The Second Death

Today’s Bible Verse: [Psalm 116:7-8 NLT] 7 Let my soul be at rest again, for the LORD has been good to me. 8 He has saved me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.

The death spoken of here is the second death; the death given to those without salvation; unbelievers.

[Genesis 2:7 NLT] 7 Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man's nostrils, and the man became a living person.

Other translations say living soul. God did not put a soul into man. He formed the body from the dust of the ground, and then He breathed His life-giving spirit into the lifeless body—and the result was a soul, or a living being.

[Ecclesiastes 12:7 NLT] 7 For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

When a person dies, the reverse takes place. The breath of life departs from the body, and the soul no longer exists.

[Ecclesiastes 9:5 NLT] 5 The living at least know they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, nor are they remembered.

[Psalm 146:4 NLT] 4 When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them.

After death we are asleep, we are unconscious; we are not aware of the passing of time or of what is going on around us. That is what death is like as well.

It makes sense that after Lazarus was raised from the dead, he doesn’t share what he saw or experienced. He didn’t have anything to tell, except that once he was dead, and now he is alive! He didn’t experience hell or heaven. He was simply “sleeping” in his tomb.

So, before the return of Jesus death is the same for the saved and unsaved; we die and we sleep in our graves.

[Acts 2:29-35 NLT] 29 "Dear brothers, think about this! You can be sure that the patriarch David wasn't referring to himself, for he died and was buried, and his tomb is still here among us. 30 But he was a prophet, and he knew God had promised with an oath that one of David's own descendants would sit on his throne. 31 David was looking into the future and speaking of the Messiah's resurrection. He was saying that God would not leave him among the dead or allow his body to rot in the grave. 32 "God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this. 33 Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God's right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today. 34 For David himself never ascended into heaven, yet he said, 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit in the place of honor at my right hand 35 until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet."'

Even the greatest amongst us, King David, still sleeps in his grave; he has not ascended into heaven as some believe. When we die, we do not go to heaven or hell immediately; we simply fall asleep and sleep in our grave.

[1 Timothy 6:15-16 NLT] 15 For at just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. 16 He alone can never die, and he lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach him. No human eye has ever seen him, nor ever will. All honor and power to him forever! Amen.

If souls existed as separate entities that lived on after we died, that would mean we have immortality. However, the Bible says human beings do not have immortality. Only God has immortality and our soul does not.

[Romans 2:7 NLT] 7 He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers.

If we had immortal souls, why would the righteous seek after something they already have?

That brings us to life after death.

[John 11:25 NLT] 25 Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.

[1 Corinthians 15:51-54 NLT] 51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. 53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. 54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: "Death is swallowed up in victory.

The saved will receive immortality after the return and judgement of Jesus.

[1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 NLT] 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.

[1 Corinthians 15:50-57 NLT] 50 What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. 51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. 53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. 54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: "Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" 56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. 57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Bible says that all those who have died—both righteous and wicked—will be raised to life in one of two resurrections. The righteous will be raised to life at Jesus’ second coming. The righteous do not go to heaven when they die; they remain asleep in the grave until Jesus returns and raises them to immortal life.

[John 5:28-29 NLT] 28 Don't be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God's Son, 29 and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment.

The wicked are raised to life in a separate resurrection—the resurrection of condemnation.

[Revelation 20:10-15 NLT] 10 Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. 11 And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. 12 I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God's throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. 14 Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. 15 And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.

A devil is anyone who falsely accuses; a deceiver.

The beast describes all tyrants; anyone that treats his fellow man in a beastly manner

The false prophet is anyone that gives false prophecies such as the prophecies given in The Late Great Planet Earth and Left Behind. Anyone that uses the newspapers to predict that the end is upon us is a false prophet. Any futurist is a false prophet.

The dead are the dead in Christ. All of these; devils, beasts, false prophets, and the dead in Christ will be thrown into the lake of fire. What does fire do? It destroys.

The bottom line here is that once a person is dead then there is nothing we can do for them. While they are alive we can bring the gospel to them and pray that they are among the elect; I will keep doing this until it is my time.

It is the elect that have salvation and it is my prayer that you are among the elect and that this serves as your catalyst for awakening.

This is the gospel:

[1 Corinthians 15:1-6 NLT] 1 Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. 2 It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you--unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. 3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. 5 He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. 6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.

[Acts 2:22-24 NLT] 22 "People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know. 23 But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him. 24 But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip.

[1 John 2:2 NLT] 2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins--and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.

This is penal substitution; that is, our sins were transferred to Jesus and His righteous transferred to us.

We all have a job.

[Matthew 28:18-20 NLT] 18 Jesus came and told his disciples, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

All of the disciples of Jesus are to spread His word and the gospel.

Go forth and spread this good news.

I pray that God has revealed Himself to you and that you have salvation.

Remember, God is sovereign. That means that he controls everything.

I hope this has been a blessing to you. May the rest of your day be blessed. Peace.