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Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS022143S
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00:00 (inspirational theme music)
00:14 >>Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:16 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:18 We are delighted to have you back with us once again. 00:21 This is week number 13, so we are very nearly 00:25 at the end of this particular subject. 00:28 We're looking at "Death, Dying, and the Future Hope," 00:31 and we're finding that, above all, 00:32 this is an encouraging and hopeful subject 00:35 rather than one that we could be discouraged 00:37 or worried or fearful about, 00:40 and this week we're going to be looking at, 00:42 in the greater scheme of things, 00:44 a smaller segment about the judgment. 00:47 So, what about "The Judging Process"? 00:49 Why is there a judgment? 00:52 Well, to help us understand the answer to that question, 00:55 we have the author of the Sabbath school study guide. 00:58 He is Dr. Alberto Timm. He is also an associate director 01:02 of the Ellen G. White Estate. 01:04 Alberto, welcome back once again. 01:06 >>It's an honor for me to be with you. 01:08 >>So let's look at this judgment. 01:10 Let me begin by asking this question. 01:13 If God knows everything, 01:17 if He knows the end from the beginning, 01:19 everything from Genesis to Revelation 01:21 and in between and beyond, and we're saved by grace, 01:27 what's the point of the judgment? 01:29 Why does there need to be a judgment 01:32 if these things are true? 01:35 >>Many years ago, Morris Venden started 01:39 an article with a question: 01:42 "How would you feel if, coming to heaven, 01:45 "Billy Graham would not be there, 01:48 and Adolf Hitler would be your neighbor?" 01:53 And then he goes on. 01:55 He's not suggesting that Adolf Hitler would be there, 01:59 but he said, "Well, probably, you would be wondering, 02:02 "'I am at the right place? 02:06 And how does it come that Adolf Hitler is here?'" 02:10 So heaven will be a place of surprises. 02:16 Many people that we would believe that would be there 02:19 will not be, 02:20 and people that we would say that would never be there 02:24 will be there. 02:26 So God submits Himself--or, in other words, 02:29 He accommodates Himself 02:31 to our human condition as creatures 02:37 to explain that what we cannot understand by ourselves. 02:41 He knows everything, He does not need the judgment, 02:44 but He actually submits Himself in this way. 02:48 And going back to the point of salvation by grace, 02:52 I think that, to keep the balance in regard 02:57 to salvation, we need to have three concepts in mind. 03:02 The first one: 03:04 Sinners are saved by grace alone. 03:10 They are justified by faith, 03:13 and they are judged by works. 03:16 There was a time in human history, 03:18 especially in the Middle Ages and so on, 03:21 that people really emphasized, 03:23 preachers emphasized very much the concept of judgment, 03:30 and today people are more into grace without judgment. 03:33 I think that we should have that kind of balance 03:36 with these three concepts: 03:40 saved by grace, justified by faith, and judged by works. 03:46 >>So that helps us understand it, at least a little bit, 03:48 but I'm gonna throw a curve ball. 03:51 I'm going to attempt to throw a curve ball here 03:54 and share a text that seems to indicate 03:57 that certain people don't need to worry about the judgment, 04:01 and that text is John 5, verse number 24, 04:04 and I happen to have a red-letter Bible, 04:06 and this passage happens to be in red, 04:08 so that means that Jesus is speaking, 04:11 so we can trust what He has to say. 04:13 In John 5, verse 24, Jesus says, 04:15 "Most assuredly, I say to you, 04:17 "he who hears my word and believes in Him 04:21 "who sent me has everlasting life, 04:25 "and shall not come into judgment, 04:28 but has passed from death into life." 04:33 Now, again, just taking that text, 04:35 that scripture on its own, it does sound problematic, 04:39 but we've got more than just that verse in the Bible. 04:43 So help us to understand it. 04:45 >>Actually, some people believe that 04:48 those who are in Christ will never face judgment, 04:54 but this is a misunderstanding, I think, 04:56 of the whole context of the Bible, 04:59 the teachings of the Bible on this matter. 05:03 Actually, William Shea, in one of his books, 05:06 pointed out that, in the Old Testament, 05:09 you have more than 20 judgments of God's people. 05:14 You have the judgment of an individual, you have of a group, 05:17 and the whole nation then later on. 05:20 So, there are judgements. 