(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 again today
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as we continue our journey
through a fascinating subject
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and what we hope you're finding
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is an uplifting and
encouraging subject.
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We are looking at "Death,
Dying, and the Future Hope."
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If there was no future hope,
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death and dying
would be terrible,
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but at least with Jesus,
we have that future hope.
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This week we're
going to be looking at
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"The New Testament Hope."
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This is week number
8, lesson number 8 of 14.
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So we are
making our way through,
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but there's still a ways to go.
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We're glad that
once again, this week,
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we can welcome back our guest.
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He is the author of this
quarter's Sabbath school lesson,
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Dr. Alberto Timm.
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He's an associate director
of the Ellen G. White Estate.
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Alberto, welcome back.
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>>I am more than
delighted to be with you
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during this series.
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>>So it's been exciting.
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We've looked at
seven lessons so far.
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We're about to look at
"The New Testament Hope,"
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which, of course,
is an incredible hope.
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And we're gonna start
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by taking a look at a
couple of verses there,
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the memory verses
that we have for this week.
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They're found over in 1 John,
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1 John, chapter
5, verses 11 and 12;
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1 John 5, verse 11 says,
"And this is the testimony:
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"that God has
given us eternal life,
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"and this life is in His Son.
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"He who has the Son has
life; he who does not have
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the Son of God
does not have life."
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Well, the first question is,
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what life is this talking about?
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It says that some people
have it and some people don't.
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Let's see if we can clarify
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what life it is
that's being discussed here.
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>>I believe this passage
actually is self-evident,
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and the reason why I
started with verse 11
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instead of just verse
12, because verse 11 defines
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what kind of life
is being considered.
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You will see in
verse 11 very clearly
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that the
Apostle John is speaking
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about eternal life
for one simple reason.
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All of us here, our
generation, we are alive.
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If you would not be alive,
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you would not be able to
watch us in this program.
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So all of us, we
are alive. So, yeah,
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natural life or
the life that we enjoy,
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here is somebody that all
have, the saved and the wicked.
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But now, speaking
about eternal life,
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you know that John splits it,
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says that those
who are in Christ,
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they have everlasting life,
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and those who are not
in Christ do not have.
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If I would pick up
a passage of the Bible
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that would
summarize our whole series
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or the Bible teaching
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on the state of the
dead and human nature,
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and so I would stay
with this passage here
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because it summarizes
very nice the whole thing.
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And there is one more
point that we should consider.
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The passage does
not say that whoever
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is in Christ will end
up having eternal life.
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It says that a
person has already.
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So eternal life is not
something for the future.
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It's now.
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But then you can ask
me, "But people still die?"
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Yes, eternal
life is assured here,
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and immortality will be granted
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at the time of the resurrection,
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or if we are still
alive when Jesus comes,
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then we'll be changed.
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But this is the
glorious promise that we have.
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So this passage even rolls out
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the idea of a immortal soul,
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because then we
would have to say,
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well, does not have
the fullness of life,
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but they would have
some kind of eternal life.
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I'm referring to the wicked,
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but the passage is very
clear: does not have at all.
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>>So one group has life; the
other group does not have life.
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It's pretty straightforward,
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unless you really
want to try to twist words
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to put something
there that isn't.
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One group gets it;
the other group doesn't.
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But let me toss
this idea at you.
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Let's say,
hypothetically speaking,
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that all of this
that we're talking about,
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this hope in the
resurrection, this eternal life,
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that all of it is an
illusion, that it's not true,
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that there is no eternal life,
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that there is no resurrection,
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that there are
no perfected bodies,
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there's no going to
heaven, none of that.
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Let's say all
of that is a fable.
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What would that mean?
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>>Well, I like
very much a statement--
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I don't know exactly who was
the one that really made it--
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but says that let's suppose
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that all the biblical
hope is just a illusion.
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Even if that would be the case,
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it's worthwhile
living for that illusion,
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because it changes our
life. It improves our life.
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But, of course, and
let's suppose that it is
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not an illusion,
then I am really eluded,
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eluding myself. But you know
that there is some passages.
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For instance,
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Paul is very clear in 1
Corinthians, chapter 15.
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You remember what
it says over there?
