The Second Death

by George Sidney Hurd

“The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Rev 20:13–15)
 
What is the second death? Apart from the Scriptures equating the second death with the Lake of Fire, little detail is given us concerning it. This makes it necessary for us to arrive at an understanding of what it entails deductively, comparing Scripture with Scripture.
 
Annihilationists would say that the second death is one’s extermination. However, in 1Corinthians 15:22-26 we see that the last enemy, death, is not destroyed by killing, but by making alive in Christ all who die in Adam. Certainly, God’s plan from the beginning has been to destroy death by making all alive, not by killing! (For a critique of Annihilationism, see my book, Extermination or Restoration?). 
 
Those who hold to the doctrine of eternal torment would say that the second death is a state of eternal separation from God. However, far from this doctrine resulting in the destruction of death (1Cor 15:26), it actually perpetuates it. It creates an eternal dualism in which the evil that was introduced into God’s good creation in Eden continues on forever in perpetual opposition to God. It presents God with His elect few in heaven, and Satan, along with the majority of mankind, as well as a third of the angels, quarantined in a state of eternal torment. Hardly a worthy unending-end to God’s glorious creation story!
 
At least Annihilationists see evil as being irradicated. But instead of bringing evil and death to an end, the doctrine of eternal torment actually perpetuates evil. We must keep in mind that it is God Himself who sustains all things, including the Lake of Fire and all those in it (Heb 1:3; Col 1:17). Paul could even say to the unconverted men of Athens: “in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). That would have to be true of those in the Lake of Fire also, since apart from His sustaining power, they would cease to exist.
 
There is no place where God is not, including Sheol or Hades. As the Psalmist said, “Even if I make my bed in hell (Sheol), you are there” (Psa 139:8). Would God commence creation and foreordain the entrance of evil, knowing from the beginning that doing so would result in it being necessary for Him to endlessly afflict His wrath upon the majority of those whom He lovingly created in His own image and likeness, sustaining their existence so that He can torment them forever? How can that be reconciled with passages where God says that He will not be angry forever, nor cast off forever any of the children of men? (Lam 3:31-33; Isa 57:16; Jer 3:12-13; Mic 7:18; Psa 103:8-9; 30:5). How can it be true that the last enemy, death, will be destroyed (1Cor 15:26), resulting in there being no more death (Rev 21:4) if in fact the second death is an eternal state of conscious torment?
 
Thankfully, the Scriptures teach neither the annihilation of the lost, nor eternal torment, when properly understood as written in their original languages. On the contrary, what the Scriptures teach is the final restoration of all (Acts 3:21), the reconciliation of all (Col 1:16,20) and the salvation of all (1Tim 4:10). They declare that all will finally be reunited in Christ (Eph 1:10) and that all who die in Adam will be made alive in Christ, resulting in God becoming all in all (1Cor 15:22,28). As I demonstrate in my article, Sulfur, Salt and the Refiner’s Fire, the Lake of Fire, rightly understood, is the Refiner’s crucible and is for purification, not extermination or eternal fiery torment.
 
Once we understand that the Lake of Fire is for purification and that the second death, being equated with the Lake of Fire, is therefore part of the same process, we are on our way towards being able to determine the purpose and nature of the second death.
 
Jesus said to the church of Smyrna: “He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death” (Rev 2:11). What Jesus is here saying is that those who overcome in this life will not have to undergo the second death later. The term “hurt by” (αδικηθη, pass., “to be hurt or injured”) would not have been a good choice of words if in fact Jesus meant to say that they would be annihilated or eternally separated from God.
 
Death defined
 
In order to arrive at a proper understanding of the second death, it is first necessary to determine the correct definition of death according to Scripture. Many in today’s secular materialistic society see death as simply ceasing to exist. However, in the Scriptures the primary idea expressed by the Greek word for death in the New Testament, θάνατος (thanatos), is not annihilation or ceasing to exist, but separation.
 
As to the lexical definition, Thayer defines death (θάνατος thanatos) as, “properly, the death of the body, i.e. that separation (whether natural or violent) of the soul from the body by which the life on earth is ended.” 1 Vines expository Dictionary of Biblical Words defines death saying: “thanatos “death,” is used in Scripture of: (a) the separation of the soul (the spiritual part of man) from the body (the material part), the latter ceasing to function and turning to dust, e. g., John 11:13; Heb 2:15; 5:7; 7:23. In Heb 9:15). (b) the separation of man from God; Adam died on the day he disobeyed God, Gen 2:17, and hence all mankind are born in the same spiritual condition, Rom 5:12,14,17,21).” Vines defines the verb form, apothnesko saying: “lit., ‘to die off or out,’ is used…of the separation of the soul from the body, i. e., the natural "death" of human beings.”  2

This is not only true of the separation of the soul from the body. In the following chart we can see at least four other examples where the word death does not refer to cessation or annihilation but rather to separation:

---

Just as neither our body nor our soul ceased to exist when they were separated at death, neither man nor God ceased to exist when man died spiritually. What happened was that sin brought about a spiritual and relational separation/death between the two. Likewise, when we died to the Law that we might live unto Christ, the Law didn’t cease to exist. It continued existing and so do we. When we die to sin, neither we nor sin cease to exist. We simply begin to live sanctified lives, dead to or separate from sin.
 
