Revelation of John 20:14 · Bible study
Revelation 20:14 Commentary: Death, Hades, and the Second Death
Greek · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Death and Hades thrown into the lake of fire? Learn about the second death, the end of death's power, and what this means for believers.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Death and Hades are abolished; the second death is the lake of fire, final judgment.
- Key words: θάνατος (death), ᾅδης (Hades), βάλλω (throw), λίμνη πυρός (lake of fire).
- Main debate: Does the second death entail annihilation or eternal conscious torment?
- Theological theme: Christ's victory over death and judgment; the finality of God's justice.
- Best use: Comfort for believers facing death; warning against sin; motivation for evangelism.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
KJV King James Version 1769
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, eventhe lake of fire.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
and the death and the hades were cast to the lake of the fire--this is the second death;
Darby Darby Bible 1890
and death and hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, [even] the lake of fire.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And hell and death were cast into the pool of fire. This is the second death.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y el infierno y la muerte fueron lanzados en el lago de fuego. Esta es la muerte segunda.
E a morte e o mundo dos mortos foram lançados no lago de fogo; esta é a segunda morte: o lago de fogo.
Et la mort et le séjour des morts furent jetés dans l’ étang de feu. C’ est la seconde mort, l’ étang de feu.
Und der Tod und die Hölle wurden geworfen in den feurigen Pfuhl. das ist der andere Tod.
En de dood en de hel werden geworpen in den poel des vuurs; dit is de tweede dood.
E la morte e l’Ades furon gettati nello stagno di fuoco. Questa è la morte seconda, cioè, lo stagno di fuoco.
A śmierć i piekło wrzucone są w jezioro ogniste. Tać jest wtóra śmierć.
И смерть и ад повержены в озеро огненное. Это смерть вторая.
死亡 和 陰間 也被扔 在火 湖 裡；這 火 湖 就是 第二次 的死。
And death and Hell were put into the sea of fire. This is the second death, even the sea of fire.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Koine Greek)
New Testament · Koine Greek · Revelation of John 20:14
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions read this verse as the definitive end of death's power. The aorist passive eblēthēsan ("were thrown") points to a decisive, completed action: Death and Hades, no longer needed and no longer active, are cast into the lake of fire. Wesley and Clarke agree that this abolishes death forever; the righteous and wicked will never face physical death again. Barnes connects the verse to Paul's promise in 1 Corinthians 15:26: "The last enemy that will be abolished is death." The phrase "This is the second death, the lake of fire" (some manuscripts add "the lake of fire" for emphasis) identifies the lake of fire as the second death, a state of eternal separation from God (Clarke). The Cambridge Bible cautions that Death and Hades are personified concepts, not sentient beings like the devil, so their being "cast in" does not require them to endure ongoing torment; rather, their existence and power are terminated. All agree that the second death is a real and final judgment for those outside the book of life, though Christians differ on whether it means annihilation or eternal conscious suffering.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Annihilationist reading: The casting of Death and Hades into the lake implies their destruction; the second death as final extinction.
- Traditional eternal torment reading: The lake of fire as ongoing punishment, same as for the beast and false prophet (Rev 20:10); second death is separation from God, not cessation.
What is clear: Death and Hades are defeated and no longer have power; the second death is a real and final judgment from which there is no recovery.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Personification of Death and Hades | They represent the power of death and the realm of the dead, now defeated by God. | Some (Cambridge) treat them as purely figurative concepts, while others (Gill) see them as representing the wicked dead or even demonic powers. |
| Second death: annihilation vs. eternal punishment | The second death is the final, irreversible judgment for the wicked. | Traditionalists (Barnes, Clarke) hold that it is eternal conscious separation from God; annihilationists hold that it is the extinction of existence. |
| Fate of Death and Hades in the lake | They are cast into the lake and thus cease to have power. | Whether they continue to exist in torment (like the devil, beast, false prophet) or simply cease to function (Cambridge says they are not real persons, so they do not endure torment). |
| Textual variant of v. 14b | The phrase identifies the second death with the lake of fire. | Some manuscripts read 'This is the second death' alone; others add 'the lake of fire' (A, B, Andreas). The longer reading makes the identification explicit. |
Historical & Cultural Context
John's vision draws on apocalyptic imagery familiar to his first readers. Hades (Greek hadēs) was understood as the shadowy realm of the dead, the intermediate state of departed spirits. Death, often personified in Scripture (Hosea 13:14; 1 Corinthians 15:26; Revelation 6:8), is here both a power and a concept. The lake of fire appears earlier in Revelation as the fate of the beast and false prophet (19:20) and the devil (20:10), establishing it as the consistent destination for all enemies of God.
