“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.” Revelation 2:11 Authorized King James Version (AV)

“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years… And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:4-6, 10-15 AV  

“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. Revelation 21:8 AV

The concept of the second death is also found in the Aramaic paraphrases of the Hebrew Bible, commonly referred to as the Targumim. Here are some examples:

Let Reuben live in this world, nor die the second death which the wicked die in the world to come; and let his youths be numbered with the young men of his brethren of Beth Israel. [JER. Let Reuben live in this world, nor die the second death which the wicked the in the world to come; and let his youths be with the men in number.] (The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee, by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. First Published 1862, Deut. 33:6 [33-34])

אֲמַר נְבִיָא בְאוּדְנִי הֱוֵיתִי שְׁמַע כַּד אִתְגְזַר דָא מִן קֳדָם יְיָ צְבָאוֹת אִם יִשְׁתְּבַק חוֹבָא הָדֵין לְכוֹן עַד דִי תְמוּתוּן מוֹתָא תִנְיָנָא אֲמַר יְיָ אֱלֹהִים צְבָאוֹת:

The prophet said, with mine ears I was hearing when this was decreed from before the Lord of hosts, namely, that this your iniquity shall not be forgiven you till you die the second death, said the Lord, the God, the God of hosts. (Targum Jonathan on Isaiah, Isa. 22:14 https://www.sefaria.org/Targum_Jonathan_on_Isaiah.22.14?lang=bi)

הָא כְתִיבָא קֳדָמַי לָא אֶתֵּן לְהוֹן אַרְכָּא בְּחַיַיָא אֱלָהֵן אֲשַׁלֵם לְהוֹן פּוּרְעֲנוּת חוֹבֵיהוֹן וְאֶמְסוֹר לְמוֹתָא תִּנְיָנָא יַת גְוִיַתְהוֹן:

Behold, it is written before me: I will not give unto them prolongation in this life; but I will recompense unto them the wages for their sins, and deliver their bodies to the second death. (Ibid., Isa. 65:6 https://www.sefaria.org/Targum_Jonathan_on_Isaiah.65.6?lang=bi)

וְתִשְׁבְּקוּן שׁוּמְכוֹן לְקַיָמָא לִבְחִירִי וִימִיתְכוֹן יְיָ אֱלֹהִים מוֹתָא תִנְיָנָא וּלְעַבְדוֹהִי צַדִיקַיָא יִקְרֵי שְׁמָא אוֹחֲרָנָא:

And ye shall leave your name for a curse to my chosen: for the Lord God shall slay you with the second death, 10 and call His righteous servants by another name:

דִמְבָרֵךְ בְּאַרְעָא יְבָרֵךְ בֶּאֱלָהָא קַיָמָא וְדִמְקַיֵם בְּאַרְעָא יְקַיֵם בֶּאֱלָהָא קַיָמָא אֲרֵי יִתְנַשְׁיָן עָקָתָא קַדְמְיָתָא וַאֲרֵי מְסַתְּרָן מִן קֳדָמַי:

That he who blesseth in the earth shall bless by the God of the covenant, and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of the covenant; because, the former troubles shall be forgotten, and because they shall be hidden from before me. (Ibid., Isa. 65:15-16 https://www.sefaria.org/Targum_Jonathan_on_Isaiah.65.15-16?lang=bi)

Bring upon them distress, and they shall be like drunkards, so that they shall not be strong, and they shall die the second death and not live in the world to come, says the Lord. Jer. 51:39 (The Bible in Aramaic Based on Old Manuscripts Printed Texts [E. J. Brill, 1992 second impression], edited by Alexander Sperber, Volume III (3). The Latter Prophets According to Jonathan, p. 258; emphasis mine)

I will make her officials and her sages drunk, her governors, her deputies, and her warriors; and they shall die the second death and not live in the world to come, says the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts. Jer. 51:57 (Ibid., p. 259; emphasis mine)

The final example comes from some Aramaic MSS of Psalm 49:11, which contain a variant reading:

A number of MSS⁶¹ offer a variant reading:

For he sees men (who are) wise in wickedness… who die a second death… and are judged in Gehinnom.

