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Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS022135S
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00:13 >>Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:14 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:16 We're delighted to have you back again 00:19 for week number five of our journey. 00:22 We are looking at the subject of "Death, Dying, 00:25 and the Future Hope." 00:26 And with us again today, we have the author 00:29 of the Sabbath school study, and that is Dr. Alberto Timm. 00:32 He is an associate director of the Ellen G. White Estate. 00:35 Alberto, welcome back once again. 00:38 >>Well, it's my pleasure to join you. 00:41 >>So we're already on a journey; we're making our way 00:43 through this quarter looking at a very significant subject. 00:47 And the last study that we did, last week's lesson 00:51 dealt with the hope that there is, 00:52 or was, in the Old Testament 00:54 really being found in the body's resurrection. 00:57 Why did they place their hope in that? 00:59 And is that still where we should be placing our hope? 01:04 >>Definitely. That's a... 01:07 ongoing process. 01:11 Let me just illustrate it. 01:14 The second time that I went to Machu Picchu-- 01:17 and this was with my wife, now-- 01:20 we went up there after the bus took us to the right place 01:24 and then we had to walk up to the hill. 01:28 And it was a very foggy day. 01:31 And then I asked the tour guy 01:35 about the weather, 01:37 and I told him, "I think it's worthless to be here." 01:42 And he said, "No, definitely not. 01:44 Soon you will see it clear"-- 01:47 I mean, the weather would clear up-- 01:49 "and you will see the majesty of the place." 01:52 So, probably he was trying to convince us 01:56 that that was what happened. 01:59 And sure enough, we were there, 02:02 and soon it opened like a theater, the curtain opened, 02:06 and the gorgeous majestic scene was there. 02:10 And I think the same thing you have 02:11 with the hope of the resurrection. 02:14 You start early here, one statement in the Old Testament, 02:19 another quotation there, and so on. 02:22 But finally you have not only theory, 02:26 you have actual examples 02:29 of resurrections in both the Old Testament 02:33 and several in the New Testament. 02:37 >>So, this concept of the resurrection, 02:40 a very significant one, a very powerful one, 02:44 and as we're looking here, this particular week 02:47 is called "Resurrections Before the Cross." 02:49 Why is it that people have a hard time 02:54 accepting this teaching, accepting this truth of the Bible? 02:57 What is it that's--what's the blockage? 03:00 What's the hurdle that causes many people 03:04 to stumble with this? 03:07 >>Basically, that is a matter of presuppositions, 03:11 the way how I read the Bible. 03:13 If I bring into the Bible my own presuppositions-- 03:17 they can be from philosophy 03:20 or can be from some other kind of cultural element 03:23 or even tradition--I will have difficulties 03:26 to understand the Bible. 03:28 Or in other words, I read the Bible 03:30 through my own glasses of presuppositions. 03:34 And I would like to mention just a few of them. 03:37 For instance, for a skeptical mind 03:40 that does not accept a supernatural element of Scripture, 03:45 there is no way to accept such a matter of resurrection. 03:49 For those who believe in natural immortality of the soul, 03:54 why should the soul that is already in paradise 03:57 rejoicing with the angels and God 04:00 to be reincarnated here to raise from the grave, 04:04 if they are already in paradise? 04:07 And another one definitely is also the matter 04:11 of near-death experiences. 04:15 In this case, if they "prove" 04:19 that when somebody dies, 04:21 does not die but go to a higher level, higher stage of life, 04:26 then a resurrection of coming back to this world 04:30 and be raised again does not make any sense. 04:33 So, these are just a few examples. 04:35 You could add any, some other ones, 04:38 but are always presuppositions read into the Bible 04:42 without allowing the Bible to speak for itself. 04:46 >>And that same approach can cause us problems 04:48 not just in this subject 04:50 but in really any subject that the Bible covers. 04:53 If we come into it with our own presuppositions 04:55 rather than letting Scripture speak to us-- 04:58 or maybe I should say God to speak to us 05:01 through the Scripture--then we can often end up 05:04 with the wrong--at the wrong destination, 05:07 I guess that's one way to put it. 05:09 So, in the Old Testament there are some people who died 05:14 and rose again. 