Likewise, as a Universal Restorationist, I see the second death – not as the cessation of existence, nor eternal separation from God, but an eonian process which results in the death or separation from the carnal and soulish self-life in the purifying Lake of Fire. I draw that conclusion primarily from Matthew chapter ten.
 
Destruction of Soul and Body in Gehenna
 
“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy (ἀπόλλυμι, apollumi) both soul (ψυχή, psuque) and body in hell (Gehenna).” (Matt 10:28)
 
This passage, taken as commonly translated and out of context, would seem to confirm what the Annihilationists say - that the resurrected bodies of the unjust, together with their souls, will be destroyed or exterminated in Gehenna fire. However, in the same chapter in verse 39, we see that destroying the soul is not speaking of the cessation of its existence, but rather the subjugation of the life of the soul to the life in the spirit:
 
“He who finds his life (“soul”- ψυχή, psuque) will lose it, and he who loses (ἀπόλλυμι, apollumi) his life (“soul”- psuque) for My sake will find it.” (Matt 10:39)
 
Here Jesus uses the same words as in verse 28. What Jesus was actually saying was hidden by the translators who, instead of translating apolumi and psuque in the same way in both verses, translated it “destroy the soul” in 28 and “lose his life” in 39. It is obvious that Jesus meant to express the same thing in both instances, but the translators leave us with the impression that He was speaking of two distinct and unrelated things. What is it that Jesus meant to say with the expression “lose or destroy the soul”?
 
The Bible makes it clear that man is a tripartite being made up of body, soul and spirit. When man fell, He lost communion with God. Since the spirit no longer heard the voice of God, the soul of man no longer lived aligned with and subjected under his spirit, but rather began to live according to the will of the body or flesh with its five senses. In this fallen condition the soul no longer lived according to the spirit, led by God, but rather according to the desires of his flesh. Man no longer had spiritual perception, he only perceived with his five carnal senses. The spiritual man became “flesh” (Gen 6:3). Those who live in this way, according to the soul and not according to the spirit, are called “carnal” or “soulish.”

“But the natural (ψυχικός, psuquikos “soulish”) man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual (πνευματικός, pneumáticos) judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one…. And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual (pneumáticos) people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.” (1Cor 2:14,15; 3:1)
 
“These are sensual (ψυχικός, psuquikos ‘soulish’) persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.” (Jude 19)
 
“This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual (ψυχικός, psuquikos ‘soulish’), demonic.” (James 3:15-16)
 
The soulish man is carnal, since he does not hear God’s voice and therefore lives a sensual life in his soul, according to the five senses of the flesh. He fulfills the desires of the flesh and not those of the Spirit.
 
When one is born again, it is the spirit which is born from above. Once born of the Spirit, we now have the capacity to perceive the things of God and do His will, living according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. We are now capable of being “spiritual” and not “soulish” - living the “soul life” (Jn 3:3,6).

Nevertheless, the life of the soul must be destroyed and replaced with the life of the spirit. In Adam our soul was no longer subject to the Spirit of God. Now with our spirit reborn, it is necessary to put our soul in subjection to our spirit. When Jesus said that it was necessary to lose or destroy (apollumi) our soul, I believe He was saying that it is necessary to die to the dominion of the soul, subjecting it to our reborn spirit. As we saw, the word apollumi in the New Testament sometimes means “to destroy or render null or inoperative” and sometimes “to lose.” I believe that the idea expressed here is to render inoperative the dominion of the soul in our lives. We should no longer live according to our own emotions and reason, but according to the word of God. We should no longer live according to our will but according to the will of God. The soul must be subjected once again to the spirit, in communion with God and no longer following after the flesh in order to fulfill its desires.
 
“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.  25 He who loves his (soul) life will lose it, and he who hates his (soul) life in this world will keep it for eternal life (zoe aionios).” (John 12:24-25)
 
If we as believers take up our cross, following in the steps of Jesus, laying down our (soul) life for others, we will be spiritual, serving the Lord in spirit. But if we are soulish psuquikos, then God must intervene so that we may not be condemned with the world.
 
