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What is the second death or the Lake of Fire?
I am currently doing a study on the lake of fire or the second death. I would love to hear what God has shown anyone about this subject.
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Permalink Reply by Seek on
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Reading now and another that adds to this.
Matthew 5:19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
So it still seems there are various recognitions or positions in heaven for believers depending upon their works. But their salvation itself doesn't depend on works of course. -
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Permalink Reply by Amanda on
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Seek, I agree. Some Scriptures in the Bible tell us what Hell is like in my POV, not what it is, and other scriptures describe it as a furnace of fire and there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth and their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. And then there are the Scriptures that speak of lake of fire. But Hell and the lake of fire are two different destinations, yet the same destiny.
Matthew 13 contains parables of the Kingdom. The language is similes. Similes contain two things that resemble each other.
Matthew 13:51-52
New King James Version (NKJV)
51 Jesus said to them,[a] “Have you understood all these things?”
They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”[b]
52 Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning[c] the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”
We get an idea from Scripture of what Hell and what suffering God's wrath, eternally, is like, and those raised to be cast into the lake of fire, will receive their resurrection, but their bodies will be fitted to suffer eternally in the lake of fire. Hell will be cast into the lake of fire. Since all people are promised a resurrection, and there are two resurrections -- one is to eternal life, and one is to eternal damnation, then the spirits of those who are lost will remain spiritually dead even though their bodies will be resurrected and they will face the great white throne judgment. The final destination, of both their spirit and their resurrected body, is the lake of fire. This is my POV. Born again believers will appear before the judgment seat of Christ, aka the bema. The judgment seat of Christ is not where the Lord will punish for sins but where rewards are given (or lost) based on the life that has been lived for the Lord.
What gets confusing are some of the verses, such as Matthew 22:11. This is why we must look at the whole of Scripture and not just proof text with stand alone verses or even small passages within chapters.
The proper wedding garment of a true believer is God-imputed righteousness. We must be clothed in His righteousness as well as be under the blood of Christ.
As Charles Spurgeon said:
O believer, God's acceptance of Christ is thine acceptance; for knowest thou not that the love which the Father set on a perfect Christ, he sets on thee now? For all that Christ did is thine. That perfect righteousness which Jesus wrought out, when through his stainless life he kept the law and made it honourable, is thine, and is imputed to thee. Christ is in the covenant. My God, I am thine-what a comfort divine!
What a blessing to know that the Saviour is mine!
In the heavenly Lamb thrice happy I am,
And my heart it doth dance at the sound of his name. (From the Morning and Evening Devotional, by Charles Spurgeon) -
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Amanda, yesterday's sermon was on new covenant grace. The pastor kept hammering home this grace. But for a brief moment he interjected that he didn't want people to get the wrong idea that since we're under grace it didn't mean we keep on doing what we've always done or we'll keep getting what we've always gotten. His message was on drawing closer to God and desiring Him more than anything. He couldn't help point out that while he understood some people have to work or maybe live too far to get there on Wednesdays but many needed to desire God more, or again if they have become comfortable where they are, and they'd be there every time the doors opened like they used to do. Some people never miss a service and even attend other churches when we're not having church.
Anyway, what I wanted to say is that while we're under grace, I do believe we'll also be rewarded for what we do with that grace. As Paul said run the race to obtain the prize. While he said there's only one winner, we still have 2nd 3rd and 4th etc. But if like every runner our goal is to win, we'll give our very best.
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This is what I sent in a letter a few days ago to someone who is very ill and thinks it's already too late to be saved because the life he's already lived, up to the here and now, wasn't 'good enough':
I think sometimes people think only of the sin of others and not of their own sin…like those who brought in the woman caught in adultery (John 8:3-11).
When some people see the sin of another, they often don’t deal with it very well…and even react as if they are perfect themselves (Luke 7:36-38).
The truth is, there is none good, not one. All have sinned and all need the Savior.
“What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:9-10).
“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God's condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God” (Romans 5:6-11).
Jesus died for us, but Jesus also lived a perfectly sinless life for us. Many people don’t understand this, but it is the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We don’t live good lives, hoping God will save us for being good enough, but Jesus saves us when we believe in Him and receive Him, and then we do good works not to be saved but because we are saved.
Listen to this word from Charles H. Spurgeon:
For your sakes he became poor.
