science

Second death

Second death is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Second death rather than just read about it. In short: The second death, also known as eternal death, is an eschatological concept in various religious and esoteric traditions, prominently featured in Judaism, Christianity, and Mandaeism, where it generally refers to punishment after a first/initial death on Earth. However the concept also appears in classical antiquity, Egyptian mythology, and modern Western esotericism: in these non-Christian contexts, the "second dea…

Key takeaways

Second death belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Second death to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Second death from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The second death, also known as eternal death, is an eschatological concept in various religious and esoteric traditions, prominently featured in Judaism, Christianity, and Mandaeism, where it generally refers to punishment after a first/initial death on Earth. However the concept also appears in classical antiquity, Egyptian mythology, and modern Western esotericism: in these non-Christian contexts, the "second death" typically signifies the natural post mortem dissolution of the human soul, which does not survive eternally.

Judaism

Although the term is not found in the Hebrew Bible (the Canonical collection of Hebrew scriptures), Harry Sysling identifies a consistent usage of the term "second death" in texts of the Second Temple period and early rabbinical writings. In most cases, the "second death" is identical with the judgment, following the resurrection, in Gehinnom at the Last Day.

Targum Deuteronomy In Targum Neofiti (Neof.) and the fragments (FTP and FTV), on the verse Deutoronomy 33:6, the "second death" is "the death that the wicked die."

Targum Isaiah Targum Isaiah has three occurrences. The first is 22:14, where the Aramaic paraphrases the Hebrew as "This sin will not be forgiven you until you die the second death." The final two examples are from Targum Isaiah 65, which sets the scene for an apocalyptic final battle. Targum Isaiah 65:6 paraphrases the Hebrew in line with the interpretation of the penultimate verse of the Hebrew Isaiah found in the Gospel of Mark, where "their worm does not die" is equated with Gehinnom. Here both Targum Isaiah and Gospel of Mark supply the term "Gehinnom", where Hebrew Isaiah simply concludes with the heaps of corpses following the last battle where "their worm does not die", making no further eschatological extension into resurrection and judgment.

Targum Jeremiah Targum Jeremiah 51:17 has the Aramaic "they shall die the second death and not live in the world to come", which appears to depart from the other Targum uses in not being explicit that the second death is after resurrection but may instead be an exclusion from resurrection.

Targum Psalms The majority reading of Targum Psalm 49:11 has the Aramaic translation "For the wise see that the evil-doers are judged in Gehinnom". However, several manuscripts, including Paris No.10, Montefiore No.7, and Targum of Salomos 113 have the variant Aramaic translation "He sees men wise in wickedness, who die a second death, and are judged in Gehinnom".

Rabbinic interpretations David Kimhi (Toulouse, c. 1160–Narbonne, 1235) considered the phrase to mean "the death of the soul in the world". Maimonides declares, in his 13 principles of faith, that the souls of the wicked would be punished with annihilation. Bahya ben Asher understands second death as referring to the death of a soul after it has been reincarnated, i.e., after Gilgul Neshamot.

Christianity

The term "second death" occurs four times in the New Testament, specifically in Revelation 2:11, 20:6, 20:14, and 21:8. According to Revelation 2:11 and 20:6, those who overcome the devil's tribulation have part in the first resurrection and will not be hurt by the second death, which has no power over them. Revelation 20:14 and 21:8 connect the lake of fire to the second death.

Interpretation One interpretation states that when people are saved, they are not subject to the second death and only die of the earthly first death, whereas an unsaved person will experience two deaths: the first at the end of this life and the second after the resurrection. The second death has been interpreted as endless torment by many, Lactantius being one of them:

We term that punishment the second death, which is itself also perpetual, as is immortality. [...] we thus define the second death: Death is the suffering of eternal pain, or thus: Death is the condemnation of souls for their deserts to eternal punishments. Annihilationists and conditionalists, including all Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses, and many others in many denominations, oppose the idea of eternal suffering and believe that the second death is a literal death and that the bodies and souls condemned to it after the final judgment will be completely destroyed. Many believe there is limited conscious torment after the first death, but many others believe there is none and thus those who experience the second death cease to exist instantly. Christian universalists, who believe all will be reconciled to God, offer different interpretations, rejecting both endless torment and utter destruction. Gregory of Nyssa understood the second death as a cleansing, albeit a painful process. He wrote that "those still living in the flesh must as much as ever they can separate and free themselves in a way from its attachments by virtuous conduct, in order that after death they may not need a second death to cleanse them".

Mandaeism Mandaeans believe that the souls which could not be purified inside of demon Ur would get destroyed along with him at the end of days, so they die the second death. Other evil powers and the planets will suffer this "second death" in the blazing "sea of the end" as well.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Second death

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Second death claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Second death before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Second death ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Second death

In research: Second death appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Second death in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Second death is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Afterlife in Christianity, Gehenna, Jewish eschatology, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Second death outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Second death in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Second death means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Second death out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Second death in simple terms?

Why does Second death matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Second death?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Second death.