♪ theme music ♪
(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,
an in-depth, interactive study
of the Word of God.
I'm so glad you joined us today.
This has been a great series
on Life, Death, Resurrection, and Eternal Life.
The topic today, The Judging Process,
could make some nervous,
but actually we'll discover,
for those who belong to Jesus,
the judgment's good news.
It means we're almost home,
and you'll be encouraged
as you study with us today,
so welcome to Hope Sabbath School
and welcome to the team.
Good to see you all again.
And, by the way, Travis,
I'm looking forward to the study,
and I'm thankful you'll be leading us
in the study today.
We also want to welcome
our team members joining us.
Tigist, good to have you back with us,
from Minnesota, glad you're with us today.
And, Enoch, good to see you
from Maryland, glad you're part
of our team again today.
We appreciate our remote team members
who expand our group.
But just take a moment and look
at each other in the group.
Would you notice
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different nations, kindreds,
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And it's so encouraging to know
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That's an encouragement.
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A digital copy of that book,
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You just need to go to our website.
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Go to hopetv.org/hopess,
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This is an encouraging email
from Vincent in France.
He says, "I'm a faithful follower
of Hope Sabbath School,
and it's a great blessing
for my church here in France.
I thank God for your ministry.
I am currently an aircraft pilot
with the French Air Force,
and after my military career,
I wish to study theology
and become a pastor."
Praise God, and he's part
of our Hope Sabbath School team
right now there in France.
"Maybe we will be able
to meet some day in person; God bless you."
Well, God bless you, too, Vincent.
What an encouraging testimony,
flying there in the French Air Force
but [he's] given his heart to Jesus
and wanting to become a pastor
and share the Word of God.
Thank you for writing to us.
Here's a note from Boniface in Cameroon.
Cameroon, is that anywhere close
to where you lived,
where you were born, Lilica?
(Lilica) Not really close.
(Derek) Not really, but it's
on the same African continent, right?
You're from Guinea-Bissau.
Cameroon, Boniface writes,
"Hello people of the Most High God."
He got the wave.
By the way, isn't that an amazing thing
that we can be people
of the Most High God?
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) Praise God for that.
"I've been watching
the program since 2018.
I just thank all of the team
for the great work.
May the Lord continually bless you
until the coming of our Savior
Jesus Christ. Amen."
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) Well, I don't know,
I'm always amazed;
I don't know if you are.
I mean, we just think
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One last note, from Cynthia in Texas
in the United States of America.
She writes, "Greetings to you all
in the mighty name of Jesus Christ
our Lord of lords and King of kings."
That's quite a welcome.
"I thank you so much for teaching
the Bible so beautifully every week.
Thank you for all you do.
Keep up the good work,
and let us all be faithful to the end!
Jesus will soon come.
Let's keep on loving, giving, working,
trusting and obeying in His name."
She says, "By the way,
I've just had my ninety-fourth birthday
to the glory of God."
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) Well, thank you
for writing to us, Cynthia from Texas.
And I felt like a little sermon
was coming on right there.
We're thankful that you're encouraging us
and praying for us on our journey.
Right now, we're going
to sing our theme song.
You've learned it during this series,
the words of Jesus from Revelation 1,
verses 17, 18 and verse 8,
"Do not be afraid," He says;
"I am the First and the Last."
You know the story now.
Let's sing it together.
♪ music ♪
(Derek) Well, I love that song.
It's the word of Jesus Himself,
and, Travis, as you lead us
in the study today,
we're going to see that Jesus our Savior
is also our Judge and soon-coming King.
(Travis) Amen.
(Team) Amen.
(Travis) Let us pray.
Father in Heaven, we want
to thank You again for this time
to open up Your Scriptures.
You said that Your Word
is a lamp to our feet
and a light to our path.
Lord, we need some light
as we study the judging process.
And I pray that by the end of this study
that everyone watching will come to know
that judgment is good news
for those who have surrendered to Jesus.
That's my prayer; in Jesus' name. Amen.
(Derek, Team) Amen.
(Travis) Well, I'm sure many of you
have heard or maybe even have said
to someone, "Don't judge me," right?
And you know, when you think of judgment,
it normally comes across
as something negative,
certainly not in a positive light.