2 Corinthians 8:9
The Lord Jesus Christ was eternally rich, glorious, and exalted; but though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor. As the rich saint cannot be true in his communion with his poor brethren unless of his substance he ministers to their necessities, so (the same rule holding with the head as between the members), it is impossible that our Divine Lord could have had fellowship with us unless he had imparted to us of his own abounding wealth, and had become poor to make us rich. Had he remained upon his throne of glory, and had we continued in the ruins of the fall without receiving his salvation, communion would have been impossible on both sides. Our position by the fall, apart from the covenant of grace, made it as impossible for fallen man to communicate with God as it is for Belial to be in concord with Christ. In order, therefore, that communion might be compassed, it was necessary that the rich kinsman should bestow his estate upon his poor relatives, that the righteous Saviour should give to his sinning brethren of his own perfection, and that we, the poor and guilty, should receive of his fulness grace for grace; that thus in giving and receiving, the One might descend from the heights, and the other ascend from the depths, and so be able to embrace each other in true and hearty fellowship. Poverty must be enriched by him in whom are infinite treasures before it can venture to commune; and guilt must lose itself in imputed and imparted righteousness ere the soul can walk in fellowship with purity. Jesus must clothe his people in his own garments, or he cannot admit them into his palace of glory; and he must wash them in his own blood, or else they will be too defiled for the embrace of his fellowship.
O believer, herein is love! For your sake the Lord Jesus became poor that he might lift you up into communion with himself. Morning and Evening Devotional, by Charles Spurgeon.
Ephesians 2:8-10 says it this way: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
We are saved by grace, not by works. Then, after being born again, we are to devote ourselves to doing good works, but the works don’t cause us to be saved or keep us saved. Jesus does! And when we sin, Jesus is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from them.
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9).
That’s Good News, indeed!!!
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As I was writing the letter, the verse from Romans 5 -- For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son --really stood out to me like never before. Restored by His death. Saved through His life. Not through our lives, but through His!
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Permalink Reply by Tammy on
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It appears that He is letting them know that persecutions are on the way. He tells them to be strong & hold on because they will have the victory & will not face Hell - second death.
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Permalink Reply by Helen Williamson on
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I agree Tammy. Wonder what he means when he says that the devil is going to cast some in prison. Do you think this was literally a prison or was it severe trials?
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I can give you the short version. Yes, it's literal prison. They were going to be persecuted & put in prison. Give me a bit & I'll give u the long version. lol
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Longer version. The following isn't because I study my word but study my LOGOS program. haha
Smyrna, modern day Turkey, means myrrh. It is frequently mentioned in Scripture in connection with the embalming of the dead. Myrrh had to be crushed in order to give out its fragrance. This sets forth the period when the church was crushed beneath the iron heel of pagan Rome, yet it never gave out such sweet fragrance to God as in those two centuries of almost constant martyrdom.
Loyal to Rome, Smyrna was a center for imperial worship. Its national religious history was in the Roman culture. A temple was erected to worship Roma, the goddess of Rome, and, during the Christian era, the city even dedicated a temple to honor the emperor Tiberius.
“These things saith the First and the Last, which was dead and is alive.” What a blessed thing to know that the children of God are linked up with a resurrected Christ! The power of His resurrection works in them. He says, “I know thy works and tribulation and poverty, but thou art rich.” This was the day when the church was hated, outlawed and persecuted. Instead of worshiping in magnificent buildings, they gathered together in caves, catacombs and other hidden places, with sentries posted to warn them of the approach of their foes. Despised by the world, condemned as enemies of the Empire because of their faith in and loyalty to Christ, their lives were precious to God. They were in His eyes rich. They were poor in this world’s goods, but rich in faith.
There is no prophetic concern for the Church at Smyrna to get its act together or even to be obedient. Christ tells the church that He knows their afflictions and their poverty. People living in extremity know what it is to have pain and suffering and to have no resources to do anything about it. Christ tells those believers in Smyrna that He knows as well. Some might suggest that the afflictions and poverty that they were experiencing were brought on by a refusal to participate in the imperial cult. This could very well be the case.
We see later in the Revelation that refusing the mark of the beast—the worship of Babylon’s power—brings about such deprivation as well.
But even then, all was not perfection; so He says, “I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan”—referring to the Judaizing movement that came into the church in the early centuries.
On top of this extreme poverty, the Christians at Smyrna also had to endure the abuse or accusations by a group of Jews He calls a synagogue of Satan (2:9). They probably were bringing the Roman authorities down on them. If they were a true Jewish people they would have been a support for this messianic sect in Smyrna. Instead this synagogue had learned a technique for continued existence—attack those who the prevailing power attacks. The Jewish alignment with Rome against the Christians appears to have continued into the second century. The Martyrdom of Polycarp, a letter describing the death of Smyrna’s bishop (circa. a.d. 156), shows the Jews of Smyrna joining in his persecution, even helping to pile up the firewood for the execution. Prohibitions against the alignment of God’s people with the enemies of this world go back to the earliest of Old Testament teachings.
He says, “Fear not … thou shalt have tribulation ten days.” It is significant that in the two centuries of Roman persecution, which began with Nero and which terminated 312 a.d., there were ten distinct edicts demanding that governors seek out Christians everywhere and put them to death. The last was under Diocletian. He was the tenth persecutor. The early Christians believed he would be the last, and he was.
