Participants: Pr. Stephen Bohr
Series Code: 3AM
Program Code: 3AM000005
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00:30 Let's pray. Father in heaven, it is with reverence and with awe
00:36 that we approach Your holy throne today. 00:39 As we open Your Holy Word we ask for the presence 00:43 of Your Holy Spirit. 00:45 I ask, Lord, that You will give us understanding, 00:47 for we're going to study a very important subject about the 00:51 hour of Your judgment. 00:52 So, Father, help us to understand not only 00:57 theoretically, but help us to understand the importance 01:01 of what we're going to study. 01:02 And we thank You for hearing our prayer, 01:04 for we ask it in Jesus' name, Amen. 01:07 I want to begin our study today by reading the passage that 01:13 we've been studying the last few sessions, Revelation 14:6, 7. 01:20 We've studied ten great facts about the 01:23 three angels' messages. 01:25 We've studied about the everlasting gospel. 01:28 We've studied what it means to fear God. 01:32 And in our last session we discussed what it means 01:35 to give glory to God. 01:37 Now today we're going to study about the hour 01:41 of God's judgment. 01:43 It says in Revelation 14:6, 02:01 And now you have two imperatives. 02:07 Now the question is, Why should we fear God 02:10 and give glory to Him? 02:11 It continues saying: 02:20 Now that word for there is what is called in the Greek language 02:26 a causal conjunction, and it should be translated because. 02:32 In other words, fear God and give glory to Him 02:35 because the hour of His judgment has come. 02:39 And then we're told the third imperative: and worship Him 02:44 who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water. 02:48 So you see, the reason why we're supposed to fear God, 02:51 and give glory to God, and worship Him, is because the hour 02:57 of His judgment has come. 02:59 Now when most people think about the judgment, 03:02 they think of the judgment as an event. 03:05 But really, in the Bible the judgment is not an event, 03:10 the judgment is a process; a rather extended process. 03:16 In fact the book of Revelation itself presents three different 03:21 and distinct phases of the judgment. 03:24 I'm not going to go into all of these phases. 03:26 I'm just going to give you the references. 03:29 The first phase of the judgment takes place before 03:33 the second coming of Jesus, before the close of probation. 03:37 We find that in Revelation 14:6, 7. 03:42 The second phase of the judgment takes place during 03:45 the thousand years, during the millennium. 03:48 And you can find that in Revelation 20:4-6. 03:53 The third phase of the judgment takes place 03:57 after the millennium, after the thousand years. 03:59 And you can find a reference to that in Revelation 20:13-15. 04:05 In other words, the judgment is a process. 04:08 The judgment is not an event, a punctual event. 04:12 Now the stage that we especially want to take a look at today, 04:16 as we study this subject of the judgment, is that first stage 04:20 that I mentioned, the stage that occurs before the second 04:25 coming of Jesus, before the close of probation. 04:29 Now in order to understand this particular phase of the 04:33 judgment, the first one which is mentioned in 04:35 Revelation 14:7, we need to go back to the story of creation. 04:41 And you say, Well, why do we need to go back 04:43 to the story of creation? 04:44 Very simply because the first angel's message calls us to 04:49 go back and talk about the Creator. 04:51 You know that the first angel's message says, Worship Him 04:55 who made the heavens, the earth, the seas, 04:57 and the fountains of waters. 04:59 So, in other words, the first angel's message itself sends us 05:03 back to the story of creation in order to 05:05 understand the judgment. 05:07 So we have to go back to Genesis and talk about 05:11 the origin of man. 05:13 Go with me to Genesis 2:7, Genesis 2:7. 05:19 It's speaking here about the creation of man, 05:23 and I want you to notice the description. 05:26 There are several elements that we're going to underline here. 05:35 Now it's the physical nature of man that is composed of dust 05:39 or of clay, as Isaiah 64:8 says. 05:43 It says God is the potter, and we are the clay. 05:45 Our physical nature is composed of clay. 05:48 But even after God made this perfect body, 05:52 originally without sin, the body was without life. 05:56 I didn't say that it was dead; it was lifeless, 05:59 because there was something lacking. 06:01 You see, only having the body of matter perfect, 06:04 with all of its parts, did not mean that the body was alive. 06:08 And so God had to do something to that body. 06:11 Notice what it continues saying. 06:22 Another way of saying that is, He breathed into his nostrils 06:26 the energizing force, the electrical force, if you please. 06:37 Now there are several things that I want us to 06:40 notice about this verse. 06:42 First of all, man was created with a material body; 06:46 a body composed of matter. 06:48 And, of course, in the head of that body was the brain; 06:51 the center of operations of the body, if you please. 06:55 The brain is that organ that processes everything that comes 07:01 in through our five senses. 07:03 In other words, our eyesight, our hearing, our touch, 07:07 our smell, our taste; everything that comes in through the five 07:11 senses is processed by the brain. 07:13 And the brain, of course, is a physical organism as well. 07:17 It's also composed of matter. 07:19 But I want you to notice that the body with this processor, 07:23 the brain, did not function until God plugged the body in, 07:28 so to speak, into the electrical source which was giving the body 07:33 and the brain the capacity to function. 