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Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS022138S
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00:00 (uplifting theme music)
00:15 >>Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:16 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:18 We're glad that you've chosen to join us again today 00:21 as we continue our journey through a fascinating subject 00:24 and what we hope you're finding 00:26 is an uplifting and encouraging subject. 00:29 We are looking at "Death, Dying, and the Future Hope." 00:33 If there was no future hope, 00:35 death and dying would be terrible, 00:37 but at least with Jesus, we have that future hope. 00:39 This week we're going to be looking at 00:41 "The New Testament Hope." 00:43 This is week number 8, lesson number 8 of 14. 00:47 So we are making our way through, 00:48 but there's still a ways to go. 00:50 We're glad that once again, this week, 00:52 we can welcome back our guest. 00:54 He is the author of this quarter's Sabbath school lesson, 00:57 Dr. Alberto Timm. 00:59 He's an associate director of the Ellen G. White Estate. 01:01 Alberto, welcome back. 01:03 >>I am more than delighted to be with you 01:05 during this series. 01:07 >>So it's been exciting. 01:08 We've looked at seven lessons so far. 01:11 We're about to look at "The New Testament Hope," 01:14 which, of course, is an incredible hope. 01:16 And we're gonna start 01:17 by taking a look at a couple of verses there, 01:20 the memory verses that we have for this week. 01:24 They're found over in 1 John, 01:27 1 John, chapter 5, verses 11 and 12; 01:32 1 John 5, verse 11 says, "And this is the testimony: 01:36 "that God has given us eternal life, 01:39 "and this life is in His Son. 01:43 "He who has the Son has life; he who does not have 01:48 the Son of God does not have life." 01:52 Well, the first question is, 01:54 what life is this talking about? 01:56 It says that some people have it and some people don't. 02:00 Let's see if we can clarify 02:01 what life it is that's being discussed here. 02:04 >>I believe this passage actually is self-evident, 02:08 and the reason why I started with verse 11 02:12 instead of just verse 12, because verse 11 defines 02:16 what kind of life is being considered. 02:20 You will see in verse 11 very clearly 02:23 that the Apostle John is speaking 02:26 about eternal life for one simple reason. 02:31 All of us here, our generation, we are alive. 02:36 If you would not be alive, 02:37 you would not be able to watch us in this program. 02:42 So all of us, we are alive. So, yeah, 02:46 natural life or the life that we enjoy, 02:50 here is somebody that all have, the saved and the wicked. 02:56 But now, speaking about eternal life, 02:59 you know that John splits it, 03:02 says that those who are in Christ, 03:04 they have everlasting life, 03:07 and those who are not in Christ do not have. 03:10 If I would pick up a passage of the Bible 03:15 that would summarize our whole series 03:19 or the Bible teaching 03:21 on the state of the dead and human nature, 03:25 and so I would stay with this passage here 03:27 because it summarizes very nice the whole thing. 03:31 And there is one more point that we should consider. 03:36 The passage does not say that whoever 03:39 is in Christ will end up having eternal life. 03:45 It says that a person has already. 03:49 So eternal life is not something for the future. 03:52 It's now. 03:55 But then you can ask me, "But people still die?" 03:58 Yes, eternal life is assured here, 04:01 and immortality will be granted 04:04 at the time of the resurrection, 04:06 or if we are still alive when Jesus comes, 04:09 then we'll be changed. 04:11 But this is the glorious promise that we have. 04:15 So this passage even rolls out 04:18 the idea of a immortal soul, 04:22 because then we would have to say, 04:24 well, does not have the fullness of life, 04:28 but they would have some kind of eternal life. 04:31 I'm referring to the wicked, 04:32 but the passage is very clear: does not have at all. 04:36 >>So one group has life; the other group does not have life. 04:40 It's pretty straightforward, 04:42 unless you really want to try to twist words 04:44 to put something there that isn't. 04:46 One group gets it; the other group doesn't. 04:49 But let me toss this idea at you. 04:53 Let's say, hypothetically speaking, 04:57 that all of this that we're talking about, 04:59 this hope in the resurrection, this eternal life, 05:03 that all of it is an illusion, that it's not true, 05:07 that there is no eternal life, 05:09 that there is no resurrection, 05:10 that there are no perfected bodies, 05:13 there's no going to heaven, none of that. 05:16 Let's say all of that is a fable. 