Quote:
Originally Posted by jonathanwright
When I first came here to Landover I was asked about one of my favorite verses....here's another verse that caught my attention in recent times and I believe it gives cause to rejoice and to give people that one final opportunity to accept Jesus into your life before it's too late. I don't want to be the one to explain why you failed to accept Jesus Christ!
Revelations 20:12-15
12 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.
13 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.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. |
How often have we heard it suggested that this
second death contradicts Hebrews 9:27
it is appointed unto men once to die, yet right there in the same verse
but after this the judgment.
In particular the papists, Copts, eastern orthodox, oriental denominations and for all I know Lutherans imply that deceased persons are floating around somewhere as wraiths, listening to us, moving us to worship them (Mary for example) when The Bible explains it completely. Death is like a coin. Just because there is a head on one side doesn't mean there's nothing else. But a coin has thickness. If you were a little flea, small enough to wriggle through the atoms of the coin and see what happened next, while you were inside the coin nobody could communicate with you. Even if you gave a priest some money and he did ventriloquism:
still nope. The priest is lying of course because after we die there's an interim (from a fleshly perspective) during which nothing happens (except on earth and demonic activity in the nether regions) rather like that flea inside the coin. Then in Revelation 20:13
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. This aspect of death is like the other side of the coin. It's the same coin but it has thickness. The Bible describes this sometimes as like sleep.
But that's not all. I've even heard it claimed that this second dimension of death, although a distinct experience from whatever happens on earth, is annihilation. The idea would be that Revelation 20:14
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, refers to incineration blasting sinners away to nothingness.
WHOOOMPH!!
Revelation 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
People who reject Christ can never be extinguished if The Bible is true. Again, have we heard that only certain types cop the everlasting torment? Yes. I don't know why anyone rejecting these important verses would bother with Scripture at all. It is true that accepting the mark of The Beast results in infinite torture but remember Mark's Gospel where this objection is refuted preemptively?
Mark 9:43-48 If thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.