07:37 And so when God created the body with a brain to process 07:41 all of the functions, and gave that body with the brain, 07:45 the electrical force, the Bible says that man became a living 07:50 being, or other versions say, a living soul. 07:54 Now up till here you say, Okay, that's fine. 07:58 We already knew this. 07:59 But now I want to emphasize something that 08:04 is extremely important. 08:06 As Adam, and let's take Adam as our example, 08:10 as Adam lived after he was created, from the moment that 08:14 he was created, he now begins to process the information that 08:20 comes through his five senses. 08:21 And he begins to form his own self identity. 08:25 You know, there are no two people in this world that have 08:29 the same self identity, because everybody has different 08:32 information coming from the five senses that is 08:34 processed by the brain. 08:36 So taking Adam as an example, Adam lived to be 930 years. 08:41 Let me ask you, Do you think that Adam had a much more 08:44 complex self identity when he died at 930 years than the day 08:49 that he was created? Absolutely! 08:51 He had his own individuality. 08:54 He had his own self identity, if you please, 08:57 which was different from the self identity 08:59 that anyone else had. 09:01 In other words, during those 930 years he formed his self 09:05 identity, or we could also call it his character. 09:09 Now we need to ask the question, What happened when Adam died? 09:15 In fact, what happens when all of us die? 09:18 Notice Ecclesiastes 12:7, Ecclesiastes 12:7. 09:25 This is a famous state of the dead verse. 09:28 It says there when a person dies: 09:41 So you'll notice that when a person dies it says that the 09:45 body returns to the dust, and the spirit returns 09:49 to God who gave it. 09:50 But now I'm going to ask you a question that perhaps nobody 09:52 has asked you before. 09:54 What happens with the self identity, or with the character 09:57 that we formed during our lifespan? 10:00 For example, what happened to the 930 years of self identity 10:04 that Adam formed, or the character that Adam formed 10:08 during 930 years when he died? 10:10 You say, Well, Pastor, that's kind of a strange question. 10:14 I'm asking that question for a very specific purpose, 10:17 as you're going to see as we study along. 10:20 The fact is folks, that the self identity of Adam was actually 10:26 recorded by God in heaven as Adam lived his 930 life. 10:33 In fact, our self identity is written by God in heavenly books 10:39 as we live every moment of every day. 10:43 So when Adam died all of the record of his life was preserved 10:50 in the heavenly records. 10:52 In other words, God had an exact perfect record of Adam 10:56 in His heavenly books. 10:57 And you say, Does the Bible teach such a thing? 11:00 Well, let's read several verses that speak about what is 11:05 contained in the books. 11:06 You see, God keep records in heaven. 11:09 He keeps an exact record of who I was during my life; 11:13 who Adam was during his life. 11:15 Notice 2 Corinthians 5:10, 2 Corinthians 5:10. 11:39 Let me ask you, Does God keep a record of the good and bad 11:41 things that we performed while we were alive? Yes. 11:43 And we all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ. 11:47 So our actions are recorded in God's heavenly books. 11:51 Now what about our words? 11:53 Notice Matthew 12:36, 37, Matthew 12:36, 37. 12:00 Here Jesus is speaking and He says: 12:18 Is a record of our words kept in God's heavenly records? 12:22 Absolutely! Because by our words we will be justified, 12:26 or by our words we will be condemned. 12:29 But I want you to notice that also our secret things 12:33 are written there. 12:34 You see, God has a record not only of the outside, 12:37 He has a record of the inside, in other words. 12:40 Notice Ecclesiastics 12:13, 14, Ecclesiastics 12:13, 14. 12:59 If God is going to bring every work into judgment, 13:01 must He have a record of every work? Of course. 13:04 It says, God will bring every work into judgment. 13:08 And now notice this: including every what? every secret thing, 13:14 whether good or evil. 13:16 So God keeps an exact record of everything concerning 13:21 our life inside and out. 13:24 Let's read also Revelation 20: 12, 13, Revelation 20:12, 13. 13:33 It says there: 13:40 Notice this: 13:56 So I want you to notice that you have books, plural. 13:59 Now when the Bible speaks of books, in the plural, 14:03 it's talking about the record of our lives. 14:05 You see, every breathing moment God is taking a movie, 14:10 if you please, or He's taking a picture of every single thing 14:13 that we're doing, every single thing that we're thinking, 14:16 every single thing that we're feeling, every intention and 14:20 motive that we have. 14:21 God is recording a perfect record of every 14:25 aspect of our lives. 14:27 Let me illustrate what I mean. 14:29 Jesus today is personally in heaven, isn't He? 14:34 He's in heaven in person. 14:35 But do you know where He is on earth? 14:37 On earth He is written in sixty-six books: the Bible. 14:43 Because the Bible is a written revelation of Christ. 14:46 That's why the Bible says that Jesus is the Word in person, 14:50 but also the written Word is the Word of God. 14:53 Because the Bible is the transcript of the 14:56 character of Jesus. 14:57 It's Jesus in written form, if you please. 15:00 Now with us it's just the opposite. 15:02 We are physically and personally on earth, 15:06 but in heaven we are written in books. 15:08 In other words, we are written in books 15:11 where we are not personally. 