4th Quarter 2022 Future Hope

On death and dying and the Future Hope

"Longing for a better world, people have painted for themselves many ?paradises? in which they would like to live. For example, in 1933 English novelist James Hilton released his book," Lost Horizon", which a few years later was turned into a film under the same title. featuring a Tibetan version of a paradisiac valley of Shangri-La." Mankind always seems to look for an alternate route to utopia, from the Egyptian pyramids preparing their dead for the "journey". To searching for the fountain of youth, etc.

But the Bible has the only answer to this quest for immortal life and utopia.

These lessons deal with the great controversy issues and the ONLY solution which is in Christ our Savior, who obtained and offers salvation from death and sin and an everlasting paradise to all who come to Him.

Link for this weeks lesson
This week the lesson covers the following:


Rebellion in a perfect heaven
Creation of a perfect world

The spread of doubt
The price of pride
Doubt giving way to unbelief

And the big question -- Why did God give His created beings free choice?
Does free choice mean all choices are good and acceptable?


THE REBELLION IN HEAVEN

Isaiah
14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, you who didst weaken the nations!
14:13 For you have have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
14:15 Yet you shall be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

Ezekiel
28:12 You sealed up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
28:13 You have been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
28:14 You were the anointed cherub that covers; and I set you that way: you were upon the holy mountain of God; you have walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
28:15 You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, till iniquity was found in you.
28:16 By the multitude of your merchandise you have filled the midst of yourself with violence, and you have sinned: therefore I will cast you as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
28:17 Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty, you have corrupted your wisdom by reason of your brightness: I will cast you to the ground, I will lay you before kings, that they may behold what you are.
28:18 You have defiled your holiness by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of you, it shall devour you, and I will bring you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

Revelation
12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
12:8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

1 Peter
5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour:

CREATION OF A PERFECT WORLD
by a God Who is Holy, Righteous and Love

Revelation 4:8, 11
Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty.... Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

The modern attempt to harmonize the biblical revelation of a holy and loving God with evolutionary theories in which death weeds out the weak, and violence produces the progression of strong creation, are constructing dangerous hybrids that blaspheme God and distort His holy and perfect character.

Ecclesiastes 7:29
Behold, I have found only this, that God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices.?

Psalms 145:5 I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.
145:9 The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
145:10 All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee.
145:17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.

Psalms 33:6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
33:8 Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
33:9 For he spake, and it was there; he commanded, and it stood fast.

Geneses 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

1 John 4:7 Love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knows God.
4:8 He that does not love, does not know God; for God is love.
4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.

FREEDOM OF CHOICE

Why did God give the angels and mankind the freedom of choice though knowing it would be abused?
And what do we mean by "based on Love"?

Our society is full of messages to "love" and accept everyone. But it seems society's definition on how to show one loves the "sinner" means one needs to love the sin. To define something as sin, is considered unloving and cruel.
But is this the love scripture is talking about?

Yes, God loved us sinners so much He gave His Son to take our sins upon Himself and die a horrible death so we can be forgiven and have eternal life. All the resources of heaven are poured out to redeem and reclaim mankind for God. That is wonderous love !!!But God does NOT love sin. Sin seriously mars His Creation and disrupts His relationship with His created.

And yes, God wants a relationship with us based on love and a desire on our part to walk and talk with Him! In Eden, Christ came in the cool of the evening to walk and talk with Adam and Eve. There was an intellectual relationship as well as a deep spiritual and loving friendship. God desires us to have a love that communicates, shares experiences, interacts in positive ways. None of that can happen in any meaningful relationally way with robots.

Loving one another is very important, but there is another "love" God desires to see growing in our hearts as well. A love for His ways, His righteousness and a love for the His law and all the principles that it holds.

Like David our love needs to include:
119:75 I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right,
119:97 O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.

In order to have created beings whose hearts and minds were delighted to be in close friendship and relationship with Him, God had to give freedom of choice.
But in the beginning no one, except God, knew the chaos, pain and utter misery and desperation, which rejecting God's ways and law would bring.
Thus we see Satan, and Eve under his influence, thinking God's rules were arbitrary and that God had made them only to benefit Himself at their expense. They could see that God made beautiful things, but why? Were they themselves, and all these pretty things made to be just objects for God's amusement, or was God actually desiring a close and loving, relationship with His created beings.

So God puts a perfect pair of people in the garden and gives them freedom of choice. God allows sin to wreck its havoc in the world and demonstrate the results of sin, while pouring out all the resources of heaven to open wide the door to salvation for all who will respond.

The reason sin will never again rise its head, is because everyone in that grand kingdom will have made the choice full convinced...
1. God's ways are righteous and perfect and we love His law!
Satan's lies are LIES! There is no happiness outside God's way, and law.
2. God is a god of love, and with hearts full of love, the saved have one desire which is to be with Him, serve and obey Him forever!

Future Hope and Present Belief
Or the spreading of unbelief

What happened when sin first entered the universe? Lucifer moved away from present belief to some vague, imagined future hope built up by his imagination.
Instead of believing in God's goodness, justice, love, and righteousness in the "now", he projected the thoughts of the angelic hosts away from God's goodness in the "NOW" into some vague, imagined future hope of something better.

What the world calls hope, is not really hope at all. It is weak and powerless and vague, simply relegating what is considered "good" into something which may or may not be in the future. For most, "hope" really has nothing to do with belief, "hope" is simply "wishing" for something better or different in the future.

Belief, faith, or hope in the Biblical sense is based on assurance!

"Now faith is the assurance of the things we do not see and the conviction of their reality" Heb 11:1
Our belief is to be NOW, with assurance that God is good, loving and righteous NOW. It's an assurance that God is working right now for our eternal happiness and salvation. He is trustworthy.

As we read in Psalm 71 we can say,
3 You are my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: you have given commandment to save me; for you are my rock and my fortress.

5 For you are my hope, O Lord GOD: you are my trust from my youth.

And Jeremiah 17:7 Blessed is the man that trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is in the LORD.

Yes, Satan comes with his doubts wanting us to trust ourselves, instead of trusting and believing God, but blessed is the person who trusts in the LORD -- that trust gives REAL hope and victory in Christ.

Second Lesson -- Death in a Sinful World

God says -- If you eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you will surely die.
Satan says -- you will not surely die, you will transcend from being mere human to being like God.

But things began to die after Eve and Adam ate of the tree.
The result of sin ending in death became rather obvious.
Satan's lie was exposed as they saw animals die, and then Abel, the first human to die, lost his lives in death. Death soon became a fact of life!
Now Satan had to cover his lie and make it sound like truth. So he came up with all sorts of scenarios that somehow life didn't end when the body died.
He would continue the deception that mankind has life within him/herself that could not be extinguished by sin or by the failing of the fleshly body.

This "immortality" led into several other strange, unbiblical doctrines, such as
-spiritualism, with the spirits of the dead communicating with the living"
-Necromancy in which human mediums supposedly call up the dead on behalf of the living.
-ancester worship
-worship, and praying to saints (people who have died}
-new age concepts spiritualism
-reincarnation
- the idea the dead are alive in either heaven or hell

That concept of life continuing in some other form after death seriously changes key doctrines:
-- no need for an investigative judgement
--the second coming loses it's power, for why raise dead bodies, if the person is already in heaven?
--the death of Christ would not be a real death



-

Question
Some believe that 2 Cor 5 proves that people have immortal souls that just continue living even when the body dies.
Does this text prove such a stand?

The assumption is that as soon as one is dead they are with the Lord. The soul keeps on living? But isn't this also talking about having a new body, not about some disimbodied soul?
And look what else Paul wrote:

Paul tells us when people receive their new bodies. At the last trump when Jesus comes. And yes.we long for that day.

With this error so prevalent, it is no surprise that this deception will play a crucial role in the final events of human history.

Does God need this corruptible body in order to give us an incorruptible body?

Remember the text:
Matthew 10:28 Do not fear those who can kill the body but not the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both body and soul.

Apparently our bodies can be killed without killing our soul? Is this confusing?
It depends on how one understands the concept of the soul.
But I think the text gives light on the answer to the question in quote box above.

