The Bible speaks of two types of death. The first is Adamic death, so called because the entire human race was put under its curse because of Adam’s disobedience to God. In Genesis 2:17, God says, “…but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it, you shall surely die.” Adam’s act began the dying process for all mankind.
The good news is that Jesus came to pay the ransom price for Adam so that all of humanity will have an opportunity, during the future Millennial kingdom, to come to an understanding of God’s righteous laws and live eternally on earth if they choose to follow them. The Bible explains this concept very clearly in many scriptures. For example, 1 Corinthians 15:22 says, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” Because of this promise of future life, we know that Adamic death is not permanent annihilation.
The second type of death is called Second Death in the Bible (Revelation 2:11). During the Millennial kingdom “when all who are in their graves will hear his voice” (John 5:28) and be resurrected, mankind will have a long time to learn to live under God’s laws of love and unselfishness. They will be tutored on the subject by Christ and his church (his faithful followers in heaven); Satan will not be able to influence the world at this time. At the end of this period, there will be a short time of testing. If an individual then chooses to continue in opposition to God’s laws, he/she will be subject to Second Death. Unlike Adamic death, God has arranged no redemption from this death. That death will bring annihilation to that individual (2 Thessalonians 1:9).