05:23 You have other passages in the New Testament. For instance, 05:27 you have 2 Corinthians 5, verse 10, 05:33 where Paul says that all of us will be judged, 05:37 and when it comes to the parable of the final judgment, 05:41 for instance, in Matthew 25, 05:45 verses 31-46, you will see 05:49 that there are not only the goats, or the wicked, 05:54 but also the sheep, standing for the righteous, 05:58 and Paul also speaks about the judgment, 06:02 as we already mentioned, and when it comes, for instance, 06:06 to the book of Revelation, chapter 11, verse 1, 06:11 there is that apocalyptic expression 06:15 "to measure the sanctuary," or the temple, the altar, 06:20 and those who worship in the sanctuary. 06:24 What does it mean, really, those who worship? 06:27 That's the judgment of God's people. 06:29 So we cannot excuse ourselves, 06:32 saying that God's people are not judged. 06:35 In the Greek original for this word, 06:38 here in the Gospel of John, 06:41 the meaning is not only "judgment." 06:44 Actually, it means the condemnation in the judgment. 06:48 So some of the Bible translations 06:51 are very careful of pointing out this matter that, 06:57 in reality, God's people are not condemned at the judgment, 07:01 but, in other words, they will be vindicated, 07:03 but it does not mean that 07:05 they are absent for any judgment process. 07:09 >>So they experience the judgment, 07:12 but the condemnation is what they don't have to experience, 07:16 and that's, I hope that's encouraging to you, 07:18 because it certainly is for me. 07:21 Let me toss another idea out here, another question. 07:25 Let's say that we believe 07:29 that when a person dies, they go immediately, 07:32 their soul or their spirit or something 07:34 goes immediately to heaven when they die, 07:36 or, for that matter, to hell or to purgatory. 07:40 If we take that position, 07:43 that we go immediately someplace when we die, 07:48 what's the purpose of the judgment? 07:51 What sense does the judgment make 07:55 if that's what we believe? 07:58 >>In that case, I think that 08:00 the judgment becomes meaningless. 08:02 Why to be judged if you are already rewarded, 08:06 if you are already in heaven or hell? 08:13 You could say that purgatory would be a stage of growing. 08:16 According to the Roman Catholic Church, 08:18 then you would be evaluated; you would be judged later on. 08:23 But if you believe in heaven and hell, 08:26 then that does not make any sense at all. 08:31 But, at the same time, what you will see, 08:37 in this case, that you would need 08:40 two judgments, a double judgment, 08:43 because Plato, 08:47 recording Socrates speaking, in his book "Phaedrus," 08:53 he speaks of a judgment immediately after death. 08:58 So, for people to be rewarded, 09:00 that requires a judgment after death, 09:04 and this concept has been incorporated 09:07 into the Roman Catholic tradition and also 09:12 into the evangelical circles as well, 09:16 to a large extent. So this is a concept 09:19 that comes from Greek philosophy; again, 09:22 a judgment, an individual judgment immediately after death, 09:26 but then you are judged again at the final judgment, 09:29 because this the Bible teaches, 09:31 so it's a matter of trying to combine the pagan 09:35 with the biblical concept of a judgment, 09:38 but, being already rewarded, I don't see any reason why 09:43 there is a need for a judgment later on, 09:45 especially the final judgment. 09:48 >>So you made mention of something here 09:49 about combining the pagan with the biblical. 09:53 Is this something that has gone on for a long time? 09:56 This doesn't sound like it's something new. 09:57 What are some of the dangers of trying to 10:01 combine the teachings of Plato or Socrates 10:05 with the teachings of the Bible? 10:07 Where does that lead us? Where does that end? 10:09 What's the end result of trying to do that? 10:13 >>You know, when you try to combine two things, 10:15 usually each one of them have to lose something 10:20 so that they can match together. 10:22 Of course, there were some kind of 10:25 punishments of Greek philosophy, 10:28 as we spoke in the past already, 10:30 but at the same time the Bible becomes adjusted 10:34 to philosophy to become more tasteful, so to say, and that's 10:39 what happened under the influence of Hellenism. 10:45 >>So what we're seeing is 10:47 the bringing of truth and error together, 10:49 and if you take truth and you mingle error into it, 10:53 it no longer remains truth, and the last time I checked, 10:57 the Bible says that "you [will] know the truth, 10:59 and the truth [will] make you free." 11:02 But if the truth ceases to be the truth, 11:05 then freedom ceases to be freedom, 11:08 and Jesus wants you to be free. 11:11 That's really one of the reasons 11:12 why we've been looking at this subject this quarter 11:15 for the last 13 weeks. We've been looking at 11:19 the subject of death, of dying, and of a future hope. 11:23 Jesus has a hope for you, He has a plan for you, 11:27 He has an expected end for you, 11:30 and the only real way that you can reach that expected end 11:33 is by trusting Him, is by having faith in Him, 11:37 is by allowing Him to guide you and direct you 11:41 and correct your course from time to time 11:44 because, in truth, we all need that correction. 