Here the second death is identical with the judgment in Gehinnom. The wicked will perish and their riches will be given to the righteous… At the same time it can be said of these wicked that they will remain in their graces for ever (49:12) and will not participate in the resurrection (49:13). (Harry Sysling, Teḥiyyat ha-metim: the resurrection of the dead in the Palestinian Targums of the Pentateuch and parallel traditions in classical rabbinic literature [J.C.B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1996], pp. 221-222)

Interestingly, the Talmud indicates that God will deliver folks from hell (gehinnom), and that gehinnom itself will be terminated or wiped out:

פּוֹשְׁעֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּגוּפָן, וּפוֹשְׁעֵי אוּמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם בְּגוּפָן — יוֹרְדִין לְגֵיהִנָּם וְנִידּוֹנִין בָּהּ שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר חֹדֶשׁ. לְאַחַר שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר חֹדֶשׁ — גּוּפָן כָּלֶה, וְנִשְׁמָתָן נִשְׂרֶפֶת, וְרוּחַ מְפַזַּרְתָּן תַּחַת כַּפּוֹת רַגְלֵי צַדִּיקִים, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְעַסּוֹתֶם רְשָׁעִים כִּי יִהְיוּ אֵפֶר תַּחַת כַּפּוֹת רַגְלֵיכֶם״.

The rebellious Jews who have sinned with their bodies and also the rebellious people of the nations of the world who have sinned with their bodies descend to Gehenna and are judged there for twelve months. After twelve months, their bodies are consumed, their souls are burned, and a wind scatters them under the soles of the feet of the righteous, as it is stated: “And you shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet” (Malachi 3:21).

אֲבָל הַמִּינִין וְהַמָּסוֹרוֹת וְהָאֶפִּיקוֹרְסִים שֶׁכָּפְרוּ בַּתּוֹרָה, וְשֶׁכָּפְרוּ בִּתְחִיַּית הַמֵּתִים, וְשֶׁפֵּירְשׁוּ מִדַּרְכֵי צִבּוּר, וְשֶׁנָּתְנוּ חִיתִּיתָם בְּאֶרֶץ חַיִּים, וְשֶׁחָטְאוּ וְהֶחְטִיאוּ אֶת הָרַבִּים, כְּגוֹן יָרׇבְעָם בֶּן נְבָט וַחֲבֵירָיו — יוֹרְדִין לְגֵיהִנָּם וְנִידּוֹנִין בָּהּ לְדוֹרֵי דּוֹרוֹת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְיָצְאוּ וְרָאוּ בְּפִגְרֵי הָאֲנָשִׁים הַפּוֹשְׁעִים בִּי וְגוֹ׳״.

But the heretics; and the informers; and the apostates [apikorsim]; and those who denied the Torah; and those who denied the resurrection of the dead; and those who separated from the ways of the Jewish community and refused to share the suffering; and those who cast their fear over the land of the living; and those who sinned and caused the masses to sin, for example, Jeroboam, son of Nebat, and his company; all of these people descend to Gehenna and are judged there for generations and generations, as it is stated: “And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have rebelled against Me; for their worm shall not die; neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh” (Isaiah 66:24).

גֵּיהִנָּם כָּלֶה וְהֵן אֵינָן כָּלִין, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְצוּרָם לְבַלּוֹת שְׁאוֹל מִזְּבוּל לוֹ״. וְכׇל כָּךְ לָמָּה — מִפְּנֵי שֶׁפָּשְׁטוּ יְדֵיהֶם בִּזְבוּל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״מִזְּבוּל לוֹ״, וְאֵין ״זְבוּל״ אֶלָּא בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״בָּנֹה בָנִיתִי בֵּית זְבוּל לָךְ״, וַעֲלֵיהֶם אָמְרָה חַנָּה: ״ה׳ יֵחַתּוּ מְרִיבָיו״.

