(uplifting theme music)
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>>Welcome to "Sabbath School,"
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brought to you by It Is Written.
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We're glad that you've
chosen to join us today
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as you continue your
study of this quarter's lesson.
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The subject is on "Death,
Dying and the Future Hope."
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And our hope is that
your hope will be increased
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as we study this
week's lesson together.
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We are on lesson number
seven, a very uplifting lesson,
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as you would expect it probably
would be being number seven.
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But also we are here joined
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by the author's lesson,
and that is Dr. Alberto Timm.
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He is an associate director
of the Ellen G. White Estate.
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Alberto, welcome back.
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>>So glad to join you.
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>>Alberto, this
week we are looking
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at "Christ's Victory Over Death,
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and as we look at
this particular subject,
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I wanna start
by reading a verse,
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and it happens to be the
memory verse for this quarter--
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or, pardon me, for this
week's lesson. It's Revelation,
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chapter 1 and verses 17 and 18.
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Revelation 1:17 and 18
says, "And when I saw Him"--
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this is John speaking--"I
fell at His feet as dead.
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"But He laid His right
hand on me, saying to me,
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"'Do not be afraid; I
am the First and the Last.
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"'I am He who
lives, and was dead,
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"'and behold, I am
alive forevermore. Amen.
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And I have the keys
of Hades and of death.'"
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We've been looking at
death, dying this quarter,
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also looking at the hope
that that we have yet to come.
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But bearing these verses
in mind that we just read,
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what hope does a person have
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if their body is deteriorated,
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if there's nothing left
of them but ashes, but dirt?
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Maybe there's not even that.
Maybe they were lost at sea.
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How can a
resurrection take place
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if there's so
little to work with--
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or in some cases really
nothing to work with--left?
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What hope is there in that?
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>>Well, from a
human perspective,
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there is no hope whatsoever
because the person is gone.
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So this is something.
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But from the
perspective of God's power,
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His promise, and His word,
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I would say that there is
no reason for us to doubt.
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After all, life in itself
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is a mystery.
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Sometimes I look to a
flower or a leaf from a tree,
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and you see how does it come
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that it has
life, and what is life?
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You can come with
all kinds of philosophy
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to explain what is life,
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but we haven't been
able to create life.
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So the mystery of
life that is all around us,
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the grass and so on--and
don't confuse it with God,
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because this is just a
expression of His creating
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power, not extension of God
itself, and the same thing with
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us. Life is a mystery
and how it began also.
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God created in this way.
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If God was able to
create human beings
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from the ground
and through His power,
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and power to His power,
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the non-life came into life,
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and this is a mystery.
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I think it would be less complex
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to, for God to bring
life again into existence
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with our own identity.
How it will take place,
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this is something with God.
But we know from His sure word,
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and is not one
passage, but is a motif,
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is a team in the Bible,
the concept of resurrection,
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and that we will be known as
such, because even Jesus said
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that we would be with
Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac,
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and so in that
gathering over there,
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so how do we know
that those are the people?
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Because God, even our
own identity, will preserve.
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>>So we've got
something to look forward to,
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encouraging
promises in the Bible.
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But really all of
those promises are dependent
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upon the fact that
Jesus Himself rose.
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Because if He didn't rise,
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well, we'd be in a pickle.
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I don't know that
that's a deep theological word,
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but it's what we'd be in.
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Let's come back to
Jesus' resurrection.
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When Jesus did rise,
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that caused a
bit of consternation
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among some of the
priests and the Pharisees.
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They didn't want
anyone to believe
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that Jesus was alive again.
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What were some of the
strategies that they used?
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What were some ways that they
went about trying to obscure
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that very positive fact?
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>>First of all,
they went to Pilate
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and asked him to
have some kind of sealing,
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to have a huge stone...
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at the entrance of the tomb,
and then to put a Roman seal,
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and even more, some kind of
Roman soldiers, powerful ones,
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so there would be no
way for somebody to steal,
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to take Jesus' body out.
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And that was--they
were a little bit afraid
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about this matter,
but that was a strategy
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so that they would
not steal Jesus' body
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and then later on
claim that He was risen,
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and so they decided
to protect in this way.
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It did not work out as expected.
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Then they try even to
pay some money for them to,
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for the soldiers to
give a wrong witness.
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"No, we were asleep over there.
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"We were a little
bit distracted, and so,
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"and then when we did
not pay enough attention,
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they took Jesus' body."
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But nothing of this
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prevented Jesus from
raising. Actually it made,
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it helped to make Jesus'
resurrection even more dramatic
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than if it would be
just here being laying there
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and coming back to life.
