12. What does the Bible call the final fate of the wicked? Revelation 21:8. Consider Matthew 25:41.
NOTE: ‘And now, after the example of Sodom and Gomorrah, fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours them. Revelation 20:9; 2 Peter 2:6; Genesis 19:24-28. It is the burning earth that constitutes the great lake of fire in which the wicked shall experience the second death. 2 Peter 3:7-12; Malachi 4:1-3; Proverbs 11:31. Satan and his angels shall share this furnace of fire with wicked men; for, indeed, it was originally prepared for them. Matthew 25:41; Isaiah 30:33.’ J. N. Andrews: The Judgement: its Events and their Order, page 133.
13. Which people need have no fear of the second death? Revelation 2:11; Revelation 20:6.
NOTE: ‘The man who overcomes temptation has, too, a definite advantage in the matter of self-knowledge. It is difficult, sometimes, to know the quality of penitence. It may be fear, or shame, or dread of punishment, rather than abhorrence of self or sin. It is this uncertainty, to give it the mildest word, that makes death-bed repentances so untrustworthy. And the same uncertainty exists, measurably, in convictions of sin, under any circumstances. If repentance has no tendency to strengthen a man in advance, when the temptation comes again, there is reason to believe that it is not “after a godly sort,” is not “repentance that needeth not to be repented of.” The man who is stung by remorse is in a fever. The drunkenness of his indulgence is not yet off, while he already begins to feel the penalty. His head is hot, his brain is unsteady. He cannot see clearly, or reason well, or understand his own motives. He may, indeed, have a spark of true penitence, but it is difficult, at first, to distinguish it from the shame of his conscious degradation. But it is otherwise with “him that overcometh.” Confronting the yet untasted temptation, he is cool and firm. He can reason, and he can repel. Fear is not yet present with him, nor dread of punishment, nor shame, except as he may see their dark shadows forecast. He acts upon principle. His is that true Christian prudence which “foreseeth the evil, and hideth itself.” He remembers the horror that he had, when he was “overcome of evil” before. He will not incur it again. He can assure himself that it is for God’s sake that he will resist. The temptation is before him, and the love of Jesus. If he smites the one, and cleaves to the other, he knows which he loves most, for he has stood the test. Prevention is certain, cure is precarious. “He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.”’ James White: Review & Herald, March 31, 1863.
‘While the earth was wrapped in the fire of destruction, the righteous abode safely in the Holy City. Upon those that had part in the first resurrection, the second death has no power. While God is to the wicked a consuming fire, He is to His people both a sun and a shield. Revelation 20:6; Psalm 84:11.’ Great Controversy, page 673.