“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.”
20:13
The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them.
When non-believers die before the Great White Throne Judgment, they go to Sheol (Old Testament) or Hades [New Testament). These are temporary hells, a holding place until the final judgment. At the final judgment, God will raise non-believers out of these temporary hells to be judged at the Great White Throne. Then He will cast them into the permanent Lake of Fire.
The ideas of “giving up the dead” and “delivering up the dead” have to do with restoring physical bodies to their spirits. Their physical bodies long died, but their spirits were in Hades. Although the sea swallowed up a person hundreds of years ago, God will restore that body to judgment in Hell.
And they were judged, each one according to his works.
God judges people according to their good deeds. God will not judge on circumstantial evidence. Trumped-up charges will not fool him. God uses what they thought was religious and righteous against them. It is righteousness independent of God’s righteousness.
Eternal life is a gift. We cannot earn it nor deserve it. It is God’s gift to us.
Ep 2;8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
20:14
Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire.
God casts temporary hell (Hades) into permanent Hell. The Lake of Fire is the same idea as Jesus’ term “Gehenna.” God throws both Death and Hades into the permanent and eternal Lake of Fire.
This is the second death.
The Lake of Fire is the “second death.” Death means separation. Physical death is the separation of the physical body from the immaterial part of man. Spiritual death is the separation of the non-believer from God. Eternal death is the separation of an individual from God eternally.
PRINCIPLE:
Those who are born once will die twice; those who are born twice will die once.
APPLICATION:
M. R. DeHaan said, “They that are born but once will have to die twice, and they who have been born twice will die but once.” God permanently assigns people to eternal death because they rejected the death of Christ for their sins. This is the “Second Death.”
If a person accepts the death of Jesus as a substitute for our sins, then God will accept him eternally. Jesus took our Hell that He might give us His Heaven. If we believe that Jesus took away our sins on the cross, He will give us eternal life.
Eddie, thanks for your question and your point is well-taken. The Greek word for "evil" is not moral evil but the word represents something "worthless," "good for nothing." The Greek word is phalous. God will make an estimation of what we have done for Christ is rewardable based on whether it has intrinsic value (good, agathos) and whether it does not meet that standard, that is, whether it is worthless to be rewarded.
Grant thank you so much explaining ,the hades and death. Iwas in my dreams and iwas taken to hades for three good hrs and back to life,am telling you iwas adead man,and iso the deads 111who are their telling me that they are dead whaiting fyo1r gement day,do you bellive me?now bellive and repent quickly,ilove JESUS he came to save every body to his king dome,read 1this john 14:1-3,iam in mumias kenya,mobile phone 0726445538.
According to Rev 20v13-14,d bible says death and hades delivered up the dead dat re in them.mY question is dat What is this death and who re dos dead dat re in d death.pls respond quickly
Ogumadeji, The "death" here is eternal separation from God. There are a number of different kinds of death in the Bible such as physical death, spiritual death, and the second death (there are more).
Unfortunately the preaching on Hell has become politically incorrect in our time. Why should unsaved people come to Christ if there is nothing to fear? The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.
What is the “FiRST death?”
What is your best guess, and what Scripture would you give that would back it up?
And why doesn’t the Bible say what it is?
What are the different possible answers that other Bible scholars have given for what the first death might be?
I think that there can only be two possible answers: physical death or spiritual death.
James, thanks for your post.
The first death is physical death, which is the assumption behind the “second death.” Physical death is assumed as obvious in the NT. Physical death is the separation of the physical body from the immaterial part of man, the soul (Mt 10:28). Eternal death, or the second death, is also separation, but it is the separation of the soul from God for eternity; it is spiritual death. Rev 20:15 describes this death as “the lake of fire.”