The Second Death

The oldest maintained cemetery in the United States is the Myles Standish Burial Ground in Duxbury, Massachusetts. It was in use from 1638 to 1789 but fell into disrepair. Then it was rediscovered and cleaned up in 1887. Around 130 marked graves have been found, several belonging to well-known Pilgrims. The oldest carved gravestone belongs to Captain Jonathan Alden, who died in 1697.

Imagine a time when there are no graveyards, no funerals, and no deaths. When Christ comes at the end of the thousand years, He will make all things new. That includes the elimination of cemeteries. All the righteous will be in heaven, and all sinners will be consumed in the lake of fire. Indeed, as today’s text points out, “Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire.” The personification of death and the grave here tells us that the sting of death will be forever removed from the universe.

David wrote, “For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; indeed, you will look carefully for his place, but it shall be no more” (Psalm 37:10). “May sinners be consumed from the earth, and the wicked be no more” (104:35). Solomon added, “When the whirlwind passes by, the wicked is no more, but the righteous has an everlasting foundation” (Proverbs 10:25).

The “lake of fire” is the hellfire that destroys the wicked. It is not an eternally burning place where sinners scream in agony for eons while the righteous ignore the idea that some of their loved ones are suffering. God will not prolong sin; He will end death and pain. The lake of fire is called the “second death” because it is final. There will be no second chances, no resurrections, no eternal torment.

It is good news to know that all that is sin—torture, abuse, murder, broken homes, disease, depression, theft, and more—will be over. And even the traces of sin, such as cemeteries, will be erased. What rejoicing there will be!

Lord, I look forward to the day when You will destroy death and the grave. Thank You for promising to wipe away all our tears and give us eternal peace.

For Further Study: Matthew 10:28; Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:26, 53–55

Key Bible Texts

And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (Revelation 20:14 KJV)