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What is the second death? (Revelation 21:8)

By Jeremy Myers
34 Comments

What is the second death? (Revelation 21:8)
http://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/498592344-redeeminggod-what-is-the-second-death-revelation-218.mp3
Note: Make sure you read all the way to the bottom to find out how to download a 2-hour audio teaching that is related to the topic of hell.

Revelation 21:8Revelation 20:6, 14 and Revelation 21:8 describe an event called “the second death.” It is contrasted with those who did not participate in “the first resurrection,” which is the resurrection of all believers at the return of Jesus Christ. Those who are not believers end up experiencing the second death.

So what is this second death?

To put the question another way, if Hebrews 9:27 says that it is destined for humans to die once, then how can John write in Revelation 20:6, 14 and Revelation 21:8 that there is a second death?

Here is what Revelation 20:6, 14 and Revelation 21:8 say about the second death:

Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power … Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. … But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake of fire which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

The “Second Death” is not Annihilation

Some argue that the second death is annihilationism … that is, a person who experiences the second death will no longer exist in eternity. They say that at the first death, people die physically, and then at the second death they die spiritually, which means that they cease to exist.

This view would be possible if “death” means “non-existent.” But it doesn’t. The word “dead” never means “non-existent” in Scripture. 

Instead, “death” means to be separated from the plan and purposes of God.

When something dies, it no longer functions the way God intended. This is true of physical bodies, sexual reproductive organs, interpersonal relationships, and faith.

So here in Revelation 20:6, 14 and Revelation 21:8, the person who experiences the second death will not be living out God’s plan and purposes for them in eternity.

The second death is simply being separated in eternity from what God originally wanted and planned for humanity.

God wanted humans to live in perfect harmony and unity with Himself, each other, and all creation. But when a person dies apart from Jesus Christ, they will experience eternity apart from Jesus Christ as well.

Then how is the Second Death related to the Lake of Fire?

While John describes this eternal existence apart from Jesus Christ as “the lake of fire,” this does not mean that the unregenerate are swimming around in a lake of fire and brimstone any more than anyone who lives in “Salt Lake” is actually swimming around in a large, salt-filled lake in Utah.

the second deathThe “Fiery Lake” might be the place that unregenerate people live for eternity, but this does not necessarily mean that they are suffering and burning for eternity within the lake. Furthermore, as I point out in my forthcoming book on hell, the term “Lake of Fire” referred to the body of water we now call the Dead Sea.

So to say that someone was going to be case into the Lake of Fire, or the Dead Sea, is a symbolic or metaphorical way of saying that such people will end up in a place devoid of life.

This is what John goes on to describe. In the afterlife, as part of the second death, people will be subject to the same “lusts of the flesh” that humans are subject to right now here on earth. Just like in this life, people who live in the second death will be cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters and liars.

So what is the Second Death?

The second death is not annihilation or eternal torment in flames of fire.

Instead, it is the continuation for eternity of what we experience in this life, but in an amplified way.

It consists of God allowing human beings to live life completely separated from Him. It is allowing them to live as slaves to hatred, violence, envy, immorality, deception, greed, lust and every evil thing.

As such, the second death is the opposite of eternal life. Eternal life is life lived as God always wanted, planned, and desired; eternal death (or the second death) is life lived in the complete opposite way, separated from everything that God intended for humanity.

It is existence in everlasting death. It is ongoing existence that is filled with all the problems and frustrations of this life, but without any end to them. The first death is a blessed escape from the frustrations of this life (which is why death is a blessing). But the second death has no end. It is an eternal existence without an end, while facing the frustrations of life lived without God.

second death in eternityJust as being “born again” does not mean to “start your life all over again,” but instead refers to the transformation of a person’s life so that they head in the direction God wanted, so also, to “die again” does not mean that a person dies a second time, but that a person’s life goes in a direction that is even further away from God wanted and desired.

The “second death” therefore, is not annihilation, or the death of the eternal soul. Instead, it is the act of being entrenched or solidified in the way of rebellion against God.

The second death is an irreversible step on a path that leads away from what God wanted and desired.

Did C. S. Lewis write about Hell?

C. S. Lewis’ theological fantasy book, The Great Divorce, depicts what this sort of everlasting death might look like. (He claims he was writing fiction … but was this really his view of hell and he was afraid of being called a heretic?)

The Great Divorce is a fascinating story of a man who gets on a bus in hell to take a trip to heaven. In the second chapter, Lewis describes what life is like for those who live in hell.

When people first arrive, Lewis writes that people find themselves in the center of a vast, sprawling town, which is very much like any town you mind find on earth, except that everything is free and nobody has any needs. So people move into any house they want, and start living in their new existence. But within a few days or weeks, they have a quarrel with one of their neighbors, and decide to move to a different street.