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>>Yeah, in fact, I'll go
ahead and read it right now.
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>>Okay, please.
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>>In 1 Corinthians 15, verse 19,
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and I may include
verse 20 in here as well.
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Verse 19 says, "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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But then verse 20 says,
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"But now Christ is
risen from the dead,
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"and has become the firstfruits
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of those who
have fallen asleep."
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So he says, "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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>>Yeah, in this case, I
think that Paul is very clear.
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It is not an ambiguous
language that he's employing.
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And then you have also Peter.
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Peter had also some
very strong conviction
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about this matter as well.
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He said, well, we
received these things,
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not--what does
the text actually say?
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>>Sure, 2 Peter, chapter
1, verses 16 and 17, he says--
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and these are beautiful verses.
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>>[Alberto]
Yeah. >>[Eric] He says,
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"For we did not follow
cunningly devised fables
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"when we made known to
you the power and coming
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"of our Lord Jesus Christ,
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"but were
eyewitnesses of His majesty.
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"For He received from God
the Father honor and glory
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"when such a voice came to
Him from the Excellent Glory:
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'This is my beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased.'"
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>>Actually, this is a reference
to the transfiguration.
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You remember when Jesus
was on the mountain, and then
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appeared over
there Moses and Elijah,
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one representing those who
will be raised from the dead,
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and the other one
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the generation that will
be alive when Jesus comes.
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So Peter uses
this text as a example
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because that was
really a portrait,
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a type of the final gathering
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of all humanity when
Jesus would come in glory,
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and He received
already glory at that moment
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during the transfiguration,
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but it would be
a much broader...
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scenario, the final gathering
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of all those who will
be raised from the dead
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and those who will be
transformed and see Jesus alive.
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>>So a beautiful miniature
picture of Christ's second
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coming that He gives us on that
mount. I wanna come to another
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of what we might call a famous
passage, a popular passage,
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talking about this
hope that we have in Christ.
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It's over in
John 14, verses 1-3.
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In fact, many people have
probably memorized these verses.
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They're uplifting
enough to memorize.
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If you haven't, I'd
encourage you to do so.
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John 14, verses 1-3 says,
"Let not your heart be troubled;
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"you believe in
God, believe also in me.
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"In my Father's
house are many mansions;
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"if it were not so,
I would have told you.
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"I go to
prepare a place for you.
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"And if I go and
prepare a place for you,
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"I will come again
and receive you to myself;
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that where I am,
there you may be also."
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So Jesus says that He's
gone to prepare a place for us,
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and that He's coming back again
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to take us to the
place that He has prepared.
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Where did He go, and
what's this place like?
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>>Well, the New
Testament responds this question
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in a very nice way. He's in
the heavenly sanctuary temple
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ministering as a high priest.
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And this, if you have doubts,
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it's just a matter
of reading Hebrews,
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the epistle to the Hebrews,
and that it says very clearly.
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So in this promise
here that Jesus made
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is not a matter that
now the Messiah will appear
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and build the third
temple in Jerusalem,
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and then all
nations will be ruled
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by the Messiah from there.
No, it's a heavenly reality.
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It's not a human
reality. And Jesus is very clear
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that we'll be taken
to heaven, into heaven.
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>>So the next
question becomes, well, when?
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When is He going to come back,
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and when is He going
to take us to heaven?
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And the answer
that has regularly--
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and I think
appropriately--been given is,
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well, He's coming back soon.
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But where does
that idea come from?
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I think, to a
greater or lesser extent,
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it comes from the
book of Revelation.
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There are at least four
times in the book of Revelation
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where Jesus, in referring
to the timing of His return,
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He says, "I'm coming soon.
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I think we've
got Revelation 3:11,
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and then in Revelation
22 and verses 7, 12, and 20,
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He says, "I'm coming back soon,"
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"I'm coming soon," "I'm
coming soon," I'm coming soon,"
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so the question then
becomes, well, when is "soon"?
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>>Well, theologians
speak about a "yet and not yet"
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or "now and not yet."
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So in other words, you
have to live with the tension.
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There is the
eschatology of the world,
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or the humanity in general,
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and the other one is the
eschatology of my own life,
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because the Second Coming for me
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will not be farther away
than my last day of life here,
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when I die.
