April 5: LIFE’S INCREDIBLE BEAUTY
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” Revelation 2:11
With this, the message to Smyrna closes. No rebuke was given, yet she must continue in righteousness, for there is still overcoming to do. You will remember that each of these messages to a specific church is for everyone in all of the churches to hear. The dear soul who overcomes does so because of the principle of continuous walking in the Spirit (see Romans 8:4). We are to walk daily as citizens of heaven, for that is where our citizenship as believers is now rooted (Philippians 3:20). When God’s Holy Spirit is continually invited and welcomed into my life, He richly provides discernment, that I may readily think, speak, and act according to His will. I must intentionally take care not to harden my heart and ignore this gracious provision. We are solemnly warned not to grieve or quench the Holy Spirit. The imagery illustrates that believers do not lose their freedom to disbelieve, disobey, or return to a lost state. Grief is a separation word that signifies a departure. And quench suggests pouring water onto a fire and putting it out. The loss of the Holy Spirit’s fire within us leaves us vulnerable to unholy spirits.
Death is the enemy of life. There is a progression in Scripture that clearly reveals the nature of death. At the time that our first parents chose to eat from the forbidden tree, they had not so much as seen a single leaf wither and fall to the ground. The intrinsic, vibrant beauty of a world without death is beyond the scope of our imagination. We can only vaguely endeavor to envision such pristine splendor. When Adam was first told of death, the idea of it was so foreign that he likely did not comprehend its gravity. His decision to follow Eve into the realm of death cannot be explained, for it is the mystery of iniquity (2 Thessalonians 2:7 KJV). However, the fact remains that just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned (Romans 5:12).
The glorious salvation being offered by the Creator did not erase the truth of death. Rather, He makes a distinction for us, as Scripture progresses. The second death is the final death for all the unrepentant, the blasphemers of the Holy Spirit’s gentle leading. It is a death from which there is no resurrection. This is the death that Jesus died for us. When the sin of the world was placed upon Him, His Father forsook Him and He died of a broken heart. He bore all of the world’s sins unto death. Yet the reality of His sinless record meant that death could not maintain a hold upon Him. And this sinless record is what He offers to each of us in exchange for our sins.
Both the righteous and the wicked alike die the first death. And all are resurrected from the first death, yet the types of resurrections are very different. Those who are asleep in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:18) will be awakened at His coming (v.23) and given new, healthy, indestructible bodies (v.53). This is the first resurrection. A thousand years later the second resurrection (for the unrepentant) occurs. No new bodies are given them. (more on this later…)
Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. Revelation 20:6
For further study: Ezekiel 18:24-26; Daniel 12:2; John 5:28-29; Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; Hebrews 10:29