11:48 Ultimately, His desire is 11:50 for you to experience life, eternal life, 11:54 for you to experience "that blessed hope, 11:57 and the glorious appearing of...Jesus Christ," 12:00 for you to wear that crown, 12:01 that immortal crown that Paul speaks of in his valedictory. 12:06 And that's available--to you, to me, to really everyone 12:10 if we choose to embrace and receive 12:13 the message of the gospel that Jesus has for us, 12:16 but how do we do that? 12:17 Well, it's by rejecting error and embracing truth, 12:21 rejecting combinations of truth and error, 12:25 which ultimately end up being error, 12:27 and embracing the pure gospel of Jesus Christ, 12:32 as we find it in His Word. 12:34 So, we hope that you have enjoyed this study, 12:37 and we're not done yet. We're continuing. 12:39 In fact, we still have a little ways to go, 12:43 but as we take a break here in just a moment, 12:45 I want to encourage you, if you haven't yet done it, 12:48 don't miss this opportunity to pick up the companion book 12:53 for this quarter's Sabbath school lesson. 12:55 It is of, course, by Dr. Alberto Timm. 12:57 It's called "On Death, Dying, and the Future Hope," 13:02 and you can pick this up 13:03 on the It Is Written Shop at itiswritten.shop. 13:06 Again, that is itiswritten.shop. 13:09 The name of the book is 13:10 "On Death, Dying, and the Future Hope," 13:13 and, of course, the author is Dr. Alberto Timm. 13:17 We are going to be back in just a couple of minutes 13:20 as we continue looking at this judgment, 13:23 finding out why it's so important for us, 13:26 and why God loves us enough 13:29 to send us through this judgment. 13:32 We'll be right back. 13:34 (inspirational theme music swells and ends) 13:38 >>[John Bradshaw] He spent 32 years in prison 13:41 for a crime he did not commit, 13:43 more than half his life behind bars, 13:45 even though he was an innocent man. 13:47 Junk science, false testimony, and shoddy investigative work 13:51 came together to send a man to prison 13:54 for more than three decades. 13:56 Join me for "Not Guilty," where you'll hear from the people 13:59 at the center of the exoneration of an innocent man. 14:03 We'll look not only at innocent people being free, 14:05 but at the phenomenon of guilty people being pardoned, 14:09 people who committed the offense, who broke the law, 14:11 and yet were set free by God Himself. 14:14 Every person alive has sinned 14:16 "and come short of the glory of God," 14:17 and yet God offers pardon and forgiveness to all, 14:21 absolutely free. 14:22 Don't miss "Not Guilty," where you'll learn that, 14:25 no matter your past, no matter your present, 14:27 you can face the future with confidence, without fear, 14:31 and with absolute hope. 14:32 "Not Guilty," 14:34 brought to you by It Is Written TV. 14:38 (inspirational theme music) 14:43 >>Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 14:44 brought to you by It Is Written. 14:46 We're looking at "The Judging Process" today 14:49 and trying to understand it just a little bit more. 14:52 Let me begin, Alberto, this next segment 14:55 with another question here for you. 14:59 If the judgment is going on right now, 15:02 which we believe that it is, the Bible indicates that it is, 15:05 but if the judgment is going on right now, 15:07 and my name comes up in the judgment, 15:11 what happens to my freedom of choice? 15:14 What happens to my free will after that? 15:17 Am I still free to choose? Does that nullify my free will? 15:22 What about if my name comes up right now? 15:26 >>I think that we have to ground our understanding of it 15:31 on a matter that-- 15:33 our understanding of divine foreknowledge. 15:39 Divine foreknowledge is absolute. 15:42 God knows everything, but it's not causative. 15:46 In other words, it's not because 15:49 God knows that things have to happen. 15:53 It's because they will happen. God knows already in advance, 15:58 and this distinction makes the whole difference 16:02 between one case or another one. 16:04 Some people say that God doesn't know. 16:07 Okay, in this case, God is absolved, so to say, 16:11 but if He knows, then it has to happen. That's not the case. 16:14 So God can can judge me based on His foreknowledge, 16:19 but I never will... 16:23 will never lose my free will 16:26 because He knows what I will be choosing. 