05:21 What would that mean? 05:24 >>Well, I like very much a statement-- 05:26 I don't know exactly who was the one that really made it-- 05:30 but says that let's suppose 05:33 that all the biblical hope is just a illusion. 05:39 Even if that would be the case, 05:41 it's worthwhile living for that illusion, 05:44 because it changes our life. It improves our life. 05:49 But, of course, and let's suppose that it is 05:52 not an illusion, then I am really eluded, 05:57 eluding myself. But you know that there is some passages. 06:00 For instance, 06:01 Paul is very clear in 1 Corinthians, chapter 15. 06:08 You remember what it says over there? 06:09 >>Yeah, in fact, I'll go ahead and read it right now. 06:11 >>Okay, please. 06:12 >>In 1 Corinthians 15, verse 19, 06:14 and I may include verse 20 in here as well. 06:17 Verse 19 says, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, 06:23 we are of all men the most pitiable." 06:25 But then verse 20 says, 06:26 "But now Christ is risen from the dead, 06:28 "and has become the firstfruits 06:29 of those who have fallen asleep." 06:31 So he says, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, 06:34 we are of all men the most pitiable." 06:36 >>Yeah, in this case, I think that Paul is very clear. 06:41 It is not an ambiguous language that he's employing. 06:45 And then you have also Peter. 06:47 Peter had also some very strong conviction 06:50 about this matter as well. 06:53 He said, well, we received these things, 06:54 not--what does the text actually say? 06:57 >>Sure, 2 Peter, chapter 1, verses 16 and 17, he says-- 07:01 and these are beautiful verses. 07:03 >>[Alberto] Yeah. >>[Eric] He says, 07:04 "For we did not follow cunningly devised fables 07:07 "when we made known to you the power and coming 07:10 "of our Lord Jesus Christ, 07:12 "but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 07:14 "For He received from God the Father honor and glory 07:18 "when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: 07:21 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'" 07:27 >>Actually, this is a reference to the transfiguration. 07:31 You remember when Jesus was on the mountain, and then 07:33 appeared over there Moses and Elijah, 07:40 one representing those who will be raised from the dead, 07:44 and the other one 07:45 the generation that will be alive when Jesus comes. 07:48 So Peter uses this text as a example 07:52 because that was really a portrait, 07:56 a type of the final gathering 08:00 of all humanity when Jesus would come in glory, 08:03 and He received already glory at that moment 08:07 during the transfiguration, 08:09 but it would be a much broader... 08:14 scenario, the final gathering 08:16 of all those who will be raised from the dead 08:18 and those who will be transformed and see Jesus alive. 08:23 >>So a beautiful miniature picture of Christ's second coming 08:27 that He gives us on that mount. I wanna come to another of 08:32 what we might call a famous passage, a popular passage, 08:35 talking about this hope that we have in Christ. 08:38 It's over in John 14, verses 1-3. 08:42 In fact, many people have probably memorized these verses. 08:45 They're uplifting enough to memorize. 08:48 If you haven't, I'd encourage you to do so. 08:50 John 14, verses 1-3 says, "Let not your heart be troubled; 08:55 "you believe in God, believe also in me. 08:58 "In my Father's house are many mansions; 09:00 "if it were not so, I would have told you. 09:03 "I go to prepare a place for you. 09:06 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, 09:08 "I will come again and receive you to myself; 09:12 that where I am, there you may be also." 09:16 So Jesus says that He's gone to prepare a place for us, 09:21 and that He's coming back again 09:23 to take us to the place that He has prepared. 09:26 Where did He go, and what's this place like? 09:29 >>Well, the New Testament responds this question 09:32 in a very nice way. He's in the heavenly sanctuary temple 09:38 ministering as a high priest. 