Revelation 20:14

second death

Second death, Summary: "The second death" and the "lake of fire" are identical terms Rev 20:14 and are used of the eternal state of the wicked. It is "second" relative to the preceding physical death of the wicked in unbelief and rejection of God; their eternal state is one of eternal "death" (i.e. separation from God) in sins Joh 8:21; Joh 8:24. That the second death is not annihilation is shown by a comparison of; Rev 19:20; Rev 20:10. After one thousand years in the lake of fire the Beast and False Prophet are still there, undestroyed. The words "forever and forever" ("to the ages of the ages") are used in Heb 1:8 for the duration of the throne of God, eternal in the sense of unending.

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20:14 The expression death and the grave refers to the reality of death; it is the last enemy that God will destroy (see 21:4; 1 Cor 15:26). • The lake of fire portrays the horrible end of God’s enemies who will not experience the “first resurrection” (see Rev 20:5-6; cp. Matt 25:41; Luke 16:24; Jude 1:7).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The last enemy which is death shall be abolished by Christ (that he may no more make any attempt against us), 1 Cor. 15:16, and death shall feed upon the reprobate in hell for evermore, according to the righteous judgment of God, in the next verse.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Death and Hades, as personified representatives of the enemies of Christ' and His Church, are said to be cast into the lake of fire to express the truth that Christ and His people shall never more die, or be in the state of disembodied spirits.

This is the second death--"the lake of fire" is added in A, B, and ANDREAS. English Version, which omits the clause, rests on inferior manuscripts. In hell the ancient form of death, which was one of the enemies destroyed by Christ, shall not continue, but a death of a far different kind reigns there, "everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord": an abiding testimony of the victory of Christ.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 14. And death and hell were cast into the lake] Death himself is now abolished, and the place for separate spirits no longer needful. All dead bodies and separated souls being rejoined, and no more separation of bodies and souls by death to take place, consequently the existence of these things is no farther necessary.

This is the second death.] The first death consisted in the separation of the soul from the body for a season; the second death in the separation of body and soul from God for ever. The first death is that from which there may be a resurrection; the second death is that from which there can be no recovery. By the first the body is destroyed during time; by the second, body and soul are destroyed through eternity.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(14, 15) And death and hell were cast . . .—Better, And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. The latter part of the verse contains, according to the best MS. authority, the additional words “the lake of fire.” We then read, not “This is the second death”—as though the reference were to what went before—but, This is the second death, the lake of fire. The last verse then follows, And if any was not found written in the book (or, roll) of life, he was cast into the lake of fire. Thus, three times in these two short verses, like a refrain at the close of each clause, we have the terrible words “the lake of fire.” Into this lake of fire Death and Hades are thrown. It is clearly figurative language, implying that Death, the last enemy (1Co_15:26) is destroyed, together with Hades, who was personified as Death’s escort (Rev_6:8). So we read in the next chapter (Rev_21:4) “there shall be no more death.” The lake of fire into which Death is thrown is the second death! We have read of this before in this book (Rev_2:11; Rev_20:6). It is a death of which the first death—the physical death, now destroyed—was but a faint figure. It is a condition which needs no coarse exaggeration, or vulgar literalisation of the prophetic imagery, to heighten the horror of. Very awful is that spiritual death, which knows not and loves not God, and from which Christ has come to arouse us; more awful must be that second death, in which the spirit, no longer the sinning victim of hereditary evil, has become the victim of habitual choice of wrong, loving darkness rather than light, and choosing alienation rather than reconciliation—the husks of the swine rather than the Father’s house. Of the full meaning of the words in their true and future force we can have little conception. It is enough for us to remember two things: they are figurative, but they are figurative of something.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. And death and hell were cast &c.] They are enemies of God, 1Co_15:26, and to be destroyed at Christ’s triumph, ib. 54. But though no doubt presented to St John as individual demon figures (see Rev_6:8), we are probably not to understand that they are real persons, like the Devil and those represented by the Beast and the False Prophet: and hence we are not told that, like them, they continue to exist in torment in the lake of fire.