But I pray, by the end of today's study,
that we're going to find out
that judgment is not only a good thing,
it's a great thing, and we see
the immeasurable and unfailing love through the study.
Nicole, would you start off our study
this morning by reading 2 Corinthians,
chapter 5, verse 10?
(Nicole) I'll be reading
from the New International Version: it says:
(Travis) So, the Bible says we must all
appear at the judgment seat of Christ.
Stephanie, why do we all have to appear
before the judgment seat of Christ?
(Stephanie) So that our works
can be judged, whether our life
was in alignment with our confession for Jesus.
(Derek) But that could make a person
very nervous if they don't know the gospel
because the Bible says, "All have sinned
and fallen short of the glory of God."
So, actually, I think what happens
in the judgment, Travis,
is it reveals the most important choice,
which is which side we choose to stand on.
Do we say, "Jesus, save me"?
Now, we know transformation will happen,
but if I'm just going
to have all of my sin,
I don't know how many perfect people
there are on the team today, you know,
we will stand condemned,
which is why, as you said,
the judgment is great news for those
who have accepted Jesus as Savior.
(Travis) Well, Derek, I'm glad
we have more verses,
because we're going to read
some words from Jesus, and I think
we're going to find out
it is good news. Yes, Pedro.
(Pedro) I think of judgment
and remember the work I used to do
being a process server;
I used to deliver documents for the court.
And sometimes I was asked by an attorney
to go into the court records to make copies,
and sometimes a copy of a case
would be a hefty amount of paper.
But I always loved when the clerk
would say, "This case has been purged."
It means it's been destroyed.
So, I have to go back and say,
"We have no records anymore
because it has been so many years."
And I'm looking forward
for my record to be purged,
and the records of Jesus
to be put in place of mine.
(Derek, Travis) Amen!
(Travis) When I first thought of judgment,
I thought of all the things
that I have done in my life, whew.
I didn't feel very good.
But then I thought,
as I've studied the Scriptures
and come to a greater knowledge
of the immeasurable and unfailing love
of Jesus and judgment,
I thought, when Satan
brings those accusations to Jesus,
He's going to open up the book,
and all those sins are going to be covered.
And He's going to say, "He is redeemed."
(Derek) Praise God.
(Travis) And I can't wait for that day,
because I don't deserve eternal life,
but that gift is a free gift
that Jesus has given
each and every one of us.
And we're going to dig
into some Scriptures, and we're going
to see what this judgment is all about.
Tigist, if you don't mind taking us
to John, chapter 5:22-30,
we're going to read some words of Jesus
and see what He has to say
about the judgment.
John, chapter 5:22-30,
would you read that for us, Tigist?
(Tigist) And I'll be reading
from the New King James Version.
This is John 5:22-30, and it says:
(Travis) Well, even if we had
just that verse, it would be enough,
but we may even read that the wrong way.
Because those who have done good,
to the resurrection of good,
and those who have done evil,
to the resurrection of condemnation,
and we're thinking, we've all
read Romans 3; maybe some of us haven't,
"There is none [who does] good, no, not one."
But when we stand
under the banner of Jesus, right,
clothed in His righteousness,
He covers our sins,
we, if we die before Jesus comes,
can be in the resurrection of the just
because the things we've done wrong
have been covered by the blood of Jesus. Amen?
And then, one of the other things to come,
He says we won't come into judgment,
and I thought, "But all of us will be judged."
But there's a difference
between coming into judgment
and being judged, right?
When we say, "You can keep
Your own righteousness, Jesus;
I have my own," well, that's when we
can fall into judgment, right?
Well, let's take a look at another verse,
Matthew 12:35-36; Lilica,
would you read that for us?
Matthew 12:35-36, again, words of Jesus.
Let's see what He says about judgment.
(Lilica) I'll be reading
from the New King James Version, Matthew 12:35-36:
(Travis) I'm so happy for a Savior,
because records are being kept.
We just mentioned in a previous study,
you know, cell phones,
we can talk on them,
or we can look at things,
and we think nobody's watching.
But Somebody's watching, right?
Angels are taking account of everything
that's happening, and God knows.
But that's actually one
of the greatest things about God
is He knows, but He still loves us
and wants to redeem us.
We don't even have to try
to hide anything from Him.
(Derek) Whatever idle words we've spoken -
I thought of the words
of that tax collector or publican
that Jesus saw, you remember?