09:41 And this, if you have doubts, 09:42 it's just a matter of reading Hebrews, 09:45 the epistle to the Hebrews, and that it says very clearly. 09:48 So in this promise here that Jesus made 09:51 is not a matter that now the Messiah will appear 09:55 and build the third temple in Jerusalem, 10:01 and then all nations will be ruled 10:03 by the Messiah from there. No, it's a heavenly reality. 10:08 It's not a human reality. And Jesus is very clear 10:12 that we'll be taken to heaven, into heaven. 10:16 >>So the next question becomes, well, when? 10:19 When is He going to come back, 10:20 and when is He going to take us to heaven? 10:22 And the answer that has regularly-- 10:24 and I think appropriately--been given is, 10:26 well, He's coming back soon. 10:29 But where does that idea come from? 10:31 I think, to a greater or lesser extent, 10:33 it comes from the book of Revelation. 10:35 There are at least four times in the book of Revelation 10:37 where Jesus, in referring to the timing of His return, 10:41 He says, "I'm coming soon. 10:42 I think we've got Revelation 3:11, 10:45 and then in Revelation 22 and verses 7, 12, and 20, 10:48 He says, "I'm coming back soon," 10:50 "I'm coming soon," "I'm coming soon," I'm coming soon," 10:54 so the question then becomes, well, when is "soon"? 10:57 >>Well, theologians speak about a "yet and not yet" 11:02 or "now and not yet." 11:04 So in other words, you have to live with the tension. 11:08 There is the eschatology of the world, 11:12 or the humanity in general, 11:14 and the other one is the eschatology of my own life, 11:20 because the Second Coming for me 11:23 will not be farther away than my last day of life here, 11:28 when I die. 11:29 It can be maybe some years from now, can be tomorrow, 11:33 can even be today. Because of the uncertainty of life, 11:40 there is the element of always now. The day of salvation, 11:42 according to the book of Hebrews, chapter 3 and four, 11:46 is today, is not tomorrow. 11:49 There is no room for procrastination, 11:52 so to say, in terms of salvation. 11:55 And about the Second Coming, it would be a illusion 11:58 for me to believe that the Second Coming 12:00 would be just a event over there, because I have no time, 12:04 no other chance after I die. 12:08 This is my chance now, and it can be very short, 12:11 and we should be thankful as a generation, 12:16 because if Christ would have come 100 years ago, 12:21 we would not be alive. 12:23 So the very same fact that God expanded it a little bit, 12:27 delayed--if you want to use this language-- 12:30 the Second Coming, gives us a chance. 12:32 But, of course, it will not be delayed forever. 12:36 >>And that's a chance that we should take advantage of. 12:38 We don't want to lose that chance, 12:41 that chance of being able to see Jesus 12:42 come in the clouds of heaven, 12:44 and if we should close our eyes in death 12:46 between now and the time when He comes back, 12:49 the intervening time 12:50 between the time we die and when Jesus comes back 12:52 will be like a moment, "the twinkling of an eye," 12:55 it will pass without our knowledge, 12:56 and the next waking moment that we have, 12:59 the next thought that we have, 13:00 is seeing Jesus come in the clouds of heaven. 13:03 If you're enjoying this study, I want to encourage you: 13:05 Please do pick up the companion book 13:07 to this quarter's Sabbath school lesson. 13:09 It's called "On Death, Dying, and the Future Hope" 13:12 by Dr. Alberto Timm. 13:13 You can pick that up at itiswritten.shop, 13:17 itiswritten.shop. 13:18 It goes into greater detail, greater depth, 13:20 and answers a lot of questions about this subject. 13:23 You'll wanna make sure that you pick that up. 13:25 We're gonna be back in just a couple of minutes 13:26 as we continue our study of "The New Testament Hope." 13:30 (uplifting theme music swells and ends) 13:35 >>[John Bradshaw] The Trail of Tears-- 13:38 entire people groups forcibly removed 13:41 from their ancestral homelands and marched 13:44 hundreds and hundreds of miles to a new land. 13:49 Thousands of people uprooted and relocated, 13:53 thousands of people dead: 13:57 the Trail of Tears. 