Revelation 20:14
14 And [kai] death [thanatos] and [kai] hell [hades] were cast [ballo] into [eis] the lake [limne] of fire. [pur] This [houtos] is [esti] the second [deuteros] death. [thanatos] KJV-Interlinear
14 And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. NASB
All who have rejected Christ have been called to the court to stand before the Great White Throne. This will occur at the end of human history. There they will receive their final sentence and judgment. Whether they have one last opportunity to make a statement, to repent, or express themselves in some fashion, is not known, except that God is fair and merciful. One would assume that a final statement would be allowed.
The sea (the nations, those lost and swallowed up to history) and death and hell (the place of death and temporary punishment, have also given up their occupants.
Death is where all people are, who have died in history. Believers will have been resurrected, and therefore no longer in death. That leaves only the unbelievers of history still in death by this time.
And death and hell are again referred to in this current verse.
However people are not identified specifically but their former residence is identified. Death referring to those who have died and have not been resurrected in the first resurrection, and hell referring to Hades or the underworld in which all who have been residing in Torments and still fit this description as non-resurrected persons.
It may very well be that the unbelievers who will die at the end of the Millennium will not go to Torments, but will somehow remain in death until summoned before Gods last great court.
When the first three occupants of the Lake of Fire, namely the anti-christ, the false prophet, and Satan, were thrown into the Lake of Fire, they were identified specifically. And the result of the judgment was identified specifically. They were cast into the Lake of Fire.
Now, however, the people are not identified but the address is identified, namely death and hell, and all who were residents of those places, are said to be cast into the Lake of Fire. The next verse will further define those who are cast into the Lake of Fire.
So, thus far we have only the concept and former residence of those who are going to be sent to hell.
This serves to clarify that anyone who has not been in Torments (or currently in the state of death), will not go to the Lake of Fire. No believer in Christ will ever go to the Lake of Fire. No believer in Christ will ever be in the compartment in Hades, known as Torments.
Remember that the Underworld, known as Hades has four compartments – Paradise, Torments, Tartarus, and the Abyss. The first compartment, Paradise, was where all Old Testament believers went until the time of the Cross, after which Christ took all of them out of Paradise and into heaven. After that, no one has ever lived in Paradise again. It is currently an empty compartment.
The other three compartments housed the evil of the world. Torments was where all unbelievers go and still do go. The other two compartments serve as the residence of evil demons. Those too, will be emptied when their occupants are sent to the Lake of Fire.
After the Cross, when believers die, they go directly to Heaven and thus no believer ever resides in Hades since the Cross, and no believer in all of human history has ever been in Torments.
When people are born into this world, they are all born physically alive but spiritually dead. That is the first death, the spiritual death or separation from God. When people believe in Christ then they are said to be born again, or reborn into a new life. They never die again (physical death is not the first death).
Now everyone dies a physical death sooner or later, but that is a picture of the first death. Both believers and unbelievers die physically, so physical death is not the source of separation from God.
When the final judgment comes along at the end of human history, then all unbelievers who have already died spiritually the first time, not having believed in Christ and having died physically confirming their first death without Christ, will have yet another death to face them. And that second death is a second separation from God, which this time will be a permanent separation.
Interesting enough, all unbelievers though separated from God in their first death will be brought before Him one more time to face Him (Christ), at the Great White Throne. One would think that they would have one last opportunity. However, unbelievers could also be defiant and retain their stubborn rejection and certainly many (if not all) will. Thus, being sent to the Lake of Fire.
This verse makes it clear, that only occupants from Hades and death will be sent to the Lake of Fire. All believers have been resurrected by this time and thus none will be even in death by this time.
This casting into the Lake of Fire, which is synonymous with the term for hell, is also called the second death.
Death is a separation from something and in this case it is a second separation, a permanent separation, from God, forever.
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