Lewis writes that this process continues forever, until some people get to the point where they live millions of miles away from anybody else.

In the everlasting second death, each person is allowed to be as selfish and mean as they want, and this causes them to eventually separate themselves from everyone else so that they finally live in complete isolation for all eternity, wrapped up in their own thoughts of everybody else’s faults and failures.

The Second Death is Everlasting Existence without God

In this life, there is an end to the choices we make. As we destroy our families, friendships, and health, we draw into ourselves and become more and more separated from others over time. Death stops this process of separation so that we can finally see ourselves and others as we really are, offer forgiveness and be forgiven, and begin to live in love and grace as God desires.

But in an eternal existence without God, where physical death is not an option, people will continue to separate themselves until eventually, they cut off all contact from everyone, and live solitary lives of self-centeredness and complete separation. For people who were created for community and relationships, this truly is a living hell. But it is a hell constructed by their own choices.

So just as eternal life is a life lived in eternity where we live life to its full potential, so eternal death, or the second death is a life lived in eternity where people achieve none of their potential. It is a life of everlasting death. Of no escape from the consequences of selfish human decisions.

Those who experience the eternal second death (living in the realm of death, but never dying) are living in a hell of their own making. Their eternal existence will be a life dominated by the sins mentioned in Revelation 21:8.

In eternity, where there is no death to deliver a person from the devastation they have brought into their lives, this ongoing death will simply continue forever and ever.

What are your thoughts about this concept? Do you agree? Disagree? Does it still sound like “hell” to you? Is it just and fair for God to let people live in eternity in such a way? Would annihilation be more loving? 


Do you want an MP3 teaching about the word "Fire" in Scripture?

After reading this blog post, I bet you have questions about passages in Scripture which refer to "everlasting fire" or the "Lake of Fire."

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The Gospel DictionaryUnderstanding the Gospel requires us to properly understand the key words and terms of the Gospel. Take my course, "The Gospel Dictionary" to learn about the 52 key words of the Gospel, and hundreds of Bible passages that use these words.

This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: annihilationism, CS Lewis, dead, death, hell, lake of fire, Revelation 20:14, Revelation 20:6, Revelation 21:8, second death

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What does “passed from death to life” mean in 1 John 3:14?

By Jeremy Myers
17 Comments

What does “passed from death to life” mean in 1 John 3:14?
http://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/495199521-redeeminggod-126-what-does-1-john-314-mean.mp3

In 1 John 3:14, we read this:

We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.

meaning of 1 John 3:14Is John saying that in order to receive eternal life, you need to love other Christians? Lots of other pastors and Bible scholars teach 1 John 3:14 in just this way, but is that really what John meant?

If so, then how can eternal life be received “by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone”?

If eternal life is also earned by making sure we love other people, then eternal life is partially earned by good works, and is no longer by grace alone through faith alone.

So what is the meaning of 1 John 3:14?

The Theme of Fellowship in 1 John

To understand 1 John 3:14, it is first of all important to understand why 1 John was written.

The first letter of John is written so that the readers may live a life of fellowship with God and with one another (1 John 1:3).

What is 1 John all about

With this as his primary theme, John provides instructions throughout his letter about how to have fellowship with God and with one another.

Note that fellowship is not the same thing as a relationship (see Fellowship). You can be related to someone while not having any fellowship with them. Children are often estranged from parents, so that while they are still related, they never gather together to enjoy each other’s company.

The same thing can happen to those who are related to God and to one another through Jesus Christ. We can be spiritually related while failing to be in daily fellowship.

John writes his letter to make sure that those who read it maintain their fellowship with God and with one another.

With this theme in mind, John paints many contrasts in his letter, comparing the life out of fellowship with darkness and death, while describing life within fellowship as light and life (cf. 1 John 1:5-7; 2:8-10; 3:14-16; 5:11-13).

And while eternal life is mentioned in this letter (cf. 1 John 2:25; 3:15; 5:11), this is not because John is equating eternal life and fellowship, but because ongoing fellowship with God and one another is based on the unchanging fact of eternal life from God.

While you can have relationship without fellowship, you cannot truly have fellowship without relationship.

John knows his readers have the relationship with God and writes so that they might maintain their fellowship as well (cf. 1 John 2:12-14). To live out of fellowship is not to lose our eternal life, but to live away from light and love and in the realm of death and darkness.

1 John 3:14 is about fellowship with God and others

So when John writes in 1 John 3:14 that we know we have passed from death to life because we love our brethren, he is not talking about how we know we have eternal life, but how we know we are in fellowship with God and one another.

One way to know you are in fellowship with God is because you are in fellowship with other believers, that is, because you love one another.