16:29 So He knows if I will be saved or lost, 16:33 but He still pleads with me, 16:35 because His love and His nature, His character, 16:38 requires that He should always entreat me, 16:42 even if I will be lost, trying to beg with me, 16:47 plead with me, trying to, 16:49 to accept His offer of salvation. 16:53 >>So we still have that ability to choose. 16:55 He doesn't take that away from us, 16:57 and that's fantastic news. 16:59 Let me kind of drill down on something else here. 17:02 You gave this week's section 17:06 the title "The Judging Process." 17:10 You're not even implying that it's a process here. 17:13 You're explicitly stating this is a process. 17:16 It's not an act. 17:17 It's not something that just happens, but it's a process. 17:20 What are some of the stages in this process? 17:23 What is it that makes it a process 17:26 rather than a single act? 17:31 >>Actually, as we mentioned before, there are, 17:34 there were different judgments in biblical times. 17:38 For instance, you have, in the book of Ezekiel, 17:41 chapters 1-10, 17:46 the judgment of a nation over there, 17:49 and that's a classic one. 17:51 If you have a chance, I would invite you 17:53 to really, to read it through 17:55 and to see the judgment process over there 17:59 of the nation of Judah, or the kingdom of the south, 18:03 but we are speaking now about the eschatological, 18:08 the end-time judgment, the final judgment, 18:12 and I think that we have enough biblical evidence 18:15 at least three major phases 18:19 of this judgment. 18:22 If we go, for instance, to Daniel, chapter 7, 18:26 Daniel, chapter 7, 18:29 you will find, in verses 9-14-- 18:33 I will not read it for the sake of time, 18:35 but you can do it later on-- 18:39 "The Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven"-- 18:44 some people believe 18:45 because it's the coming of the clouds of heaven, 18:47 that it is the Second Coming. That's not the case; 18:50 it's the heavenly hosts, but He's not coming to this earth, 18:55 but He's coming to the Ancient of Days, 18:59 and there you have the description of a courtroom. 19:04 The books are open. 19:06 In apocalyptic language, whenever books are open, 19:10 it means the beginning of a judgment. 19:14 If you take this scene here, 19:16 and then you go to chapter 8, 19:19 you will see also in verses 9-14 19:24 a similar scene, and you will see that 19:28 then somebody asks, "When will the sanctuary be cleansed?" 19:34 It says that it will take place 19:36 after 2,300 evenings and mornings, 19:40 and it's a parallel to this... 19:46 judicial scene that we have in chapter 7, so they overlap. 19:50 So we have evidence-- 19:52 of course, time is not enough for us to unpack this-- 19:56 that investigative judgment will take place 20:00 prior, I mean, prior to the Second Coming, 20:04 starting at the end of this period, 20:06 that we have chronological, astronomical, 20:09 and exegetical basis that it started in 1844. 20:14 This would be the first phase of the judgment. 20:18 Then comes the second phase during the millennium, 20:22 and then comes the third one, 20:23 is the punishment of the wicked 20:28 at the end of the millennium. 20:30 And so this concept of judgment that Jesus spoke 20:35 is something that in the book of Revelation is very clear, 20:39 that Jesus even promised that, 20:43 and Paul says that we will be judging men 20:48 and even angels. 20:51 >>So, several phases of the judgment. 20:52 We're in the middle of one of them, 20:55 or maybe even some of them, 20:56 depending on how you wanna look at it right now, 20:58 and there are yet some to come. 21:00 Now, I wanna read a passage here. 21:01 It's actually the memory text for this week. 21:05 It's found in 2 Corinthians, chapter 5 and verse number 10. 21:09 It says, "For we must all appear 21:12 "before the judgment seat of Christ, 21:15 "that each one may receive the things done in the body, 21:18 according to what he has done, whether good or bad." 21:23 So here Paul says, "We must all appear 21:25 before the judgment seat of Christ." 21:26 Now, for some people, that sounds scary. It sounds, 21:33 it sounds like maybe they have something to fear. 21:35 Maybe they do, but every person 21:39 has to appear before the judgment seat of Christ, 21:43 but if we're afraid of the judgment, 21:44 we might be tempted to say, 21:45 "Well, I wish there wasn't a judgment." 21:49 It's been said that we don't really miss something 21:53 until it's gone, sometimes. 21:56 So what are the implications if there was no judgment? 22:01 If it didn't exist, 22:03 what would be some of those implications? 22:05 And are there reasons 22:07 why we should be glad that a judgment does exist? 22:12 >>Actually, if there would be no judgment, 22:16 I would be really frustrated because, in many cases, 22:19 I would need to do justice by myself, 22:24 because I know that there would be nothing happening 22:26 to those wicked people. 