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>>So Jesus
managed to thwart them
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through His resurrection.
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Here's a question
that sometimes gets asked.
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When Jesus rose,
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depending on which gospel you
want to read the account from,
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it talks about there
being an angel at His tomb
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or there being
angels, plural, at His tomb.
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Which was it?
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>>Well, this is a
very interesting question.
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It's worthwhile
reflecting on it.
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You find two gospels
that speak of two angels
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at the
resurrection, close to the tomb.
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Anther two
gospels speak of just one.
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So, which one do you prefer?
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Which one do you
want to stay with?
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This is not the way
how we interpret the Bible.
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The best way is
always, in my understanding,
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always to take the
most complete picture.
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And let me distract a
little bit from this topic.
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For instance, in the
Bible you have references
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to God the Father.
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You have many other
references to God the Father
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and the Son. And you
have other passages that speak
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of the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit.
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With which line of
passages do I stay?
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Some people just
decide what they prefer,
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but this is not the case.
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We should always take
the most comprehensive,
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the broader picture in mind.
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Otherwise you will
always distort the Bible.
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If I say, "Well,
there is only the Father.
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The Son and the Holy
Spirit do not exist,"
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that's not the case because
the Bible refers to the three.
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And the same thing,
it happens in this case.
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I believe that
they were two angels
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because the text is clear.
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But the other two
gospels were not concerned
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about the number of angels,
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but only about the angel
that was speaking over there.
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So I believe that
there are two angels,
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and I don't see
any contradiction,
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just the emphasis of
the other ones was--so,
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I could say, for
instance, "You came by car."
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Okay, I am not
saying that you came alone.
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There might be
other people in the car,
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but I was concerned
in you arriving here.
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And so this does
not exclude more people.
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And so I don't think
that a reference to one angel
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exclude the other
one that was also there.
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>>So, makes a lot of sense.
There's every bit of evidence
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that there were two
angels instead of just one.
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Let me come back to a...
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less...diminutive
question, I guess,
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and a more impactful question.
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And that is, what
about Christ's resurrection?
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What's the meaning of
Christ's resurrection?
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If we want to get down
to the depths of things,
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what is the significance,
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the meaning of
Christ's resurrection?
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Why is it important to us?
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>>Actually that was the seal
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of approval
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on Christ's
sacrifice on the cross.
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Actually we cannot isolate
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the death of Christ on
the cross and His resurrection
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because this is a whole package.
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But actually if
Christ would just die
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and not raise from the dead,
as Paul says, for instance,
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in 1 Corinthians 15,
then we would be lost.
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But in reality, the power,
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the One that raised
people from the dead
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during His lifetime--
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and special reference
we can make to Lazarus--
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now He Himself
experienced death,
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and actually He did not
die only the first death.
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He died the second
death. And what does it mean?
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The first death is the
natural death that we die.
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But the second death,
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that will be the final
destruction of the wicked.
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There are--there is no
resurrection from that death,
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that form of death.
00:11:13.34\00:11:15.20
But His death is vicarious,
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or, in other words, He
died for us so that we,
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although we might
face the natural death,
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we will not need to
face the second death.
00:11:25.48\00:11:29.68
And, but instead, we
will have everlasting life.
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And this is very meaningful.
00:11:32.99\00:11:35.26
Actually when Jesus
rose from the graves,
00:11:35.26\00:11:39.56
there from the grave,
that was really the seal,
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the final proof
that He triumphed.
00:11:43.33\00:11:46.27
He got a victory at the cross,
00:11:46.27\00:11:49.07
and now that He triumphed
over the powers of evil,
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and there was no more
hope for Satan and his angels
00:11:53.78\00:11:58.31
that they would be able to
gain the victory of Christ.
00:11:58.31\00:12:02.08
That was the final
word. And that's it!
00:12:02.08\00:12:05.85
>>So when Jesus rose,
00:12:06.62\00:12:08.32
that settled things
in a very final manner,
00:12:08.32\00:12:12.36
which for you and for me,
hopefully, is a good thing
00:12:12.36\00:12:16.67
because that means that we
have the hope of eternal life,
00:12:16.67\00:12:19.23
and without
Christ's resurrection,
00:12:19.23\00:12:20.84
without His death on the cross,
we wouldn't have that hope
00:12:20.84\00:12:24.14
because He wouldn't
have paid that price.
00:12:24.14\00:12:25.87
He wouldn't have
tasted death for every man.
00:12:25.87\00:12:28.91
But the good news is He
did. The good news is He rose.