The way I understand this:
Don't worry about dying in this present life, don't worry about suffering the first death. Someone may even kill you and totally destroy your present body, but if you are hid in Christ, you will live again.

In our modern world we now have computers and technology that might help us understand.

God has all our characteristics and everything that makes each of us the person that we are, on record in some unfailing heavenly system. That information of our complete identity on the heavenly computer chip (something far beyond our technology) is not alive, but it has every detail of our being, it is our very identity. Our identity does not perished in the first death, our "soul" is safely stored in the heavenly computer, completely asleep, inactive, with no consciousness, till the resurrection when Christ will reactivate your identity in your new, glorious body and you will be ALIVE again forever!!!.

Actually everyone, the unsaved as well as the saved, will live again, but they come up in different resurrection.
John 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
The unsaved who come up in the second resurrection will have their full identity reactivated in a restored body as well. (Though it won't be a glorious body) They will remember how they reject Christ and His offer and provisions for eternal life and His power to cleanse their lives. They will remember their past life, but they will again face death.
The second death is the death we do need to fear, when the "soul" or identity, will be wiped out forever.
Thus those not hid in Christ when they die the first death, face the second death in which body and soul perish -- their identity gone forever.

This has been the belief and faith of martyrs who chose death rather than give up their faith in Christ, knowing that the first death was not the end. Why give up one's faith and an eternity of life with Christ, just to be able to live a few more years, or days, in this sinful world.


Matthew 10:28 Do not fear those who can kill the body but not the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both body and soul.
3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

The huge contrast in Isaiah 26

The chapter gives us the sad result of those who reject Christ's redemption and renewing power. They don't want to follow His ways.

Once sin is fully dealt with they perish, gone forever

26:14 They are dead, they will not live;
They are deceased, they will not rise.
Therefore You have punished and destroyed them,
And made all their memory to perish.


But through Christ we don't have to be in that group!
God has different plans for all who reach out for His deliverance!

26:19Your dead shall live;
Together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust;
For your dew is like the dew of herbs, And the earth shall cast out the dead.

25:8 He will swallow up death forever, And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces;
The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken.

Ellen White states in her writings that the spirit that returns to God after death is the character.

Here is how she wrote it: "The spirit, the character of man, is returned to God, there to be preserved." {Mar 301.2}

Trying to identify soul and spirit has been argued for many years.
They probably overlap making it difficult to define and separate the two.

In our last lesson discussion at church the idea was presented that the
"spirit" was the life force from God, which God breathed into Adam and Adam became a living soul, a living being.
Without that life force we are only a dead body at best.

The soul was referred to as the character (the personhood or identifying personality) of the person. Adam was created in the image of God, in that his soul or character resembling the character of God, which was then marred greatly by sin.

The aim of Christ in our redemption includes the restoration of our "souls" back to reflect the character of God and fit us for heaven.


Yet it's also true that scripture speaks of having a spirit of gentleness, etc. which also show character, especially the emotional aspects of character.

The point of agreement is that a living person needs to have all three (body, soul and spirit) Taking away any one of the three from the other two, results in a dead person.

The resurrection is clearly outlined in the New Testament, yet in the Old Testament it is a bit more vague. It's there, but not as clear.
In Christ's day we find people who believed in the resurrection (Martha, as well as the Pharisees) and others who didn't (the Sadducees)

Would be interesting to compile more evidence from the Old Testament for the belief in the resurrection.
The lesson gives: Daniel 12:2; Job 25:19-27; Psalms 49:7-9,15; Psalms 71:20; Isaiah 26:19

There is also Job 33:29-30; Psalms 17:15; Psalms 103:4

Of course we have the assurance of the resurrection clearly given in the New Testament.

October 23, Death and Resurrection of Moses

Due to his sin in angerly striking the rock when God asked him to speak to the rock, Moses was not allowed to enter the earthly Canaan (Deut. 34:1-4) He died. But then we find in Jude 9 that Moses was given special honor by being resurrected and taken to heaven before Christ's first appearing. Moses and Elijah (who never died) were seen on the Mount of transfiguration with Christ. Then one might ask why God laid Moses to rest? Why did he die in the first place? .

Possible answers:

1. God does not excuse sin:
Moses; one rash act in the face of an ungrateful, angry people, may seem like a small thing that could easily be excused. But it was done before all the people. the impatience, and taking credit "must we bring water from the rock" gave the wrong message to the people.
"?The Lord was wroth with me for your sakes,? said Moses. The transgression was known to the whole congregation. Had it been passed by lightly, the impression would have been given that impatience under great provocation might be excused in those in responsible positions. But when, because of that one sin Moses and Aaron were not to enter Canaan, the people knew that God is no respecter of persons.
Men of all future time must see the God of heaven as impartial, in no case justifying sin. God's goodness and love engage Him to deal with sin as an evil fatal to the peace and happiness of the universe." EP 293

Moses was not excused, he died. Moses WAS forgiven and given eternal life!


2. Though Israel provoked Moses almost beyond human endurance, there was always a strong tendency for Israel to almost worshiped him as god after his separation from them by death.
Yet, Moses was denied entrance into earthly Canaan, and died, due to his sin. This showed he was subject to God, dependent upon God, and for that one time when he took credit to himself for bringing water from the rock, it was strongly shown that was sin. Had Moses then been translated before their eyes this adoration would have been even greater.

3. Moses, himself was being tested, when the time of his death came, he departed, by himself, on this new and mysterious errand. He must go forth alone, away from everyone, to resign his life into the hands of his Creator.

Oct 27 Lazarus

"Read John 11:25, 26. In one line Jesus talks about believers dying, and in the next He talks about believers never dying. What is Jesus teaching us here, and why is the understanding that death is an unconscious sleep so crucial in understanding Christ?s words? And why do His words offer us, as beings destined to the grave, so much hope?"

Paraphrasing this:

The one who believes in me, in Jesus, even if he dies, (entering into the sleep of death) will live (for Jesus is the resurrection and life and will wake them up again) , and everyone who lives and believes in me, in Jesus, will never die (they will never PERISH they will NOT be extinguished forever in the second death, they just sleep unconscious for a while and will be awakened in the resurrection and live forever. Do you believe this??

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whosoever believeth should not PERISH, but have everlasting life. John 3:16

Except for direct quotes from Numbers edited into Deuteronomy, these two books give two different reasons for Moses' death, and we need to know both.

Of course all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Moses sinned and was not allowed into the land. Of course things would be busy for Joshua, so the old man probably needed to rest. So we have recorded in Numbers (and a direct quote from Numbers edited into Deuteronomy) that reminds us that Moses was a human who had sinned and came short of the glory of God.

In Deuteronomy, Moses was the ONLY one fit to enter the land; but died for the sake of his people so that they could enter the land in his place. Thus he was a type and giving the message of how Jesus was going to die for us and to give to the Hebrews a message of the substitutionary sacrifice to come.

Interesting thought Kevin,

BUT I'm curious --
Where does it say only Moses was FIT to enter the earthly Canaan?
Assumed probably because Moses was considered ready to be raised and ushered into the Heavenly Canaan!!!
But where does it say Moses had to die so Israel could enter the land in his place?

I'm assuming you might mean these verses:

But the LORD was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me: and the LORD said unto me, Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter. Duet. 3:26
or
Deuteronomy 4:21
Furthermore the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, and sware that I should not go over Jordan, and that I should not go in unto that good land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance:
Numbers 29:12 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, ?Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.?


Hiowever, I find it hard to believe that Moses died as an atonement in the place of the people. No mere mortal man can atone for many. Only the One Who created the many, can die in their place.
Exodus 32:32-33 makes that clear where Moses offers to be blotted out of the book of life so Israel could be forgiven, but God says "Whoever has sinned against Me, him will I blot out.
Only Christ's sacrifice can forgive sin.