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It can be maybe some
years from now, can be tomorrow,
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can even be today. Because
of the uncertainty of life,
00:11:33.59\00:11:38.66
there is the element of always
now. The day of salvation,
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according to the book of
Hebrews, chapter 3 and four,
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is today, is not tomorrow.
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There is no room
for procrastination,
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so to say, in
terms of salvation.
00:11:52.24\00:11:55.08
And about the Second
Coming, it would be a illusion
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for me to believe
that the Second Coming
00:11:58.58\00:12:00.42
would be just a event over
there, because I have no time,
00:12:00.42\00:12:04.99
no other chance after I die.
00:12:04.99\00:12:08.66
This is my chance now,
and it can be very short,
00:12:08.66\00:12:11.89
and we should be
thankful as a generation,
00:12:11.89\00:12:16.77
because if Christ would
have come 100 years ago,
00:12:16.77\00:12:21.64
we would not be alive.
00:12:21.64\00:12:23.51
So the very same fact that
God expanded it a little bit,
00:12:23.51\00:12:27.68
delayed--if you want
to use this language--
00:12:27.68\00:12:30.15
the Second
Coming, gives us a chance.
00:12:30.15\00:12:32.78
But, of course, it
will not be delayed forever.
00:12:32.78\00:12:36.25
>>And that's a chance that
we should take advantage of.
00:12:36.25\00:12:38.65
We don't want to
lose that chance,
00:12:38.65\00:12:41.12
that chance of
being able to see Jesus
00:12:41.12\00:12:42.89
come in the clouds of heaven,
00:12:42.89\00:12:44.23
and if we should
close our eyes in death
00:12:44.23\00:12:46.70
between now and the
time when He comes back,
00:12:46.70\00:12:49.36
the intervening time
00:12:49.36\00:12:50.90
between the time we die
and when Jesus comes back
00:12:50.90\00:12:52.87
will be like a moment,
"the twinkling of an eye,"
00:12:52.87\00:12:55.34
it will pass
without our knowledge,
00:12:55.34\00:12:56.97
and the next waking
moment that we have,
00:12:56.97\00:12:59.44
the next thought that we have,
00:12:59.44\00:13:00.81
is seeing Jesus come
in the clouds of heaven.
00:13:00.81\00:13:03.48
If you're enjoying this
study, I want to encourage you:
00:13:03.48\00:13:05.55
Please do pick up
the companion book
00:13:05.55\00:13:07.85
to this quarter's
Sabbath school lesson.
00:13:07.85\00:13:09.82
It's called "On Death,
Dying, and the Future Hope"
00:13:09.82\00:13:12.35
by Dr. Alberto Timm.
00:13:12.35\00:13:13.96
You can pick that
up at itiswritten.shop,
00:13:13.96\00:13:17.13
itiswritten.shop.
00:13:17.13\00:13:18.56
It goes into greater
detail, greater depth,
00:13:18.56\00:13:20.60
and answers a lot of
questions about this subject.
00:13:20.60\00:13:23.47
You'll wanna make
sure that you pick that up.
00:13:23.47\00:13:25.40
We're gonna be back in
just a couple of minutes
00:13:25.40\00:13:26.97
as we continue our study
of "The New Testament Hope."
00:13:26.97\00:13:30.71
(uplifting theme
music swells and ends)
00:13:30.71\00:13:33.61
>>[John Bradshaw]
The Trail of Tears--
00:13:35.84\00:13:38.45
entire people
groups forcibly removed
00:13:38.45\00:13:41.32
from their ancestral
homelands and marched
00:13:41.32\00:13:44.82
hundreds and hundreds
of miles to a new land.
00:13:44.82\00:13:49.72
Thousands of people
uprooted and relocated,
00:13:49.72\00:13:53.80
thousands of people dead:
00:13:53.80\00:13:57.03
the Trail of Tears.
00:13:57.03\00:13:59.10
The land that would
become the United States
00:13:59.10\00:14:01.54
was already home to
millions of Native peoples
00:14:01.54\00:14:04.27
when Europeans arrived,
real people with real lives
00:14:04.27\00:14:09.34
who over the
next several centuries
00:14:10.48\00:14:11.28
would endure real suffering.