The surrounding judgment scene (20:11, 15) provides the context. After the great white throne judgment, the sea, Death, and Hades give up their dead (20:13). Then the entities that held the dead are themselves cast into the lake. This reversal emphasizes God's total control: the powers that once imprisoned humanity are now imprisoned. The phrase "second death" first appears in Revelation 20:6 as the opposite of the first resurrection. The first death separates body and soul; the second death, according to Clarke, separates body and soul from God forever. The aorist tense of eblēthēsan (were cast) presents the event as already accomplished in the vision, underscoring its certainty. This verse marks the transition from the old order, where death and Hades operate, to the new creation where they are no more.
Textual Notes
The primary textual issue is whether the phrase "the lake of fire" originally concluded the verse. The King James Version (following the Textus Receptus) reads only "This is the second death." However, early manuscripts including Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Vaticanus add "the lake of fire," yielding "This is the second death, the lake of fire." Jamieson-Fausset-Brown and Vincent favor this longer reading. Gill notes that the Alexandrian and Complutensian editions include it. Modern critical editions (ESV, NIV, BSB) adopt the longer reading. The variant does not change the essential meaning but makes the identification of the second death with the lake of fire explicit. No other significant variants are noted in the consulted sources.
Reception History
From the early church, this verse was central to teaching on the final judgment. Irenaeus and Tertullian cited it to argue for the resurrection of the body and the permanence of punishment for the wicked. In the medieval period, the "second death" was explained as the loss of the vision of God, a spiritual death more terrible than physical death. Reformation exegetes such as the Geneva Bible's annotators linked it to the defeat of the enemy in 1 Corinthians 15 and the comfort of believers. Wesley and the Methodist tradition emphasized the abolition of death itself, finding hope for the resurrection. In modern evangelicalism, the verse has been at the center of debates between advocates of conditional immortality (annihilationism) and those who hold to eternal conscious torment. Despite these differences, the historic Christian consensus sees this verse as a declaration that death, humanity's last enemy, will be no more.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Death is Defeated. The casting of Death and Hades into the lake means the first death no longer has power over God's people. Physical death, the separation of soul and body, will be no more (1 Corinthians 15:53).
- Hades is Emptied. The realm of the dead, the intermediate state, is abolished. All who have died are raised, and Hades no longer holds anyone.
- The Second Death Defined. The lake of fire is the second death, the final, irreversible judgment for those outside Christ. It is not a temporary state but an eternal separation from God.
Five-point outline
- The Great White Throne: the Judge and the setting (vv. 11, 12)
- The Surrender of the Dead: the sea, Death, and Hades give up their occupants (v. 13)
- The Destruction of Death and Hades: the enemies are thrown into the lake (v. 14a)
- The Identification of the Second Death: the lake of fire is defined (v. 14b)
- The Exclusion: those not in the Book of Life are cast into the same lake (v. 15)
Illustration hooks
- The courtroom scene where the executioner, after carrying out his duties, is himself sentenced. Death carries out the first death, but then death itself is put to death.
- The feeling of relief when a feared disease is finally eradicated from the world. The global campaign against smallpox succeeded; God's campaign against death succeeds here completely.
