We're Wondering

How do you know that you are doing what God wants you to do in your life?

It is hard for us to know exactly what hell is like or what it will be like for unbelievers after the final judgment. The scriptures about heaven and hell are written figuratively.

However, we do know that at the final judgment, Christ will separate the believers from the wicked and unbelievers (this is depicted in Matthew 25:31-46). The wicked will be condemned to hell and will be subject to God’s fury and wrath (Revelation 14:10). They will experience total separation from God (2 Thessalonians 1:9).

Your question about the 2nd death comes from Revelation 20:14-15 and Revelation 21:8. That is the place scripture discusses the 2nd death; however, scriptures does not specify what exactly the 2nd death means. There are a number of verses in Revelation that discuss the lake of fire referred to in these passages. The terms “fiery lake,” “lake of fire,” “lake of burning sulfur” and “burning sulfur” are a recurrent theme. With that in mind, Revelation 20:10 can help us better understand Revelation 20:14-15 & Revelation 21:8. It says, “and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” This concept of eternal or everlasting torment is consistent with other references to hell in scripture like Matthew 25:46, Luke 16:19-31, and Revelation 14:11 for example. This suggests that those condemned to hell and the 2nd death are not destroyed, but instead experience suffering and misery of both body and soul forever.

If you'd like to hear more about this topic, I recommend listening to the Groundwork program "Understanding Hell & Judgment" based on Revelation 20. You can find the program in our archives under the Episodes tab. Thanks for sharing your question and digging deeper into scripture with Groundwork.