00:14:11.28\00:14:14.18
Join me for
"The Trail of Tears."
00:14:14.18\00:14:17.09
We'll visit the places
where the Trail of Tears began,
00:14:17.09\00:14:20.46
and we'll look forward to a day
00:14:20.46\00:14:22.12
when God will wipe
away all of our tears.
00:14:22.12\00:14:26.23
"The Trail of Tears,"
00:14:26.23\00:14:28.30
brought to you
by It Is Written TV.
00:14:28.30\00:14:31.30
(uplifting theme music)
00:14:36.04\00:14:39.04
>>[Eric] Welcome
back to "Sabbath School,"
00:14:40.24\00:14:41.88
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:14:41.88\00:14:43.71
We're looking at "The New
Testament Hope" this week,
00:14:43.71\00:14:46.95
and we're gonna look at
a few more passages here
00:14:46.95\00:14:49.25
before we're done.
00:14:49.25\00:14:50.62
And I wanna kinda build
off what we just talked about.
00:14:50.62\00:14:53.02
Jesus made a promise
that He was coming back,
00:14:53.02\00:14:56.02
that He was going to bring
His children with Him to heaven,
00:14:56.02\00:15:00.30
to paradise, if you will. And
now we're gonna take a look at
00:15:00.30\00:15:04.50
some more of that promise,
00:15:04.50\00:15:05.90
a fulfillment, if you will.
Let's take a look at John 5,
00:15:05.90\00:15:09.50
John, chapter 5,
verses 28 and 29.
00:15:09.50\00:15:13.04
In John 5, verse
28, Jesus says this.
00:15:14.31\00:15:16.71
He says, "Do not marvel at this;
00:15:16.71\00:15:19.11
"for the hour is coming in
which all who are in the graves
00:15:19.11\00:15:22.52
will hear His
voice and come forth--
00:15:22.52\00:15:25.12
"those who have done good,
to the resurrection of life,
00:15:25.12\00:15:28.86
"and those who have done evil,
00:15:28.86\00:15:31.13
to the
resurrection of condemnation"--
00:15:31.13\00:15:33.56
or the King James
says, "of damnation."
00:15:33.56\00:15:36.20
I wanna couple that
together with something else
00:15:36.20\00:15:38.23
that Jesus said in
the very next chapter,
00:15:38.23\00:15:40.47
in John 6, verse number 39.
00:15:40.47\00:15:44.51
In verse 39, He says,
00:15:44.51\00:15:46.34
"This is the will of
the Father who sent me,
00:15:46.34\00:15:49.24
"that of all He has
given me I should lose nothing,
00:15:49.24\00:15:53.11
but should raise it
up at the last day."
00:15:53.11\00:15:57.09
So, Alberto, walk us through
these statements of Jesus,
00:15:57.09\00:16:00.46
and, of course,
this is Jesus speaking,
00:16:00.46\00:16:02.59
so we've got a
pretty good indicator
00:16:02.59\00:16:03.93
that He knows what
He's talking about.
00:16:03.93\00:16:05.99
>>Let's just review a
little bit the concept
00:16:07.40\00:16:11.60
of the Old Testament.
00:16:11.60\00:16:13.34
There was a individual hope,
00:16:13.34\00:16:16.54
a collective one in Isaiah,
00:16:17.34\00:16:20.44
and in Daniel, chapter 12,
00:16:20.44\00:16:24.11
then you have the idea
of the double resurrection,
00:16:24.11\00:16:27.92
or the resurrection of the
righteousness and of the wicked.
00:16:27.92\00:16:32.02
And this very same concept
is confirmed by Jesus here,
00:16:32.02\00:16:37.09
that some will be really raised
00:16:37.89\00:16:40.10
to receive the heavenly reward,
00:16:40.10\00:16:42.76
those who are faithful to
Him, His beloved children,
00:16:42.76\00:16:47.04
and His enemies, or
those who did not follow Jesus
00:16:47.04\00:16:51.11
for the everlasting punishment.