The opposite is also true. Anyone who does not love his brother “abides in death.” The word “abide” means “remain, or to continually dwell” (see Abide), and so the one who hates his brother is not living in the fellowship that God wants and desires for us, but is instead continuing to live in the realm of death, from which Jesus rescued and delivered us.

1 John 3:14 is about escaping the realm of death in which we live, and experiencing true life

As seen in my studies on the word “Death,” the world is controlled by death. We engage in rivalry and accusation which leads to the death of others, and we kill others in the attempt to avoid our own death. We also believe that the death of our enemies will bring peace, but violence against our enemies only results in an increase of their violence against us.

passed from death to life 1 John 3:14

Jesus came to rescue and deliver us from this never-ending cycle of escalating violence, but if we Christians continue to hate our brothers and live in rivalry against them, we have not escaped the control of death but continue to dwell in it and be ruled by it.

So, John invites his readers to love one another instead of hate, and in this way, escape the realm of death.

The context provides further evidence that physical violence against other human beings is what John has in mind when he writes about death. He is not talking about spiritual death or the loss of eternal life, or even that the one who hates his brother proves that he really wasn’t a Christian in the first place.

The context has nothing to do with such ideas.

Instead, John directs the reader to the first death in Scripture, when Cain murdered his brother Abel (1 John 3:12). John also goes on to describe death as “murder” (1 John 3:15).

While John does go on to say that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him (1 John 3:15), he does not mean that no murderer can be a Christian, or that no Christian can murder someone.

He means that when a Christian hates someone or murders someone (for this does happen), it is because they are continuing to follow the ways of this world, rather than the ways of God (see the discussion of 1 John 3:14-15 under Abide).

The meaning of 1 John 3:14

1 John 3:14 is not about gaining or keeping eternal life, or proving that you have it. Instead, it is about living in the way of life that God wants for His people, rather than the way of death that this world is accustomed to.

So, do you want to know that you are living in God’s way of life rather than the world’s way of death? You can know this if you have true and genuine love for other people.

Does this help you understand 1 John 3:14? Please ask any follow-up questions you might have in the comment section below.

The Gospel DictionaryUnderstanding the Gospel requires us to properly understand the key words and terms of the Gospel. Take my course, "The Gospel Dictionary" to learn about the 52 key words of the Gospel, and hundreds of Bible passages that use these words.

This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: 1 John 3:14, abide, Cain and Abel, death, fellowship, gospel dictionary, hate, love, sin

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What is dead faith? (James 2:14-26)

By Jeremy Myers
9 Comments

What is dead faith? (James 2:14-26)
http://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/464310783-redeeminggod-124-what-is-dead-faith-james-214-26.mp3

When James writes about dead faith in James 2:14-26, many people think he is referring to faith that does not exist. But this is not the message of James. What is dead faith? It is useless faith. It is faith that does exist, but is not accomplishing what God wants or desires for it. Despite what many teach, dead faith is NOT non-existent faith any more than a dead body is a non-existent body.

I have written elsewhere on James 2:14-26 and the often-heard statement that “even the demons believe” (James 2:16). This passage is also discussed in my book, (#AmazonAdLink) What is Faith?

To properly understand James 2:14-26, it is also important to understand three key terms in the passage.

Three Key Terms in James 2:14-26

what is dead faith James 2:14-26The three terms are faith, save, and dead. These three key terms in James 2:14-26 help bring clarity to this much-debated text.

The word faith is defined as the belief, conviction, or persuasion that something is true (see Faith).

The word save is defined as “deliver” (see Salvation). It does NOT refer to gaining forgiveness of sins so we can escape hell and go to heaven when we die. It instead refers to some sort of deliverance, usually from some sort of temporal calamity, such as sickness, enemies, physical death, etc.

And the word dead means to be separated from the life, purpose, or goal which God planned or intended (see Death).

With these three terms in mind, the troublesome text of James 2:14-26 becomes much clearer.

The Context of James 2:14-26

The context of James 2 also helps us understand what James is saying.

The immediately preceding context is that the church is showing favoritism to some of the wealthier members. The rich receive more attention and better seats at fellowship meals than do the poor (James 2:1-13).

Following this, James continues to address how the poor and needy in the church are treated. James says that when it comes to helping the poor and needy in their community, faith is not enough. It is not enough to tell someone that you believe God can clothe them and provide for their needs. It is not enough to promise someone that you will pray for them.

Such faith in God, while real and genuine, does absolutely nothing to clothe the poor or feed the hungry (James 2:15-16).

What good is it, James asks, if you tell the poor that you believe God will clothe them, and you tell the hungry that you have faith in God to feed them, but you yourself don’t do anything to feed or clothe them?