05:15 There are also some people who sort of skipped a step. 05:20 They went straight from living in this sin-cursed world 05:25 to being--the word that we sometimes use is "translated"-- 05:29 they went straight to eternal life. 05:32 Share a little bit about those situations. 05:36 >>Well, let's start from the last one example 05:39 that you mentioned is those who were translated 05:42 without facing death. 05:44 We have evidence that Enoch walked so close to God, 05:48 that He decided to take him, and he was taken into heaven. 05:53 And some people might doubt about this. 05:56 Was that the case because he was taken over there? 06:00 Of course you have Hebrews 11:5 that says 06:05 that "Enoch was taken away 06:10 so that he did not see death." 06:13 So the New Testament even confirms the fact 06:16 that Enoch really did not die, 06:19 but he was taken directly to heaven. And another example 06:22 is also you have the case of Elijah. 06:27 And Elijah also, you remember the... 06:32 the incident with the chariot there of fire, 06:36 that he was taken into heaven. 06:38 And we have evidence also of he appearing 06:41 in the transfiguration of Christ. 06:45 You remember in the mountain together with Moses there, 06:49 so we have evidence that those two individuals 06:52 did not face death, but they are exceptions. 06:56 We would not consider anybody else, 07:00 at least from the biblical perspective, 07:02 that have this kind of experience. 07:07 >>So those are just a couple from Old Testament times 07:10 who were translated, who never saw death. 07:12 But there are some who lived in Old Testament times 07:15 who did die, did experience death, 07:19 and then were resurrected. 07:21 Share a few of those stories with us. 07:24 >>Well, the first example is definitely Moses. 07:29 Moses... 07:31 It gives the impression that he would go 07:35 into the promised land, 07:37 but he had a pitfall, 07:40 and in a place where he should just speak to the rock, 07:47 he really spanked the rock or whatever you want to say. 07:50 And that was not God's plan. 07:52 And so he paid the price for it. 07:54 But God had a better plan for Moses. 07:57 And the Bible pass-- 07:59 especially the end of the book of Deuteronomy, 08:02 says that he was really-- 08:06 he died, and God Himself buried him. 08:11 And later on, according to the book of Jude 08:16 the small book in the New Testament, there was a dispute 08:20 when God decided to raise him up and take to heaven. 08:24 And we have evidences that that was actually the case, 08:27 that he was taken to heaven 08:29 when he also appeared in the mountain of transfiguration 08:33 with Elijah there and spoke with Jesus. 08:37 And you remember the reaction of Peter, 08:41 even was, "Why don't we build, make a few tents here 08:44 for them to remain with us?" 08:47 But that was actually something very special. 08:51 I would like just to call your attention to something 08:55 a little bit out of the conventional one. 09:01 Those who believe in the natural immortality of the soul 09:05 have difficulties explaining how the body 09:09 is being buried over there 09:13 and the spirit goes to God. So in this line, 09:17 two Greek church fathers, 09:21 and one is Origen, 09:24 and the other one Clement of Alexandria, 09:27 and those were from the school of Alexandria. 09:31 They're mystical. 09:32 They said there were actually two Moses there, 09:37 one, the body was buried, dead, 09:42 and the other one ascended to heaven. 09:46 But this is not what the Bible says. 09:49 You see how presuppositions really count? 09:52 Actually, what really the Bible says 09:56 is that he was buried 09:59 and then later on raised. 10:01 And he was the type of other people 10:05 that would have the same experience. 10:07 And this is definitely also the hope 10:09 of Christians in general. 10:13 >>So there is most definitely hope 10:15 from some of the stories in the Old Testament. 10:17 On Monday, you talked about two Old Testament cases 10:21 of people who were resurrected. 10:25 Pull those apart a little bit. 10:26 What are some of the similarities between these cases 10:28 and some of the differences between them? 10:31 >>It's interesting that Elijah, 10:33 one of those who did not face death 10:35 when he was really on this earth 10:40 during his prophetic ministry, 10:44 he visited a widow, 10:49 and definitely in this case, 10:53 the son of the the widow died. 10:58 And he performed, through God's power-- 11:01 definitely he did not have power-- 11:03 he raised from the dead that boy. 11:08 But then later on you have another incident. 11:12 And that happened with Elijah. 11:16 You remember that he asked 11:17 for a double portion of the Spirit, 11:20 and he had a similar experience also. 11:23 And in that case, 11:27 in that case also a resurrection took place. 