He cried out, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner."
And those are the words
that will affect our eternal destiny.
(Travis) Amen! We'll be judged
on our response to God's love. Amen?
We'll be judged on a response to God's love.
We could say, "No, we
don't want to be loved;
we don't want to be happy,"
which is a foolish thing
to choose, by the way,
or we can choose our own destiny that way.
Let's read from another text again.
Luke 11:31, 32, Livinia,
would you read that for us?
And again, similar words of Jesus.
(Livinia) I'll be reading
from the 21st Century King James Version:
(Travis) Well, we know that the Queen
of Sheba came to visit Solomon.
Of course, this was prior to him gaining
all his wives and him falling.
Of course, we know
that he also repented, right,
at the end of his life.
Praise God for a loving Savior, right?
Whew, I mean, to be redeemed
is a great feeling, right?
So, what do you think, Livinia, it means
that the Queen of Sheba
and those who listened to Jonah,
what do you think it means
that they would judge them?
(Livinia) I think here the Lord is saying
that, for instance, in the case
of the people of Nineveh,
this was an audience that wasn't expected
to respond to the words of God
and the love of God, but they did!
And, you know, for those
who maybe know a little more,
who have been exposed
to a little more about God,
that ideally we would be more receptive to the response.
Likewise, the Queen of Sheba,
a stranger from a foreign nation,
she was, I don't want to say enamored,
but she was very receptive.
(Travis) Could we say, even the people of Nineveh, do you think they saw
the immeasurable, unfailing love of Jesus?
(Derek) Absolutely.
(Travis) They certainly did!
And he was preaching
of a Christ to come, I'm sure;
he was a preacher.
And now here Jesus
is right in front of them,
and they're not accepting Him.
(Derek) So, I think the bottom line,
Travis, is God loves us so much,
we will be without excuse.
He will have shown so much mercy and grace
and evidence, whether through Solomon
or through Jonah, or He says, "Now, I'm here."
God so loved the world
He sent His own Son into humanity.
He is not trying to keep us
out of eternal life with Him.
He's trying to save us.
(Travis) I was impressed, Derek,
by the Scriptures that Livinia just read
because I thought, there was
judgment already passed on Nineveh,
and what he saw was a loving God
who actually, what?
Who forgave them all, right?
And he goes on to even say
the animals and all the other things
that were there, God is a God of love,
and He didn't want that town
to come into judgment,
but He'd rather that they would repent.
That's what He wants
for each and every one of us.
Well, what is the clear message that we hear
from Jesus about the judgment?
What is the clear message
from these verses? Yes, Jason.
(Jason) That there is a lot of opportunity
and we get to make the choice
which side we want to be on.
(Travis) Anybody else?
(Stephanie) Judgment is real,
and it will happen.
And it is by a just and righteous judgment
that is placed - righteous.
(Travis) Thank you for adding that, Stephanie.
It is a righteous judgment.
Can you imagine if we all faced a judge
who was biased maybe one way or the other?
Maybe he liked one skin color over the other.
Can you imagine if that was the judge?
But the fact is, He loves us all
with an immeasurable and unfailing love,
and He will judge righteously.
Of course, when we think
of the word righteousness,
we know that our own righteousness
is as filthy rags, so He's judging us
according to His righteousness.
And when we've covered ourselves,
clothed ourselves in His righteousness,
we stand vindicated.
(Derek) Praise God.
(Travis) Where else in the Scriptures
do we find references
to this final judgment?
I'm going to have Richard,
if you would read Daniel 7:9-10.
We see a courtroom scene here.
Daniel 7:9-10, would you
read that for us, Richard?
(Richard) Sure, Daniel 7, verses 9 and 10,
reading from the New King James Version:
(Travis) Well, here we get a picture,
at the end of time, of a courtroom scene.
The Ancient of Days, that's the Father God
in Heaven, seated; the books are opened,
and a judgment is going to be made.
I would like Nancy to read Psalm 9:7, 8,
and I want to focus on verse 8;
something in verse 8
that just caught my attention
as I was preparing this study.
Psalm 9:7-8, would you
read that for us, Nancy?
(Nancy) Yes, I'm reading
from the New King James Version:
(Travis) A righteous Judge.
