God promises that both death and the grave will be destroyed. This is exactly what happens when death and hell are cast into the lake of fire. "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." (1 Corinthians 15:26) The Lord further promises those who love Him - "I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O GRAVE, I WILL BE THY DESTRUCTION." (Hosea 13:14)
Death and the grave have always been enemies to life and they are the appointed lot of human beings. "What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death ? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave ?" (Psalms 89:48) "All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again." (Ecclesiastes 3:20) "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." (Hebrews 9:27)
According to the Bible, after a person dies, at some later point in time, his or her name will come up in the judgment and the Christlike and un-Christlike works of his or her life are examined. He or she is later raised in the 1st resurrection to receive eternal life and the gift of immortality or raised in the 2nd resurrection to receive the punishment of the 2nd death and be destroyed in the lake of fire.
When a person is in the grave, his or her character cannot be changed. An un-Christlike character will ultimately go on to die the second death in the lake of fire where physical and mental life will be permanently destroyed forever. Now we can understand what the Bible means when we read the following...
"Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power". (Revelation 20:6)
The second death is permanent. There will be no restoration or continuation of life anywhere at all for those who die the 2nd death. The punishment of the 2nd death will last forever. Death is the opposite of life. It is an everlasting punishment. It is not everlasting punishing.
No one will ever be resurrected from the 2nd death. They will never live again; never again experience physical or mental life. They will cease to exist after being destroyed in the lake of fire. In fact, this is what Jesus meant when he said that both soul and body could be destroyed in hell. “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)
If something is destroyed, it does not continue to exist. The body and the soul can both be destroyed in the lake of fire. This is what is referred to as the 2nd death. This is the punishment for sin. It is the absence of life not a continuance of it. A man can take away your physical life and put you in the grave but God can take away the physical life and eternal life, soul and body. Jesus died so that no one would have to experience the 2nd death.
Would you like to know more ?
Stay tuned for the last post in this series about Hell.
Stay tuned for the last post in this series about Hell.
If you've been simply accepting what your pastor or minister or church teaches without searching the Bible for yourself, please stop doing it. Don't reject the truth or the love of God because it contradicts what you've been told or taught. Don't twist Scripture or keep perpetuating lies about God's character. Our heavenly Father wants us not to merely attend church, but to truly become Christ-like before we die so that we can be prepared to enjoy eternity with Him. A Christlike person is the only kind of person that could enjoy heaven and the only kind of person that could be trusted in heaven.
© 2014 Tyrone Keels
www.issues-of-life.com