15:12 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 15:14 What I'm explaining, or I'm trying to explain is, 15:17 that the heavenly books contain a complete biography 15:21 of each one of us. 15:22 Every act, every word, every motive, every thought, 15:26 every emotion, even every opportunity to do good, which we 15:31 did not take advantage of is found written in the books. 15:36 There is a complete record of our lives, inside and out. 15:41 In other words, God has another Steve Bohr in written form 15:44 in heaven, and I walk personally here upon Planet Earth. 15:50 Now I believe that if God was revealing His truth to the 15:54 prophets today, He would probably not talk about books 15:59 as containing the records. 16:00 In Biblical times you know it was common to preserve records 16:04 in scrolls or in books. 16:05 But if God was speaking to a prophet today, I believe that 16:08 God would be speaking about video cameras, 16:11 and He would speak about DVD's, and NP3's, and He would 16:15 speak about computers. 16:17 Because it's a much more sophisticated way of storing 16:21 and retrieving information. 16:22 Now, the Bible then when it speaks about books is referring 16:28 to the exact transcript of our lives, which God keeps 16:32 in the heavenly records. 16:34 But the Bible also uses the word book, singular. 16:38 Now let's take a look at the references in the Bible that 16:41 use book, singular. 16:43 Go with me to Philippians 4:3, Philippians 4:3. 16:49 Here the apostle Paul is speaking about some of his 16:52 collaborators; some of the individuals that were helping 16:55 him in his ministry. 16:56 And he says there: 17:07 He even mentions one by name. 17:18 Book, singular. What is it that the book contains? 17:21 The book contains names. 17:24 What do the books, in plural, contain? the exact transcript 17:28 of the persons character. 17:30 Notice Revelation 3:5; still talking about 17:32 the book, singular, Revelation 3:5. 17:51 Once again the book, singular, has what? names. 17:56 Notice Revelation 13:8. 17:58 There are many verses. 18:00 I'm only reading a sampling of them. 18:01 Revelation 13:8, speaking about those who are going to end up 18:05 worshipping the beast. It says: 18:19 And you remember when Moses was on Mount Sinai and God said, 18:23 I'm going to destroy Israel, and I'm going to choose another 18:26 people, because these people are idolatrous. 18:28 Notice in Exodus 32:31, 32, what Moses said to the Lord. 18:55 And in Daniel 12:1, where it speaks about the final 18:59 deliverance of God's people at the end of the time of 19:02 trouble such as never has been seen, we find the following 19:05 words, Daniel 12:1. 19:28 So are you understanding the difference 19:30 between books, and book? 19:31 The books contain the exact transcript of our lives 19:35 in written form in heaven. 19:38 Nothing is missing: words, thoughts, emotions, motives, 19:44 actions, you name it, everything is there inside and out 19:49 in the books, but the book, singular, contains names. 19:55 And the Bible emphasizes that the book contains the names of 19:58 those who have received Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. 20:02 Now I want us, in the light of what we've studied about the 20:06 books, and the book, I'd like us to take a look at several 20:10 interesting details about the judgment. 20:12 The first thing that I want us to notice is that everyone must 20:17 appear before the judgment seat of Christ. No exceptions. 20:20 Notice 2 Corinthians 5:10 once again, 2 Corinthians 5:10. 20:43 How many people are going to have to appear before the 20:45 judgment seat of Christ to give an account for what they did 20:49 while they were in the body, which means while they 20:51 were in this life? 20:52 Every single person is going to have to appear before the 20:56 judgment seat of Christ. 20:57 But now there's another very interesting detail, and that is 21:01 that that judgment takes place in heaven. 21:05 What, you're saying? 21:08 Does that mean that we have to NASA, and we have to get on a 21:11 rocket in order to appear before the judgment seat of Christ? 21:14 Well, let's notice what the Bible says. 21:17 Daniel 7:9, 10, Daniel 7:9, 10. 21:26 Daniel is seeing something in vision. 21:29 Who is the Ancient of Days? God who? God the Father. 21:33 Where does God the Father live? 21:35 Our Father which art in heaven, okay. 22:03 Who are those? angels. And then notice: 22:12 What do the books contain? the record of the lives. 22:16 Where does this judgment take place? 22:18 It takes place where the Father lives, where the angels are, 22:22 according to Scripture. 22:23 So everyone must appear, and the judgment takes place 22:28 where? It takes place in heaven. 22:30 Now let's notice another detail about the judgment. 22:34 Go with me to Revelation 14, which we started our lecture 22:37 with, Revelation 14:6, 7. 22:40 Let me ask you, Does the judgment begin after Jesus 22:45 comes, or at the moment Jesus comes, or does this judgment 22:48 of God's people, those who are written in the book of life, 22:51 does it take place before the close of probation, 22:55 and before the second coming of Jesus? 22:57 It takes place before. 22:59 You say, Now wait a minute, Pastor, 23:00 Where does the Bible say that? Revelation 14:6. 23:14 Let me ask you, If the gospel is being preached, must the door 23:17 of probation still be open? Absolutely! 23:20 You wouldn't preach the gospel if the door of 23:22 probation had closed. 