Will your faith do anything to feed or clothe the poor and hungry? No, it won’t.

faith without works is dead James 2:26If you are genuinely concerned about the poor and hungry in your midst, it is fine to believe that God can do something about it, if you also believe that God is going to do something about it through you.

Faith, by itself, is worthless when it comes to helping the poor.

Note that James is not saying anything whatsoever about faith in Jesus for eternal life.

This is not the point of this passage. He is talking about how our faith in God to feed the hungry and clothe the poor should lead us to feed the hungry and clothe the poor.

If you believe God can meet these needs, but you yourself do nothing to meet them, then your faith is dead and worthless. This does not mean that your faith does not exist. It does exist. But your faith is separated from its intended purpose.

God wants our faith in Him to spur us to step out and do things that turn our faith into action.

When we pray for something, God then wants us to seek to become the answer to our own prayers.

When we tell God that we believe He can do something, He turns to us and says that He will do it through us if we step out in faith and let Him. Faith in God is not us “letting go and letting God” but is us “stepping up and taking action” trusting that God will work in and through us to accomplish His work in this world.

what is dead faith James 2:14-26

So what is DEAD faith in James 2:16, 26?

So the word dead in James 2:16, 26 is a symbolic way of referring to faith that is not accompanied or empowered by works.

Dead faith is real faith. It does exist.

But dead faith is nothing more than faith that is by itself (James 2:17). All James is saying is that if the Christian life is going to be powerful and effective, both faith and works are needed. To save our relationship with other Christians and to accomplish God’s work in this world, both faith and works are needed (See Dillow, (#AmazonAdLink) Reign of the Servant Kings, 187-194; Zane Hodges, Dead Faith: What is it? (Dallas: Redencion Viva, 1987); John Hart, “How to Energize Our Faith: Reconsidering the Meaning of James 2:14-26,” JOTGES (Spring, 1999).

At the end of this section, James illustrates this point by equating faith and works with the body and the spirit (James 2:26). Just as a body without the spirit is dead, so also, faith without works is dead.

dead faith James 2:14-26When a person’s spirit leaves their body, does this mean that the body does not exist, or that it never existed? No, of course not. The body is still there, even after the spirit departs. But the body is no longer accomplishing the purpose and goal which God intended for it.

So also with faith and works. If a person has faith, but they do not have works, this does not mean that their faith does not exist, or that it never existed. No, the faith is still there, even though the works are not.

But in such a situation, faith is not accomplishing the purpose and goal which God intended for it. The faith is dead. The absence of works is not allowing the faith to carry out God’s plan and purposes in the world. This is the meaning of James 2:14-26.

James 2:14-26 has nothing to do with eternal life

I cannot emphasize enough that James 2 has nothing whatsoever to do with the gaining, keeping, or proving of eternal life.

James 2:14-26 is not teaching that if a person fails to have good works, then this proves that they do not have eternal life. The question of eternal life is not in view at all.

Instead, James is telling us that rather than just pray for someone, or bless someone, or tell someone that God can provide for their needs, it is we who should (#AmazonAdLink) answer our own prayers, seek to be a blessing to them, and provide for the needs out of our own pocket or pantry.

dead faith is useless faithOnly in this way does our faith get put into practice and fulfill the plans and goals of God.

So what is dead faith? Dead faith is NOT non-existent faith. Dead faith very much exists.

People who have dead faith truly do have actual and real faith. But their faith is inactive and useless. It is not accomplishing what God wants their faith to accomplish in this life.

So do you believe God can help others? Great! Now go out and do something about it, and actually help those whom God places in your life.

The Gospel DictionaryUnderstanding the Gospel requires us to properly understand the key words and terms of the Gospel. Take my course, "The Gospel Dictionary" to learn about the 52 key words of the Gospel, and hundreds of Bible passages that use these words.

This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

You can also get a copy of my book, (#AmazonAdLink) What is Faith? on Amazon.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: belief, dead faith, death, faith, good works, James 2:14-26, James 2:26, One Verse Podcast, salvation, saved, soteriology

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How are we “dead in trespasses and sins”? (Ephesians 2:1)

By Jeremy Myers
1 Comment

How are we “dead in trespasses and sins”? (Ephesians 2:1)
http://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/461244555-redeeminggod-123-how-were-we-dead-in-trespasses-and-sins-ephesians-21.mp3

Ephesians 2:1 is a favorite passage among some theologians to defend the idea that unregenerate people cannot do anything in their life to move toward God.

In other words, some say that because people are “dead in the trespasses and sins” (shortened as “dead in sins“) they cannot do anything good, including believe in Jesus.

But is this what Ephesians 2:1 is teaching? The verse says this:

Ephesians 2:1. And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.

Ephesians 2:1

Is Paul Teaching that Unbelievers cannot Believe in Jesus?

