Revelation 20:11-15
11 “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
13 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.”
There is an interesting phrase that goes along with this study on “The Second Death”, that has always helped me remember what this doctrine of “the Second Death” is all about:
Born Once, Die Twice
Born Twice, Die Once
According to the Bible, when a person is born they have an opportunity throughout their entire life to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. If on the last second of their life they have failed to take Jesus as their Savior, then they will die and go into hell to await judgement for their sins.
After Jesus returns to the earth at the end of the seven year Tribulation Period, He will set up His earthly kingdom that will last for a period of one-thousand years. All mortals who have survived the seven year Tribulation will be allowed to enter this kingdom age ruled by Jesus in which peace and justice will cover the entire earth.
According to Revelation chapter 20, at the end of the one-thousand years, all those who had rejected Jesus Christ and have been held in hell, will be resurected bodily to come before “The Great White Throne” for their final judgement. The reason that they are here at this place is that they had rejected the only plan of salvation that was given for a human being to have their sins forgiven and removed from their record.
Revelation 20:11 “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.”
The reason that “There was found no place for them” is that if a person rejects Jesus as their Savior, then there remains no other place for them to go after their death, other than to stand before God and be judged based upon their own works. A person has two choices during their short stay upon the earth.
1. Let Jesus pay for their sins.
2. Pay for their own sins.
At the Cross, Jesus paid for the sins of every person who has ever, or ever will live upon the earth. The high value of Jesus life as Creator and Eternal God of the universe, was sufficient to pay the debt that every person owed to God for their sins.
These that find themselves before the Great White Throne are there because they chose to not believe in Jesus sacrifice for their sins and will now have to give an account to God as to why they did not accept His Son’s sacrifice as the payment for their sins. The final verdict for every person that stands before the Great White Throne will be to be found guilty of their sin and be sentenced to eternity in the Lake of Fire. This is what the Bible calls: “The Second Death“.
Remember, these persons were born once, died, went to the Great White Throne, were found guilty, sentenced to eternal death, then cast alive into the Lake of fire where they died a second time to last eternally. They were “Born Once“, they will “Die Twice“.
If on the other hand a person who has been born the first time on the earth, accepts Jesus as their Savior during their lifetime, they are said to have been “Born Again” a second time. At some point their body will die, but then their spirit will immediately go into the presence of the Lord. Paul said “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord”. This person who believed in Jesus Christ will rest in heaven until Jesus comes to the earth in the event called “The Rapture” in which He will bring with Him, these departed and saved spirits which were in Heaven, Him back to earth and will then resurrect their formerly dead bodies and reunite them with the spirit which has been waiting in heaven. This is called by the Bible, “The First Resurrection.”
They were “Born Twice“, a physical birth, then a second time, a spiritual birth. They will “Die only Once“, to be resurrected by Jesus at the coming of the Rapture, never to die again.
“Born Twice, Die Once.”
For the believer in Jesus Christ, their resurrection from the death of their body will occur at the Rapture. This event was described by John as “The first resurrection”. This “First Resurrection” began when Jesus rose from the dead
1 Corinthians 15:20
20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Jesus was the first to be raised from the dead in a long series of others who will also be raised from the dead, all in a single moment at the Rapture. Then we, who remain here on earth alive, as well as those who have died believing in Jesus, we will be raised up in a transformed eternal body to meet the Lord in the air, at the Rapture.
In the Bible, when you hear the term “Fallen Asleep” this was a polite way of saying that someone had died. For the person who has had all of their sins covered by Jesus Sacrifice, they do not ever die. Their body may cease to function, but their spirit goes immediately into the presence of the Lord in Heaven.
There is an interesting scripture in the Old Testament that describes Jesus when he came, that He would take to heaven, those who had died and had been held in “Abraham’s bosom”.
Psalm 68:18
18 “You have ascended on high, you have led captivity captive; you have received gifts among men, even from the rebellious, that the LORD God might dwell there.”
Ephesians 4:8
“Therefore He says: “When Jesus ascended on high, (Back to Heaven) He led (Those in) captivity (In Abraham’s Bosom) free…”
These verses are describing the fact that all of the Old Testament believers that had died and were waiting for the coming of the Messiah Jesus, their spirits were held in a chamber in the center of the earth called “Abraham’s Bosom”, to wait until Jesus had come to earth the first time to complete His sacrifice for all the world’s sins.
Before Jesus died on the Cross, all those who had believed in Him and themselves died, they were not permitted to ascend into Heaven as yet. You remember that after Jesus was resurrected, the Bible says that He took all those who had died and were waiting for Him, back to Heaven with Him.
There is an interesting verse in Matthew, that says that on the day that Jesus descended out of the center of the earth having freed all those believers who were waiting for Him, He took them back to heaven. All those who were held in Abraham’s Bosom were released and the Bible says that some of these Old Testament Believers were seen walking around in the streets of Jerusalem after Jesus was resurrected.
Matthew 27:52-53
“…and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;
53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.”
In verse 6 of Revelation chapter 20, John describes the fact that anyone who died physically, haven taken Jesus as their Savior while they were still alive, “The Second Death has no power over these.” In other words, none of those who take Jesus as their Savior during their lifetime, will experience any future judgment for their sins, such as those at the Great White Throne Judgement.
Revelation 20
6 “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”
When Jesus has done everything that is necessary for any person to be made right with God and fully acceptable to Him, having paid for all of their sins, why would anyone want to reject such a wonderful offer?
Your sins have all been paid for by Jesus and the only thing that is standing in the way of you having that forgiveness appropriated to your account is for you to voluntarily accept what Jesus did for you. By a very simple prayer: “Jesus be merciful to me, I am a sinner in need of your Salvation“, that person can have the forgiveness of their sins and the assurance that heaven in their destination when they die and eternal life is theirs.
Then there will no longer be any fear of death, or judgement or of “The Second Death”
Rob Robinson
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