He's our Lawyer, and He's our Judge.
It seems like things are tipped
in our favor slightly.
(Derek) If we choose
to stand under His banner.
(Travis) Under His banner.
We certainly aren't getting what we deserve.
Did you have a comment, Pedro?
(Pedro) I see the beautiful aspect here
of this judgment is the favor of God.
I have watched a video one time
about this judge who gave the opportunity
to the person to choose:
Should you be guilty,
or should you be innocent?
And the person says, "Well, I
have done the wrong thing,
but would you give me a break this time?"
And the he says, "I looked
at your records; they are good records.
I will give you this break."
Now, when we look into the Bible,
we see Jesus saying here,
whosoever believes in Him
shall not perish but have everlasting life.
And Jesus is saying, "Just believe in Me,
and I'll give you a break."
And that's God's grace.
That's His righteousness saying,
"I'm taking your place
if you just believe in Me.
I can scrap your sins
by your having a relationship with Me."
(Derek) It's a little different, though,
isn't it, because any earthly,
maybe even an unrighteous judge,
could give a break to someone.
But here we've got a righteous Judge.
He's just, and so there is something
that happens in order for Him to say,
as Pedro said, "We're going to blot out
all of that record
of your past transgression."
So, someone might be watching
and saying, "I'll just hope for the best,
and maybe the Judge
will give me a break."
But there is actually a provision
so that we can face
the judgment without fear.
(Travis) And for those who don't even,
God is transparent in that,
well, we're going to learn later
in our study that He's transparent enough to even know
or for us to see how He judged them.
I just wanted to mention,
I remember a pastor saying
to me about the judgment, he said,
"The judgment is totally unfair
because it's heavily skewed in our favor."
Jason, and then we'll move on.
(Jason) And I think it's heavily skewed
because there is a penalty.
There is a punishment that did
have to happen for a violation of the Law.
And there is Someone who took
that penalty for us,
if we make that choice,
and that was Jesus, our Judge, our Lawyer.
He suffered the punishment for us,
so there was a penalty to happen,
but we don't have to go through it
because He did it for us.
(Travis) That's right.
And so, I have a question:
If we're saved by grace alone
through faith alone, in Jesus alone,
then why is there a judgment?
Why does there have to be a judgment
if we're saved by grace through faith.
(Nancy) I think it's the benefit
of the entire universe
to see that God is actually just.
We're going to spend a thousand years
judging the angels and also those who are
going to rise in the second resurrection,
the resurrection of the lost.
And so, that's the reason
there has to be a judgment.
(Travis) Okay. Pedro and then Lilica.
(Pedro) When we look in the Bible
we see that God is love,
but also the Bible tells us
that God is justice,
and God is a God of due process.
And He wants to make sure
that things happen and things are clear.
There is nothing put under the rug,
but there is transparency
in His Kingdom because He says,
"Trust Me, but don't trust Me blindly.
Trust Me because I will
show you My righteousness."
(Travis) Amen. Thank you. Lilica.
(Lilica) I think that everybody wants judgment.
Even if the person is not a Christian,
the person wants judgment,
because, if you were wronged,
you want justice to be made.
So, when we are looking
to us being judged, we fear judgment,
but I thank God for going to the Bible
and seeing the picture
that is favored to us;
we should not fear it.
But, to those who wronged us,
we want judgment to be made,
and our God won't be quiet
about all the evil.
(Derek) But the good news is,
even the person that wronged us
can be showed mercy.
(Travis, Team) Amen!
(Travis) That's the love of God.
(Derek) When we get to the Kingdom,
we'll say, "What are you doing here?"
and they'll say, "I got here
the same way you did,
by the grace of God."
(Travis) I was thinking
as I was preparing the lesson, I thought,
what if there wasn't a judgment?
I mean, in our condition, without a judge
to judge in our favor, how do we stand?
(Derek) Lost.
(Travis) We stand lost.
So, actually, if we set ourselves
under the banner of Christ,
we want a judgment because we want Jesus,
our righteous Judge,
to judge in our favor.
Without that, we stand condemned, right?
So, the judgment is good news.
Well, we have to keep moving on.
We're going to talk
about the phases of judgment.
There are three different phases of judgment.
I would say the last phase
is more an execution of the second phase
of the judgment, but let's talk
about the pre-advent judgment.
