Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the Book of Revelation.  Tonight is study #6 of Revelation chapter 20 and we are going to read Revelation 20:5-6:

But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 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.

In our last study we saw in verses 4 and 5 that God has two groups in view.  There are the “souls” that were beheaded for the Word of God and they were the firstfruits.  The “rest of the dead” that lived not again until the thousand years was finished are the great multitude that God saved out of the Great Tribulation period, which came after the end of the church age or after Satan’s loosing. 

Then God said, “This is the first resurrection.”  This statement applies to both groups.  He follows up by repeating it in verse 6:

Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection…

This applies to everyone that became saved, the firstfruits and the great multitude.  They all experienced the “first resurrection,” which is the resurrection of the soul.  It is a resurrection because God says that we were dead in trespasses and sins.  Mankind was spiritually dead in their soul existence, but then the Gospel went forth.  When the Word of God came upon one of God’s elect that He had predestinated to save in His own timing, God would use the Word to bring life.  Remember, the Word of God is quick (alive) and powerful.  God would sow His Word upon the heart of a spiritually dead sinner and if the person was one of the elect, then at the set time in that individual’s life God would bless His Word to bring life to that soul; the dead soul would rise and there would be the resurrection of the spirit. 

This happened over the centuries of the church age and it happened, especially, during the second part of the Great Tribulation during the Latter Rain period in which God saved tens of millions of people from the nations of the world.  They all experienced the “first resurrection.”

The Bible does not specifically speak of a “second resurrection.”  God does not say it directly as He says, “This is the first resurrection.”  We do not find a Scripture where God refers to “second resurrection,” but it is implied – if there is a “first resurrection” then there is a “second resurrection.”   And when we study the entire Bible we find that this is the case.  There is the salvation of the soul and there is the completion of salvation by the salvation of the physical body which will come at the last day.  God will raise up those that have died physically and they will be caught up to be with the Lord and receive their new, resurrected spiritual bodies.

But, here, the emphasis is upon the “first resurrection” and that is why the “souls” are in view.  It does not mention their bodies, but only their souls.  The “rest of the dead” have also enjoyed that first resurrection when they became saved.  So, it says, “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection.”  That is what it means, primarily, to be blessed by God.  God gives us what is really a definition of what it means to be blessed in Psalm 133.  When Jesus said in the Beatitudes, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” this is really what He had in mind.  It says at the end of Psalm 133:3:

…for there JEHOVAH commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

Ultimately, this is what it means to be “blessed.”  You have received eternal life.  You have been born again and received a new resurrected soul and God’s Spirit now indwells you.  This is the “earnest of the Spirit,” the down payment of God that is a guarantee that He will complete the work He began; He will complete your salvation one day and, in all likelihood, that day is October 7, 2015.  He will save the body and then each individual will be one whole personality and they will have experienced the “second resurrection.”

Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection.  Either we have part in the “first resurrection,” or else our part is described in 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.

So, those are the options, but it is not really an option because it is not our choice, but it is God’s decision.  We are all sinners and deserving of God’s wrath.  We are all subject to the wrath of God, except for God’s grace and mercy that was bestowed upon those He had determined to save and to give them the “first resurrection,” which guaranteed that He would give them the “second resurrection.”  If not, we have our part in the “lake of fire.”  God goes on to mention that very thing in Revelation 20:6:

Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power…

We just read about the “second death” in Revelation 21:8, where is said at the end of the verse that the fearful and unbelieving “shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”  The phrase “second death” is only found four times in the Bible and all four times it is in the Book of Revelation.  It is used once in Revelation 20:6:

…on such the second death hath no power…

If you are saved, the second death cannot harm you.  It has no power over you at all.  Then there is the verse in Revelation 21:8 that we just read.  Another instance is in Revelation 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.

We did not read Revelation 21:7 with Revelation 21:8, but it says in Revelation 21:7-8:

He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 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.

So God says the one that overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.  Of course, we overcome by faith, but it is not our faith.  It is not the faith of the sinner.  We are saved by the faith of Christ; it is through Christ that any are able to overcome and the “few” are able to overcome if they are God’s elect because of His faith and His overcoming the world and sin and death.  We are delivered.  We are spared from the “lake of fire.”  We are spared the second death. 

The only other time we read of the “second death” in the Bible is also in Revelation 20:12-15:

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 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. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

So we have looked at the four places in Revelation 20:6, Revelation 20:14, Revelation 21:8 and Revelation 2:11, where God speaks of a “second death” and we wonder what is this second death?  We also wonder when it takes place because we already learned that May 21, 2011 began Judgment Day.  So is the “second death” a spiritual thing that occurred then or is this “second death” something that will happen on the last day of this prolonged period of Judgment?  Where does the “second death” fit? 

We will find an answer because there are three main characteristics that God uses to describe the “second death.”  When we look at each one we are going to find something interesting, so that is what we are going to do.  We are going to look at three things that God links to the “second death” and we will see how it fits in God’s overall judgment program.