The way I understand those verses is this --

The first time the children of Israel approached Canaan they doubted God, and none of those alive then, over the age of 20 save Joshua and Calab, were later allowed to enter Canaan. The rest all died in the wilderness.
Hebrews3:18 And to whom did He (God) swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

Moses now compares that experience which happened 38 years earlier, with his own.
Moses in Numbers 20:12.states, "Ye did not believe the Lord your God" as the reason for the rejection of the people to enter earthly Canaan, in Deuteronomy 1:32. you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.?Yet in spite of this you did not believe in the Lord your God' As the spies doubted Divine guidance in the success of the conquest, , so Moses presumed to alter the prescribed order for the miracle in Kadesh. Like transgressions incurred like penalties. The fault for which the people had suffered death in the wilderness, could not be overlooked in the leader. For their sake, Moses, whom they had actually provoked to his reaction, would suffer the same fate as their forefathers suffered.

Moses transgression was known to the whole congregation. Had it been passed by lightly, the impression would have been given that disobedience and mistrust, under great provocation might be excused in those in responsible positions.but not in the common people. But when, because of that one sin Moses and Aaron were not to enter Canaan, the people knew that God is no respecter of persons.

I feel the same way about this part: "Moses transgression was known to the whole congregation. Had it been passed by lightly, the impression would have been given that disobedience and mistrust, under great provocation might be excused in those in responsible positions.but not in the common people. But when, because of that one sin Moses and Aaron were not to enter Canaan, the people knew that God is no respecter of persons."

The quotes "The Lord was angry at me for your sake..." are both on this trail. It was pointed out into class that we do not read these quotes as they stand, and we read what happened in Numbers into the text, indeed a later scribe copied part of Numbers to do what we tend to do automatically. But the professors pointed out that when you read some of the verses such as "The Lord was angry at me for your sake" and others from Deuteronomy ALONE, it gives the different context where it makes Moses a type of Christ dyeing as a substitute so that the people can go in. The Moses takes the Lord's anger upon himself instead of letting it fall on the people.

God is trying to maintain a balanced message: the fact that Moses did die for his sin, but also to start to teach people about the substitutionary sacrifice that is to come. If we stay on one or the other alone, we miss the balanced message.

Read John chapter 19 When we contemplate what these verses are describing, it is almost too awesome to believe. The Creator of all things, Whose very words spoke worlds and all that is in them, into existence, Who was fully God, as the Father is fully God, Who had the homage of all the angels,
He stands before a howling mob demanding His death by the most cruel method.
Why would He subject Himself to such abuse at the very hands He created and gave life too?

The value and price of free choice.

We could have been created with pre-programed morals and spirituality. It would have been the easy way, having beautiful human beings all living in harmony and worshipping God, with no ability to chose to do so or refuse. But God desires a relationship built on love, free choice, and our desire to be in relationship with Him. Preprogramed robotic worship is just not real worship. But with free choice came that ability to chose to rebel against God's ways.

God's law, if placed in the heart and followed brings harmony and peace, but transgression of that law demands death. God can't just set it aside if that is more convenient, if He did it would no longer be the law of His government, but simply a list of good suggestions. The law demands the death of the transgressor. It was because of His love and desire to have our fellowship and be in relationship with us that Christ took our sins upon Himself (the Creator taking the just consequences of the sinful created) Opening the door for each one of us to have life, everlasting life, in Christ.


And can it be that I should gain
An int'rest in the Savior's blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Refrain
Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me!
2
He left His Father's throne above,
So free, so infinite His grace.
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam's helpless race;
'Tis mercy all, immense and free;
For, O my God, it found out me.
3
Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature's night;
Thine eye diffused a quick'ning ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free;
I rose, went forth and followed Thee.
4
No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th'eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

Read 2 Corinthians 5:18-21. If Christ died for the sins of the whole world, why won't everyone be saved? Why does personal choice play the crucial role in determining who will be saved by the cross and who will be lost despite the great sacrifice made in their behalf?

In Adventist history we find two different understandings of hell fire; one view, which is often used for evangelism, and thus has been the most well known view: that is the taking the traditional Catholic/Baptist hell of a literal fire of the same nature of what we get when we light a match or from a volcano, and burn people as long as they deserve then they are finally burned up.

The second view was taught by people such as a friend of the White's an elder Fifefield, and later by Lynn Harper Wood and many of his students. In this view the "fire" is the fire of God's love, beauty, character and glory.

God treats everyone the same; the cross has saved all of us. But it is a oneness of salvation and freedom of choice. In this second view, hell fire is not some divine spanking. But where God shows up in person and treats us all the same.

A way how I understand it, God created us so that our deepest desire is to want to be like and with Jesus; and this has been emphasized in the promise of Genesis 3:15. Jesus is the lily of the valley, the one sweeter than honey and the honey comb. The desire of ages, the desire of all nations, the one beloved of women. "When we love the world as Jesus has loved it then for us his mission is accomplished; we are fitted for heaven for we have heaven in our hearts" DA 641

However, with sin we have our sinful nature. I like what Mrs. White wrote in the communion chapter of the Desire of Ages "There is in man a disposition to esteem himself for highly than his breathern to serve self to seek the highest place and often this results in evil surmisings and bitterness of spirit."

I also like how the philosopher/poet Eli Siegel put it: "There is in every person a disposition to think they are for themselves by making less of the outside world."

These two parts of us affect everything we do. Even our best is tainted with selfishness, and even at our worst we are trying to make the world into our picture of what it should be so that we can like it. Even our desire of heaven is tainted with selfishness.

When Satan comes claiming to be Jesus, teaching many of the same truths, doing amazing miracles, and the demons impersonating our loved ones (and as no one can continue to stick their head in the sand, and realize that the same criticisms that have been brought against Mrs. White also applies to the Bible. -- Sadly, too many who claim to be "Bible Believers" actually have a faith built on the human philosophy of "Fundamentalism" Not a faith built on the Bible) The 144000 will feel like that this is indeed Jesus and our loved ones, and they will see that the Bible does not fit Fundamentalism. They will hold to the Bible, despite it not being what the Fundamentalists say it it; and thus the 144,000 will feel like they are going to be lost for rejecting this majestic being, and for holding on to that book. This will be the closest they get to not having selfishness in their choice until they reach glorification.

We are sinners because we have that disposition. Jesus was just like us, except that he did NOT have any selfishness, did not have the disposition to think he was for himself by esteeming himself above others, to serve self to seek the highest place or any other way of making less of the outside world.

At the end of the thousand years, the lost see the city, and like what Hezekiah thought would impress the Babylonians, so the lost will see our "stuff" inside the city, and like the Babylonians, want to conquer and get the stuff: But then "fire comes down from God out of heaven."

This fire is seen in the two options mentioned above. In the second view, the fire that comes down from God out of heaven is where God himself, our Lord Jesus shows up in person. This changes everything. The saved have learned that it is heaven to be in this fire. (Prophets seeing God in vision responded as if they were being burned alive; but came to understand that they could not only survive, but came to thrive in living in this fire and hated to leave it to come back to minister to us.) The saved has allowed God to heal us from the disposition to make less of the outside world. The saved have gotten to know this attitude to where they develop a habit of choosing against it.

The lost have let this disposition take control over their lives. However, Jesus is still their DEEPEST desire. They long to run into his welcoming arms; but they refuse to yield to him. They want to but won't, He is their deepest desire, but as they contrast themselves to his purity, unlike the saved who cast our crowns down and sing "Worthy, worthy, worthy is the Lamb!" the lost are unforgiving people and are unable to comprehend God's forgiveness. Their minds picture what they would do to someone like them if they were the pure and holy God, and yes, He may look all loving and welcoming now, but sooner or later He will learn what I am and will get me for my sins" and they pull back from the only source of life, torturing themselves with what they imagination God should do to them.

But yet, Jesus is their deepest desire. They want to be with him more than they wanted anything ever before.

They see loved ones in the city who they miss and long to be with. But they also remember how they would take advantage of these loved ones and how if they were inside the city, how they would still take advantage of these loved ones; as well as seeing others who they simply abused and would still abuse if they were inside the city; and they know that the one sitting on the throne knows the deepest darkest corners of their lives and heart, and they pull back.