11:30 In two cases, 11:32 there were mothers grieving. 11:36 One was even not from Israel, 11:41 was a foreigner. So God does not discriminate. 11:44 And the other one was, 11:46 but in both cases, God really used the prophet 11:51 as an instrument to raise them from the dead. 11:54 And of course, the question that you might ask: 11:57 Why these two if there were so many other ones 12:01 that could be raised as well? 12:04 >>And it's entirely possible 12:05 that there were others who were raised. 12:07 Maybe we don't have reference to them 12:10 in the pages of Scripture. 12:14 We have certain examples that we do see; 12:16 others that we don't. 12:18 And we are gonna be coming back and taking a look 12:20 at several other examples of this and some things 12:23 in the New Testament as well. 12:25 So why is this so important? 12:27 Well, as you've been learning week by week, 12:30 there are some significant misconceptions 12:32 about this subject, the subject of death, 12:35 the subject of a resurrection, 12:38 when it takes place, where people go when they die, 12:41 a lot of misconceptions. 12:43 And those misconceptions can lead us to make decisions 12:48 in our life that aren't always the best. 12:51 So we're spending some time this quarter looking at 12:54 the subject of "Death, Dying, and the Future Hope." 12:57 And if you would like to get even more out of the lesson, 13:00 you already have the Sabbath School Bible Study Guide, 13:03 you're listening to the author, Dr. Alberto Timm, 13:06 share some thoughts, additional thoughts on this 13:09 during our "Sabbath School" program, 13:11 but I wanna encourage you to pick up 13:13 the companion book to the lesson, 13:16 and that is "On Death, Dying, and the Future Hope." 13:19 Of course, the author is Dr. Alberto Timm, 13:22 our guest on our "Sabbath School" program. 13:24 You can pick this book up at itiswritten.shop, 13:29 itiswritten.shop. 13:30 It is the companion book to the Sabbath school guide, 13:33 called, again, "On Death, Dying, and the Future Hope." 13:37 Pick up a copy, and you will get 13:38 even more out of this subject, 13:40 and you'll be able to share it more effectively with others 13:44 who you may know, 13:45 who are a little bit misguided on this subject, 13:49 so that they can have hope and encouragement as well. 13:51 We're going to be back in just a couple of minutes 13:54 as we continue our study 13:55 on looking at resurrections in the Old Testament. 13:58 We'll be right back. 13:59 (theme music swells and ends) 14:03 >>[John Bradshaw] You know that at It Is Written 14:04 we are serious about studying the Word of God, 14:07 and we encourage you to be serious as well. 14:10 Well, here's what you do 14:11 if you want to dig deeper into God's Word: 14:13 Go to itiswritten.study 14:15 for the It Is Written Bible Study Guides online, 14:18 25 in-depth Bible studies that will take you 14:20 through the major teachings of the Bible. 14:23 You'll be blessed, 14:24 and it's something you'll want to tell others about as well: 14:26 itiswritten.study. 14:28 Go further: itiswritten.study. 14:33 Thank you for remembering that It Is Written exists 14:36 because of the kindness of people just like you. 14:39 To support this international life-changing ministry, 14:42 please call us now at 800-253-3000. 14:46 You can send your tax-deductible gift 14:48 to the address on your screen, 14:49 or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com. 14:53 Thank you for your prayers and for your financial support. 14:56 Our number again is 800-253-3000. 15:00 Or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com. 15:04 (upbeat theme music) 15:08 >>[Eric] Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 15:10 brought to you by It Is Written. 15:12 We're continuing our study of lesson number five 15:15 in the quarterly looking at "Death, Dying, 15:18 and the Future Hope." 15:20 Resurrections in the Old Testament-- 15:22 Alberto, we've looked at a couple of them already, 15:25 and we've talked about some people who were translated, 15:28 but on Tuesday's lesson and on Wednesday's lesson, 15:31 we look at the son of the widow of Nain, 15:34 and we look at Jairus' daughter. 15:37 So what is the significance of these individuals, 15:41 the way they were resurrected, 15:42 why their resurrection is important to us today? 15:46 >>Well, the first case that you mentioned, Eric, 15:49 the one, the widow of Nain, 15:51 that was something completely surprising 15:54 because Jesus arrived at that place, 15:58 there was a funeral service 16:01 at that time going on, 16:04 and people were definitely very down 16:08 because of that situation. The son had died. 16:11 And Jesus just approached the place where the corpse was 16:16 and really raised him from the dead. 16:20 In other words, he came to life again. 