So is Paul teaching in Ephesians 2:1 that unbelievers cannot even believe in Jesus for eternal life unless God first regenerates them? Must God give unbelievers “new life” (regeneration) before they believe and so that they can believe?

Do people receive eternal life from God before they believe in Jesus or because they believe in Jesus?

The answer is that Jesus and Paul and all Scripture consistently agrees that we believe in in Jesus for eternal life; we do not receive eternal life to believe in Jesus (John 3:16; 5:24; 6:47; Rom 4:4-5).

Since Faith is not a Work, Unbelievers are Able to Believe

The idea that unregenerate people cannot do anything good is silly. Unbelievers can do all sorts of good spiritual things, which includes believing in Jesus for eternal life (cf. John 5:25; 20:31; Rom 1:20; Gal 3:26; Col 2:12-13; 1 Pet 1:23-25; Heb 10:39).

But this does not mean that the person who believes in Jesus for eternal life has earned their eternal life, has worked for it, or has done anything good to merit it.

Since faith is not a work, but is the opposite of works (Romans 4:4-5), then faith is not meritorious.

Those who receive the free gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus do not in any way get “credit” for eternal life.

Faith is the persuasion that something is true, and when God persuades us that we can have eternal life through Jesus Christ alone, at that moment of faith we have received eternal life from Him (see the Gospel Dictionary entry on Faith).

When we believe, no works are performed. No effort is expended.

So what is Paul teaching in Ephesians 2:1?

Dead in sin Ephesians 2:1-3This entire line of thought is completely foreign to what Paul had in mind when he wrote Ephesians 2.

The debate about spiritual death and spiritual life in Ephesians 2 has been imported into the passage from outside theological systems that rip various verses in this chapter out of context so that they can then be used as proof texts to defend ideas that are not actually found in Paul’s line of thought.

A couple of factors contribute to the widespread failure to understand Paul’s point in Ephesians 2.

We must understand the word “saved”

The most significant contributing factor to this misunderstanding is the word “saved” in Ephesians 2:8-9.

When most Christians hear the word “saved” or “salvation,” they immediately think of “eternal life,” “going to heaven when you die,” or some similar concept.

But the Bible never uses the word “salvation” or “saved” as an equivalent term for eternal life. Instead, the word “saved” (and the entire “salvation” word family) means “deliverance” or “to be delivered” and the context determines what kind of deliverance is in view (see The Gospel Dictionary entry on Salvation).

To be “saved” in Ephesians 2 is to be “delivered from sin”

When Ephesians 2:8-9 is examined in the broader context (see the first several paragraphs of this post on Ephesians 2:1-3 to see the context of Ephesians 2), we learn that salvation in Ephesians is not about receiving eternal life so you can go to heaven when you die, but is instead about being rescued and delivered from our addiction to accusation, scapegoating, and violence, so that we are brought into the way of life, love, and liberty that God always wanted and desired for humanity.

So what does Ephesians 2:1 mean?

When this point about salvation is grasped, we then see that the phrase “dead in trespasses and sins” in Ephesians 2:1 is not talking about some sort of “spiritual death” in which the unregenerate cannot even respond to God or believe in Jesus.

Instead, the phrase “dead in trespasses and sins” is referring to the pervasive and controlling disease of death which covers the whole earth.

The point Paul is making here is the same exact point made in Genesis 4–6. Sin was introduced to the world, and death came with it, not primarily the death that comes with old age, but the death that comes from human violence against one another.

In Ephesians 2:1-3, Paul is saying that the whole world is addicted to the destructive power of sin, which leads us to scapegoat and kill others, rather than accept, forgive, and love them.

Paul describes this further in Ephesians 2:2-3. In speaking of the course of the world, Paul is saying that sin and death guide and control the world.

dead in sins Ephesians 2:1

Rivalry, scapegoating, and violence form the foundation of all human civilization, culture, and interaction (see the Gospel Dictionary entry on World). This is also what Paul is referring to when he mentions the prince of the power of the air which works in the sons of disobedience.

This is, of course, a reference to Satan, who is the accuser (see the Gospel Dictionary entry on Satan). The desire of sin which God warned Cain against (Gen 4:7) is what Paul describes in Ephesians 2:3.

So the great problem of Ephesians 2:1-3 is indeed sin.

Sin is the realm of death in which all humans live and function. Sin is seen through accusation and scapegoating that comes from the desires and lusts of the flesh. All humans live in this realm and know of no other way to live.

Further Evidence from the context of Ephesians 2:1

Ephesians 2 (the whole chapter) follows a Problem-Solution-Application outline. And to see what the “Problem” of death and sin actually are, we can reverse engineer the chapter by beginning at the end, and seeing how Paul applies the chapter.