00:16:51.11\00:16:54.98
So in this case,
Jesus Himself confirms this,
00:16:54.98\00:16:58.98
so it's not just a opinion,
00:16:58.98\00:17:01.72
something, well, the
point of view of somebody,
00:17:01.72\00:17:05.09
but nobody else would be better
than to explain this to us
00:17:05.09\00:17:09.16
than Jesus Himself
in what He says here.
00:17:09.16\00:17:12.46
>>So Jesus makes it pretty plain
00:17:13.26\00:17:15.06
that there is a resurrection,
00:17:15.06\00:17:17.37
that it's something
that we can look forward to,
00:17:17.37\00:17:19.03
that the righteous, both
the righteous and the wicked
00:17:19.03\00:17:21.30
are going to
experience that resurrection,
00:17:21.30\00:17:23.57
but for the righteous,
I think, the end result
00:17:23.57\00:17:26.21
is a whole lot better
than for the wicked, yes?
00:17:26.21\00:17:28.08
>>(chuckles) Oh
yes, definitely so.
00:17:28.08\00:17:30.28
It's the opposite, and it will,
00:17:30.28\00:17:32.71
that will be really the final,
the climax of human history.
00:17:32.71\00:17:37.79
But it's interesting.
Remember that the same John
00:17:39.09\00:17:42.06
who recorded these
words of Jesus here
00:17:42.06\00:17:46.13
also explained it
further, this very same concept,
00:17:46.13\00:17:50.90
in Revelation, chapter 20,
00:17:50.90\00:17:53.27
where he speaks that
these two resurrections,
00:17:53.27\00:17:57.21
of the righteous
and of the wicked,
00:17:57.21\00:18:00.28
will be
separated by 1,000 years.
00:18:00.28\00:18:03.68
So you have that kind of
even clearer picture of it.
00:18:03.68\00:18:08.75
>>A beautiful
picture of the millennium,
00:18:09.82\00:18:11.52
and incidentally,
00:18:11.52\00:18:12.79
if you're interested in
studying end-time Bible prophecy
00:18:12.79\00:18:17.19
or something along those lines,
00:18:17.19\00:18:19.33
you can do that online or by
going to the It Is Written shop
00:18:19.33\00:18:23.13
and finding some
Bible study guides on that,
00:18:23.13\00:18:25.43
where we talk about
the second coming of Christ
00:18:25.43\00:18:28.77
and heaven and
hell and the millennium
00:18:28.77\00:18:32.01
and the rapture and so forth,
00:18:32.01\00:18:34.24
so you can pick that up
at itiswritten.shop as well,
00:18:34.24\00:18:37.11
or you can watch more programs
00:18:37.11\00:18:40.15
where you're watching
this program right now.
00:18:40.15\00:18:43.32
Alberto, I want to go to a...
00:18:43.32\00:18:46.79
a passage in the
writings of Paul,
00:18:46.79\00:18:50.26
and it's found in 1
Corinthians, chapter 15.
00:18:51.33\00:18:55.20
This chapter is
a powerful chapter
00:18:55.20\00:18:58.47
talking about about hope,
00:18:58.47\00:19:02.64
I think, about
encouraging things,
00:19:02.64\00:19:05.37
but also there are some
words of caution in here,
00:19:05.37\00:19:09.54
and I wanna take a
look at 1 Corinthians 15.
00:19:09.54\00:19:11.61
We'll start in verse number 51.
00:19:11.61\00:19:14.58
I'm gonna read down through
55 just to get context here,
00:19:14.58\00:19:19.12
but we're gonna come back
and focus on verse number 51.
00:19:19.12\00:19:22.89
In 1 Corinthians
15:51, here's what Paul says.
00:19:22.89\00:19:26.13
He says, "Behold, I
[show] you a mystery:
00:19:27.23\00:19:29.93
"We shall not all sleep,
but we shall all be changed--
00:19:29.93\00:19:34.17
"in a moment, in
the twinkling of an eye,
00:19:34.17\00:19:36.47
"at the last trumpet.
For the trumpet will sound,
00:19:36.47\00:19:39.74
"and the dead will
be raised incorruptible,
00:19:39.74\00:19:42.18
and we shall be changed."
00:19:42.18\00:19:43.75
Now, Paul here is
echoing what he's also written
00:19:43.75\00:19:46.45
over in 1 Thessalonians,
chapter 4, verses 15-17.
