Announcer: It's time now for "Bible Talk". Join Gary Gibbs and John Bradshaw as they open the Bible to deepen our understanding of God's word.
John Bradshaw: Hi and welcome to "Bible Talk" where we talk about the Bible and how the Bible affects us today. I am John Bradshaw.
Gary Gibbs: I am Gary Gibbs and we want to invite you to this program. We are going to cover a very hot topic. We are going to talk about Hellfire and the second death.
John: We have on occasions here talked about death on "Bible Talk", but we are going to talk about what the Bible calls the second death and you are going to see how closely related this is to the subject of Hell. Interestingly enough, Gary, I have never been to Hell. I have never been. I have been a number of places, I have never been to Hell, but my understanding is that you have been to Hell. Tell us what it's like.
Gary: I have been. In fact, before our program today I was showing John a picture of my vacation to Hell.
John: What was it like now?
Gary: It's a wonderful place.
John: [laughs] Really?
Gary: It is balmy, it's warm, and if you like scuba diving it's a great place to scuba dive.
John: There is beaches?
Gary: I am actually talking about Hell in the Cayman Islands. There is actually a little town in the Cayman Islands. I have friends there in the Caymans and they graciously invite me down every year to spend some time with them. On the island, on Grand Cayman, there is a little town of Hell. They have really marketed this out. They have got the red buildings and on the side of the building 'Welcome to Hell'. The Devil's Hangout Gift Shop. They have got this little pointed eared guy with horns on his head. I have got pictures there. John, you noted that I didn't have a mustache. As long as you have known me I had a mustache.
John: Oh yeah.
Gary: Well, when I went to Hell I went a little incognito. I didn't want anybody to recognize me there.
John: I guess there would be people who would see you and say, "Yeah, I thought he would be here," right?
Gary: You can also post a letter from Hell. There is a Hell post office. Ironically, on the door of the post office it has a no smoking sign.
John: No smoking in Hell.
Gary: They are not even trying to be funny.
John: Have you ever seen those bumper stickers "Where will you spend eternity, smoking or non-smoking?" Yeah, that is the sort of thing we are going to look at today and find out whether there is any validity to that. The Bible refers to something called the second death. You die once but that might not be enough. There are going to be some people who die twice. Now, praise the Lord, by his grace, we want to be in that group of people who don't die at all. There have been a couple of notable figures who never died at all. You can't say that about Jesus. He died on the cross. Elijah never died. He was born, he lived, he was taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire.
Gary: Enoch.
John: Enoch never died. He walked with God. God took him. Someone put it like this, God and Enoch took a walk one day and they walked so far together that God looked at Enoch and said, "You know Enoch, we are closer to my place than we are to yours. Why don't you just come on to my place?" Enoch walked with God all the way into Heaven. That is a nice thought, a nice twist on that thing. The idea is don't die at all. Some people will die once and then the resurrection and they will live eternally with Jesus Christ and they are redeemed. Some people sadly, tragically, would die twice. What does the Bible say about the second death?
Gary: In four verses in the Bible on Revelation it mentions the second death. In Revelation 2:11 we read "He that overcomes shall not be hurt of the second death." Then when you get to Revelation 20 it tells us who the overcomer is. It says, "Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection because on such the second death hath no power. They will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him 1,000 years." The second death is something that has power over those who are not saved. Then verse 14 in Revelation 20 "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire." This is the second death. In Revelation 21 verse eight "But the fearful and unbelieving, the abominable, murderers, whoremongers, sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone which is the second death."
John, this is why we have tied the topic of hell to the second death because the lake of fire and brimstone, that is the second death.
John: Hey, this is interesting, verse eight who God says is going to end up in the second death. It's no surprise that he talks about idolaters, sorcerers, whoremongers. Immorality is still wrong, always wrong. Murderers, the abominable, that is no surprise, but all liars? All liars? The fearful? Perhaps that means the timid, those who were afraid to stand for Jesus and give their lives to him.
Gary: They are not the faithful, they are the fearful.
John: The unbelieving. Now that is solemn. You want to think about that, friend. You don't want to be in that group. Something else you want to think about and that is this. At the end of our program we will give you a telephone number, we will give you an email address. Contact us and get our free offer this time. It's called "Is the Devil In Charge of Hell". "Is the Devil In Charge of Hell". This will shed so much light on the subject of hell, the subject of the second death. It will be a blessing to you. It's important that we understand this. Frankly, I believe most people have been taught incorrectly about this and it causes people to misunderstand and even fear God and it pains God in the worst light possible. The Devil wants you to believe God is a devil. That is why he misinforms you on the subject.
Romans 6, verse 23, "The wages of sin is death."
Gary: Death.
John: Now, is that saying the wages of sin is a heart attack or a car wreck or something?
Gary: No, that would be the first death and we have talked about the first death in a previous program. That is the death that we all experience if we don't go to Heaven at Jesus' second coming. We die, we go into this peaceful sleep. The second death happens after the resurrection of the wicked and we are going to talk about that in a future program, but it happens at the end of the 1,000 years. We come back for the judgment, the final judgment, and then you have the second death. That is the context here in Revelation 20 and 21.
John: I think it's important to understand the Bible talks about Hellfire as being the second death. The second death. When you understand it that way it's going to help you to avoid a lot of the common pitfalls and mistakes and misunderstandings that people have about hell.
Gary: John, is there a parallel here? If the first death is a restful, peaceful sleep in the grave where there is no consciousness of time passing, no feelings experienced of pain, suffering or joy and gladness on either side of this equation. In the second death are we going to live an eternal life in this second death and experience or will it also be a conscious-less state?