Yet, Jesus is sill their deepest desire.

Their inability to comprehend his forgiveness; and even though their deepest desire is to be with Him, they have in life chosen against the pleading of the Holy Spirit to their heart and have allowed the disposition to esteem themselves above others and make less of the outside world control their lives; and they find themselves unable to give up this habit. Instead of choosing the heaven of all reality, they have in life formed their own morbid heaven of the pleasure of conquest, dismissal, complaining, criticizing, despising. the little thrill that we feel even when things go wrong and thus we knew life was out to get us.

But Jesus is still their deepest desire.

The horror of hell is not the oweie of touching a hot stove; the horror of hell is that the deepest part of you sees all you have ever longed for and beyond your dreams right there for the taking, but they have destroyed their will, they are slaves to their feelings, and their feelings picture what God would do to them so they refuse to yield to His beauty; a power that attracts them more than the attraction between the most powerful magnets, but they refuse to yield. This intensity of the attractiveness of the beauty and love and glory of Jesus, and their refusal to submit quite literally rips them apart and destroys them.

The ministry and death of Jesus has reconciled us to God. On God's side of the equation universalism is true; but on the side of the lost; they find living with this God who is so pure, and who they imaging should do all types of things to them for their sins, so they pull away from the only source of life. All they ever wanted, even way beyond their wildest dreams is right there for the accepting; but they just don't. This is even a worst torture than a divine spanking of the flames that is in the traditional Catholic/Baptist hell.

Hell is locked from the inside.

Excellent depiction, Kevin, of the emotional agony of the lost, when they see what they lost and realize what Christ had provided for their salvation, but they rejected.
Sadly, their agony is not due to sin, they do not repent, just in agony over what they lost.
They not only see the grandeur of the city, they also see revealed " the final scenes?the patient Sufferer treading the path to Calvary; the Prince of heaven hanging upon the cross; the haughty priests and the jeering rabble deriding His expiring agony; the supernatural darkness; the heaving earth, the rent rocks, the open graves, marking the moment when the world's Redeemer yielded up His life.
As they watch, the sense of God's justice and love overwhelms them, and they acknowledge His justice in leaving them outside the city. But then they turn against Satan and each other in a frenzy of desperation, the turmoil is terrible. The turmoil is ended by the fire. (Some have speculated that they detonate their weapons of mass destruction meant to take the city and that causes the fire, but that is speculation)

I do believe there is a very literal fire, one that ends all sin and totally cleanses the earth in a very literal way.
2 Peter 3:10 (KVJ) ? ?But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.?
GC ?Upon the wicked He shall rain quick burning coals, fire and brimstone and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.? Isaiah 9:5; 34:2; Psalm 11:6, margin. Fire comes down from God out of heaven. The earth is broken up. The weapons concealed in its depths are drawn forth. Devouring flames burst from every yawning chasm. The very rocks are on fire. The day has come that shall burn as an oven. The elements melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein are burned up. Malachi 4:1; 2 Peter 3:10. The earth's surface seems one molten mass?a vast, seething lake of fire. It is the time of the judgment and perdition of ungodly men??the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion.? Isaiah 34:8.
The wicked receive their recompense in the earth. Proverbs 11:31. They ?shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts.? Malachi 4:1.

But yes, the emotional agony will be very real for the lost, a quick end may well be a blessing not a curse


But no one needs to be in that crowd!

We read the following this morning from MARANATHA
Quote:
"God has made every provision for the salvation of every person on earth. They just need to respond to His love and come to Him, now.
think of the emotional joy of saved which can be ours!!!

The love of God is without measure, without comparison! It is infinite.... When we contemplate the dignity and glory of Christ we see how great was that love that prompted the sacrifice made upon the cross of Calvary for the redemption of a lost world. This theme will fill the saints with wonder and amazement through eternal ages, and why should we not meditate upon it here in this world? ...

O the mystery of godliness?God manifest in the flesh! This mystery increases as we try to comprehend it. It is incomprehensible, and yet human beings will allow worldly, earthly things to intercept the faint view it is possible for mortals to have of Jesus and His matchless love.... How can we be enthusiastic over earthly, common things and not be stirred with this picture?the cross of Calvary, the love that is revealed in the death of God's dear Son ...?

All this humiliation and anguish were endured to bring back the wanderers, guilty and thankless, to the Father's house. O the home of the blest?I cannot afford to lose it! I shall, if saved in the kingdom of God, be constantly discerning new depths in the plan of salvation. All the redeemed saints will see and appreciate as never before the love of the Father and the Son, and songs of praise will burst forth from immortal tongues. He loved us, He gave His life for us.
With glorified bodies, with enlarged capacities, with hearts made pure, with lips undefiled, we shall sing the riches of redeeming love. There will be no suffering ones in heaven, no skeptics whom we must labor to convince of the reality of eternal things, no prejudices to uproot, but all will be susceptible to that love which passeth knowledge. Rest, thank God, there is a rest for the people of God, where Jesus will lead the redeemed into green pastures, by the streams of living waters which make glad the city of our God. Then the prayer of Jesus to His Father will be answered: ?I will that they also, whom thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am. EGW Maranatha 318

This week;s lesson is on the resurrection. Paul mentions in 1 Cor. 15 that if Christ were not resurrected even those who believe and have faith in His life and death would still perish. Why is belief in the resurrection of Christ so important?

Why is the resurrection so important?

17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
if Christ has not been raised from the dead, he would not be the victorious Saviour. If He is still in the grave, the penalty of sin has laid claim upon Him, showing He did not live a sinless life. He would not have conquered sin; sin would have conquered him (15-17). Those who died believing in Christ would likewise have been for ever conquered by sin and death, they are not forgiven, for Christ could not forgive them. And if He didn?t rise again, neither would anyone else. As for those believers still living, they are to be pitied for putting up with hardship in the hope of a better life to come.

A pretty dismal picture if Christ had not risen! The cross would not have achieved anything.

BUT

Christ is risen!
He did live a sinless life.
The grave could not hold Him.
He conquered sin and the grave.
And because He lives we can have glorious future in Him!
Amen!

From today's reading in Maranatha:

Eye Hath Not Seen, Nor Ear Heard

Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 1Corinthians 2:9.

Those who truly love God will desire so to improve the talents that He has given them, that they may be a blessing to others. And by and by the gates of heaven will be thrown wide open to admit them, and from the lips of the King of Glory the benediction will fall upon their ear like richest music, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matthew 25:34). Thus the redeemed will be welcomed to the mansions that Jesus is preparing for them. There their companions will not be the vile of earth, but those who through divine aid have formed perfect characters. Every sinful tendency, every imperfection, has been removed by the blood of Christ; and the excellence and brightness of His glory, far exceeding the brightness of the sun in its meridian splendor, is imparted to them. And the moral beauty, the perfection of His character, shines through them in worth far exceeding this outward splendor. They are without fault before the great white throne, sharing the dignity and privileges of the angels.

"Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." In view of the glorious inheritance which may be his, "What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26). He may be poor; yet he possesses in himself a wealth and dignity that the world could never bestow. The soul, redeemed and cleansed from sin, with all its noble powers dedicated to the service of God, is of surpassing worth.

To dwell forever in this home of the blest, to bear in soul, body, and spirit, not the dark traces of sin and curse, but the perfect likeness of our Creator, and through ceaseless ages to advance in wisdom, in knowledge, and in holiness, ever exploring new fields of thought, ever finding new wonders and new glories, ever increasing in capacity to know and to enjoy and to love, and knowing that there is still beyond us joy and love and wisdom infinite--such is the object to which the Christian's hope is pointing.

A pretty wonderful picture because Christ has risen!

The events in Gethsemane and the cross shows what sin does to us. Mrs. White gives details that the Bible implies, on how the separation from his Father was so intense that he barely felt the physical pain of the beatings, flogging and cross.