Let us start with the first characteristic of the “second death.”  Let us go back to Revelation 2, verse 11.  The way we come up with these characteristics is to read the four places the “second death” is mentioned and look at the language God uses to describe it.  It says at the end of the verse in Revelation 2:11:

…He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

The word “hurt” is Strong’s #91 and it is a word that is found in some very interesting places.  The one that “overcometh” is the one that has experienced the first resurrection and has become saved and, therefore, the “second death” has no power to hurt them.  But, again, the implication is that if you have not experienced the first resurrection by becoming saved, then the “second death” will hurt you.

Let us look to see where else we find this word “hurt.”  We find it in Revelation, chapter 9, a chapter we spent a lot of time in studying and we have seen that this chapter is a chapter where God describes Judgment Day and speaks of the “locusts” that bring torment for a period of five months.  We also learned that the “five months” was a figure to represent the complete duration of Judgment Day and from other Biblical information, we have learned the duration is very likely 1,600 days in length.  Speaking of the locusts, it says in Revelation 9:10:

And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.

Here, we find the word “power” which is the same Greek word used in Revelation 20, verse 6.  Those that enjoyed the first resurrection are the ones upon whom the “second death” has no power.  But, here in Revelation 9:10, the locusts did have “power” to hurt men five months.  Again, going back Revelation 2:11, it said: “He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.”  Obviously, these people that the locusts have power over and that are being hurt by the stings in the locusts’ tails did not “overcome.”  They did not experience the first resurrection.  They are the unsaved and they will be “hurt” and they will be those over whom the second death has power.  We see that this applies to the “five months” and what do we know about the “five months”?  It began on May 21, 2011 and if we are correct in our understanding, it will conclude on October 7, 2015.  The figure of “five months” encompasses the entire period of Judgment Day and the “second death” is that which hurts unsaved men during that time.  So here is a bit of evidence that indicates the “second death” stretches over the entire prolonged period of Judgment Day because men are “hurt” over the entire period.

Also, in the same chapter and speaking of the 200 million horsemen that represent God’s elect that come with Christ as He judges the world, it says in Revelation 9:18-19:

By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

The 200 million elect are being utilized by God to bring “hurt” to the unsaved during the Day of Judgment.  This is the “hurt” that comes with the second death and it is evidence that the second death is happening now and it has been happening since May 21, 2011 and it will continue to happen until Judgment Day ends.

This Greek word translated as “hurt” is also found in Revelation, chapter 22, and I think we will see a verse we have become very familiar with in Revelation 22:10:

And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still…

Surprisingly, the English word translated as “unjust” is a translation of the same Greek word, Strong’s #91, which is translated as “hurt” in Revelation 20, verse 6 and in the verses we just looked at in Revelation, chapter 9.  So let us read it with that translation: “He that is hurt, let him be hurt still, and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.”  What understanding do we get from this?  God is indicating that it is Judgment Day and everyone’s spiritual condition is fixed and those that are “hurt” for five months (which represents the complete time of the wrath of God) will be “hurt” still; that is, there is no remedy.  There is no healing of their “hurt” and they will remain in that state; the unsaved will remain unsaved.

As a matter of fact, it is because God has shut the door to heaven that they are “hurt” and that is why they will be “hurt” still.  There will be no change in their spiritual condition and there is no salvation for them.  If there were still salvation, it would not be Judgment Day, but some other period of time, but this is the day of the Lord’s wrath and fierce anger and a time in which He is hurting the unsaved people of the earth.

Let us take a look at a second characteristic of the “second death” and that is that God ties the “second death” to the “lake of fire.”  We saw this in Revelation 20:14:

And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

We saw it in the last part of the verse in Revelation 21:8:

… and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

So this is twice that God associates the “second death” with the “lake of fire.”  Since He only uses the term four times, this is pretty significant.  We read of the “lake of fire” in Revelation 19, verse 20, and we discussed it in our study of that chapter.  It says in Revelation 19:20:

And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

Again, we have discussed this and we saw this is speaking of Satan as the “beast” and he is also the “false prophet,” but the “false prophet” is intimately identified with the churches and congregations that were made after the likeness of the beast; they became his emissaries.  God bundled the “tares,” and this would represent all that were still in the churches at the beginning of Judgment Day.  Satan was then put down from any official rule and he was deposed of power and the corporate church that refused to hearken to God’s warning to “depart out of the midst” were “both cast alive in a lake of fire.”  That is the “second death.”  We saw that this took place on May 21, 2011 and it is continuous throughout this period of time of God’s wrath.  So this is a second piece of evidence that indicates the “second death,” which is the lake of fire, has already started; it began on May 21, 2011 and it continues today and will continue until God’s judgment is completed. 

We see the word “hurt” identifies with the “five months” and the “lake of fire” also identifies with this entire period of God’s judgment.

When we get together in our next study, we will look at a third characteristic of the “second death” and we will see how that also fits.