And in Ephesians 2:11-22, Paul talks about doing away with hostility and dividing walls of separation that we use to keep human separate from one another and hating one another. Instead, we are called to live in unity, love, and peace, just like Jesus Christ.

Jesus teaches peace Ephesians 2

So if that is the application, then the problem is the opposite. If peace and the removal of human hostility on this earth is the goal, then the problem is not about how we’re headed for hell and need to go to heaven. No, if the goal is the end of hostility between humans, then the problem is hostility and violence between humans.

And of course, the solution to the problem is what was accomplished in Jesus Christ, which is what Paul discusses in Ephesians 2:4-10.

We can briefly summarize Ephesians 2:1-22 this way:

Since sin and the death that comes from human hostility is the great problem of the world (Ephesians 2:1-3), God took the initiative to send Jesus Christ and show us a way out of this problem (Ephesians 2:4-10), so that those of us who see and understand what Jesus did on the cross, can now live as He lived, in love and unity for one another (Ephesians 2:11-22).

“Dead in Sins” in Ephesians 2:1

So the term “dead in sins” in Ephesians 2:1 is not referring to some sort of “spiritual death” which makes people unable to hear or respond to God, or to believe in Jesus for eternal life.

No, Paul is instead describing human culture and civilization. He is describing the “atmosphere” of sin and death in which we all live, and which we all assume is normal.

dead in trespasses and sins Eph 2:1This is what it means to be “dead in sins.” We are surrounded by an atmosphere, a system, a world of sin, which leads to death … death through murder, warfare, hatred, killing, condemning, scapegoating, and all things related to this.

But this way of “life” is not normal, and it is not what God wanted, planned, or intended. This worldly way of life is actually death.

So Jesus came to show us another way to live … an actual way to live. Because of what Jesus showed us, we can now live in a heavenly culture and civilization, even while we are here on earth.

The Gospel DictionaryUnderstanding the Gospel requires us to properly understand the key words and terms of the Gospel. Take my course, "The Gospel Dictionary" to learn about the 52 key words of the Gospel, and hundreds of Bible passages that use these words.

This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, z Bible & Theology Topics: dead in sin, death, Ephesians 2:1, Ephesians 2:1-3, Ephesians 2:11-22, Ephesians 2:8-9, eternal life, One Verse Podcast, peace, salvation, satan, saved, sin, world

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How did Death enter the world through Adam? (Romans 5:12-21)

By Jeremy Myers
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How did Death enter the world through Adam? (Romans 5:12-21)
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In Romans 5:12, Paul writes that “through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” Almost everybody thinks that Paul is referring to the event in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Romans 5:12But is this what Paul has in mind?

It doesn’t seem so …

Let us consider the contexts of Genesis 3 and Romans 5 to see what Paul is thinking. And while we are doing that, we will also seek to define the word “death” as it is used in Scripture.

Death in Genesis 3 (in the context of Genesis 2-7)

Questions about death have plagued humanity since the very beginning. Where did death come from? How can we escape death? What is death? What happens after death? Is there a way to return from death?

The Bible answers many of these questions, and the foundation for these answers is laid in Genesis 2–7. If we fail to understand these opening chapters, this failure has ramifications for how we understand the rest of the Bible as well.

For example, vast segments of Christianity believe that death is a curse from God which came as a result of human sinful rebellion in the Garden of Eden. Many believe that because Adam and Eve ate fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God cursed them with death, and all humanity as well.

This way of thinking then gets carried over into how we understand other texts related to the gospel, and it also colors our view of God and death.

Genesis 3But a careful study of what Genesis 2–7 teaches about death and dying leads us in a very different direction.

Now, it is true that physical death came upon humans as a result of eating the forbidden fruit. But it is not true that God sent death upon humans or cursed humans with death. Many people do not realize this, but death was built in to creation, as part of creation. If that’s a challenging idea for you, go and listen to Episode 9 of the One Verse Podcast, where I teach about death and creation from Genesis 1:11-12.

So death was inherent within God’s good creation, but this does not mean that God wanted humans to die. This is why God gave humans the Tree of Life. Eating from this tree would keep death from coming upon humans.

When Adam and Eve ate fruit from the forbidden tree, death did come upon humans, but not because God cursed humans with death. Instead, death came upon humans because humans could not longer eat from the Tree of Life.

But is this not a curse after all? Is it not God’s “fault” that humans die? No. While, it is true that God is the one responsible for keeping humans from eating from the tree of life, this is not a curse; it is a blessing.

Death is a Blessing

Despite the way most people feel about it, death is actually a blessing from God. The real curse would be to live forever in a sinful body.

When Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they permanently damaged their relationship with each other, with creation, with God, and even within themselves (This is what is seen and described in Genesis 3:7-21).