13:59 The land that would become the United States 14:01 was already home to millions of Native peoples 14:04 when Europeans arrived, real people with real lives 14:10 who over the next several centuries 14:11 would endure real suffering. 14:14 Join me for "The Trail of Tears." 14:17 We'll visit the places where the Trail of Tears began, 14:20 and we'll look forward to a day 14:22 when God will wipe away all of our tears. 14:26 "The Trail of Tears," 14:28 brought to you by It Is Written TV. 14:36 (uplifting theme music) 14:40 >>[Eric] Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 14:41 brought to you by It Is Written. 14:43 We're looking at "The New Testament Hope" this week, 14:46 and we're gonna look at a few more passages here 14:49 before we're done. 14:50 And I wanna kinda build off what we just talked about. 14:53 Jesus made a promise that He was coming back, 14:56 that He was going to bring His children with Him to heaven, 15:00 to paradise, if you will. And now we're gonna take a look at 15:04 some more of that promise, 15:05 a fulfillment, if you will. Let's take a look at John 5, 15:09 John, chapter 5, verses 28 and 29. 15:14 In John 5, verse 28, Jesus says this. 15:16 He says, "Do not marvel at this; 15:19 "for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves 15:22 will hear His voice and come forth-- 15:25 "those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, 15:28 "and those who have done evil, 15:31 to the resurrection of condemnation"-- 15:33 or the King James says, "of damnation." 15:36 I wanna couple that together with something else 15:38 that Jesus said in the very next chapter, 15:40 in John 6, verse number 39. 15:44 In verse 39, He says, 15:46 "This is the will of the Father who sent me, 15:49 "that of all He has given me I should lose nothing, 15:53 but should raise it up at the last day." 15:57 So, Alberto, walk us through these statements of Jesus, 16:00 and, of course, this is Jesus speaking, 16:02 so we've got a pretty good indicator 16:03 that He knows what He's talking about. 16:07 >>Let's just review a little bit the concept 16:11 of the Old Testament. 16:13 There was a individual hope, 16:17 a collective one in Isaiah, 16:20 and in Daniel, chapter 12, 16:24 then you have the idea of the double resurrection, 16:27 or the resurrection of the righteousness and of the wicked. 16:32 And this very same concept is confirmed by Jesus here, 16:37 that some will be really raised 16:40 to receive the heavenly reward, 16:42 those who are faithful to Him, His beloved children, 16:47 and His enemies, or those who did not follow Jesus 16:51 for the everlasting punishment. 16:54 So in this case, Jesus Himself confirms this, 16:58 so it's not just a opinion, 17:01 something, well, the point of view of somebody, 17:05 but nobody else would be better than to explain this to us 17:09 than Jesus Himself in what He says here. 17:13 >>So Jesus makes it pretty plain 17:15 that there is a resurrection, 17:17 that it's something that we can look forward to, 17:19 that the righteous, both the righteous and the wicked 17:21 are going to experience that resurrection, 17:23 but for the righteous, I think, the end result 17:26 is a whole lot better than for the wicked, yes? 17:28 >>(chuckles) Oh yes, definitely so. 17:30 It's the opposite, and it will, 17:32 that will be really the final, the climax of human history. 17:39 But it's interesting. Remember that the same John 17:42 who recorded these words of Jesus here 17:46 also explained it further, this very same concept, 17:50 in Revelation, chapter 20, 17:53 where he speaks that these two resurrections, 17:57 of the righteous and of the wicked, 18:00 will be separated by 1,000 years. 18:03 So you have that kind of even clearer picture of it. 18:09 >>A beautiful picture of the millennium, 18:11 and incidentally, 18:12 if you're interested in studying end-time Bible prophecy 18:17 or something along those lines, 18:19 you can do that online or by going to the It Is Written shop 18:23 and finding some Bible study guides on that, 18:25 where we talk about the second coming of Christ 18:28 and heaven and hell and the millennium 18:32 and the rapture and so forth, 18:34 so you can pick that up at itiswritten.shop as well, 18:37 or you can watch more programs 18:40 where you're watching this program right now. 18:43 Alberto, I want to go to a... 18:46 a passage in the writings of Paul, 18:51 and it's found in 1 Corinthians, chapter 15. 