23:23 So you have this angel; he's preaching the everlasting gospel 23:26 to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people, and he says with a 23:30 loud voice, Fear God and give... 23:36 It doesn't say the hour of His judgment shall come, 23:39 it says the hour of His judgment has come. 23:41 Let me ask you, Does the judgment take place while the 23:44 gospel is being preached? Absolutely! 23:47 And listen to what I'm going to say. 23:49 Only after the three angels' proclaim their messages do you 23:54 have Jesus seated on a cloud with the sickle in His hand 23:57 to harvest the earth, which means that the three angels' 24:00 messages are preached, and then you have the coming of Jesus 24:04 to harvest the righteous, and to harvest the wicked. 24:07 In other words, the judgment takes place before the 24:11 close of probation. 24:13 It takes place before the second coming of Jesus Christ. 24:16 Now let me ask you, When will a person receive the reward 24:20 that was determined in the judgment, 24:21 when their name was examined? 24:22 Notice Matthew 16:27, Matthew 16:27. 24:34 What event is that describing? 24:35 The second coming, yes. 24:46 So when is the reward given? when Jesus comes. 24:50 When are they judged? before Jesus comes. 24:53 Are you understanding me? 24:55 Notice Revelation 22:12, Revelation 22:12. 25:01 Here Jesus is speaking, and He says: 25:10 So when Jesus comes He brings the reward. 25:19 Now I know the question that you're asking. 25:22 If the judgment is in heaven, before the second coming 25:28 of Jesus, how can everyone appear before the great judgment 25:34 seat of Christ, if we live on Planet Earth? 25:37 Well, let's ask another question, a very important one. 25:42 Where are the dead between the time when they died, 25:47 and the time when Jesus comes to reward them? 25:50 Let's go to John 5:28, 29. 25:54 Folks we're going to notice here that it's a very close 25:57 connection between the state of the dead, and the judgment. 26:01 If you misunderstand the state of the dead, 26:03 you're not going to understand the judgment. 26:05 And if you misunderstand the judgment, 26:07 you're not going to understand how people are during 26:11 the interim of death. 26:12 Now notice John 5:28, 29. 26:22 heaven or in hell will hear His voice. 26:26 Ah, yeah, okay. You say, Where is that? 26:29 Well, that's the Revised Bohr Version. It doesn't count. 26:44 When is it they're going to come forth? when Jesus comes. 26:49 When do they receive their reward? when Jesus comes. 26:52 When were they judged? before Jesus comes. 26:55 So did they go before God's judgment seat before 26:57 the second coming? Absolutely! 26:59 But how could they if they were dead in the grave? 27:02 Ah, we're going to study something very important here. 27:05 And so it says, Do not marvel at this: for the hour of His 27:08 coming, in which all who are in their graves 27:10 will hear His voice, and come forth; 27:14 those who have done good, unto the resurrection of life; 27:21 Now, folks, I believe that in order to explain how dead people 27:28 can appear before the judgment seat of Christ before the second 27:32 coming... You know, most Christians think, 27:34 Well, what's going to happen is that the soul of those people 27:37 are going to appear before the judgment seat of Christ. 27:39 That's not what the Bible says. 27:40 The Bible says that the individual must appear before 27:44 the judgment seat of Christ. 27:45 How can they appear if they died in Christ, 27:49 or even if they're alive on Planet Earth before Jesus comes, 27:53 before the close of probation? 27:54 The fact is that we must understand what we started our 27:58 study with this evening. 28:00 You see, when the Bible speaks about the spirit that returns to 28:05 God, it's more than just the capacity to breathe; 28:10 it's more than just the energizing force 28:14 that returns to God. 28:15 You see, as we live we develop our own self 28:20 identity, do we not? 28:22 And God, what does God do when we die? 28:24 He preserves that self identity where? in the books. 28:29 In other words He writes in the books the end, 28:33 and He closes the books. 28:35 In other words, He's preserving the record of our lives. 28:39 He's not only, He's not, you know, some people say, 28:42 Well, you say the Spirit returns to God. 28:44 Does that mean that God grabs everybody's breathing? 28:47 No, that's not what it's talking about. 28:49 It's talking about God preserving the 28:51 record of our lives. 28:53 Now I want to read several texts: Luke 8:52. 28:57 This is a very interesting story. 28:59 And make sure that you follow along, 29:03 and tell me if I'm reading wrongly. 29:04 Luke 8:52-56. It's speaking about the 29:08 death of a little girl. 29:37 It does not say the spirit, it says her spirit returned. 29:43 Let me ask you, What was returned to her? 29:45 only the capacity to breathe? 29:46 No, the capacity to breathe, along with her self identity... 29:51 Are you with me?... that God preserved before she died. 29:54 Notice what it continues saying. 29:56 Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately: 30:00 and he commanded that she be given something to eat. 30:03 Notice Acts 7, and beginning with verse 57, (This is talking 30:08 about the martyrdom of Stephen.) Acts 7:57. 30:28 I want you to remember these two individuals. 30:29 We're coming back to them at the end of the presentation today. 30:40 It doesn't say, Receive the spirit. 30:42 He's saying, Receive My spirit. 30:45 Are you understanding what I'm saying; receive My spirit? 30:58 I love that; he fell asleep. 31:00 It doesn't say he died, although he did die, we know. 31:03 But it says he fell asleep. 31:05 Notice one further example: Luke 23:46. 31:09 It's talking about the death of Jesus Christ. 31:11 Luke 23:46. It says: 31:23 ...I commend the spirit. 