Which Resurrection?

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(Revelation 19:20-20:6) 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. 21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. 1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 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.

Is a person annihilated when they go to “Hell”?
What is “Hell” anyway?

The Bible speaks of TWO resurrections. Those in the FIRST Resurrection are given glorified bodies. They live and reign with Jesus for a thousand years on the earth prior to the beginning of Eternity – and live on beyond this. Those in the SECOND Resurrection are the lost – those who have rejected Christ as Savior.

In this section of Scripture we learn several interesting truths about eternal punishment.

Annihilationists Believe That Those Who Die Without Christ Cease To Exist

There are many offshoots of Christianity that teach that God is love and therefore would not cast people into a place of eternal torment. Some believe that when a person leaves this life without Christ they cease to exist. These groups – and here are a few:

Jehovah’s Witnesses
Christadelphians
Seventh Day Adventists
Church of England (Anglicans)
Church of God (7th Day)

This list is not exhaustive – and I am sure that there are many throughout various denominations that reject the concept of eternal punishment. My answer must always be based not on FEELING but on the FACT of what Scripture has said. In our text today we read:

(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.

The Beast – the anti-Christ and his sidekick the False Prophet are the first seized by the Lord Jesus.

They have rejected Christ and so He judges them, casting them ALIVE into the Lake of Fire. As we continue reading we see that

Revelation 20:1-3 (KJV) And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. [2] And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, [3] And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

Jesus our Lord grabbed and cast the False Prophet and the Anti-Christ into the Lake of Fire. These are HUMANS that followed the devil. The devil himself is grabbed and cast – not into the Lake of Fire but the bottomless pit – an entirely different place. Why is he put in a different place?

Because God wants to let him go after 1000 years!

Those cast into the Lake of Fire cannot get out. It is a place of FINAL judgment for those who have rejected Christ. But the devil will be released after 1000 years. Why? I really don’t know. The Bible just says “he MUST be loosed for a lttle season”.

When the devil is loosed he stirs up mankind once more against Israel. At the end of that 1000 year reign of Christ we read:

(Revelation 20:9) And they (Satan’s armies) went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city (Jerusalem): and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

Well that didn’t last long! The armies of the Devil are destroyed by God for trying to take Jerusalem. Christ is on His Throne and will not be removed! What do we read next?

Revelation 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the Lake Of Fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet ARE, and SHALL BE TORMENTED DAY AND NIGHT FOR EVER AND EVER.

The false prophet and the anti-Christ – two deceived humans – were cast into the Lake of Fire 1000 years BEFORE the devil was. When the devil is cast into this fiery Lake it says:

where the Beast (anti-Christ) and false prophet ARE

Not WERE but ARE. They are still there. They are still conscious.

The Devil is cast into the Lake Of Fire and brimstone WHERE THE BEAST AND FALSE PROPHET ARE. The anti-Christ and the False Prophet have been “cast alive” into this fiery lake for a thousand years, and are there to greet their Master when he arrives. While in that place the Bible says they “shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever”.

Shall be TORMENTED. You cannot torment someone who has ceased to be.
DAY and NIGHT. Time continues for those in this Lake Of Fire. They experience day and night.
For EVER AND EVER. Time never ends. The torment never ends.

The anti-Christ and the False Prophet are the first ones cast into the Lake Of Fire, then a thousand years later the Devil goes into that flaming prison. The wicked dead do not go into that fiery lake until after the Great White Throne Judgment, also called the Second Resurrection.

This Lake Of Fire is the final prison for those who, rejecting Christ, they are placed in a place where there is no Christ. This Lake Of Fire is a place where selfishness comes to be selfish forever. It is a place of no god but ME, no lord but ME, no one but ME.

Jesus spoke of this final prison in:

(Matthew 25:41-46) Then shall {the Lord} say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And THESE SHALL GO AWAY INTO EVERLASTING PUNISHMENT: BUT THE RIGHTEOUS INTO LIFE ETERNAL.

Just as life is eternal for those saved through the Grace of Christ, punishment is eternal for those who reject that glorious Grace! The Scripture declares:

Ephesians 2:8-10 (KJV) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: [9] Not of works, lest any man should boast. [10] For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

When you die you do not cease to be. You cease to be HERE, but are SOMEWHERE.

If the anti-Christ and the False Prophet – who are deceived HUMANS – ARE in the Lake of Fire still after 1000 years, then that is good evidence that people do not CEASE TO BE when they die. The Bible says:

Romans 2:11 (KJV) For there is no respect of persons with God.

What God does for ONE He does for EVERYONE. If the False Prophet and Anti-Christ are alive and in the flames, and they are humans who rejected Christ, then the same applies for all.

Isn’t God’s Eternal Punishment Excessively Cruel?

There are some who say that God could not be so cruel as the send anyone into eternal punishment. But they charge God with cruelty without understanding the Bible. You see:

God made us ALL to be eternal

In our world today our children are taught evolution as fact in our schools. When we go to museums our children are taught that dinosaur bones are millions of years old, and that mankind evolved from single cell creatures into fish, reptiles, land animals, monkeys, and then eventually into humans. Though there is no solid evidence for macro-evolution science presents this theory as fact.