The only way for God to repair these connections is by allowing our bodies to die so that He could give us new, glorious bodies that accomplished everything He planned and intended for us. In other words, once our flesh was damaged, the only way to repair it is through death.

Death, therefore, is not a curse, but a cure. Genesis 5 shows that everyone experienced this kind of death as time and time again we are met with the phrase, “… and he died” (Genesis 5:5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 27, 31).

Yet this type of death is not the only type of death mentioned in Genesis 1–7, nor is it the type of death that Scripture as a whole is most concerned with. And this is not the type of death Paul has in mind in Romans 5:12-21.

Natural death is natural, and while God did not want or intend for us to die natural deaths, it is not primarily this type of death that Jesus came to rescue and deliver us from.

The first real death in the Bible is encountered in Genesis 4, and it is this death that is most concerning to God, and which Scripture everywhere warns us against.

The Introduction of Sin and Death (Genesis 4:4, 8)

Genesis 4The first death in the Bible is when Cain murders his brother Abel as a result of jealous rivalry (Genesis 4:8). Many Christians believe that the first death in the Bible occurs when God sacrificed a sheep in Genesis 3:21 or when Abel made a similar sacrifice in Genesis 4:4.

But a careful study of these texts reveals that no animal blood was shed. There is no animal sacrifice in Genesis 3:21 or Genesis 4:4. I have podcast episodes on these verses as well. No sacrifice in Genesis 3:21 and no sacrifice in Genesis 4:4-5.

So the first death of any kind in the Bible is when Cain murders his brother in Genesis 4:8.

The significance of this cannot be overstated. Since the first death is between brothers, it reveals that all violence between humans is violence between family members. When we stop to think about it, all of us are related, which means that any violence against anyone else is violence against a member of our own family.

Cain kills AbelBut beyond this, the source of the violent murder is Cain’s desire to have what Abel has, and the rivalry he engages in to obtain it (cf. Genesis 4:5-7). Furthermore, Cain then goes off to found a city (Genesis 4:17), which shows that murder and violence is at the foundation of all human civilization.

But it is not just the murder of one against another that concerns God. God is concerned with the human tendency to escalate violence through retaliation and revenge. This is why God puts a mark on Cain (Genesis 4:15).

God knows that the death of one tends to lead quickly to the death of many, and He wants to stop the process from beginning with Cain.

This truth is further seen when Lamech kills a young man for hurting him (Genesis 4:23). Lamech goes on to say that if Cain would be avenged sevenfold, then he should be avenged seventy sevenfold (Gen 4:26).

As all humans who engage in violence against others, Lamech feels completely justified in his own actions, and believes that any retaliation against him would be completely unjustified. But note how the sevenfold retaliation has already exponentially increased to seventy sevenfold.

death in Genesis 4In Genesis 6 we see that this seventy sevenfold vengeance has overtaken the whole earth so that now, everyone is only evil all the time and violence has covered the whole earth (Genesis 6:5, 11). The one thing that God did not want to happen has happened. In Genesis 6 all humans are engaged in violence against all other humans. The earth is suffering from an all-consuming contagion of violence.

So the overall truth about death in Genesis 2–7 is that there are two main types of death.

One of the physical death which comes upon all people as a result of being blocked from the tree of life. This death is not a curse, but a blessing, as it is the necessary doorway to the resurrection and the glorified bodies that we have for eternity.

The second form of death, however, is the main concern of God, not only in Genesis 2–7, but also in the rest of Scripture. This is the death that comes as a result of violence, and which is closely associated with sin.

The death that plagues humanity and which Jesus can to rescue and deliver us from is not the primarily the death of humans dying from old age, but the death of humans killing other humans.

Sin has consequences both to ourselves and others. Yes, we die physically from old age because we have been separated from the tree of life, but we also die (as do others) as a result of the consequences of sinful violence.

This brings us then to what Paul is teaching in Romans 5.

Death Through Adam in Romans 5:12-21

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. … Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come (Rom 5:12, 14).

Paul argues in Romans 5:12-21 that sin and death are not linked to the law. Both existed prior to the Mosaic Law (Romans 5:13-14), and the law serves to reveal and exacerbate the human problem of sin (Romans 5:20).

death of Adam death of Jesus Romans 5:12-21Paul goes on to contrast this with the righteousness that is in Jesus Christ (Romans 5:16-18). Therefore, as with many other words in this dictionary, the concept of death in Romans in closely connected with other key words that must also be understood in order to grasp Paul’s overall argument.

For the purposes of this entry, it is only necessary to point out that Paul writes how death came as a result of sin, and sin entered the world through one man, Adam (Romans 5:12). The order of events is that Adam introduced sin into the world, and sin brought death.