31:25 No, that's not what it says. 31:27 Into your hands I commend what? 31:34 Now let me ask you this: Do you think that when Jesus 31:37 resurrected He remembered everything that had happened 31:39 while He was alive before His death? 31:41 Do you think He remembered the names of His disciples? 31:44 Do you think He remembered when He was arrested? 31:47 Do you think He remembered when He calmed the storm? 31:50 Do you think that He remembered when Peter denied Him? 31:53 Of course He did! Why did Jesus remember all those things 31:56 when He resurrected? 31:57 Because folks, when God returned to Jesus His spirit, 32:02 He not only returned the capacity to breathe, 32:04 or the energizing force, He also returned to Him the record 32:08 of His life which God had preserved. 32:11 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 32:12 Critically important! 32:14 Now I want to read you an interesting statement. 32:16 This statement is in the devotional book, 32:19 Maranatha, page 301. 32:21 You see, the author caught this nuance 32:25 that I'm sharing with you today. 32:26 This is what the author says in the book, Maranatha, 32:30 which is a devotional book. 32:36 Is that biblical? Of course it is. 32:38 Now let me ask you, Am I going to resurrect Gene Hobbs? 32:42 Am I going to be Gene Hobbs when I resurrect? 32:44 Am I going to be Rick Perez? 32:46 No, I'm going to be Steve Bohr. 32:47 Because God is going to return to me the record of my life 32:50 with the capacity to breathe. So she says: 33:05 And then she says this: 33:15 What is it that's preserved? the spirit or the character, 33:20 our self identity, who we were in life in other words. 33:24 She says: 33:29 In other words your own life record. 33:52 Isn't that a beautiful statement? 33:53 Now there's a statement in the book of Job 33:58 that used to puzzle me. 33:59 It sounded pretty selfish. 34:00 It sounded like Job was the only one that was going to see 34:02 the second coming of Jesus. 34:03 Notice Job 19:25-27. and I'm going to read from the New 34:06 And I'm going to read from the New International Version, 34:09 where the translation is more forceful. 34:11 Job 19:25. Here Job is saying, in the midst of his suffering. 34:23 It's talking about the second coming. 34:45 So nobody else is going to see the second coming 34:46 of Jesus except Job. 34:48 He says, I and not another. 34:50 What is he saying? 34:51 What is Job saying here? 34:53 He's saying that when I resurrect, I'm going to be whom? 34:56 I'm going to be Job. 34:58 Job is going to see the Lord. 35:00 Rick Perez is going to see the Lord. 35:02 Dr. Teske is going to see the Lord. 35:05 All of us are gong to see the Lord as individuals that we were 35:08 were during our life. 35:10 Now let me ask you, applying this after the millennium. 35:14 After the millennium you have the resurrection 35:16 of the wicked, right? 35:17 Let me ask you, Do the wicked resurrect righteous? 35:20 Of course not. How do they resurrect? 35:23 Just as wicked as they were? 35:24 Let me ask you, do they begin at the same spot 35:27 where they left off? Absolutely! 35:29 They surround the holy city. 35:32 They're just as wicked as ever. 35:33 Why? Because God is returning to them the identity 35:36 that was saved in the books. 35:37 Are you following me? 35:39 Allow me to read you another statement from my favorite book 35:42 on Bible prophecy. 35:43 This is a classic. 35:45 It's the book that has the clearest perspective of Bible 35:47 prophecy anywhere in the world. 35:49 It's called The Great Controversy. 35:50 Notice about after the millennium 35:55 what the author has to say, speaking about outside the city: 36:13 Now notice this: 36:29 In other words, if somebody opened their mouth and half 36:37 a word came out, and somebody shot them, when they resurrect 36:41 they complete the word. 36:42 Because they resume the current of their thought 36:46 just where it ceased. 36:52 Let me ask you, Why is it that they resurrect in this way? 36:56 It's because God is not only returning to them the capacity 36:59 to breathe, God is returning also their own self identity. 37:04 He's returning their own character. 37:06 Now let me give you a little illustration of what I mean. 37:07 How many of you have ever seen that little clip of the 37:11 assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Zapruder film? 37:13 You've seen that, right? 37:15 Now let me ask you, You see the limousine 37:19 turning onto Elm Street, right? 37:21 And you see John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline 37:25 with her pink dress, and they're greeting the people. 37:28 Let me ask you, When you look at that clip of video, 37:31 is John F. Kennedy alive, or is he dead? 37:37 You know I ask that question in a confusing manner on purpose. 37:41 Because some people say, Well, he's alive. 37:44 Other people say he's dead. 37:45 Well, the fact is this folks, the movie was taken 37:50 while he was alive. 37:51 But we are looking at the movie after he died. Are you with me? 37:57 In other words, on tape he's alive, but the review of the 38:02 tape takes place after he died. 38:05 So let me ask you, Is there a certain sense when you watch 38:09 that event of the life of John F. Kennedy, and when you see him 38:12 still alive before he was shot, let me ask you, are you really 38:15 watching him alive, just like it was? Yeah, absolutely! 38:21 You're watching him alive. 38:22 And so let me share this, when the righteous appear before 38:29 the judgment bar of Christ, there's a certain sense in which 38:33 they appear there alive. 38:35 Now don't misunderstand me. 38:37 How do they appear alive? 