Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11–15, NIV 1984).
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. (2 Timothy 3:16–4:2, NIV 1984).
My Musings – “All Scripture is God-breathed.” All. “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” This too. All means all. Therefore, we must “be prepared in season and out of season” to “preach the Word.” Even this word. Especially this word. Because the “second death” is avoidable, after all. There is room in the Book for the names of all those will otherwise be “thrown into the lake of fire.”
My Advice – Dare we keep quiet because the prospect of the second death is so unsettling for people to hear? What’s unsettling is for people not to know that hell is just as much a reality as heaven. But a reality that is completely avoidable. Jesus’ death on the cross made it avoidable.