00:19:46.45\00:19:51.02
But he says here that
we are going to be changed
00:19:51.02\00:19:52.92
at the sound of the trumpet.
00:19:52.92\00:19:54.26
"For this corruptible
must put on incorruption,
00:19:54.26\00:19:57.23
"and this mortal
must put on immortality.
00:19:57.23\00:20:00.33
"So when this corruptible
has put on incorruption,
00:20:00.33\00:20:03.16
"and this mortal
has put on immortality,
00:20:03.16\00:20:06.03
"then shall be brought to
pass the saying that is written:
00:20:06.03\00:20:09.10
"'Death is
swallowed up in victory.'
00:20:09.10\00:20:11.47
"'O death, where is your sting?
00:20:11.47\00:20:13.48
O Hades, where
is your victory?'"
00:20:13.48\00:20:16.81
So Paul is talking
about the corruptible
00:20:16.81\00:20:19.68
putting on incorruption, the
mortal putting on immortality
00:20:19.68\00:20:24.32
at a future time.
00:20:24.32\00:20:26.79
And in verse number 51, he
says, "I tell you a mystery."
00:20:26.79\00:20:31.33
What's this mystery
that he's talking about?
00:20:31.33\00:20:33.80
And what about this future time
00:20:33.80\00:20:35.70
when mortal puts on immortality?
00:20:35.70\00:20:37.57
Again, I think we've pulled
a lot of the pieces together
00:20:37.57\00:20:40.44
from other parts of the Bible,
00:20:40.44\00:20:42.27
but here we see Paul in complete
agreement with it again.
00:20:42.27\00:20:45.77
>>Well, actually I
consider 1 Corinthians 15
00:20:45.77\00:20:49.88
probably the most
powerful argument,
00:20:49.88\00:20:52.88
the broadest one in
favor of resurrection.
00:20:54.08\00:20:57.72
From the very
beginning, from the very start,
00:20:57.72\00:21:00.96
Paul speaks about evidences
00:21:00.96\00:21:03.09
that Christ was
raised from the dead.
00:21:03.09\00:21:06.03
There were several eyewitnesses.
00:21:06.03\00:21:09.13
He speaks even of 500
in one time and so on,
00:21:09.13\00:21:13.57
and then that argument he
builds in regard to our own,
00:21:13.57\00:21:18.21
or the resurrection of
those who died in Christ.
00:21:18.21\00:21:22.04
And there he
speaks about a mystery.
00:21:22.04\00:21:25.01
Let me just say
what some people believe.
00:21:26.15\00:21:28.65
Some people say
that this mystery
00:21:28.65\00:21:31.32
would be a secret
rapture of the church
00:21:31.32\00:21:35.82
going into
the...clouds of heaven--
00:21:35.82\00:21:39.83
I don't know exactly where--they
would be there, the church.
00:21:39.83\00:21:43.97
And then after seven years,
then Christ would come again
00:21:43.97\00:21:48.94
and then to reign
as a king in Jerusalem,
00:21:50.17\00:21:53.78
the earthly Jerusalem.
00:21:53.78\00:21:55.31
But I don't see noting
of this in this chapter.
00:21:55.31\00:21:59.25
Unless you want to read
a foreign thought into it,
00:21:59.25\00:22:03.75
you will not see any
kind of evidence of it here.
00:22:03.75\00:22:07.59
The mystery here is
explained by the text itself,
00:22:07.59\00:22:11.99
is that the dead will be raised,
00:22:11.99\00:22:15.13
and the living
ones, when Christ comes,
00:22:16.23\00:22:18.90
the dead will be raised,
00:22:18.90\00:22:20.04
and the living ones
will be transformed,
00:22:20.04\00:22:23.30
so that both groups will
be with Christ in heaven.
00:22:23.30\00:22:26.84
And, of course, the resurrection
itself is a mystery.
00:22:26.84\00:22:29.84
How does it come that a
body that does no longer exist,
00:22:29.84\00:22:34.15
was absolutely destroyed
could come to life again?
00:22:34.15\00:22:39.22
Of course it's not the same
ashes that now God will use.
