Not long ago I made a most amazing discovery on my computer. Now that is really not so inconceivable, since, being somewhat of a computer dummy, there are many computer functions that I do not understand, that I do not use, and that are beyond my comprehension. Anyway, I mainly use the computer for Email correspondence with friends, sending and receiving messages. Most of the incoming messages are of a personal nature, but many of them are like junk mail that clutter up the available memory space. Consequently, I make a practice of deleting them from the inbox.
It was my impression that these deleted messages were totally gone, but much to my surprise, this is not so. I have discovered that there is a "deleted message" file where all deleted messages are safely tucked away to be recalled on demand. The problem is that this file keeps getting bigger and bigger, cluttered with all this unwanted garbage and it needs to be cleaned out periodically. This is done by deleting items from the "deleted message" file. As far as I know, if something has been deleted twice, it has been permanently erased from the computer memory.
The Bible describes two kinds of death, the first death and the second death, The first death is what people experience when they die and are buried. Jesus described this death as being a sleep from which people are awakened at the resurrection, some to eternal life and some to eternal destruction. The second death, however, is quite different, for it is a death from which there is no waking; it is permanent.
So, when people suffer the first death, you might say that they have been deleted and placed in an inactive file to be retrieved later on demand. But those who have rebelled against God and refused the hand of mercy will suffer the second death; they will be deleted twice and cannot be retrieved, they will be totally erased from memory. The question we must ask ourselves is: "Do we want to be deleted or erased?"