00:12:28.91\00:12:32.21
The good news is that
today He is up in heaven
00:12:32.21\00:12:35.22
ministering on my
behalf and your behalf.
00:12:35.22\00:12:39.12
And because of that,
because we have an intercessor,
00:12:39.12\00:12:42.52
that means we can "come
boldly to the throne of grace"
00:12:42.52\00:12:46.56
and seek that help that we need
00:12:46.56\00:12:48.43
because we
cannot save ourselves.
00:12:48.43\00:12:50.60
We simply don't
have the ability to.
00:12:50.60\00:12:53.10
But that's why Jesus is
there to offer salvation to us.
00:12:53.10\00:12:57.27
I wanna encourage you,
if you've been enjoying
00:12:57.27\00:12:59.24
this quarter's
Sabbath school lesson,
00:12:59.24\00:13:00.48
make sure you pick
up the companion book
00:13:00.48\00:13:02.91
to this quarter's lesson.
00:13:02.91\00:13:04.05
It's "On Death,
Dying, and the Future Hope."
00:13:04.05\00:13:06.68
The author is Alberto Timm,
00:13:06.68\00:13:08.08
and you can find
that at itiswritten.shop.
00:13:08.08\00:13:11.35
Again, that's itiswritten.shop.
00:13:11.35\00:13:13.96
You can find the book
00:13:13.96\00:13:15.02
"On Death, Dying,
and the Future Hope."
00:13:15.02\00:13:17.09
It goes into greater detail
on what we've been studying here
00:13:17.09\00:13:20.20
week by week.
00:13:20.20\00:13:21.23
I know that you'll enjoy it.
00:13:21.23\00:13:22.33
We're gonna be back
in just a minute or two
00:13:22.33\00:13:24.70
as we continue looking
at this incredible subject,
00:13:24.70\00:13:27.10
"Christ's Victory Over Death."
00:13:27.10\00:13:29.04
We'll see you
back in just a moment.
00:13:29.04\00:13:30.71
(theme music swells and ends)
00:13:30.71\00:13:33.48
>>[John Bradshaw] You
know that at It Is Written
00:13:35.34\00:13:36.98
we are serious about
studying the Word of God,
00:13:36.98\00:13:39.38
and we encourage you
to be serious as well.
00:13:39.38\00:13:42.12
Well, here's what you do
00:13:42.12\00:13:43.12
if you wanna dig
deeper into God's Word.
00:13:43.12\00:13:45.22
Go to itiswritten.study
00:13:45.22\00:13:47.46
for the It Is Written
Bible Study Guides online,
00:13:47.46\00:13:50.43
25 in-depth Bible studies
00:13:50.43\00:13:52.33
that will take you through the
major teachings of the Bible.
00:13:52.33\00:13:55.40
You'll be blessed,
00:13:55.40\00:13:56.97
and it's something you'll want
to tell others about as well:
00:13:56.97\00:13:58.73
itiswritten.study. Go further:
00:13:58.73\00:14:01.37
itiswritten.study.
00:14:01.37\00:14:03.30
>>Welcome to "Line Upon Line,"
00:14:05.64\00:14:07.91
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:14:07.91\00:14:10.25
(inspiring music)
00:14:10.25\00:14:12.75
Was it God's plan for
sin to enter the world?
00:14:12.75\00:14:16.25
>>[Wes Peppers] Is the
building of the temple necessary
00:14:16.25\00:14:18.82
before Jesus returns?
00:14:18.82\00:14:20.12
>>That's a good question,
00:14:20.12\00:14:21.46
and I think we've got a
pretty good answer for you here.
00:14:21.46\00:14:24.13
(inspiring music continues)
00:14:24.13\00:14:26.19
>>Temptation is not sin.
00:14:26.19\00:14:28.33
>>God says,
"Put me to the test!"
00:14:28.33\00:14:30.83
(music swells and ends)
00:14:30.83\00:14:34.07
(uplifting theme music)
00:14:37.07\00:14:40.01
>>[Eric] Welcome
back to "Sabbath School,"
00:14:41.51\00:14:42.91
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:14:42.91\00:14:44.91
We're continuing
looking at the subject
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of "Christ's Victory
Over Death," His resurrection.
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Alberto, let me
ask you this question
00:14:51.52\00:14:54.82
as we kind of get
into this segment.
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We've talked about
the death of Christ;
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we've talked about the
resurrection of Christ.
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Which of them is more important?
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>>This is a very
difficult question to answer,
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but I would say,
just in a few words,
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that without the death of Christ
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there would be no
payment for our sins.