Same with the lost, many people want there to be some sort of literal fire of the same nature that we get when lighting a match or visiting a volcano; However the intensity of their attraction to Christ, yet their refusal to yield to this drawing power is just what the trinity went through as our sins separated them from each other. If God were to add some kind of divine spanking to inflect physical pain as Nebuchadnezzar tried with the worthy three, or what was done to people such as Jon Huss and Joan of Arc; the pain of the flames or any other physical hurting to punish that God could inflect would be hardly noticed. It would be like tossing a lit match into what is already a raging forest fire.

While in the passion we see what sin does to us, in the resurrection we are shown that if we choose to be with God, just as the members of the trinity choose to be with each other; all the sins of the world could not separate us from the loving arms of God.

It would be wise to collect (they are free on the internet) and read in one seating

Why was sin permitted, from Patriarchs and Prophets (the first sentence answers the question, the rest is expansion of the first sentence.

The origin of Evil from The Great Controversy

God made manifest in Christ from Signs of the Times January 20, 1890

Gethsemane from the Desire of Ages

And these lays a foundation to the crown jewel that came from Mrs. White's pen: It is Finished from the Desire of Ages.


After reading these in one sitting and allow thoughts of them to take root and sprout in your mind; then you can look at other things such as the other chapters and articles on the passion, and the chapter He is Risen from Desire of Ages, and the descriptions of hell in Great Controversy, where Mrs. White quotes many of the fire texts; but then turns from them as she makes a concrete application in the statement "The glory of Him that is love will consume the wicked."

"How might we be able to help someone caught up in the idea of the secret rapture to see why this teaching is wrong?"
What difference does it make?

Secret Rapture, what is it, and why do Adventists reject it and think it deceptive?

Prominent in the prophetic scenarios of Hal Lindsey, Tim LaHaye, and other Protestant evangelicals has been their teaching about the secret rapture of the Church. For them it is the most important key end time event.

What is the doctrine of the secret rapture?
It is a teaching that Jesus Christ will return twice!

1. First He comes secretly and whisk all Christians off to Heaven, while earth plunges into a terrible time of trouble called the Great Tribulation; it will be a terrible time to live on earth. Christians will not experience this trouble as they will be in heaven with Jesus. They are expecting this secret coming at any moment now.
2. Then seven years later (or three and a half according to some) Christ will return with all His redeemed, openly in power and glory to establish His Kingdom here on earth. His enemies will be destroyed and the rest will be converted, Satan will be bound and not be able to harass people. This kingdom will last 1000 years. After which Satan is loosed and cause a lot of trouble again.

The teaching basically began and started to take root around 1830 by men like John Nelson Darby and C. I. Scofield. Dispensationalism is very much part of the teaching along with the concept that Jews and Christians travel two separate roads in God's plan of salvation.

Why reject this teaching as deceptive?

1.The Bible nowhere speaks of these two separate comings of Jesus. There is no second stage of His coming that occurs seven years after the so-called "rapture." The texts that are used, if read in their context do not support this theory of the rapture.

2. The Bible does speak considerable about Christ's second coming (a single event) and gives specific details on how this will be recognized. Why would there so much information on the second coming? Because God knows we need that information because there will be false simulated comings of false christs, and we need to know what the true looks like to identify the false.

3. There is considerable confusion as to the state of the dead. 1 Thess 4 is used to support the rapture. But if deceased believers have already gone directly to Heaven, as most of these folk believe, then why would the "dead in Christ" need to be raised up first at the time of the Rapture? This is explained by saying those who were in heaven as spirits will be reunited with new physical, immortal bodies at the rapture. This enters a whole different problem area concerning the Bible's strong emphases on the hope of the resurrection.

4. Another big problem with the rapture theory concerns recognition of the antichrist. In the rapture theory, antichrist appears after the Christians have been raptured away. In other words, they believe they won't be here to be troubled or deceived by antichrist or his beast or mark.

5. The Catholic church does not believe in the rapture. They believe they are building God's kingdom on earth. When the great time of trouble is unleashed upon the world, and people are wondering if they were "left behind", as they will see false prophets and false christs appear, the real antichrist will stand up and claim to have the solution, He'll tell them the Catholic church had it right all along and that they are the true interpreters of scripture. Just follow them and peace will be restored on earth.

6. Second chance theory
Finally, the secret rapturists claim that during the tribulation those not raptured will be given another chance to be saved.

7. Sets the stage for the manifestation of Satan himself as the Christ. All who put their hope in an earthly manifestation of Christ in an earthly building of a kingdom will be deceived. "The great deceiver will make it appear that Christ has come. In different parts of the earth, Satan will manifest himself among men as a majestic being of dazzling brightness, resembling the description of the Son of God given by John in the Revelation. Revelation 1:13-15. The glory that surrounds him is unsurpassed by anything that mortal eyes have yet beheld. The shout of triumph rings out upon the air: "Christ has come! Christ has come!"
"Are the people of God now so firmly established upon His word that they would not yield to the evidence of their senses? Would they, in such a crisis, cling to the Bible and the Bible only? " Do they know scriptures well enough to be able to cling to its description of the second coming?

The lesson for this week looks at Bible texts which people who believe in the immortality of the soul use frequently to support their belief.

In light of all the warnings our church has been given about the deceptions to come upon the world. Especially in light of spiritualism, we do need to know the reason for our beliefs, for if we only "sort of" know, when the test comes we will be confused.

So let's look at these texts, are they contradicting what we believe? Why or why not?

1. Luke 16:19-31 Describes the parable Jesus told of the Lazarus and the rich man, which seems to say Lazarus was alive in the bosom of Abraham while the rich man was in hell.

2. Luke 23:43 Today you will be with me in paradise.

3. Philippians 1:23 having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.

4. 2 Corinthians 5:4-8 rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

5. 1 Peter 3:13-20 Did Jesus's Spirit, while He was dead in the grave, go and preach to people who lived some 2000 years before whose spirits were kept in prison?

6. Revelation 6:9-11 Souls crying out from under the altar.

7. Mark 9:44-48 their worm dieth not

1. Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16.

The lesson points out the problems with this being a literal representation of life after death and that even scholars who don't believe in soul sleep see it as a parable to teach a lesson, not to define life after death.

The parable seems to be addressed to the Pharisees who were ridiculing Christ (Luke 16:14) just a couple verses earlier. Pharisees tended to see themselves as rich and blessed and assured of God's favor, with Abraham as their father. (We have Abraham as our Father. See Luke 3:8, John 8:33,37-41) They represent the rich man in the parable. People relying on their status for salvation.

Poor, sick beggars were considered smitten by God, out of God's favor, probably suffering for their sins.

What a shock when Jesus pictured the rich, well favored man as suffering hell fire, while the beggar was obviously depicted as a spiritual child of Abraham, (in the bosom of Abraham), thus a child of God.

The real punch line comes with the "even if a man were raised from the dead, you would not believe."
Lazarus (a real man with that very name) died and after four days was raised from the dead; did those Pharisees believe? No, they conspired to put both Lazarus and Jesus to death.

The parable isn't a statement on the state of the dead. It is contrasting two classes of people. There were those who thought Abraham was their father, thus they considered themselves to be heirs of the promises, but they had a different spiritual father. Yet, they felt their status guaranteed salvation. Then there were those who everyone thought were outcasts from the "chosen of God" but were actually spiritual children of Abraham, and heirs of the promises (Galatians 3:29) "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" -- thus children of God.

So the main point of this story? Jesus predicted the Jews would not believe that He was the Messiah even if a dead man was resurrected.

This story does not ?prove? souls are immortal, nor that there is an eternally burning hell.
No, Jesus used the errant theology of the Pharisees not only to show them they were on the road to destruction, but also to highlight the point that even if a dead man was brought to life, they would refuse to believe that Jesus was the Messiah.

2. Luke 23:43 I tell you today you will be with me in paradise.

Where or where does the comma go??? Apparently there is no help from the original to tell us if the comma goes before "today" or after "today". Yet that little comma can change the meaning considerably.

The dying thief, his time of probation closing, reaches out to Jesus,
REMEMBER ME WHEN YOU COME INTO YOUR GLORY.

