Bible Dictionaries
Death, Second
Holman Bible Dictionary
Final separation from God; spiritual death following physical death. Revelation describes the second death with the images of the lake of fire (John 20:14 ) and a lake burning with fire and sulphur (John 21:8 ). The second death has no power over those who remain faithful in persecution (John 2:11 ), who are martyred (John 20:6 ), or for those whose names are written in the book of life (John 20:15 ). Some stress everlasting punishment in literal fire. Others stress the spiritual state of separation from God. Still others interpret the second death in terms of anihilation on the basis of comparison with Matthew 10:28 . The alternative is eternal life with God.
Copyright Statement
These dictionary topics are from the Holman Bible Dictionary, published by Broadman & Holman, 1991. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Broadman & Holman.
Bibliography Information
Butler, Trent C. Editor. Entry for 'Death, Second'. Holman Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hbd/d/death-second.html. 1991.