Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The First Great Deception,” Pages 531-550; “Can Our Dead Speak to Us?” Pages 551-562, in The Great Controversy.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

“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 feelings of humanity. According to the popular belief, the redeemed in heaven are acquainted with all that takes place on the earth and especially with the lives of the friends whom they have left behind. But how could it be a source of happiness to the dead to know the troubles of the living, to witness the sins committed by their own loved ones, and to see them enduring all the sorrows, disappointments, and anguish of life? How much of heaven’s bliss would be enjoyed by those who were hovering over their friends on earth? And how utterly revolting is the belief that as soon as the breath leaves the body the soul of the impenitent is consigned to the flames of hell! To what depths of anguish must those be plunged who see their friends passing to the grave unprepared, to enter upon an eternity of woe and sin!” — Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 545.

Discussion Questions:

<–Thursday

Amen!(0)

The post Friday: Further Thought ~ The Fires of Hell first appeared on Sabbath School Net.

The post Friday: Further Thought ~ The Fires of Hell appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/friday-further-thought-fires-of-hell/

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 immortality” (1 Timothy 6:15-16, , NKJV) and is the only Source of life (Psalm 36:9, Colossians 1:15-17, Hebrews 1:2).

Image © Lars Justinen at Goodsalt.com

When sin entered the world through the fall of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:1-24), they and all their descendants (including us) came under the curse of physical death and lost the gift of eternal life. But our loving God implemented the plan of salvation for human beings to regain eternal life, the life that was to have been theirs from the start. As Paul wrote: “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love” (Ephesians 1:4, NKJV).

The apostle Paul explains that “just as through one man [Adam] sin entered the world, and death through sin,” so through “the one Man, Jesus Christ,” the gracious gift of eternal life became available to all human beings (Romans 5:12-21, NKJV). Paul here is making an unambiguous reference to a literal Adam who brought sin and death into this world. One cannot make sense of anything in the Bible without a literal Adam who, through transgression, brought sin and death into our world.

Thus, the apostle John adds, “God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:11-12, , NRSV).

The whole picture becomes clearer in light of Jesus’ statements: “Everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day” (John 6:40, NIV), and “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live” (John 11:25, NRSV).

This means that eternal life is a gift of God through Christ, which is secured at the present but fully enjoyed only after the final resurrection of the righteous. The conclusion is very simple: if everlasting life is granted only to those who are in Christ, then those who are not in Him do not have everlasting life (1 John 5:11-12). By contrast, the theory of the natural immortality of the soul grants everlasting life — whether in paradise or in hell — to all human beings, even to those who are not in Christ. However popular this teaching, it is not biblical.

<–Wednesday Friday–>

Amen!(0)

The post Thursday: The Biblical View first appeared on Sabbath School Net.

The post Thursday: The Biblical View appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/thursday-biblical-view/

Join It Is Written Sabbath School host Eric Flickinger and this quarter’s author, Dr. Alberto Timm, as they provide additional insights into this week’s Sabbath School lesson, “Resurrections before the Cross.”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tE7uO2a3rA&w=560&h=315]

Amen!(0)

The post 10: The Fires of Hell – It is Written – Discussions with the Author first appeared on Sabbath School Net.

The post 10: The Fires of Hell – It is Written – Discussions with the Author appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/10-the-fires-of-hell-it-is-written-discussions-with-the-author/

You can view an in-depth discussion of The New Testament Hope in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris. Click on the image to view: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF5K0YZyN2E&w=560&h=315]

With thanks to

Hope Channel – Television that will change your life.

Amen!(0)

The post 10: The Fires of Hell – HopeSS Video Discussion first appeared on Sabbath School Net.

The post 10: The Fires of Hell – HopeSS Video Discussion appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/10-the-fires-of-hell-hopess-video-discussion/

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 dead, these theories undermine the biblical doctrine of the final resurrection and judgment of the dead. Why is there a resurrection and a judgment (Revelation 20:12-14) if the souls of the righteous are already enjoying Paradise?

Read Acts 2:29, Acts 2:34-35,  and 1 Corinthians 15:16-18. How do these passages shed light on the state of the dead and those awaiting resurrection?

Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com

The Bible teaches that all human beings who are already in heaven were either translated alive, as in the case of Enoch (Genesis 5:24) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:9-11), or resurrected from the dead, as Moses (Jude 9) and those raised with Christ (Matthew 27:51-53).

As we have already seen, the allusion to the souls “under the altar” crying to God for vengeance (Revelation 6:9-11) is just a metaphor for justice and does not prove the theory of the natural immortality of the soul. Otherwise, these folks hardly sound as if they’re enjoying their eternal reward. In reality, the grave is a place of rest for the dead, who are unconsciously awaiting the final resurrection, when their conscious existence will be restored. The dead, even the righteous dead, are not disembodied souls drifting around heaven, waiting patiently to be reunited with their bodies at the final resurrection.

Also, what could Paul possibly be talking about in 1 Corinthians 15:18, NKJV, when he says that if there were no resurrection of the dead, then “those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.” How could they have perished if they are already in the bliss of heaven and have been there for however long since they died? A central and key doctrine of the New Testament, the resurrection of the dead when Christ returns, is made null and void by the false teaching that the righteous dead soar off to their eternal reward right after they die. Nevertheless, we hear it all the time, especially at funerals.

<–Tuesday Thursday–>

Amen!(0)

The post Wednesday: A Paradise with Disembodied Souls first appeared on Sabbath School Net.

The post Wednesday: A Paradise with Disembodied Souls appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/wednesday-paradise-with-disembodied-souls/