The First Death Is Just The Beginning!

"Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

Unless Jesus returns before we take our final breath, we will die (or fall asleep) and our end will only be for the earthly measurement of time. The heavenly measurement of time begins when He returns and all the dead in Him (those who died believing Him to be their Savior) shall rise at the sound at the trumpet and they shall be judged first.

It is not the first death that we need to concern ourselves while we live. It is the second death--the assignment of eternal resting place--in heaven reigning with Jesus or in the lake of fire, being tormenting continually for eternity.

While I know there are those who do not believe in heaven or hell, according to God's Truth they do exist and in the end, we'll all discover their existence. But while we wait for the end to come, we must know that our final resting place for eternity is determined by what we do while we have breath to live. Notice what John says, about who ends up in the lake of fire.

"The cowardly--those who are always fearful because they do not know that love casts out fear. The fearful do not know love for it they did, they would not fear. The unbelieving--those who refuse to accept God's existence so they can do whatever their flesh dictates. The vile--those who do every imaginable evil thing they can without concern about how their actions impact others. The murderers--those who have no respect for life and consistently are responsible for the deaths of others. The sexually immoral--those who use sex as a tool for pleasure with anybody and everybody without discrimination or adherence to God's plan for sex. Those who practice magic--misusing gifts of discernment and abilities given by God for monetary gain or fame. The idolators--those who worship things made by the hands of man or people--holding the things and people in higher esteem than God. The liars--those who twist and malign truth (especially God's Truth) for their own personal agendas in order to influence others into doing what is pleasing in their own sight--totally ignoring God's plan for man." All these--when they have chosen to do these things--will end up in the lake of fire, unless they choose to live as God desires before the first death.

No person--can send another to hell and God won't either. The eternal resting place in which we end up is determined by what we do when we are alive, having the ability to choose and choose wrongly. Every person--believer and unbeliever--chooses their final destination and they have no one to blame but themselves.

No matter how our end comes the first time--illness, accident, war, acts of violence or old age, our greatest concern should be the second death.