Second death.
Tell me something, is that the first time you heard the term 'second death'? Death, we know what death is, don't we? If someone dies they cease to have heartbeat and breath in their bodies, when this happens they are no longer conscious and their bodies begin immediately to decay, perhaps imperceptibly at first but it is happening. Their skin quickly grows cold, and they'll have a period of rigidity. You cannot bring anyone back from a true death after their bodes begin the decaying process in earnest. I say that because people have temporarily stopped breathing or their hearts have stopped beating and others have been able to get them breathing again and their hearts pumping. Some have even been practically dead for a while and under such cold temperatures they've protected vital brain functions that otherwise would have died off leaving them brain damaged if brought back to life with their breathing and heart beating. Death, when all means and measures have been exhausted, and no machines are doing the work of your heart or lungs, if an ending of you consciously. You are as if you have been put into a sleep from which there is no waking until Christ returns and wakes you up. And Christ will wake all who are in death's sleep up, and some will rise up and be transformed meeting Him in the air to be with Him forever, others will rise up only to be rendered dead once more- the life breath taken from them and they will sleep once more. And then this--
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Death and the grave - dying and living in the state of death's sleep in a grave were destroyed. NO ONE will ever again be subjected to dying with the chance to live again. Those who are NOT God's, those who have CHOSEN themselves not to belong to GOD will be case into the same lake of fire that destroys death and the grave. They will permanently be destroyed never to be again their existence completely blotted out. They won't be suffering endlessly in that lake of fire, they will burn up as stubble which burns to nothingness not endlessly burning stubble- such a thing does not exist. The wicked will be punished according to their wickedness and then be as if they never were. Contrary to so many false beliefs out there, deceptions that Satan has perpetrated, people will never enter a purgatory - a place to work off their sins, that doesn't exist. In death we can no longer praise God. In death we know nothing. Living we know we shall die, but the Bible tells us, the dead no nothing.
Ecc_9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing…
Death is a sleep. Even Jesus called death a sleep.
Joh 11:11 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
Joh 11:12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
Joh 11:13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
Joh 11:14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
Death's sleep- an unconscious state of being. We don't go to heaven immediately upon dying, not even our Savior did that! Read it all in the Bible, don't take my word for it!
There is a permanent death and I pray to God that none of us ever partake in that second death!
All by the grace and mercy of God, may we be HIS now and forever through the love and mercy of our Savior Jesus Christ our Lord now and forever!
******* Continuing our prophecy study-- Please GO back and READ the study from the beginning to gain full understanding of where we are if you haven't been following this study daily. Thank you :) We are on lesson number 66. God bless you! ******
Rev 2:8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
Rev 2:9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
Rev 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
Rev 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
If, as we talked about already, the seven churches spoken of represent God's people throughout time- the period of time suggested by others who have studied Revelation for the first chruch- Ephesus is.. 'the period from the resurrection of Christ to the close of the first century, or to the death of the last of the apostles.' And the second church - Smyrna - 'the date of the Smyrna church would be A.D. 100-323.' The big question is….how did they come to this date?
Well first let's look at what's said.
'And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write...These things saith the first and the last which was dead and is alive'
John through the Spirit is writing to the angel of the people of God in Smyrna. The first, the last, which was dead and is alive- this could be none other than- Jesus.
'I know thy works and tribulation and poverty but thou art rich'
He knows the works- the actions of His people in Smyrna. He also knows their tribulation. He understands what they're going through. Tribulation. If I say I'm going through tribulation am I talking about a little bit of a hard time? No. I'm talking about a very hard time, a time of such suffering, of such affliction it doesn't compare to ordinary upsets. Jesus knows the actions, the works, and He knows of the intense suffering of those people. He also knows of their poverty- their deficiencies, unproductiveness, their lacking, but He also knows they are rich.
A conflict? Can one be in poverty and be rich at the same time? They sure can be if we are thinking along the lines of being poor in one thing while rich in another. You can have a person poor in finances and rich in optimism. Jesus knows it all- the suffering the poverty and the riches. We are told in the Bible this--
Matthew {19:24} And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
With this in mind it's easy to imagine the riches spoken of here as something other than monetary riches.
These are riches of God- heavenly treasure, not an earthly treasure.
Matthew {6:20} But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth
corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. Heavenly riches.
A person can be rich in heavenly treasures and in extreme poverty upon the earth.
Yes, you can be rich in one thing and lacking in another. You can have a richness of love and a poverty of kindness. Jesus knows all of us, the good and the bad in us - His people throughout time.
'and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and are not but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison- that ye may be tried and ye shall have tribulation ten days'
Blasphemy- 1. a. A contemptuous or profane act, utterance, or writing concerning God or a sacred entity. b. The act of claiming for oneself the attributes and rights of God.
