The Second Death of the Wicked
When the light is fully revealed, it will burn up the wicked who are like straw, and purify the righteous of all impurities - thus, Gehinnom will serve no purpose. This "burning up" of the wicked is similar to the "lake of fire" or "second death" concept.
But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death (Revelation 21:8)
But if the light is the second death, then why is it called a lake? If they take part in a lake of fire, what might Revelation be comparing it to? First, let's analyze the elements. A lake is typically a large earthly vessel formed by an external source flowing into it such as streams, rivers, or rainfall.
The earthly vessel
But is man really going to be thrown into a physical lake? Is this not a destruction of the spirit and body together? And the soul itself cannot be destroyed by the physical. So the fire itself must be spiritual.
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in gehinnom. (Matthew 10:28)
Considering that a lake is an earthly vessel, is it possible that this is symbolic to man? Man himself is described as an earthly vessel made of the dust of the earth (Gen 2:7).
What if G-d, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory. (Romans 9:22-23 ESV)
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. (2 Corinthians 4:6-7 ESV)
Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. (2 Timothy 2:20-21 ESV)
And does man have an external source flowing into him? Is that source fire or water? Interestingly, the Torah is compared to fire and water, which pour into a man.
for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. Jeremiah 2:13 (ESV)
They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light. Psalm 36:6
"All who are thirsty come for water" Isaiah 55:1 (ESV)
"Are not My words like fire?" Jeremiah 23:29 (ESV)
"Do not fear, for The L-rd your G-d is a consuming fire" Deuteronomy 9:3 (ESV)
"from His right hand, a fiery law [was given] to them" Deuteronomy 33:2 (Traditional rendering from Masoretic)
The 2nd death from the healing light may be symbolically referencing the Torah, which is poured into you, will consume you. For the righteous, it will be refreshing like a cold fountain of water and bring healing. But the wicked will be destroyed by it. It will turn their "earthly vessels" into a vessel of fire that destroys them completely.
When the light is revealed, the bodies of the righteous will be fully healed and perfected - able to stand in the presence and glory of G-d fully. But since Gehinnom will be removed because it lacks purpose (as concluded earlier), what shall we say about our bodies of flesh? What purpose does a body of flesh have in the world to come?
The Second Death of the Righteous?
Rambam believes that after the resurrection of the dead, there will be a 'shedding' of our physical bodies one last time, and it is after this second death that we will receive our rewards. The concept of "second death" may draw Revelation to mind:
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. Revelation 20:6 KJV
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. Revelation 20:14 KJV
It appears as though John would disagree with the connection of the second death to rewards. However, Rambam brings some compelling arguments in his commentary of the Mishnah.
Argument 1: The physical body is made of natural things, and all natural things perish. Only the spiritual is imperishable.
To build onto this even further:
So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable (physical body); what is raised is imperishable (spiritual body). 1 Corinthians 15:42 ESV (parentheticals added)
I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 1 Corinthians 15:50
Argument 2: There is no eating or drinking of physical things or fornication, and G-d does not create things in vain or without purpose. Would G-d create a body in vain? Perhaps we will have a different body, such as solid balls, cones, pillars, or cubes - but this view is just mockery.
Rambam asserts that after the resurrection and refinement, there will be an ultimate departure from the body going into the world to come where it can receive its greatest rewards. However, a body without a spirit is dead;
For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. James 2:22
Should we then assume there is a second (bodily) death for the righteous, which is different than the second death for the wicked (which may be exclusively spiritual)?
To counter this, we must look at the consistency of G-d. It was only with the body that the spirit could fulfill its mission. We know the angels do not have the Torah, as the commands are for humans of flesh and blood. Thus, obedience requires flesh and spirit to work together in unison. So, doesn't the body deserve a place in the realm with the spirit?
If you were to say that the organs of the body will be in vain [in the future], I will counter they are not in vain. The body and soul are receiving reward and pleasure together, just as the body and soul worked and toiled in fulfilling the mitzvos as one. For "G-d does not withhold the reward of any creation" (Bava Kama 38b), and He does not want the body to be withheld from its judgement [ie: reward]. Rather, He wants to give the body a reward of unlimited pleasure, in that the body merits the world to come. (Rabeinu Bachya on Devarim 30:15, Yad Rameh Sanhedrin 90a)
If G-d bestows judgement of death to the body, then would He not also bestow rewards of life to it?
For even though the soul is primary, the body is nevertheless also important and of great significance. It is the tool which the soul performs its activities and has no power to realize these actions without it. Therefore it is fitting that the body should be destined to its reward together with the soul. (Shulchan Shel Arbah, Shaar 4)
And where might we derive the concept of the flesh existing after the glory of G-d has been revealed?