22:29 So, all this situation of an unjust world 22:33 is something--of course, we should try to do our best 22:37 in the sense of bringing justice to the world, 22:42 but there are things that escape our hands, 22:45 that we cannot handle, and those ones are the ones 22:48 that we trust that God will straighten up, 22:51 and this is a very important point, 22:54 but let me clarify, Eric, if you don't mind, another matter. 23:00 Some people might ask, 23:01 why do you speak about phases of judgment? 23:05 And this probably is the most significant part 23:08 for us to understand this process. 23:13 Remember something. 23:14 If everybody, as you read, Eric, 23:17 the passage that everybody will be judged, 23:20 and Paul is including himself in this judgment, 23:25 then it implies that not only wicked 23:29 but also the righteous will be judged. 23:33 And it always, the understanding of judgment in the Bible, 23:38 is directly dependent on 23:40 the human nature and the state of the dead. 23:44 Why? 23:46 Remember that the resurrections are the rewards already. 23:51 Either you will be raised 23:53 at the first resurrection that the Bible speaks 23:57 that takes place prior to the millennium, 24:01 to the 1,000 years, or, if you are not among the saved, 24:06 you will be raised at the second resurrection 24:09 after the millennium. 24:11 So, if a judgment has to take place 24:14 or people has to be judged, they have to be judged 24:19 prior to the resurrection that is already the reward. 24:25 There is not this thing, 24:26 "Well, you were raised here in the first resurrection, 24:29 "but, sorry, we came to the conclusion 24:31 "after judging your case 24:33 "that you don't belong to this group. 24:35 "You have to go back and to be raised 24:37 in the second resurrection," 24:39 or, "Sorry that we waited till the second resurrection 24:42 because you should be raised in the first one." 24:45 So, those who will be raised at the first resurrection, 24:51 that is already the reward, 24:53 will be judged prior to that resurrection, 24:57 and those that will be raised at the second resurrection, 25:02 those will be judged during the millennium, 25:06 and then this one the saints will be part of 25:09 so that they can know that 25:11 whatever God did was the best thing, 25:14 and the final destruction of the wicked 25:19 is actually an act of mercy 25:23 from the part of God because, actually, 25:28 the wicked would not feel at home in heaven, 25:31 so He simply makes them cease to exist. 25:36 They will receive their punishment, 25:38 but there is not an everlasting hell, 25:42 and this is something, good news. 25:44 You should not fear the judgment, the final judgment, 25:49 for one simple reason. The judgment will be 25:53 the vindication of those who are in Christ. 25:57 So they are good news of the judgment, 26:00 but, of course, it will be the punishment 26:03 for those who refuse to be with Christ, 26:06 and that makes the whole difference. 26:08 >>You know, what you just shared, Alberto, 26:10 reminds me of a passage at the very end of the Bible 26:13 in Revelation 22, verses 11 and 12. 26:16 It says, "He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; 26:20 "he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; 26:23 "he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; 26:26 [and] he who is holy, let him be holy still." 26:28 And then in verse number 12 he says, 26:30 "And behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me, 26:37 to give to every one according to his work." 26:39 So the good news is Jesus is coming back soon. 26:42 He has his reward for every person, 26:45 and if you are among the righteous, 26:47 you will be righteous still. 26:48 If you are among the just, you will be just still. 26:52 If, in the judgment, 26:54 you are found saved, you are saved forever, 26:57 and I hope that that's an encouragement to you, 27:00 because it really should be. 27:03 Well, we're gonna come back again for one more week 27:05 as we take a last look at 27:07 this subject of "Death, Dying, and the Future Hope." 27:10 We're going to end on a high note, 27:13 and you probably expected that we would 27:16 because the Bible ends on a very high note. 27:19 So next week we're gonna come back again. 27:21 We're gonna look at the last lesson in this quarter, 27:26 and we hope that you've been blessed, 27:28 that you've been able to look at this subject 27:29 from perhaps a new perspective. 27:32 Maybe you've been reaffirmed in what you already believed, 27:36 but either way, I hope that you will take 27:38 the beauty of this Bible teaching and share it with others 27:42 so that they can have hope in Jesus as well. 27:45 God bless you, have a wonderful day, 27:47 and we will see you next time. 27:49 (inspirational theme music) 28:24 (music ends) |
Revised 2022-12-16