Obviously the thief was asking to be remembered by Christ at the future date.
The text shows his remarkable faith!! He was talking to a man, who to all appearances had been put down, finished, crucified. What faith, that this thief's belief reached beyond the immediate, torturous circumstances of Christ's apparent defeat, and he could see Christ's victory! He believed this man, hanging on the cross beside Him, was the Christ, and He would come into glory and a kingdom.
He believed, what all the disciples who had been with Jesus three years, still had not grasped.

Many called Jesus Lord when He wrought miracles, and after He had risen from the grave; but none acknowledged Him as He hung dying upon the cross, save the penitent thief who was saved at the eleventh hour. (DA 751)

That thief was SAVED at that hour. Thus Jesus could tell him that very day, "You will be with Me in paradise!

Philippians 1:23 having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.

A similar passage is in 2 Corinthians 5:1-10, willing to be absent from the body, present with the Lord.

By this time Paul was no longer a young man, Paul was probably dealing with numerous pains and health issues. After all, he had suffered severe beatings, stoning, being left for dead, shipwrecks, probably often sleeping on the ground in his travels, poor eyesight. He knew what it was like to groan with pain just trying to get around to do whatever needed doing. He was also longing for that new heavenly body he knew he would receive in heaven. He was tired, and hurting, wanted to finally rest from his work of service.

The assurance in scripture that Christ will give new, glorious, incorruptible bodies to the saved, is a comfort for thousands who are similarly groaning as they try to get their bodies to function. Yes, Jesus has a new glorious body for them without pain.

We must understand this in the context of Paul's other references describing WHEN this corruptible will put on incorruption.


And once Jesus comes, and this corruptible body is exchanged with an incorruptible one, Paul and all others who have accepted Christ will be physically with the Lord forever!!

5. 1 Peter 3:13-20 Did Jesus's Spirit, while He was dead in the grave, go and preach to people who lived some 2000 years before whose spirits were kept in prison?

For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit, by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

Starting a new verse in the middle of a sentence can cause a bit of confusion. When we see the continuation of the sentence we can see --
Christ was quickened or raised by the power of the Holy Spirit by which ( that is by the Holy Spirit) He had preached to the people before the flood, when Noah was preaching.



I was contemplating the above text in connection with Roman?s 8:11 and Ephesians 2:4-5, as well as looking at the context of the verse itself.
The power that quickened (raised to life) Christ from the dead, can raise us though dead in sin, into newness of life with Christ.


In the context of Peter's passage,
Peter is talking about persecution of people who are trying to be a witness for Christ. These people are probably very discouraged because it seems no one is listening and responding to their witness. Instead, they are being persecuted, and life is difficult. Is it worth trying to witness?
Where is the power of the Holy Spirit?

Peter points them to Jesus at a time when He was very unjustly treated and it seemed everyone was against Him. He stayed on course and died for an unjust human race. Remember the same Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead. That same power works to raise sinners into newness of life.

Does it seem like the Holy Spirit is no longer working? Remember Noah faithfully preached before the flood came. He was not on his own, for that same Holy Spirit was there working on the hearts of people impressing Noah's words on their minds, pleading with them, offering all His power to lift them out of their sin and lead them to life.

Noah faithfully did his part. The Holy Spirit was there faithfully doing His work. But only eight were saved. Like in Noah?s day, when the message to turn to the ark of safety to escape the judgment against sin, we too are facing judgment. All will face that judgment which eradicates sin, and we need to flee to Christ ,, the just who died for the unjust, the only "ark" of safety. The Holy Spirit is faithfully drawing people. But God does not force anyone. The final choice is left for each person.

That is the frustration. Such an important and urgent message, but people seem to be imprisoned and bound by sin. Chains that only Christ can loosen, and through the Holy Spirit free people from the prison house of sin.

God?s people are to continue to witness and live for Christ even if it seems no one is listening: even if persecution is reaped. Continue to do good, witnessing for the Lord. Our part is not how many we can convince. Our part is to do good, drop seeds of truth in love, in our witness for Christ. The Holy Spirit is at work even if we don't see the results we would like to see.

6. Revelation 6:9-11 Souls crying out from under the altar

God notices the injustice of the world against the righteous.
Abel, in humble obedience brings a lamb to the altar of sacrifice, trusting in the coming of the Redeemer. Cain, is irritated by this. He brings his own good works and is angered because God can't accept it. He slays his brother. Cain is told in Genesis 4:10 the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. [color:#6600CC][/color]


The altar in Revelation 6 is the altar of sacrifice, representing the cross. Just like Abel lost his life because he depended on the promised "lamb of God", so thousands have been slain because they believed in the "Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world", They died for the crucified Savior. Their blood (not literally, but figuratively) is crying out for God to make things right.

Mark 9:44-48
FIRE PROOF WORMS???
It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire? where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched? (Mark 9:47, 48).

A worm is a symbol for complete destruction.
Jesus is using the example of the Jerusalem trash dump, the Valley of Hinnom, where the bodies of the poor or criminals and the garbage was burned. The worms in question were "maggots" on the bodies of the unburned dead. The maggots would not die till they finished their work. The people are already dead. In a similar verse, Isaiah 66:24, they are corpses. Maggots only eat dead meat. The end is complete destruction.

A fire that cannot be quenched cannot be put out by natural means. It will burn till all combustible material is burnt up.

The unsaved utterly PERISH. (Compare with the John 3:16 we need not perish, God provided a way of escape)

Purgatory
A catholic belief that people who haven't fully become holy in this life will go to purgatory to have their sins burned out of them and prefect them for heaven
Most Protestant religions reject the concept of purgatory Mainly because that teaching suggests we pay for our redemption. And of course for Adventists we reject the idea that the soul can continue to live and change their thinking when the person is dead

What bible texts are used to support this belief in purgatory and how do we explain those text?

This is one of their key texts:
1 Corinthians 3.11-13
"Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it for it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide.. he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned he shall suffer loss. But he himself shall be saved yet so as by fire"

The lesson touches on mysticism.

Mysticism is related to Gnosticism. Gnosticism tended to plague the early church. Gnosticism revealed itself in several forms but in general it emphasized enlightenment, as in, personal spiritual knowledge, gained through mystical like experiences.
History reveals there was a growing emphasis on the opposition between flesh and spirit. This was in Paul's writings, but rather than seeing Paul speaking about letting the Holy Spirit or the lusts of the flesh rule in a person's life, the idea that the flesh itself was evil took hold. Emphases was placed on personal experience with the divine and the value of charisma, along with the disqualification of the Jewish law. The mortal body belonged to the world of inferior, worldly powers (the archons), and only the spirit or soul could be saved. This led to concepts of abuse of the flesh, either in asceticism (denying the flesh of its basic needs and pleasures) or punishing the flesh (as in self flogging), or in licentiousness and gluttonous living (using up the flesh to liberate the spirit).

In our study on the state of the dead, mysticism and Gnosticism is at odds with our belief.

Gnosticism tends to lead to a supposed awareness that supposedly the light of deity is within us, and that this will not die, such a belief tended to take away the fear of death. Death was seen as simply liberating the soul from the vile body in which it was trapped.

How do we deal with these concepts that are pervading the world today???

Probably the first place to start is in Geneses 1-3
In the beginning God created a material world, a perfect world.
Everything was good and perfect including man, made out of the dust of the ground.
Sin brought death, and sin needs to be overcome by the blood of the Lamb.
If it were not for the death and resurrection of Christ our first death would be final, finished, no more existence. There is no such thing as a living identity floating through life without its body.
But at the end of the Bible story we see people being bodily raised from the grave with glorious new bodies, being given life again, yet still those new bodies are material bodies that can be recognized and move and feel in a physical way.

Matter is not evil in itself. It is actually the spirit (or mind and character) of a person that responds either to evil or to good. The mind is dependent upon the body to function, it is part of the body. And it is the Holy Spirit that leads us into truth through God's Word, not in opposition to God's Word.

What about the angels?

Do the angels have a material form, or are they spirit beings?

I ask, as I am wondering how 1,000 demons (fallen angels) in material form could possess a single person back when Christ cast those 1,000 demons out of one person.

