11. What does the Bible call the punishment which will be inflicted upon the wicked? Revelation 21:8. Compare Revelation 20:13-14.
NOTE: ‘Those who have not, through repentance and faith, secured pardon, must receive the penalty of transgression, “the wages of sin.” They suffer punishment varying in duration and intensity, “according to their works,” but finally ending in the second death. Since it is impossible for God, consistently with His justice and mercy, to save the sinner in his sins, He deprives him of the existence which his transgressions have forfeited and of which he has proved himself unworthy. Says an inspired writer: “Yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.” And another declares: “They shall be as though they had not been.” Psalm 37:10; Obadiah 16. Covered with infamy, they sink into hopeless, eternal oblivion. Thus will be made an end of sin, with all the woe and ruin which have resulted from it. Says the psalmist: “Thou hast destroyed the wicked, Thou hast put out their name forever and ever. O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end.” Psalm 9:5, 6.’ Great Controversy, page 544.
Compiler’s Note: The second death, unlike the first death, will not be terminated by resurrection. The second death is eternal.
12. Which people will not suffer the second death? Revelation 2:11. Compare Revelation 20:6.
NOTE: ‘If our profession to have greater truths than other denominations does not lead to deeper consecration, and purer and holier lives, of what advantage is this truth to us? It would be better for us if we had never seen the light of truth, than to profess to accept it, and not be sanctified by it. To determine how great a matter is involved in the conversion of a soul from error to truth, we must appreciate the value of immortality, we must sense the pains of the second death. We must comprehend the honours and glory awaiting the ransomed, and understand what it is to live in the presence of Him who died that He might elevate, ennoble, and give to the overcomer a royal diadem.’ Manuscript Releases, volume 12, pages 293-294.