Revelation 21:8 Meaning of the Second Death

Revelation 21:8
“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.”

Explanation and Commentary of Revelation 21:8

It is an astounding fact that the Lamb’s Book of Life will be opened to find the names of those who put their faith in Jesus Christ to save them, accepting by pure grace the free gift of eternal life in heaven with God and Christ. All fall short of the glory of God (Ro 3:23) and all were once among the sinners listed in Revelation 21:8, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, through faith in Christ, some were made objects of mercy (Ro 9:22) and saved from their sin by trusting Jesus. For those who remain in their sin, the wrath of a holy God remains on them (Jn 3:36). At the judgment, there will be a separation of sheep and goats, and those who rejected God will go to their eternal punishment.

Unbelief is not the direct reason for the damnation of sinners, but rather it is their specific sins for which they are being judged. Those who are saved may have committed the same sins sometime in their lives, but they stand at the judgment on the record of Jesus Christ, rather than on their own record. The day of judgment for them is a day of reward for deeds done in Christ while on earth and full of the Holy Spirit.

Breaking Down the Key Parts of Revelation 21:8

#1 “But…”
The conjunction connects the verse with the previous one which says that the victorious will inherit water from the spring of eternal life (Rev 21:6-7). “But” those listed here will not.

#2 “…the cowardly,”
Many of those who do not choose to follow Jesus in this life fail to do so from cowardice. Some of the leaders of the Jews believed, amazingly, but did not go with Jesus because they feared the Pharisees and loved the praise of man more than the praise of God (Jn 12:42-43).

#3 “the unbelieving,”
All failure to follow Jesus, and even the sin still committed by professed Christians, has its roots in some degree of unbelief.

#4 “the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral,”
These sins of the flesh in unbelievers will be judged, the fruit of unbelief.

#5 “those who practice magic arts,”
Long prohibited by God (Deut 18:10-14) magic has its roots in the demonic. Those who seek its power seek a supernatural power apart from God, in whom is all power.

#6 “the idolaters and liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur.”
Rounding out the list is idolaters and liars. All sin and rebellion are idolatry—the worship of something outside yourself (or yourself) in order to gain a right relationship with it for the sake of getting something from it. Lying is idolatry as you love something enough to lie to get it. The lake of fire is possibly metaphorical, but even if it is, it should be considered terrible, perhaps a worse fate than a literal lake of fire.

#7 “This is the second death.”
The wages of sin is death (Ro 6:23). This meant that we must die once unless we are still alive at the resurrection, and then sinners without the Holy Spirit will die again, but eternally. The second death is far worse than the first death. The horror of eternal death should also give us a contrast to the bliss of eternal life. God holds out both life and death to each and every human being. How we choose will determine our eternal reality starting at the moment of the choice.

Expert Overview of Revelation Ch. 12-22

Biblical Translations of Revelation 21:8

NIV
“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.”

NLT
“But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

ESV
“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

KJV
“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

NKJV
“But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”