The reward that Christ promises for enduring these hardships is a crown of life (2:10). A crown (stephanos) was symbolic in the Roman period, generally for victory and status. Often they were awarded to the winners of athletic contests, worn by politicians and dignitaries in processionals, and adorned VIPs at celebrations such as weddings, promotions, and anniversaries. Here those enduring the persecutions of the devil will wear a victor’s crown that signifies their victory over death and their new status as accomplished and wealthy.
“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church,” said Augustine.The testimony of the dying again and again led their very persecutors to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour because of the convincing power of the truth manifested in the martyrs. Satan’s effort to destroy Christianity by persecution was in vain. But those were days when it meant something to be a Christian. When God’s people were being crushed like myrrh, what a sweet odor of devotion, what fragrance of Christian love was wafted up to the very throne of God!
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This is really something isn't it. When you hear of the severe persecutions of the church at Smyrna it makes you think about how your own church might respond should we face such persecution.
I wonder how many of those Sunday morning saints would come and worship in a cave with the threat of martyrdom possibly lurking at the entrance. James says in 1:12 he that endures temptation shall receive a crown of life. Without the Spirit's help we none could pass this test.
I can't help but believe that without the trials of this life there will not be any gold created in anyone. We all have pressures that are exposing our hearts if we are truly following the Lamb. We just are not crunched with the short duration (possibly what 10 days means) as was this church. I read from one commentator (Guzik Bible Commentary) that this was the only church of the seven that is still existing.
Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. Luke 21:36 This is a prayer of mine, that the Lord will make me watchful, and inspire me to pray at all times. I want to be a faithful steward of God.
It seems that the Jews that refused to follow Christ were always making problems for the Church. Maybe this is why Paul in Romans 2:28 - 29 said he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men but of God. Paul also said in Gal. 6:15 and 16 that the true church is the Israel of God who demonstrate a circumcised heart and that they are new creatures in Christ.
It seems to fit that these so called Jews who were saying they were the chosen of God because of their nationality were actually doing the biding of satan in their persecution of the church. Jesus said they say they are Jews but by their actions they show that they are of the synagogue of satan. The Jews were always giving Paul trouble as seen in the book of Acts. Pauls' thorn in the flesh may have been the constant buffeting that he encountered from the Jews who were always following him around disputing what he was teaching.
We all whether national Jews or Gentiles must be grafted into the one Olive Tree, Christ. There is no other way to the Father. The Jewish people are precious to God. He sent his Son first to them and praise God to us also. (Just wanted to make sure that no one would believe me to be anti-Semitic.)
Enjoyed this comment very much. It really sheds light on what true persecution is. Most of us are unaware concerning what could be required of the faithful. I pray we all be faithful unto death should it become necessary that we too may receive the crown of life.
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He sent his Son first to them and praise God to us also. (Just wanted to make sure that no one would believe me to be anti-Semitic.) - I got a good chuckle out of this.
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I like it, too, and, as I read it, what I notice and understand from it is that it doesn't say the crown of life is salvation itself (not saying you do but saying I used to believe it was.)
The reward that Christ promises for enduring these hardships is a crown of life (2:10). A crown (stephanos) was symbolic in the Roman period, generally for victory and status. Often they were awarded to the winners of athletic contests, worn by politicians and dignitaries in processionals, and adorned VIPs at celebrations such as weddings, promotions, and anniversaries. Here those enduring the persecutions of the devil will wear a victor’s crown that signifies their victory over death and their new status as accomplished and wealthy.
It was important for me to come to understand the meaning of the crown of life (there are other rewards, too, mentioned in the bible) as well as to understand the difference between the Great White Throne Judgment and the Judgment Seat of Christ.
The crown of life is given to those who have already received eternal life and are at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Salvation is a free gift. Rewards are earned and deserved and anything that requires anything more, other than receiving it, isn't a gift. We won't get to heaven because of any works we have done, including any sufferings that we have endured in this life.
We should seek the rewards that will be given by Jesus to the saved. The Scriptures give us an idea of what kind of rewards these will be. We should seek to receive a full reward. But what will those do who receive a crown(s)? Surely they will cast them at His feet and give Him all the glory for everything He has done to save them, as well as all the glory for any deeds they might have done in the body that were worth something.
The promise of a crown of life is encouragement for enduring suffering. Some suffering happens simply because we live in a fallen world among fallen people and are in fallen flesh. Some suffering comes because of one's relationship with Jesus (1 Peter 4:12-13). Not all who belong to Him will become martyrs, suffering in that way. God is sovereign and chooses some to suffer in that way and others not to suffer in that way, but others suffer in different ways.
Just my two cents.
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