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There would be no
salvation whatsoever.
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And for this reason, I think
that the apostolic preaching
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was very much focused
on the Christ that was dead
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and was risen later on.
But the resurrection of Christ
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was the
triumphant outcome of it.
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Because when Satan failed to...
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keep Him, I mean, in the grave,
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and Christ came into
life, that was actually the seal
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of everything, as
I mentioned before.
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In other words, the guarantee,
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the prototype or
whatever word you want to use,
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that we or those
who died in Christ
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will raise also.
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So He opened the gates of that.
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And in the book of Revelation,
even you have that image that
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He has the keys
that unlock the grave
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so that we all can have hope.
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Whether we stay
alive till Jesus comes
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or we are called
to death, whatever,
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God knows what will
be the best in this case,
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but we have a hope that
goes far beyond the grave.
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And that one was
assured to Christ's death
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paying the price for
us, and His resurrection
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opening the doors for us also
to have this wonderful hope.
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>>So there's hope in both
His death and His resurrection.
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That's encouraging.
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Alberto, let me
share a few verses with you
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and get your thoughts on them,
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because when we talk
about Christ's resurrection,
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there are some things
that happened around that time
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that sometimes
people have questions about,
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that don't seem to make sense.
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I wanna read one here, a passage
from Matthew, chapter 27.
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In Matthew,
chapter 27, verses 51-53,
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it says this: "Then,
behold, the veil of the temple
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"was torn in two from top to
bottom; and the earth quaked,
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"and the rocks were split,
and the graves were opened;
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"and many bodies of the saints
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"who had fallen
asleep were raised;
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"and coming out of the
graves after His resurrection,
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they went into the holy
city and appeared to many."
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Who were these
people who came back to life
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at this significant time?
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>>We don't know
exactly by name who was there,
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but we know that
people from the Old Testament,
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some of the
prophets, definitely so,
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and please do not speculate
saying this was the one or so.
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Some people even
argue that John the Baptist,
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Jesus allowed him to die
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so that He could
raise among them.
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This is a possibility,
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but I would not
make a big deal out of it
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because it's just a
possibility out of imagination.
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But you know that a group,
significant group of people,
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I mean, of the Old
Testament times, were raised.
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And this is very
significant, outstanding because
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you remember that the Pharisees,
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the high--I mean, the
priesthood at that time,
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they were all
planning some strategies
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to avoid the body
of Jesus to be robbed,
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to be taken there,
and also not to be--
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and then later on
they even bribed the...
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I mean, the soldiers
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in a certain
way for them to lie.
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But can you imagine?
The Bible passage here
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that you just read is so clear,
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because it says that many
of those raised from the dead.
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So there was a
earthquake when Jesus died,
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and another
earthquake when He raised up.
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So it was quite significant.
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And with Jesus came all
this people from the grave.
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We don't know how
many, who they are,
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but it does not matter.
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What really matters here
is that, as the text says,
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that they went into the city
of Jerusalem, definitely so,
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where things were
happening, and appeared to many.
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That really was a trouble
for all those high priests
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and religious
leaders at that time
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because they were
trying to spread around
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some fake news--using
our language--at that time.
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And it didn't work because
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as they were
speaking in one place,
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somebody
came--"Well, this is not true!
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"This is a lie because I raised
with Christ also, and I am
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a eye witness of
Jesus' resurrection."
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So no wonder that apostolic
preaching at the beginning
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was not only that Christ died,
but He raised from the dead,
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and the resurrection was crucial
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because that was the victory.
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And this generated a
whole---not saying turmoil--
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but there was quite a--
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from the disappointment
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of the cross into the victory,
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the good news of
the resurrection.
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And nobody could stop
the disciples of Christ
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and the early Christians
from spreading this news
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around because it was too
powerful, the whole context
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and even these
witnesses appearing to many.
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>>You know, when we look at
this portion of earth's history,
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there are
elements, significant--
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what do you call
it?--experiences in earth's
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history that are
marked by three-word phrases.
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I think all the way back
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to the very
beginning in Genesis 1:1.
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It says, "In the
beginning." >>Mm-hmm.
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>>Now we come down
here to Christ on the cross
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and the three words "It is
finished" are significant words.
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And then the empty
tomb, the empty grave:
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"He is risen."
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So, just simple
synopses of significant things
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that are going on here.
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Let's take a look
at something else here
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over in 1 Corinthians 15.
In 1 Corinthians, chapter 15,
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verses 16 and 18,
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Paul writes
about the significance
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of Christ's
resurrection for us--
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for him, but
certainly for us as well;
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1 Corinthians 15, verse number
16, here's what Paul says.
