“All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3: 16). Yes God has given us His Holy Scriptures so that we can be instructed in the way to perfect righteous character (2 Tim. 3: 17. Mat. 5: 48). We also read that “... the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost [Spirit]” (2 Pet. 1: 21). God our creator has provided us His Holy Bible which is really “an operating manual” containing instructions on the way of life which if followed will bring us peace joy perfect health in this life and lead us to eternal life through Christ Jesus. He has also provided us His word of prophecy so as “to shew unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass;” (Amos 3: 7. Rev 1: 1). In the Holy Scriptures God warns us of the consequences that lie ahead if we reject His instructions. In the Bible we find matters of life and death and we ought to heed God’s warning as we all will be judged now or at some time in the future according to how we lived as it relates to the word of God.

In 1 John 5: 16 and 17 we read: “If any man sees his brother sin a sin which is not unto death he shall ask (God) and he (God) shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death”. These passages found in 1 John chapter five are not understood by many and we hear very little about them; yet these are very serious words of warning which we would do well to understand and to heed.

Many have wondered about the meaning of these verses! How do these verses of scripture (1 John 5: 16 – 17) impact one’s life if at all? And who is likely to commit such a sin? First the “sin not unto death” is the type of sin that if committed one can be forgiven of upon repentance. One who commits such a sin will not die the second death if he repents. On the other hand the sin that is unto death is the type of sin that if committed there will be no forgiveness of such a sin and therefore that individual is destined to die the second death which is eternal. There is simply no resurrection from the second death.

Let us now turn to the Bible for the answer to these questions. In 2 Pet. 1: 20 we read: “Knowing this first that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation”. We ought to be very careful to let the Bible interpret the Bible in order to avoid the pitfalls wherein every man has a different interpretation which is so prevalent among church leaders today. Folks have your Bible ready and prove for yourselves what is written in your own Bible!

Death is a direct consequence of sin as we see in Rom. 6: 23. It reads: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”. Notice that eternal (immortal) life is a gift from God and not something we already have. In Eze. 18: 4 we read: “Behold all souls are mine; as the soul of the father so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth it shall die”. Then in verse twenty (Eze. 18: 20) we read: “The soul that sinneth it shall die”. Jesus himself said in Mat. 10: 28: “And fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him [God] which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell”. We do not have an immortal soul as is so widely believed. God offered Adam and Eve immortal life through His Holy Spirit as symbolized by “the tree of life” but they rejected God’s Holy Spirit and so God drove them out of the garden of Eden (Gen. 3: 23). In Gen. 3: 24 we read: “So he (God) drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cher-u-bims and a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life [Holy Spirit]”. God placed Cher-u-bims one of the highest orders of angels at the garden’s entrance to encircle it so that it was no longer within the reach of man until Christ’s subsequent death and resurrection (John 7: 39). The Holy Spirit (symbolized by the tree of life) is the power of God by which He gives one eternal life.