38:41 Because God took a movie of their lives 38:43 while they were alive. 38:47 So when the judgment comes, what does God bring? 38:51 the record in the books, or whatever way that God reserves, 38:55 or preserves the record. 38:56 And God shows the heavenly tribunal all of the life of that 39:00 person, inside and out, while that person was alive. 39:03 So let me ask you, In a certain sense, are people seeing the 39:07 life of that person when that person was alive? Absolutely! 39:10 But we know that it's being reviewed when? after they died. 39:16 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 39:17 So when Scripture says that all must appear before the 39:20 judgment seat of Christ, How can the dead appear before 39:23 the judgment seat of Christ? 39:24 They appear through the record of their lives. 39:28 They do not appear there personally. 39:30 They appear there through the record of their lives. 39:33 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 39:35 So all must appear. 39:36 The judgment's in heaven. 39:38 It's before the second coming. 39:39 What about the dead? 39:41 Well, they're decomposed on Planet Earth. 39:43 They can't go to heaven in a rocket to appear before 39:47 the judgment seat of Christ. 39:48 The fact is that they appear through the 39:49 movie of their lives. 39:51 Now let's read Revelation 20 so that we understand 39:55 how this process takes place. 39:56 Revelation 20:11, 12. 40:01 By the way, this is after the millennium, but the principle 40:04 applies also to the pre-advent judgment; 40:06 the judgment before the second coming. 40:16 Now notice this: 40:21 How can dead people stand before God, 40:22 in the light of what we've studied? 40:25 When it says the dead were standing before God, 40:27 what does that mean? 40:28 It means that those who are on earth dead, are standing before 40:32 God how? through the record of their self-identity, 40:37 or the record of their character, 40:38 which is contained in the books. And so it says: 40:46 If they're standing there in person, why would you 40:50 need to open books? 41:05 Are you understanding what we're studying? 41:08 Now, we have some things that we still need to cover. 41:12 Let's talk a little about the process of the judgment 41:15 when our name appears before the judgment seat of Christ. 41:18 Let me ask you, What is it that our life is 41:22 going to be compared with? with the law of God, right? 41:27 Notice James 2:12. 41:30 Now we're talking about what happens when our record appears 41:32 in the heavenly court before the second coming of Jesus. 41:35 James 2:12. It says this: 41:47 In other words, our lives are going to be compared with what? 41:50 with the law. Now let me ask you, When our lives are compared 41:53 with he law, how many are not guilty? 41:57 Well, let's go to Romans 3:10 and we'll read verse 20, 42:02 and also verse 23. 42:03 Verse 10 of chapter 3, As it is written: 42:10 Verse 20: Now we know that whatever the laws says, 42:14 it says to those who are under the law: that every mouth may 42:18 be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 42:21 And then verse 23: For all have sinned, and come short 42:25 of the glory of God;... 42:27 So what does the law saw to everybody who comes before 42:29 the judgment seat of Christ through their records? 42:32 The law says you are all what? you are all sinners, 42:37 and therefore you deserve what? you deserve death. 42:40 Notice Romans 6:23. 42:48 Do you see how difficult this situation is? 42:50 You see, there's no one who never sinned. 42:53 So when we appear before the judgment seat of Christ, 42:55 through our records in heaven, whether we're dead, 42:58 or whether we're alive, the records are 43:01 what's are looked at in heaven. 43:03 When we appear there our life is compared with the law, 43:06 and our lives are full of sin, so the law says, 43:10 The wages of sin is death. 43:12 You must die. And who's there standing to accuse us? 43:15 the Devil is. Notice Zachariah 3:1, Zachariah 3:1: 43:21 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the 43:26 angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand 43:31 to do what? to oppose him. 43:33 So, in other words, in God's great tribunal, when our life 43:38 is examined, everybody is guilty. 43:41 So you say, how in the world could the judgment be good news? 43:45 Ah, now let's go to the good news. 43:48 You see, the Bible tells us that Jesus came to this world, 43:51 and we studied this when we analyzed the everlasting gospel. 43:55 We noticed that Jesus came to this world and He lived 43:58 the perfect life that we should live, and Jesus died the death 44:02 that we should die. 44:04 And when we repent and confess our sins, and trust in Jesus, 44:10 and bury our sins in the waters of baptism, and we confess 44:16 our sins, the Bible says that God takes the life and death of 44:21 Jesus, and He credits it to our account. 44:24 Now is that good news? 44:25 Notice 1 Peter 1:18-20, 1 Peter 1:18-20. 44:41 Notice, we weren't redeemed by silver and gold... 44:59 So what happens when we confess our sins, 45:03 when we repent of sin, when we claim the righteousness 45:06 of Christ, when our heart is right with the Lord, 45:09 what does Jesus do? 45:10 He records the sin in the heavenly books, 45:13 but next to the sin He writes the word, forgiven through 45:17 the blood of the Lamb. 45:19 Is that good news? 45:22 So when our name comes up in the judgment, 45:25 are our sins in the record? 45:27 Yes, everything is in the record. 45:30 So some people say, Wow, if the sins are in the 45:33 record, well, that's bad. 45:36 You know, because how can I be secure about salvation 45:40 if my sins are written there? 