Let's turn to Revelation 14:6, 7,
and, Jason, do you mind
reading that for us?
We're going to look for some evidence
in Scripture of judgment
prior to the return of Jesus,
the pre-advent judgment.
Would you read that for us, Jason?
(Jason) The New King James Version says,
in Revelation, chapter 14, verses 6 and 7:
(Travis) Well, we know this theme
is consistent through Scripture.
Jesus hasn't returned yet, right, Jason?
And the hour of His judgment has come.
We're going to read later on in our study
that there's a day in which God
has appointed to judge the world.
And even in the book of Hebrews,
it's mentioned that at the end of age,
the judgment would come.
So, here we see that the judgment
is prior or after Jesus comes?
(Derek) Well, the message is before.
If you read Revelation, it's before.
(Travis) It's before Jesus comes.
As a matter of fact, it's one
of the last pleas to the world, to get ready,
the hour of judgment is come,
prepare yourself, hide yourself
under the banner of Jesus
so that He will judge in your favor.
Stephanie, would you mind reading
Daniel 7:9-14 for me?
Daniel 7:9-14, again, we're looking
at some evidence that the judgment
would be prior, the pre-advent judgment,
prior to the coming of Jesus, go ahead.
(Stephanie) And I'll be reading
from the New King James Version, Daniel 7:9-14:
(Travis) I'm getting excited, Stephanie,
because I want to be part of that Kingdom.
And by the way, how many are invited
to be a part of the Kingdom?
(Derek, Team) All who believe.
(Travis) Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord...will be saved.
(Travis) Stephanie, is this
before Jesus returns,
or, according to the text,
is it after Jesus returns?
(Stephanie) Judgment is before.
(Travis) Judgment is before,
the pre-advent judgment.
When did this judgment begin?
Pedro, when did that judgment begin?
(Pedro) Well, according to Daniel,
if we continue reading,
in the next chapter we find that it's
after the 2300 days were finished.
(Travis) You're talking about Daniel,
chapter 8, verse 14, right?
Would you mind reading that for us,
because here we see a prophecy
about the sanctuary, which we know
to be the judgment, right?
It was the Day of Atonement, right?
And this pointed forward
to the Day of Atonement when Jesus,
in the heavenly sanctuary, would move
into the judgment phase
of His ministry, go ahead.
(Pedro) I'll be reading
from the New King James Version,
Daniel 8, verse 14:
(Travis) So, the cleansing
of the sanctuary was a final removal
of all the blood, right?
All the sins had come into the sanctuary
for 359 days a year, and this cleansing,
the last day, the three-hundred-
and-sixtieth day of the year,
it would be cleaned out, right?
The sins would be gone from the sanctuary.
Of course, you say, "How do
we know that it's 1844?"
Well, we're not going to be able
to cover that in today's study,
but we're given a clue
in Daniel, chapter 9:25,
that the beginning to restore
and rebuild Jerusalem,
that's the time prophecy, the beginning,
and that brings us to 1844,
and we know that this
was what Revelation 14:6 was talking about,
and 7, "The hour of His judgment has come."
Good news for those who have
set themselves on the side of Jesus.
Well, why is this pre-advent judgment
good news for those who have accepted
the gift by grace through faith?
Well, we have some exciting verses
that we're going to read.
Nancy, would you read for us
Daniel, chapter 7:21, 22?
And then, Enoch, I'm going
to have you read John, chapter 5:24
for us after that.
(Nancy) Yes, I'm reading
from the New King James Version:
(Travis) So, judgment is made, what?
(Team) In favor...
(Travis) In favor of the saints
of the Most High.
Is judgment good news or bad news?
(Derek) Well, it depends if you're
saints of the Most High,
which is a choice you make
to stand under His banner, right?
Because the rest of the prophecy
there in Daniel talks
about this little horn power
persecuting the saints of the Most High.
So, the judgment results in a resolution
of all of that persecution and conflict.
(Travis) Accepting the righteousness
of Christ instead of our own
is just a choice that we can make, right?
"There is none [who does] good,
no, not one," but we stand
under the banner of Jesus, vindicated.
Would you read, Enoch, for us,
from John, chapter 5:24?
(Enoch) Okay, and I'll be reading
from the New International Version, and it reads:
Amen.