John: Well, your question answers itself. It can't be a death if you go on living. That wouldn't be the second death at all. If you had your first apple, OK, and then you ate your second apple but it looked like a pear and smelled like a pear and tasted like a pear. In fact, if it was a pear you wouldn't call it your second apple would you? No, you wouldn't do that. You would say, "I had an apple and I had a pear." God will allow people to experience the first death and then there is got to be something called the second death. It's got to be akin, closely akin to the first death because if it wasn't death it would be called something else wouldn't it?
Gary: It would be. Here is the text. Everybody knows. You know this. I can start this text and you can finish it. "For God so loved the world..."
John: "...that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
Gary: Those who believe they get what? They get everlasting life.
John: That is right.
Gary: Those who don't believe should perish.
John: They get everlasting death.
Gary: They perish and that everlasting death is perishing. What does it mean to perish?
John: I had a pair of running shoes that perished and they wore out. In fact, the sole kind of disappeared.
Gary: They cease to exist. Now, listen to these Bible text. Here's the fate of the wicked in Hellfire. It says here in Psalm 37, verse 10. "For a little while and the wicked shall not be. Yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place and it shall not be." Psalm 37:20, "The wicked shall perish. The enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs. They shall consume into smoke shall they consume away."'
John: This is going to rock some people and I have known of people. I have never met anybody who actually said this to me, or have I? Maybe I have. Some people are disappointed to find this out. They want Daddy to be frying away forever and ever and ever and ever. They don't want him to experience a second death anyway.
Gary: If he was a bad Daddy.
John: Yeah, and the Lord only knows what you have experienced to wish that upon a person. Think about it like this, first John five and verse 12. Friend, do think about this biblically and if you want more information get our free resource offer "Is the Devil in Charge of Hell". You can call us, you can email us. You'll get the formation at the end of the program for "Is the Devil in Charge of Hell". Whatever you are doing grab a pen or something, if you are driving, hear or do something real careful. "Is the Devil in Charge of Hell", you want that. Think about this verse. First John five verse 12, He, or she, He that hath the son, "He that hath the son hath life. He that hath not the son of God hath not life." If you do not possess Jesus Christ in your heart by faith you can't have life in any form.
The Bible isn't saying he that hath not the son of God hath life in some anguished, tormented state forever. It doesn't say that. The Bible says if you have Jesus you have life and you know for sure nobody in hell has the son, has Jesus. Nobody at all.
Gary: No. You either have life or you have death. You either have everlasting life or you perish. There is no intermediate state there. The wicked, it mentions it numerous times in the Bible, they perish in this Hellfire. How does that happen, John? What goes on here? Are we saying that Hellfire is not a punishment? Because you are wicked you just cease to exist? Or is there pain and torment because Jesus said there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth and pain and torment?
John: No, let's understand now, and God forbid that anybody would get the idea, we are not, we are saying there is no hell. The Bible is very clear on this. Jesus said, "Don't fear him who can destroy body but can't afflict the soul but fear him who is able to destroy both body and soul," body and breath, "in hell." Jesus made it clear there is a hell and folks will go there. Not disembodied spirits now. This is body plus breath. You go there lock, stock, and barrel you understand. Jesus was clear. You read over in Revelation, "Death and Hell," meaning death and the grave, "were cast into the lake of fire." This is a place where people are going to go. It says that, "On such", verse six of Revelation 20, "the second death hath no power." The second death certainly will have power on some.
It's not going to be pretty, it's not going to be fun, it's not going to feel good, it will be terrible, it's a real place. Folks are going to die there and be put out of existence there in a stunning way and I don't mean stunning as in one of Monet's paintings is stunning. I mean stunning in its ferocity, perhaps, stunning in its results, stunning in its effect.
Gary: The second death means they will not be anymore. The Bible makes it very clear in numerous places that the wicked will be turned into ashes. Malachi 4:3 says, "You'll tread down the wicked. They shall be ashes under the soles of your feet."
John: Even the Bible says, you can read this in the book of Ezekiel, Ezekiel 28, "The Devil himself is reduced to" what?
Gary: To ashes.
John: Now, you don't get turned into ashes without there being what?
Gary: Without a hot fire.
John: That is right and a hot fire too. Listen, I have heard of people who preach these things where you go and you get a little roasted and a little sautéed and a little, what, singed in hell. I have got a hotter hell for you than that. This hell is hot enough to turn people into ashes. That is a hot place.
Gary: There will be torment and there will be pain, but ultimately the penalty will be after the wages of sin has been paid, after this person has felt the pain and torment they have caused others in Hellfire, they will then cease to exist and God will recreate the Earth. We want to make sure, friend that we come up in the right resurrection, that we have committed our lives to Jesus Christ so that we live with him forever and not perish in the fires of hell.
John: That is God's will for every one of us. The prophet Ezekiel said, "Turn ye from your evil ways and live. Why would you die? And through Jesus you may live and live forever. Offer and have that." Join us next time for more on "Bible Talk". [music]
Man: If you like more information on what we have been studying today, we have a comprehensive bible study guide we would love to share with you, that is absolutely free. This study includes many of the texts we have just discussed and expands on the subject including information you will want to know. To receive this free informative bible study guide, simply call, write or email and ask for "Is the Devil in Charge of Hell". The toll free number is 866-BIBLE SAYINGS. That is 866-242-5372. You can write to us at Bible Talk. P.O. box 1058 Roseville, California, 95678. That is P.O. Box 1058, Roseville, California, 95678. Or email us at bibletalk@amazingfacts.org. bibletalk@amazingfacts.org. Bible Talk is being produced in association with amazing facts in the studios of Life Talk radio.