45:41 Listen folks, if your sins are not there covered with the 45:45 blood they're here. 45:48 See, we need to have Jesus as our advocate. 45:50 In other words, if we sin, as it says in 1 John 2:1, 45:55 My little children, these things I write to you so 45:58 that you may not sin. 45:59 And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, 46:02 Jesus Christ the righteous. 46:04 See, our judge and our lawyer is Jesus, and He's righteous, 46:09 and He appears before the Father. 46:11 And when I repent and confess my sin, Jesus says, Father, 46:14 Pastor Bohr has repented of that sin. 46:17 He's confessed that sin. 46:18 I claim My blood in his behalf. 46:21 And the Father says, I accept Your death in place of his 46:24 death, and I accept Your life in place of his life. 46:28 Is that good news? 46:29 But if we don't place our sins in the Sanctuary, 46:32 through repentance and confession, then those sins 46:35 are where? they're upon us. 46:37 You know some people say, Oh, the Seventh-day Adventists, 46:40 they don't have any assurance of salvation, because they believe 46:42 that all these sins are written in the heavenly Sanctuary. 46:44 Praise the Lord that they're written in the heavenly 46:46 Sanctuary, because if they're not in the heavenly Sanctuary, 46:49 covered with the blood, they are where? 46:51 They are upon us. 46:53 Notice 1 John 1:9, 1 John 1:9. It says: 47:10 Now listen to what I'm going to say. 47:12 In the Sanctuary, there were two services: 47:14 there was the daily service, and there was the yearly service. 47:18 You can read it in Leviticus 16. 47:22 Do you know what happened in the daily service? 47:23 In the daily service you have forgiveness for sin. 47:27 Notice that 1 John 1:9 says, If we confess our sins, 47:31 He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, 47:35 and to cleanse the Sanctuary from sin? 47:37 No, to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 47:40 The daily service cleansed the sinner from his sin, 47:44 but then the sin was transferred where? 47:46 It was transferred to the Sanctuary through the blood. 47:49 Let me ask you, did the Israelite have to be afraid 47:51 because it was transferred to the Sanctuary through the blood? 47:54 Absolutely not! He could have the assurance that his sin 47:57 was covered by the blood. 47:58 It was very safe to have it in there. 48:01 It was unsafe not to have it in there. 48:03 Are you following what I am saying? 48:04 But all of the sins were placed in the Sanctuary, so there came 48:08 at the end of the year what is known as the day of atonement, 48:10 when all of the sin that had entered needed to what? 48:14 to come out. And that's what the judgment is. 48:16 Do you know what the purpose of the judgment is? 48:18 It's not to inform God. 48:20 God knows everything. 48:22 Let me ask you, Are there many Christians who appear to be good 48:26 Christians, but really they're hypocrites? 48:29 Jesus spoke about those, didn't He? 48:31 So if you look on the outside you'd say, Oh, these are 48:34 exemplary Christians. 48:36 But, you see, when the books are opened it will be shown 48:40 who truly repented of sin, who truly confessed sin, 48:46 who truly claimed the righteousness of Jesus, 48:50 who truly buried the old man in baptism, 48:54 and truly resurrected to newness of life. 48:58 The purpose of the judgment is to reveal if repentance, 49:02 and claiming the blood was genuine or not, 49:04 for the good of the inhabitants of the Universe, 49:06 that don't know everything, like God knows everything. 49:10 And so you have the daily service, which cleanses the 49:14 sinner from the sin, and you have the yearly service, 49:17 which cleanses the Sanctuary from the sin. 49:21 Now this is the marvelous news: if our name comes up in the 49:25 judgment, and when my name is looked at, and all of my records 49:30 are looked at, if it's revealed that I repented of sin, 49:34 and I confessed my sins, and that I claimed the righteousness 49:37 of Jesus, and that my old man was buried in the waters of 49:40 baptism, and that I truly resurrected to a new life, 49:43 and that I hated sin, and I love the Savior, then what's going to 49:48 happen is my name is going to be retained in the book of life, 49:53 and I will be found in Christ, because when I received Jesus 49:59 Christ, I am in Him. 50:01 See, I no longer appear there on my own. 50:04 I appear through Him. 50:06 And that's the reason why, in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18, 50:11 we find this very interesting passage about the resurrection. 50:15 It says in 1 Thessalonians 4: 50:37 Let me ask you, Where are the dead when Jesus comes? 50:39 In heaven? No, they're in the grave. 50:41 Now if they're in heaven when they died, 50:44 what are they doing in the grave? 50:45 It says that they're in the grave and Jesus comes. 50:49 Now, do you notice here that it says the dead in Christ 50:52 will rise first? Let me ask you, when was it revealed 50:54 that they were in Christ? in the judgment. 50:58 It was revealed that they truly repented of sin, 51:01 they confessed their sins, they claimed the righteousness 51:04 of Christ, they buried the old man, resurrected to newness 51:07 of life, hated sin, and loved the Savior. 51:10 And then you will find in the book of life, in Christ. 51:14 And therefore when Jesus comes, He's going to resurrect them 51:17 from the dead, because they are not in themselves, 51:20 they are in Jesus. 51:22 Is this good news or what? 51:24 Now I want to share with you a very interesting experience. 51:28 Do you remember the experience of Saul of Tarsus? 51:33 He was a nasty character. 