(Travis) Well, how do we
miss out on the judgment, I mean,
as far as falling into judgment,
how do we do that, Pedro?
(Pedro) We believe in Jesus,
and we are absolved.
(Travis) We pass, what, from?
(Team) Death to life.
(Travis) We pass from death to life.
I hope and pray that this
is the wish of each and every one of us,
or choice, I would rather say,
is to stand with Jesus and accept the life
that He freely gives. Yes, Pedro.
(Pedro) And it's beautiful here.
We read in Daniel and now John, that God
is preparing judgment for a battle.
We learned last week
about the Great Controversy.
Now, God needs to set judgment
before this great battle happens
so He can create the environment
for us to choose,
because He knows Satan is trying
to rage against us.
He says, "No, let Me protect My people
by giving them the choice,
and so they can be on My side
during this battle."
(Travis) Amen. Each and every one has a choice.
(Derek) We know everyone
will stand before the judgment,
but the outcome of the judgment
is already settled for those
who belong to Jesus, right?
It says you've already passed
from death to life.
It's like the verdict has already been passed,
because Jesus stands in our place.
(Travis) I was just thinking
of a verse, Derek, "Therefore, there is
no condemnation for those
who are in Christ Jesus."
I think that's Romans 8, [verse] 1, isn't it?
(Derek) 8, verse 1.
(Travis) It's just a beautiful verse.
And by the way, Romans
finishes out that nothing
can separate us from the love
that's in Christ Jesus.
We're dearly loved by a Savior
who has given everything.
I know that He's as excited
about the Second Coming as we are.
Well, there's another phase
of this judgment,
the millennial judgment.
There are a thousand years which pass,
and then another judgment.
Well, actually, the judgment takes place
during that 1,000 years.
We're going to read
a little bit about that.
Livinia, if you wouldn't mind reading
from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 for us,
we're going to see what happens
to the righteous dead
and the righteous living
after the return of Jesus.
(Livinia) Reading from the 21st Century King James Version:
(Derek) Amen.
(Travis) Amen. Enoch, what do you think
about what happens to the righteous living
and the righteous dead?
What do you think,
after reading this verse?
(Enoch) I just think it's beautiful,
this experience, and it just shows
that Christ is willing to give us
second chances and opportunities
to get closer to Him.
So, I think that's what it shows.
(Travis) I like how the last part
of the verse ended, "So shall we
always be with the Lord."
Wow, what a promise.
We always get to be with the very God,
with Jesus, who has redeemed us.
(Derek) And I think the key point
is that the righteous dead are raised.
They're not dead anymore, right?
The ones who were dead, righteous,
trusting in Jesus the Savior, they're raised,
and the living trusting in Jesus
together with them are caught up
to meet the Lord in the air.
And of course, the question is,
where do they go, and is anyone
left alive on Earth,
because the wicked living are destroyed
by the brightness of His coming.
(Travis) That's right, and we're going
to find this out as we keep studying.
So, what will the redeemed,
the question is, what will
the redeemed be doing
during this second phase of judgment,
the millennial judgment?
Jason, would you read Revelation 20:4-6,
and then I'm going to have Tigist
read for us from 1 Corinthians 6:2, 3.
What are the redeemed doing
during this 1,000 years?
(Jason) The New King James Version says
in Revelation, chapter 20,
verses 4 through 6:
(Travis) Thank you, Jason.
So, if I'm getting the picture correctly,
for this 1,000 years, the books are opened,
and it seems that the righteous
are now seeing if God has judged -
Jesus, our righteous Judge -
has judged the wicked fairly.
Is that the picture that's beginning to unfold?
Tigist, I'm going to have you take us
and read from 1 Corinthians 6:2, 3,
just to put some emphasis
on what's happening here.
(Tigist) And I'll be reading
from the New King James Version,
and it says, verse 2:
(Travis) So, this is really amazing.
The love of God, I think,
is just magnified here in the fact
that He's being transparent.
Many of us, I pray that all of us
will be in Heaven.
We may have a loved one
or someone we know that doesn't show up,
and we're going to have questions.
Would that be something that's plausible?
Sure, we're going to have questions,
and God has allowed this time
for us to open the books and see
that not only did He judge fairly,
but He judged righteously.
And we can see that they
actually didn't want to be there.