2. An irreverent or impious act, attitude, or utterance in regard to something considered inviolable or sacrosanct.
Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary
There are those who claim to be God's but are really from where?
The 'synagogue of Satan.'
Devil worshippers who claim to be God's people.
God knows who those people are, and truly there are those in all ages who are guilty of this- of claiming to be God's people while their lives, their hearts, the truth says otherwise.
God doesn't want His people to fear things that will be suffered by them. Again in all ages we face suffering for our faith and yet we are to fear not.
The devil will put some of God's people in prison- those people will be tried and have tribulation ten days. Now this is where we have to ask ourselves a question- ten days? In prophecy days can stand for years. Is there any notable ten year period of tribulation for God's people?
There is...
'The Diocletianic Persecution (or Great Persecution) was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman empire.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocletianic_Persecution
In 303, Emperor Diocletian and his colleagues Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding Christians' legal rights and demanding they comply with traditional religious practices. Later edicts targeted the clergy and demanded universal sacrifice, ordering all inhabitants to sacrifice to the gods. The persecution varied in intensity across the empire—weakest in Gaul and Britain, where only the first edict was applied, and strongest in the Eastern provinces. Persecutionary laws were nullified by different emperors at different times, but Constantine and Licinius's Edict of Milan (313) has traditionally marked the end of the persecution.'
303 to 313 - ten years!
The revelation was-
'the devil shall cast some of you into prison- that ye may be tried and ye shall have tribulation ten days'
Ten days- Ten years of GREAT tribulation, great suffering, great persecution.
The prophecy goes on to say-
'be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death'
Be faithful unto death. Telling them what? They would die! God's people, His church, would be persecuted to the death.
Faithful unto death. In truth we all throughout time must be faithful unto death, we must be determined to be God's until we die no matter what the cost might be. Faithful unto death.
The reward for such faithfulness is a crown of life! The crown of life given for those who receive life eternal in Jesus. The price is well worth the sacrifice to obtain such a priceless gift.
We are told once more--
'He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches'
LISTEN!
And the promise-
'He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death'
Meaning the death that is eternal- the death that comes when the 1000 years in heaven with Jesus are over and evil and sin are wiped out of existence the death of all those who are evil and are destroyed forever- that death will not hurt those who are God's faithful.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 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.
May God bless and keep us through the tribulations we have and will have, may we remain faithful unto Him forever. May the second death not hurt any of us as we seek life in Jesus, our Lord and Savior now and forever!
Amen
Tell me something, is that the first time you heard the term 'second death'? Death, we know what death is, don't we? If someone dies they cease to have heartbeat and breath in their bodies, when this happens they are no longer conscious and their bodies begin immediately to decay, perhaps imperceptibly at first but it is happening. Their skin quickly grows cold, and they'll have a period of rigidity. You cannot bring anyone back from a true death after their bodes begin the decaying process in earnest. I say that because people have temporarily stopped breathing or their hearts have stopped beating and others have been able to get them breathing again and their hearts pumping. Some have even been practically dead for a while and under such cold temperatures they've protected vital brain functions that otherwise would have died off leaving them brain damaged if brought back to life with their breathing and heart beating. Death, when all means and measures have been exhausted, and no machines are doing the work of your heart or lungs, if an ending of you consciously. You are as if you have been put into a sleep from which there is no waking until Christ returns and wakes you up. And Christ will wake all who are in death's sleep up, and some will rise up and be transformed meeting Him in the air to be with Him forever, others will rise up only to be rendered dead once more- the life breath taken from them and they will sleep once more. And then this--
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Death and the grave - dying and living in the state of death's sleep in a grave were destroyed. NO ONE will ever again be subjected to dying with the chance to live again. Those who are NOT God's, those who have CHOSEN themselves not to belong to GOD will be case into the same lake of fire that destroys death and the grave. They will permanently be destroyed never to be again their existence completely blotted out. They won't be suffering endlessly in that lake of fire, they will burn up as stubble which burns to nothingness not endlessly burning stubble- such a thing does not exist. The wicked will be punished according to their wickedness and then be as if they never were. Contrary to so many false beliefs out there, deceptions that Satan has perpetrated, people will never enter a purgatory - a place to work off their sins, that doesn't exist. In death we can no longer praise God. In death we know nothing. Living we know we shall die, but the Bible tells us, the dead no nothing.
Ecc_9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing…
Death is a sleep. Even Jesus called death a sleep.
Joh 11:11 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
Joh 11:12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
Joh 11:13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
Joh 11:14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
Death's sleep- an unconscious state of being. We don't go to heaven immediately upon dying, not even our Savior did that! Read it all in the Bible, don't take my word for it!
There is a permanent death and I pray to God that none of us ever partake in that second death!
All by the grace and mercy of God, may we be HIS now and forever through the love and mercy of our Savior Jesus Christ our Lord now and forever!