Good question.
Where does the concept of "spiritual beings" come from?
What exactly does one picture when speaking of a spiritual being?

Is there anything in the Bible speaking of a "spirit being"?
Could spirits have material bodies of some sort?
Is our concept of "spirits" based more on greek philosophy, not Bible at all?
Are spirits disembodied wisps looking for a body into which to be reincarnated?

Satan was once a heavenly angel.
He was very beautiful, or handsome, so much so he became very vain.
Ezek. 28:12 Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty
Ezek 28:17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty,
He was a master singer and had the physical equipment to sing. (28:13)
He wore clothing of jewels.

Seems angels have material bodies.
The question however, is "what kind of material bodies.
Different materials have different properties.

As Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 15:39 All flesh [is] not the same flesh: but [there is] one [kind of] flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, [and] another of birds.
15:40 [There are] also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial [is] one, and the [glory] of the terrestrial [is] another.
15:41 [There is] one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for [one] star differeth from [another] star in glory.
15:42 So also [is] the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
15:43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was made] a quickening spirit.
15:46 Howbeit that [was] not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
15:47 The first man [is] of the earth, earthy: the second man [is] the Lord from heaven.
15:48 As [is] the earthy, such [are] they also that are earthy: and as [is] the heavenly, such [are] they also that are heavenly.

The Holy Spirit and our bodies.

Is there a danger of misunderstanding the idea that the Holy Spirit is within us?
The big thing in the new age movement is thinking God is within, we just need to look inside ourselves to find God and know God's will. Is this what these texts are saying?



The way I understand it, the Holy Spirit communicates with us through our minds (our minds are part of our body and dependent upon the rest of the body to function properly)
For the Holy Spirit to be in connection with our spirit (our minds and thoughts) the pathways need to be clear.
When we abuse our bodies through bad health habits, through filling our minds with garbage, through any hurtful activities that damage our capacity to be alert and clear minded, then the Holy Spirit has a hard time getting through.
He can't get inside to communicate with us, even though God has given us the Holy Spirit, we can block Him out and grieve Him away.

We want the Holy Spirit to be in connection with our spirit (mind) and our bodies need to be kept, as far as we are able, in a condition where the pathways are clear. And the Holy Spirit will help us, if we let Him.

The gnostic idea was that the body was evil, and the soul or spirit was a separate thing, trapped inside. To abuse the body was considered a good thing to do, for it facilitated the release of the soul or spirit.
But Paul is saying, No, a person's body and spirit are components of the whole person which operate together. For the HOLY Spirit to be connected with our minds, we need to take care of the "temple" that houses our minds, or the Holy Spirit won't be able to be in us connected to our minds.

We -- that is our whole person, were bought with a price. God is glorified when we are transformed by the Holy Spirit, and that includes clearing away the garbage that destroys the body and clutters the pathways through which the Holy Spirit seeks to work in us.

"Read 2 Peter 3:14 and 1 John 3:1-3. What difference do you see between preparing ourselves for the Second Coming and being ready for that glorious event?"

Getting ready is not the same as being ready.
Getting ready is working to get everything together with the ultimate goal to be ready sometime in the future.
To be ready is to have the qualities needed right now.

What if He came today?
What if life ended today?
Would we be ready.

What does it mean to BE ready?

"From the biblical perspective, the time of salvation is always "today" and never tomorrow (see Psalm 95:7-8; Hebrews 3:7-8, , Hebrews 3:15; Hebrews 4:7)" Today, harden not your hearts. Today is the day of salvation, tomorrow may be too late.

Today's lesson was on the sanctuary

Cleansing of the sanctuary and the investigative judgement are terms often used for the same event. The two terms help us better understand what it's all about.
Like someone suggested earlier, the understanding leans quite heavily on the old testament sanctuary shadows.


The ancient Day of Atonement was also known as the day of the cleansing of the sanctuary/temple.

With what was the sanctuary/ temple defiled? This is not dealing with mere physical hygienic issues; this is dealing with the principle of being cleansed from sin.
Leviticus 16:16 states that this atonement for the holy place must be made because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, for all their sins, ? that is why the Priest must make this atonement for the tabernacle of meeting which stands in the midst.
Obviously, the tabernacle has been defiled by the sins of the people, and on the day of atonement, the scriptures clearly state an atonement must be made for the tabernacle itself, it would be cleansed.

During the Jewish year, there was an ongoing experience of sins being brought to the temple. The sanctuary needed to be cleansed because of the sins of the people which had been transferred from the confessing sinners upon the sacrificial animals throughout the year, and then transferred into the sanctuary, either by the priest sprinkling the blood, or eating the flesh of the sacrifice. On the day of atonement, an atonement is made for the tabernacle, to cleanse the sanctuary because of these sins accumulated there.
The sins of the repentant people were then taken out into the wilderness, while the unrepentant were cut off from the congregation.

It is therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified (#2511) with these: but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.?
Hebrews 9:22-23
?Almost all things are by the law purged (#2511) with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.



So how do we understand this for us today?
If we repent and confess our sins. We are forgiven, BECAUSE Christ's blood covers our sin.
Psalm 32:1
Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered!
Romans 4:7-8?Blessed are they whose lawless acts are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.?

Yet those sins have been transferred into the heavenly sanctuary. When those books are opened and the heavenly court is seated (Daniel 7) the first person who comes in is Jesus, the Son of man. He presents our names before the Father see Revelation 3:5 "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels."
How do we get white robes? Rev. 7:14 They washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

So when those books are opened, we may shudder because we have sinned, BUT all who repented and confessed their sins, (If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness 1 John 1:9) will NOT face their sins, for they are covered by Christs blood, their sins will not be counted against that person. They have walked with Christ, they have trusted in Christ's blood to cover their sins,. they have been led by the Holy Spirit. Christ will confess their names before the Father and the Holy Angels and their names will stand in the book of life!

The whole universe is watching, millions of angels are watching, to see whose names will remain in the book of life? Who will have their sins blotted out when the sanctuary is cleansed.
But others will have their names removed, for their sins are not covered? Why? Because they never responded to God's love, with repentance and confession of sin, so Christ could not cover their sins.

Biblical investigative judgment -- what happens?

Daniel 7:9-10 gives us a picture of the judgment, and it comes right after the blasphemous horn played its role.
The contrast here is important as well, for the "horn" claims to be Christian, in fact it claims to represent Christ, while persecuting the saints.

The question arises in this context -- who are the real Christians?

I beheld till the thrones were placed, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, its wheels as burning fire.
7:10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

But surprisingly the one to be brought before this court is the Son of man -- Christ is brought before the Father as the representative for the human race.

7:13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
7:14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion [is] an everlasting dominion,

So, as the representative of the human race, Christ, having been declared worthy, (see also Rev. 5:12) is given the dominion which Adam lost.
And next He presents the names before the Father and the angels of all who will inherit the earth thanks to His wonderful sacrifice and salvation.

He presents the names of the overcomers, the believers in Him, whose sins are now blotted out of the books.
But the ones who claimed to be Christians but had not repented and been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb will have their names blotted out.

Rev. 3:5,4 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. ...they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.

Matthew 10.32-33
Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
Exodus 32:33
And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever has sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
Acts 3.19
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

And back to Daniel we see the result

Daniel 7:22 vindicating judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
7:27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

This week's study is a very important one.

Yes it sure is!!!!

I have a question. In the preadvent judgement when your name comes up, assuming you have repented will the angels and other worlds see you before and after you give your heart to the Lord, or just after?

Hi TheophilusOne,
This is quite a complex subject to study and I don't claim to know all the answers, so just sharing what I have found.
First, I don't think it's sealed on a one time "giving our hearts to the Lord" event, as in once saved always saved, and you probably don't mean that either. On the other hand it's not based on an occasional misdeed either, but on the genuiness of our commitment to God.

