle for it to prey upon, and no human means can quench that fire of final cleansing from moral corruption.
Satan and his angels suffer long, and Satan suffers longest, bearing not only the weight and punishment of his own sins but the sins of all the redeemed host placed upon him and the guilt for the ruin of the souls he caused. When Satan and all the wicked host are consumed, the justice of God is satisfied. Then all the angelic host and all the redeemed saints say with a loud voice, Amen.
After the second resurrection Satan and those who joined his rebellion perish together, and after their acknowledgment of God’s righteousness their cases are forever settled with no further probation. The second death is final annihilation, not endless torment, and is the opposite of everlasting life, not merely the temporal first death that all people experience. After being raised and receiving the penalty for sins, the wicked perish and become as though they had not been, sinking into hopeless, eternal oblivion without receiving immortal life, and their death is everlasting.
The teaching of an eternally burning hell in which the lost suffer without end is a cruel and terrifying misrepresentation of God that distorts His character and causes despair. Those who held that error taught that the lost would suffer in the lake of fire without end, crying out after ages of torment only to be answered that their suffering continued through all eternity.
Who Suffers Second Death
The second death in the lake of fire is the final punishment after judgment for those who persist in sin without repentance, share the fate of Satan and evil angels, and are separated forever from God, the holy angels, and the redeemed. It falls on those who remain in bondage to sin and reject truth and Christ, and on the disobedient who make void the law of God, which is the foundation of His government in heaven and earth. After the test is over, when all have taken sides for or against the law and the season of mercy and probation is ended, God acts in straight justice to give to every man as his works have been, some the reward of well doing and others the reward of evil deeds. That uncompromising penalty of death without hope of a resurrection reveals infinite love and justice combined, working for the good of the universe and for the good of the rebellious sinner, while their deeds are exposed and punished before the assembled universe, so that continued sin leaves this world's sorrow and suffering as the only heaven the sinner will enjoy.
God's holy law is the only unerring standard by which every soul is judged and the fitness of every character for heaven is decided, so that each is justified or condemned according to obedience or disrespect and disregard of His requirements. Doing God's will means obeying His commandments with eternal interests placed first and no trifling with the soul's salvation, for no one can trample His law with impunity. On the last great day the wicked are convicted before that standard of righteousness, seeing that their deeds came from depraved characters and helped carry on the rebellion begun in heaven, whereas the law they rejected would, if obeyed, have preserved happiness and peace and produced holy character. That closing trial of the whole world before the great white throne to account for rejecting Jesus Christ, God's own messenger, was foreshadowed by the judgment hall in Jerusalem, where every person accepts Christ and the truth or Satan the first great rebel, apostate, robber, murderer and chief of liars, identifying interests with him and all the disloyal and turning from the Son of the infinite God. The solemn reckoning is for nailing to the cross One who came as a living epistle of the law, who lived the law of God's government and was an expression of God's character, so that all who now reject God's law crucify the Son of God afresh and identify with those who crucified Him on Calvary between two thieves, in a world not improving but with evil men growing worse until God punishes iniquity, with the death of Christ showing the changeless character of the great moral standard of righteousness by which judgment is made.
Knowingly breaking the commandment against labor on the seventh-day Sabbath is a grave offense whose full and final penalty is the second death. Under the Mosaic law the offender was liable to death, yet physical death was not all, and God will not take such a transgressor of His holy law to heaven, but one not deemed worthy to live must suffer the second death when death and the grave are ended by being cast into the lake of fire. That rejection of God's law, especially disregard for the Sabbath, is joined with idolatrous worship and brings God's retributive judgments in the reckoning of the unrepentant.
Oppressive slave-masters suffer the second, most awful death that satisfies the justice of God after enduring the seven last plagues and coming up in the second resurrection, after which the wrath of God is appeased. The master must answer for the soul of his slave kept in ignorance and degradation knowing nothing of God or the Bible, with the sins of the slave visited upon the master. The ignorant slaves themselves are not taken to heaven nor made to suffer that death, but a compassionate God in mercy leaves them as though they had not been.
Adultery and transgression of God's law beyond physical death bring everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord as the second death. The stoning to death commanded under Moses is done away, but the penalty is not done away. Secret acts are chronicled in heaven and judged by the Word of God, and if the transgressor does not heartily repent he will die the second death.