18:55 This chapter is a powerful chapter 18:58 talking about about hope, 19:02 I think, about encouraging things, 19:05 but also there are some words of caution in here, 19:09 and I wanna take a look at 1 Corinthians 15. 19:11 We'll start in verse number 51. 19:14 I'm gonna read down through 55 just to get context here, 19:19 but we're gonna come back and focus on verse number 51. 19:22 In 1 Corinthians 15:51, here's what Paul says. 19:27 He says, "Behold, I [show] you a mystery: 19:29 "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-- 19:34 "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, 19:36 "at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, 19:39 "and the dead will be raised incorruptible, 19:42 and we shall be changed." 19:43 Now, Paul here is echoing what he's also written 19:46 over in 1 Thessalonians, chapter 4, verses 15-17. 19:51 But he says here that we are going to be changed 19:52 at the sound of the trumpet. 19:54 "For this corruptible must put on incorruption, 19:57 "and this mortal must put on immortality. 20:00 "So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, 20:03 "and this mortal has put on immortality, 20:06 "then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: 20:09 "'Death is swallowed up in victory.' 20:11 "'O death, where is your sting? 20:13 O Hades, where is your victory?'" 20:16 So Paul is talking about the corruptible 20:19 putting on incorruption, the mortal putting on immortality 20:24 at a future time. 20:26 And in verse number 51, he says, "I tell you a mystery." 20:31 What's this mystery that he's talking about? 20:33 And what about this future time 20:35 when mortal puts on immortality? 20:37 Again, I think we've pulled a lot of the pieces together 20:40 from other parts of the Bible, 20:42 but here we see Paul in complete agreement with it again. 20:45 >>Well, actually I consider 1 Corinthians 15 20:49 probably the most powerful argument, 20:54 the broadest one in favor of resurrection. 20:57 From the very beginning, from the very start, 21:00 Paul speaks about evidences 21:03 that Christ was raised from the dead. 21:06 There were several eyewitnesses. 21:09 He speaks even of 500 in one time and so on, 21:13 and then that argument he builds in regard to our own, 21:18 or the resurrection of those who died in Christ. 21:22 And there he speaks about a mystery. 21:26 Let me just say what some people believe. 21:28 Some people say that this mystery 21:31 would be a secret rapture of the church 21:35 going into the...clouds of heaven-- 21:39 I don't know exactly where--they would be there, the church. 21:43 And then after seven years, then Christ would come again 21:50 and then to reign as a king in Jerusalem, 21:53 the earthly Jerusalem. 21:55 But I don't see noting of this in this chapter. 21:59 Unless you want to read a foreign thought into it, 22:03 you will not see any kind of evidence of it here. 22:07 The mystery here is explained by the text itself, 22:11 is that the dead will be raised, 22:16 and the living ones, when Christ comes, 22:18 the dead will be raised, 22:20 and the living ones will be transformed, 22:23 so that both groups will be with Christ in heaven. 22:26 And, of course, the resurrection itself is a mystery. 22:29 How does it come that a body that does no longer exist, 22:34 was absolutely destroyed could come to life again? 22:40 Of course it's not the same ashes that now God will use. 22:43 We don't know exactly how it will be, 22:45 but we know that God will raise us with the same identity 22:51 because we will know people as they are, and also 22:54 with the difference that the body will be a glorious one 22:57 transformed by God's creative 23:01 and life-sustaining power. 23:06 And the living ones will be transformed. That's the mystery. 23:12 There is no secret rapture in this one here. 23:14 >>No, but the righteous are going to be transformed, 23:17 and that's gonna be an incredible, an incredible day. 23:20 You know, Alberto, 23:22 you made mention just a few minutes about this, 23:25 about Revelation, chapter 20. 23:26 I wonder if we could go there for just a moment 23:28 and pull a few pieces together 23:31 in the time that we have remaining. 