THE JUDGING PROCESS

The theme hymn for this quarter’s studies “On Death, Dying and the FUTURE HOPE” is 
Hymn 214 – We Have This Hope.

The studies we have completed so far are reverberating in 
Hymn 203 – This Is The Threefold Truth and will do through to the end of this quarter.

We are blessed with three great hymns about judgment: 
Hymn 416 – The Judgment Has Set, 
Hymn 417 – O Solemn Thought and 
Hymn 418 – Day of Judgment, Day of Wonders!. These three add to our full week of study which then culminates with the cleansing of the universe (Thursday).

It is with great joy that we are cleansed by
 Jesus, Your Blood and Righteousness – Hymn 177 in preparation for the coming of our Lord, Jesus. We may also add 
Hymn 332 – The Cleansing Wave. Thursday is completed with “Praise the Lord”:  
Hymn 4 – Praise, My Soul, The King of Heaven.

Today we look forward to Jesus coming again. Oh, what a day that will be 
When We All Get To Heaven – Hymn 633 because 
That Glorious Day Is Coming – Hymn 209.

To learn unknown hymns, you will find the accompaniment music for each one at: https://sdahymnals.com/Hymnal/

Another great resource is for when there is a hymn you wish to sing but can’t find it in your hymnal. Go to https://www.sdahymnal.org and in the search bar type a special word in that is in the hymn. I am sure you will be amazed at the help you will be given.

 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Amen!(0)

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/12-the-judging-process-singing-with-inspiration/

Key Thought: The whole process of the judgment had three main phases: pre-Advent judgment, millennial judgment, and the executive judgment which vindicates the righteous, and culminates in the second death of the lost.
December 24, 2022

1. Have a volunteer read Matthew 25:31-46; John 5:21-29..

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. How did Jesus point to the ideas of both condemnation and vindication in the final judgment?
3. Personal Application: Knowing that we are going to face the judgment, how should that influence how we act, live, and interact with others? Share your thoughts..
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “I thought the saved in Christ won’t be judged or come into judgment. How can you say that Christians will be judged?” How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read Revelation 14:6,7

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. Why does everyone have to be judged before Jesus comes back to the earth?
3. Personal Application: Share your thoughts
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “We are going to be sinning until Jesus comes and changes our nature. Because no one is sinless. But if Jesus is going to destroy sin when He comes, how are we to be saved if we are still holding on to sin?” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Acts 8:4-24.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. Why does God allow the saved to participate in the judgment process? He doesn’t need to do that, does He?
3. Personal Application: Do you think we will experience any culpability or responsibility for some who are lost? How can we have that experience? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your neighbors states: “How do the saved judge the lost? Do they make the determination if one is saved or lost? Do they sit as spectators as the cases of the lost are brought up? Why does it take a 1,000 years to be finished?” How would you respond to your relative?

4. Have a volunteer read 2 Peter 3:10-13.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. How effective are the lake of fire and the second death?
3. Personal Application: What is wrong with the concept of universalism – the God is going to save everyone in the end? Share your thoughts?
4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared.”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

Amen!(0)

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/12-the-judging-process-teaching-plan/

Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Without a Wedding Garment,” Pages 307-319, in Christ’s Object Lessons; “Desolation of the Earth,” Pages 653-661; “The Controversy Ended,” Pages 662-673, in The Great Controversy.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

“In the day of final judgment, every lost soul will understand the nature of his own rejection of truth. The cross will be presented, and its real bearing will be seen by every mind that has been blinded by transgression. Before the vision of Calvary with its mysterious Victim, sinners will stand condemned. Every lying excuse will be swept away. Human apostasy will appear in its heinous character. Men will see what their choice has been. Every question of truth and error in the long-standing controversy will then have been made plain. In the judgment of the universe, God will stand clear of blame for the existence or continuance of evil. It will be demonstrated that the divine decrees are not accessory to sin. There was no defect in God’s government, no cause for disaffection. When the thoughts of all hearts shall be revealed, both the loyal and the rebellious will unite in declaring, ‘Just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints. Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? … for Thy judgments are made manifest.’ Revelation 15:3-4.” — Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 58.

Discussion Questions:

<–Thursday

Amen!(5)

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/friday-further-thought-judging-process/

God is leading human history toward its end-time climax. At the end of the millennium all the wicked dead are raised from their graves to receive their final punitive sentences (Revelation 20:5, Revelation 20:11-15). Then, when the whole judging process is completed and nothing else can be added to it, the wicked will acknowledge God’s justice. “With all the facts of the great controversy in view, the whole universe, both loyal and rebellious, with one accord declare: ‘Just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints.’” And Satan himself “bows down and confesses the justice of his sentence.” — Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, Pages 670, 671.

Read Malachi 4:1; Revelation 20:14-15; and Revelation 21:8. How effective will be the “lake of fire” and the “second death”?

Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com

The final destruction of Satan and his angels and all the wicked will cleanse the universe from sin and its consequences. And yet, even the final destruction of the wicked is an act of God’s love, not only for the saints but also for the wicked themselves. They would rather die than live in the presence of God who is a “consuming fire” for sin (Hebrews 12:29).

“They [the lost] would long to flee from that holy place. They would welcome destruction, that they might be hidden from the face of Him who died to redeem them. The destiny of the wicked is fixed by their own choice. Their exclusion from heaven is voluntary with themselves, and just and merciful on the part of God.” — Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 543.

Thus, the final annihilation of sin and sinners — in contrast to the unbiblical theory of their everlasting sufferings in hell — provides a just and proportional punishment for whatever evil people had committed. It also confirms that sin had a beginning and will have an end. Then the whole universe will return to its original perfection, before sin, evil, and disobedience arose mysteriously and without any justification.

Praise the Lord that He, as our “righteous Judge” (2 Timothy 4:8, NKJV), will make the fair decision of granting immortality to the righteous and eternal destruction to the wicked.

<–Wednesday Friday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/thursday-second-death-2/

Image © Pacific Press from GoodSalt.com

Brief Overview: The millennium is the thousand-year reign of Christ with His saints in heaven between the first and second resurrections. During this time the wicked dead will be judged; the earth will be utterly desolate, without living human inhabitants, but occupied by Satan and his angels. At its close Christ with His saints and the Holy City will descend from heaven to earth. The unrighteous dead will then be resurrected, and with Satan and his angels will surround the city; but fire from God will consume them and cleanse the earth. The universe will thus be freed of sin and sinners forever. (Rev. 20; 1 Cor. 6:2,3; Jer. 4:23-26; Rev. 21:1-5; Mal. 4:1; Eze. 28:18, 19.)

Why it is important to know the truth about the millennium: There are many erroneous teachings about the millennium, including the idea some will be given a second chance after the second coming. This is a false security leading many to disregard the exhortation of Paul, “For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.”Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6:2 NLT

Why it is important to understand the millennium in light of the cross: Only when we get to heaven will we see and realize what Jesus left to come and die for us.

Further Study on the Millennium

What happens to the earth when Jesus comes?

Look! The Lord is about to destroy the earth and make it a vast wasteland. He devastates the surface of the earth and scatters the people. Isaiah 24:1 NLT

What happens to all of the wicked?

In that day those the Lord has slaughtered will fill the earth from one end to the other. No one will mourn for them or gather up their bodies to bury them. They will be scattered on the ground like manure. Jeremiah 25:33 NLT

What happens to the righteousness?

We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 NLT

Note: When Jesus comes the wicked are all slain, the righteous are all taken to heaven, and the earth is left in a desolate state (“without form and void” Jer. 4:23; as a “bottomless pit” Rev. 20:1).

How long is Satan bound to the earth?

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand. He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years. The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little while. Revelation 20:1-3 NLT

Note: Satan is chained up by circumstances. All the wicked are dead. The righteous are in heaven, and he has no one to tempt or torment. Before his expulsion from heaven he thought he would make a better ruler than God. See Isaiah 14:14. Satan now gets to roam the world for a thousand years and consider the fruits of his empire.

What will the righteous be doing during the thousand years?

Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. Revelation 20:4 NLT

Whom shall they be judging?

Don’t you realize that someday we believers will judge the world? And since you are going to judge the world, can’t you decide even these little things among yourselves? Don’t you realize that we will judge angels? So you should surely be able to resolve ordinary disputes in this life. 1 Corinthians 6:2-3 NLT

Jesus spoke of two resurrections.

Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment. John 5:28-29 NLT

Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. John 5:28-29 KJV

When are the wicked dead raised?

This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.) Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.Revelation 20:5-6 NLT

What does Satan do when they are raised?

When the thousand years come to an end, Satan will be let out of his prison. He will go out to deceive the nations—called Gog and Magog—in every corner of the earth. He will gather them together for battle—a mighty army, as numberless as sand along the seashore. Revelation 20:7-8 NLT

What descends down from God?

And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. Revelation 21:2 NLT

What does Satan attempt and what happens?

And I saw them as they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded God’s people and the beloved city. But fire from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them. Revelation 20:9 NLT

What is this fire called?

Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. Revelation 20:14 NLT

What will God create from the ashes?

But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness. 2 Peter 3:10-13 NLT

What will the new earth be like?

In those days people will live in the houses they build and eat the fruit of their own vineyards. Unlike the past, invaders will not take their houses and confiscate their vineyards. For my people will live as long as trees, and my chosen ones will have time to enjoy their hard-won gains. They will not work in vain, and their children will not be doomed to misfortune. For they are people blessed by the Lord, and their children, too, will be blessed. I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers! The wolf and the lamb will feed together. The lion will eat hay like a cow. But the snakes will eat dust. In those days no one will be hurt or destroyed on my holy mountain. I, the Lord, have spoken!” Isaiah 65:21-25 NLT

What promise of God does John see in vision?

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:1-5 NLT

Amen!(0)

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/the-millennium-in-light-of-the-cross-2/