“For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.” (1Cor 11:31-32)
 
Here we see that the disciplinary judgments of the Lord have a correctional purpose - in order that we should not be condemned with the world, receiving our portion with the unbelievers (Luke 12:46). The purpose of this discipline can be seen in 1Corinthians 5:5 where Paul says:
 
“deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” (1Cor 5:5)
 
The destruction of the flesh is not speaking of the physical body but rather the soul life, following after the desires of the flesh and not the desires of the Spirit. In discipline, God permits us to receive the consequences of acting in the flesh now, in order that the spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord, and in this way saving us from the Great White Throne Judgment and the second death.
 
If we submit to God, subjecting our soul to our spirit in this life, God will not have to destroy the dominance of the soul later. If we do not submit in this life, we face the possibility of suffering the destruction of the soul and body in a physically resurrected body, experiencing the second death in the purifying lake of fire, because without holiness no one shall see the Lord.
 
Therefore, when the destruction of soul and body is seen in its overall context it becomes clear that it is not referring to annihilation, but rather to the eonian destruction of the flesh and soul life of the unsanctified in a resurrected mortal body in the Gehenna fire of severe afflictions in order that his spirit may ultimately be saved. God has sworn that all will bow before Him and be made alive in Christ - not all at once, but each in his own order.
 
Only those in Christ put on immortality when they are resurrected
 
Many are under the impression that there is only one general resurrection of the dead. However, we see in the New Testament that there is a resurrection of the just at Christ’s Second Coming called the first resurrection or the resurrection unto life, and another resurrection a thousand years later which is called a resurrection unto judgment (Rev 20:4-6; John 5:29; Luke 14:14). Revelation 20:6 says that the second death has no power over he who has part in the first resurrection. In fact, Jesus said that those who have believed in this age already have the divine eonian life, and shall not come into judgment, but have passed from death into life (John 5:24). However, in the second resurrection, the resurrection unto judgment, all whose names are not found in the book of life must undergo the second death in the Lake of Fire (Rev 20:13-15).
 
Those resurrected unto judgment are not seen to be resurrected with a glorified immortal body, as is the case with believers in this age who already possess God’s eonian life. As I understand it, they are simply reembodied via resurrection in order to undergo the eonian destruction in Gehenna or the Lake of Fire in a physical body. That is what I understand Jesus to have meant when He spoke of the destruction of both soul and body in Gehenna (Matt 10:28). In Revelation 19 we see people being cast into the Lake of Fire while physically alive and they are seen to still be there 1000 years later, so I believe that it is possible to remain alive during one’s stay there, which, for some, will continue on into the ages of the ages (Rev 19:20, cf., 20:10). Destruction, biblically defined, is not annihilation but rather a prelude to restoration. For a consideration of the biblical meaning of destruction see my article, Is One’s Destruction the End of All Existence?
 
The Lake of Fire is not literal fire any more than the fire which consumes the wood, hay and stubble from the life of a believer is literal (1Cor 3:12-15). It is also referred to as outer darkness, which is equivalent to being excluded from the kingdom and the New Jerusalem (Matt 8:12). The Book of Revelation ends with the invitation of those outside to enter the New Jerusalem, but they must first wash their garments (i.e., undergo the second death) (Rev 22:14-17). See also my article, Her Gates are Always Open.
 
In 1Corinthians 15 we see further evidence that not all are resurrected with spiritual immortal bodies at the same time. Paul says that all will be made alive unto immortality in Christ but first only those who are His at His coming.  After the first resurrection, each will be made alive on an individual basis, “each in his own order”:
 
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. 24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power… 28 Now when all are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.” (1Cor 15:22–24,28)
 
The word “to make alive” in 1Corinthians 15:22 is (ζωοποιέω, zoopoiéo). There are two other Greek words used to express resurrection, (egeiro and anastasis) but they are often used to refer to a strictly temporal and physical resurrection, as in the case of Lazarus and others who were raised to life but died afterwards. In contrast, zoopoiéo is always used in reference to resurrection and glorification. It is used to refer to the receiving of a perpetual life in an immortal body that all will receive, but each in his own order.
 
The unjust will be raised physically (anastasis), but it will not be a resurrection unto life, but a resurrection unto judgment (John 5:29). Each one of them will be made alive unto immortality but “each in his own order,” not all at once. Jesus said that the harlots and tax collectors would enter the kingdom of God before the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees because they were more receptive to the gospel (Matt 21:31-32), but eventually all will bow the knee, becoming subject to Christ, at which time God will be all in all entering into eternity at the close of the ages.
 
Jesus said that those who believe on Him already possess His divine eonian life and will not come into Judgment, but have already passed from death into life (John 5:24). If you have put your trust in Christ, you will be made alive into immortality at His coming and the second death has no power over you.
 
“Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power.” (Rev 20:6)
 
_______________________
 
1 Thayer's Greek Lexicon
 
2 Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words