23:32 In Revelation, chapter 20, verse number four, 23:37 John makes reference to this thousand-year period, 23:41 and for those who are resurrected, 23:44 in Revelation, chapter 20, verse number 4, he says, 23:48 "I saw thrones, and they sat on them, 23:50 "and judgment was committed to them. 23:52 "Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded 23:55 "for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, 23:57 "who had not worshiped the beast or his image, 24:00 "and had not received his mark on their foreheads 24:02 "or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ 24:06 for a thousand years." That word "lived" there-- 24:08 correct me if I'm wrong, but that word "lived" means 24:10 "came to life" or "were resurrected." Is that correct? 24:13 >>Absolutely. 24:15 >>So you've got this picture of them coming to life,; 24:17 that's the righteous. 24:18 They live and they reign with Christ for a thousand years. 24:21 They reign with Him in heaven. 24:22 That's what he said in John 14. 24:25 And then it says in verse 5, 24:26 "But the rest of the dead did not live again 24:30 until the thousand years were finished." 24:33 So there's one group, the righteous, 24:35 who were resurrected at the beginning of the thousand years. 24:38 They reign with Christ for a thousand years. 24:40 They're involved in the judgment, 24:41 but then the rest of the dead-- 24:43 that would have to be the wicked-- 24:46 didn't live until the thousand years were finished. 24:48 Then, it's interesting-- the last part of verse number 5 24:50 actually belongs with verse 6, 24:52 and a number of versions of the Bible 24:54 have connected it as such. 24:56 It says, "This is the first resurrection. 24:59 "Blessed and holy is he 25:01 "who has part in the first resurrection. 25:03 "Over such the second death has no power, 25:06 "but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, 25:08 and shall reign with Him a thousand years." 25:10 You wanna expound on that just a little bit more? 25:12 what are the righteous going to be doing 25:15 when they're resurrected, 25:16 when they're brought back to life again? 25:19 >>Well, this is a topic that we'll be addressing later on, 25:22 the matter of the judgments, 25:26 and I understand that this is lesson number 13, 25:31 the judgements just prior to the new heaven. 25:34 But I think that here we have a chronological sequence 25:37 in the book of Revelation. You have first allusion 25:41 to the first resurrection, the millennium, 25:45 then you have the other resurrection, 25:48 and then you have the nice portrait of the New Jerusalem 25:52 coming down from heaven. So in other words, 25:56 I think that the crucial understanding here 26:00 is where the millennium will take place. 26:03 I think that if we bring the pieces together 26:08 of the puzzle, I think that we have plenty of evidences 26:12 from the passage that you read, 26:14 that is, John 14:1-3, 26:19 that Jesus promised His disciples, His followers, 26:23 that He would take them to heaven, 26:26 and at the same time later on, 26:28 you have the New Jerusalem coming here. 26:30 So that's the time when they will be in heaven 26:34 participating of the judgment for one reason. 26:37 God does not need the judgment, 26:40 but He really accommodates Himself, as we used to say, 26:44 to a judgment so that everything can be clear, 26:48 and so in the minds of the saints there would be no doubt 26:53 about why somebody would receive this reward, 26:56 and the other one will be punished. 26:58 Can imagine somebody having a beloved one being lost. 27:03 That would be something disastrous. 27:05 But God really--it comes to a point where the Bible says 27:08 that God will wipe away all the tears 27:13 of those that will be with Him. 27:16 >>So that's just a little teaser for what is to come 27:19 in lesson number 13 on the judgment. 27:22 But if you'd like to get ahead of the curve, 27:24 you can go to itiswritten.study, and you can study 27:28 lessons on the judgment, on the millennium, 27:31 and on a lot of other subjects along those lines. 27:33 That's itiswritten.study. 27:37 We're gonna come back again next week for lesson number 9 27:41 as we continue our journey through the subject 27:43 of "Death, Dying, and the Future Hope," 27:46 and we are looking forward to seeing you again next time. 27:50 God bless you, and we will see you then. 27:53 (uplifting theme music) 28:25 (music ends) |
Revised 2022-11-09