Revelation 21:8-10

"But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, the murderers, the fornicators, the sorcerers, the idolators, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8).

"Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, 'Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.' And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God" (Revelation 21:9-10).

 

Question:

These are part of our evolution and not literal. The lake of fire is that which brings change—a purifying fire not to be feared. What is the second death? And in verse nine it speaks of the bride, the Lamb's wife ... having come out of Pentecost. The bride was always referred to as  a "select group" ... what is a better interpretation that is "inclusive" to all?

Comment:

On Revelation 21:8: We are now at the dramatic conclusion of the process of spiritual preparation, challenge, and conquest that has been the focus of the first 20 chapters. We are about to be united—as if in marriage—to the spiritual kingdom that has been our destiny from the start, whether we recognized it or not. The final step, it seems, is a purification that removes the lingering effects of the fear-based choices we've made previously. Choices have consequences, always, and the consequence of painful choices is an experience of painful consequences. The first death occurs when we realize that our physical forms do not define or limit us. This 'second death' is, in a sense, the shaking off of dust we've accumulated along the way. It frees us for the union that follows.

On Revelation 21:9-10: The bride, then, is symbolically described as the city of Jerusalem—the full experience of the kingdom of heaven. I've written extensively about the significance of the number seven in my book on Revelation, Kingdom Come. Suffice it to say, that it is a symbol of spiritual completion. And the kingdom descends to us—a spiritually perfect expression here on earth. So the bride is not a person at all, but the experience of spiritual perfection. Nothing could be more 'inclusive,' I think. I don't see Pentecost in this passage at all; I'm unfamiliar with the source you're citing.