00:22:40.62\00:22:43.49
We don't know
exactly how it will be,
00:22:43.49\00:22:45.29
but we know that God will
raise us with the same identity
00:22:45.29\00:22:50.33
because we will know
people as they are, and also
00:22:51.73\00:22:54.27
with the difference that
the body will be a glorious one
00:22:54.27\00:22:57.07
transformed by God's creative
00:22:57.07\00:23:01.81
and life-sustaining power.
00:23:01.81\00:23:06.51
And the living ones will be
transformed. That's the mystery.
00:23:06.51\00:23:11.59
There is no secret
rapture in this one here.
00:23:12.85\00:23:14.42
>>No, but the righteous
are going to be transformed,
00:23:14.42\00:23:17.29
and that's gonna be an
incredible, an incredible day.
00:23:17.29\00:23:20.93
You know, Alberto,
00:23:20.93\00:23:22.03
you made mention just
a few minutes about this,
00:23:22.03\00:23:25.10
about Revelation, chapter 20.
00:23:25.10\00:23:26.84
I wonder if we could
go there for just a moment
00:23:26.84\00:23:28.74
and pull a few pieces together
00:23:28.74\00:23:31.14
in the time that
we have remaining.
00:23:31.14\00:23:32.47
In Revelation,
chapter 20, verse number four,
00:23:32.47\00:23:36.04
John makes reference to
this thousand-year period,
00:23:37.41\00:23:41.85
and for those
who are resurrected,
00:23:41.85\00:23:44.69
in Revelation, chapter
20, verse number 4, he says,
00:23:44.69\00:23:48.32
"I saw thrones,
and they sat on them,
00:23:48.32\00:23:50.73
"and judgment was
committed to them.
00:23:50.73\00:23:52.66
"Then I saw the souls of
those who had been beheaded
00:23:52.66\00:23:55.16
"for their witness to
Jesus and for the word of God,
00:23:55.16\00:23:57.77
"who had not worshiped
the beast or his image,
00:23:57.77\00:24:00.07
"and had not received
his mark on their foreheads
00:24:00.07\00:24:02.60
"or on their hands. And they
lived and reigned with Christ
00:24:02.60\00:24:06.44
for a thousand years."
That word "lived" there--
00:24:06.44\00:24:08.88
correct me if I'm wrong,
but that word "lived" means
00:24:08.88\00:24:10.85
"came to life" or "were
resurrected." Is that correct?
00:24:10.85\00:24:13.38
>>Absolutely.
00:24:13.38\00:24:15.05
>>So you've got this
picture of them coming to life,;
00:24:15.05\00:24:17.45
that's the righteous.
00:24:17.45\00:24:18.82
They live and they reign with
Christ for a thousand years.
00:24:18.82\00:24:21.32
They reign with Him in heaven.
00:24:21.32\00:24:22.69
That's what he said in John 14.
00:24:22.69\00:24:25.03
And then it says in verse 5,
00:24:25.03\00:24:26.39
"But the rest of the
dead did not live again
00:24:26.39\00:24:30.20
until the thousand
years were finished."
00:24:30.20\00:24:33.50
So there's one
group, the righteous,
00:24:33.50\00:24:35.70
who were resurrected at the
beginning of the thousand years.
00:24:35.70\00:24:38.01
They reign with
Christ for a thousand years.
00:24:38.01\00:24:40.11
They're
involved in the judgment,
00:24:40.11\00:24:41.91
but then the rest of the dead--
00:24:41.91\00:24:43.48
that would have
to be the wicked--
00:24:43.48\00:24:46.45
didn't live until the
thousand years were finished.
00:24:46.45\00:24:48.82
Then, it's interesting--
the last part of verse number 5
00:24:48.82\00:24:50.92
actually belongs with verse 6,
00:24:50.92\00:24:52.42
and a number of
versions of the Bible
00:24:52.42\00:24:54.16
have connected it as such.
00:24:54.16\00:24:56.86
It says, "This is
the first resurrection.
00:24:56.86\00:24:59.79
"Blessed and holy is he
00:24:59.79\00:25:01.20
"who has part in
the first resurrection.