They didn't want to choose life.
We have to keep moving on
because we're going to look again
at where the wicked are
during this millennial judgment.
And, Pedro, would you read
Revelation 20, verse 5, the last part,
and then 6:14-17, would you
read those verses for us?
(Pedro) Yes, I'll be reading
from the New King James Version,
Revelation 20, verse 5, and it says:
Now, Revelation 6:14-17, and it says:
(Travis) What's happened to the wicked?
(Derek) You know, it's so sad
because the righteous have chosen
to stand under the banner of Jesus
and are saying, "Lo, this is our God;
we've waited for Him," and the ones
who have not accepted the grace of God
see this as a terrible and, what,
a frightening event and actually cry
for the rocks to fall upon them
and are basically destroyed
by the brightness of His coming.
(Travis) Derek, I agree with that,
and something that's always caught me
with those verses
is that it's "the wrath of the Lamb."
Being raised around lambs,
I've never...Of course, you know,
we've had rams that were
a little mean, but lambs?
There was nothing hurtful about...
And so, we see the character of God
even in the description,
"the wrath of the Lamb."
Of course, we know that Jesus
isn't willing that any should perish, right,
but that all should come to repentance.
(Derek) But the bottom line
is that the wicked die with the glory
of the coming of Jesus,
when they could, if they had chosen
to accept His grace, they could have
welcomed Him with joy.
And so, during that 1,000 years
while the judgment's happening,
the wicked...of course,
the wicked dead stay dead.
They'll all come up
in the second resurrection
at the end of the 1,000 years.
(Travis) And of course, we know
from previous studies
that they're just sleeping in the graves.
They're not in peril and burning,
but they're sleeping in the graves
for the second resurrection.
We're going to move on in our study
to the execution of the judgment,
the last phase in the judgment,
the executive judgment
and the second death.
Let's read Revelation 20:7-8.
Livinia, would you read that for us?
Revelation, chapter 20:7-8, what event
precipitates the final phase of the judgment?
(Livinia) Reading from the 21st Century King James Version:
(Travis) I have a question, Enoch:
Why doesn't Satan just give up?
Why doesn't he give up?
He's a defeated foe already,
but it seems like he's going back out.
The wicked are raised, and he's going
to deceive the nations once more.
Why doesn't he give up?
(Enoch) Well, the devil knows his fate,
and at any time he's going to try
to bring down as many people with him.
So, it's just a shame, but when we
put our trust in God
and we put our faith in Christ,
we can be victorious.
I mean, we don't have
to go down that route,
but he's going to be very persistent,
but we have to be more persistent
and just continue to have
that faith and trust in God.
(Travis) That's right. Tigist.
(Tigist) I feel like this shows us
the wrath of sin and the nature of sin,
that it doesn't stop
until it completely destroys you.
And it also dawns upon me,
when God lets go and says,
"You who are evil, continue doing evil,"
at that point, the Holy Spirit is lifted out.
There is nothing that is within you
that is inclined to hear what God says.
And so, it's the evil in you
that overwhelms you
until your destruction,
and so at that point the devil
does not stop until he thinks
that he could do this.
And that's just the darkness of sin
and the nature of sin
and the devil at that time.
(Travis) Thank you for sharing that point.
You reminded me of a pastor one time
who said, "Sin is its own enemy."
And even Satan himself,
deception has deceived him,
that he could win this battle, right?
It's even deceived himself.
So, now we know that he's going out;
he's going to deceive
the nations once more.
So, when does the final execution of this happen?
And I'm going to have Lilica read for us
from Revelation 20:11-13,
the final judgment,
the great white throne judgment.
When does it occur?
(Lilica) I'll be reading
from the New King James Version,
Revelation 20, verses 11 to 13:
(Travis) So, when does
this great white throne judgment occur?
(Derek) It appears to occur...
Satan's gone out trying to get
the confederation of evil,
those who have been dead
during that millennium period.
Of course, those who have been dead
throughout all generations
all the way back to Cain,
to get them to come and attack the city,
which has come down from God
out of Heaven with the saints.
And somehow he convinces them
as they go toward the city...
Before we talk about fire coming down,
there's this judgment,
and maybe that's when,
as it says in Philippians,
every knee will bow.