16:24 And people were amazed. 16:27 How does it come that somebody approached here 16:31 and raised from the dead somebody that not even asked? 16:35 And the second case is the death of Jairus. 16:40 And Jairus--really, his young daughter, 16:44 12 years of age, was sick, 16:47 and then he went to Jesus, 16:49 and he believed that Jesus could heal her. 16:52 Definitely He has done in many other cases, 16:55 has helped other people. And there are evidences, 16:59 I believe, that happened in Capernaum. 17:01 Only--if you go over there, Capernaum only 17:03 will be the city where Jesus really had, so to say, 17:07 the "headquarters" of his ministry in Galilee. 17:13 And then he asked. 17:14 But then came the news that she already died. 17:19 And when Jesus came to the house, 17:23 they said, "Well, there is nothing to be done 17:26 because she already died." 17:29 And in this case, the people over there 17:36 were even wondering what would take place. 17:38 And Jesus used the expression, very meaningful, 17:43 when He said, "Well, she's just sleeping." 17:49 And then they said, "No, she is dead." 17:53 And then He raised her up; 17:58 she came to life again. 18:01 But then people went to the other direction. 18:04 Well, Jesus just wakened 18:08 this little girl up from the dead. 18:13 But those were people really that were doubting 18:16 a little bit, but they saw the miracle taking place. 18:21 >>So two very interesting experiences 18:24 that Jesus had in raising people, but really, 18:26 none compares with the story of Lazarus. 18:31 And in John, chapter 11, we get a very clear picture 18:35 of what happened in this resurrection. 18:38 And this is one that, it has been considered 18:41 one of the most powerful miracles, influential miracles, 18:45 significant miracles that Jesus did. 18:49 And it's also one that got Him more hated 18:53 than any of His other miracles. 18:55 It didn't make Him very popular, 18:57 at least with a certain class of people. 19:00 John 11 talks about the resurrection of Lazarus of Bethany. 19:06 So who was Lazarus? 19:08 What relationship did he and his siblings have with Jesus? 19:15 And what came out of this? What made it so significant? 19:19 >>Actually Jesus was a very close friend 19:23 with the two ladies 19:27 and also with Lazarus, 19:30 who was a brother. 19:32 So it seems that Jesus, during His ministry, 19:36 He faced several turmoils and problems here and there, 19:40 but that was a place where He could feel at home with them. 19:44 But then came the news 19:45 that Lazarus was sick and finally died. 19:51 And of course, they went to Jesus 19:54 knowing that He had all the power to heal 19:58 sick people and also to raise the dead. 20:02 And then Jesus came. 20:06 But it's interesting that Jesus did not go immediately. 20:10 He delayed His journey over there, 20:13 and people were even wondering why; 20:16 He could have gone immediately. 20:19 I think that we have enough evidences to believe 20:22 that in the case of the resurrection 20:24 of the daughter of Jairus, people were claiming, 20:28 "Well, she was not actually dead. 20:32 "He just Himself said that He just wake her up 20:37 from her sleep." 20:40 But now there was no way to deny 20:44 that Lazarus was dead 20:47 because he was even smelling bad, at that, 20:52 over there. So there was--he was even buried. 20:56 There was no other evidence. And then Jesus comes. 21:01 And there is an interesting dialogue with, 21:04 especially with Martha, and I like very much a statement 21:08 that you find here in John, chapter 11. 21:11 And this is verse 25. 21:17 Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life. 21:23 "He who believes in me, through he may die, 21:26 he shall live." 21:29 So Jesus speaks about His power. 21:34 And then it goes on, and He even goes to a point 21:37 where He says to Marta, "If you believe, 21:43 you will see the glory of God." 21:46 So the glory of God can only be seen by faith. 21:52 I like very much-- 21:54 there is a theologian that says that "doxa theou," 21:58 or the "glory of God," can only be seen 22:01 by "pistis," or "faith," using the Greek terms to it. 22:08 But then Jesus comes to life, and what is 22:11 impressive, what is really amazing in this story is-- 22:17 and I would say not only this story, 22:19 but all the ones that actually experience death 22:24 in the Old Testament, during Christ's earthly ministry, 22:29 none of them presented any kind 22:33 of nice near-death report 22:36 saying, "Well, I saw angelic being welcoming me 22:41 to paradise," or a tunnel of light and so on. 22:45 Nothing, there was nothing. 