This is the second death] Add, the Lake of Fire. We have learnt already, that temporal death does not hinder eternal life, nay, may secure a better and an earlier resurrection thereto. We now learn the opposite doctrine, that there is a resurrection not to life, but to a death far more terrible than that which ends this life. Cf. St Joh_5:29. It is quite true, however, that both in popular Jewish belief, and in the language of the N. T., when the Resurrection is spoken of, it is ordinarily conceived as one to life. This does not prevent the more terrible side of the doctrine from being also taught in the Gospel, but it does indicate which side is the healthier, as well as the pleasanter, for our thoughts to dwell on.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire,.... Death cannot be taken properly, nor hell be the place of torment, for devils and damned spirits; since that is that lake of fire, for then the sense would be, hell is cast into hell; but either by these the devil is meant, who has the power of death, and is the prince of hell, were it not that the casting of him into this lake is mentioned before in Rev 20:10 or it denotes the destruction and abolition of death and the grave, that from henceforth they should no more have power over men, nor have any under their dominion, and in their hands; and so what has been promised will now be fully performed, Hos 13:14 see Rev 21:4 or rather the wicked dead, which they shall have delivered up, and will be judged and sentenced to eternal death, Rev 20:13

this is the second death; or the destruction of the soul and body in hell, which will consist in an eternal separation of both from God, and in a continual sense of his wrath and displeasure. The Alexandrian copy and the Complutensian edition read, "this second death is the lake of fire"; and so the Arabic version, "and this is the second death, even the lake of fire"; and not much different is the Ethiopic version, "the second death, which is the fire of hell".

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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

Ver. 14. And death and hell] There shall be an utter end of all evils and enemies, nothing left to disquiet the Church. She shall see them afar off, as Lazarus did the rich man, and be able to say of them, as she did of her accusers, Joh 8:10-11 "they are all gone."

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire - Death and Hades (hell) are here personified, as they are in the previous verse. The declaration is equivalent to the statement in 1Co 15:26; “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” See the notes on that passage. The idea is, that death, considered as the separation of soul and body, with all the attendant woes, will exist no more. The righteous will live forever, and the wicked will linger on in a state never to be terminated by death. The reign of Death and Hades, as such, would come to an end, and a new order of things would commence where this would be unknown. There might be what would be properly called death, but it would not be death in this form; the soul would live forever, but it would not be in that condition represented by the word ᾅδης hadēs - “hades.” There would be “death” still, but a “second death differs from the first, in the fact that it is not a separation of the soul and body, but a state of “continual agony” like what the first death inflicts - like that in intensity, but not in kind” (Prof. Stuart).

This is the second death - That is, this whole process here described - the condemnation, and the final death and ruin of those whose names are “not found written in the book of life” - properly constitutes the second death. This proves that when it is said that “death and hell were cast into the lake of fire,” it cannot be meant that all punishment will cease forever, and that all will be saved, for the writer goes on to describe what he calls “the second death” as still existing. See Rev 20:15. John describes this as the second death, not because it in all respects resembles the first death, but because it has so many points of resemblance that it may be properly called “death.” Death, in any form, is the penalty of law; it is attended with pain; it cuts off from hope, from friends, from enjoyment; it subjects him who dies to a much-dreaded condition, and in all these respects it was proper to call the final condition of the wicked “death” - though it would still be true that the soul would live. There is no evidence that John meant to affirm that the second death would imply an extinction of “existence.” Death never does that; the word does not naturally and properly convey that idea.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And death and hell were cast into lake of fire; there shall be no more natural death, nor any more separate state of souls, (so αδης signifies), they shall all be swallowed up in the issue of the last judgment, where some shall go into life, some into eternal condemnation. Dr. More expoundeth it of the whole region of mortality being set on fire at the last thunder.