******* Continuing our prophecy study-- Please GO back and READ the study from the beginning to gain full understanding of where we are if you haven't been following this study daily. Thank you :) We are on lesson number 66. God bless you! ******
Rev 2:8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
Rev 2:9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
Rev 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
Rev 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
If, as we talked about already, the seven churches spoken of represent God's people throughout time- the period of time suggested by others who have studied Revelation for the first chruch- Ephesus is.. 'the period from the resurrection of Christ to the close of the first century, or to the death of the last of the apostles.' And the second church - Smyrna - 'the date of the Smyrna church would be A.D. 100-323.' The big question is….how did they come to this date?
Well first let's look at what's said.
'And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write...These things saith the first and the last which was dead and is alive'
John through the Spirit is writing to the angel of the people of God in Smyrna. The first, the last, which was dead and is alive- this could be none other than- Jesus.
'I know thy works and tribulation and poverty but thou art rich'
He knows the works- the actions of His people in Smyrna. He also knows their tribulation. He understands what they're going through. Tribulation. If I say I'm going through tribulation am I talking about a little bit of a hard time? No. I'm talking about a very hard time, a time of such suffering, of such affliction it doesn't compare to ordinary upsets. Jesus knows the actions, the works, and He knows of the intense suffering of those people. He also knows of their poverty- their deficiencies, unproductiveness, their lacking, but He also knows they are rich.
A conflict? Can one be in poverty and be rich at the same time? They sure can be if we are thinking along the lines of being poor in one thing while rich in another. You can have a person poor in finances and rich in optimism. Jesus knows it all- the suffering the poverty and the riches. We are told in the Bible this--
Matthew {19:24} And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
With this in mind it's easy to imagine the riches spoken of here as something other than monetary riches.
These are riches of God- heavenly treasure, not an earthly treasure.
Matthew {6:20} But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth
corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. Heavenly riches.
A person can be rich in heavenly treasures and in extreme poverty upon the earth.
Yes, you can be rich in one thing and lacking in another. You can have a richness of love and a poverty of kindness. Jesus knows all of us, the good and the bad in us - His people throughout time.
'and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and are not but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison- that ye may be tried and ye shall have tribulation ten days'
Blasphemy- 1. a. A contemptuous or profane act, utterance, or writing concerning God or a sacred entity. b. The act of claiming for oneself the attributes and rights of God.
2. An irreverent or impious act, attitude, or utterance in regard to something considered inviolable or sacrosanct.
Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary
There are those who claim to be God's but are really from where?
The 'synagogue of Satan.'
Devil worshippers who claim to be God's people.
God knows who those people are, and truly there are those in all ages who are guilty of this- of claiming to be God's people while their lives, their hearts, the truth says otherwise.
God doesn't want His people to fear things that will be suffered by them. Again in all ages we face suffering for our faith and yet we are to fear not.
The devil will put some of God's people in prison- those people will be tried and have tribulation ten days. Now this is where we have to ask ourselves a question- ten days? In prophecy days can stand for years. Is there any notable ten year period of tribulation for God's people?
There is...
'The Diocletianic Persecution (or Great Persecution) was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman empire.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocletianic_Persecution
In 303, Emperor Diocletian and his colleagues Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding Christians' legal rights and demanding they comply with traditional religious practices. Later edicts targeted the clergy and demanded universal sacrifice, ordering all inhabitants to sacrifice to the gods. The persecution varied in intensity across the empire—weakest in Gaul and Britain, where only the first edict was applied, and strongest in the Eastern provinces. Persecutionary laws were nullified by different emperors at different times, but Constantine and Licinius's Edict of Milan (313) has traditionally marked the end of the persecution.'
303 to 313 - ten years!
The revelation was-
'the devil shall cast some of you into prison- that ye may be tried and ye shall have tribulation ten days'
Ten days- Ten years of GREAT tribulation, great suffering, great persecution.
The prophecy goes on to say-
'be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death'
Be faithful unto death. Telling them what? They would die! God's people, His church, would be persecuted to the death.
Faithful unto death. In truth we all throughout time must be faithful unto death, we must be determined to be God's until we die no matter what the cost might be. Faithful unto death.
The reward for such faithfulness is a crown of life! The crown of life given for those who receive life eternal in Jesus. The price is well worth the sacrifice to obtain such a priceless gift.
We are told once more--
'He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches'
LISTEN!
And the promise-
'He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death'
Meaning the death that is eternal- the death that comes when the 1000 years in heaven with Jesus are over and evil and sin are wiped out of existence the death of all those who are evil and are destroyed forever- that death will not hurt those who are God's faithful.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 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.
May God bless and keep us through the tribulations we have and will have, may we remain faithful unto Him forever. May the second death not hurt any of us as we seek life in Jesus, our Lord and Savior now and forever!
Amen
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