No one looks to the Bible. The Bible has a different account of creation. The Bible tells us that God created the earth in six literal, 24 hour days. Then the Bible tells us that:

Genesis 1:26-27 (KJV) And God said, Let US MAKE MAN IN OUR IMAGE, AFTER OUR LIKENESS: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. [27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

God created man in His image and in His likeness. The word IMAGE is (צֶלֶם tselem) and LIKENESS is (דְּמוּת dĕmuwth). God used two different words to convey that we were made to be like Him. The very nature of God is that He is ETERNAL. He is TRIUNE – and ETERNAL. Your body is an outward representation – carbon based and fallible – of your soul. The soul is the YOU. Your soul is made in God’s image and likeness. It has no expiration date. This is what the Bible teaches. You may one day cease to be HERE, but the YOU that is YOU will be SOMEWHERE. You can burn the body up, but the soul continues on. Because of this great truth – often omitted because we regard evolutionary theory to be FACT and Biblical truth to be FANTASY – there must be a container that holds the eternal unbelieving soul.

There Is A Biblical HELL And A Biblical LAKE OF FIRE

I’m going to summarize this, then prove it to you by Scripture. When you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you enter into the Family of God and receive an inheritance in Heaven. You become attached to Christ’s real destiny. You are God’s children by faith in Christ, and your eternal self goes to a place – eventually goes – to a place of eternal life. BUT if you leave this life without Christ you go to a container called HELL, and will eventually leave this container called HELL and go to the LAKE OF FIRE. Why? Because unrepentant and unredeemed persons cannot enter God’s Presence either on Heaven or on this earth.

You say “Preacher, that’s a lot of assumption”. Well, let me tell you what our Lord JESUS taught about that container called Hell.

Matthew 5:22 (KJV) But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Jesus saw HELL as a DANGER, not a place of annihilation and release. It was a place of punishment. Hell is a terrible place to go. Jesus spoke in the harshest terms about Hell. He said:

Mark 9:42-48 (KJV) And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. [43] And 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: [44] Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. [45] 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: [46] Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. [47] 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: [48] Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

Jesus said that it is BETTER or more DESIRABLE to tie a millstone around your neck and be cast into the sea to drown than to be cast into Hell. If Hell is place a ANNIHILATION – where you cease to exist – then WHY would drowning in the sea be MORE PREFERABLE? That makes no sense! Hell is a horrible place. Jesus said better to cut a hand off and enter eternity and life with one hand than to be cast with two hands into hell. Again, why would that make sense if Hell is a place where the unbeliever ceases to be? Jesus said better to cut off a foot or pluck out an eye and enter God’s Kingdom than to be whole and cast into Hell. Why? Because Hell is a place of eternal torment.

Hell is a place where the unbelieving dead go to upon their physical death. It is not a place of annihilation, but a place of holding and of suffering. Jesus defined the afterlife when He spoke in Luke 16:

Luke 16:19-21 (KJV) There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: [20] And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, [21] And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

Jesus spoke of two individuals. Now some people say that this is a parable that Jesus spoke, others a historic reality. Does it really matter? What Jesus taught here defines what HE believes about the afterlife. There are two people. There is a rich man who has a life of ease, who has no suffering. He wears good clothes, and goes to bed with a full belly, resting in comfort. Outside his door is a beggar named Lazarus. He has nothing but crumbs and dogs as his companions.

Luke 16:22-23 (KJV) And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; [23] And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

Both the rich man and Lazarus cease to exist on this earth. Lazarus is carried by the angels to where Father Abraham is. Here he is comforted. But the rich man is in a different state. When the rich man dies NO ONE carries him anywhere. We are told simply:

in HELL he lift up his eyes BEING IN TORMENTS

The rich man can see, suffer, and long. In hell he reaches out to Abraham seeking comfort. “Send Lazarus to give me something to drink – just a drop of water!”. He would give all his riches for a tiny comfort. But it is not to be had. Why? Because as Abraham says:

Luke 16:26 (KJV) And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

There is a GREAT GULF between Lazarus and the rich man. Do you know what that GREAT GULF is? It is UNBELIEF. The rich man rejected Christ. He cannot enter Christ’s Heaven. He cannot go to where Christ’s children are. His eternal soul is bound in a different container, one that awaits the SECOND RESURRECTION.

If you have Christ you shall never need fear the Second Death, that Lake of Fire. The Scripture declares:

(Revelation 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.

The “Second Death”, also called the Lake Of Fire, is that final resting place for the lost. It is a place they chose, a place of selfishness and disaster. Yet it is not our place. We who love the Lord will be with the Lord. Think of it this way:

The God you serve and love now is the God you will spend eternity with.

What happens to those in the Second Resurrection. They stand before a Great White Throne:

Revelation 20:11-15 (KJV) And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. [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.

What causes someone to enter the Lake of Fire forever? Is it that they did not work good enough or hard enough to please God? No. The Scripture says:

whosoever WAS NOT FOUND WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LIFE
was cast into the lake of fire.

If your name is not found in the Book of Life you go into the Lake of Fire forever. How does one get into the Book of Life? The Apostle Paul said:

Philippians 4:3 (KJV) And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which LABOURED WITH ME IN THE GOSPEL, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, WHOSE NAMES ARE IN THE BOOK OF LIFE.

that those who labor with him sharing the Gospel of Christ are in the Book of Life. Those who have received Christ as Lord and Savior are in that glorious Book. Your name is written in His Blood. Heaven is yours. All because of Christ! Jesus said to the Church in …

Revelation 3:4-5 (KJV) Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. [5] He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Those who walk with Jesus in love, loving God and loving others, are in the Book of Life. Praise Him! Which resurrection will you be in? I pray that you shall be with me and all those who love Jesus in that First Resurrection. Call upon Jesus and be saved. You will be somewhere in eternity – why not be where there is great life everlasting!