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He says, "For if
the dead do not rise,
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then Christ is not risen."
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In verse 18 he
says, "Then also those
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who have fallen asleep
in Christ have perished."
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And verse 19: "If in this life
only we have hope in Christ,
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we are of all men
the most pitiable."
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Paul is making a very
important statement here.
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What point is he
trying to get across?
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>>Well, in this case, Paul
is going even a step farther
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in the sense of
being more explicit.
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Let's suppose that all the
teachings of the Old Testament
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and New Testament on
the state of the dead,
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that they are
unconscious in the grave
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and that the only
hope is the resurrection,
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the bodily resurrection
for people to get conscious
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and come alive again,
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if that is not
enough, Paul here says,
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well, in other words, he says,
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well, if there
is no resurrection,
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there is no hope
because those who are in Christ,
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they perished in this
case. How could Paul say
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that if those who died
in Christ are perished,
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or will have no life,
if the soul goes directly--
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the supposed soul--would
go directly to paradise,
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heaven, or whatever you
want to call it, after death?
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Because then they would
be already in their reward.
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But Paul says, no,
without resurrection, please,
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there is no everlasting life.
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So in this case, I don't think
that we need a clearer text
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than this one
that you just read.
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>>So Paul says we
do have that hope.
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Now, unpack it
just a little bit more.
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How does the death of Christ...
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assure our own salvation? How
do we find ourselves in that?
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How can we be sure that
if He died and rose again,
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that we can
partake of that as well?
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>>Actually He is the
the first one to be raised,
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as such. Not the first one
because there were people there,
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but He's really the one that
opened the way of the gates.
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And to be
participating of His death
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and resurrection is something
very significant for us
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because, in
reality, Christ's death,
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as I mentioned
before, paid the price.
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But now His
resurrection is the guarantee,
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the word that all the
other ones that died in Christ,
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they will have also
the hope of a resurrection.
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And you don't need
a stronger evidence
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for the resurrection
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than the
resurrection of Christ Himself.
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Of course, there are people
that deny the resurrection
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of Christ today.
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But if you deny
that Christ actually died
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and that He
raised from the dead,
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then there is no
hope left for us.
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But we have this
blessed assurance.
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And probably in your
mind you will have some hymns,
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some songs about
the resurrection,
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that He is risen again and
so on in triumph over death.
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And I think that if you
have a chance, you might be--
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I'm not saying that you should
go out and sing the song--
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but at least reflect
on some of the major songs
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of our Christian tradition
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that speak about
the resurrection,
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and that can bring
life and rejoice to you,
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not only about
yourself, but sometimes we stop
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and miss beloved ones
that are no longer with us,
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that hoped for
the second coming,
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but they are resting in Christ.
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This is a hope not
only for ourselves,
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but that we will be
together with those ones
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when Jesus comes,
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the trumpet sounds--using
the language of Paul--
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and all those come
from the grave. There can be
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no most glorious
hope like this one.
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>>So that
picture that Paul paints,
00:26:49.07\00:26:51.97
that Jesus gives us
the ability to experience,
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the opportunity to experience,
00:26:55.04\00:26:57.11
that's the greatest parade
that the world has ever seen,
00:26:57.11\00:27:01.48
that day when Christ comes back
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and brings the dead in Christ,
in Him, back to life again,
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and they begin that
incredible journey to heaven.
00:27:07.42\00:27:09.42
That's something that
Jesus desires you to experience.
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It's something He
desires me to experience.
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Every single one of us, He
wants us to experience that,
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and He makes it possible.
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So what remains is
for you and me to decide
00:27:19.20\00:27:22.27
whether or not we want to
be a part of that great parade.
00:27:22.27\00:27:25.41
And I hope
00:27:25.41\00:27:26.78
that you have decided
you want to be a part of it.
00:27:26.78\00:27:29.34
We are looking at "On Death,
Dying, and the Future Hope."
00:27:29.34\00:27:34.22
We're about halfway through,
exactly halfway through.
00:27:34.22\00:27:37.82
That means we've
got halfway to go,
00:27:37.82\00:27:39.72
and you don't wanna
miss a single lesson.
00:27:39.72\00:27:42.26
So we look forward
to seeing you next week
00:27:42.26\00:27:44.36
as we continue our journey
00:27:44.36\00:27:45.66
through this incredible subject
here on "Sabbath School,"
00:27:45.66\00:27:48.33
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:27:48.33\00:27:50.80
(uplifting theme music)
00:27:50.80\00:27:54.20
(music ends)
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