And the glory of G-d will be revealed, and [then] all flesh will behold it (Isaiah 40:5)
Just as Moses was still in bodily form to receive the glory of G-d (which permeated his flesh and shone through it), the soul itself will also need to be clothed in flesh to receive the glory of G-d.
The revelation will be to "all flesh" because its source is sovev kol almin (divine infinite energy unconfined) revealed to every single being according to their level. The essential life-force of all creations comes from the infinite light of the sovev (infinite) is found in every single creation... it is [currently] in every emanation and creation equally, but it is concealed. [...] This is what our sages said, "In the world to come there will be no eating or drinking" (Berachos 17a). There will be no physical eating or drinking at all, and nonetheless, they will live in their physical bodies with all their limbs. They will be sustained by the Divine light... (Sefer Hamaamorim 5659, p100)
The purpose of a body
If G-d created Adam in a state of sinless perfection with a physical body, there must be a greater purpose and important reason for it to exist. The organs themselves must have a use beyond the mundane, but it is hidden from us at this time. Let's use an analogy to elaborate:
Noach hires Yonah to build a table for him. Yonah finds some nails and boards, but nothing to drive the nails into the boards. Noach hands Yonah a knife with a sturdy handle. Yonah uses the handle of the knife to drive nails into the board and start the construction of the table. Once the table is finished, Noach says to Yonah, "Come let's eat!" Noach sets out a bountiful meal with a large steak on each plate. Yonah looks around and sees a fork and spoon, but no knife. Noach smiles, "The tool I gave you served a purpose in constructing the table, but now it will serve its purpose in sustaining you."
The body is similar, while we might not be at the table yet, the tool we are using to carry out G-d's commands will one day be used to sustain us in a different way. The handle of the knife didn't become vain after it no longer was being used to hammer in nails, instead, it became a comfortable grip aiding in the reward of a feast.
Perfect by Birth or Transformation
How then do we justify Paul's writing:
So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable (physical body); what is raised is imperishable (spiritual body). 1 Corinthians 15:42 ESV
We know that the resurrection itself is not a completely imperishable body, since the body that is raised will also be subject to the second death (if wicked). However, perhaps we can read it with the context of the scriptures above it (1 Corinthians 15:35-55) and everything discussed until this point:
But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” [...] And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. [...] What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 1 Corinthians 15:35-44 ESV
What is being sown? Something that isn't the finished product, but it starts from that product. You sow a body that is weak and designed to perish. However, the seed that you sow will grow and become something greater (from that seed). Your body, which goes into the ground, will be like a seed; the body will be put into the ground and it will change over time, slowly sprouting into the same image as its parent.
Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 1 Corinthians 15:45-48 ESV
The first Adam was a seed (with the dust of earth) that turned into a living plant (with the breath of G-d). The second Adam was like a tree that had great fruit that many partook of, and it planted many seeds.
Just like Adam, who was first formed with dust and then a spirit was added afterward, so too will the body be raised from dust and then a spirit added afterward. Those who are in the image of the earth will perish like the earth. Those who are in the image of G-d will be imperishable.
Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 1 Corinthians 15:49-50 ESV
Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom, and yet we are told there is a "physical" resurrection of the dead. Is Rambam's assertion then correct, there is no physical body and there is a 2nd death for the righteous? Alternatively, what if it's not "leaving" the body (death), but rather a transfiguration of the body? In a transfiguration, the body is infused and changed but the prior isn't dead or abandoned.
Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 1 Corinthians 15:51 ESV
We've established there is a resurrection, and then there is a change afterward. It is only after the physical body is raised that it transforms:
For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 1 Corinthians 15:53-55 ESV
After the light is revealed (inward and outward), the body of the righteous will shine from the inside, and their appearance will reflect the glory of G-d. The body of the wicked, however, will be changed for the worse, for their appearance will be reduced to ashes as the light burns them from the inside and out. The only thing that remains is the immortal light. Afterward, there will be no death, for the entire world will be filled with G-d's glory, and all will have been changed. Thus, Paul's view is actually in line with the prophets and Revelation:
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:14
the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. Isaiah 60:2b
Ezekiel also paints a great picture of the things to come.
8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. Ezekiel 37:8-10
Here, we have bodies that are resurrected, have life, and are standing up with physical bodies of bones, flesh, and breath. Ezekiel continues:
11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they [Israel] say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel.
If the prior bones have life and stand on their feet, then why do they complain they are only bones? This is the whole house of Israel. In the resurrection of the righteous, there are some differences of opinion:
The first opinion is that those in Israel will be raised, and then those outside of Israel will be raised. The house sees the righteous in Israel raised and says, "We truly are cut off..". G-d assures them, they too will rise from their graves, and these ones will be brought into Israel.