It seems to be based on whether we have "sent our sins before hand to the judgment" to be "covered" or not.
Thus it seems to me, when our names come up, the angels see whether or not our sins are covered, pardoned and forsaken. If they are, the angels see that we are redeemed, our hearts are changed, with no sins standing against us.|
Those angels are aware of what we do, they are watching things on earth. Our guardian angels probably know, better than we ourselves know, what we've done and not done. But angels are not all knowing, they are just witnesses. Only Christ knows the true condition of the heart. That's why He is not only our judge, but also our advocate, as well as our Savior.

It's partly for the angel's benefit that the investigative judgment takes place because they've seen some pretty terrible things on this earth and need the assurance that those coming to heaven are genuinely followers of God's ways.

If, after we've made our commitment to the Lord, we've lost interest in walking with Christ in that "newness of life" He offers, and become careless thinking we are saved but are no longer in connection with saving grace, they'll see that as the reality of our condition and it won't pass in the investigation.
They will see the trend of our lives since we professed to follow Christ as to whether or not we are in a committed genuine relationship with Christ.

The New Heavens and the New Earth!

As described in Revelation:

Rev. 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.
22:1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, [was there] the tree of life, which bare twelve [manner of] fruits, [and] yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree [were] for the healing of the nations.
22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

As described in Isaiah:

Isaiah 65:17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
65:18 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever [in that] which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.
65:19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
65:20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.
65:21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
65:22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree [are] the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
65:23 They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them.


The question is asked as people study these verses:
"The question is whether the above description of Isaiah 65:17- 25 is a representation of the eschatological new heavens and new earth? *It becomes clear that Isaiah 65 does not describe the eschatological picture in the same way as it is described in Revelation 21, 22,* because death, sin, curse, marriage and birth are included.

How do we explain?

This is a question often asked (concerning the mention of new earth with death still occuring in Isaiah) and I've seen various interpretations. The one that makes the most sense to me, is that Isaiah was addressing Israel and telling them this was what God wanted to do for their nation if they would surrender to His leadership and covenant and allow the Holy Spirit to change them.

But for such idealic society as Isaiah depicts to materialize it needed people to leave their carnal natures behind and fully surrender themselves to God. It never materialized back then, as the carnal nature of the population was the ruling nature, and where sin is prevalent, sin will bring it's baggage and consequences.

My own thoughts on this go back to the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the garden. It seems to some Bible readers, that life COULD have continued in Eden if Adam and Eve had only confessed and promised to do better, everything would have continued as it was before. But the fact that Adam and Eve's children rebelled so significantly against God, shows that the carnal nature is passed on. Even if Adam and Eve had confessed, their children would still have inherited the carnal nature. What happened outside the garden would have exerted itself and ruined Eden.

Could God have provided this very dream to Israel? Saying, confess your sins and embrace my covenant and walk in my ways and you will live in Eden like conditions?
Though the tree of life was missing, so Isaiah's reference to death would still be there, but people would live long and fruitful lives.
However what history shows, is that human nature is such that this idealic condition even as Isaiah pictured it, just doesn't work. It most certainly didn't work for Israel.

There was no universal change of heart. Now it's true God always had a few faithful who walked with Him in faith, but the majority followed their own carnal hearts. Even in a nation that had God's special blessing and presence, the majority followed their own carnal hearts and produced the sinful society with all it's miseries.

In contrast, the citizens of the New Earth will all be totally committed to God. Israel's failure brings home the truth that there really is only one way to have the Edenic society and that is being sure everyone in that society has willingly and joyfully experienced and accepted the new heart and spirit that God provides. The new birth experience. That's why there is an investigative judgment.

In the New Earth that Revelation depicts, it is only those who are willingly and totally committed to the ways of Christ that have their names in the book of life and are invited into that perfect kingdom.

And in this new earth kingdom, it will work, for all sin, including those who cling to sin, have been eradicated. This is the only way it will work to have a perfect world. God will be there! Sin with all it's consequences will never again mar this earth, it is created new, according to the description in Revelation. The tree of life will be there, and there will be NO death, it will be one hundred percent perfect.

Subtitle of Lesson: "His Name on Their Foreheads"

We notice in the book of Revelation there's more than one name that can be on a forehead.

People are given a choice:

(Rev.3:11-12) "Behold I come quickly" hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take your crown. He that overcomes will I write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem.

(Rev. 17:5)
And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH

Then in Rev.22:4 we see which name the redeemed have in their foreheads. Of course this is the name we want to have in our foreheads.

The name on the forehead tells us which KINGDOM a person represents. The harlot does claim to belong to Christ, but she is unfaithful and serving another master, her name is of that "great city" Babylon.

God's true people have a name written on their foreheads as well. They too, receive the name of a GREAT CITY, the New Jerusalem, on their foreheads and the name of God, their Master!

There are two kingdoms each vying to enlist people as their citizens. There is a great controversy going on.

The citizens of Babylon with their master are fighting against the LAMB in Revelation 17:14, It is Christ, the Lamb of God, Who seeks to save as many as possible for His kingdom.

Revelation 17.14
These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

Sadly we also have the text, "many are called, but few are chosen" Matt. 22:14. That text comes at the end of the wedding feast parable. God calls all, everyone is invited, but only those who respond and actually come, and accept the wedding garment of Christ's righteousness and in faith walk with Him, are the chosen.
They are the called, chosen and FAITHFUL citizens of Christ's kingdom. He died and rose again to restore for us the inheritance Adam lost, and He longs to have us inherit it with Him, for all eternity.

How can we have assurance that it is God's name on our foreheads, showing we are citizens of His righteous Kingdom?

Eden Restored in fuller glory!

In Genesis we see the garden of Eden. A garden temple where God met and fellowshipped with mankind.
Gen 3:8 In Eden Adam and Eve enjoyed being in the presence of God. God walked and talked with them in the cool of the evening, until sin broke this fellowship and Adam and Eve could no longer live in the presence of God and they lost their Eden home.

But Christ has opened the way for Eden to be restored where God will dwell with us.
Notice how the things of Eden, are promised to the overcomers, and finally seen in the New Jerusalem!

1. In Eden was the tree of life. Gen. 2:9
Rev. 2:7 The promise to those who overcome will be given the right to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.
Rev. 22:2 We see the tree of life yielding fruit for the healing of the nations,

2. From Eden flowed the water of life. Gen 2:10
Rev. 21:6 The promise: Christ will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.
Rev.22:1 We see the pure river of life, clear as Crystal flowing from the throne of God.

3. In Eden there was choice; the tree of knowledge of good and evil, eating its fruit meant death. Gen. 2:17
Rev. 2:11 The promise to those who overcome (chose to turn from all evil) that they will NOT die the second death
Rev. 21:4 All tears wiped away, there is no more death, sorrow or crying.

4. In Eden mankind was created in the image of God (having a godly character and spiritual and intellectual ability to communicate with God) Gen, 1:26-27
Rev. 2: 17 Promise of a white stone and a new name written on it (purity, cleanliness, acquitted of sin, a new creature)
1 John 3:2 When Jesus is revealed and we see Him face to face we will be like Him!

5. In Eden Adam and Eve were clothed with garments of light, and after sin Christ made for them garments of skin (symbolic of coming sacrifice)
Rev. 3:5 Promise to those who overcome that they will be clothed in garments of white.
Rev. 19:8 Arrayed in linen pure and white which is the righteousness of the saints.
Rev. 7:9 Clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands.

6. In Eden Adam and Eve were named as parents of the human race. Gen. 5:2
Rev. 3:12 Promise to those who overcome to have the name of God, of New Jerusalem, and a new name on their foreheads. (Identifying them as citizens of God?s kingdom, the New Jerusalem)
Rev. 22:4 They will have God?s name on their foreheads and see Him face to face.

7. In Eden mankind had personal face to face fellowship with God. Gen 3:8
Rev. 3:20-21 Promises Christ will dine with us and overcomers will sit with Him on His throne
Rev. 21:22 God and the Lamb will be there! Rev. 22:4 We will see His face.

You explained it well in your next post, which was discussed last Sabbath in our Sabbath School class discussion.

It explains the wording in Isaiah compared to the wording in Revelation, both of which we reference in our discussions, Bible studies, and sermons/messages preached today.