22:47 It was just something normal, 22:50 from the non-existence back to existence again. 22:57 >>So looking at this story 22:58 and kind of trying to fit together the common idea 23:04 of what happens when you die, in the Christian world, 23:06 that when you die, some part of you, your soul 23:08 or your spirit continues to live on 23:10 and goes immediately to heaven, 23:12 it's interesting when you look at this dialogue 23:14 between Jesus and Martha 23:18 in verse number 21, John 11, verse 21, 23:22 it says, "Now Martha said to Jesus, 23:24 "'Lord, if You had been here, 23:26 my brother would not have died.'" 23:30 And then she says, "'But even now I know 23:32 "that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.' 23:35 Jesus said to her, 'Your brother will rise again.'" 23:39 And then Martha makes an interesting statement. 23:41 She says, "I know that he will rise again 23:45 in the resurrection at the last day." 23:48 She doesn't say, 23:49 I know that my brother is up in heaven right now 23:51 walking the streets of gold singing with the angels. 23:54 There's--she didn't get that idea. 23:57 And of course, she wouldn't have gotten that idea 24:00 because she knew what happened when a person dies 24:02 'cause she got her theology directly from Jesus. 24:06 And I think there's maybe a lesson for us there too. 24:08 If we get our theology from Jesus 24:10 rather than maybe popular teachers 24:13 or maybe rather than from a church or what a church teaches, 24:17 let's get our beliefs from Jesus. 24:20 I think we'll be a little better off. 24:21 What do you think, Alberto? 24:22 >>Well, that is precisely the case, and I am really thankful 24:26 that you brought this matter up, because even more, 24:30 Jesus would have the chance of correcting Martha 24:35 if she was mistaken in this matter here, but not. 24:39 And plus, it would be unfair probably to bring Lazarus back 24:44 from paradise, rejoicing over there, to have to suffer here. 24:49 And if you continue reading the Gospel of John, 24:52 you will see that they did not only hate Jesus 24:56 but even were planning to kill Lazarus, because that was 25:00 the argument against the Pharisees 25:05 that really denied the power of Jesus 25:10 and His divinity 25:13 or being really the Messiah. 25:18 >>So Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life. 25:21 He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live." 25:27 We've looked at some significant resurrections today 25:29 in this week's lesson. 25:32 What are some lessons that we can learn 25:34 from these resurrections? What can we take away from this 25:37 that will give us hope and encouragement? 25:39 >>Before we go to the lessons, 25:42 let me just highlight one more point that I like very much. 25:47 One of the Greek church fathers, John Chrysostom, 25:53 he even stated that Jesus had to speak 25:57 or to name Lazarus, 26:01 mention his name, because if He would just say, 26:06 "You should come from the grave, to raise up," 26:10 all those who died in Christ would have, or other-- 26:14 the children of God would raise from the dead. 26:17 So He mentioned specifically his name 26:21 so that only he would be raised; such a power has Christ. 26:26 And this is something that we know; that time will come 26:28 when really Jesus will raise from the grave all those 26:33 who died in Him. But I think that there are some points 26:38 that we should consider first of all. 26:40 And one of those is very clear, 26:43 that resurrection is the only hope of everlasting life 26:48 for those who died. And secondly, 26:52 also Lazarus and the other ones are types, 26:57 or in other words, are the "first fruits," 27:01 if you want to use the biblical language, 27:04 of the great multitude of those who will be raised 27:08 from the dead when Jesus comes. 27:12 And if you have some beloved ones 27:14 that are no longer with you, as I do, 27:17 my parents, my siblings. And so, what a glorious moment 27:22 and what a glorious hope we have for their resurrection. 27:25 And I hope that we will be ready to rejoin 27:31 all those who be with Christ in heaven. 27:35 >>Thank you, Alberto, for painting such a beautiful picture 27:38 of what the future looks like for those who are in Christ. 27:43 Thank you for joining us again this week. 27:45 We are going to continue our study of "Death, Dying, 27:48 and the Future Hope" when we come back again next week 27:53 on "Sabbath School," brought to you by It Is Written. 27:55 God bless you. We'll see you then. 27:57 (upbeat theme music) 28:26 (music ends) |
Revised 2022-10-20