Gehenna will terminate, but they still will not terminate, as it is stated: “And their form shall wear away the netherworld, so that there be no dwelling for Him” (Psalms 49:15); that is to say, Gehenna itself will be worn away before their punishment has come to an end. And why are they punished so severely? Because they stretched out their hands against God’s dwelling, the Temple, and everything else that is sanctified, as it is stated: “So that there be no dwelling [zevul] for Him.” Dwelling [zevul] is referring here only to the Temple, as it is stated: “I have built You a house for dwelling [zevul] in” (I Kings 8:13). And about them Hannah said: “The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken in pieces” (I Samuel 2:10).

אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק בַּר אָבִין: וּפְנֵיהֶם דּוֹמִין לְשׁוּלֵי קְדֵירָה. וְאָמַר רָבָא: וְאִינְהוּ מִשַּׁפִּירֵי שַׁפִּירֵי בְּנֵי מָחוֹזָא, וּמִקַּרְיִין ״בְּנֵי גֵיהִנָּם״.

Rabbi Yitzḥak bar Avin said: And their faces on the Day of Judgment will be black and sooty like the bottom of a pot. And Rava said: And they shall include the most handsome, i.e., upstanding, of the people of Meḥoza, as Rava thought that even the most upstanding people of the city of Meḥoza were wicked, and they shall be called the people of Gehenna.

אָמַר מָר, בֵּית הִלֵּל אוֹמְרִים: ״וְרַב חֶסֶד״ — מַטֶּה כְּלַפֵּי חֶסֶד, וְהָכְתִיב: ״וְהֵבֵאתִי אֶת הַשְּׁלִישִׁית בָּאֵשׁ״! הָתָם, בְּפוֹשְׁעֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּגוּפָן.

The Master said in the baraita above: It stated that Beit Hillel say: He Who is “and abundant in kindness” (Exodus 34:6) tilts the scales in favor of kindness, so that middling people will not have to pass through Gehenna. The Gemara asks: But isn’t it written: “And I will bring the third part through the fire” (Zechariah 13:9), implying that there is a third group, which is sent to Gehenna temporarily? The Gemara answers: There, the verse is referring to the rebellious Jews who have sinned with their bodies.

פּוֹשְׁעֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּגוּפָן — וְהָא אָמְרַתְּ לֵית לְהוּ תַּקַּנְתָּא?! כִּי לֵית לְהוּ תַּקָּנָה — בְּרוֹב עֲוֹנוֹת. הָכָא — מֶחֱצָה עֲוֹנוֹת וּמֶחֱצָה זְכִיּוֹת, וְאִית בְּהוּ נָמֵי עָוֹן דְּפוֹשְׁעֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּגוּפָן, לָא סַגְיָא לֵיהּ דְּלָאו ״וְהֵבֵאתִי אֶת הַשְּׁלִישִׁית בָּאֵשׁ״. וְאִם לָאו, ״וְרַב חֶסֶד״ — מַטֶּה כְּלַפֵּי חֶסֶד. וַעֲלֵיהֶן אָמַר דָּוִד: ״אָהַבְתִּי כִּי יִשְׁמַע ה׳״.

The Gemara asks: Can the verse be referring to the rebellious Jews who have sinned with their bodies? But didn’t you say that they have no rectification? The Gemara responds: When do they have no rectification? When in addition to their having sinned with their bodies, the majority of their actions are sins. But here, the verse is referring to people for whom half of their actions are sins and half are meritorious deeds, and those sins include the sin of the rebellious Jews who sin with their bodies. It is not sufficient that they not be subject to the verse: “And I will bring the third part through the fire.” However, if their sins and meritorious deeds are equally balanced, and they did not sin with their bodies, He Who is “abundant in kindness” tilts the scales in favor of kindness. And about them, David said: “I love the Lord, Who hears my voice and my supplications” (Psalms 116:1). (Babylonian Talmud, Rosh Hoshana 17a https://www.sefaria.org/Rosh_Hashanah.17a.3-8?lang=bi)

FURTHER READING

Are Hell and the Lake of Fire One and the Same Place?

OT References to Hell in the King James Bible