Those who for the sake of this present life transgress the law of God after light has been given, who from fear of persecution by worshippers at false shrines leave Christ for the great apostate, will in the day when all transgressors are destroyed be bound up with Satan to suffer the second death and perish with the enemy of God, whereas a true child of God with hopes of eternal life centered in Christ will never be induced by such persecution to separate from Christ. The apostate churches trampling upon the Word of God and transgressing His holy law, discarding the law of Jehovah for the inventions of man to cause oppression and suffering, exalting phantoms while eternal realities are nothing to them, are passing through a dark tunnel ending in the first death and the second death. Deceived, deluded, blind, not knowing what spirit they are of, they hasten forward under the vast tide of human will and human passion to things they did not dream of.
One who knowingly neglects God's duties and opportunities, wastes entrusted abilities, and persists without repentance is preparing for that final punishment, and only repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ will keep him from perishing in sin. Mere profession is nothing, and having a name registered upon church books on earth does not mean the name is in the book of life. Youth who serve themselves while professing to be servants of Christ, who do not know experimental religion, will soon realize that the lake of fire as the portion of the transgressor is theirs unless the spell upon them is broken.
Those who share in the first resurrection are free from the second death. The righteous rise in the first resurrection and rest in their graves until then, while the wicked rise in the second resurrection after the thousand years. Christ's death and resurrection make eternal life possible for sinners through repentance and faith in Him.
Cleansing and New Creation
After the dead are raised and judged according to their works, death and the grave are cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death. That final destruction by fire cleanses the earth of the evil brought by Satan and of moral corruption, just as the water of the Flood destroyed the old world in Noah's day. It is part of God's final cleansing, and no human means can quench it.
The same fire that consumes the wicked purifies the earth, ending death's power in the second death. The devil, his angels, and all the wicked are burned up, leaving the universe clear, and God makes all things new. The earth is then made new as the saints' inheritance. This execution of the final judgment on the wicked takes place at the second death, not through earlier judgments or the seven last plagues.
As time with its burden of record passes into eternity, the sea and death and hell give up their dead, and the dead small and great stand before God and are judged out of the books according to their works. Death and hell themselves are thrown into the lake of fire along with everyone not found written in the book of life. That final resurrection and judgment complete the triumph of Christ and His church and bring the destruction of Satan and his followers. It is followed by great praise in heaven to the Lord God Omnipotent, with the redeemed gathered before God singing thanks for salvation and for the grace that enabled them to overcome sin.
Warning and Salvation Call
The great and solemn day when judgment is set and the books are opened and the dead are judged from what is written in them is just upon us and soon to come, while people hurrying to and fro with business in the cities give no thought to it, so everyone should live with reference to that great coming day. At the close of the great white throne judgment earth and heaven flee away and all the dead stand before God to be judged out of the books according to works and out of the book of life, with death and hell giving up their dead and then being thrown into the lake of fire in final destruction called the second death for everyone not found written in the book of life, and since the record of each life and each year now unknown will then be revealed, every word God sends now is to be heeded. It is the great day of final decision for which those who have not made God their dependence and are not prepared will face confusion, and eternal life is the gift to be sought now by making calling and election sure.
Christ is the sure refuge from the pangs of the last death, and by His atoning blood and mediation those who repent and trust in Him and flee to Him may find pardon and safety, with no power able to remove them from His hands. He bears their sins as substitute and surety and through His redemption plucks them from the fire so they need not die that death. He redeemed the disgraceful fall and made it possible to give life to every human being who takes hold of His life, so that by being built up as God's building under His supervision and brought to Christ they can be saved.
The second death means suffering pangs together with the wicked, coming to those who voluntarily cast soul and body into the devil's hands and choose Satan to have them as his prey, and since Christ died to save sinners from it, choosing it makes His death for them vain. It is certain for the unrepentant, but it can be escaped now while Jesus pleads and mercy lingers by humbling the heart in contrition, ceasing to do evil, learning to do well, confessing sin and forsaking it, and setting heart and house in order before Satan gains complete control of soul, body, and spirit. God does not want any person to suffer that last death of pangs and destruction or to be in misery, but wants them to be happy and to have everlasting life in the kingdom of glory, to live through the ceaseless ages of eternity and to see God's face lighted up with His glory. The final punishment follows God's deliverance of His people through the time of earthly crisis, when the Lord comes to punish earth's inhabitants for their iniquity while those whose names are written in the book of life are delivered, even as evil men grow worse.