51:34 Notice what we find in Acts 26: 9-11. 51:38 Here Saul is describing his life. He says: 52:08 Was he a nasty character? He sure was. 52:11 Did he have a record of blood in his heavenly records? 52:14 He most certainly did. 52:15 But then he had his Damascus road experience. 52:18 And do you know what he did? 52:21 He got baptized. Notice Acts, Acts 22:16. 52:25 Notice what happened when he was baptized. 52:29 Obviously he must have repented and confessed his sin before. 52:33 Notice Acts 22:16. Here Ananias is saying to him, 52:38 Arise, and be what? and be baptized, 52:42 he's saying to Saul of Tarsus. 52:43 Be baptized, and wash away your what? 52:46 Wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord. 52:51 Let me ask you, What happens when the record of Saul of 52:55 Tarsus appears in the heavenly court? 52:57 Does God look at all of the sins? 52:59 Does God hold all of his sins against him: 53:01 all of those murders, all the people he put in prison, 53:04 all the people that were whipped as a result of him? 53:06 Does God look at any of that? No. 53:09 That all was forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ. 53:12 And the judgment reveals that even though Saul of Tarsus was a 53:16 nasty character, he deserves to be saved because 53:19 he's accepted in the beloved. 53:21 He is looked at through the life of Jesus, 53:23 and through the death of Jesus Christ. 53:26 You know, it's going to be wonderful in that great day 53:29 when Saul of Tarsus meets Stephen. 53:32 Ho ho, I want to be there just to see that. 53:35 It's amazing! The last thing that Stephen saw was 53:38 Saul telling the people, Throw the stones, kill him, kill him. 53:43 And so now you can imagine; Stephen doesn't know that 53:46 Saul of Tarsus is going to be saved. 53:47 So you can imagine now, you know, when we get to heaven. 53:51 And here's Saul of Tarsus walking down the street 53:54 of the city, and here comes Stephen walking 53:56 from the other direction. 53:58 And Stephen-I know I got resurrected eyes, but are you 54:06 Saul of Tarsus? You're here? 54:09 Yes, the grace of Jesus redeemed me, too. 54:13 Listen folks, there is no record of sin so terrible that cannot 54:18 be forgiven if we truly repent, and confess our sin, 54:21 and claim the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and our buried 54:25 in the waters of baptism. 54:26 There is no sin so great that God cannot forgive it now, 54:29 and then eventually erase it from the Sanctuary, 54:32 because it has been cleansed by the blood. 54:35 Now I want to give you an illustration,... 54:37 We only have a very short period... an illustration that 54:39 will help you remember this forever. 54:42 I want you to imagine a computer. 54:44 A computer is a material object, right? 54:47 Does a computer have a brain? 54:50 Of course it does! 54:51 What is it that operates all of the functions of the computer? 54:55 Okay, memory. In order to have a memory, what do you need? 55:00 a brain. I'm speaking figuratively. 55:03 I know it doesn't have a brain like we have a brain. 55:05 But it has to have a center of operations, doesn't it? 55:09 Now, let me ask you, Does the computer need to have a 55:14 power source in order to function? Yes. 55:16 So you have the material computer, it has this central 55:21 processor that allows you to perform all of the functions, 55:25 and then you plug it in, and it has the power source. 55:29 Now let me ask you, What happens if someday the roof of your 55:32 house falls while you're gone, and it smashes 55:34 your computer to smithereens? 55:36 You say, Wow! What a problem. 55:40 But it's not necessarily a problem. 55:43 Because if you've backed up the information on a disk, 55:47 you can get another computer, and you can transfer the 55:50 identity of the first computer to the second computer. 55:53 Can you make the second computer the same as the first computer? 55:57 You most certainly can. 55:59 Can you get one with greater memory? 56:00 Oh, with greater capacities. 56:03 Yeah, absolutely! You can get a much better computer. 56:06 And all you do is take what's on the disk, and you transpose it 56:09 to the new computer. 56:10 Do you know that's exactly what's going to happen with 56:12 those who died in Christ. 56:13 They died and their bodies and their brains 56:16 disintegrated in the grave. 56:17 They were unplugged, so to speak; no power. 56:20 But when Jesus comes He's going to give them a new body, 56:23 a new computer. Then He's going to take what's on the disk... 56:26 And, by the way, it's going to be what's on your disk 56:29 in heaven, minus all of the sins that were blotted out 56:32 in the day of atonement. 56:33 In other words, He's not going to give you back 56:35 all of your bad record. 56:36 He's going to give you back your record of all the good 56:38 things without the bad. 56:39 And He's going to take that on this; He's going to input 56:42 it into you, and then you're going to resurrect. 56:44 You're going to be the same person that you were, 56:46 but perfect, without any record of sin in your life. 56:50 In other words, the computer of God, when He examines your 56:53 record, has a delete key. 56:56 And as He goes through the record of your life, 56:58 He's going to delete all of those things that you've 57:01 repented of, that you confessed. 57:04 And when you claim the righteousness of Christ, 57:06 and buried your life in the waters of baptism, 57:09 to resurrect to newness of life, you are accepted 57:11 in Jesus the beloved. 57:13 Let me ask you then, Is the hour of God's judgment good news? 57:17 It's wonderful news, as long as we have repented, 57:21 and confessed our sins. |
Revised 2015-08-25