Revelation 20:13-14'

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Revelation 20:13-14

“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.”

What are the events described here? What is their timeframe and who do they involve?

Verse 13 refers somewhat to the second resurrection, but primarily the third resurrection, with the second to occur at the end of the 1,000-year reign of Christ and the saints on earth, when all mankind since Adam will be resurrected to physical life for 100 years (Isa. 65:17-25). All these people will be “judged” from God’s word—“the books” of Rev 20:12.

The third resurrection (Rev 20:14 and 15) is when all that pertains to hell (gehenna) and death (the entire idea and reality of physical death) are both destroyed in the lake of fire. This last fulfilment—the third resurrection—occurs at the very end of God’s Plan, the time after He will have given every person who has ever lived a full opportunity to qualify to enter His kingdom. This is the time when the wicked shall be resurrected to see all that they have rejected before they are turned into the “ashes under the…feet” of the righteous (Mal. 4:1-3).