Scripture refers to the eternal lake of fire (which will be created with the new earth after this earth is melted down at the end of Messiah’s millennial earthly reign) as “the second death.” Many who are lost in the false teachings of man’s religions (like the many different flavors of christianity) think that “the first death” is physical death, but that is not true at all.
The physical is always just a “shadow,” or an image—a picture that represents something. If I have a photograph of my house, the picture is not my house, but an image of it—a shadow of it, projected in a way that allows the mind to visualize the object. It is a representation of my house. Not understanding the physical-foreshadow-to-spiritual-real-substance construct, then, would be like trying to live inside a picture of a house.
From an eternal perspective, the physical is always shadow, and the real substance is ALWAYS spiritual. The physical temple in Jerusalem was a shadow of Messiah’s bride, who now possesses the covenant within. The Passover lambs sacrificed each year were a physical foreshadow of the Perfect Lamb’s Passover crucifixion. The daily animal sacrifices at the temple were a shadow of Messiah’s bride daily sacrificing her flesh. The physical always precedes the spiritual as an object lesson for human minds to grasp things that are not physical, but spiritual.
Thus, both “the first death” and “the second death” are spiritual, not physical. All humans are born into the first death, as that came from Adam’s sin, and infects all humanity (Romans 5:12). It is the singular sinful condition called “unbelief,” and is actually a dead spirit (dead in sin) that can only be resurrected to newness of life by the Holy Spirit—1 Corinthians 15:45-47.
As the first death is spiritual, so too is “the first resurrection,” as the first resurrection is comprised of all of humanity who are given the Holy Spirit. It is He who raises the dead spirit in man to newness of life. The first resurrection are all of those who have the privilege of being called Yah’s children (John 1:12). Those who have been made alive by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit will never see the second death, while all those who are never given the Holy Spirit will be a part of the second death—the eternal lake of fire.
Thus, while all are born into the first death, those who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who raises the spirit in a person to new life (2 Corinthians 5:17), will never see the second death. And, just as those who are still part of the first death are aware of themselves and their surroundings right now, so too will those who are cast into the second death be conscious and tormented for all eternity.
Those who have ears let them hear.
For more information: Is Salvation Hard to Receive?