Many who read Romans 5:12 believe that the sin Paul is referring to is the act of eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which resulted in Adam and Eve getting kicked out of the Garden of Eden so that they later died of old age.

But when we go back and carefully examine the order of events the terminology used in Genesis 3–4 as we have done above, we see a different truth emerge.

Yes, through Adam’s disobedience, sin was introduced into the world. But in Genesis, sin is not mentioned until Genesis 4:7, where it is connected with Cain’s desire to engage in rivalry and revenge against Abel.

Adam and Eve had previously engaged in some of this rivalry when they started blaming each other, blaming God, and blaming the serpent for why they ate the fruit (Genesis 3:11-13), but the overall picture of what sin is and how it leads to death is not described until Genesis 4 where sin is first mentioned and the first death occurs.

Yes, Adam introduced both sin and death to the world in Genesis 3, but both are not fully revealed until Genesis 4.

So when Paul writes in Romans 5:12-21 that sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, we should not be thinking about Genesis 3, but about Genesis 4.

The death that is most concerning to Paul is the death that comes as a result of violence.

When Paul goes on in Romans 5:12-21 to write about how death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned, we should be thinking about Genesis 5–7, where while some people died from old age, most of the people in these chapters died as a result of violence.

None of this is how God intended or desired for humans to interact with each other. When God created humanity, He planned for us to live and work together in peace and harmony, as partners in the task of multiplying on the face of the earth, taking care of the plants and animals, and expanding the borders of the Garden to cover the whole earth (cf. Genesis 1:26-28).

This was the righteous life that God wanted for us. But instead, we chose the sin of blame, accusation, finger-pointing, rivalry, and scapegoating, which leads to death, the violent death of brother murdering brother. But Jesus came to lead us back into the righteous life that God originally desired. Paul goes on to explain how this works in Romans 6-8.

The transition from death unto life in the book of Romans is a transition from the sins of rivalry, scapegoating, and violence based on the law (Romans 1–3), to the reception of eternal life and the principles of the righteous life as revealed in Jesus (Romans 4–5).

These truths then lead us into freedom from sin and the law (Romans 6–7), so that we no longer have to live in condemnation from God or from one another (Romans 8). Paul concretely applies all these truths in Romans 9–15.

As can be seen, a proper understanding of what the Bible teaches about death helps make sense of Paul’s argument in Romans, and especially what he is teaching in Romans 5:12. While receiving eternal life is part of Paul’s message in Romans, it is only a small part.

In Romans 5:12-21, Paul is more concerned with how we live our lives in Jesus Christ free from slavery to sin and the power of death.

So what does the Gospel teach about Death?

Yes, it is true … the gospel teaches that while humans die from sickness and old age, these things will be done away with in the future.

But this truth about death is not the primary teaching in the Gospel about death. The Bible is not just concerned about future death, but present death.

The gospel contains truths about death for this life here and now, and how to avoid it. The Bible says that the big problem of death is not that we will eventually die from old age or disease, but that we engage in the practices of death every day when we accuse, slander, and blame our fellow human beings.

We engage in the practices of death when we approve of scapegoating, condemning, and killing other human beings. The first death in the Bible is when Cain murdered his brother Abel, and when we call for the death of other human beings today, we are following in the way of Cain.

death of Jesus Romans 5

Jesus came and died to reveal this truth to us, and to call us to stop it. Rather than seek revenge and retaliation, we are to love and forgive. This is the way of Jesus and this is the call of the gospel.

The gospel reveals how we participate in the killing of our brothers and sisters, and calls us to abandon these practices and follow Jesus in the way of love.  This is what Paul is talking about in Romans 5 as well.

The main concern of Scripture regarding death is the death that comes from scapegoating violence. This is the foundational sin of the world, and is the type of death Jesus subjected Himself to so that He might reveal to us how we humans are enslaved to death and show us a different way to live.

We gain deliverance from this type of death by choosing to follow Jesus in the way of love and forgiveness, rather than in the worldly way of rivalry, accusation, and blame.

Once we have seen what death is and how we have deliverance from all forms of death in Jesus Christ, it is then that we lose our fear of death. It is then that we can say with Paul:

Death is swallowed up in victory.
O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?

The Gospel DictionaryUnderstanding the Gospel requires us to properly understand the key words and terms of the Gospel. Take my course, "The Gospel Dictionary" to learn about the 52 key words of the Gospel, and hundreds of Bible passages that use these words.

This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology Bible & Theology Topics: abel, blame, cain, dead, death, Genesis 1:11-12, Genesis 3:21, Genesis 4:4, Genesis 4:8, gospel dictionary, Romans 5:12, Romans 5:12-21, scapegoating, Tree of life

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