This, as to the wicked of the earth, is the second death, mentioned Rev 2:11.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

14. Death and hades—Not personification, but the submergence of the two conditions in the dark finality is expressed. Condemnation of both is implied; for both are the results of the fall; since without the fall man would have passed into the glorified state without death or an intermediate state. Death is a disorganization of the man into two parts; and hades is a continuation of that separation and a detention from full final bliss.

Lake of fire—The most awful thought that can occupy the human mind.

This is the second death—Alford well says, “As there is a second and higher life, so there is also a second and deeper death. And as after that life there is no more death, (Rev_21:4,) so after that death there is no more life. Rev_20:10; Mat_25:41.” There is a deathless life, and a resurrectionless death.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire; death and Hades (see on ver. 13). Lake of fire (see on ver. 10). This is described in accordance with St. Paul"s teaching. "The last enemy that shall be abolished is death". (1Co_15:26, Revised Version) Death and Hades, though in reality abstractions, are here personified. This is the second death. Add even the lake of fire. St. John has not used the phrase, "the first death," but he has alluded to the fact. The first death is the actual death of the body, and which is the natural result of that spiritually dead state into which, since the Fall, man is horn, and which is therefore, as it were, his normal state. In a similar manner, the first resurrection is the risen spiritual life of conversion; while the second resurrection is the resurrection of all men, and the bestowal of eternal life upon the just.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And death and hades were cast into the lake of fire - That is, were abolished forever; for neither the righteous nor the wicked were to die any more: their souls and bodies were no more to be separated. Consequently, neither death nor hades could any more have a being.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

14. And death and hades were cast into the lake of fire. After this judgment day “death and hades” also, death and the unseen land of the dead, disappear forever. This is the significance of being cast into the lake of fire, the eternal prison house. Until the end of the Millennium and the final judgment men shall die, but after the grand epoch in the history of the Universe, there shall be no more death. The last enemy, death, shall be destroyed. Then shall come to pass the saying that is written, “O! death, where is thy sting? O! grave, where is thy victory?”

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Death as Sin’s ally must be destroyed along with Sin, while Hades, the grim receptacle of Death’s prey (the intermediate rendezvous for the dead, except for martyrs, cf. Rev 6:10 ), naturally ceases to have any function. This was the cherished hope of early Christianity as of Judaism (Isa 25:8 ). John’s idea of the second death is much more realistic and severe than the Hellenic or the Philonic ( cf. de Proem, et Poen . §12, etc.).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. οὗτος. א reads καὶ οὗτος. 1 cop[781] and Primas[782] transcript of Augustin omit οὗτος … πυρός, nor does Augustin anywhere quote this definition of the second death, though he gives many of his own; when he says that in the second death soul and body are tormented together by eternal fire he is obviously thinking of the synoptic Gospels; Text. Rec[783] omits ἡ λἱμνη τοῦ πυρός with the later vulgate, the older MSS. of which recognise the words in whole or in part.

[781] Coptic.

[782] Primasius, edited by Haussleiter.

[783] Rec. Textus Receptus as printed by Scrivener.

14. ὁ θάνατος καὶ ὁ ᾅδης ἐβλήθησαν. They are enemies of God, 1Co 15:26, and to be destroyed at Christ’s triumph, ib. 54. But though no doubt presented to St John as individual demon figures (see Rev 6:8), we are not to understand that they are real persons, like the Devil and those represented by the Beast and the False Prophet: and hence we are not told that, like them, they continue to exist in torment in the lake of fire.

οὗτος … πυρός. We have learnt already, that temporal death does not hinder eternal life, nay, may secure a better and an earlier resurrection thereto. We now learn the opposite doctrine, that there is a resurrection not to life, but to a death far more terrible than that which ends this life. Cf. St Joh 5:29. It is quite true, however, that both in popular Jewish belief, and in the language of the N.T., when the Resurrection is spoken of, it is ordinarily conceived as one to life. This does not prevent the more terrible side of the doctrine from being also taught in the Gospel, but it does indicate which side is the healthier, as well as the pleasanter, for our thoughts to dwell on.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

This is the second death. Add even the lake of fire.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.