Bible Study - Sabbath School Podcast

The Executive Judgment During the Middle Ages there was a strong tendency to portray God as a severe, punitive Judge. Today the tendency is to describe Him as a loving, permissive Father who never punishes His children. Yet, love without justice will turn into chaos and lawlessness, and justice without love will become oppression and subjugation. God’s judging process is a perfect blend of justice...

The Millennial Judgment The Bible tells us that at the Second Coming (1) both the living saints and the resurrected saints will “meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess. 4:16, 17); (2) all the saints will be taken to heaven to abide in the heavenly “ ‘dwelling places’ ” that He Himself has prepared for them (John 14:1–3, NRSV); and (3) only at the end of the millennium will the New Jerusalem come down...

The Pre-Advent Judgment The concept of judgment before the return of Christ, or what we call a “pre-Advent” judgment, is found in many places in Scripture. Read Daniel 7:9–14; Matthew 22:1–14; Revelation 11:1, 18, 19; and Revelation 14:6, 7. How do these passages shed light on the notion of a pre-Advent investigative judgment in the heavenly courtroom? What is the significance of such a judgment?...

The Final Judgment For many, the idea of judgment means condemnation. And though that’s part of the process, we mustn’t forget that the idea of judgment has a positive side, in that judgment also involves the vindication of the righteous. Actually, the book of Daniel refers to an end-time judgment “ ‘in favor of the saints of the Most High’ ” (Dan. 7:22, NKJV). God’s judgment includes both—a princ...

Read for This Week’s Study: Matt. 25:31–46; Dan. 7:9–14; 1 Cor. 6:2, 3; 2 Pet. 2:4–6; Mal. 4:1; Rev. 21:8. Memory Text: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10, NIV). If Scripture is clear about one thing, it is the reality of judgment. God will judge th...

Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Mind Cure,” pp. 241–259, in The Ministry of Healing; “True and False Theories Contrasted,” pp. 7–16, in The Sanctified Life. “The great controversy is nearing its end. Every report of calamity by sea or land is a testimony to the fact that the end of all things is at hand. Wars and rumors of wars declare it. Is there a Christian whose pulse does not beat with...

Ready for His Appearing We live in a frenetic world with too many artificial needs and eye- catching distractions. If we are not careful, these can take all our time and pervert our priorities. This is not just another by-product of our glo- balized cyber world; Christians in every age, to one degree or another, have to be on guard against Satan’s attempts to distract them from what really matters...

The Guidance of the Spirit The Holy Spirit is God’s powerful Agent who pours out the love of God into our hearts (Rom. 5:5), leads us into a true saving experience (John 16:7–11), guides us into all the truth (John 16:13), and empow- ers us to fulfill the gospel mission (Acts 1:8). Because it is the Holy Spirit who counteracts the degenerating work of Satan, it is no surprise that Satan tries by a...

The Mind of Christ Some people believe that by changing the environment the individual will be transformed. Definitely, we should avoid places and circum- stances that can make us more vulnerable to temptation (Ps. 1:1, Prov. 5:1–8). But our problem with temptation and sin can be solved only by the transformation of our own hearts (or minds). Christ touched the core of the issue when He stated, “...

The Body as a Temple The dualistic theory of a mortal body with an immortal soul has gen- erated various theories about the human body. For example, for ancient Greek philosophers, the human body was the prison of the soul, which was liberated by death. In an echo of this pagan concept, many Christians today believe that the body is the temporal housing of the immortal soul, which will be reintegr...

The Model of Jesus Read Luke 2:52. What four dimensions of Jesus’ growth are men- tioned in this passage? Jesus was the perfect Human Being, and His growth comprised all basic dimensions of human existence. According to Luke 2:52, “Jesus grew in wisdom [mentally] and stature [physically], and in favor with God [spiritually] and man [socially]” (NIV). “His mind was active and penetrating, with a th...

Read for This Week’s Study: Luke 2:52; Matt. 4:23; 1 Cor. 6:19, 20; Ps. 24:3, 4; Acts 8:4–24; 1 John 3:1–3. Memory Text: “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23, NKJV). The book of Revelation speaks of two major “globalizations” prior to the second comin...

Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Dealing With False Science, Cults, Isms, and Secret Societies,” pp. 602–609, in Evangelism; and “Spiritism,” pp. 86–93, in Confrontation. There exists a foundation which claims that it is creating technology that will allow us to contact the deceased “via texts, phone calls, and video-conferencing.” Calling the dead PMPs (postmaterial persons), its website cl...

Personations and Other Appearances Similar to necromancy are the demonic personations of the dead and other demonic appearances. The personations can be in the form of a deceased family member, friend, or anyone. Both the physical appearance and the voice are very similar to those of the deceased. All these satanic deceptions will be used to deceive those who are not firmly grounded in God’s Word....

Necromancy and Ancestor Worship The word “necromancy” derives from the Greek terms nekros (dead) and manteia (divination). Practiced since ancient times, necromancy is a form of summoning the alleged active spirits of the dead in order to obtain knowledge, often about future events. Ancestor worship, mean- while, is the custom of venerating deceased ancestors because they are still considered fami...

Reincarnation The pagan notion of an immortal soul provides the foundation for the unbiblical theory of reincarnation or transmigration of the soul. This theory has been adopted by some major world religions. While most Christians believe in the existence of an immortal soul that abides in a permanent heaven or hell after death, those who believe in reincarna- tion hold that such an immortal soul...

Near-Death Experiences Some of the most popular modern arguments to “prove” the theory of the natural immortality of the soul are “near-death experiences.” In his book Life After Life: The Investigation of a Phenomenon—Survival of Bodily Death (Atlanta, GA: Mockingbird, 1975), Raymond A. Moody, Jr., presented the results of his five-year study of more than one hun- dred people who experienced “cli...

Mysticism Our world has been flooded by the strong waves of mysticism. The word “mysticism” is a complex term that encapsulates a huge variety of ideas. From a religious perspective, the word implies the union of the individual with the Divine or Absolute in some kind of spiritual experience or trance. This characterizes the worship experience even of certain churches. The phenomena can vary in fo...

Read for This Week’s Study: Matt. 7:21–27, John 11:40–44, 1 Pet. 3:18, 1 Sam. 28:3–25, Eph. 6:10–18. Memory Text: “And no wonder! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is not strange if his ministers also disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness. Their end will match their deeds” (2 Corinthians 11:14, 15, NRSV). Our contemporary world has become a melting pot of the sup...

Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The First Great Deception,” pp. 531–550; “Can Our Dead Speak to Us?” pp. 551–562, in The Great Controversy. “Upon the fundamental error of natural immortality rests the doctrine of consciousness in death—a doctrine, like eternal torment, opposed to the teachings of the Scriptures, to the dictates of reason, and to our feel- ings of humanity. According to the...

The Biblical View Read 1 John 5:3–12. Why does the apostle John limit “eternal life” only to those who are in Christ? The biblical doctrine of conditional immortality of the human being—in contrast to the nonbiblical theory of the natural immortality of the soul—is made explicit in 1 John 5:11, 12. To grasp the meaning of this significant passage, we have to remember that only the Godhead “has imm...

A Paradise With Disembodied Souls Though Protestants don’t accept purgatory, many nevertheless believe that the souls of the righteous dead are already enjoying Paradise in the very presence of God. Some argue that those “souls” are just disembodied spirits; others believe they are disembodied spirits but covered by a spiritual body of glory. Whatever the supposed metaphysical state of the living...

The Saints in Purgatory The Roman Catholic Church holds that the dead who do not deserve hell but who are not yet ready for Paradise can have their sins purged in purgatory and then ascend from there to Paradise. Their sufferings in purgatory can be reduced by the prayers and penances of loved ones. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is explicit about purgatory: “All who die in God’s grace and f...

The Fires of Hell In his booklet for children titled, The Sight of Hell (Dublin: James Duffy, [1874]), English Roman Catholic priest John Furniss (1809–1865) illustrates the eternal torment by means of a great solid-iron ball, larger than the heavens and the earth. “A bird comes once in a hundred mil- lions [sic] of years and just touches the great iron ball with a feather of its wing.”—Page 24. F...

Immortal Worms? Compare Mark 9:42–48 with Isaiah 66:24. How do you understand the expression “their worm does not die” (Mark 9:48, NKJV)? Some interpret the singular noun “worm” (Mark 9:48) as an allusion to the supposed disembodied soul or spirit of the wicked that, after death, flies into hell, where it never dies and suffers eternal torment. But this interpretation does not reflect the biblical...