- The contrast between a temporary holding cell and a final prison. The first death is the holding cell; the second death is the final, inescapable sentence.
Questions your congregation is asking
- If Death is thrown into the lake of fire, does that mean believers don't die anymore today?
- Is the second death the end of existence, or is it eternal suffering?
- How can I be sure that I will not face the second death?
Leading a Discussion
This verse concludes the great judgment scene of Revelation 20. It forces us to think about the ultimate outcome of God's justice and the final defeat of humanity's oldest enemy, death. For Christians, this is both a sober warning and a powerful comfort.
Discussion questions
- What do you think it means that Death and Hades are "thrown into the lake of fire"? How are they described earlier in the chapter?
- Why is it significant that they are personified as being cast in, rather than simply disappearing? What does this tell us about God's victory?
- Some Christians understand the "second death" as annihilation; others as eternal conscious punishment. What do you think the text teaches, and why?
- The first death separates body and soul; the second death separates body and soul from God. How does this distinction affect how you view death itself?
- How does the promise that death will be destroyed (1 Corinthians 15:26) comfort you when you face the death of a loved one or your own mortality?
- How should the reality of the second death shape the way you live daily and share your faith?
- In what ways does this passage give both warning and hope?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Hosea 13:14 | I will ransom them from the power of Sheol. I will redeem them from death! Death, where are your plagues? Sheol, where is your destruction? “Compassion will be hidden from my eyes. |
| I Corinthians 15:26 | The last enemy that will be abolished is death. |
| I Corinthians 15:53 | For this perishable body must become imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. |
| Revelation of John 1:18 | and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades. |
| Revelation of John 19:20 | The beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who worked the signs in his sight, with which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. |
| Revelation of John 20:6 | Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over these, the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with him one thousand years. |
| Revelation of John 20:10 | The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are also. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever. |
| Revelation of John 20:13 | The sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them. They were judged, each one according to his works. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
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What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke draws a sharp distinction between the first death, which is the temporary separation of soul from body, and the second death, which is the eternal separation of both body and soul from God. For him, the first death allows for resurrection, but the second death is final and offers no recovery.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes argues that casting death and hell into the lake of fire does not mean punishment will end for everyone. He insists the "second death" that follows proves the wicked continue in conscious agony, not extinction. For him, this death is a penalty like the first, only without ending existence.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator notes that death and hell appear as demon figures in John's vision, but unlike the Devil or the Beast, they are not real persons. They are destroyed without continuing in torment. The second death is a resurrection to a far more terrible death, contrasting with the usual hope of resurrection to life.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
And I saw the dead, both great and small stand before God: and the bookes were opened, and another booke was opened, which is the booke of life, and the dead were iudged of those thinges, which were written in the bookes, according to their woorkes.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill reads this as the final destruction of death and the grave itself, so that they no longer have power over anyone. More precisely, he takes it to mean the wicked dead are cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death—an eternal separation from God and a continual experience of His wrath.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
Jfb personifies Death and Hades as enemies of Christ and his Church, cast into the lake of fire to show that Christ's people will never die again or exist as disembodied spirits. He stresses that the old form of death is destroyed, but a far different kind of death reigns in hell: everlasting separation from the Lord's presence, itself an abiding testimony to Christ's victory.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange sees the lake of fire as a paradox: extreme agitation with no purpose, so the lost endlessly consume themselves ethically while remaining physically indissoluble. For him, the second death is both deeply mysterious and perfectly clear as the final logical outcome of persistent sin.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry connects the destruction of the devil's kingdom directly to the certainty of a final judgment, calling it the natural conclusion. He stresses that the throne is both great and white, reflecting its glory and perfect righteousness, and that the Judge's majesty will dissolve the entire physical universe.
Vincent's Word Studies Evangelical 1887
This is the second death. Add even the lake of fire.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley reads the casting of death and hades into the lake of fire as their complete and final abolition. For him this means no righteous or wicked person will ever die again, so neither death nor the grave can continue to exist.