That God has shown His character of love,
and even the angels of Heaven see
the rebellion will never end
without a final judgment.
(Travis) But even in this,
I see the love of God,
that He is being transparent enough
to let all the righteous
go through the books,
allows the judgment to take place,
so that when the final destruction
of the wicked comes,
they can see that they are
going to live forever
with their righteous Judge,
not questioning, "I wonder
if He didn't do this right?" or, "I wonder
if He judged that person unfairly?"
We get to live forever with a God
who has been completely transparent,
and I think that that's just a beautiful thing. Pedro.
(Pedro) I agree with you.
When we look at judgment,
sometimes we are afraid,
but we see His love
and His grace in this passage.
We have seen here so far that God
has compassion for us
and obviously for the rest of the universe;
that's why He brings the first judgment,
for the universe to know
that His work has been accomplished,
then for us, the redeemed ones in Heaven.
And even He has compassion for those
who have been lost here at the end.
It says they need to know
why they are being lost and show
their judgment for their wickedness.
(Travis) Thank you
for sharing that, Pedro.
Nancy, can I have you read
Revelation 20:14,15 and 9,10,
Well, just read 20:14,15 for us.
What happens at the conclusion
of the executive judgment?
(Nancy) I'm reading
from the New King James Version, and it reads:
(Travis) "Death and Hades,"
that brings peace to me that death
is going into the lake of fire, and the grave.
As a matter of fact, our song
that we sang before says
that Jesus has the keys,
but even death is going
to be destroyed once and for all.
How does the Bible
describe this second death?
I want to talk about that quickly.
If I could have Nicole, would you read
Revelation 20, verse 6, for us?
(Nicole) Yes, and I'll be reading
from the New International Version, and it reads:
(Travis) Amen. So, how is it
that death has no power over us, the second death?
(Derek) Because we've chosen Christ.
(Travis) Because we've chosen to be with Jesus. Amen.
So, I have a question: Is there still time
to avoid the second death
and spend eternity with Jesus?
(Team) Yes.
(Travis) Is there?
(Derek) The answer will be, it depends.
If you're still breathing, and you
can still hear, and the Holy Spirit
is speaking to your heart, there's time.
(Travis) Amen. I do want to read...
I may not have time to read,
but 2 Peter 3:9-13, could someone
just give me, Jason, would you
talk about that verse for a second for us?
(Jason) Sure, so it basically says
it's not that God doesn't want to come,
but He's merciful, and He wants
to give us all a chance to be with Him.
But He is coming, and when He comes,
there will be a judgment,
things will change, there will be
a finality for what's happened on this earth.
(Travis) For those of you watching,
I just want to tell you
that judgment is a good thing,
especially if you've given
your heart to Jesus,
and He has clothed you
in His righteousness.
Of course, if you haven't,
today's the day; choose Jesus,
and He will judge in your favor.
The judgment is not only a good thing,
it's a great thing, because without it,
we stand condemned.
(Derek) Thank you so much, Travis.
And you know, I imagine, as that fire
comes down from God out of heaven,
as it says in Revelation 20 and verse 9,
that there are tears in the eyes
of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
and the angels who see other angels
who refused to accept the mercy of God.
And there may be tears in our eyes, too,
because there will be loved ones
outside of the city.
But the good news is that the Lord
will wipe away all tears from our eyes,
and there will be a new heaven
and new Earth, 2 Peter 3:13,
where righteousness dwells.
I'm looking forward to that day, are you?
As Travis just mentioned, today's the day
to say, "Lord, by Your grace, save me
so that I can be part
of that eternal Kingdom with you."
Let's pray together.
Lord, as we think about judgment,
we realize there is none
that is righteous, no not one.
We have nothing to earn your favor
except to say thank You for Your grace
and Your immeasurable, unfailing love
so clearly revealed
through Jesus our Savior.
And I pray, if there is someone thinking
about saying yes to Jesus today,
that they would do it now
while there's still time, for we are
living in the time of the judgment.
And may we realize
that when we stand in Jesus,
that the judgment is good news.
In Jesus' name. Amen.
(Team) Amen.
(Derek) Thanks for joining us
for Hope Sabbath School.
If you made a decision for Jesus today,
write to us, tell us the good news,
but don't keep the good news to yourself.
Go out and be a blessing
to those around you.
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