00:25:01.20\00:25:03.60
"Over such the
second death has no power,
00:25:03.60\00:25:06.17
"but they shall be
priests of God and of Christ,
00:25:06.17\00:25:08.60
and shall reign with
Him a thousand years."
00:25:08.60\00:25:10.61
You wanna expound on
that just a little bit more?
00:25:10.61\00:25:12.97
what are the
righteous going to be doing
00:25:12.97\00:25:15.48
when they're resurrected,
00:25:15.48\00:25:16.61
when they're
brought back to life again?
00:25:16.61\00:25:19.01
>>Well, this is a topic that
we'll be addressing later on,
00:25:19.01\00:25:22.42
the matter of the judgments,
00:25:22.42\00:25:24.85
and I understand that
this is lesson number 13,
00:25:26.19\00:25:30.73
the judgements just
prior to the new heaven.
00:25:31.79\00:25:34.30
But I think that here we
have a chronological sequence
00:25:34.30\00:25:37.10
in the book of Revelation.
You have first allusion
00:25:37.10\00:25:41.77
to the first
resurrection, the millennium,
00:25:41.77\00:25:45.71
then you have the
other resurrection,
00:25:45.71\00:25:48.68
and then you have the nice
portrait of the New Jerusalem
00:25:48.68\00:25:52.61
coming down from
heaven. So in other words,
00:25:52.61\00:25:56.42
I think that the
crucial understanding here
00:25:56.42\00:26:00.09
is where the
millennium will take place.
00:26:00.09\00:26:03.46
I think that if we
bring the pieces together
00:26:03.46\00:26:08.03
of the puzzle, I think
that we have plenty of evidences
00:26:08.03\00:26:12.67
from the passage that you read,
00:26:12.67\00:26:14.60
that is, John 14:1-3,
00:26:14.60\00:26:19.17
that Jesus promised His
disciples, His followers,
00:26:19.17\00:26:23.91
that He would
take them to heaven,
00:26:23.91\00:26:26.41
and at the same time later on,
00:26:26.41\00:26:28.32
you have the New
Jerusalem coming here.
00:26:28.32\00:26:30.79
So that's the time
when they will be in heaven
00:26:30.79\00:26:34.22
participating of the
judgment for one reason.
00:26:34.22\00:26:37.73
God does not need the judgment,
00:26:37.73\00:26:40.16
but He really accommodates
Himself, as we used to say,
00:26:40.16\00:26:44.73
to a judgment so that
everything can be clear,
00:26:44.73\00:26:48.80
and so in the minds of the
saints there would be no doubt
00:26:48.80\00:26:53.04
about why somebody
would receive this reward,
00:26:53.04\00:26:56.91
and the other
one will be punished.
00:26:56.91\00:26:58.81
Can imagine somebody
having a beloved one being lost.
00:26:58.81\00:27:03.15
That would be
something disastrous.
00:27:03.15\00:27:05.05
But God really--it comes to
a point where the Bible says
00:27:05.05\00:27:08.66
that God will
wipe away all the tears
00:27:08.66\00:27:13.29
of those that will be with Him.
00:27:13.29\00:27:16.23
>>So that's just a little
teaser for what is to come
00:27:16.23\00:27:19.77
in lesson number
13 on the judgment.
00:27:19.77\00:27:22.44
But if you'd like to
get ahead of the curve,
00:27:22.44\00:27:24.67
you can go to itiswritten.study,
and you can study
00:27:24.67\00:27:28.71
lessons on the
judgment, on the millennium,
00:27:28.71\00:27:31.11
and on a lot of other
subjects along those lines.
00:27:31.11\00:27:33.82
That's itiswritten.study.
00:27:33.82\00:27:37.95
We're gonna come back again
next week for lesson number 9
00:27:37.95\00:27:41.02
as we continue our
journey through the subject
00:27:41.02\00:27:43.49
of "Death, Dying,
and the Future Hope,"
00:27:43.49\00:27:46.80
and we are looking forward
to seeing you again next time.
00:27:46.80\00:27:50.67
God bless you, and
we will see you then.
00:27:50.67\00:27:53.47
(uplifting theme music)
00:27:53.47\00:27:56.87
(music ends)
00:28:25.87\00:28:27.94