The second opinion is that the righteous are raised and walk to Israel, but the others will be raised as bones, and then G-d will bring them to Israel and then give them life.
The last opinion comes from Malbim, who states that the dead will be removed from their graves then come to life, but this isn't "fully alive". They then will roll or travel to Israel. After arriving in Israel, then G-d will give them "full life". There is an additional dispute in Kesubos 111a regarding this.
Regardless of these variances of opinion, it does seem to imply that there will be a resurrection of physical flesh and bones, and afterwards an "ascent" into Israel, and finally the "spirit of G-d" being placed in them and transforming them to a body of eternal life.
And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit (Breath) within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.” Ezekiel 37:14
Ezekiel concludes with G-d putting His breath into the people (after raising them), and stating they will live (eternal) and He will be their G-d. This is also in line with the ideology of Revelation:
Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God [...]. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. [...] Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. Rev 20:4b-6 (ESV Abridged)
Concerning the 2nd resurrection and the 2nd death:
[...] Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades (Gehinnom) were thrown into the lake of fire [...]. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Rev 20:13-15 (ESV Abridged)
Concerning the Spirit of G-d in the people and death is no more:
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Rev 21:3-5 (ESV)
Lastly, there is no need for the sun or moon because the unveiling of the light has already occurred:
And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. Rev 21:22 (ESV)
Finally, we go back to Jeremiah, who states:
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jeremiah 31:33-34
This once again confirms the position. G-d will put His Torah (water/fire) into their hearts, everyone will walk in His ways, and they will all know G-d, and He will be their G-d.
Conclusion
What we don't know
While looking to the past can bring insight into the future, it is important not to anticipate the arrival of Messiah on any particular future day.
Rabbi Alexandri says: Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi raises a contradiction in a verse addressing God’s commitment to redeem the Jewish people. In the verse: “I the Lord in its time I will hasten it” (Isaiah 60:22), it is written: “In its time,” indicating that there is a designated time for the redemption, and it is written: “I will hasten it,” indicating that there is no set time for the redemption. Rabbi Alexandri explains: If they merit redemption through repentance and good deeds I will hasten the coming of the Messiah. If they do not merit redemption, the coming of the Messiah will be in its designated time. (Sanhedrin 98a:12)
We must anticipate the arrival of Messiah at any moment! Even though the Sabbath can't start late, what if it is the year 6,001 on our calendar but it our calculations are off? People may not see a Messiah and say, "The Sabbath is late!" and stop believing a Messiah is coming, and then turn to idolatry to find new hope and leadership. It would be the sin of the golden calf all over again:
When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” (Exodus 32:1 ESV)
While we should pray and anticipate the arrival of Messiah is always close at hand, we should not calculate the day itself, as the sages warn us about:
May those who calculate the end of days be cursed, as they would say once the end of days that they calculated arrived and the Messiah did not come, that he will no longer come at all. Rather, the proper behavior is to continue to wait for his coming, as it is stated: “Though it tarry, wait for it.” Lest you say we are expectantly awaiting the end of days and the Holy One, Blessed be He, is not awaiting the end of days and does not want to redeem His people, the verse states: “And therefore will the Lord wait, to be gracious to you; and therefore will He be exalted, to have mercy upon you; for the Lord is a God of judgment; happy are all they who wait for Him” (Isaiah 30:18)Sanhedrin 97b:9
If anyone says, "This day, the messiah will come", and the messiah doesn't come, it will lead people to fall away in despair.
What we do know
Scriptures are clear that there is a restoration of the temple, an ingathering of the exiled, the end of sin and wickedness, the full and complete global awareness and knowledge of G-d, universal peace, a resurrection of the dead, and the end of death itself. While not entirely conclusive, and with admitted room for differences of interpretations, there is a valid harmonization of the Tanakh with the Gospels regarding the future hope. The writings of Paul, the Prophets, Jesus, and John (Revelation) bring us to conclude the high-level sequence of events of the future age will likely be as follows:
Messianic Age (1,000 year reign)
Coming of Messiah
Restoration of the Temple
Ingathering of the Exiled
Universal Peace
Resurrection of the Dead (Righteous)
1,000 year reign (Messiah leads us to perfection)
The World to Come
Resurrection of everyone else (2nd resurrection)
Healing light revealed (internal and external)
The Torah fills us entirely
The Second Death for the wicked
Transfiguration of Body for the righteous
Entering into the world to come
All who remain will be G-d's people
There will be no more sin
There will be no more death
Full knowledge and awareness of G-d
Footnotes
⁶ Mishneh Torah; Hilchot Teshuvah, Chapter 8
Comments