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The Second Death
BLOTTED OUT
In Revelation 20:14 we read
of the Second Death. This is the final death, not of the flesh, but of the soul. It is the
"blotting out" of the Lamb's book of life. The Greek will bear me out when I say
their existence will be blotted out so fully that you will not ever have known them. There
will be no memory of those, as if they never existed.
What
is this second death and what does it mean to us in God's Word? There is nothing new under
the sun. The English word eternal is translated from the Greek word "aionios"
(ahee-o'-nee-os) which means all the way from the beginning without interruption. People
often use the word preexistence in reference to souls. This is actually incorrect
terminology. Souls exist from the point they were created through eternity. That is unless
they are blotted out.
In
the beginning God created the heavens and earth. Yahweh said in Isaiah 45:18 the earth was
formed to be inhabited. It was inhabited in the first world age, but the earth became
without form and void. This may be easily documented if you will take Genesis 1:2 back to
the Hebrew using a Strong's Concordance. The earth became without form and void due to
Satan's rebellion.
God
created everything for His pleasure. Possibly, He created souls, or man, because He was
lonely. After all, we were created in His own image and we do not enjoy being alone all of
the time. When He created us, He gave us free will. He did not program us to love Him. The
Lord gave us the free will to love Him or Satan. I encourage you to love Him. If you
choose to love Satan instead, you will receive the second death or "blotted out"
as it will be document in the remainder of this study.
If
I drew a line on a chalk board and then erased it, where would the line be? Gone. Blotted
out. That is exactly what will happen to those that choose to love Satan. This is the
reason there will be no tears for those that go to hell. There will be no remembrance of
them. It will be as though they never existed. Let's go to the Scriptures with Jesus
teaching.
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MATTHEW 10:28
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather
fear Him Which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Fear
or revere, Him that has the ability to blot out both your flesh body and your spiritual
body. After the millennium, that thousand year period when the Elect will teach God's
Word, and the earth has been rejuvenated, God will dwell with men. We will be in the
spiritual body Paul taught us about in I Corinthians 15:44. What will become of death
then?
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REVELATION 21:4
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death,
either sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are
passed away."
Imagine,
no sorrow, nor crying, or pain, or death. All of those things will be blotted from our
minds as tears from our eyes. This is the reward for those that choose to love God. What
about those that love Satan?
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REVELATION 21:8
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers,
and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which
burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."
Does
the Bible say they will all be in the lake of fire screaming for mercy forever? No, it
says the lake which burneth is the second death. It will be over for them....Finished.
Let's turn back one chapter. Do not forget to turn you Biblical clock forward to the
period during the millennium so you understand what is being said. We are going to pick it
up at the end of the millennium where God has taken control and judges those that chose to
follow Satan when he was loosed for a short while. Remember, no flesh bodies at this time,
dear ones, we are in spiritual bodies.
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REVELATION 20:13-14
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the
dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. (14)And
death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
The
spiritually dead, those that choose to follow Satan, and hell will be cast into the lake
of fire. This is the second death or spiritual death.
Beloved,
a glorious time is coming. The eternity that follows the millennium described in the 21st
chapter of Revelation tells of the earth being completely rejuvenated as the day it was
created millions of years ago. All lakes are to be dried up, including the lake of fire.
All things associated with death and sin will be no more.
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REVELATION 20:15
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of
fire.
Please
God! If that pleases men, great. If that does not please men, tough. Make certain you name
is in His book. Make certain your soul is not blotted out bringing about the second death.
Let's turn to Ecclesiastes where God instructs on the matter of death.
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ECCLESIASTES 9:1-2
For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous,
and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or
hatred by all that is before them. (2)All things come alike to all: there is one event to
the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him
that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and
he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
There
is only one thing all of us in the flesh must do besides pay taxes.
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ECCLESIASTES 9:3
That is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event
into all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their
heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
We
are all going to die a flesh death or undergo a change into our spiritual bodies at the
seventh trump.
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ECCLESIASTES 9:4
For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better
than a dead lion.
If
your soul possesses your body rather than your body possessing your soul, there is hope.
As far as flesh alone is concerned, a lowly living dog is better than a "king of the
jungle" lion that is dead.
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ECCLESIASTES 9:5
For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not any thing, neither have
they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
When
the flesh body dies, only a pile of minerals remain. I believe the death of a flesh body
and the death of a spiritual body are the same word in God's vocabulary. Do you remember
the second death we discussed? Why would He say, "fear not them which kill the body,
but are not able to kill the soul". The death of one is the same as the other. After
the death, there is nothing left. It is gone....erased. There is a "blotted out"
under the sun, or on earth, and there is a "blotted out" in heaven. Those that
are blotted out in the flesh will have a chance for spiritual eternity in the millennium.
It is a much more serious thing to be spiritually blotted out in heaven. An example of
fleshly blotted out is found in the following verses.
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DEUTERONOMY 29:20
The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and His jealousy shall
smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon
him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven.
Did
the Word say this sinner would be blotted out forever? No, it said he would be blotted out
under heaven, or on earth. This sinner would still have a chance to repent. An example of
spiritual blotting out, a much more serious thing, may be found in Exodus. Moses saw the
people of Israel had built a golden calf while he was on the mount receiving the
commandments. He was so distraught he went back to God and asked Him to forgive the people
or blot Moses' name out of His book.
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EXODUS 32:33
And the LORD said into Moses, "Whosoever hath sinned against Me, him will I blot
out of My book.
Another
example of spiritual blotting out may be found in Psalms. Let's pick it up in verse 21 so
you will recognize whose words are spoken.
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PSALMS 69:21-22
They gave me also gall for my meat; And in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
(22)Let their table become a snare before them: And that which should have been for their
welfare, let it become a trap.
What
was given to Jesus for drink on the cross? His crucifixion should have been for their
welfare, but it will become a trap to many that worship the wrong messiah.
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PSALMS 69:23-25
Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; And make their loins continually to
shake. (25)Pour out Thine indignation upon them, And let Thy wrathful anger take hold of
them. Let their habitation be desolate; And let none dwell in their tents.
Take
away all of their blessings.
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PSALMS 69:26-28
For they persecute him whom Thou hast smitten; And they talk to the grief of those
whom Thou hast wounded. Add iniquity unto their iniquity: And let them not come into Thy
righteousness. (28)Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, And not be written
with the righteous.
That
is the book of heaven, friend. That is the book of which you never want to be
"blotted out". After Jesus was placed in the tomb, He went to those which had
been blotted out in the flesh in the prisons of their graves, as it is written in 1 Peter
3:19. He gave those that had been blotted out from the time of Noah, a chance to place
their name in the eternal book of life. There is a difference between blotting out under
heaven and blotting out in heaven. It is important to understand this difference because
it means the love of our Father will not allow souls to burn in hell forever as some would
have you believe. Those that are spiritually blotted out will be erased from all memory.
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REVELATION 3:5
He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot
out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and
before his angels.
To
be blotted out is to not exist, nor to have ever existed. The second death erases a soul
from time eternal. Yahweh loves us so much, that he came to this world in the form of
Messiah our Savior. If He had not, I guess we would all be blotted out. But, through
repentance we all have the chance to wipe the slate clean and gain eternal life. We have a
truly loving Father. In closing, let's turn to the words of Christ in the great book of
John.
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John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
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